June | 2016 | Teens Tots and Everything In Between

Tonight, while the kids watched Toy Store, I was able to spend a couple of hours with our budget. I am relieved to say that I have developed a plan that should get us back on track for the year by August. We had several big set backs in May including a contract for Matt that fell through and the freezer. I have been avoiding looking at the accounts but made some realistic decisions and have a plan. I know that continues to provide for us but I also realize that I have to work with the income we are given.
Matt is on board with planning a Disney trip in November 2017. My current goal is to use Swagbucks to place the deposit in September or October. This trip will be paid for entirely from outside my income. It is a huge challenge but something I want to prove I can do.
Our new freezer is AWESOME. We still need to install the solar powered fan in the building to help protect it but yesterday I was able to re-organize all the freezer in preparation for the summer harvest and chicken delivery.
I officially have a three day weekend starting today. I am off work on Monday so that I can attend several different events at the school for the end of the year.
We have four and half day of school left. I am probably more excited about this than the kids. Tonight was also the first official pay out for chores. I know at least one of the kids was upset. I am hoping they will pick up and do more chores with ice cream at the pool as the goal.

Our first official harvest from this morning. We have been collecting and freezing basil for the past few weeks and have used a couple of squash, but this is the beginning of what I hope to be a very productive season for us.
Our new freezer arrived today, which gave me a chance to do some arranging and make a list of all the meat that we currently have on hand. I am excited and pleased to report we have meat for 75 meals in our freezers.
The bad news is that we also have a delivery of 120# of chicken breast coming a week from Tuesday. I need to get a plan in place of how I want to prepare and use this.
Given the above information, I am setting the grocery budget at $150 for the month of June. I will need to make some purchased to help prepare the chicken but otherwise I am going to stick to Aldi each week for $10 worth of extra health options!
All three kids are going to participate in swim team this summer which is my favorite activity to watch. The only down side to this is that I have to find Zach some trunks that he can wear.
I will receive my extra paycheck the first of July, our initial intention was to make an extra payment on both the house and van with this check however given our current situation, we will be using this money to help keep things on an even playing field for the summer.
The kids have one more week of school left, I think we are all excited to have some extra time.