Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
I apologize it has been so long since I have posted my $40 for 4 grocery update! It has been a fun, amazing, wild, memorable several months with a trip to India, Charleston, Disney, Kennedy Space Center, Sea World, family staying with us on and off for a month as well as many other wonderful activities! I have been doing my best to stay within budget but having you alongside of me and reading my regular post definitely keeps me more accountable because I have blown the budget several times since I last posted! Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Save A Lot | RiteAid and Ingles
Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:
- $4.87 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 1 gallon Milk and 1 bag Brown Sugar (ran out of milk and used the rest of my brown sugar for the homeless dinner our Community Group hosted on Monday evening so had to restock these items)
Ingles Groceries:
- $11.79 at Ingles for 2 loaves Bread, 1 gallon Milk, 1 Yellow Sweet Onion, 1 container Pina Colada Yogurt (on clearance & so delicious I almost didn’t share it), 1 bag Fresh Green Beans (clearance $0.99), 1 bag Fresh Cauliflower, Broccoli, and Carrots (clearance $0.99), 1 container Mushrooms (clearance $0.99), 1 container Dill Veggie Dip (clearance $0.99), and 1 package Wholly Avocado Dip (clearance $0.99). Everything was marked down, on sale, or on clearance at Ingles.
Groceries from Ingles and Save A Lot | RiteAid
Ingles Groceries:
- $7.77 at Ingles for 1 container of Dill Seasoning, 1 loaf French Bread, 1 container Peach Yogurt (on clearance), 1 container Fresh Pink Lemonade (clearance $0.99), 1 container Veggie Dip (clearance $0.99), and 1 container fresh Chicken Salad (on clearance) Everything was marked down, on sale, or on clearance at Ingles.
- Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:$17.33 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 1 package Flour Tortillas, 2 multi-packs Trident Gum (clearance $0.74), 2 Ham & Cheddar Lunchables, 1 bag Chicken Breasts, 6 packs Sandwich Creme Cookies (clearance $0.69), 1 pack Powdered Donuts (clearance $0.84), bags of Cheddar Cheese Balls, and 1 Watermelon.
I was able to get a few great items this week. Thankfully, I was able to make it by the store and pick up some items that we’ll need over the next couple of weeks even if a couple of unexpected items got added to the list. Thanks for helping keep me on track even in the midst of this busy season! I don’t anticipate life slowing down too much though since the girls will be getting out of school next week and we have a lot of exciting adventures planned for their summer break.
This week I spent $41.76 on groceries. I was bummed that I went over on my budgeted amount for the week again but thankful I was only $1.76 over! I would have made it but I was asked to provide snacks for the girls field day so it was extra items I wasn’t planning on for the week that helped me slide past my goal. I was happy to find a few items marked down on clearance and provide snacks (watermelon, cookies, and cheese balls) for 20 students while staying pretty close to my budgeted amount. I hope that next week we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
It was a week full of traveling, work, and Christmas celebrations! I was able to stay under budget and stock up on some goodies, including produce and other fridge & pantry products! I am thankful that South Carolina does not have any tax on groceries, this is very beneficial when I am trying to stay within the grocery budget down for our family. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles and Dollar Tree Ingles Groceries:
- $12.77 at Ingles for 1 fresh Cantaloupe, 1 bag Grapefruit, 2 bags Brussel Sprouts, 1 bag Broccoli, 1 bag carrots, 1 bag Peanuts, 1 jar Claussen Pickles, and 1 container Honey Ham. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance. All the produce including the huge bag of grapefruits were marked down to $0.99 cents! The ham was marked down and is perfect for making lunches, the Claussen pickles are my husband’s favorite pickles but I rarely buy them because they are so expensive but since they had one marked down I snagged one for him this week!)
Dollar Tree Groceries:
- $1.00 at Dollar Tree for 1 loaf Nature’s Own White Wheat Bread
Groceries from Whole Foods Whole Foods Groceries:
- $2.14 at Whole Foods for 2 jars Tikka Masala Curry, 2 jars Korma Curry, and 2 jars Jalfrezi Curry. (Used a coupon, part of a gift card, and they were on sale this week especially since I typically do not shop at Whole Foods since it is across town! I was SUPER excited to get six jars of curry for only $2.14. Our family enjoys having curry every few weeks so this will come in handy, plus we have family coming to stay with us who loves curry too. The only thing that I was really disappointed to see was that Whole Foods no longer carries the curry packs like they used to, either way I was still happy to get these for a little over $2! The lady in front of me spent $194.00 which is more than my budget for the entire month on just a few things in her basket and the lady behind me wanted to know how I got all of this for so little. Thankful for an opportunity to save AND share with others.)
This week I spent $15.91 on groceries. Even though I was under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on some items at the same time plus it allows me a little extra to spend next week if I find a great deal. I was thrilled to stock up on produce as well as other great fridge & pantry items this week. Now I am hungry for a “curry” dinner! 🙂 I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
I didn’t get a post up last week with birthday celebrations and Thanksgiving taking up extra time. I sent Jake to the store with a list of items to pick up and he came home with a few “extras” and I was told that they were for my birthday so they shouldn’t count in the normal weekly budget. He did get everything on the list and the few extra items were delicious (shrimp, corn on the cob, etc….) . I am back to a more regular routine this week. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Walmart and Ingles Walmart Groceries:
- $21.40 at Walmart for 2 packs Yeast, 1 gallon of milk, 1 bag Purple Grapes, 1 bag Apples, 2 bottles Ocean Spray Juice, 2 bags Bread, and 1 bag Chicken.
Ingles Groceries:
- $7.74 at Ingles for 2 containers Strawberries, 1 box Wholly Guacamole, 1 container Mushrooms (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance except the strawberries because they were for a new Mom’s dinner I was delivering this week.)
Groceries from BiLo and Walgreens BiLo Groceries:
- $3.27 at BiLo for 1 gallon of milk. (Somehow my family managed to drink a whole gallon in a day this week so I had to go back and get some more!)
Walgreens Groceries:
- $0.18 at Walgreens for 2 boxes of Brown Sugar after coupons.
This week I spent $32.59 on groceries. Even though I was only a little under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on some items and to recover a little bit from last weeks birthday and Thanksgiving celebrations. This week I had the privilege of taking meals to two new Moms and meet their little ones, what a blessing children are in our lives! I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
The week went by quickly. I have been fighting off a cold so I didn’t do as well bargain shopping throughout the entire week. Thankfully I was able to find some amazing deals early in the week and was able to stock up on some candy to share with others (including the girls school) during some upcoming events and parties. I was running low on shredded cheeses (a big no-no in our house) so I was able to stock up on it and other items this week. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles Ingles Groceries:
- $29.28 at Ingles for 1 bag Laura Lynn Bread, 2 blocks Laura Lynn Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 5 bags Laura Lynn Shredded Cheese, 1 box Margarine, 1 bag Ham Lunch Meat, 1 whole Chicken, 1 box Pillsbury Yellow Cake Mix, 1 box Pillsbury Brownie Mix, 1 bag Laura Lynn Miniature Marshmallows, 1 container Fresh Lemons, 1 Sweet Yellow Onion, 1 bag Regular White Pitas, 1 bag Onion Pitas, 2 bags Deli Egg Roll Wraps, and 1 container Spinach Bites. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance including the meat, diary, and produce!)
Groceries from CVS CVS Groceries:
- $0.70 at CVS for 4 bags Oreo Mini Snack Packs, 2 bags Wonka Nerds, 2 bags Milky Way Simply Caramel, 2 bags Hershey’s Cookies N Cream, 1 bag Twizzlers Strawberry Twists Snack Pack, 2 bags Butterfinger Fun Size, 1 bag 100 Grand Fun Size, 2 bags Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 2 bags Whoppers Snack Size, and 2 jars Skippy Peanut Butter. (My family will not be eating all this candy and sugar, but I was thrilled to get it since I have several upcoming parties and celebrations where I need to bring goody bags. All the items were on clearance after the Halloween Holiday or on sale and will come in handy for upcoming events. It was a great price on clearance items and none of the items expire until late 2012. The Extra Care Bucks were a huge savings help. To see more details about this shopping trip go to my CVS: Spent $0.70 and Got $3 ECB’s)
This week I spent $29.98 on groceries. Even though I only a little under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on several items. The Halloween Clearance at CVS was pretty amazing and the items I picked up on will be beneficial for several different upcoming events so it was worth to stock up the pantry at those prices. I hope that next week is better week and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
It was a fun week with the whole family home, traveling is fun but sometimes it is just as nice to have everyone home for a week too. Our family has been going through more milk lately so you’ll notice an increase in my milk purchases this week. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles and CVS Ingles Groceries:
- $13.21 at Ingles for 1 bag Laura Lynn Bread, 1 jar Skippy Peanut Butter, 1 package Flour Tortillas, 1 container Vanilla Yogurt, 1 container Fresh Shrimp, 1 bag Oranges, 1 bag Bananas, 1 bag Potatoes, 1 head Cauliflower, and 1 container Lettuce. (Everything I bought this week at Ingles was on sale, marked down, or on clearance including the produce, seafood and diary!)
CVS Groceries:
- $18.17 at CVS for 2 A&W Rootbeer (12 packs), 1 Sunkist (12 pack), 1 bag Candy Corn, 1 Mountain Dew (2 liter) and 4 cans Progresso Chicken Noodle Soup (I received $10.00 in ECB’s back on this purchase so if you count that into the savings it is like I paid $8.17 for everything purchased. The ECB’s I received were $1.00 on the Candy Corn making it free, $3.00 on the 12 packs making them $2.67 each, $1.00 on the Progresso Soup making them $1.00 each, and $5.00 for Beauty Club Reward. I have not bought soda for several months because we are trying to cut back on how much we drink it in our house, however, we do host family, friends, Community Group and other activities in our home so when we see a good sale we buy a few to stock up on them.
Groceries from Save A Lot | RiteAid Save A Lot| RiteAid Groceries:
- $7.88 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 2 gallons of milk and 1 half gallon of milk on clearance. (We go through a lot more milk now that the girls are a little older, Save A Lot had the best price I could find for milk this week!)
This week I spent $39.26 on groceries. Even though I was barely under on my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on several items. I hope that next week is an even better week and we can come under budget. Thankful for an opportunity to stock up on several items even though I was cutting it really close this week again!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
I took time this week to spend reading, playing and hanging out with my girls. They will be going back to school soon so I wanted to spend more time with them. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from the Sav Mor Sidewalk Box Sale! Sav Mor Box Sale Groceries – spent $14.00 at Sav More Sidewalk Box Sale
- 4 Kettle Krinkle Cut Chips Salt & Pepper (14 oz each)
- 2 General Mills Corn Chex Cereal (14 oz each)
- 2 Enviro Kids Organic Peanut Butter Panda Puffs
- 1 Laura Lynn Deluxe Moist Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 Fantastic Vegetarian Chili
- 1 Milton’s Corn Bread Crackers
- 3 Milton’s Everything Multi Grain Crackers
- 2 Milton’s Whole Wheat Graham Crackers
- 5 Laura Lynn Deep Dish Pizza Crust (each package had 2 pizza at 11.3 oz each)
- 1 Laura Lynn Thin Pizza Crust (each package had 2 pizza at 7.4 oz each)
- 2 Kettle Krinkle Cut Chips Buffalo Bleu (9 oz each)
- 1 Kettle Krinkle Cut Chips Sweet Onion (9 oz each)
- 1 Fiber One Complete Pancake Mix
- 1 Hefty Gallon Bags (13 count)
- 6 Knorr Pesto Sauce Mix
- 1 Kraft Mac & Cheese Family Size (14.5 oz)
- 1 Annie’s Organic Rotini Pasta with 4 Cheese Sauce
- 1 Late July Organic Bite Size Cheddar Cheese Crackers
- 1 Sorbee Sugar Free Eat Rite Be Fit Chocolate Syrup (18 oz)
- 1 Starkist Chunk Light Tuna (5 oz)
- 1 Bremner Waffer Crackers (4 oz)
- 1 Thai Kitchen Roasted Garlic and Chili with Jasmine Rice
- 7 Knorr Four Cheese Sauce Mix
- 1 Kind Nut Delight Bar
- 1 Knorr Roasted Pork Gravy
- 1 Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard (12 oz)
- 3 Wish Bone House Italian Dressing
- 1 Glutino Gluten Free Organic Chocolate & Peanut Bars (16 oz)
- 1 Organic Ville Sun Dried Tomato
- 1 Kellogg’s Special K Double Chocolate Bar
- 1 Crosset Blackwell Cocktail Crackers
- 1 Duncan Hines Creamy Lemon Supreme Frostings
- 1 Kool Aid Fun Fizz Partyin Punch
- 2 Quaker Oatmeal to Go Maple Breakfast Bars
- 1 Jiffy Golden Yellow Cake Mix
- 1 Stewart Peppermint Candies (5 oz)
- 5 Little Hugs Drinks
- 4 McCormick Seafood Garlic Butter Steamers and Steam Bags
- 1 pack Cupcake Liners
- 1 Laura Lynn Straws (50 Count)
- 1 Jello Vanilla Pudding
- 1 Solo Mint Mania Bar
- 4 boxes Band Aids plus Antibiotic (20 count each)
- 2 SoyJoy Berry Bars
- 3 boxes Band Aids Assorted Sizes
- 1 box Russell Stover Fine Chocolates
- 2 Nestle Juicy Juice Apple Raspberry Juice (64 oz each)
- 1 Duncan Hines Double Fudge Brownies
- 5 Fiber One Chocolate Bars
- 24 Slim Fast Chew Chocolate Crisp Bars
For more information on the Sav More Sidewalk Box Sale check out my post about the details on the sale.
Groceries from Ingles! Ingles Groceries:
- $25.84 at Ingles for 1 container diced Yellow Onions, 5 bags Sugar Snap Peas, 1 bag Pepperoni, 8 bags Shredded Cheese, 1 container Zuchinni and Summer Squash, 1 bag Potatoes, 1 bag Bananas and 4 packs of Activia Yogurt. (all the items were marked down on clearance or on sale except the pepperoni)
This week I spent $39.84 on groceries. Even though I barely squeaked under my budgeted amount again for the week I was able to do it and stock up on several items on clearance. I hope to have an even better week for my next update since it has been hard going under budget as we stock up for upcoming events with family in town for several days. Thankful for an opportunity to stay within the budget for my family. I hope that next week is an even better week and we can come way under budget for the week. We had a gallon of frozen milk in the freezer we used up this week so that helped save us a little bit too.
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
This week was a little different doing our Groceries $40 for 4 because we were on the road for part of the week. It was a great road trip with the family, we traveled over 40 hours in a week and were able to spend time with family during our trip. Thankfully the girls travel well and slept well in the van. I packed a lot of fun activities and snack food for the trip. We came home to a house that was 90 degrees inside, clean, and had an empty fridge since we had eaten or packed pretty much all our perishables. This week I spent most of the grocery budget on restocking items in our fridge and pantry.
Groceries from Walgreens, Ingles, and BiLo Walgreen Groceries:
- $4.07 at Walgreen’s for A & W Root Beer (2 liter), Domino Sugar, Betty Crocker Yellow Cake Mix, Betty Crocker Brownie Mix, Frito Lay Stax BBQ, Frito Lay Stax Original, Frito Lay Stax Sour Cream & Onion, Daisy Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, 4 packs of Ranch Flavored Sunflower Seeds (on clearance for $0.89 each, usually the best price I can get is $1.00 so stocked up on a these for upcoming road trips). I used $10 in Register Rewards that were expiring this week to bring this total down to $4.
Ingles Groceries:
- $4.13 at Ingles for 1 bag Laura Lynn Bread (on sale for $0.98), 30 packs Wylers Cherry Drink, 5 packs of Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurts (on clearance for $1.00 each), 1 package of Pork (reduced for quick sale), 1 box of Pretzel Lean Pockets (free with coupon), 6.5 pound bag of banana’s (clearance for $1.49), 4 packs of Raspberry Yogurt Covered Pretzel (on clearance for $0.99 each, normally $6.83 per pound), 1 package of Strawberries (on clearance), 1 package of sliced Mushrooms (on clearance), 1 package of whole Mushrooms (on clearance. I used a gift card I had been given a few months ago for part of the amount and paid for the rest. All of the items were on sale or clearance so it really was a great shopping trip to Ingles.
BiLo Groceries:
- $12.92 at BiLo for 1 gallon of Skim Milk, 1 gallon of 2% Milk, 1 bag of splenda Sugar (store brand and on sale), 1 bottle International Delight Coffee Creamer (free after coupon), 2 boxes of Banquet Pasta Carbonara (on closeout for $0.50 each).
I am excited to be back doing our Groceries $40 for 4 budget again after our big road trip for the summer. I was surprised to see the milk prices spike even more since I bought it last, however, I was pleased to get some great clearance items this week in my shopping trips, (especially at Ingles). This week I spent $21.12 on groceries. Even though I was under budget on my amount for the week I was still able to stock up on several items. Thankfully I was able to keep the amount within reason so I had little extra left over for those weeks when I find a really good deal or go a little over. We were out of town for a part of this grocery week so it was a little different from our usual events.
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
