New Austerity Redux

Back when all of the chaos ensued, we tweaked our budget to allow us to continue to live without my rushing out to get a potentially horrendous job. We made some major changes, and weren't sure how they would work out. It would probably be helpful for both of us if I looked back to see how well we are surviving.

1. Eliminating the housekeeper. This really killed me, because I love N. She's a wonderful woman that works very hard, and I know that quite a few of her clients were paring back as well. But, it saves us so much money. We're getting better about cleaning, but have plenty of room to improve. Back in January, I put together a schedule of small chores that could be done every day by both of us to keep the housework from becoming overwhelming. We never instituted it, and it would be helpful to revisit that.
   
2. Paring back our allowances. We both have our own personal checking accounts, in addition to our joint household account. So that we didn't have to account for every penny to each other or ask for money, we give ourselves an "allowance" every month. We have both trimmed ours back. I take food with me to work every day, and haven't really had a problem with the amount at all. Can't speak for H, but he hasn't said anything about it.
   
3. Not eating out. We used to go out at least twice a week. Now, if we go once a week it's a real event. It takes more forethought to have meals at the ready, but it is absolutely worth it. And, we're saving money on groceries because we're shopping smarter. The once a month cooking thing is making a huge difference as well. It will be interesting to see how the gardening works this summer.
   
4. Ironing H's shirts. Okay, this is where it fell apart. Theoretically, we could have saved at least $50 a month if I did the ironing. In actuality, I hate ironing more than just about anything else. I have had the ironing board set up in our bedroom for weeks now, and the same stack of shirts is still on it, waiting for me. I just can't make myself do it. So, we're going to take some of his shirts, like his good dress shirts, in and the rest will be hung up as soon as they come out of the dryer. Nice compromise. I think that I can keep the $ spent on it to under $30.
5. Alcohol consumption. I don't drink a whole lot, and I don't drink all of the time. But, I do love a glass of wine with dinner. It is much less expensive, though, if I don't (not to mention, many fewer calories). I don't buy any more than two bottles at a time, if that. Of course, working in a wine shop is much like being a kid in a candy store. I want everything. But, I take it on a day-by-day basis.
   
6. Spa time. I found a new hair salon and am paying half of the price for haircuts. I'm also coloring my own hair. Good thing that I was unhappy with the previous salon anyway.
7. Discontinuing services. We dumped TiVo, our home phone number, and the newspaper. We're still looking to trim $ wherever we can, but this was a big chunk right off of the bat.

It's certainly not perfect, and we still have too much debt and not the healthiest of money habits, but we're making great progress. Now, we just need to sell off all of the extraneous crap that we have sitting around in the house. THAT would make a huge difference both financially and emotionally.