I am not surprised at all to say that several thing have occurred this month that I did not originally think about or plan for. Fortunately, we have adapted and managed to spend as little as possible. One of the bigger things that has happen is the sudden dramatic weather change that has brought us temperature not rising above freezing for several days in a row. I discovered that we had a significant draft in our living room. We were able to purchase and reduce this draft for around $20 but this was totally unplanned. Next up was a computer problem, we ended up purchasing a new operating system for one of our computers which was $130 but in addition after spending several hours working on and around this problem, Matt and I both needed a mental break and headed to Cracker Barrel for Dinner. I am honestly glad we did because after coming home it took another 3 hours to get the computer back to a workable state. I am really enjoying this diet challenge because it allows us to stop and thing before spending, even if we decide to spend the money.  Now on to more positive news.

1. Grocery spending of $200 or less- Currently I have spent $168 after both a trip to Costco and Aldi. I am so excited by this number. I don’t see any reason we can not stay in our goal for the month. We also went ahead today and did a rough menu plan for the month of February. I can see that we should be able to maintain a low budget of $400 or less for February!

2. Challenge #1– Give away 31 things- I have a box of kids clothing already packed and have a couple of options. I am going to make sure this box is gone before the end of the month.

3.Challenge #2– Figure your Net Worth-  I did not complete this totally simply because this number has no meaning to me at this point. What I have done is make a spreadsheet to keep up with real number as I work at paying off credit cards and other debits. I also know the value of all our vehicles. Finally today, I set up access to my retirement account so I can at least glance at it from time to time. As an interesting side note, it has lost over a thousand dollars in January already.

4. Challenge # 3- Do something to earn an extra $25 or more this month.– I have several items listed on Facebook for sale right now.

5. Challenge #4- Reduce at least one expense– I stay pretty on top of this to begin with. But I was able to get a $14 credit on our cable bill due, this month and finally think we have that bill straighten out. I do need to check on our cellphone bill to make sure it is as low as possible.

Overall I am happy with our progress and this challenge is definitely helping me to find some money that can be saved.