Budget update!

So today I am thinking more about saving money. Because let's be honest that is one of my biggest worries being a med student's wife. In our first couple of months here (and couple of months living off a single paycheck) we've learned a few things about saving money. Here are a few of my ideas....

-Cable TV: Before we moved to Chicago we were paying about $55 a month for DirecTv. We loved it. We are a big TV watching couple so it was perfect for us. When we moved we had to change to Comcast. We hated it. But it was still DVR and our favorite shows. The cost was about $70 a month though. After our first couple of weeks here we decided we needed to make a change. I tried to get to a cheaper plan but in the end decided to cut cable tv. A month later it actually hasn't been too bad. We got a Netflix subscription which we use a bit and got an awesome $40 TV antenna. We get all the basic stations plus some. So now we are paying $7.99 a month for Netflix and $0 a month for TV. Win!

-No Cars: So this is something that not everyone can do but Spence and I decided to go carless in Chicago. We were spending about $350 in Utah for gas a month and then about $650 a year for car insurance. We have now sold both of our cars (sweet money in savings) and are transit only. We did sign up for Zip car memberships which basically means we can "rent" a car anytime we need for a small hourly rate. In the end we budget about $50 a month for car rentals. We haven't used that money this month which is great.

-Grocery Shopping: So this is a big one for us. We love our food and tend to spend more on groceries than most couples should. Before med school we budgeted about $300 per month for groceries (a lot I know). We are now on a $200 budget a month for groceries. Even though groceries cost more here I've found I can stay within our budget. It does take a lot of planning on my side. I meal plan like crazy. I look at everything I have and plan meals around that. Then I add meals with stuff that is cheap. We are doing better about eating leftovers which has helped. We are cash only for groceries. This helps me to visually see how much I've spent each week. I also try to only go to the grocery store twice a month. This saves me hassle (boo for walking the grocery cart to and from) as well as money as I'm not going as much.

-Fun Money: When we first started budgeted we knew we needed fun money. Money that was ours for whatever we wanted. If I'm being honest our fun budget started at $150 per month. Wowzers people we were crazy. It is now down to $25 a month. If one of us whats to go out for lunch it comes from that money. If I want a new shirt or shoes it comes from this money. I can also save it and use it next month for a bigger spend. We are strictly cash on this. When it's gone its gone.

I'm no expert (yet) but I'm slowly learning what works for us and how to manage. We're getting by and enjoying the little things more!