We will keep doing the following as long as it remains at all possible:
An Au Pair for this year, and potentially next year. It seems like the ultimate splurge, but the benefit of adding another German speaker to our household is huge. It's also a fairly affordable option for childcare. This year we paid the agency fee ($7000) from the proceeds of our house sale and then are only responsible for the monthly pay ($600) we give to Debbi. Sure, there are some hidden costs (like our car insurance rates) but other than that, we haven't seen a huge increase. Next year we will need to divide the agency fee into a payment plan, so our monthly cost will end up doubling ($1200) plus we will need to pay for preschool ($600-$900/month). As we are deciding on preschools, we have pretty much realized that this will mean we can't choose some of our preferred programs, but we may be able to afford the public (lottery) program along with the Au pair, or 3 days a week at one of the more affordable nearby programs. We are also looking into ways to reduce the agency fee (finding someone who can come for 6-9 months instead of 12, or in-country transfers for someone who wants to experience a different setting).
One trip to Germany a year. Well, this might be slightly adjusted. We may do one trip in 18 months. Our most recent trip was terribly expensive (flights alone ran up to $5000) since we now need 4 tickets. We will hold off until next summer, and make it a long trip. Summer trips are much easier, and much more fun. Gerd's grandmother is really starting to show her age (she's 101) but unfortunately, we just need to make the funding work. We said we would visit this summer is she was still hanging on, but I just don't see how we can make the money work, especially considering I don't get a salary in the summer.
Organic food. Okay, I do compromise sometimes so that I don't dip into savings, but at least 80% of the time I buy organic. I'm now committed to also buying all non-gmo foods. This makes our food budget a bit higher than the average, but I'm pretty happy that we can feed 5 people and a cat on $800/month. Could I do better, probably, but it's a work in process.
Charity. While we don't tithe a full 10%, we do tithe monthly. Our church does so many amazing things I want to continue to support their actions.
Counseling. I need it, it makes me sane, therefore it stays in the budget.
What we will give up:
Trips (like the one I'm on as we speak) that aren't to visit family. So far we have been able to carve out one vacation a year for just my husband and I. While they are budget trips, (everything must cost less than $1000, including travel, hotel, food, spending, car rental) it's still more than we will be able to spend in the next few years. Perhaps we can book a budget room somewhere within driving distance of our house or my mother's house, but our budget will be less than $200. No escape from the cold next year, let's hope it's an unusually warm winter. This will reduce our (enormous) travel budget from $700/month to $400/month.
My gym membership. While it's great for me to exercise, I'm going to have to find new, less expensive ways to work out. Perhaps I can find a work out buddy, or pay for drop in classes, but I can't afford the extra expensive right now. Because I currently am working with a personal trainer, this will save around $150/month
Eating out. Right now we have one date night a month, which I would like to keep, but it's not going to be to expensive restaurants. We also won't be able to just call for Chinese food when I'm too tired to cook (the danger of an autoimmune disorder). I will leave $50 in the budget for one very low cost date night and one "cheat night" if we really, really need it. This will save $100/month
Kids expenses. Diapers need to go. We will continue overnight diapers, but by 3, they need to stop using disposables during the day. We have cloth options if necessary, but it's just an expense that needs to go. Also, fun kid activities. Right now our kids are in 2 music programs, one in English, and one in German. They're also in a one day a week drop off program. This adds up to $250/month.
Personal spending budgets. This will be my biggest challenge. I will keep some money in the budget, but I really need to reduce what I spend on myself. Haircuts, pedicures, clothes, a coffee with friends, I don't do this every day, but I almost always go over my $150 monthly allowance. My plan is to budget this with an envelope system and really stick to a smaller budget. This will save about $100/month.
If you've added this all up, I'm now saving $900/month (plus the $600 we currently spend) so a total budget of $1500. Real cost will be $1800 to $2100 so I have a little work to do. I expect this to come from our savings/credit card bills/miscellany fund, or perhaps from savings. Or we cut the agency fee and it will work out fine... It's a work in process...
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