So, I have always considered myself somewhat frugal. I try to buy things on sale (which some how became if it is on sale I HAVE to have it!), my kids wear hand-me-downs, I color my own hair. So imagine my shock when I checked our bank account this week and found a negative balance! What?! I was really only checking our account to show my husband that we did indeed have the money to buy new flooring for our kitchen. But the joke was on me - we didn't have money for milk, much less flooring! I began to scower our statement to discover where our money had gone - and there, in black and white, was the problem. Seems we had spent $520.93 in eating out in the last month - GULP! That is more than my grocery "budget" is supposed to be! And, by the way, right about what we estimated new floor would cost! What a wake up call! I haven't been brave enough to total the amounts I have spent at the craft stores over the past month, something tells me it would be slightly more. :)
Now the adventure begins! The challenge - to create and stick to a budget, to find fun and useful ways to save money, to harness my creative powers into a money making enterprise! The goal - new flooring! Why? Well, let's just say the white linoleum we moved in to new looks beige. Who in their right mind would put white on the floor of a kitchen, especially when it is the only inlet from the back yard? The rest of the kitchen has been resurfaced thanks to my creative and "frugal" ways (the kitchen counters repainted, yep, rePAINTED, new coat of paint on the walls, venitian plaster backsplash, new kitchen decorations...new kitchen quilt...ok maybe not so frugal!) and now it is time for those floors to GO!
I have lots of ideas of frugal ways, it is just a matter of applying them. I will be posting the things I know, learn and do here for all to see. Sure hope you will join me in this adventure!
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3 comments:
Yay, you blogger! :)
Might I suggest the book that changed our financial lives and helped our marriage tremendously! Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. It taught us how to get on a budget and we no longer fight about money- EVER! Seriously, it's been awesome! Please consider checking it out- it takes away the guilt of spending money (because you know where every cent goes) and it will help you save for that floor!
Miss you!!!
Hey Liz, welcome to the blogging world. I look forward to reading more. I also have some of my favorite blogs listed to the right on my blog. Some of them have tips on living a frugal lifestyle. Just thought I'd let you know. I have heard many good things about Dave Ramsey, we have never actually taken the class but have talked about how we can apply some of those things to our budget already. We are doing better now that we sat down and really mapped out what we need and don't need. It has helped a lot. Not always Fun... but I think it will be for the long run. I'll be praying that you have that kind of luck too. Have a great day!
It is so much easier to eat out! Sometimes that ease offsets the cost for me when choosing whether to eat out or not...by the way, welcome to the blogging world, since starting my blog I've reeived FREE stuff just for advertising other bloggers and their stuff!
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