It has been a busy, rough, and tiring week around here. But I am excited to get my Dave Ramsey Bundle!
Money Spent this week:
We spent almost $100 on groceries over last weekend (really 2 weeks worth though and lots of produce) and $26 on dinner with friends. I didn’t have to fill up my gas tank yet this week.
Not too bad!
Budget System:
I have to be honest. With not feeling well, I didn’t get our envelopes up and running yet. That is a project for this 3 day weekend! Someone asked me for dollar amounts. I will share, as long as you promise not to judge or compare.
These are what I am trying to start. They might have to be modified!
Groceries and household goods $80 per week (includes more produce than ever and some expensive supplements I am taking)
Date night/dinner on Wednesdays with friends $140 per month (anything left will be sent to pay down debt)
Clothing and Haircuts $40 per month
Car Maintenance $30 per month (will hopefully build month to month)
Gifts and Special Occasions $20 per month (will hopefully build month to month)
Home Repair and Décor $30 per month (will hopefully build month to month)
Remember, these haven’t been tested or tried yet.
Debt Snowball:
First Goal: Pay Lowes $2,987.92
I have $1,000 to send to Lowes this weekend. New Balance: $1,987.92
What about you? Did you curb your spending this week? Did you start your emergency fund or debt snowball? How are you budgeting for groceries and other need items?
Want to see what else I am doing to Erase (My) Your Debt?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I like your plan!! I have started my emergency fund not there yet but its s start. I used to have one but had to use it. We had an emergency surgery and broke arm all in the same month. Wiped us out but I was so glad I had it or it would have been so much worse.
Great work! As soon as this one is paid off, we will be starting our emergency fund! (Backwards, I know)
I am a teacher also…and I enjoy following your blog. I did Dave Ramsey (this was b/f I got married) and it changed my life and how I view money…it also helped me strengthn my relationship w/ my DH b/c of my money sense. I wish you a wonderful experience and there is nothing better than being debt free and giving like no one else!
Thanks for the encouragement Michelle!
Congrats!!!!
I was able to curb spending this week. Farm Fresh and Food Lion had some good deals that end on Tuesday. It was items that would have been nice to have (snacks mostly) but nothing that we absolutely needed. I ended up with $7 extra in our week 2 budget envelope.
I just spent around $70 today
$24 at Food Lion (almost all private brand, some produce)
$11 at Harris Teeter (original bill was $28 (I also got some free ziplock bags because they didn’t ring up on clearance 75% off of $3.49))
$42 at the Commissary (meat, dairy and some produce)
Here is what our envelope system looks like:
Gas: $120/2wks (i only pull $60 for my husband because I usually have Ds with me and its easier to swipe the card)
Haircut: $20/2wks (required by the Marines to have a fresh hair cut every week)
Papers: $20/2wks
Grocery: $150/2wks ($75/wk, has worked out pretty well for us, right now)
We only have 3 people and 1 cat in our house. I know most of our grocery money for the next couple week is going to be spent at Food lion stocking up on canned goods and pasta. When they did their private brand sale this time last year, I was able to stock up on canned goods for almost a year.
So it looks like I am on par! Thanks for sharing yours too!!
No problem.
Your statement, “I will share, as long as you promise not to judge or compare.” caught my eye. I am always worried when I post money amounts because what is high to you, might not be high to me. Or the same with what is a low dollar amount to one reader might not be a low dollar amount to me!
But, I am working away on paying a debt we have, it is interest free, but it is a family member and we want the stress/guilt of it gone. They helped us out when we were both unemployed and gave freely with a loving heart. I feel we need to pay back with a loving heart. So I just received two checks, one for tutoring over Christmas at our school & one for selling on TPT. It amazes me that everyone has the mind set of “what are you going to spend it on?” because it was a lot of hard work. When I’m telling them I’m paying down debt they look at me like I’m crazy, so thank you for being the support of intelligent practices!!!
When I save money by couponing people act like the effort is not worth it. I might have gotten twelve dollar’s of items for free and they act like the $12 is not worth the time, but a whole bunch of twelve dollars adds up in the end. Thank you for your help!!
Thank you for your comment, I came to check you out! I love your blog and I am now following you here, TPT and Pinterest!
Happy New Year,
~Fern
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