Week 1: blowing it already.

So this week was a bust for saving, not spending. It wasn't a great way to start the new year, but I know I can start over tomorrow for the following week. We spent two extra days on vacation, meaning two more days of rental cars, two more days of dinners out, snacks for the plane, yesterday was our daughter's birthday so we went out to eat, and today was my husband and I's 6th anniversary of marriage, also a cause for an expensive celebration.

However, when I look at my "payments" outside of allowable spending for the year 1. groceries 2. sanctioned celebrations (birthdays and anniversaries). I didn't do too bad. I went out for lunch one day, which was a huge stress reliever and welcome break. I spent $12. It was awesome to go out by myself. I didn't NEED to, but I did. I also spent $10 on disposable diapers because we were traveling and we were out of diapers. At home today, I switched back to cloth diapering, which I hope will help us save money in the long run.  The pack of $10 diapers is almost gone, and I'd like to ration them a little bit. 

So overall this week, I didn't meet my goals, but I only spent $12 of money that could have been saved instead. 

I'm watching my credit card bill, and will try to analyze it at the end of each week for usage. This is where I spend most of my money every month, using the great plastic dragon. I am hoping I can cut my CC bill in half, quickly, and then we can save that money that I'm not spending.  It is tricky to make the CC bill my indicator for spending. In the past I've done things like, "I'd like to drink less caffeine, so I'm not going to have any coffee this week." Instead I'll drink a ton of soda. Then a few months later, I'll say, "I'm drinking too much caffeine, I'm not going to have any soda." And then I'm back to drinking coffee.  I seriously use my CC for almost every purchase, and I solemnly promise NOT to use cash or my debit card instead.  The CC will be a good indicator as much as I can possibly allow it. 



So, that's my report for this week, my weigh-in so to speak... 

Weightwatchers works because of two reasons 1. every week there is a weigh in, and 2. there is a big meeting where you meet other people who are trying to achieve the same goals. you share ideas of how to get there.

That's my plan for this blog. Let's Save It, Don't Spend It! And meet our money goals together!

Working on the budget

Working on the initial budget is going to be time consuming, but worth it. It takes time to get everything set up. It takes time to fully understand how to use whatever system you plan on using, but ultimately it is a tool. A saw doesn't make a good hammer, you need to use the right tool for the right situation, and that may take some instruction. 

I spent much of this morning working with the online Money Manager on USAA. I also called their financial advice office to get a personal tutorial on their program. I also made a spreadsheet so I can project future spending and help us make long term spending, repayment and giving goals. 

My next step is to get all of our other credit card accounts onto the USAA account.  It will help give a clearer picture of our spending. One problem we have is that one month my credit card will be too high, so I'll stop spending, and then my husband will do all of the shopping, and paying when we are together.  Then my credit card is lower the next month, and his is too high. That system doesn't seem to be working. We need to get all of our accounts in the same place so we can really see how much we spend on groceries, gas, clothes, etc each month.

I also went out this week and did some stocking up and last chance shopping. I bought a box of diapers and a box of wipes so we have them in storage. Wouldn't it be great to not spend any money on diapers for an entire year?  I also use cloth, so that's my no-spending strategy there.  My other strategy is attempting to get my son to potty train.  There's no incentive like money, is there? We've been working on it all day.  Wish me luck!