Seriously, Some People Can't Be That.......

......naive!

Someone recently said that the " cure-all" to most Americans being broke is for them to make more money!!!!! This person can't be serious. Making more money will not cure being broke if bad choices aren't changed into good ones. That's the problem nowadays; society pushing people to work, work, work...to make the all mighty dollar; and for what? To still be broke at the end of the day. Habits have to change; thoughts and ideas too!

The key is very simple to keeping more money in your pocket: try to keep your bills low and learn to love to live within your means! Easy and Simple, right?! For many people, it isn't.
Let me give you an example. When my husband and I started looking for a home to buy, we had a limit on what we wanted to pay each month in one big payment, including mortgage, insurance, and taxes.

We didn't bother looking at houses that would clearly bust our payment limit because we would just be fooling ourselves and our wallets. Now, sure we could've afforded a bigger house, but why? Our bills would be bigger, it would be more for me to clean, and more furniture we have to buy to decorate with! Besides, we wanted to live comfortably on what my husband was making at that time, since I am a SAHM; so if he got a raise or promotion (which he did), that would be extra money for us to keep in our pockets or give to other people in our family.

Society have warped most people minds into thinking more money means your less broke. Nope, it doesn't. If some people rather get a purse from COACH, rather than Target or even a thrift store; then those are the ones who will be broke, even if they had more money. Keeping up with the Joneses or anyone else, combined with too many bills will kill any chances of us moving from broke to wealthy. Just my opinion!!! :-D

I'll write another post going through each category in our budget and how I try to keep that bill low and why we don't have other bills as well.

-Sheena

Need your input about income...

Recently I was thinking about families and income. Soon I came up with a question so intriguing that I'd post it on my blog to your everyone's input.

Here goes:

Would you take a salary of $100,000 with 2 people working OR a salary of $75,000 with 1 person working???? You have 2 kids (ages 2 and 4), a mortgage of $1,200, and 2 cars.

After some serious, serious thinking I probably would take the 1 person working and $75,000 over 2 people working and $100,000. This is because with 2 people working, you have more bills. With 2 kids ages 2 & 4, there's daycare and maybe even aftercare depending on if you work late a lot, then more wear and tear on both cars, using more gas with maintenance expenses, paying for lunch if you don't take food from home, more eating out because with 2 people working all day, by the time you get home, no one is gonna feel like cooking, when you gotta clean, wash the kids, and put them to bed. That means hardly no family time together as well...and if your not careful, a strain on your marriage.

Now, dont get me wrong..I might choose the $100,000 if we didn't have any kids and it was just us...but that wasn't the question at hand..LOL.

What would you guys choose and why based on the above question?
Looking forward to reading your responses.

What had this Recession taught you?

Since the beginning of 2008, it seems that the economy has taken a downward spiral. No job is safe...and because of that no home, car, savings, etc is safe. Now, we all know GOD is there for us and guiding us but that doesn't means we wont become affected by the state of our economy. In my state alone...they were planning on laying off over 3,000 people, including police officers and fire fighters.

These were jobs I thought would be safe..since someone will always need them. I can't even imagine the thoughts running through their minds and the stress it causes their household. I do have a college degree and if I need to use it to get a job because my husband can't find one, then I will do that to support my family. I will gladly do that. This is something my husband and I talked about. We have been more open, honest, and realistic with our discussions because things are serious in the real world. People are lsoing jobs, homes, cars, marriages, and everything in between and as a result crime in going up.

With that said, I have learned that I should and need to be better prepared financially if something did happen. If my husband lost him job or had a salary decrease..how would we continue on..at least for a little while. I also have learned to be smarter in purchases I make, not just groceries, but our utilities, car, and misc. payments each month. We also started saving more money, keeping our credit card balance's at $0 or VERY low, and finding inexpensive ways to have fun together. We'll rent a $1 movie, order a $10 pizza and there we have dinner and a movie for $11! This is soo much less than going out to a restaurant and then a movie. That alone would cost us $60!

So my question to you is, what has this economy taught you? Have you starting doing things differently as a result?

Ever Heard of The Expression...............

................Christmas in July???

Well, even though its August...I have started planning for Christmas. I love everything about the day; the meaning, celebrating my Lord and Savior Jesus, giving to others, the lights, music, food, and just being with family.

With that said, we all know that Christmas is one of the most expensive times of the year with gifts, food, travel, electricity (Christmas trees & lights), heating costs, etc. Since I can't predict what most will costs, I can start the budget process for our gifts.

Since my entire family is large..very LARGE...we have started doing Pollyanna's; that way no one would be burdened with trying to buy a present for everyone. Also, my husband and I wanted to give a gift to my sisters as well.

Furthermore, I have started my wish list for my husband...LOL..better early than never!
I also created budgets for each of us with the gifts we would like:

$70.00 for our daughter
Doll
Stroller
Educational toy-Jumpstart Game
Book
Misc Toy

$125.00 for Mommy
The Mummy DVD (1st movie)
Pajamaas-Purple or Blue
Wawa Gift Card-$20
$25 Cash
1 nice smelling Candle
Comfy Slippers

$200.00 for Daddy
Surprise!

This is our start to a more frugal Christmas. You wouldn't believe how much we used to spend on each other in the past; but we wanted to spend less money and try to give gifts that are less expensive but really special!

We also have started 3 new traditions within our household to do during the Christmas holiday.......

.....They are:
1. Put on our coats and walk around our neighborhood to view all the pretty Christmas lights.

2. Give/Send a donation box to a shelter or organization that helps those who are less fortunate.

3. Bake cookies, then shut out all our lights except for the Christmas tree and watch a traditional Christmas cartoon (while eating our freshly baked Christmas cookies!)

I can't wait for Christmas!

Until Next Time,
Peace Be Unto You!

Super Savings This Week!!!!!!!!!!!

$225.44 in Groceries for $91.00(Groceries for 2 weeks)->saved $134.44!!!!
We are a family of 3 who budgets $100 every 2 weeks for food; that's $50 a week!

Super Savings Today.
I go to 3 places; 2 supermarkets & 1 produce market

Acme-

Oust Disinfectant
Gatorade water
3 boxes of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain Wild Rice
2-6pks of soda
2 boxes of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch cereal
2 boxes of Kellogg’s Special K Berries cereal
Mc McCormick Grilled Seafood Rub
2 boxes of Pop secret popcorn
2 Kraft salad dressings
1 Kraft Zesty Italian dressing
2 McCormick Grillmates seasonings
2 bags of New York Texas Toast Croutons
2 boxes of Nabisco 100 calorie snacks
2 liter crush orange soda
2 liter grape soda
Box of Wheat Thins
½ gallon 1% milk
Dozen of eggs
Box of super pretzels
2 Right Guard deodorants
2 bags of salad
1 bag of salad finishers

Total BEFORE= $107.54
Total AFTER coupons/savings = $35.20!
Saved $72.34 according to my receipt today!

Pathmark-

Dozen of eggs
Ritz Crackers
Onion Rings
2 boxes of Capt’n Crunch Cereal
Minute Maid Punch Juice
Minute Maid Berry Juice
2 boxes of Welch’s Fruit Snacks
Ziploc Bags
Bag of Cheese Curls
1.97lbs of Bananas
Bag of Cinn. & Raisin Bagels
Philadelphia Strawberry Cream Cheese
2 boxes of Uncle Bens Rice
Container of Sour Cream
2 Pepsi 2-liter sodas
Box of Hot Pockets Burchetta Panini
Lays BBQ Potato Chips
Box of Freezer Pops
Bag of 8ct Hamburger buns
1 Golden Pineapple
1.39lbs Collard Greens
2 Tropicana Orange Juice
Hershey Bar
Pillsbury Can of Biscuits
1/4lb of Pepper Turkey Breast
1/4lb of Munster Cheese
Pack of Turkey Breast Cutlets
2.65lb of Perdue Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast
Bag of Tilapia Fillets

Total BEFORE=$97.90
Total AFTER coupons/savings= $45.80
Saved $52.10 according to receipt!

Produce Market-

Strawberries
Granny Smith Apples
2lbs. of Broccoli
Bundle of Asparagus
Bag of Potatoes
Bag of Plums (9 for $2.00!)

Total =$10.00
Total if bought in Supermarket = $22.00
Saved $12!!

If you didn't notice, I love soda...it's one of my Guilty Pleasures; it has been like that for years..........

Our Vacation Plans/Budget

My husband and I are in the mist of planning our vacation this August 2009. Every year, our entire family goes away down south and spends a week together. We created an ING account a few months ago to start saving each month for our trip. We wanted to do it this way to avoid having to come up with a ton of money all at once; we also pay our car insurance policy in full every six months (August/February)…and we have an ING account for that as well.

Since we have a little over 3 months left until the trip…I wanted to create and put together a budget and check our Vacation account to see what the balance was. Once I did that, I looked over the budget below to see what was already paid/saved for and what we still need to save for.

Note: The Car rental price is based on the reservation I made with the car company. We put the rental on our credit card but pay it in full with the money we saved when we return from our trip.

Here is the breakdown of our Vacation Budget:

Vacation Budget 6 Days/5 Nights
3 People North Carolina

Expenses Amount

Rental Car $300.00
Housing $100.00
Gas $100.00
Misc. Items (bathing suit for issy, swim shoes, etc.) $100.00
Tolls (both ways) $20.00
Food (for car) $20.00
Snacks (for cabin) $25.00
Spending Money ($50 for dad/mom & $25 for issy) $125.00

Total Vacation Expenses = $790.00

Expenses Already Paid/Saved:

-Housing- $100.00-Paid
-Rental Car-$300.00-Saved

Expenses Left To Pay/Save:

-Gas
-Misc.
-Tolls
-Food
-Snacks
-Spending Money

Total = $390.00 still to save…Still have 3 months, 2 weeks, 3 days remaining…..

Saved $92.10 During Supermakert Outing!!!

Did pretty good on this shopping trip. As always I take no credit, but give all glory and thanks to GOD for makign this possible.

My family budgets $200 a month for grocery shopping, which equals $100 each shopping trip. I had 5 $20 bills in a envolope in my purse (to aviod over spending)and 3 places to tackle.

I went to Acme, Shoprite, & Produce Junction-Budget $100 cash

Grocery Shopping (Apr. 17th-Apr. 30th)

PJs

 2lbs of Broccoli Crowns
 Bundle of Asparagus
 Bag of Baby carrots
 1 cartoon of Strawberries
 4lbs (8) Plums
 3lbs (5) Apples

Total at Supermarket = $25.00
Total at Produce Junction (Farmer’s Market) = $9.50

Shoprite

 Tropicana orange juice
 White vinegar
 Box of Ice pops
 3 boxes of Kellogg’s Raisin Bran
 Grapes
 Popsicle maker
 3 bags of stemmers green beans
 Turkey Hill Ice Cream
 Baking Ingredients
 Shredded Cheese
 Corn on cob
 Dole salad
 Yellow onion
 1 tomato
 Munster cheese
 Turkey Breast (deli)
 6 pk of Kaiser rolls

Total BEFORE savings = $ 39.43
Total AFTER savings = $31.17

Acme

 2 boxes of Suddenly salad
 2 bags of Kettle potato chips
 Bottle of cooking white wine
 2 4/pk of bath tissue
 Mustard
 2 bags of croutons
 Paper towels
 4 packs of box juices
 Case -24pk of water
 2 V8 veggie/fruit juices
 6 2/liter sodas
 Box of dark brown sugar
 Milk
 Storage bags
 Air freshener
 Orange juice
 Sour cream
 2 boxes of broccoli
 Huggies baby lotion
 Huggies body wash
 Kotex pads
 Pork chops
 Ground turkey
 Chicken breast
 Italian Sausage
 Bananas
 Sloppy Joe mix

Total BEFORE savings = $121.62
Total AFTER savings = $53.34

Total Budgeted for 2 weeks ($100), for family of three. Total amount of food bought was $186.05. Paid $93.95 cash out of pocket. Saved $92.10!!!!!!

Update on Shopping Outing Yesterday & Today's to-do list

Yesterday, I ventured out to Marshalls, Target, and the Post Office. I wanted to go to Bed, Bath, & Beyond..but didn't since I left my coupon home by accident.

I came out with some really good deals. I'll post a more detailed version later.

Today, I need to wash some clothes, work on our budget/savings accounts, plan a menu and my grocery store list/match coupons, pay bills, take hubby's suit to dry cleaners, go to bank, and some other things.

Also, mess around with some make-up..experimenting with different shades of colors and the like. Also conditioning my hair. It's VERY important to me to look good for for myself, but more importantly for my husband. Besides, I love when he can't stop looking/touching me...and not wishing his wife kept up herself.

The weather outside..is cold, rainy, grey, and wet and it's a Wednesday. The day is moving very slowly.

But........can't complain..the LORD is is good anyway! I'm Thankful.

Saved $80.51-Re-stocking Pantry!!

Went to Acme to stock up on some items for our pantry. Since we needed chicken, milk, etc…I matched coupons with the current sales and saved a ton of money.

Note: We are a family of 3 who budgets $200.00 a month for food. This trip, however, came from our savings fund, since stocking the pantry usually occurs every couple (3 or 4) months.

Budget $50.00

Betty Crocker Brownie Bowl = $2.19
Marcal Paper Towel = $1.99
Herr’s Potato Chips = $1.59
2 liter Ginger Ale = $1.89
2 Bounty Towels = $2.50
Snuggle Fabric Softener = $4.99
2 Pringles chips = $ 4.00
2 Ziploc Storage Bags = $5.58
4 Boxes of Uncle Bens Rice Mix = $9.56
3 Tubs of Betty Crocker Frosting = $ 7.17
2 Boxes of Ronzoni Pasta = $3.78
2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights = $5.58
Kellogg’s Mini Wheats = $5.29
Kellogg’s Special K –Blueberry = $4.79
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran = $5.29
Box of Potatoes = $1.99
Baking Supplies = $2.39
Vanilla Extract = $5.29
Nestle White Chocolate Morsels = $3.49
Nestle Milk Chocolate Morals = $3.49
Dozen of Eggs = $2.39
Cool Whip = $2.99
Totino Pizza Rolls = $2.69
Johnson & Johnson Children’s Detangler Conditioner = $3.99
3 Dial Liquid Soap = $6.00
Bulk Chicken Breast = $4.56
Bag of fish fillet = $4.99
1lbs of Extra Large Shrimp = $8.99
Bananas = $1.06
Pineapple = $3.99
Gallon of 1% Milk =-$3.39

Total BEFORE savings/coupons = $129.37
Total AFTER savings/coupons = $48.86

I saved $80.51!!!!!!!! Even the cashier told me “coupons are the way to go”. I said “yep, when you put in the time, they are worth it”. No wonder I can NEVER get the FREE Hams/Turkeys during the Holidays...I never spend enough...which is a good thing...LOL

I came $1.14 UNDER my “Pantry Re-Stocking” Budget!!

Some GREAT deals I came across were:

1. I received 4 $5 off a purchase of $50 or more from ACME in the mail-so I used one of them.

2. Acme had a sale on cereal/milk-buy 3 boxes of cereal for $7 and get a gallon of milk free. I had 3 $1.00 off coupons on each box of cereal, which brought the price to 3 boxes for $4.00 and I got a FREE gallon of milk! (We now have 12 boxes of un-opened cereal.)

3. I bought 2 Betty Crocker brownie bowls which was 2 for $5.00. I had 2 $1.00 off coupons which came to $3.00 and I got a free dozen of eggs as part of the deal.

4. Bought 3 Betty Crocker Frosting on sale for $1.99 each. Used 3 coupons which took $1.00 off plus an Acme store coupon for $1.00 off.

5. Had a Free Marcal Paper Towels Coupon.

6. Had a $2.00off coupon of any size Snuggle Crème Fabric Softener. Acme had it on sale for $3.99, used coupon for this.

Coupon Tip: I buy a Sunday paper on Saturdays and look through the coupons; if they are really good, I will buy more newspapers; at least 2. That way during the good sales, I can buy the same item multiple times and use coupons on them as well.

Update on Easter Budget: Progression so far.......

In my previous post, I mentioned how I was trying to do everything I needed to purchase for Easter within a set budget.

Daughter's Items (Dress, stockings, shoes, socks, hair bows), :$50.00
-Update: The Lord has blessed me very well in this area. I was able to find GREAT bargains. Here what I found thus far:

Dress (one she'll wear at least 4 times over)- $24.99
Shoes (got them on sale and had a coupon)- $7.99
Stockings- $1.99
Pocketbook (no hat or glove since she wont wear them)-$6.35

Amount remaining for dress socks & hair bows: $50.00 - $41.32 (total spent above)= $8.68. I'm hoping to get her dress socks and hair bows with that. Lord willing, it can be done.

Spring is Here!

I've been super busy as of late...having guests over, planting a garden, spending time with family, dealing with issues (please pray for my family), and trying to spend less time on the computer and more time focusing on GOD.

I cannot believe next week is Palm Sunday; the year is just going by so fast, I can't believe it! Before we know it, it's going to be the summer season.

With tomorrow being April 1st, I am really going to be sure to document ALL of the money we spend, so we know where every single penny is going & to become better stewards of what GOD gave us.

Hope you all are doing great! The Lord is sure blessing us!

Family Fun Time!!

Family Time/Fun is VERY important to my hubby and I. Spending time together as a family can help us create a close knit relationship, especially as our daughter gets older & my hubby and I grow in our marriage.

We try to keep Family Time/Fun relatively inexpensive. We are trying to do something all of us would enjoy. We may play games, like the Wii or board games, order pizza, watch movies, etc.

Tonight we are going to Chuckie Cheese!

We are going here tonight because:

1. It's a Wednesday, so fewer kids and noise.
2. Inexpensive with my coupon: Coupon- for $24.99 we'll get a large 2 topping pizza, drinks, and 50 games tokens (each game takes 1 token)
3. Chuckie Cheeses is great because it tires our daughter out. She's ready to go to bed by the time we get home.
4. Hubby also enjoys himself because he likes playing the games; he wins so many tickets so our daughter can pick out a nice prize before we leave.
5. I like watching our daughter have fun and enjoy herself.

So for $25 we get dinner, drinks, games, and fun!! Maybe next time we'll go bowling!

Planning Our 4th Wedding Our Anniversary!!

The day was Friday, June 24th, 2005.
We were married by 11:30am.
Had a wonderful reception on the lake in a great restaurant.
So many family and friends to share our new life with.

...........it's almost 4 years later and my hubby and I try to make a big deal out of our anniversaries (not expensive, though)because celebrating our marriage is VERY important to us. Besides communication, romance is a MUST to keep a strong marriage going strong.

Every year, thus far, we have tried to do something that must include 3 requirements:
1. We have to celebrate out of the home
2. We have to have fun (isn't that's what celebrating is for?!)
3. Must be affordable.

Our 1st anniversary we went to Sea World and had a blast!
Our 2nd anniversary, we went to Baltimore, MD and stayed in a great hotel and visited the aquarium.
Last year we went out to dinner, since we had a little one (our daughter)

This year isn't much different. I started planning last night because you can never be too early. We have a budget, of coarse. See below.

Anniversary Budget-$250.00

We will be staying overnight (Saturday into Sunday) at a 4 diamond hotel, which is equivalent to 5 starts.

We will have the Romance Package- Cost $183.00
....which includes the over night stay in a luxurious room, dinner for both of us, bottle of champagne (we will NOT be using it though), breakfast for both of us, parking, taxes, and fees. The hotel also has free wifi, a pool, and atrium. My hubby and I both agreed, this was a GREAT deal. We also can choose to be on a high floor, which is what we want; what type of pillows, and even checking in early.

We also will be going to a museum-Cost $28.50

We always try to grab a souvenir- Cost $10.00

We'll also grab some lunch while we are there- Cost $15.00

We'll also budget for cards to give to each other $5.00

Grand Total = $241.50...which leaves us with $8.50 to spare.

Having an Emergencey Monthly Budget

In these difficult economic times, it is NEVER ever to soon to start planning for the unexpected. After all, isn't that's what car/home insurance, wills, and other future planning documents are for. It is to have everything in place, as best as you can, so you and your family would be prepared for the worse.

It's no surprise that more and more companies are laying off workers; and although my hubby's job is pretty secure (works in pharmaceutical/technologically field), you just never know. Even if he received a pay decrease, we would need to have a plan in place to cover our bills; especially with me staying home and having 1 income. It's even more important.

I talked with my husband about having an Emergency Budget in place; to cover our necessary expenses until he found another job, if he got laid off. He agreed and we started working on one.

Here's our Emergency Budget (if something happened)-$2,000 a month. (from our savings)
-This does NOT include unemployment, that would just be extra income.

Mortgage, Taxes, Homeowners Insurance, PMI= $1,143.50
Electricity/GAS/Water (Utilities)= $160.00
Phone (basic service)/Internet (basic as well)= $40.00
Cell Phone (reduce plan to just 1 phone with basic plan)= $40.00
Food/Toiletries/household expenses = 275.00
Transportation ( 2 cars, paid off) = $85.00
Student Loans= $40.00 (get them deferred due to unemployment)
Misc= $100.00
Heath Ins. (Daughter would get FREE coverage from state; hubby and I will get coverage through COBRA)= 100.00
Credit Cards= $12.00 ( they have $0 balance, but company charges $12 in monthly maintenance fees)

Total Bills = $1995.50; so we just rounded up to $2,000 (This may sound like a lot, but it isn't)

These are our basic bills, and we figured after looking over everything, we would need $2,000 to cover everything, especially our house payment (so we don't lose it, were new home owners..lol). It pays to save and be frugal, especially in these times where no one or no job is off limits.

Have you and your family developed a plan in case something happened?

It's never to soon to start.

Enjoy your day!

Thinking of taking on another bill/expense.....

Update: We will NOT be enrolling her in the class. We found another group that is free and they are also in a great neighborhood. Free sounds a whole lot better than $71...LOL!

....well maybe. I am a stickler for trying to save anyway I can; my husband actually calls me a cheapskate sometimes...lol.

Anyhoo.....My husband and I have talked about different teaching methods for our only child. Since I stay home with her, I do play and read to her; we count, say our ABC's, say sentences, and other things....but after a while..she gets bored with me. How can I blame her. Children feel better and more free when around other children their age and they even learn more. And with the weather being so cold, we cannot go to the park until the weather gets warmer.

We decided that a play group or class would be a great option. This is NOT a daycare!
Rather, it's with a place/company called Gymboree ( the same company with the children's clothing store).

After thinking over it we found a couple of pros and cons.............

Pros:
~ Allows daughter interaction with other children
~Meet once a week
~Held in a church located in a GREAT neighborhood only 7min away.
~Time will be on Fridays; 11:30am-12:15pm (so NO driving in Friday rush hour traffic!)
~If we miss a class, we can reschedule for another class
~They have play gyms where she can play anytime or day FREE of charge since she attends class

Now the Cons:
~$71.00 a month; so that $17.75 a week for one 45 min class.
~Don't want her picking up bad habits from other children!
~To sign her up for more than 1 class at a time is another $78, but they'll give you a discount
~They bill your credit card automatically each month; unless you give them a written notice 2 weeks before hand.
~$35.00 initial registration fee

So..after going over both the good and the bad; we figure that it would be worth it to enroll her in a class, at least for a month and I love that it's just 1 class per week, which will allow me to teach her other things and take her to educational places.

I also LOVE that fact that parents can be in the class too but NOT participate!

I like being present but not involved, so my baby can learn to play and resolve conflict with children her own age by herself. But if she needs me or something happens, mommy is there to come to the rescue!

With this extra expense/bill, I would need to tweak my budget sheet a little but not too much. Besides, we don't mind paying for something if it will be useful, but that's with anything you pay for!

BUT First, they have a FREE Class pass for us to see if it's something good for our daughter. We'll try it FREE first and take it from there!

Any tips/advice/suggestions are welcomed!

Saved $56.14 On Groceries for 2 weeks!!!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Shopping Trip (March 1st-March 14th)

Budget-$100.00

Acme-$33.13
Wise Garlic Potato Chips $1.00
Canola Oil $2.99
Yeast $0.99
Dora Fruit Snacks $ 1.67
Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Treats $1.67
Kellogg’s Blueberry poptarts $1.67
Kellogg’s Strawberry Poptarts $1.67
3 bags of Planters Trail Mix $3.00
Box of Rice a Roni $0.99
Fanta Orange 2 liter Soda $1.00
2-2 liter Dr. Pepper sodas $2.00
Nestea Lemon Ice Tea-2 liter $1.00
Simply Orange Juice-1/2 gallon $3.00
Daisy Sour Cream $1.34
2 Sunday Papers $3.00
2 Stayfree personal feminine items $5.00
1lb of Large tiger shrimp $5.13
2 boxes of breakfast sausage $2.50

Total BEFORE coupons/savings = $ 69.80
Total I paid out of pocket AFTER coupons/savings = $33.31
Saved $36.67!!!

Shoprite- $47.44
6-pack of poppy seed Kaiser rolls $1.40
Bag of Tortilla white corn chips $1.89
½ gallon Strawberry Ice Cream $1.99
½ gallon Vanilla Ice Cream $1.99
Kraft shredded cheese $1.99
Pork Chops $4.62
Crescent Rolls $2.50
Bag of plain potato chips $1.89
Nestle Mint Chocolate chips cookie dough $1.68
2 lbs of collard greens $2.18
BIG bag of candy $2.00
2 Santa Fe Salsa Dips $2.00
Large Organic Eggs $2.50
Quart of 2% milk $1.39
Secret Deodorant $4.59
Baking Item $1.00
Chewing Gum $0.99
½ LB Pepper Turkey $4.90
Box of Linguine pasta $0.99
Parmesan grated cheese $1.48
3-Langers Juices $5.00
Box of Super Pretzels $2.50
Dozen Regular Large eggs $0.99
Rice Cakes $1.66
Loaf of Wheat split top bread $1.69
Carton of Strawberries $2.50
1 Onion $0.26
1 Donut $0.59

Total BEFORE coupons/savings = $ 67.09
Total I paid out of pocket AFTER coupons/savings = $47.44!!!!
Saved $19.65!!

Produce Junction - $14.50
Blueberries
Bag of Granny smith apples
Pineapple
2 lbs. Red seedless grapes
Bag of Spinach
Bag of Carrots
Bag of Red potatoes
Bag of Romaine hearts
2 lbs of Broccoli
Total = $14.50
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All 3 stores-----Acme $38.31
Shoprite $47.44
Produce Junction $14.50
__________________________
Total Food Money Spent $95.25

Came $4.75 Under Budget!!!!!!-Coupons are a HUGE help!!!!!!!!

Ahhh...It's Nice To Be Back!!!!

It's good to be back blogging since my hubby's accident and finally moving all of our stuff to our new home. We gave the keys back to the landlords and the rest is history.

My hubby is feeling great and is back at work. He gets the staple taken out of his head Monday.

I am so behind on a lot of things....making my grocery list/matching coupons, laundry, updating our budget, even cooking...sometimes I just found it easier to get take out....

Since then, I updated the budget, cooked dinner and I am now doing laundry and will start my grocery list soon; I don't like going to the market unprepared. I am also in the process of unpacking all our stuff..I'm hoping to have that done by Tuesday, Lord's will...

As for the last post in my financial series (Investments/Retirement), that will be coming this weekend....I had to put that on the back burner because of everything that's going on at the moment.

Enjoy your day!

Eliminating Bills/Debt....contiuned series...

Now that my baby is taking her nap, I'd thought this would be a good time to post the next topic in this financial series regarding SAHMs and money...enjoy!

Some debt quotes to get us started and to lighten the mood a bit.......

"The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity than a friend is a creditor." ~Author Unknown

"In God we trust; all others must pay cash." ~American Saying

"There are plenty of ways to get ahead. The first is so basic I'm almost embarrassed to say it: spend less than you earn." ~Paul Clitheroe

"Today, there are three kinds of people: the have's, the have-not's, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-have's". ~Earl Wilson

I selected each of these quotes for 2 reasons: 1. it brought a smile to my face and 2. they are true in every sense of the word.
We all have debt. We all have bills. However, there is a HUGE difference between the 2, from my perspective. Bills are things we NEED and that are on-going. Examples would be Mortgage/Rent, car payment, insurance, savings (yes, think of it as a bill), misc (cause something ALWAYS will come up), food, gas, utilities (water, phone, heat, electricity), and household (daycare, toiletries, diapers, etc) . These bills will probably be around for most of our lives and will be money that we'll have to pay out matter what.

Now, let's move on to Debts. Debts are NOT things we need but are created by things we want. For example, having a house isn't a debt, BUT having a house that is too big for you and your family and that require more upkeep and money than what you bring in every month is debt; because if you don't bring in the money, where's the rest coming from?...credit cards!

We remember, at least I do, going into Macy's or our favorite stores and seeing an outfit or pair of shoes we love. They just seem to have kept calling our name, begging us to purchase them and take them home with us. Sound familiar, doesn't it?! I made bad decisions like this on the whim, just figuring I would worry about it later. I thought I was young enough where I could bounce back...but boy was I WRONG!

Debt is also create when we WANT, yes, I said WANT things that costs too much but for appearance purposes we stretch ourselves and our wallets to full capacity. We don't need an Cadillac Escalade when a Toyota Corolla will serve our NEEDS, but we just have to have the Escalade because we like SUV's, or it's nice looking, or we want to keep up with the Joneses. I have to admit, I was like that. I didn't care that it was too much for me or that I couldn't afford it; I just wanted what I wanted. As a result, it take years to pay off, leaves you broke in the meantime, and with more than your fair share of grey hairs.

Now, don't get me wrong not all debt is bad...Mortgages, Student Loans, Car Loan (on a car you NEED); these are good debts and wont harm your credit score too much.

But, then we have those bad debts...like credit cards/unnecessary personal loans....(all types of credit cards, i.e. store cards, gas cards, etc.) I remember someone saying, 'if I don't have the cash or money in the back to purchase an item, even if it's a good sale, I don't buy it because it's not a sale for me." How true is that statement! If we all thought about every single item before we bought it to make sure we really needed it, we wouldn't be in this economic mess to begin with. But the fact of the matter is, we as Americans feel as if we can't go without. That we want what we want NOW!! No Exceptions!! We don't want to wait and save and work for it, so we will charge it and worry about it later...OR we'll just pay the minimum balance on the credit card, refi our house, take out a loan, or something else.

In order to become free of these bad habits, we must admit we have a problem, find a solution, and then carry that solution out. I knew if I wanted to have money tucked away for my family that first I'd have to put a stop to buying stuff I didn't need, especially when I would never even use it. It would just sit in my closet or I'd give it away or throw it in the trash. I knew I needed to confront and get rid of any debt we had, then start saving some money..seriously. When something happened with the car, we'd have no savings and all the credit cards would be maxed out; so we'd have no solution; nope none at all!

I hated living like that and so did my husband...if we wanted to buy a t.v. or go to dinner we couldn't because we had no money and all our bills weren't even paid yet. He would work and work and work and couldn't enjoy the fruits of his labor because of my bad habits. I'm so glad we made a turn around. I really am...we sleep better, arguments are much rarer, we have a peace of mind, and our relationship is better. Like I mentioned before....all the student loans are current, both of our credit cards have $0 balances, no car payments (we just keep driving our 10 and 14 year old cars), nicely funded savings account, and over 4 months of our living expenses saved in another account..along with a Christmas and Vacation funds.......and now we are moving towards investments; all with 1 income!

Keep in mind we still have bills just like everyone else, but we choose to limit our bills and put that money away. We have wants; don't think for a minute we don't. This gives us so much more fulfillment than shoes, dresses, and even going to our favorite restaurants.

If you see yourself in the same boat we were in...start by looking at your bank statements and taking note of where all of your money is going to. If you see that you have more bills/debt than what your bringing in..find ways to reduce and put that money aside in a savings account. Trust me, you'll thank yourself for it later.

Tune in tommrow for the last post of this series....Investments/Retirement.

Savings & Emergency Fund....contiuned series....

Look familiar?:

"Financial Bank..........Account Number....00001"

Transactions Amount
ck #100 $ -50.00
overdraft fee $-35.00
phone bill $-100.00
overdraft fee $-35.00
car payment $-200.00
overdraft fee $35.00

Total Balance $-455.00!!!!

Early in our relationship, my husband and I were used to seeing our account in red. We didn't like but we felt as if we couldn't come up from there considering our situation. We always wanted to save money but never got around to it. Either something would come up, we'd buy something we didn't need, we'd go out to eat, or spend it on something else. Before we knew it, we were saying, " I wish we coulda, woulda, shoulda". Before long weeks, months, and even years would go by and we'd still have nothing but constantly owing others. One day we decided that enough was enough! If we wanted to provide a good future for ourselves and our daughter, we needed to have a savings account with money in it!..lol

Since we had 1 income and loans, credit cards, and our regular bills, we needed to create a budget that fitted our needs and stick to it. No if, and, or buts! We also decided to put something towards savings each time their was a paycheck even if it was just $25...kinda like tithes..taking it from off the top. One night after seeing I had spent over $100 in a week and a half on just eating out, my hubby and I printed out our account statements from the past couple months and got a pen and calculator. We wanted to see exactly how much went to just eating out in 3 months. Can you believe that it was almost $1,500 in just 3 months! $1,500! That is a lot of money to waste on eating out, when it could've been saved.

That was the final straw. We created a budget, stayed on top of our money and bills, and started saving. Our first goal was $500.00. It was an good starting point for us and we were able to achieve this goal in a couple months. Then we increased it to $1,000...and once we were able to meet that goal it made us feel good; really good and saving money started to replace the urges of buying clothes, shoes, bags, etc.

Once we saved a $1,000 we knew we could and wanted to save more. So we set a goal for ourselves to have 3 months of living expenses saved, and we not only achieved that goal but we have over 4 months saved, working on 5 months! This is our Emergency Fund! It's there in case hubby loses his job or something happens. We also have other savings accounts such as a Vacation Fund, Christmas Fund, Regular savings, a soon to be Car Fund, and now we are starting to go down the investments path. This is what I think about when I see an outfit or a pair of shoes I want. Or if I want to stop at Burger King or order takeout because I don't want to cook. It motivates us to not waste money but find different ways to save.

Now, I realize every situation is different but we really have to ask ourselves if we are truly being good with what the Lord has given us, including wives, especially SAHMs. Our hubby's count on us to use the hard earn money wisely. When we don't care and spend, spend, spend; then we are showing ourselves to be lazy and selfish..at least that's what I thought I was. I wasn't being considerate to the fact that my husband has to work hard for that money, I wasn't keeping in mind our bills, getting diapers, etc for our daughter, or even trying to save a little bit. I was feeding a bad hunger that needed to be removed and replaced with a good one.

God forbid the car breaks down, a pipe breaks, gotta buy a new bed, or someone you know may need something....how will you handle the situation with nothing saved? Of coarse GOD will be with us but sometimes we get ourselves in a jam and GOD will allow us to suffer in it a little while so we learn better the next time. That's certainly what happened to me. I felt trapped. I felt like I couldn't get under from the debt. It was truly a stressful time in my life, but I thank GOD for allowing me to stay in the fire a little bit so I can truly learn to do right by everything.

So..today my hubby and I have 2 credit cards with no balances....current on all my student loans (which is considered good debt, like mortgages), over 4 months of living expenses saved, funded regular savings, no car loans, and able to give to others. It can be done in any situation, just take the first step and never try to live up to others. Each situation is different and just as good in GOD eyes.

Do you want to be free from bad financial habits like me? Pray and ask GOD to help and guide you to be a better steward today. Just trust him!

The Savings & Emergency Fund, Elimanating Debt/Bills, and Investments/Retirement Series from a SAHM's Perspective

This has been a post that I have been planning on writing for some time and since I am up early this morning, I'd thought this would be the perfect time. It comes from a christian, 1 income point of view.

Saving money is VERY important to me and my family. It gives us a sense of calmness whenever something unexpected happens. There's never a need to fret because we have what we need to get by. But it hasn't always been like this. There was a time when I would be so afraid of looking at the account. It made my stomach hurts to have to see a negative red number. We'd have to rob Peter to pay Paul because things were bad. Now, with the recent downturn of the economy, it has been even more important to be wiser regarding our money. People are losing jobs, their 401ks, IRA'S, and other investments due to the wall street collapse. As a result people turn to their credit cards to help them get by until they find another job or a way to bring in some more funds; which in turn increases their debt.

Being a young couple (I'm 24 & hubby is 29) and living on 1 income, it is even more important that we use what money we have the best way we can. We have to save more, be wiser, and more frugal than a 2 income household. We have the same bills, students loans, and now a mortgage to pay for. Yes, their are times when money gets tight and that's why I strongly encourage budgeting. It not only allows you and your mate to know exactly where every single penny is going but it also prevents unnecessary arguments, which can lead to an unhappy marriage and household. And statistics shows that money is the #1 cause of divorce nowadays, even among Christians.

Being a saved couple, we strive to be good stewards of what the Lord has given us. That includes giving without expecting anything in return, not wasting money, and saving some for those times when it's truly needed. We believe that GOD gives his people a little to see how they treat it; if they do good by it, then he knows that they will do right by a lot. Besides, if we can't be responsible with our own, then how do we expect GOD to allow us to be responsible over others. Like I mentioned before, would I want someone to run my company's finances if their own finances are not good.

Now, when we got married, both me and hubby was working. We were that example of having 2 incomes and NEVER saved a dime. We always spent, spent, spent. Never put nothing away or gave to others. I used credit cards, paid bills late, always wanted to eat out somewhere. We were irresponsible with our money. God knew and saw this. When I was 6 months or so pregnant, my hubby and I decided that I would quit my job and become a SAHM. I mean, we couldn't complain because we were already in the red and at rock bottom so going to 1 income wouldn't be much different we thought. We knew that even on 1 income, if we did our best with our money and be responsible stewards, the Lord would not only make the 1 income work, but possibly add on to it or stretch it a long way ( and we all know that no one can stretch a dollar like GOD can!).

When we finally sat down and reviewed our finances, we realized that we wanted to have a stable financial future for ourselves as well as our daughter. We knew GOD would be with us but we also knew GOD expected us to do right by what he had given us. We understood that if we weren't doing right by the money that GOD would see us through any situation but not without suffering for a little while first. And trust me nothing can cause you heartburn like getting a financial whipping from GOD.

To get on the right track We had 3 basic steps we wanted to concur: Savings & Emergency Fund, Eliminating Debt/Bills, and Investments/Retirement. We finally reached this point and it took us years but it doesn't have to take others the same amount of time. We did it and so can you!

Now, each of these topics needs a separate post of it's own because they are quite lengthy. Today, I will post about Savings/Emergency Fund, and will continue tomorrow and Saturday (Lord's will) with Eliminating debt/bills and Investments/Retirement. I hope you get something out of this series and any feedback/responses would be great!