Went clothes shopping for my three grandkids. We have them a lot and like to keep clothes here for them. I shopped at the thrift store and mostly chose the yellow tagged items that were an additional 50% off. I was able to get 14 items and spend under $17. yah for me. Here are some picts of the cute things I got.


This picture is 2 outfits for Daisy she's 2.


This is 2 outfits for Drew who is 6 months


Here you are seeing jammies for the Drew and the Daisy and 2 tops for Sophi our 5 year old


Grandkids is what love and life is all about.

April's budget spending will start March 31 because that when I get paid. Our special goal for April is to play the game of accounting for almost all money spent.

house pymt 1st ...........$942
discover 1st .............$250
auto boat insurance 1st...$290
auto pymt 1st............ $749
TV/Cable 1st............. $130
Heat and lights 7th...... $200
Phone 9th ................$115
sewer 17th ...............$ 38
life ins 1st/12th/18th .. $ 80
aol 29th .................$ 15
Total $2,809

Auto Gas him ........ $150
Auto gas her ............$150
Groceries ................$500
For Fun ..................$500
Misc needs and
really really reallywants $500
Grand total $4,609

April showers bring rainbows and May flowers.

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/19998427@N06/popular-interesting/

My DH got paid.... he worked 20 hours overtime for the week so it's a large check. We have done so well since we started playing this new money management game,that all the bills are paid and we have kept to only using cash. Plus my paycheck will be in the bank Monday. SO..........

I/We have decide we deserve a reward.......so after putting $200 extra on the focus loan........$200 in savings.......we are using an extra $120 on recreation. After doing all this we are still leaving $300 in the checking account for groceries and padding.

I definitely feel like we are reaching new horizons. What fun!!!

I find since i started this adventure I am becoming more aware of ways I can save like getting all the lights off and not over warming up my car.
I was also able to put an extra $200 on our focus loan. I also feel that I have enough clothes, at this moment anyway. I also put off getting my hair done for two more weeks because it didn't seem to need done quite as fast as usual.
I think getting the money monkey off my back is making me a more content person. So many thing seem to be OK when before they were needing fized.

I love pretty pictures....they inspire me.

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/19998427@N06/popular-interesting/

As I continue on my new managing money adventure, I find myself asking what feels right for now. And now, for me, is figure out what the end of the month living adventure might look like. And what feel right for now is buying all that I need by dipping into my cushion money and NOT buying anything I want.... even if I really really really want it. Example I really really really want to get my nails redone and they need a full do......which runs about $30. That will have to wait until our next pay check because cushion money is best not spent for want items even, really really really want, want items. So my nails will look tacky until atleast the weekend. Now on the other hand I needed apples, I eat a ton of apples, and the farmer market has tasty, crisp fugi apples by the box for 55 cents a pound which is a great price if you buy a box, so I purchased a box. The apples I bought a week ago were $1.79 a pound, hence this is truely an exceptionial deal.

Now for the happy picture of the day.

Spring is on its way. In fact my crocous are up.
For more picture inspiration check out my friends site.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/19998427@N06/popular-interesting/

Had a great Easter and inexpensive to boot...... glad to be learning that they can dance together. There were 13 in attendance not counting our two dogs and our cat.

There was more than enough food everyone brought what ever they wanted to add to what I was supplying which was
ham
pitchio salad (that hb made)
green bean and almonds
rolls
and 4 litres of pop
(which cost me a grand total of only $40 and we have some leftovers)


Stayed with my weighed and measured eating plan.... so i can be guaranteed waking up tomorrow still weighing 128 intead of on my weighK:K) but up to 200+ again. I did fix one of my favorites, green beans and almonds,which T ate 16 ounces of...for dinner my food plan calls for 24 ounces of veggies,,,,,I also had 8 ounces of pumpkin with splenda and olive oil "I can't believe its not butter" margarine. Yes, I do eat fat.....IN fact for dinner I get 1.5 ounces and I looooooove butter...and butter does not weigh much so I get tons......yum yum.

Everything is quiet hear the kitchen is still a little messy but I'm a morning person so I will most likely wait until morning to finish it up......unless my body decides it has had enough sleep at 1 or 2 like it does sometimes and I get up and finish it then.

The more I find in my life to appreciate, the better it feels. The better it feels, the more I want to do it. The more I do it, the better it feels. The better it feels…the more I want to do it! The Law of Attraction assists me with the powerful momentum of my positive thoughts and feelings until, with very little time and effort, I find my heart singing and I'm filled with joy.

And, in this wonderful atate of JOY all my dreams start appearing in my life. Anything I can imagine being, doing or having — I can be, do, or have. If I can dream it and imagine it and envision it and come to believe it, the powers that be will bring it to me.

My standard of success in life is not the money or the stuff — My standard of success IS absolutely the amount of JOY I feel!
Now don't get me wrong I appreciate nice things and tons of money.

But for me......
Tons of money and things do not egual JOY.

Whare as.....
Tons of JOY can summon an excess of money and lots of things.

And for me the more fun/JOY I have managing my money the easier my money is managed.

AND THE SOONER..............

Just got back from grocery shoping spent $72 out of our cushion account got lots of what we need for the week to make eating fun but not too much fun. And a few stock up need items that were really great buys some example are.

item...what i paid/ original cost
2 snack pack pudding$1/$2
4 pkg taco shells $1/$2.29
2 frozen lasagna $3/$5.19
2 large blue ch dressing $4/$5.99
1 litre pop $1/$2.39
3 olive oil marg. $1.25/$2.59

sometimes I have to remember this is a Living Beneath our Means and loving it journey.

I'm not going to hold us to an exact amount on our food budget. We almost never go out to eat and we deserve good food at home. Plus we make good money. I have extra money I can spend on food without charging. I won't charge food anymore. So the rule is beings we have spent our food budget for the month, I will only buy items that we need to make good dinners, lunches ect. I also want to be able to take advantage of sale item of food we need that we could stock up on. We eat very healthy and I'm alergic to sugar so we never have treats in the house, but I do feel we should be able to eat ribeye steaks at least twice a month if we want too.

I won't be buying them until the first of the month because they are a really really really want not a need.

It just dawned on me that we have moved into phase 3 which is living beneath our means and loving it........Because when we got paid we had an extra $200 to apply to our focus CC. That was easy.

HB got paid was able to pay medium medical bill off and apply $200 towards our focus CC. We also applied $2000 that was in saving to that CC also taking it from $8000 to to $5800. Taking stock of where we set right now
-we have $20 left in regular budget for food for the month.
-$80 left for intertainment-rec. we will be going snowmobiling maybe both days if money allows enough gas.
-$200 padding in checking just incase.
-$1000 in savings
-all bills but 1 paid (i think)

It sure feels good to be so in control and on top of this in a flexible, loving it kind of way.

Me day dreaming about laying on a beautiful beach instead of worrying about money

Thought I would take a few minutes to review this month plan, goals and accomplishments so far, beings this is all so new to me.

-make this journey fun, by making it like a game.
-allowing myself to be flexible (nothing is set in stone).
-only buying that which we need or really really really wanted. (I have made a list of things we/I really really really want and that list is not all the long will share later).
-decided on a budget amount for recreation, which is a very important part of our lives and making ourselves stick to it. (In fact last night dh suggested we get slurpees at 7/11 until I reminded him they would have to come out of the entertainment rec account when we only have 80 left then he thought a glass of aw rootbeer, which we had at home would be just fine) choices choices choices.
-watching how much gas we are using and how many miles we are driving.
-sticking close to the amount we budgeted for food.
-transferring all he bills that automatically went on visa to our checking account.
-turning off lights (did not realize how many we left on) already bought energy saving bulbs a few month ago
-becoming aware of when we might be wasting but not becoming anal (ie…watching use of paper plates but not saying I can’t use them when I want…..keeping it a game)
OK that’s what I can think of for now.

went to walmart had my groceries split into three sections........
-section 1 pay with cash which comes from the month $500 budget which i still have $25 left and tons of groceries in the house
-section 2 kleenex for work which i put on my debt card and will be reimbursed for
-section three Easter dinner fixins paid with debt card.

which was only $26 plus $14 for the ham which i bought earlier equaling a small total $40. i'm so proud of myself. we will be feeding about 10ish people.

Went shopping at costco bought the ham for easter dinner put it on my debt card along with my hearing aid batteries because they are not part of the months food I am paying cash for.

Then I paid cash for my food items. It was fun deciding what I really needed and what i could just push by. Now i have $30 left for the rest of the month (that means I cant spend anymore than that before the first of April).

We have a lot of food in the house now and won't need much to get us to the first. We might have to mix and match alittle....but it will be a fun challenge. Plus, it's only food......it's fine if we eat some weirdish combos towards the end.

I thank my angel-fairies for making everything so fun.

I have decided to have Easter at my house.

And I am choosing to have a simple and inexpensive dinnler. This is what I am supplying.

Ham
-Pistachio Salad
-green bean and almond hot veggie(bought - at Walmart in the freezer section ......this is a "to live for veggie treat" and you just open the bag and stir fry)
-Rolls
-a couple bottles of pop
I am expecting it to be very low cost. (I will do an easter dinner part 2 once i have bought the stuff and know the cost)

I was supplying the potato salad too but my brother begged to bring it.......and I leaped at the chance to let him.

and i have told everyone coming to bring whatever else they want.........I am into low maintance living.

I am not considering this part of my food budget......It's will go under my Misc. needs catagory.

I have asked my daughter to bring the candy as I also weigh and measure my food and candy is not something i mess with.

If there is not as much money in my experience as I would want, it means one thing and one thing only: The balance of my thoughta regarding the subject of money is tipping more to the lack of it than to the having of it.

And now that I have deliberately and consciously began offering more thoughts and inspired actions(ie budgeting and loving it) towards managing my money in a smart fun way than towards the lack of it...........my money situation is really heating up in a in a magical way.

I went to the story to get apples and when i went to check them out the machine rang them up wrong and charged me too much the store has a rule that when that happens you get the item free..............now if that was not good enough my angels had me pick up a whole bag of apples so i got over 16 dollars worth of apples free............

What’s my big hurry? (It’s all for joy.) All is well.

What’s the big hurry? You're not ever going to get it done, so what are you racing toward?

Every single activity that you’re involved in is for one purpose only, and that is to give you a moment of joy. That’s why it all exists.

Lighten up. Laugh more. Appreciate more. All is well.

This is my crede to live by even when learning to manage my money. Keeping my journey joyful moment by moment is what my life is all about. When my major focus is joyful my life is magical.

i budget $500 a month for groceries...... i have spent $405 so far used my debit card which works great a lot of the time....... but now i will take out the $95 cash so i won't be tempted to go into the $200 i keep as a base in my checking account. I'm really enjoying this money game I'm learning to play and win. I still consider us in what i call phase 1 as we learn to live within our means and moving towards living beneath our means.

I use to weigh over 200 lbs now i weigh 129. i do a food plan called greysheet. greysheet is like AA for food addicts, where you have to call a sponsor daily and weigh and measure your food.

i find that my success with my weighing my food is helping me learn to stay with in my budget. they are both sort of the same. weighing my food is like a budget for my weight. i don't have a before picture but just imagine me 70+ lbs heavier than in this picture.



this is weighed and measured me on the alaskian cruise we took last summer. the next one we take we will pay with cash this one we are still paying on. but not for long now that we are changing our money habits.

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/weight-loss-journals/525925-gail-s-thoughts-become-things-diet-journal.html

Here is the link incase you are interested in my thoughts become things diet journal blog..........just copy and paste into your browser.

House house pymt 942
Loans discover 250
Automobile Auto Gas his 150
auto gas hers 150
auto pymts 749
auto boat insurance 290
Utilities Phone 115
TV/Cable 130
aol. 15
heat lights 200
sewer 38
Food Groceries 500
Family mom 50
Other life insurance 120
Intertain-rec 400
church 50
misc. needs 500
Total 4649

Income me $3,400
his 2.000+ overtime
Total $5,400+

we have three loans

-$11,000 CC at 0%interest for next 10 months with large possibility of keeping it 0% until paid off
-$8,000 car loan at 6.24% (paid $50 in interest this month and last month)
-$18,000 car loan at 6.99% (paid $100 in interest this month and last month)

my dh and i are divided on which loan to apply it to.........

he wants to apply it to the $8.000 one because that will cut it almost in half and we will see results sooner and free up its payment to apply to the others.

i think we should pay on the larger one because we will save more interest.

It looks like we might flip a coin to decide and let the universe make the decision.

If I get what I want that's ok........if he get what he want that's ok too.

We have decided to apply the $3000 to one of our loans.

I am very into the LAW OF ATTRACTION. And because of that i believe for me keeping an emergency fund would be telling the universe i expect an emergency, which i don't. Now for some of you this concept may seem crazy but if you are into the LAW OF ATTRACTION like i am you will understand where my thoughts are coming from. (For those rolling there eyes We do have cc's with room on them just in case a teeny, tiny, miniscule emergency might pop up in the very far distant future)

we have $3000 in saving right now and i wasn't sure which way to go. so i asked in the forum and it sounds like there is backing for either.

for now we are keeping the money in saving because i like having it there and now that we are only buying what we need and really really want we have lots of cash to pay down the debt. this sure is an exciting journey. i get excited just thinking about it.

decided we needed to have a budget amount for recreation. now recreation is very important to us. we snowmobile, boat ect. so we/i decided that for this month our recreation would be $450 which we already used $375 for our weekend snowmobile trip so i went and got $80 cash and told my DH that that was what we had left for the remainder of this month recreation. we were going to go snowmobiling today but i am getting over a cold and did not want to push it so i am enjoying staying home and watching part of a movie and playing on the cp while my husband went to play with logs...........and the grandkids are coming over at 3 ish so that is how we will spend our evening.

Here is a picture of me enjoying my snowmobile

had a slight melt down this morning. i felt overwhelmed with the how to of balancing having a life and saving. i had been reading many article about living beneath you means and they had me feeling maybe i needed to become extreme....... like get rid of my high speed internet and cable which i enjoy a lot. then i realized the article are just that articles someone elses ideas and they dont have to become mine unless i think they would enhance my life. also i thought i would be best if i were to define my goals in this new adventure.

so here goes

-pay off $11,000 cc debt while keeping it on 0% interest CCs.
-only pay cash for cars from now on
-focusing on enjoying the one we have instead of daydreaming about a better on (ie snowmobiles, boat
-having all my CC with 0 balance
-having lots of fun while only buying what we need or really really want
-being able to have tons of fun and travel and still pay with cash
-being very aware of where my money is going
-and having a budget
-paying cash for almost everything

Now it’s the end of February and my husband got paid again and so did I. We used my husband check to pay off the rest of Visa. That’s the first time in I don’t know how long since we have not had to use all the extra in my check to pay off Visa. I have it so that most of our bills come due on the first. This is how ourk budget looks for now in phase one. i have also labeled if the item is a want or need.

House $950 need
Heat 200 need
Phones 115 both
tv/cable 130 want
aol 15 want
sewer 38 need
church 50 need
life ins 120 both
gas his 150 need
gas her 150 need

Extras
Beings this is a Living within our means and loving it journey, I did get my nails done because I felt I really needed and wanted to get them done, one had broke and they just did not look nice. The appreciation thing I mentioned above kicked in mega because I had to give up something to get them done. I have a been extra excited and appreciative about them all week.

We are really finding out what’s important, now that we are not spending money on every whim. Like our grandchildren……….We always knew they were important but it just seems different now.

Next I’m going to talk about delayed gratification the ability to wait in order to obtain something that one wants.
We are finding like any good habit delayed gratification can be learned, and that is what all this is teaching us. Studies have been done on the benefits of delayed gratification and some of them are a more positive, self-motivated person. Being able to delay gratification, builds more thriving marriages, greater career satisfaction which leads to higher incomes, and better health. Who couldn’t use more of all that.

Extra money
Our income tax return came. We normally would have spent it “whatever” way and would not have been able to tell you where it went two week later. But this time most of it is in saving with just a little spent on extra food.

Tempted
I was tempted to go buy the groceries on my list and use my debt card, knowing my husband’s check “should” be here today. Then I thought twice asking myself is there anything we need today and the answer was NO! So I will wait until I cash the check and have the cash in my hand.

Loving it
I’m really loving this journey to living beneath our means. It’s like a game that I know I can win and as long as I think twice and remember when in doubt don’t.

Week Two
Again we kept half in cash for the week. We used that money for snowmobile, gas and food……..not going over the cash amount we had kept out. I transferred what was over the $200 in our checking to pay on our Visa.

Appreciation………. I find myself reveling at the heightened appreciation I have for the things I’m choosing to spend my “easy earned “ money on. (I call it “easy earned” money because I have the most wonderful job anyone could have I get paid to play with kids all day . (I am a reading teacher!)
When I was buying tons…… rather I could afford it or not I did not appreciate it anywhere near what I was experiencing now. I did not realize that until now. (Hindsight is 20/20)

Week three
Again we took half out in cash and put the rest in our checking account, transferring everything above the $200 to pay on our Visa. This week we decided to check the miles on our vehicles to see how many we were using and if we could cut back there. We found we could indeed cut back some.