Question

Hey TBM Family!  I became a stay at home mom at the beginning of February and I still have two more checks coming from my previous job that I want to start planning for.Hey TBM Family! I became a stay at home mom at the beginning of February and I still have two more checks coming from my previous job that I want to start planning for. We can live on just my husbands income so I’m using these last few checks as solely paying off debts and stocking up on things. We have a hefty EF and a nice cushion in our checking so we are not worried about those two things. Here’s my plan. Feb 15th check - $870ish (lowballing) -$628 to Synchrony. (Pays off this card. ) -$242 thrown at Navient. (Student loans) Feb 29th check - $700ish (I have no idea how much this one will actually be since it is my vacation and holiday comp. I’m lowballing this guess by only calculating my vacation hours and not adding in holiday hours which I believe could be an extra 300, but not going to budget it until I see it. Better safe than sorry. ) -$300 stocking up on supplies. -$400(plus any extra) toward Navient. In my stocking up list I have: Diapers, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, conditioner, body and face wash, deodorant, laundry and dish soap, kitty litter. Is there anything else I’m missing. Or any advice on what I could do differently? Wishing it was the 29th already so I can see this progress.  

Answer 1

I would say maybe get some pantry staples/meats if you have space. Be careful on stocking up on diapers because in the blink of an eye they could be in a new size while you have half a case left or the brand you buy isn’t working for you anymore. Don’t forget about things for yourself since you’ll be home like lunches or snacks. Your plan seems pretty solid though!  

Comments

@boyes I didn’t think about pantry or meats. ‍♀️ Great idea! For diapers, I plan on buying a few different sizes and making sure I keep the receipt in case I need to return them for things like you mentioned! He just got into size 3s but with the way he’s growing, he’ll be out of them soon enough.  

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Tell me about it, I ended up with almost a full case of 3s when my youngest grew overnight and needed 4s lol

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@boyes agreed! Both my kids were on 3s for such a short time and then wore 4s FOREVER!  

Answer 2

We shop for meat at a local meat market. We buy meat packages in bulk such as (ground beef, roast, chicken fry etc). This allows us to plan meals with these which helps our budget.  

Comments

@ultramicrometer I’ll definitely look into this!  

Answer 3

On the stock up list, buy only the things that are on sale so you get more bang for your buck! If they are not on the sales cycle, then wait until they are or buy things like others have mentioned that may be on sale for the freezer of staples.  

Comments

Thats great advice! Thank you!  

Answer 4

I would wait for a great amazon deal or target deal on diapers before stocking up! I would have a separate account for stock up supplies instead of buying it now.