So back in September I started this blog. Hubby and I had gotten fed up with our spending habits and with the knowledge that we could be putting a lot more in savings, if we just spent less. At that point we did two things:
1. We signed up for Dave Ramsey's FPU class at a local church.
2. We started working on a budget
I have to say we were probably the most gung-ho people in the class when it started (and may still be). We've learned a lot; even having been an avid listener of Dave's show for the last 7+ years, I was amazed at how much I've learned. We now only have 2 weeks left and thanks to couponing, shopping sales and stocking up, we will be cutting out shopping budget back yet again when we revisit our budget this weekend.
When we initially started out we had a set budget for groceries. I didn't consider all the stuff I buy at the drug stores to be "groceries" so I was still paying for them with our debit card. After the first month, Paul had me include those with the grocery envelope. He had even adjusted the budget to give me a little extra in that envelope to cover those things. I told him it wasn't necessary, we could just leave the grocery budget where it was and I'd also buy the drugstore deals out of that same amount.
This month we'll be cutting that amount by 25%, and hopefully it will be at 50% by the end of the year. Or original plan was to put 75% of my income into savings and it's looking very much like by the end of the year we'll be able to put my full paycheck into savings. This is just so amazing to me. Not only that, it's been really fun.
We first started trying to do a budget several years ago when we first got married and all it led to was stress and anxiety. It took us a while to really get on the same page with what we wanted and what we were willing to do/ give up to get there. It was really funny when it happened because we both wanted the same thing and were worried the other one wouldn't be on board. It's amazine what can happen when as a couple you are both shooting for the same goals. We've added about $5 to our emergency fund in just over 2 months. While there's still stress in not knowing what will happen with his job at the end of the year, it's a lot less stressful when we know we have the money in the bank to get by for a while.
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