Shop the sales at the grocery store. No convenience foods such as prepared meals. Cook from scratch. It's better for you and a lot less expensive. Shop the sales for new clothing, but look for used before buying new. Facebook Marketplace is a good resource for that.

If you WFH, try to find gigs caring for dogs at your home. Sometimes people prefer to leave their dogs in a home setting over a boarding facility. The main thing with this is making sure you take them for walks and outside for potty breaks, and follow feeding instructions provided by the owners. Mainly they need companionship, but if you have a fenced-in yard, that's a bonus. If you don't, that's okay too. Not sure what you can charge, but I would think a bit more than a boarding facility because they're getting a home environment.

OP, without knowing specifics of your income/spending, I am not sure if any of these responses do you any good.

I’d cut Amazon Prime if you’re using savings to pay bills. If you’re using it for video services, use Roku instead. If you mostly have prime for 2 day shipping, well, wait a little longer or order from Walmart instead to get items quickly.

Do you shop at Aldi? We do most of our shopping at Aldi.

Switch your phone to Mint Mobile.

Teens in lower income households work and contribute to the bills. You need them to pitch in.

Tell your teens to get a job, if they are old enough. If not, they can babysit, dog walk, etc. I know it sucks, but they are old enough to chip in for their own wants, like homecoming. My kids paid for their homecoming tickets.

We don't struggle much financially, but my kids still had to get jobs when they were 16 to pay for things they wanted.

Can your teens get about without a car to all their activities? Because car insurance once you add teens is VERY expensive.

Where is the other parent in all of this? Is there no money coming from that quarter?

Your teens need to work a bit for pocket money, that way their wants aren't going to push your budget in the red.

Don't you dare overspend for Christmas or Hanukkah!

The big things to check are insurance and cell phone plans. Higher deductible on insurance (assuming you have some savings) and a basic phone plan like Ting or Mint.
Go through your credit card statements and look for recurring charges that you can cut.
Buy used first. If you need something, check thrift stores/eBay/FB Marketplace.

Where do you grocery shop?

OP was just about to start a similar thread. How about
car free week?:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1294477.page

-NP

Eliminate the obvious:

-No starbucks, etc. Make coffee at home or get it from the office for free. Eat breakfast at home.

-Pack lunches.

-If you have teens, then they need to understand that money is tight. They should NOT be using your credit card, etc. They should try to find ways to make money (babysitting, mowing lawns, etc.).

-Declutter your house and sell whatever you can on FB/ebay.

-Keep gas costs low. If you have teen drivers, they can't just drive around for fun.

-Eliminate beauty products, salon trips, etc. Use what you have at home and buy only the bare necessities (nothing fancy).

-Try to find a way to bring money in. (Sell things, drive for Uber, PT gig, dog walking, etc.)

Please submit a list of expenses (doesn't need to include how much, just what you are paying).

For example:
Health insurance (keep)
Car insurance - shop around, can you lower the cost? Have a higher deductible and therefore lower monthly costs?
Cell phones - shop around, can using Mint Mobile lower your monthly cost
Utilities - nothing you can so about that

Im sure there are other areas where we can help/make recommendations

I would never take from savings to pay for frivolities like Homecoming outfits.

It doesn't seem like you have the right priorities, OP.

Anonymous wrote:Why are your expenses higher than your take-home income right now? Is it something that's temporary, and temporary enough for you to not drain your entire savings?

We need a few more details here, OP.

I’m just a little more than a year out from a divorce and just trying to find a groove. I’ve been hit with a lot of unexpected expenses lately, on top of expensive months—like this month, homecoming for two high schoolers somehow has thrown everything into chaos, and we bought the most inexpensive of everything.

Why are your expenses higher than your take-home income right now? Is it something that's temporary, and temporary enough for you to not drain your entire savings?

We need a few more details here, OP.

I’m really beginning to feel the financial pressure, and I could use some fresh ideas or perspective. Earlier this year, I made some cuts to our spending, but I’m at the point where there’s nothing left to trim that feels feasible or impactful. I’ve been dipping into savings every month just to cover our basic bills, and while I’m grateful I have some savings, I really don’t want to keep draining them, especially since I’m not currently able to replenish anything.

To make things tighter, I just got a notice from our mortgage company that our escrow is increasing by $50/month. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when everything is already squeezed, it feels huge.

Some context: I already bake treats at home and we stopped buying most convenience foods. We eat at home almost all the time, maybe 1-2 meals out per month, and often that’s just pizza. We’ve cut streaming and subscriptions down to just Amazon Prime. No vacations, no big shopping splurges, no new clothes unless truly needed. I do have a raise coming in January, but it's modest and won’t solve this problem on its own.

Has anyone else been in this position and found something that helped shift things? I’m open to creative suggestions, whether it’s ways to temporarily ease the squeeze, things I might not have thought to cut or change, or even ways to bring in a little extra income. I’d appreciate any practical insight.