Panic Mode Update

Several months ago I wrote about feeling like I was in panic mode when it came to unexpected expenses.  The health care costs of having our second child are significantly more than they were with Little E & I wanted to find a way to pay our monthly $174 doctor bill WITHOUT dipping into our savings.  So far we've done a pretty good job of making it work & I've found sharing this challenge with all of you makes me more motivated.

Here's what I've done so far: 

• I sold broken/unused jewelry to a gold dealer & made $100.

• I returned diapers that I bought when we first found out we were pregnant with Little Baby & used the $54  toward a payment. (They weren't a good deal either, & I know better, but I guess I was just excited to purchase tiny diapers again!)

• I returned a fancy dress I bought for E & bought her a booster seat with the store credit.

• I used the $20 I earned from consumer testing toward a payment.

• I emptied out a checking account we never use, which netted us $151 toward a payment.

• I've been using the $25/week I earn for picking up my friend's son from school toward the payments, instead of using it as blow money.  

• I used credit card rewards to purchase a $25 Christmas gift card which saved us $25 in cash. 

• I've sent away for reimbursement through our flex spending account; that will put over $400 back in our pockets. 

Future Goals:

• I still need to apply for the rebate on JC's contacts ASAP.

• JC's applying for a rebate through his health insurance/wellness program.  If he gets it that would be $500 we could use toward Little Baby's expenses (or a big girl bed for Emerson)!  

• We're planning on primarily eating out of the pantry for the month of December.  We'll be traveling for a large portion of the month anyway, but this could save the additional expense of groceries. 

• I've been trying to be more vigilant about turning off power strips while not in use & hopefully that will continue to lower our energy bills.  

We only have 2 doctor payments left (thank God!), so now we just need to plan ahead for the hospital portion for Little Baby.  We also need to figure out how much a big girl bed/mattress will cost & come up with a plan for those purchases without dipping into savings.

I have to say, I've been thinking more creatively about bringing in money & spending & it has really gotten me excited about our spending habits.  Nothing like being a total & complete frugal living nerd!