Frugal Fridays: Simply Centsible Living - Part 3
I don't know about you, but I can hardly believe it is time for Frugal Fridays again around here. Wasn't it just Friday? This week flew by for our family, that's for sure!
Today I bring you a post on Budgeting... Yes, I know, probably not the most pleasant topic for some but before you skip over this because you are making excuses about why you can't have a budget, hear me out.
As I alluded to last week, one of the most helpful things Jesse and I did before we got married was to make a budget. This was at my dad's encouragement and it was not only a great exercise for our engagement, but it has saved us literally thousands of dollars since we've been married. Yes, thousands of dollars. We done the math and been amazed at the figures!
People are usually quite astounded to hear that Jesse went through law school without enmassing any debt and only working part-time. How? It is thanks to the grace of God and our commitment to stick to our budget. It would have never happened otherwise.
I would highly recommend all engaged couples consider embarking on the exercise of budget-making. It may be eye-opening to both of you! Actually, whether you are engaged, newly-married, or celebrating your thirty-five-year anniversary, I'd recommend you consider this exercise, especially if you are struggling financially.
Jesse and I talked through every expenditure which we felt was necessary. We researched to determine how we could do things as inexpensively as possible and we figured out many things on our budget which we could nix. Writing everything down and calculating it against our small income figure helped us to further hone and tighten and pinch.
After we got married, our budget was put to the test. And you know what? Inspite of having to tweak a few things here and there, it worked beautifully! In fact, it was a lifesaver for us. We learned to enjoy the freedom we found within the budget boundaries. Because everything had been worked out ahead of time on paper and the money we earned was being set aside for the various necessities ahead of time, it freed us from much worry and stress. Yes, there were still many times we had to really cry out to God to do a miracle since our income wasn't enough to even fill all the necessity categories, but we were so thankful to have set aside everything we did so that we knew we had done our best and could trust God with the rest. And God was always faithful!
For those who have asked for specifics on our law school budget, here you go:
Tithe: 10% of gross income - fluctuating based upon what was earned, always taken out first.
No matter how little we made, our first priority was to give back to God as a token of our gratitude for His provision. Give God the firstfruits, not the leftovers. Jesse always makes sure we tithe off of gross income, as opposed to net income.
Rent: $520/month - $260 pp (pay period)*
This was an area that we could have cut back on considerably but we decided to opt for a larger apartment in a nicer and safer location since Jesse was going to be gone most of the day. We also wanted to have space for operating a business (something we were already toying with when we first got married) and for children, if God were to give us any.
*We found it worked out best to split up the budget categories into bi-weekly amounts, rather than monthly amounts, since Jesse was paid every two weeks.
Groceries/Household Items: $140/month - $70 pp
We often used the leftovers from this to pay for going out to eat - which we did occasionally when we had extra money. We could do it for $6-7 using coupons.
Phone: $30/month - $15 pp
This was one area we could have cut, however, we wanted to have a way to talk throughout the day. Jesse's dad did pay for him to have a cell phone for awhile (since Jesse had been doing some side work for his dad's business early on in our marriage), but we didn't have cell phones until the last year when we were able to fit them into our budget (our business pays for part of the costs since I use my cell minutes primarily for business calls). We did not pay for internet until the business was able to pay for us to get DSL. For the first two and a half years of our marriage, we used Juno (free service plan) and then did the AOL 3-month free trial. We were planning to switch back to Juno once our AOL free trial was up, but when we called to cancel our account, they gave us three more months for free. Every time we called again in three more months to cancel, they'd give us another three months. This went on for about a year and a half. When we finally got DSL through our business (our AOL account was dial-up, of course), we had the toughest time actually getting them to drop our account! "No, we don't want to use your service anymore. Please cancel our account. No, we don't want three months more free. Thank you for offering but we've switched to a new service now. No, we really and truly do not want three more months free. I understand it is free, but we really and truly and honestly do not want it. Please cancel our account." After about 20 minutes of this, we finally got our year and a half's worth of free AOL cancelled. Whew! But it was sure a nice way to have as much free dial-up as you wanted!
Electricity: $70/month - $35 pp
This fluctuated some - sometimes it was more than $70 and sometimes a little less.
Gasoline/Automobile repairs: $70/month - $35 pp
Medical Expenses: $35/month - $17.50 pp
For general medical expenses not covered by insurance or not covered upfront by insurance. This allowed us to be able to pay out-of-pocket for doctor's visits or prescriptions when needed and then be reimbursed later.
Health Insurance: $129/month - $63.50 pp
This was one of our biggest expenses. We checked into many different things. Our least expensive and best route was to go on student health insurance. We were able to add me into the plan for hardly anymore. Once Kathrynne came along, we had to switch to a family plan and the rates increased dramatically. Our budget had increased since then some and we were able to afford the increase. However, we did pray about going off of insurance for a season and just setting aside money every month for medical expenses. We also looked into health insurance alternatives such as Medi-Share. We decided to continue paying our more expensive health insurance costs for as long as we could since Jesse felt the best about that. We were able to continue this through the end of his schooling and have recently switched to insurance through his work.
Renter's Insurance: $10.25/month - $5.13 pp
Mandatory for renting here.
Auto Insurance: $33/month - $16.50 pp
Oops, I missed this the first time I posted - thanks to Anonymous for pointing this out! You can tell I'm a woman and don't pay the bills! :) I missed it on my husband's ledger as it was the last line.
Optional: Misc./Personal: - $50/month - $25 pp
This was often the category which didn't get filled because there wasn't enough to fit it in. However, if we were able to put money into it, this went for clothes, shoes, or other extra expenses. We learned to go without many new things like that (or even used things!) for much of the first few years of our marriage because it wasn't in the budget. We learned to be thankful for what we had, to pray and ask God to provide (which He often did), or to stretch the little bit of money we had as far as it could go. After a few years of living like this, I don't know if I'll ever be able to bring myself to pay full price for much of anything, though. I find myself not willing to pay most prices on things found at garage sales (Maybe it's name brand and maybe it's in new condition, but I don't go to a garage sale expecting to pay $6 for something, however nice it is!! Call me a penny-pincher, but I like to pay around $0.10-$0.75 for stuff at garage sales. Besides, I know if I'm patient enough, I'll find it at that price at some sale!)
Savings: Anything extra we could scrape together. :)
Now, if you add up all those numbers, excluding the optional numbers, you'll come up with $1,037 and that's not even including tithe. The amazing thing is, some months we only made $800. Somehow, someway, that $800 would stretch and pay all the bills. Like I said, it didn't always work out on paper! Sometimes our electricity or gas or groceries would be less and that would help fill the other categories. Sometimes we'd receive an unexpected check for something. Sometimes, the Lord would provide an additional opportunity for one or both of us to earn extra money. No matter what, though, God always allowed the ends to meet!
For those wondering how we paid for law school instead of going into debt, this was also by very careful budgeting. Jesse and his dad had saved up enough money to pay for law school before we were married by wisely investing money he had received as survivor's benefits after his mom's death and saving everything else he could (Jesse says this is all thanks to his dad's wise training of him!). Although he could have easily squandered this amount of money on undergrad, he wisely and thoughtfully had scoped it all out and made it last through not only undergrad, but law school as well. He was able to procure an academic scholarship for both undergrad and law school which helped to supplement this. In addition, he invested the money in the best-earning money market account he could find. He also chose to go to law school in state at a fairly inexpensive law school (well, "inexpensive" as far as law schools go!). This saved us thousands of dollars. Another thing he did was to buy as many of his books online or through other sources, rather than the university bookstore. He would save at least a few hundred dollars each semester this way. Then, when he was finished with his books, we would turn around and sell them on www.Half.com - usually making almost what we paid for them. This money went right back into the law school account and helped stretch it further.
Since Jesse is now working full-time as an attorney, our income has increased. However, we both decided to stick with a very similar budget only tweaking it a small bit to include our increased housing costs, increased insurance, increased electric and gas costs, and cell phone costs, among a few other things. This allows us to save a large proportion of his paycheck every month. We have set some short-term and long-term savings goals for this and having a budget will help us to, Lord-willing, achieve those. Another change we have made since Jesse finished school is that the income I am earning from home through business salary and other things I do on the side is going towards savings and also towards extra expenses like gifts, eating out, clothes, crafts, and so on. The "fun" stuff, not the necessities.
...To be continued next week. Be sure to ask if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer.
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To join in Frugal Friday, just post a frugal tip or post on any subject of frugality on your blog, link to this post in your post, and then post the direct link to your Frugal Friday post below. Any link or post which does not adhere to these rules will be deleted at my discretion. If you do not have a blog, but have a tip to share, please post your tip in the comments section. And, remember the rules: Must be family-friendly. Please no posts on frugal Halloween ideas (email me privately if you have any questions on that one!). Thanks! I can't wait to read your tips!
posted by Crystal Paine at 2:11 PM
36 Comments:
Thanks for sharing about your family's personal experience. I am truly enjoying this series.
I would definitely like to ask a question - it pertains to God working out your budget in spite of it not making sense at times on paper.
My dh has worked much overtime for the few years we have been married. Although I feel it has been a blessing (we needed the overtime just to make it) it also has taken a toll on the amount of time we are together, as well as responsibilities on the homefront and his health at times.
How does one know when to just trust God vs. trying to work overtime to make things happen? Right now, our budget works on paper, but just barely.
Thanks, L..
Did I miss something? Where is car insurance? It is against the law not to have...
Great Tips! My hubby graduated from Law School in 1994 from University of Michigan. Here 12 years later and we are still paying on his huge student loan ( hes not even a lawyer now).
Great post, Crystal! You seem to be reading our minds as my husband and I are creating a new budget right now to suit our growing family better.
My tip was on no TV. It won't be popular but it is one of the biggest money saving tips I have to offer.
Have a blessed Friday everybody!!!
What a great post! Thank you so much for your honesty. It's so helpful to actually see one family's budget amounts as an example. Please tell Jesse thanks for allowing you to post this. (Now if you could just fill us in on what kind of budget your parents used to raise seven children - I know mine is so stretched with two children, I can't imagine seven!)
Blessings to you,
Valerie
it takes guts for someone to share with you their very own personal budget! I know for a fact you are here to encourage all of us to be Biblical women and you have proved yourself ONCE again you sweet thing, by sharing a part of your life with us and how you make it work... Thank you for your honesty with sharing your budget with us Crystal and just know what an encouragement you are even to us "older" ladies :)
xoxoxo
homemakerang
I think budgeting is one area where we have done a good job. We have a very, *very* detailed budget made out for our expenses -- which is probably going to have to be tweaked at least a little bit once we figure out just what we can actually live on. Making the budget has been such a help as we decided what insurance to get, how much house we could afford, and all the other little things. If we didn't know where all the money was going... well, we would probably be in way over our heads.
And I completely second you on tithing. It's so important to give to God. And He really will take care of you. Just this week alone, after I was in a car wreck (just a minor accident, but expensive repairs that I wasn't prepared to pay for)... and then I got a check in the mail that I completely wasn't expecting. It didn't cover everything (not even close), but it was enough.
$70 a month for repairs AND gasoline? That must have been prior to the drastic gas price increases over the last year or so...or else you guys must have been lucky to live close to work/school/etc:op
There was a time (about a year ago) that hubby and I were paying almost $400/mo for gas. Thankfully, that's decreased a lot now thanks to me no longer working outside of the home, and the fact that gas is back under $2/gallon. (Yay to both of those factors!:o)
Just curious what you did for emergency savings? Or saving for car maitenance, medical/dental savings?
I know we always have something come up that requires a chunk of savings:^)
Anonymous: Thanks for pointing out my oversight on car insurance! Sorry for missing that one the first time around. I think I should have everything now. I read the whole post to my husband before posting it to make sure everything was accurate (since he is the one who handles the bulk of the budgeting - I just help us stick to it!) and we both missed that part.
L: What does your husband think? Does he feel too strained? I'd pray about it and ask God for clear wisdom. I'd also pray and ask God to give you opportunities to practice more frugality (though I'm sure you're already doing this I just always think we can improve!) and also pray about perhaps God providing opportunities for you to help relieve some of your husband's burden by earning some money from home. Not knowing your specific situation, maybe this isn't an option. Just thought I'd throw it out there to consider, if you haven't already. If you have children, maybe you could work with them to start some little side business to help Daddy out.
Erin: Well, we went for quite some time with only one vehicle - it's amazing how much that will save right there! And, we also lived close to work/school. And, we did our very best to conserve and to get gas at the cheapest price available. Since we're in the Midwest, gas never went above $3 here for long - which was a great help as well. So, in honesty, our gas budget didn't change even though prices increased. We've been getting gas for around $1.99-$1.97 a gallon using the cheapest place and our discount card there now. Every little bit helps!
Anonymous: Car maintenance came out of our gas/auto fund. We tried to set a bit aside each month to cover that so when bigger chunks were needed, it was available. We didn't go to the dentist. That was one of the things we eliminated. I've not been to the dentist in almost four years now. We just brush good, brush often, eat good, and floss some. We now have dental included in our insurance plan and I am most certainly looking forward to regular checkups again, though! Medical savings were in the medical savings which we saved every month. We prayed for God's protection on our health and haven't had any major medical crisis - praise the Lord!
Thanks for your reply :^) You're lucky you live where you are able to live off of so little. In Oregon, that amount of money wouldn't cut the mustard. The price of housing alone is completely out of wack!
It's wonderful that you were able to make that budget work:^)
Anonymous: You're welcome. However, just because cost of living is cheaper here, remember that it also means wages are less. For instance, you can't rarely touch a part-time job here for over $9.00 an hour. They are mostly in the $7.50-$8.50 range. I'm guessing they would be higher in other parts of the country. Starting pay for a full-time job is often in the vicinity of $25,000-$30,000.
So, from the research we've done, it often evens out fairly well, though I think we can get by for less here probably.
Hi, Crystal.
Yep, you do get by for less. Your wages sound about the same as Oregon's.
Anyway, you guys did good. Especially with not accumulating any debt from law school.
Well, we went for quite some time with only one vehicle - it's amazing how much that will save right there!
True! That's our situation right now since our second car became more expensive to fix than it was worth :o( We don't plan to purchase a secondary car again until we can pay cash for it.
I too am really enjoying this series. You're inspiring me to try a little harder to conserve with our food/household/misc. money.
So fascinating, thanks for sharing, Crystal!! :)
Just some comments from our side...
Our phone is lower, since we just have the most basic plan possible, with no long-distance. Long-distance is using a cheap calling card and reserved for special treats. :) Thankfully, Joshua's parents, who live 2,000 miles from us, call us a lot since we can't afford it as often as we'd like to talk with them! :)
I'm surprised that your electricity is so low... since I assume that accounts for all your appliances and heating and everything, too! But I imagine living in a smaller place makes it easier to heat. :) Let me just say, I think $70/month for heating, cooling, oven use, hot water, etc. is really low! We have natural gas for heat and hot water, and electric for air conditioner and stove. I think our combined bills average to about $90 a month, and I like, NEVER use my dryer!!!! :D
Also, where we live we have to pay for sewer and water. I try my best to conserve, but our last water bill was over $70 (for two months)! Perhaps I should try showering every other day instead of daily. In our previous apartment, water was included in rent. Oh, so nice! ;) Our sewer bill is usually about $30 a month; I really need to find out if there's a way to lower that. Use less water? I don't know! :) Do you? There's never anything with the bill that says how it's calculated... just a number reading.
For a long time, thankfully, we didn't have to spend much money on gas. And we just have one, very old, very-paid-for vehicle. ;) So our car insurance was super-cheap, like yours, it sounds. Now, though, Joshua drives to work every day and we go out once a week that is about 12 miles round-trip, and our gas costs about $25 per week.
As you know, we haven't had and still don't have health or medical insurance. IF Joshua is able to get hired in (right now he's a temp, long story, very frustrating how companies treat people!!) our health insurance through Whirlpool would be at least $200 per month with about a $2,000 deductible. So it would really just be for emergencies, which, unfortunately, can and does happen. (At least, it did to us!)
I agree with you about usually wages matching cost of living... the problem can be getting into the better, "average" jobs. Jobs are scarce around here right now (we know because Joshua looked for months on end) and all the "better" jobs (i.e. ones paying $9-12/hr) at factories wanted a year of factory experience (for unskilled work). It's really about who you know sometimes. We just can't live on minimum wage, too bad!
We're on a very tight budget right now, too... it just barely works out on paper. :) We went many months with basically no money, and somehow we never went without water or electric... I appreciate all your tips about frugality, and your openness in sharing about your budget!
I imagine you will get people who say "Oh, I could never do that, I have to pay more for rent, etc." and just get all grumpy instead of trying to learn anything from your example. We don't all live in the same area, and we don't all want to do without the same things. We all make choices about how we spend our money. We're all blessed in different ways. I have a clothesline. So-and-so has cheaper rent. Someone else has cheaper gas. Another person might take a closer, lower-paying job and walk to work or ride a bike. (We've seriously considered that, since our one vehicle is probably about to die! haha)
I guess my point is just that we can all be thankful for whatever ways we have of being frugal. :D
Thanks again for your post!!
I so agree, Tammy! I think you could live on about half of what we do, though. You're such a super example of frugality and your posts always make me feel like I'm quite wasteful! (By the way, I'm seriously considering making my own laundry soap after reading about your adventures this past week!).
Our electricity has been higher some months - if it's been really, really cold it's been up to $120 a few times. However, we live in a fairly energy-efficient place and have insulated our windows and try to keep our place fairly cool in Winter and warm in Summer - just wear more clothes or more lightweight clothes and you usually don't notice too much! :) I think having things all on one level might help too. Oh and small always helps. :) I've also cut back on dyer usage as I can and that helps, too. We're spoiled not to have to pay for sewer or water right now. That's something we always consider in when factoring the cost of rent, etc. It's amazing how the little things can eat up your budget.
I'm hoping/praying Joshua's job situation improves soon! You've been such a great example of contentment to me.
Oh and thanks for calling me the other day - call me anytime and don't worry about when it is. I have free cell minutes in the evening - you should tell me sometime when it might work out and I'll call you so you don't have to use your phonecard!
This is such a great post. It's amazing to see that you survived on so little, when I alone have a bigger budget (and I don't pay for my car/health insurance)! I do have a budget though, and a large amount of it goes to pay off my small credit card debt and into savings.
Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? He's got a radio show on Friday mornings, I believe, and also holds "Financial Peace University" seminars and courses. His big thing is to get out of debt and stay out of debt. He promotes a cash system. hmmm, I think I'll go post on this.
I agree with Tammy about trying not to compare so much with others and being thankful for the blessings one does have.
I live in very expensive New England - our taxes are one of the highest in the nation. My family is here and my dh loves his job so we are here to stay for now. It is very hard to try and live within the expenses of everything here - especially electricity (which heats our home), food and gas prices. I just keep trying to be more frugal as I can, and am learning that sometimes you can't have the extras in life ~ and that having the basics fulfilled and taken care of is a HUGE blessing in and of itself.
I always try and compare myself not to other Americans (because then I will only be dissatisfied with my life). I think of so many other people, especially in 3rd world countries, with so very little ~ and I feel very content, in spite of any challenges.
Thanks for sharing, Crystal.
Lyn
FYI - You don't have to have car insurance in New Hampshire (unless you have a loan on your vehicle.)
Thanks for the tips Crystal. I can't imagine having a rent for only $520/month. Rent is outrageous in the Boston area.
Excellent budgeting tips Crystal. We find the same thing: that somehow ends always meet. I always compare it to the widow's oil and flour from Elijah's life. When you take care of God's people, God will take care of you.
Our neighbor is an attorney. He got through school debt free because his wife worked at the university hospital.
Dave Ramsey proposes spending every penny on paper before the month begins . He calls it giving every dollar a name. We've always done this and find it helpful.
I don't have my own blog so I'll post my frugal tip here.
Make Your Own Baby Food!
I have saved a bundle doing this. At nearly $.50 per container, store bought baby food adds up fast, not to mention the teething biscuits and finger foods.
I found everything I needed to know about making homemade baby food at www.wholesomebabyfood.com.
This site has been a wonderful resource for me by offering creative (and yummy!) recipes for baby food, along with many great tips on how to provide your little one with an expansive and healthy diet. And, I have had so much fun making my son's food! What a feeling of satisfaction I have as I put away big batchs of food for him in the freezer. My husband loves the money that we are saving by not buying the packaged items. I also feel happy that I am giving him food that I know I would eat myself.
It is so easy, simple and cheap to make baby food at home. If you cook homemade for the rest of your family try doing it for the littlest member, too! So, go forth and puree -- you'll have fun!
Christian
Wonderful article Crystal. Frugality in action.
I noticed someone asking about sewer bills? Usually (not always because some sewer companies just have a flat rate for everyone)your sewer bill is determined by how much water you use - the water company shares the readings with the sewer company. So if you use less water your sewer bill should be less. It is difficult though to save enough water to actually see a difference in your water bill.
Some commenters have mentioned Dave Ramsey...his show is daily, not just weekly. You can also listen to the archives of his show for free online at any time: http://www.daveramsey.com/radio/home/
He has helped my husband and I SO much...knocked some sense into us:o) I highly recommend him for those who are struggling financially because of debt.
I think I remember someone recently asking about stiff line dried clothes, I just can't remember where! Anyway, one way to save money and have less stiff clothes is to use a spin dryer (here are a few examples: http://www.laundry-alternative.com/drying.htm). We then hang the clothes on indoor racks (no clotheslines allowed here). It really helps things to dry in a reasonable amount of time when they are hung inside. A spin dryer is like a super fast spin cycle that takes out a lot of extra water (and leftover detergent!). It can also be used before using a regular dryer and cuts back on drying time there too. I'm not sure why it makes a difference, but the clothes are much less stiff when I use the spin dryer.
Oh...one more quick thing about Dave Ramsey: he's a Christian (though not as conservative as I believe some the readers of this blog might be). However, one neat thing about him is that he never discourages wives/mothers from staying home with their children...even those in families that have large amounts of debt. He tries to work with families to see how they can get out of that debt without the moms having to leave their kids for a job outside of the home.
To those of you that mentioned Dave Ramsey - my husband really likes his show and has been reading over a lot of his materials recently in redoing our budget. He keeps wanting me to listen to him, too. I guess I really should make more of an effort! I'm not much of a talk-show person at all. I have a "healthy radio addiction" going with the Laura Ingraham show, but I rarely listen to any other radio show. I've probably been missing out on all sorts of grea things because of it! :)
I just wanted to thank you SO much for all the things you are including in Frugal Fridays. I am learning so much. I have always been frugal with my money, but as I approach marriage, I am learning so much that I need to know. Thank you for standing up for God's way in how we should handle our finances. I appreciate it all!
North Carolina has high water bills.
You should be very thankful that your husband sets up a budget.My husband could almost doesn't care about saving money and the stress of that has hurt our marriage.
Thanks for your articles.
Kristina,
Do you have a large family? I ask because I'm intersted in the spin dryer, yet I'm not sure how fast you can do laundry with that.
I realize the tithe is a very important part of the household budget.
What we have trouble with is where should the money go?
I would like to say just give it to the church congregation and let it work its way into the system decided by the Board and votes.
However, we have friends who are social workers in a mission house in a big city. Other friends since college who work with Bible translation. And of course I love the church camp where I go for Women's Retreat.
We take our tithe and have to divide it amongst our buddies.
Another way I help is to buy yarn (using tithe money) on Clearance or at the thrift store, crochet it into something pretty, then donate it for Craft Fair benefits. Their income is more than if I had given only my own money.
Does anyone else have trouble with such decisions? I can't save the world, but want to help somehow.....
I enjoyed reading your budget, Crystal! We live on a very limited budget, but I find sometimes when we have extra money I do not exactly what to do when I do have more money! My husband has a job for the first time in 3 years which has been a real blessing.
About Tithe we used to just put it into a special jar or place growing up- my parents started a small bookstore where they sold mostly bibles to start with for their cost. We now sell more books, but it is still a ministry.
Also, we had some ministries we liked to support- Christian Aid Ministries was one, Hand of Help, and would do things like making the shoeboxes for shipping overseas. What about helping with poor families in your town with a grocery shower? I remember one time we were able to pay for the repair of someone's washing machine. You could ask at the electric company or appliance repari shop if it is a small town and I am sure they know of someone who could really appreciate help.
Ah, yes, the Shoebox ministry. There's a church in town which goes all out to support that one! One time there was a story in the paper about how a whole semi-trailer was filled with gifts.
It seems the money for 'tithe' can go to different places whenever I feel comfortable. And any extra cash which lands usually goes toward another need. We certainly have all we can use here at home, with hopes for a comfortable retirement plan in the future.
Here's some more info about the spin dryer. It's just me, my husband, and 18 month old son here, so not too much laundry. I have a small washing machine, and one load in it is 2 loads in the spin dryer (a larger size one, not the countertop kind). It takes about 3 minutes to run each time. It came with a plastic container for the water, so no plumbing needed. When it is full of diapers, it gets out about a quart of water. It does cause more wrinkles in woven 100% cotton clothes, but it doesn't seem to make a difference for knits. It also has to be balanced right; it gets off balance easily since it spins so fast. By the way, I don't have the one on the webpage I gave in my previous comment, the one I bought was pretty expensive (http://www.spin-x.com if you're interested), so the other one looks like a much better deal, but it might be a bit different than what I described. Overall, it does add a step to doing laundry, but I think it's worth it because the clothes dry much faster (and come out softer when hung to dry) and it doesn't take long. It can also be used for items that you handwash, as long as they are okay with being spun.
Crystal,
Thank you so much for sharing your budget details! You guys did an awesome job. Would you tell me the system you use when your budgeting? Do you find that a writing your budget down on paper works best for you? How often do you go over you budget?
Thanks so much!
Melissa
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