response to "need help" thread reply's

[Suzy]

I shop at Aldi. I use coupons at Wal-mart and any other store that will accept them.

And DH and I have a garden. We are canning and freezing for the winter and using veggies now.

I try to save on gas by doing all my errands on one day and I map out my route.

As for clothes, I hand down what I can.

I also budget. I looked at all we spent for a year....vehicle taxes, house taxes, ADHD doctor visits, Adderall medication, sick doctor visits, eye doctor visits, dental checkups, cost of fillings, propane for heat in the winter and we have a tankless water heater but use propane for that too, average phone bill, average electric bill, average water bill, house payment, school tuition, entertainment, garden supplies-fertilizer, hoe, etc, dog food, chicken food, goat food, etc. Everything!! I figured up how much it would cost per week to spend on each item. When DH gets paid I pay our tithes first and foremost. Take out my $$ for groceries.Then I take out what is needed for each item. Some may be only .52 a week. I have a binder with a section for each item and in that section a "check register" of sorts. I made one up on a spreadsheet with a column for deposits, withdrawals and balance. I have online checking so I can transfer the total amount from one account to another. But in the binder the amount is separated by item. When a drs. appointments, etc comes up, I have $$ set aside. The bank doesn't charge for withdrawals because it isn't a savings. I don't write checks on that account. I transfer the $$ to our main account and write checks on that. Any $$ leftover from DH pay is just in the account. Nothing is done with it unless DH or I need cash then we go to the atm. As I said I budgeted down to entertainment, going out to eat, etc.

But now after reading The Total Money Makeover, I am looking at the leftover $$ (however small it may be) differently.

[forHISglory]

Wow! You are organized!

I'm glad to see that you take out your tithe first. I'm firmly convinced that none of the rest of my planning and organization will be worth a hill of beans if I don't do that first.

I'm also glad to see that you are not afraid to shop at Aldi, and to do the labor of gardening.

Way to go!

[itlw8]

I wish I was doing as well as you are.

Take heart those growing boys and their appetites will eventually become adults and move out... ok I am being flip I only had two teens and they ate a ton I had to ration their milk or the 2 would drink a gallon a day..

no matter what you children will have good memories of growing up