Frugal Goal Complete

Well, I did it. I spent less than $5 more on food from Sunday until now--7 days. My cupboard is really getting bare, so I will have to go to the grocery store today or tomorrow. I need to make a list and stick to it so that I won't go overboard. I have most of the ingredients for these dinners for next week: steak and oven fries, quesadillas, leftover steak sandwiches, pizza, spaghetti with meat sauce, pork barbecues.

I was really tempted to stop at Subway on the way home last night, but because I knew I would have to confess to you guys, I came home and raided the refrigerator. Thanks!

Car Temptation--Back again!

My mother called last night and told me that my cousin was selling his 2001 VW Jetta for $3500. It is red and very cool, so once again car temptation rears its ugly head. Yes, I'm tempted, but I know that this is not the time to buy another car, neither monetarily nor parentally(?). I will re-evaluate in a few months. I explained my position to my mother and she understood. I think she and my dad are getting car fever, too, plus they know that it will be difficult to share a car when school starts.

Frugal Goal Day 5

If I can limit food spending to $1 for the next 2 days, I will make my frugal goal of spending less than $5 more on food this week. I'm going to try to make it until Saturday. I'm heading out to pick up DS from running camp right now. We have enough food for the next few days if we just eat what we already have--grilled cheese, hamburgers, spaghetti. We don't have gatorade. Does anyone have a good homemade sports drink recipe?

Milestone: Credit card debt under $2000!

My July snowball brought my balance down to $1984. Finally, I'm under $2000! This is huge for me because I have paid off $2000 in CC debt many times before so I know it can be done ;(

The difference is that this time I have a financial plan in place so that won't have to use credit cards again.

Frugal goal update: Spent $2.64 on breakfast at McD's with a friend. This was an out of the ordinary treat. We walked for an hour and then had iced lattes and breakfast.

Total spent $3.97. I'm getting awfully close to $5!

Frugal goal update

Now that I have announced that I will try to spend under $5 this week, I want to buy more! I'm sure there is a psychological explanation for it, but I think that it's pretty funny. I'm over 50 for goodness sakes, not a spoiled child. Self awareness is always good, right?
Spending so far: $1.34 for bread at the discount store.

Planned spending for the rest of the week: bananas, breakfast at McD's with a friend (she has a coupon). This will be close.

Frugal goal

My frugal goal for the week is to not spend over $5 more on groceries this week. DS is away at running camp until Thursday so I should be able to eat well on what I already have in the refrigerator--plenty of lettuce, veggies and hummus. I also have pasta and frozen food. I should be eating pretty well.

Two Years ago

In late June, 2007, I read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. Before reading this book, I really thought that I was in pretty good shape financially because I was able to make my monthly payments. I had 2 zero interest credit cards that I had used for big purchases, one CC with a $1000 balance that I was unsuccessfully trying to pay down, and one card that I paid in full each month. I also had a $3000 car loan.


What I didn't realize was that I was getting farther and farther in debt each month. I was spending more than I brought in. I was pretty upset and ashamed that I hadn't seen what was happening.When I calmed down, I started on Dave's Babysteps. For the first few months, I got even further in debt because I wasn't used to living on that month's income.

My journey has been pretty long, but I can see light at the end. I think that in 4 months, I will be finished with Babystep 2. Lessons I'm learning along the way--tracking my spending is important for me because I tend to be unrealistic in my estimates, saving for unexpected expenses and irregular expenses decreases stress, and accountability really helps me stay on track.

I am enjoying this journey and I have made progress in reducing my debt. Hmm...maybe the journey is more important than the final outcome. Interesting....