Positive Budget Adjustments

This is typically one of the times that I search to make sure that I am getting the best deal of all the normal bills. The reason is simple, I am thinking about the new year and a new budget.  We switched our internet provided right at a year ago. The first three months were $50ish then it went up to $86.75 which was still less than we were paying. We have been receiving promotional offers in the mail from the original provider  (Spectrum) but nothing outstanding aka worth the time and effort.

Well luckily that changed last week. We received an offer for $50 a month for 12 month at the same speed we had.  I went on line to make the change and also saw an offer for $50 free which I grabbed. I knew it would take some time to get everything switched so I scheduled for last Sunday. Of course it did not work out so a technician came on Monday and got it switched over.  We are going to save $26.75 a month for 12 months or $321 for the year.  This offer also included a free mobile phone line.

This offer required a little bit more research but we decided to go ahead and switch Kendall’s line to save an additional $35 a month.  I was actually trying to get a transfer pin from Verizon online when I managed to trigger a $20 a line discount for 12 months with the catch that I needed to call to get this discount.  Of course it did not come that easy. I spent 45 minutes on hold waiting to talk with someone who was only able to immediately apply it to 4 lines (one of which was Kendall’s).  I have been promised that we should receive the additional $40 discount in the next four business days.  But the hassle is worth it. Currently by changing Kendall’s line and given the $60 discount on the three lines our cellphone bill has decreased by $120 a month or $1440 a year!

That means that I am $1761 closer to paying off Home Depot!

Pantry Challenge update

I did a quick shopping trip on Tuesday 12/30 to end out the year.  I am going to attempt to only buy diary that we are completely out of or other items that are necessary in order to keep eating.  I am also significantly reducing my Amazon subscribe and save orders as well. This past week we have been focused on celebrating birthdays and eating left-overs.  Today, I realized that we are out of ranch powder and I used up the remaining thyme in our soup tonight.  Neither are required to eat so we should be good.

2025 in Review/2026 Goals

2025 has been a year of change and adjustments.  The past few days have been spent playing card games and enjoying having everyone at the same place at the same time. I think this was the first time this has occurred this year.   I am planning to keep things simple this year.

Emergency Fund-  We did not met this goal this year. One of the largest expenses occurred just two weeks ago with the HVAC system.  I am going to be removing this goal for now. The focus this year will be to reduce debit and prepare for retirement and life after high school. Zach will graduate in 2 years so this time is fast approaching.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  This goal was met 5 out of 12 months. The total amount spent was $9596. Which gives us an average of $799.65 a month.  2026 goal is $800 a month which is a $20 reduction and we will work hard to stay below this especially with my plans for a pantry challenge in January and February.

Gas- Goal is $500.  This is probably the biggest success of the year. We meet this goal 10 of 12 months.  We spent a total of $4704.53 or $392 a month average. 2026 goal will be $400 a month, another reduction that should be beneficial for us.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. I was able to meet this goal for 10 of 12 months. This is a huge thing for me. I am going to set the goal for 2026 to 11 just to push myself.

Debit-   The goal for 2026 will be to pay off the Home Depot Credit card without interest.  This is due in September and is a total of $3380.30    I will be sharing some wins in this area hopefully on Saturday.

No Spend Days-  This is really hard for us but I am going to track to see if this will give me any insight as to my spending habits.  I will count any spending including gas and family spending as well as my personal spending.  I am going to make a goal for 10 no spend days a month.

Health/Exercise- I am maintaining at 179.  My goal for 2026 will be to add some form of exercise 8 times a month.