5 Things Friday

  1.  Christmas is my favorite time of the year!   We actually have finished with all the decorating!   Lily and I will be headed to Disney in 17 days for a girls only graduation trip!  This is truely a  once in a lifetime experience!
  2. The weather is still really bizarre!  We have several days in the 60s followed by days in the 40s and it feels like it is raining every other day!  We have had so much rain that we are currently trying to figure out ways to dry up the water because we have standing water at the back of the coop.
  3. This weekend is very unique and special…. no plans for the entire weekend other than church. My goal is to get caught up on some cleaning and have an awesome pajama day.
  4. We have scheduled family pictures for December 26th and only one person is still in need of a shirt to wear.
  5. Groceries are the biggest area that I am noticing a difference in cost.  We have been over our grocery budget for 4 out of the last 5 months. And not just a little over WAY over!   I am going to try and reduce our spending on groceries for at least the next 3 months. I will adjust the budget to this year’s average in January but I also would like to reduce the amount we are spending along with adding freezer space that I can feel this summer.  My current goal is to spend $100 in the month of December.

November in Review

November was a calm sort of month.  We all enjoyed several days of vacation visiting with Haley and David and of course lots and lots of food! We are seeing the effects of inflation especially with the cost of food, both eating out and at the grocery store.  Overall a good month which allowed me to think and start to strategize for the next year.

Groceries– budget amount is $700  Not Met! $1021.06 is an accurate number that includes a drink stock up. I would like to significantly reduce the cost of our groceries this month with the goal of $100 however I will be averaging out grocery spending for the year and increasing the budget to include that amount.

Auto/ Gas. My goal is $400 a month. NOT met! $522.34  We did see gas price start to decrease at the end of November. I am going to have to look at the average and adjust the budget accordingly!

Cash Envelope system- Goal Met!  Our checking account is currently being used to pay bills.  We are using cash for everything else except gas!  Definitely an eye opener!

Blogging- 15 post per month.  Managed to include 13 this month!

Exercise days-   yea no but a shot at the end of November should help with Disney walking!

No Spend Days-No idea! I am wondering if I should eliminate this as long as we are using cash?