2017 financial goals

Goal #1 Pay -at least- an extra $1000 per month, towards the mortgage principal balance

Goal #2 Keep weekly expenses under $100 (gas, groceries, mad money, great deals etc)

Goal #3 Contribute an extra $100 per month to IRA (currently have automatic contibutions taken from my paychecks)

Goal #4 Deposit an extra $50 per month into savings (currently have an automatic deposit of $100 monthly)

Goal #5 Save an additional $300 towards summer road trip.

My monthly bill pay checklist (borrowed)

I have been reading blogger Erin for years. I started reading her blog back in the day, when she was writing for About.com. (I actually subscribed to many of their now defunct newsletters!)

She also writes for her own personal blog, and this is where I borrowed my monthly "Bill Pay Checklist". I love the simplicity of the chart and the fact that I can customize it year to year. I know at a glance if I've paid a certain bill this month, plus its fun to fill in the little circles. (like a grade school flashback!)

I just finished updating, in my desktop Word program, and printed out 2017's chart. I am set and ready.

myfrugalhome.com's checklist

Adventures in frugal, vegan cooking-beans for breakfast

I'm still frugal, still vegan, still trying to spend as little as possible on groceries. Cooking from scratch is one sure way to stay on track.

I buy dry beans in bulk, soak a pound overnight, then cook them in the crockpot all day. I come home from work to a delicious smelling home, and dinner is half prepared! (I cook my beans with garlic cloves and bay leaves) I just add a few more ingredients and my meal is ready. (tacos, burritos, bean spaghetti to name a few)

   One way I like to use beans for breakfast is that I like beans on toast. I add beans and non-dairy cheese to a piece or two of toast, toast a few minutes in the toaster oven then add hot sauce, tomatoes or avocado. (whatever I have on hand) Add a piece of fruit and a cup of tea and I'm good to go. This meal keeps me full until lunchtime. And...Yum!

Checking in

There are 13 days left in the month. That would make me over halfway through my budget. As part of my accountability, I will share where I am as of today.

All bills due the first half of the month were paid in full and on time.

For variable expenses:

grocery: I have my menu plans for the next 3 weeks, and just went shopping for all necessary ingredients. I have $117.30 left in my envelope. Yay!

Clothing: I've bought socks for the kiddo and a pair of pants for me. Total spent $15.56, I have $24.44 left.

Pets: we've had a very sick dog. We are way over our $200 budget. We've spent $617 so far.

My blow money: I've spent $14.08 so far. That leaves me $35.92.

Entertainment: we went bowling! That was fun we budget $40 a month. Bowling cost $35.96. Under budget!

Eating out: we've spent $48.98 of our $50 budgeted amount.

Hubby has spent $16.86 of his blow money.

And we are at $58.53 of budgeted $100 for misc expenses.

So, we are pretty much done eating out and going places for the month. That's okay, we have library DVDs and popcorn.

With the exception of vet bills, we are right on target. It has been a long time since I've been able to say that. This feels good!

Ways I saved money this week...

There are so many ways to save money. Use coupons, shop around, reuse items, repair items or maybe even don't spend money at all.

These are some of the ways that I saved money this past week:

*I was so sick and wanted to just pick up dinner somewhere, but I made dinner!
*I was so tired after work, and wanted to order out, but I made dinner!
*I used up end bread pieces and buns, in place of making/buying rolls for dinner
*I made my lunch, on the two days that I worked, instead of buying lunch
*Instead of buying glass stove top cleaner, I used baking soda and vinegar. It looks like new!
*I was tempted to order a magazine subscription, but checked to see if my library carries it. They do!
*I need new dark pants for work, but I am going to wait until Monday. The thrift stores are having 50%
off sales for the holiday.
*I didn't do any shopping this week. I received a bunch of email ads as well as print ads and I didn't even look at them.
What I don't know about won't hurt me! Every little bit of saving adds up!

Ways I didn't save money? Major vet bills. Bummer.

We are almost halfway through the month. We are over budget on pet expenses, but under budget on everything else! I'll take it!

Getting ready for the holidays...all of them!

Since we have tightened our budget even further for 2012, many more gifts will be thrifted or homemade. For that reason, and not wanting to get stressed at the last minute, I've decided to start early.

I just went to the library and checked out many books on crafting, holidays and money saving. I will research and take notes. I will make many copies. I will get started next week, preparing for Valentines Day. The next gift giving holiday will be Easter and then summer birthdays.

I plan to be prepared this year. No more stressing out two weeks before Christmas when my crafting has barely begun. I will have my Christmas cards made by the end of summer.

Oh yes, I will!

Dollar a day food challenges

I just finished watching this DVD, "Food Stamped" and am almost through reading this book, "On A Dollar A Day". If you are at all curious about how we spend money on our food, then I highly recommend both of these.

The DVD was not only informative, but also entertaining. {I confess to skipping through some of the statistical parts} I found this movie while browsing through my library. I was curious and checked it out. I'm glad that I did. The filmmakers took part in an experiment to see if they could live on what the government gives folks, in food stamp benefits, to live on for a week. They did not want to buy the cheap convenience foods, but wanted to continue to live on an organic healthy diet.

The book is similar. It is a another couple wanting to see if they could live on just $1.00 per person a day for food. {The movie had the couple living on $1.00 per meal.} The couple in the book are really struggling with hunger and exhaustion. So far, they are making it work. They also have a blog, but I haven't searched for it yet.

I do not plan to try either of these experiments, but it is eye opening. It made me take stock of how much was in my kitchen, that was considered non healthy convenience foods. I will confess to buying what some would call "crap". My family requests most of it, and I find coupons for it. I do plan on finding healthy, homemade alternatives. Watching the DVD did give me some great ideas as to ways to make cheap healthy meals.

I'm starting today. I plan to make chips from kale, snack bars from dates {similar to Larabars} and cookies and bread made from bananas. I am also planning to go through my recipe file and purge any non healthy recipes. I owe that much to my family. Some recipes and foods may be cheap, but the health of my family is more important. And I need to do this while staying under budget. Good luck me!

new budget

Since we basically failed on our current year budget, we are going to have a budget meeting and re plan! As previously discussed, we are going to be short of our 2011 debt repayment goal. It's a bit of a bummer, but with patience, discussion and prayer I think we will get back on track. I will most likely get to keep my part time seasonal job, so that will help.

We are going to add in an allowance for both of us. We are going to discuss what amount that should be. I kept track of all expenses this past year, so we will use that as a guide. We will use an envelope for this same as all other expenses.

For me- I plan on requesting $50 per month. This will include: $20 for hobbies and crafts, $20 for treasure hunting and/or buying used books and $10 for any fast food or coffee cravings. {yes, I make coffee at home, but sometimes I get together with friends and have breakfast or coffee. I don't want to miss out on that} If I come across something that I really want, it would come out of my allowance, which means I would need to readjust my totals. If I really want a pair of shoes, then there won't be any crafting this month etc. {I go to monthly scrapbooking crops that cost $8 to just to be there} We can do this!

Year end wrap up

All year, I've kept running totals of the debt that we were trying to eliminate. This is located in my side bar. I've also logged our savings goals.

Unfortunately, we are not going to be able to reach our 2011 goals. I was pretty bummed over this. I had this amazing scenario planned, where we would wake up, on Jan 1, 2012 and have no debt beyond our mortgage. {happiness, merriment, confetti...}

We have had A LOT of unplanned expenses. Auto repairs, vet bills, careless spending, home repairs etc. We are most likely going to be about $2000 short of the projected goal. {if only the trees didn't need work....}

I want to throw a tantrum. I won't.

I will pull up my big girl panties and move on.

We will plan a new budget for the new year. We will rejoice in all that we have accomplished.

God is good. We are blessed.

talking about saving

In my recent post, I discussed how our emergency fund saved us last month. Without it, we would have been in a world of hurtin'! When we first started Dave Ramseys debt reduction plan, I think that saving was the hardest. You never think to pay yourself first.

We actually have 3 ways that we save. At our local bank, we have 2 savings accounts and one CD. We consider the CD to be "hands off"! We have about 3 1/2 months' worth of monthly expenses in there. That money is to be used in an absolute emergency. When we first opened it, about 8 years ago, we were making about $240 in interest per month. Now, we are making about $17-$20 every 4 months. OUCH! We are still thankful for that little bit. It all helps.

Our first savings account is for Christmas. We have an automatic debit once per month and in late November I withdraw almost all of it and go shopping. {you have to have a minimum balance of $100 to avoid charges} We have been doing this for about 8 years as well and it really helps. Makes that wonderful time of the year less stressful.

Our second savings account also is on an auto debit. We signed up to have money automatically transferred once per month to enable us to have free checking. I think it's a fabulous idea. The second account is for any and all emergency expenses. This is where we took the money from, last month, and it really was a lifesaver! We not only have auto transfers, we also deposit extra into it each month. Now that we have had to use over $2,000 we will need to build that back up.
Hubby will have an extra check this month, due to the way the paydays fall, so I plan to put his check right into savings.

We are so blessed, and I cannot wait to say that we are debt free. It will make all of the sacrificing worth it and it will be a grand day!

September budget accountability meeting

I hereby call this budget accountability meeting to order:

All present say "I".

I

Okay, here we go. We have a couple more days left in the month, but feel confident that we are done spending.

{Already had this meeting with my hubby, but since you weren't able to attend, dear Blogspot.com. I will update you}

First of all, updating the figures in all budget categories was a wonderful idea. Since the economy has increased the prices of almost everything, raising our budget amounts make perfect sense. There was less stress and much merriment. We have 8 budget categories that we use cash envelopes for, and 5 categories that are followed on paper.

Of the envelope categories, we came in at $30.02 over. {started shopping for Christmas!} That's not too bad considering we have been hundreds over in recent months. {categories include: groceries, home, hobby-me, clothing, entertainment, eating out, gifts and misc.}

Of the on-paper budget, we are over $2265.78. I know, I know. Let me explain. We had one sick doggie, one sick truck, one sick car, one sick toilet and one sick human. Luckily, we have our emergency fund in place, so it didn't hurt too bad. {thanks, Dave Ramsey} Next month, we start rebuilding the savings! {on-paper categories include: auto, pets, school, medical, allowance and donations}

Meeting adjourned

Staying organized

I recently walked through the library. I knew what section I was looking for, but a title caught my eye. It was about organizing your home. I soon discovered an entire section devoted to the subject of organization. Wow! I browsed through some of the books and soon realized that I could have written one of them. I love to have my home organized. I may not have the cleanest home(please don't bring a white glove over here) but I do have a pretty tidy one.

When my home is in disarray, it can actually stress me out! My kitchen cupboards are arranged by type of food and all items are neatly placed in order. My bathroom cupboards are the same. Ditto on the ole bedroom closets and dresser. Neat and tidy. I wasn't always this way. It came about when I quit working full time to stay home. My life was now devoted to keeping my home clean.

With only one child left at home, my obsession with a super clean home has cooled off a bit. I still keep the bathroom and kitchen very clean. (don't like germs...yuck!) I just am okay with a little bit of dust. Vacuuming every day is no longer a priority. I think Im mellowing out somewhat.

Except for paper organizing...my budget and finances. I still write down every expense and keep a running total, to hopefully not go over the predetermined budget amounts. I also use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of and tally, monthly expenses. I have our monthly bills spread out into 2 week payments. Meaning, every payday I know that I need to pay the bills. I enter them into the spreadsheet to monitor if there's an increase and to make sure that everything is paid on time. I set up our budget so that all payments are made at least one week early.

There's just something very comforting about keeping up with our family's finances. It's nice to know that our bills are paid on time, every time. I guess I'm just a neat freak. I'm okay with that.

I salute you, working women/mothers and budget

I have forgotten how hard it is to run a household and work outside of the home. It has been a week, and I'm exhausted. Time to prioritize tasks and delegate, I suppose! To all working women and working mothers....you have my respect.


There is a coupon in today's paper, for Target, for this loaf of bread absolutely free! A $2.79 value. I didn't waste any time, luckily there is a Target within walking distance. I figure by the end of the day, their meager supply will be gone. {they had about 30 loaves.}

I am so happy that I raised my grocery budget and stopped trying to be perfect. I went to the store this morning, for just a few things. It is September 21, and after today's purchases, I still have $62.00 left in my grocery envelope! Woo Hoo! I may even have money left over at the end of the month. I saved a total of $15.79 in coupons, spending $54.00. I think that's pretty reasonable.

So much less stressful! It's good to be average and not a super duper extreme couponing, crazed person. Life is better here.

I need to realize that I am not perfect

Since starting this blog, I've put pressure on myself to be the perfect frugal wife and mom. Wow. Why? So my blog posts would be more interesting to read, maybe. Then I thought, why only post the good stuff? Why not post the bad as well? I am an imperfect being. Might as well admit that.

I use this blog not only to share my frugal finds, great recipes, gardening experience, crafts, couponing etc but also to hold myself accountable financially. I have been trying, for a long time, to get my grocery budget down to $400 per month. It is a really big challenge for me. Where did I even get that number? I think that reading others' blogs, and seeing how low their grocery budget is, I decided to "keep up with the Joneses" so to speak. I do well with all of the other budget categories. I clip coupons, combine with sales, cook and bake from scratch and I make my dogs' food. {thats pricey}

Well, I'm Colorado Girl, and I am not perfect. I will accept the fact that my grocery bill is about $500 per month. I will no longer beat myself up over this. I think that my new grocery budget will be $525 per month. There.

This is my sunflower

This is my Hollyhock

This is my amazing bargain of the day: I received a free box of Idahoan potaoes. {I dont normally use boxed potatoes, but they are free} The coupon is in the new issue of All You magazine. The chicken sausage was reduced from $4.99 to $1.29. I had a coupon for $2.50 off of a purchase of 2 Foster Farms chicken pkgs....so only $.08! {total retail value for all three- $10.98!!!}


Have a wonderful weekend!

uh-oh....we went over budget

A blog is a great place to admit mistakes and hold yourself accountable.

July was a very expensive month for us. We had major repairs on both vehicles for starters. We had to spend almost $1400 just for auto expenses. {I normally budget $230 for this category} We also had major vet bills. Add to that the over spending of groceries, dining out and miscellaneous expenses and you have the makings of a blown budget! Yikes.

I guess summer does that to you. It's just a time to relax.

Well, we will make up for that this month. I sat down yesterday and took stock of the freezer and pantry. I made a three week menu plan and then made a grocery list around that. I will plan to have leftovers after every dinner, so my hubby will have a lunch the next day.

I went to 4 stores, to find the best bargains. I combined coupons with the sales as best as I could.

The result was spending $164.92:
grocery- $53.69
Walgreens- $12.74
Whole Foods- $48.12
Sam's Club- 50.37

I also had to renew my Sam's membership, so that will add $40 to the grocery total for the month. I plan to visit the farmers market on Thursday and will most likely run out of something, in the next 3 weeks, so I have a budget of $60 for those trips. That will put me at $245 at the end of three weeks for groceries. {including membership renewal}

I will have to do more baking {early in the day of course} but we really need to get back on course.

I also went to the bank yesterday and filled my budget envelopes. No debit card this month!!! Hubby also has his "mad money" already in his wallet. So we have our funds for entertainment, allowance, grocery, home care, eating out, any gift purchases, gas and misc purchases. When the envelope is empty...that's it!

We will have to go school clothes shopping and pay school fees, but those have been budgeted for. We are actually starting school clothes shopping today. We are going to Ross and the thrift store. We already have the school supplies. {Hello summer school supply sales! ha ha}

Okay, I feel better now that I've confessed. Thanks. ☺

Why we go to the flea market

Yes, we are decluttering. Yes, we are on a really tight budget. And yes, we are trying to simplify our lives. So, why do we go to the flea market?

To treasure hunt, of course!

We packed drinks and lunch. Grabbed our old red wagon, and headed off.

We always have something in mind, that we are looking for. For the kids, it can be any kind of toy or collectible. Hubby is usually looking for tools and gadgets. I'm always looking for craft supplies and sometimes gardening supplies.

We each have a set amount to spend. When it's gone, it's gone!

We came home yesterday with a few odds and ends, nothing too major. {except a bit of a facial sunburn, WITH sunblock. Crazy high altitude.}

The real fun is the hunt and time spent as a family. We really like to browse. It's always fun for hubby and I to find things from our childhood. This time it was metal roller skates. Ahhh, the memories.

Grocery shopping

Today, I went grocery shopping. I took about an hour clipping coupons and making my list. I planned to visit 2 grocery stores, 1 health food store, 1 dollar store and 1 drugstore. The reason that I shop at more than one store is simple, I save money that way.

The first grocery store is a discount store. The prices are great and they take coupons. I found ground turkey there for $1.00 per pound!!! I bought 20 rolls. That should last for a while. (the next cheapest price in town is $1.99 per pound) I also found many great bargains and stocked up on a few things. Total spent there was $99.00.

The next was a chain grocery store and I focused on loss leaders and items that I had coupons for. Total spent there was $113.00. Coupons value was $19.20. Store card savings were $44.00.

Next was the drugstore to pick up picture prints. Walgreens had a buy 50, get 50 free deal. SoI sent 3 separate digital print orders. I had lots of pictures, on my computer, to be printed. I also ordered some doubles, so that I could make a gift scrapbook. Total spent $21.00, total saved $19.00.

At the dollar store, I just bought a few bags of candy for the candy jar and some beef jerky. Total spent $5.00.

This is enough to last us for many weeks. We are stocked up on meat, veggies, fruit and normal staples. I should only have to shop for fresh produce in the next month. I plan to buy produce at the farmers market, until my garden starts producing. I normally try to do one big shopping trip per month.

The freezers are full, the pantry is well stocked. All meals will be homemade every night. We are so blessed.

God is good!

My 101st post. Wow! ...and budgets

Who knew that I had it in me? Well, my hubby says I always have plenty to say....he he.

We just finished our new budget. It is a bit tight, but the goal that we are striving for is going to be worth it!

I kept track of all our expenses last year. Regular monthly bills, groceries, home expenses, mad money etc...

I was shocked at the amount that we spent! {let me add a few more exclamation points!!!!!!!!} We could have paid off the student loans! Yikes! Once I showed this to hubby, he got right on board with a new budget. He hasn't always been a willing participant on the ole budget plan. {show him the numbers and he finally gets it!}

The new budget categories: all of the regular monthly bills, groceries, home repair, auto, hobbies, clothing, pets, school expenses, allowance, eating out, entertainment, gift giving, donations, savings and miscellaneous expenses. Absolutely everything has been accounted for in this plan. We will still have fun, but we will only do that within the budget.

So, there will be less eating out, less buying something because it looks cool, less buying magazines and more borrowing from the library and so on....

We really hope to eliminate $15,000 of extra debt this year, so that we can aggressively attack the mortgage. End goal? Completely debt free in 5 years. We CAN do this!

home made hair care

There are so many products, on the market, for hair care. Even with coupons, they can get a bit pricey. I have very thick hair and live in a high altitude area, so it isn't easy to keep my hair conditioned.

I generally use Pantene products.{on sale, with coupons} They seem to keep my hair clean and mildly conditioned. As a former hairstylist, I understand that this is done by the use of waxes in the products, so I utilize baking soda occasionally, to remove build up. {just add a teaspoon to your shampoo and leave on until you feel an itch}

I know many bloggers are using plain baking soda as a shampoo, but with my dry hair and climate, that isn't an option for me.

To deep condition, I like to use a cup of mayo. You just spread it on dry hair and place a hair cap over it, or put up in a clip. Leave on for 20-30 minutes and then shampoo. It really does work. I have tried using an avocado in the same way, but just found it to be too messy. I do plan on trying a cup of unsweetened coconut milk. I just read that it is a great conditioner, and it would smell better than mayo! I'll have to research the price first.

My hair loses pigment easily and I don't want to chemically color treat my hair. I have dark hair, so I simply use 3 bags of black tea, brewed in 2 cups of hot water. Cool slightly and use as a final rinse. {do not rinse} It does add a bit of brown to the ends, which are lighter.

You can also use Earl Grey for brown hair. For blond you can use chamomile tea. For red hair, Rooibus. For lighter brown, use blackberry or raspberry tea.

I've also had success using brewed coffee in the same way. It's so much better for your heath and your budget to use this method. Of course, you can't use this to drastically change your natural color. These suggestions are only to be used if you want to perk up your color or to add depth, as I do.

budget time!

I use a modified version of the "envelope system". I do budget a certain amount for each category, only I don't actually carry envelopes of cash. I have one envelope of cash in my purse, marked "grocery". Other than that, I keep all receipts and log them.

I have a spiral notebook that I use for my budget. I have 15 categories and a dollar amount to be spent, for each. Some include: gifts, donations, grocery, medical, hobby, clothing, school, allowance, auto, etc.

The last day of the month, I tally each category, in my notebook, and then enter this info into my budget spreadsheet on my computer. It really does help to keep spending in check, It also allows me to feel horrible when I go over budget. =)

On my spreadsheet, I have a separate listing for each budget category as well as a place for all of the monthly bills. I include savings account contributions as well. I just made savings a priority and it is part of our monthly bills. Our bank has the option to have money automatically withdrawn from checking and transferred to savings. This helps!

I read so many books, articles and blogs when I was first taking our money seriously. We were forgetting to send off bills on time and spending way too much on who knows what. I gathered a lot of information and this is the system that I came up with. We've been doing this for a few years now. It really works for us.