The Budget Starts Today!

I have a new online friend named Christy who is a real sweetie-pie. She sent me an envelope of stamped images so I could try out the new Hot Rods from Bombshell Stamps. I thought that was super nice of her.

Here's the card I made, I was really intimidated about coloring a shiny surface but I think it turned out okay. Shannon is awesome about posting her images in color so you can see a suggestion of how to color yours.


Today we start our budget officially with envelopes and everything. We've been doing smart things for over a week but the big bad budget goes into play this morning. Wish me luck. So far I've cut over $350 dollars from our monthly expenses and "found" close to $300 more. It's four kinds of crazy to be able to find so much money in a week. We just hadn't been paying close enough attention.

For anyone else embarking on budgeting and economizing here is a list of low hanging fruit we started with:

*Check cell phone plan. DH was able to drop from 900 min. to 450 per month which saved us $30/month
* Scan bills for overcharges and call to correct them (We found over $200 in mistakes)
* Make sure you've submitted reimbursable work expenses.
* Cut non-essentials. Our list was embarrassingly long but none of it came all at once. HBO one month, Audible.com six months later, Netflix, Game Fish, craft kit clubs - seriously, it all adds up.
* Make sure your tires are full and aligned properly, oil is clean, fluids are topped off, brake pads are thick enough etc. With cars, prevention is key. We didn't notice a misalignment and now we have to replace our tires a mere eighteen months after purchase because of funky wear. That could have been avoided.