In full transparency, I am writing this long past the actual date but hey I needed to get it in. We left for Florida on November 25th and did not return until December 6th, late so I was a little behind. I am very hopeful to get a post up about the financial decision that we made and completed in November before the Christmas holiday but for now I am struggling to get back in the grove.

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $250. I am very doubtful that we meet this goal this year. However stay tuned for some big financial update that will happen this month. Promise to get more information on this very soon!

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  Goal not  met with $1020.67. I am looking at a full on pantry challenge for January and February. I also need to get an idea of what we have spent for the year. Another promise of a detailed post with my ideas and goals should happen in December

Gas- Goal is $500.  November total is $623.15. This does include half of our trip. Gas mileage was around 9 miles to the gallon. December will also be expensive because of the return trip.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. This is actually post number 6 for the month. I have been struggling but am hoping to get myself back in a better routine.

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year! Huge update and changes coming soon.  See above!

Health/Exercise- I am continuing to slowly lose weight. This morning showed 179.  For a total of 46 pounds of weight loss. Ideally I would like to hit 50 but we shall see. I actually gained 3-4 pounds during the trip but also walked at least 5 miles a day for at least 5 of the days.

Reading through the Bible this year-Still on track! I am going to finish the year strong! One thing that I am staying on track with is good!

October has been a struggle to say the least.  I developed another eye infection but there is some evidence to say that they are actually shingles… I am just hoping I can keep from getting again.  I don’t think things are slowing down but I am hopeful that I am becoming more adaptable and that we can get in a rhythm soon.  On a positive note, we have almost finished the new building in the driveway. Painting and new lights are all that is left. This should make things easier but we shall see.

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $250. I am very doubtful that we meet this goal this year. However stay tuned for some big financial update that will happen this month.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  Goal  met with $678. We are working on continuing to work through our pantries, fridges and freezers. I would like to stay under for the remainder of the year. As a side note, we are also helping to support a family with our food resources as well.

Gas- Goal is $500.  October total is $343. We will be driving to Florida in November/ December and that should increase this amount.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. This is actually post number 6 for the month. I have been struggling but am hoping to get myself back in a better routine.

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year! Huge update and changes coming soon.

Health/Exercise- I am continuing to slowly lose weight. This morning showed 179.  For a total of 46 pounds of weight loss. Ideally I would like to hit 50 but we shall see. We did alot of walking for the Halloween party so that should count as exercise.

Reading through the Bible this year-Still on track! I am going to finish the year strong!

September was a busy month.  My work has been a struggle to balance and life is busy with teenagers and grands!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $250. One word School!

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  Goal not met with $907.36 We made a Costco trip on Saturday which pushed us way over.

Gas- Goal is $500. August  total is $34155. Not bad for a whole month of driving!

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. This is actually post number 10. This was a real struggle for the month. I am hoping to keep this up and even improve as I find that I can settle in a routine.

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year!  Slow progress and we might be making some significant changes but I will let you know as things progress.

Health/Exercise- Yuck yuck yuck… no time no time no time.

Reading through the Bible this year-Still on track! I am so excited and proud of myself because we finished the Old Testament today!  I am 3/4 of the way through!

As August comes to an end, I am sad.  I really enjoyed the summer! September brings Zach birthday and a consistent school schedule.  Things should get a lot of crazy before settling down for October!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $300. No progress this month. We have huge expenses including school shoes, big birthday and graduation expenses as well.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  Goal met with $647 spent including stocking up on corn ears and sodas.

Gas- Goal is $500. August  total is $342.29. I am going to assume this cost will rise as I am driving to and from work now.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. This is actually post number 11 not bad for the month I returned to work.

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year!  Slow progress and I am going to save for a big update in December.

Health/Exercise-Things are heading in the right direction. I am down 12 pounds for the summer and my watch told me that I have walked 2 miles for 15 days this month.

Reading through the Bible this year-Still on track!

I am sad because the end of July means that I am returning to work very soon.  Two weeks to be exact. July was an extremely fun month. Matt and I enjoyed the cruise for the first couple of days of July. Last week was our family vacation at Myrtle Beach. This was very relaxing and very needed!  We all just sat and soaked up the sun and ocean breezes.  In fact it was so good we have already booked the same week for next year!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $300. I decided to enjoy vacations and not focus on this during this month. I am very hopeful to start adding to this on a regular basis. In order to meet this goal I will need to place $140 each month into the account. Time to buckle down and make this an achievable goal.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  We spent $854.80 Although I did not meet the established goal, I did stay under $900 which was what I planned last month. My hope and goal is to reduce this amount for the remainder of the year.

Gas- Goal is $500. June total is $342.29. This does include two road trips so that is a very positive thing!

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. This is actually post number 8 which I am considering a success considering that I was out of town for at least 15 days this month!

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year!  Still not discussing.

Health/Exercise-No change on the scales this month. I have been walking alot but I want to continue to see some improvements.

Reading through the Bible this year-Today is day 212  and I am on track! This is s huge success!

June the official start of Summer!   I love the hot weather and am really enjoying my summer break. June was a good month and July should be even better. We have several trips coming up and a whole month of no work or at least school work. Summer is here!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $300. This is a struggle for me.  It seems we make a step forward and then several steps back. We are at least moving in the right direction but I am hopefully to be back to $500 which is where we started the year.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  We spent $1084.93 I had anticipated that our grocery budget would remain high this month. I am trying to stock both the pantries and the freezers so that does mean higher cost. I would like to keep it lower than $900 for July but we shall see.

Gas- Goal is $500. June total is $336.76. This does not include the HUGE expense of new tires for my car. I am anticipating a higher total for July as we have 2 road trips planned.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month. This is actually post number 18 which is the most I have ever posted in a single month! Go me !

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year! I am not going to discuss this but we are struggling and I am working to get a better handle on where our money is going.

Health/Exercise-I am actually weigh 191 I have finally got back into the routine of walking in the pool a couple of times a week. My weight has gone up and down so no real change this month.

Reading through the Bible this year-Today is day 181 which mean I am half way there!  I am super proud of myself and plan to continue on track. I will admit that this summer is much harder to stay on track than during the school year.

April is done that means I am so close to Summer I can smell it!  I really enjoyed our late Spring Break!  I am going to do a better job tracking spending this month and we have a Disney trip so things will be fast!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- $250 this has not been a focus and honestly it likely will not be again until September.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.  Yikes we spent $1298.53. This included not one but two Costco trips and we are starting our stock up on Strawberries for the year as well. I purchased 2 gallons today for $40 and one is in the freezer while we are enjoying the second.

Gas- Goal is $500. April total is $359. Still holding on to our budget.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month.  Woo HOO This is post number 17 for the month!   I am super impressed with myself and we will see what happens in May.

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year! Not much to report but slow and steady make progress.

Health/Exercise-I am actually weigh 195.  I am walking more but nothing to a level it needs to be.

Reading through the Bible this year- Our church and myself are following “The Bible Recap” program and I have currently managed to stay on track for 120 days!

March has been a very busy and productive month. We have focused alot of time and some money on outdoor projects. Specifically, completing the deck and making the gardens a little more self-sufficient. I also have attempted to start all plants from seed. My goal for the year is to only plant flower starts.  We will see how it goes. Financially, we are still working on reducing debit by reducing our budget.  I think we may have hit the tipping point this month were we are spending less than bringing in. So I am hopeful that this will continue and gain traction in April. Spring break is late this year, so April begins the countdown to SUMMER!

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- We currently have $250 in this fund which is $50 less than February and $250 less than December. I have planned for our tax payment on April 15th, so I am hopefully this starts moving in the right direction.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.   We actually managed to decrease the grocery budget in March spending $450.  One thing that helped was cash back from Costco.  We are also continuing to focus on using items in the pantry and freezers. My overall goal is to continue with this focus until June when school is out. I would love to keep the budget under $500 until then but we shall see.

Gas- Goal is $500. March total is $329.70 Unfortunately gas price took a huge jump on April 1st so this may be difficult to maintain in the future.

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 posts per month.  Woo HOO This is post number 13 for the month!   As busy as this month was I am really impressed with myself. I am hoping to stay above goal each month.

Debit- Goal is 200000 total debit for the end of the year! I am hoping to start moving the needle in the right direction.  Lily is also paying off her debit which should help.

Health/Exercise- Progress this month is that I had a doctor’s appointment and will be changing meds which will hopefully bring this to easier place.  Goal is 175 and exercise regularly. Blah, Blah

Reading through the Bible this year- Our church and myself are following “The Bible Recap” program and I have currently managed to stay on track for 90 days!

February has been interesting to say the least, we had several weather days which meant either working from home or my favorite delay starts.  Things have certainly started to get much busier this last week and I am anticipating the pace to continue to pick up and continue through the end of the school year.

Emergency Fund- Goal is $1000- We currently have $300 in this fund which is $200 less than December. I also have a $3800 tax bill to cover so this may not progress at all for the next couple of months.

Groceries- Goal $820 per month.   My goal for February is $400 or less. Well, that did not happen either. $662.25 total for the month. I have decided to modify the pantry challenge for the next couple of months.  I am unsure if I will save money, but I need to focus on using the items in the pantry.

Gas- Goal is $500. February’s total is $265.10.  I am very glad to see the price of gas return to a more normal level!

Blogging- For 2025- the goal will be 10 post per month.  Woo HOO This is post number 14 for the month!  One more than last month!  I am making an intentional effort to keep up with this goal.

Debit- Goal is 200000 for the end of the year! See tax bill from above.

Health/Exercise- Progress this month is that I had a doctor’s appointment and will be changing meds which will hopefully bring this to easier place.  Goal is 175 and exercise regularly.

Reading through the Bible this year- Our church and myself are following “The Bible Recap” program and I have currently managed to stay on track for 59  days!