Simple Changes

I am happy to report that DH and I are working really hard to maintain and establish a excellent budget that we can meet our goals with. This month we are paying off one of two credit cards and paying down a significant amount off the other one. We also have stopped cold turkey using the one with a balance and we are hoping that with income tax we will be able to pay the balance and pay off one of interest baring furniture cards. This is a huge deal because that means we won't be carrying nearly as much consumer debt and we can start buying more for our beautiful new home.

One of the most simple changes we made was not eating out at all for dinner. This one is difficult but I am slowly developing my skills and learning to cook fun yummy meals. We were averaging roughly $75 dollars a week on eating out. So over a 4 week period that was coming to $300 on top of our bi weekly groceries. In addition, Sandro decided in order to save money that he would limit his lunches to twice a week (or $20 dollars or so) Before he was spending $50 dollars a week. Of course our grocery bill went up, since we have to shop every weekend, our over all spending went down quite a bit.

On top of that this year for Christmas we decided not to spend money on each other. We used to spend about 500-1000 bucks a year on each other. In order to meet our goals we decided not buy each other a gift and save for our next big purchase which we hope will be a 65 inch LCD TV. We also decided to pull names on Sandro's side of the family and not over spend like we usually do. The Juric family last year spent way to much money at Christmas and I think pulling names will help each of not to overspend. Sandro and I goal this year is not to use the credit card at all. Which I know we can do.

Overall all things are looking great on our new home. I am loving my kitchen and I love the way that my house looks. I can't wait to decorate it more and make it feel more like home. However, I have plenty of time for this. I am so excited I am hosting Christmas this year.