Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ Spinach artichoke pasta

Tuesday ~ "Free" pancakes at IHOP

Wednesday ~ FFY (Fend for Yourself)

Thursday ~ Tacos

Friday ~ Tuna sandwiches and chips

Saturday ~ French toast

Sunday ~ Cheesy chicken and rice bake

Go here for more menu plans ...

"What I Got For the Money" Wednesday

WALMART

Groceries ~

Peanut butter  2.28

(2) cereal  5.00 (totally didn't need these, but had a coupon so went ahead, but then didn't buy enough to use the coupon .. urgh!)

1.75 lb bananas  1.17

Bulk goldfish  6.46

Frozen broccoli  .93 (coupon)

(3) frozen pizzas  3.00

(3) mac and cheese  1.50

Penne pasta  1.16

Rigatoni  1.16

Chocolate chip cookies  2.50 (Dawson snack)

Mandarin oranges  1.77

Sour cream  1.06

Tea bags  1.44

Junior lunchable  1.94

Apple juice  2.27

(2) chicken broth  1.72

Cream of celery .54

Ranch dressing  1.88

Frozen burritos  2.98

Poptarts  2.88

4.5 lb Whole chicken  3.74

Swiss cheese  2.08

Sausage  1.50

Koolaid  1.76

Hot dogs  .88

Bag carrots  1.68

Flaxseed  1.86

Garlic powder  .50

Apple sauce  1.08

(2) Yoplait yogurt  1.53 (coupons)

Turkey breast  2.98

Shredded parmesan  1.98

Shredded mozzarella  1.98

Cream cheese  1.22

Butter quarters  .83

Minced garlic  1.34

Linguine  .97

Eggs  1.32

(2) Fruit snacks  3.01 (coupons .. Kyndal's snack)

Bisquits  .62 (coupon)

Total Groceries  $83.01  

BRAUM'S

(2) gallon 2% milk  7.38

(1) 1/2 gallon 1% milk  1.94

Total  $10.11

WONDER/HOSTESS STORE

Loaf whole grain bread  1.29

Loaf light wheat bread  1.39

(2) discounted Hostess 90 calorie carrot cake snacks  3.50 (this is a bargain, as the cheapest I ever find them is $3.00 a box.  These are great 1-pt. Weight Watchers snacks!!)

Total  $  6.71

WALMART

Household Items ~

Toilet paper  1.27

Dust and shine 2.72 (coupon)

Humidifier filter  4.96

Dish detergent  2.13 (coupon)

Fabric softener  2.48

Immune C gummies  5.49

Cascade rinse aid  FREE (coupon)

Total Household Items  $ 20.62

Total Groceries  $  99.83

** As you can see I have divided Groceries and Household Items this time.  I am starting that now, to give myself a better idea of what I am actually spending on groceries.  Obviously, if you've been following this blog, you have seen that there is no way I can feed this family (in the style we eat) on $75 a week, let alone include all of our household items in that.  I'm still shooting for that .. that is my "dream amount".  My "realistic goal amount" is $90 a week.  And my "budget" is $125 a week.

I have an extra $50 per month that, up until now, has not been accountable to any budget slot. So, that will now become my "Household Items" budget.  I am adding that envelope to my system starting now.  Our vitamins, pet supplies, cleaning supplies and such make it additionally impossible to get anywhere near a $75 per week goal.  So, I am taking that out and putting it where it needs to be .. in a category of it's own.

With the stockpile of food I now have, even snacks, I seriously should have a small grocery bill next week.  (Although I seem to keep saying that.)  And, I'm doing another "Aldi only" week to help out.

The photo does not include purchases at Braum's or the Wonder/Hostess store.

Don't forget to go visit The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Menu Plan Monday

** For some reason I am unable to post the header right now.  I'll try to add it later.

Here are our meals for this week ...

Monday ~ Mexican pizzas

Tuesday ~ Cheesy broccoli rigatoni

Wednesday ~ FFY (Fend for Yourself)

Thursday ~ Homemade pizza (from last Thursday)

Friday ~ Homemade chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese

Saturday ~ Bisquits and gravy

Sunday ~ Chicken quesadillas

Check out other menus at OrgJunkie.

"What I Got For the Money" Wednesday

Urrgggg ... I seem to be going backwards instead of forwards on my weekly grocery goal!  I went way over goal this week!  I did buy cereal and chicken ahead because it was on sale.  But my problem is that I don't then take that amount out of future weeks.  So, I'm not really helping myself.  And I bought an extra bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts because they were on sale at another store, and I was ad-matching, BUT I FORGOT TO TELL HER THE COMP PRICE SO PAID FULL PRICE FOR BOTH!!  Oh, I HATE that!!

There were some great deals at Wal-Mart this week, if you coupled them with the coupons I had. I incorporated them into my list, and my first list had me spending right at $75.  I had my list perfected.  Then I started thinking of things we were out of and it was really adding up.  So, I ended up having to cut many of those coupon deals out.  They were things we didn't need for this week, just could have used. And that's my problem with couponing.  I rarely use them because the coupons are rarely for things I need.  That being said, however, I did use $5.50 in coupons this week so that was a savings.  I'm still torn about spending $2.00 on a Sunday paper to get coupons.  I know I don't save $2.00 a week with the coupons I use out of the paper. Where I find my coupons is with printable coupons.  And those are free. So, I am done with the Sunday paper thing.

The other thing counting against me is that I am trying to lose 5 lbs., and Rick is wanting to lose some weight.  Losing weight means spending more money on lower fat grocery items.  That adds up when you have a tight budget.

Now that you have seen all of my excuses, this is what I have spent this week:

WAL-MART

(2) Betty Crocker box potatoes .50 (coupon and ad match)

(2) Progresso soup 2.50 (coupon)

Healthy Choice frozen dinner 1.50

Tomato soup .75

Mandarin oranges 1.77

8 pk fruit juices 1.98

Bulk goldfish 5.98

Sour cream 1.06

Chocolate chip cookies 2.50

(2) Pop tarts 2.50

Toothpaste .88

Hairspray .96

Angelhair pasta .92

(2) Chocolate pudding 2.00

Apple juice 2.27

Large pkg. flour tortillas 4.22

Junior lunchable 1.94

(5) Boxes cereal 7.00 (ad match and coupon)

Sugar free koolaid 1.76

Ovaltine 1.97

Immune booster gummies 5.49

Two pack fish oil supplements 5.94

Raisins 1.13

(2) Boneless skinless chicken breasts 14.96 (urgg .. should have been 11.98)

(2) Chunky Soup 1.88 (coupon)

48 oz. vegetable oil 1.99 (ad match)

(3) Kraft shredded cheese 6.00 (ad match)

Total with tax $ 89.08

ALDI

Lettuce .99

Cheese puffs .99

Bran flakes 1.49

5 lb. sugar 2.11

2.5 lbs. bananas 1.28

Spaghetti sauce .99

(3) Cream of chicken 1.47

Total with tax $ 10.11

Total spent $99.19  ($24.19 over goal, $25.81 under budgeted amount)   ** And I haven't gotten milk this week yet!!

I have given myself a challenge ~ ~ next week I am shopping exclusively at Aldi.  No brand named snacks, etc.  I paid attention yesterday to what was there and I have planned meals around it. We'll see how that works.  It really should save me significant money to stay out of Wal-Mart! I am excited to do my shopping for next week.  I love a good challenge!  Stay tuned ...

To see examples of staying under a goal amount, go see Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday

Monday ~ Salmon patties and fried potatoes

Tuesday ~ Chicken and noodles, chocolate cupcakes

Wednesday ~ FFY

Thursday ~ Steak fajitas

Friday ~ Ramen noodles

Saturday ~ Potato soup and grilled cheese

Sunday ~ Pancakes, eggs and bacon

For more menu ideas, go here.

"What I Got for the Money" Wednesday

This week I had $67 in cash (I thought it was $62, but I had an additional $5). I ended up doing this in several trips. I went to Walgreens on Saturday to take advantage of the sale on hair care products and dish detergent that was going to expire. Then Monday night I had some free time while Dawson was at Scouts, and didn't want to waste gas money driving all the way home, so I went to Aldi. Then yesterday I did the rest. Here's how it went:


WALGREENS
(2) Fructis shampoo 1.98 (coupons)
(2) Fructis conditioner 1.98 (coupons)
V05 conditioner .24 (clearance)
Electrasol dishwashing tablets .99 (coupon)
Total: $6.53



ALDI
(2) 1 lbs ground turkey 2.38
Can mandarin oranges .45
Can sweet potatoes .69
Artificial sweetner 1.19
Sliced swiss 2.09
5 lbs. sugar 2.11
Multi-grain waffles 1.29
(2) instant chocolate pudding .98
Baking soda .43
Bananas .88
3 lbs. apples .99
Potato chips 1.29
Corn chips .99
Gummy vitamins 3.99
Tortilla chips .99
Total $ 22.51



WAL-MART
French loaf 2.16
Bulk goldfish crackers 5.98
Oatmeal creme pies 1.43
Carnation instant breakfast 4.58
Rice .88
(2) pop tarts 2.50 (E and B snack choice)
(2) chocolate chip cookies 5.00 (K and D snack choice)
Apple juice 2.27
(6) South Beach breakfast bars 2.00 total (coupons ~ see story below)
Bulk bag cereal 3.66
Eggs 1.00 (ad match)
Peanut butter 1.69 (ad match)
Total $ 37.82

WALGREENS
Cover Girl pressed powder 2.19 (on clearance ~ see story below)
Total $ 2.38

WONDER/HOSTESS STORE
Loaf whole grain bread 1.39
Total $ 1.51

Total Spent for Week $70.75 (That's $4.25 under goal, but I haven't bought milk or sliced cheese yet, which will be about $10 more. Are you getting that I am having an impossible time staying under my $75 per week goal? And I had a few extra dollars laying around that I paid for the rest of my groceries with.)

Now, lest I beat myself up for not staying under goal. I am still way under budget, and that's what really counts. Each dollar under my actual budget of $500 per month are snowflakes to add to our snowball of deleting debt, or money to go into savings for something special to reward for hard work! And, I can't imagine what I would have spent this month so far had I not given myself the $75 per week goals ... whoa! I didn't have to buy many meal items this week because of last week's freezer finds, but I did stock up on lots of snacks as you can see.

Now, about the South Beach Bars. A fellow blogger told about the South Beach website where you could get $2.00 off coupons. I was able to print a total of 4, and then found another link to print two $1.00 off coupons. Reasor's had these bars on sale for 2 for $4.00, so I spent $12.00, but had $10.00 in coupons, so I got 30 yummy high-protein breakfast bars for $2.00 total!! Good deal! Then I had gone back to Walgreens because I needed facial powder and they had many brands with B1G1 free. I'm also going to need mascara soon, so thought I would see what they had. Then I found a pack of Cover Girl pressed powder on clearance for $2.16. So I bought it instead and decided to wait on mascara.

I was thinking how I really need a sale for $1 per box cereal. As luck would have it, Reasor's has Cap'n Crunch and Life cereal on sale for $1.77 a box next week, and a deal that if you buy 5 participating Quaker products you get $3 off. So, I'm going to go and get 5 boxes of cereal for $1.17 a box .. close enough!!!

For better shoppers than me, go see Gayle at Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu Plan Monday

I mentioned last week that I had cleaned out my freezers and fridge and had come upon 8 almost-complete meals. Because we need this to be a cheap week at the store (there is an extra week in January and I really want to stay under my $75 per week grocery goal, and I'm low on cash due to the way the paycheck falls), I decided to utilize some of these meals.  

Monday ~ Pepper jack chicken and rice (from freezer finds)

Tuesday ~ Tater tot casserole

Wednesday ~ (FFY) Fend for Yourself

Thursday ~ Broccoli beef with rice (from freezer finds)

Friday ~ Turkey noodle soup (from freezer finds)

Saturday ~ Chicken voila (frozen dinner found in freezer)

Sunday ~ Hot ham and cheese sandwiches and french fries (from freezer finds)

Now you would think that with this menu of mostly freezer stuff that my grocery bill would only be about $10 this week. But, I have lots of household-type items and snack stocking up I need to do, so I am certain I will still be right at budget. Remember, I only have $55 cash to spend this week (it was $62 but I went to Walgreens to take advantage of those deals).  So, wish me luck as I pare down my list and maximize coupons and ads.

Also, I have found a new website that looks promising called Planning With Kids - Weekly Meal Planner.  I haven't used it yet because I already had this week done, but thought I would pass it along.  It's free so check it out!!

One last thing I thought I would share.  We are HUGE snackers in this house, especially the kids. I try to keep "healthy" snacks around, but we all have our favorites!  My little two love Little Debbie cakes.  And that's typically what they will go for .. I know you all cringe at the thought of all that processed sugar and such.  Anyway, in the last couple of weeks I have been buying some things for "dessert" .. making a batch of brownies here, some chocolate cupcakes there and even some little chocolate pudding pies.  I have noticed that snacking on other things has dramatically decreased since I have been doing that!  And I've been saving money! (Those homemade treats are so much cheaper per serving.)  They first turn to the leftover dessert that's there, and then if they need/want another snack during the day I cut up an apple or have them eat some crackers or something like that.  Anyone have any thoughts or comments on this or anything you do that cuts down on your snacking costs?  I'm always up for new suggestions!

Remember to check out other menu ideas here.

Have a great Monday!

What I Got For the Money Wednesday

I follow, closely, a blog called Grocery Cart Challenge.  Gayle is awesome and so inspiring!  She makes every attempt to feed her family for $60 a week, without coupons.  She also allows other women to post their shopping successes and failures on her site and I have learned some awesome tips from looking at those.  She encourages us to take a photo of what we bought, thus the photo.  This picture does not include the 4 gallons of milk and 2 loaves of bread I bought later in the day.  At first I felt kindof dorky, but it does put my money spent into perspective for me.  Check out Gayle's site if you are serious about this budgeting thing!

One thing that posting this picture did was take me back about 6 or 7 years ago when I quit work. Groceries were SO much cheaper then!  I remember taking Rick with me once.  We ran into a friend of ours at Walmart and she had a full cart and spent around $250.  We also had an overflowing cart (and I mean overflowing) and only spent $107.  I will never forget it because Rick was so impressed with my frugal shopping.  After I spent my budgeted amount yesterday (plus some ...), I looked in my cart and it was about 1/3 full.  That really puts into perspective the high cost of groceries!!

It also showed me, when comparing it other women's pictures, is that we still buy a lot of convenience foods!  I am trying to improve on this.  I do cook the majority of our evening meals from scratch, but the rest is more convenient, I have to admit.  And, we like what we like ... we are spoiled with our snacks!  Change takes time, however, and I don't want to overly stress out my family!! :)  I mean, really, taking away Eli's iced honey buns or Brynne's doritos might do them in!!  And to decrease our milk intake ... whoa!  And we are picky about our milk brand!

Here is a breakdown of what I bought:

ALDI 

tater tots    $1.59

frozen broccoli    .99

frozen multi-grain waffles    1.29

cake mix    .79

cream of mushroom soup    .49

3 lbs granny smith apples   1.99

Total    $7.75

WALMART

96 oz apple juice    $2.27

pizza sauce    1.00

grape jelly    .88

cheddar cheese soup    1.42

spaghettios    .88

(2) mac and cheese    1.48

bulk rice    .88

brownie mix    .86

2 cups shredded mozzarella    2.16

2 cups shredded cheddar    2.16

baby wipes    1.44

6 rolls toilet paper    1.27

paper towels    1.00

Lil Critter Immune C gummies    5.49

pint blueberries    2.98

(3) roma tomatoes    .73

6 pk breakfast drinks    5.47

4 pk lightbulbs    .96

(2) cereal    4.42 (coupon)

frozen mozz sticks    .75 (coupon)

2% velveeta block    3.84 (coupon)

(2) french loaves    3.72 (coupon)

64 oz fabric softener    2.00 (ad match)

junior lunchable    1.48 (ad match)

peanut butter    .90 (ad match)

(2) avocados    1.18 (ad match)

2.25 lbs. 80% lean ground beef    4.93 (ad match)

Total    $61.63

BRAUM'S

(4) gallons 2% milk    $14.76

Total    $16.02

WONDER BREAD STORE

loaf whole grain bread    $1.39

8 pk hamburger buns    .69

Total    $2.26

Grand Total Spent:    $87.66    ...    that's $12.66 over goal.  But, that's better than last week, even if only by $1.00!

To see where these items will be used in my weekly meal planning, look here.

One last thing.  It occurred to me in the last couple of days, that there are actually 5 weeks in January, not 4.  My goal is $75 a week times 5 this month.  That's $375 if I stick to my goal, which I haven't met yet since I started all this.  I have a budget of $500 per month available (although my goal is $300). When I looked in my expandable yesterday, after I had done my shopping, I had $62 left for shopping next Tuesday for that following week. We don't get paid until Thursday the 15th, so that's all that's left.  So, I have two choices:  I can only shop for a couple of days and go back on Thursday to finish; or, I can really tighten my belt and shop for a whole week with only $62.  The competitive side of me is choosing the second option.  But, I am going to go through our freezers and pantry to inventory what we already have, and cook from that.  I know we have tons of food that can be used, so I am confident we will stay under our goal amount.

Menu Plan Monday

It's that day of the week again ... the day you jump up at the crack of dawn to see what enthralling meals the Taulmans will be eating this week !!!  Even if you really don't care, here they are:

Monday ~ Turkey tetrazzini (from last week's posting)

Tuesday ~ Taco salad

Wednesday ~ "Fend for Yourself", or "FFY" ~ I don't cook on Wednesdays.  

I also don't care what you eat as long as I don't have to fix it!!!  

With church, there's just no time for anything organized.

Thursday ~ Soupburgers and tater tots

Friday ~ Cheesy broccoli, rice and turkey (with leftover Christmas turkey)

Saturday ~ Chicken strips and homemade mac and cheese

Sunday ~ Pizza bread

Recipe for Soupburgers, due to popular request:  Just brown as much ground beef as you want, stir in a can of cheddar cheese soup, ketchup and onion powder to taste.  It's kindof like sloppy joes, but cheesy.  Enjoy!

For other great meal plans, visit here.

If you find you would like a recipe (for something that actually requires one), then comment and I'll get it to you.

There is something else I do, again that you may totally not care about, but I thought I would throw it out.  It has absolutely nothing to do with food, and I may have mentioned it before.  But, I hate to clean house .. HATE IT!!  So, I have a "plan" to do a little everyday so it doesn't overwhelm me:

Monday ~ Mounds of Laundry and Mop It Monday

Tuesday ~ Toilets Tuesday

Wednesday ~ Wipe it and Water Plants Wednesday (this is cleaning any surface)

Thursday ~ Tidy Up Thursday (or catch up, more like it)

Friday ~ Finish Laundry and Floors Friday

What I Got .. cont.

I went to get milk and bread today for this:

BRAUM'S

(2) gallon 2 % milk  7.38

16 slices american cheese  2.09

Total      $10.28

WONDER/HOSTESS BREAD STORE

1 loaf white bread    .89

1 loaf whole grain  1.39

Total     $  2.47

Grand total with Grocery Trip $ 88.76

Not exactly what I was shooting for ... but not bad for a first attempt.  I was officially $13.76 over budget.  Even if I was able to accomplish this every week, though, I would still save about $1400 a year ... that's about $115 a month.  Not bad, but I plan to improve on this!!!

What I Got For the Money Wednesday (but it's Thursday)

I did my first grocery trip under the new budget yesterday.  I have always done my grocery shopping every two weeks (which was really a daunting task).  I thought it helped to keep me out of the store as much as possible.  But what I began to find is that I started to buy extra "just in case" and would get off my list.  

Many of the bloggers I have been following do their shopping once per week, so I decided to give it a try.  I planned my meals for a week, included all household items I need for this week, let each of the kids pick one snack for just them for that week, included "staples" of goldfish, apples, the norm.  I had first gone through the sales circulars for Reasor's, Warehouse Market, Walgreens and Aldi.  Next week I need to remember to include Target.  I tried to plan some meals around them.  Then I went back through them after my list was done to look for sales on other things I had added to my list.  I didn't use any coupons this time, because I didn't have any and had forgotten to get a Sunday paper.  I'm not a big coupon-user, though, so that's something I'll have to work on more.  My experience, so far, is that women tend to buy things just because they can get them cheap, even if they don't appear to need them.  My budget is so tight that I can't do that.

Over the past couple of years I have had a grocery budget of $250, twice a month.  I am now attempting $75 a week.  If I am successful I will be able to save about $200 a month.  As of now I am still giving myself the full $250 in cash twice a month, but am shopping with a $75 per week limit.  It's going to take some refining and I don't want to overly stress myself out.

Most of the bloggers that I follow that do this come back from the store and take a picture of all they bought, then break it down.  I do think I will start doing that next week because it's interesting to me to actually see it.  But yesterday I ran in the door and needed to unload groceries, eat and get everybody ready to get out the door for our New Year's Eve plans.  I just didn't have the time.

But here is the breakdown.  I didn't do too bad, but I really wanted to stay at $60 so I could still get milk bought under the $75 limit.  I didn't accomplish that.

ALDI

Chocolate frosting 1.09

Artificial sweetner 1.19

Devil's food cake mix   .79

Tortilla chips   .99

Chili season mix   .33

Pizza rolls 2.49

(2) Tomato sauce   .50

Spaghettios   .79

Stewed tomatoes   .49

Bran cereal 1.49

Syrup 1.39

Cream mushroom   .49

Total     $13.09

WAL-MART

Bulk goldfish 5.98

Bag cereal 2.56

Chips Deluxe cookies  2.50 (Dawson's snack)

12 ct Doritos 3.50 (Brynne's snack)

Tomato soup   .60

Ranch beans   .68

Diced tomatoes   .48

Sugar free koolaid 1.76

Apple juice 2.27

(2) frozen pizzas 2.00

Waffles 1.25

Junior lunchables 1.94 

Bulk spaghetti   .92

Oatmeal cream pies 1.26  (Eli's snack)

Fruit snacks 3.88 (Kyndal's snack)

Hamburger helper 2.00

Hamburger (5lbs) 7.50

2-pk deoderant 2.94

bell pepper   .50

(3) Lean Cuisine 5.00

18 lb Cat Chow 8.49

Total     $62.96

Grand Total Spent  $76.01

This does not include milk or cheese (we are spoiled with Brahm's), so I think I will probably spend another $10 to get us through the next week.  That would have me spending $86-90 instead of $125 which is still a $35-40 savings.  If I just did that every week I would save $140-$160 a month.  Awesome!!

Menu Plan Monday ??

Well, I know it's Wednesday, and not Monday, but with the holidays and New Year, I'm just now needing to go to the store and plan meals. Today's post will "showcase" my meal plan for tonight through next Monday .. then we'll get back on track!

Wednesday ~ Chips and salsa/queso

Thursday ~ Chili, chili dogs, frito chili pie

Friday ~ leftovers (and lots of em!!)

Saturday ~ hamburger helper (it's on sale and it's Saturday!!)

Sunday ~ soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

Monday ~ turkey tetrazinni from leftover Christmas turkey

I didn't say my meals this week would be exciting ... but here they are!!

I'm going to the store today for my first attempt at a weekly grocery budget of $75 per week, instead of $125.  I need to remember to factor in milk in that number!  One way to help with "snack" costs, is that I have let each of the kids pick one snack to eat that week, that has to last them the whole week.  But, it's only theirs and they don't have to share.  I'll buy a large box of goldfish and fresh fruit to supplement.  Wish me luck!

Tomorrow I'll be blogging about my grocery trip .. stay tuned!!

For other great meal plans, visit here.

If you find you would like a recipe (for something that actually requires one), then comment and I'll get it to you.

Snow Day #3

When I am stuck in the house for days on end, literally without even stepping outside once (even to get the mail ... I had Dawson sled it down to me yesterday), I start to get antsy and I start "thinking".  I am also sure it's because of the time of year.  I always get a little bothered by the excess we experience with Christmas, but this year it has really weighed heavily on me. When you ask your kids what they want for Christmas and they really can't come up with anything, but you spend your limit on them anyway, having to work really hard to come up with something they might like, then you've hit that disturbing "excess" I'm talking about.  I've been reading other people's blogs, total strangers, women who take their home budget and simple living to a level I haven't experienced.  And, although it's challenging, it seems so peaceful!  It inspires me!

Seven years ago (yes 7!!!), when I quit work, we had an extremely tight budget!  It was so tight that frugal living was an absolute necessity!  And you know what, I enjoyed it!  I was even pretty darn good at it .. an inspiration to others!  And we NEVER went without, even one day! During that time God blessed out efforts and we were able to pay off an incredible amount of debt.  I remember thinking at that time that even if we had more money that I would never let up on my strict budgeting.  But, guess what, I did .. we did!  We built our house that put us over, we became complacent in our spending, lazy in sticking to our budget .. and we are regretting that now, especially with the economy the way it is!  Gas prices and food prices have eaten us alive.  Couple that with some medical bills and continued home improvements and it doesn't add up to a very good situation.

Now, don't get me wrong .. Rick and I are blessed beyond measure with his job and ability to make extra money, and paying our monthly expenses is not an issue.  But getting that debt paid, that debt that's creeped up again, is an issue if we continue to live in excess.

If you know me at all, you know that I'm a planner, I'm stubborn and I love a good challenge! I don't like to be told what to do, especially told I can't do something.  So, I've got an itching to do something amazing with our budget!

Every two weeks I receive cash to divide up into several categories:  groceries and household, clothing, activities, lunches (school, primarily), allowances, hobby.  I try hard to stick to those budgets.  However, if I go over in one I am really "good" at just borrowing from another, etc. That's not really sticking to a budget!  And it doesn't ever give me an opportunity to save my surplus from each two week period.  For instance, we don't need that full clothes budget every two weeks.  But, I always manage to have it spent, even if it's not on clothes.  And then when summer hits and we need new wardrobes for everybody, I don't have any money saved.  But, if I would just take that budget during downtimes and save it, we'd have plenty.

And, with our increase in income over the years, I have allowed our grocery and household budget to double.  Yes, grocery prices have increased pretty dramatically, but we don't really need that much in our grocery budget if I just planned like I used to.  I still plan meals every two weeks, but I've gotten lazy about ad-matching, using coupons, planning meals around ad specials, etc.  

I have not been a good steward of the money that God has entrusted me with.  And I am ashamed of that.  By being more frugal, I could save money, and family vacations, etc., would be easily paid for, and those debts would get paid off quickly.

Now, I am not saying I am dreading  this.  In fact, I have a new mission, a new goal ... and I'm PUMPED UP!  I actually plan to share my successes, and failures, here on my blog.  I just haven't formulated my plan yet.  I'd like for it to have some consistency, some purpose.  So bear with me as I start this journey.

And I would appreciate your prayers.  Although I love a good bargain, I also love to shop!  So, I want to get some healthy control over this, and I'll need help to make that happen.   And, who knows, I might even inspire you!