February

Wow, is it February already?!  And almost half way through at that!

It's my second month at attempting a dinner menu and sticking with it.  It's going well so far - I love having a list to choose from instead of flying by the seat of my pants every night.  I type up a list of meals that my family loves, or new ones I want to try.  Then I rummage through the kitchen and freezer to see what we already have on hand.  I make one big shopping trip at the beginning of the month to get the items I need for my menu, as well as breakfast, lunch and snack items.  Then through the rest of the month, I'll make quick trips to get milk, bread, and eggs.  For February so far, I've spent $153!  That's not bad.  I will have to make at least one more trip for milk, but I have everything I need for our actual meals!

Last month I didn't do what I should with my grocery budget, but this month I WILL.  I am taking out my usual $150 a week for groceries in cash and carrying it in an envelope.  Whatever is not spent at the end of the month will go to pay off a bill!  I am very excited about this - the idea of paying things off just makes my little heart race!  My ultimate goal is to be debt free by the time I'm 30 years old.  I don't have much time left!!!

How did January turn out?

I know you've been asking yourself when on earth I'd update about how my resolutions are panning out!  You've been on the edge of your seats, right?  Of course!

Well, I'm happy to say that so far, so good!  As a recap, my resolutions were to be a better Christian, better wife and mother, take care of my body and take care of my budget.

Being a better Christian is both easy and hard!  I am trying to spend more time in the word every single day.  I open myself up to listen more to Him and take His lead in my daily life.

As far as being a better wife and mother goes - who knows how I'm doing on that?!  I try to show my husband and kiddos affection every chance I get, tell them I love them and do little things for them every day.  I'm trying to be an advocate for C1, since he's not getting some of the things he needs at school.  I'm also working on keeping a PEACEFUL home!!!  My home should be a safe haven to all who live here, not a stressful, messy place we all dread to see!

My body.  UGH.  Not doing so great here.  I've been battling a case of the lazies and the eat-whatever-the-heck-I-want-tos.  It stinks.  I will get back on track TODAY!!!  I have to!

And the good old budget...well, it's going ok.  My challenge last month was to eat out of the pantry, to only buy food that we HAD to have to cook meals on my menu and to spend drastically less.  I did succeed at that, actually.  My normal grocery budget is right around $600 a month for our family of five.  Last month I spent right around $200.  That's a pretty great reduction, right?  The only problem?  I ate out at lunch more, had some pretty big expenses relating to birthdays and just general shopping.  Oops.

February is a new month - and I'm excited!