Comments on: Starting the Jars

By: Don

Don — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:50:52 +0000

After a year of solid renovations and buying on credit with some payments in cash I’ve exhausted my of my financial resources. After completing the renos my wife decided it’s time to move on to greener pastures,would have been nice to know a year ago. however I’m left to pick up the pieces and start over So I’m not looking back but only ahead I’ve been watching Gail’s show for a awhile and have already started chipping away on my debt setting my goals small and accomplishing them and getting the debt paid down. Hopefully by working hard and staying focused I’ll be debt free in 2years and have already started saving for my emergency fund

Thank You Gail for helping inspire me to be more positive in my financial goals.

By: Deborah

Deborah — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 02:06:41 +0000

I am a single mother of a teenager, 18. I make a decent salary, but have found lately i have managed to rack up 2 lines of credit. The first one is $45,000 and the 2nd one’s balance is $25,000. My balance on my mortgage is approx. $88,000. I am 51. Should I transfer the LOCs onto my mortgage, as I pay only
the minimum on both per month? I am just starting the jar system next pay chq, and have no savings or emergency fund. Please any suggestions?

By: Mandy

Mandy — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:04:27 +0000

Thanks Joanne! That makes sense! I guess you would do the same sort of thing to budget for Christmas gifts as well. I appreciate your help

By: joanne

joanne — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:11:03 +0000

Mandy;
you need a jar that will allow you to budget for annual purchases ie; beef. Either budget for it or take what you have left over from your weekly food budget and put in a jar that is saving for the purchase in October. If you average the cost over 52 weeks for a $300 purchase you will only need about $6 per week to pay for it in full. I would suggest that you start the jar in October for next years purchase and for this years purchase you will need to adjust your budget (approx. 40.00 per week for 8 weeks) to pay for this years purchase without attacking your food budget.

By: Mandy

Mandy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:56:32 +0000

My husband and I have started with the jar budget and so far so good. I just have a question regarding the weekly food allowance. We have an allowance of $100 per week which has been working very well. My question is how do we account for the purchase off bulk organic beef that we only purchase once a year? We spend about $300 in October for the purchase off beef that will last us all year long. I don;t think we will be able to use $300 of the $400 for the month on the beef purchase and then survive on only the remaining $100 for all other groceries for that month. Any suggestions?

By: Jean L

Jean L — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:27:58 +0000

Good luck Max!

By: Max

Max — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:02:55 +0000

thanks anostrichnamedsam! i suppose leaving the bank card at home would absolutely ensure that you don’t overspend! let the jarring begin!

By: anostrichnamedsam

anostrichnamedsam — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:05:47 +0000

You just take your cash with you, you can keep it the envelope if you like. As far as using your bank card, just use it to withdraw your weekly money and leave it home. If you only have cash when you shop, you’ll find you stick to your budget much better. Envelopes work really well, as you can write your spending down on the envelope itself and track that way. Plus you have a place for your receipts.

I try to only carry my rewards cards with me when I shop, because if I have the bank card its way too tempting to over spend.

You can keep track using your bank card; its not hard especially if you have on line banking as yo u can track your expenses daily. You’ll have to decide what is best for you. Good luck!

By: Max

Max — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 22:52:46 +0000

Finding Gail’s website has been a huge “aha!” moment for me. I’ve worked through the interactive budget, whittled down my excesses (still working on a few), and am at the jar stage now. My question is about how the actual act of spending from the jars works. I’ve put my cash amounts into the jars already. Do I literally bring a jar (or an equivalent envelope, etc.) with me to the grocery store when I go shopping? Does this mean never using the one piece of bank issued plastic I have left; my debit card? Or am I supposed to keep a virtual tally of my jar spending and simply count down to zero instead of using actual money? I’m raring to go on this system if I can just get over this one final brain block on how it all works. Thanks in advance for your advice.

By: kathy

kathy — Mon, 25 May 2009 01:53:10 +0000

Nancy, I have 4 kids and run a home daycare so I understand the food budget thing. At first we shopped at the same big box store (we live in the county so we have drive into town) well one of the towns built a super walmart and started shopping at the walmart. I would gather all the flyers from the week and write down who had what on sale and who had it on sale and I take them all to walmart, and they price matched everything. Not only did I save money in gas, because I didn’t have to drive around to the stores, but I got more food for my money. I can easily spend under a 150 dollars a week feeding 6 of us and 5 daycare children. You need to find a place that will do price match and carry your flyers around. Also, cooking from scratch works too. Another idea is that my kids have thermos’s and carry drinks in them. Who can afford to by a pkg of juice boxes every week when you have 4 kids who go to school every day, I would have to buy 3 cases every week. I also buy things in large quantities, and divide in small pkgs, and if it doesn’t get eaten I put all the snacks back in the cupboard and another child may want it in there lunch or when we go out they grab it and go. For meat, I found that the real canadian superstore would mark down their meat and bread for half price, so early saturday mornings I go in and buy my meat and bread, we eat so well for fraction of the price (also I check out the prepackage salade department and at night I can get the precooked chicken for half price which my children love to eat for lunch) My children also grab coupons where ever we go, so we save money this way. (just a note, I found that some produce places, may be cheap on fruit, but they also don’t last very long, so you do need to watch that)

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:49:49 +0000

Welcome Nancy! You will learn many new strategies at Gail’s site. She’s amazing and those that post are too!
I started the jars November 1st and have switched down to a coupon pouch from the dollar store. My categories are: groceries, transportation, clothing and gifts, other, and health food store. I divy up the money on Fridays and stick to it for the week.
My hubby printed up a grocery sheet for the stores we shop at and Friday nights I check the specials and mark with a highlighter what I need and the price. We do pretty well staying in budget. Of course, I’m not feeding 5 boys, but, like Diana – I make everything from scratch – it costs less and stretches further. A weekly menu based on sale items and what you have on hand in your pantry is a must.
I think one of the first things I appreciate Gail teaching me is to pay myself first. We opened TFSA’s January 2nd and are putting money into them. This is our Emergency Fund – which Gail says is a must.
Good luck with your endeavours!

By: Diana

Diana — Sun, 24 May 2009 20:09:10 +0000

Nancy,
In order to keep my food budget in check, I make a list and I bring a calculator to add things up as I go. I always pay with my grocery envelope cash, so if I find that I won’t have enough money, I have to leave things until the next week. This has forced me to cut down on those days when I am “cooking” in my head and just picking up everything that looks good.
I also take advantage of local butchers who offer different assorted freezer packages of meat . Then there is always some sort of main dish available, so you don’t have to buy meat every week if there is not a good sale.
I cook most things from scratch, which is a big help for cookies, cakes, muffins or fleshing out a thinner meal at the end of the week….homemade buscuits can save the day.
As a mother of a boy, I cannot imagine having to feed FIVE!!!!
I feel for you.
I have only recently started the jar system (I use envelopes) and I find it has made a large difference in my spending.
Good luck to you and your husband.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:51:03 +0000

I am a mom of 5 boys, my husband and I make good money but we are in debt. This is my first time on this site. I watch TDDUP every chance I get. I am a little concerned how to keep my food budget down.

By: Cinder

Cinder — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:32:07 +0000

I use labelled paper lunch bags instead of jars!

By: Shaena

Shaena — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:19:16 +0000

I am a single mother of two and like most families, finding it very difficult making ends meet. I have been watching the show for some time now, and when my kids are finished getting ready for school in the morning, they to put on your show.

I LOVE the jar idea, as you can see what is and isn’t there. My question is how to get it started. I have been trying to find the “How to” part and haven’t had any luck finding it. What percentage should be in each jar? I understand that it would be based on income but haven’t found what percentage should be spent on what (ie – housing, hydro, cable, phone, cell phone, extra cirricular activites, etc., etc.) With this, my kids will also see and learn if that if there’s no money in the jar, then we cannot purchase what they are asking for. Please help me!!