Anonymous wrote:Your 13/15 year old teens won’t be able to get regular part time jobs at McDonalds or your local grocery store - they might even struggle getting jobs at 16-17 because a lot of places don’t want to deal with the restrictions that come along with teen employees. But even right now, they can babysit, or pet sit for people who are on vacation and grab their mail and water the plants and stuff. I know you said you lived in a condo so I’m sure your association takes care of a lot of it, but you can ask around at work or post on Nextdoor to see if anyone nearby needs help with leaf raking/removal or, in the winter, snow shoveling. The kids can definitely contribute toward their own expenses and that will take some pressure off your plate as well.

The summer I was 13 I babysat a 4 and 2 year old every day from 8 to 4. I even potty trained the little one. It wasn't the most fun summer of my life but I earned a lot of money.
My friends teen (I think he's 14) washes windows and he's in high demand. Nobody wants to wash windows. Pet sitting is also in demand.
This can take some teen expenses off your plate.

Make sure your savings are yielding the highest interest rate possible. Move your money if you need to.

We found ourselves in a tight financial situation recently and are just now digging out of it. What’s helped us:

- Refinance any debt you can, balance transfer any card debt to a new card with a promotional 0% APR (and make a plan to pay it down so you aren’t stuck later).
-Buy Nothing groups on Facebook— last year I got most of my kids’ Christmas gifts secondhand
-Consignment - I sell kids clothes, books, and toys at a local consignment shop and keep 50%. I’m sure I could make more if I took the time to list online, so see if your kids can help.
- I sold some of my higher value items on eBay (designer handbag, barely used sporting gear, DH had his old trading cards appraised and sold a few).
- shop around for better homeowners’ insurance, car insurance, cell and internet service
- learn how to change your own oil / do other basic home and car maintenance. YouTube is your friend!
- cut food costs even more by meal prepping and cutting out the more expensive items. Do you buy organic? Stop. Prepackaged snacks? Have your teens help prep less expensive snacks for the week. Cut down on coffee/soda/other things that aren’t necessary. I love cooking and variety in meals, but I save so much now by simplifying our menu.

Sports refereeing - the most understated 2nd hustle/gig/job if ever there was one. Soccer, baseball/softball, hockey, LAX... club sports games over the weekend - get your ref certification and sign up to ref.

Seriously - your teen will make more if they ref a weekend than working for 7 days at McD.

Your 13/15 year old teens won’t be able to get regular part time jobs at McDonalds or your local grocery store - they might even struggle getting jobs at 16-17 because a lot of places don’t want to deal with the restrictions that come along with teen employees. But even right now, they can babysit, or pet sit for people who are on vacation and grab their mail and water the plants and stuff. I know you said you lived in a condo so I’m sure your association takes care of a lot of it, but you can ask around at work or post on Nextdoor to see if anyone nearby needs help with leaf raking/removal or, in the winter, snow shoveling. The kids can definitely contribute toward their own expenses and that will take some pressure off your plate as well.

Offer to pet sit and babysit in the evenings, especially over the holidays when a lot of families travel. And a weekend job, for you and teens. It sounds like you need to raise your income in addition to cutting expenses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

When you normalize expenses like homecoming there are probably multiple other examples of spending money mindlessly. Teens need jobs of some sort to pay for these optional things, or skip them altogether. It sounds harsh, but it sounds like you can't afford this type of thing.

This might have truth to it. I never bought more than a ticket for my kids.

Lots of people have good suggestions. One thing I didn’t see was meal planning. That will help You use everything you buy. And know where things are cheapest. Aldi’s is my favorite though they don’t always have what I need so I do have to supplement.

Once you start writing down everything you are spending, you may think twice about some things.

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's probably a good idea to sit them down and have a talk. Could they have borrowed clothing to wear to homecoming? It seems like buying anything for homecoming wasn't in the budget. Could their grandparents or other relatives gift some of these extras?

Have you all switched to buying only secondhand for yourself and both teenagers, if you aren't already doing so?

Think about joining the local Buy Nothing Facebook group, so you can request things instead of buying.

Another good Facebook group to try is the "Non consumer advocate" group. There is also a blog by the same name.

Turn down the heat setting on your water heater to save some money.

Are your teenagers old enough to get part time jobs to pay for extras like homecoming or prom?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"I just got a notice from our mortgage company that our escrow is increasing by $50/month."

What does that mean?

It means the OP pays taxes and/or insurance through escrow, and one or both have gone up, so her escrow payment is increasing to reflect that.

Have you never paid a mortgage before, or had the option to pay for those things through escrow? Ours has gone up continuously in the years we’ve had our mortgage. This is very normal.

I rent so no I've never paid a mortgage as I've never owned a house.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

When you normalize expenses like homecoming there are probably multiple other examples of spending money mindlessly. Teens need jobs of some sort to pay for these optional things, or skip them altogether. It sounds harsh, but it sounds like you can't afford this type of thing.

+1. My parents didn't buy a class ring for us and my mother sewed our prom dresses. No eating out ever and we had to babysit or do odd jobs for neighbors to make money for anything else we wanted. I was the poor friend of our circle but I am the rich friend now. It will give your kids an incentive to be successful.

Anonymous wrote:"I just got a notice from our mortgage company that our escrow is increasing by $50/month."

What does that mean?

It means the OP pays taxes and/or insurance through escrow, and one or both have gone up, so her escrow payment is increasing to reflect that.

Have you never paid a mortgage before, or had the option to pay for those things through escrow? Ours has gone up continuously in the years we’ve had our mortgage. This is very normal.

Anonymous wrote:Tutoring is a good idea if you have time for it. Some may even want tutoring on weekends.

+1. This is also something your high schooler can do for younger students. My niece has been tutoring since her freshman year.

Tutoring is a good idea if you have time for it. Some may even want tutoring on weekends.

"I just got a notice from our mortgage company that our escrow is increasing by $50/month."

What does that mean?

Anonymous wrote:

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.

When you normalize expenses like homecoming there are probably multiple other examples of spending money mindlessly. Teens need jobs of some sort to pay for these optional things, or skip them altogether. It sounds harsh, but it sounds like you can't afford this type of thing.