Super Saturday Savings

Well this week I did not do much shopping. We went to Costco 2 wks. ago and so we are pretty much stocked. Also, there hasn't been too many great sales around here. We did however go to Old Navy and took advantage of the sales. We got the boys 7 tops each, my hubby got 4 shirts, only 2 were on sale, and we got our new niece a cute little outfit. Why is it that there is always cute little things for girls and we have to be on the look out for cute boy clothes? Hopefully the Lord will bless us with a little girl soon :) For all that we spent about $78. Which was excellent since we had $100 in our clothing budget.

Frugal Friday

I am joining Crystal at Biblical Womanhood for Frugal Friday. I am new to all this frugality, but since I really want to buy a home I need to start and like they say 'every little penny helps'. One thing we began doing at home was unplugging any appliance we would not be using. For example we unplugged the microwave and toaster oven, since we don't use them that often. We also stopped using a night light for the boys and just pulled the curtains back a bit so light from outside could come in. We did this the last three months and the savings were between $5-$10 a months, over a year it could easily be $60-$120. Not much but it is a start.

Make your Home a Haven

I am joining Crytal over at Biblical Womanhood on Making your home a Haven Challenge. I am always struggling to keep a tidy home. I hope that with this I am more motivated. I work outside the home at this time and I am always so tired. I hope that by focusing on one area a day my house is more of a home. So to keep me accountable here is my to do list. It is a bit short but at times even this short list can be overwhelming.

Monday

• Do 1-2 loads of laundry (depending on availability w/our apt. complex washers)
• Clean 1 shelf in our hall closet (we have two large closets in the hall)
• Clean out fridge (this was a Sat. job but we went w/ hubby to a job site)
• Work on LAF article.

Since I'm at work I won't be able to get to my list until I get home so I will post later on my progress and hopefully completion.

Menu Monday

After reading through crystals supermarket course Supermarket Savings I have stuck to making a menu. This has really helped in two ways; one is that I know what's for dinner, which is a time saver and it has helped me by keeping me on track with my budget. Sure it takes some time to plan the menu, make a shopping list, look through the stores' ads, and cut coupons but in the long run it saves you lots of money. Also once you get the hang of it, it isn't that much time.
So to keep me accountable I am posting my menu.

Breakfast is usually cereal, baked oatmeal, waffles, or pancakes w/ milk and fruit.
Lunch-leftovers, soup, sandwich, or Lean cuisine (I got them on sale this week)
Dinner
Sun. Enchiladas w/ rice
Mon.-Salmon w/ steamed rice and veggies
Tue.-Pork Chops, veggies, homemade rolls
Wed.- Spinach Quesadillas
Thurs.Lasagna (I usually put some spinach with the cheese for added veggie boost)
Fri.-Tuna sandwiches
Sat.-Soup

I usually have a simple tossed salad with our dinner.

The Union of husband and wife

Five years ago today my husband and I were united in Holy Matrimony. I cannot believe how blessed we have been in these 5 years.

Trinity Household's Budget

I believe we have finally worked out our budget. This will change from time to time, since my husband gets extra jobs around this time because of the rain (he's a roofer and even though he cannot work in the rain he gets lots of jobs afterwards). All his extra money will go into paying off our debt, our savings, and for unexpected emergencies (like this summer when our car was stolen, 2wks later my fil passed away, and 2wks after that our truck was stolen w/ hubby's tools, car seats, stroller, and all our bedding :( God provides and we have been able to replace almost everything (the police found the truck but everything was gone, our insurance covered all the damage, I was so happy that I had full coverage all we paid was the deductible. Now how did I get off topic? Here is a glimpse to our budget.
Tithe 10%
Rent 800
Laundry $20 (we rent so we have to use the coin machines)
Utilities (gas, electrical, residential phone) $105
Cable & DSL $105
Groceries $180
Household products $20
Car payment (I so regret this purchase) $500
Gas for car $100 (it might be higher since prices are going up)
Insurance for 2 autos $178
Car maintenance & Registration $50
Nanny(my mom watches over the boys when my husband has to work) $200
Gifts $25
Debt $500 (this includes small balances on cr. cards, which will be paid off next month, my student loans one of which will be paid in 2 months, and some dental work my husband had done that insurance didn't cover.

So there you have it our budget. If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to cut down in some areas we would be happy to hear it.

Happy 2008

well, life has been pretty busy around here and my vacation is almost over. My husband and I have been working on our goals for 2008. Here are my goals:

1. Build a better relationship with the Lord. Some things I will be doing is reading the bible so as to finish it by the end of the year. Begining family worship and reflecting on Sunday readings with the family.
2. Build a better relationship with my husband, by having daily talks, daily prayer, try and set up a monthly date, and attend an annual retreat.
3. Train the children in the way they should go, by finish watching "Raising Godly Children" by the Bradrick family, implement what was learned in "Raising Happy Children...Teach them Virtues, and focus one virtue a week.
4. Focus on health, by drinking more water, incorporating more fruits and veggies, take daily multivitamin, lose 30lbs., cook with more organic foods.
5. Get our financial health in order. We are working on a budget(this is the most difficult for us, I will post it later), we are trying to get out of debt.

My son just woke up so I must cut this entry short. I will try to add our budget soon. Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Day.