Mom Challenge

Miracle at Target

Posted on January 10, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

Today I registered my friend Nat for our women’s conference. Fortunately, I had budgeted for this. Yay! Plus, I got her registration half price because I was volunteering on the worship team and they gave us half off but I had already registered at full price back in October. Anyway, this was a huge blessing.

As I’m driving to pick up my kids from school my van alert says that my key fob battery is about to die. Yikes! In the middle of January, in the Midwest, with three toddlers, it is not wise to have a dead key fob battery. No need to get stranded in -20 degree weather! So I ran to the auto parts store and spent $7.48 on new batteries.

But good news! A miracle happened today. Sweet Love and I had about 45 to kill between doctor’s appointments and picking up the preschoolers. Not really enough time to go home but I had no extra cash to spend running errands or getting coffee. So I ran over to Target knowing full well I could spend $0.00. And guess what?! I walked out of Target with 0 purchases! Aren’t you proud of me? Ha ha!

Down to $112.72. 21 days to go!

Budget

Cheater, Cheater

Posted on January 9, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

I was sick all day today so I didn’t eat anything. Well, let’s look on the bright side. I guess that helps my budget.

And I cheated a little today. Lance picked up the kids from Mom’s house and filled my van with gas out of his budget (we didn’t give him a budget for the month – ha!) But I just took it as a thoughtful gesture and told him thank you! 😊

Budget

Tuition, Groceries and Parties Oh My!

Posted on January 8, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

Princess’s preschool tuition is due today. $110! I decided that I’m not going to be able to count that towards my budget challenge…call me a cheater if you will but that’s just nuts! Plus it is a bill that comes out monthly…it’s just not an automatic deposit.

It’s time to make an Aldi run – we are completely out of milk, which is a staple in my home, especially with a 15 month old. But this time, I go to the store while my toddlers are at school so I have less distractions and less people asking for added food. Just me and Sweet Love. I make it out of Aldi only spending $18.11! Success!!

Tonight is the night that I’m taking my friend out for her birthday. Appetizers turn into an appetizer and dinner and two sodas and dessert plus tip costing me $33.17. Oops. I originally only budgeted $20. Fortunately, I was able to give her a gift that I already had laying around the house (travel mug and journal). I’ve now spent a total of $144.80. We’re 8 days into a 31 day month and I’ve literally spent nearly half my budget. I started to get pretty discouraged, assuming there was no way I’d make it 23 more days on $155.20! But my husband was amazing and so encouraging and kept telling me he believed I could do it. So I kept my head up.

$155.20 left. 23 days to go. Eek!

Budget

Meal Planning for the Win

Posted on January 6, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

I technically have only spent $93.52 but remember, I have $75 set aside for those planned events coming up. So I have $206.48 left to spend but really only $131.48 of that is not spoken for yet.

I decide to be more careful with my grocery spending this week so I make a meal plan trying to only use items I already have in my freezer, fridge or pantry. (We did just buy a quarter cow back in November so I am, fortunately, stocked up on burger, steak and roasts for a while which comes in handy when you’re sticking to a tight budget.) I create my grocery list and decide to stick to it. If it’s not on the list, it doesn’t get to go in the cart. And then I try to wait as long as possible before making a trip to the store.

Budget

Gas for $1?!

Posted on January 4, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

I run to the bank to deposit some Christmas money but am not counting it towards my spending money at all. I realize I need gas so I acutally compare gas prices between the two stations. Casey’s is $.03 cheaper so I head that way. I slide my HyVee fuel saver card and a miracle happens! I save $.77 per gallon!! I guess all that Christmas spending at HyVee paid off a little bit. I was able to fill up my van’s tank for $21.36 saving $13.49. Amazing! Down to $213.52.

Then I get home and run out of shampoo and conditioner. Of course I would need that in my budget detox month!! But stuff like that comes up every month. So I did a little research online, rather than just making a target run like I typically would, and found a pack of shampoo and conditioner for $7.04 and had it shipped to my house. Having that $7.04 worth of hair products shipped to my house saved me at least $20. Anyone who shops at Target knows that you never walk out of that store with only what you came in for. That dollar section just calls out my name and of course my kids need another felt calendar and Paw Patrol water bottle, right!? And boom – $7 more dollars spent on things I don’t need. And then I’d get to the hair product aisle and decide I probably needed to stock up on mousse and hairspray because I’d get a $5 gift card if I spend $20. Ahhhh!! And that’s why I decided to just order my shampoo and conditioner online and only spend $7.04.

Only $206.48 left. 27 days to go. 5 mouths to feed. Yikes!

Budget

Aldi Run

Posted on January 3, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

I went to Aldi and spent $73.83. I had a list but wasn’t super intentional about sticking to it or only buying what we needed for the week. Then I took back some pop cans and made $8.71! Score!

But I have $234.88 left and it’s only the 3^rd! 28 days to go.

Budget

$300 Budget Detox Challenge

Posted on January 1, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

After Christmas 2018, my hubby and I and the kids were driving home from Michigan and talking about the crazy amount of money we spent in December. Christmas presents for everyone and their mom, food, food and more food!! It just seemed to be non-stop spending. So I got this crazy idea to allow hubby to set my budget for January! I just had him throw out a number. His number? $300! What?!?! I spend at least $450 on groceries alone each month. And that’s just a normal month. Then I need gas and kitty litter and shampoo and conditioner and toothpaste and batteries and all those other little things that just sneak up on you each month. But I decided I was up for the challenge and viewed it as a detox after all the Christmas spending madness.

So the month began and I quickly had to start setting guidelines. What actually is in my $300 budget and what is outside of it? We decided that regular bills, home mortgage, gas bill, electric bill, regular donations, etc would not be included in my detox. The $300 was available for me to buy groceries, gas and any other extras that don’t already have automatic deposits set up.

I decided the best place to start was with a calendar. How many days are in January anyway? Why in the world did I decide to do a budget detox during the longest month of the year?!?!! But I was determined to try my hardest to stick with it. So I started something new. I made a plan. Haha! It’s crazy how much money I spend when I don’t plan ahead. So I started looking at events on my calendar that would require money. First was my friend’s son’s 3^rd birthday party. Rather than spending money, we decided to look through Dinoman’s toys to see if he had any gently used toys that he didn’t play with much anymore. Found one, cleaned it up and put some wrapping paper around it! Second, my friend’s birthday was the 10^th and I had been planning on surprising her with a girls night out. So I wrote $20 on my calendar planning to buy her appetizers and drink for her. And third was our church’s women’s conference. Of course it was the last weekend of January and there were still 5 days left in the month afterwards! I had fortunately already registered for the conference back in October but I wanted to register for my friend. $35 on the calendar. Then I noticed that lunch was not included in the price. $20 added to the calendar. I’m up to $75 already! Leaving $225 for groceries and gas and anything else that comes up.

The first week of January began. I made a meal plan for the week.

Budget

Mom Challenge Accepted

Posted on January 1, 2019January 31, 2019 by 3toddlermom

Thanks for joining me!

I’m excited to share my journey through these monthly challenges with you. I hope you’ll join me and we can become stronger women, cooler moms and more amazing wives along the way!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton