Post-Christmas Update

So we were doing pretty good with our food budget and goal of not eating out as often. Totally failed at not eating out at all since it was the season for events (shopping, dance recital, meeting for lunches, etc) but we were much more careful and infrequent than normal. Thankfully, we were invited to enough free dinners with family to offset the cost. :) We are truly blessed with amazing and generous families.

Bad news? We went outside of budget yesterday and possibly spent too much on groceries (etc) today. Yesterday we picked up some of the 1/2 off sales on Christmas stuff at Walmart. Classy, I know. We gave each of my three brothers and their respective famlies one card, one pop corn tin, and one hickory farms set. THEN, we added a set for ourselves and wine to go with the meat/cheese set and cologne/perfume for each of us as our Christmas gifts to each other (truly, we were out and they were bargain prices) and miscellaneous junk. $75 that was not really planned into the budget.

Bright side? Even though we spent that and more shopping today, and even though my husband's tire got slashed at work on Christmas Eve by a disgruntled citizen and needs to be replaced, and even though my car's window motor broke and is rigged to be held up by a stick and clamp and needs to be fixed, it's ok. Our amazing families and my employer gave cash totaling about $1200 which will repay us for the cost of Christmas, fix our vehicles, and make a small but worthwhile dent in our credit card debt.

Next, I'm sorry to admit that I intend to be part of the "returns" party in the post Christmas era. Even though I assume I will only be offered store credit, I would like to hold on to that until the next season comes and we can purchase children's clothing and any essential items (ie socks and underwear) or shoes for free at that time.

I should also mention that in addition to hopefully not requiring much money to purchase necessities and next season clothes, we also have a "three year" (not really, but that was the offer) supply of soaps and cleaning products from Culligan so we will not have to spend much money in that field either. We purchased a system nearly three years ago and have already run through the first section and we paid off that card. The unfortunate reality is that while we own the unit outright, we paid approximately $5000 for it and could likely only sell it for $2000 or less. Even though we could use that money to pay down a credit card and we never purchase the salt to soften our water anymore, my husband insists that we should not take the hit and lose all that "initial investment" money. I am still feeling very unsure about this decision. If anyone who reads this (though I'm fairly confident I only have one reader!) has an opinion and justification, I would love to hear it. I'm struggling with this one!

Alright, I will leave off by stating that I took $350 from the Christmas money to last until my next pay day on 1/15. That's nearly three weeks so it should be fine. We went to Sam's ($42) and Walmart ($130) so I'm already way down. Our freezer and pantries are pretty well stocked and we have the most critical staples in our fridge. This will, in all honestly, be the first time I have truly pushed myself to remain faithful to a budget (yeah, that 350 was hanging out in an envelope where the leftover cash remains) and I'm nervous. I would love to see any creative recipes or ideas you have for staying true to a budget and not just taking out more money when you run out early. This will be a HUGE step for me!

Thanks for reading!