Thrifty

I was going to post pics today, however I am unable to locate the usb cable for the camera so I will have to wait until Chris gets home and see if he knows where it is - maybe tonight!

I came up with a menu plan and grocery list (WITH coupons!) for next month. That's right - I planned for a whole month! I am hoping to save some grocery money - we will see how it goes. At the end of next month, I will let you know how much I saved. One thing that eats away at the budget is weekly work lunch meetings. These are not reimbursed, but are required. Chris is so wonderful at trying to choose something inexpensive when they go out to eat, but it is still an expense. What do you think - should we budget in a lunch expense or does anyone have alternative ideas?

For those of you wondering, I recently read "Miserly Moms," a book about saving money, staying on budget, etc for various reasons (paying off debt, saving for different things or so that a family can afford to live on one income). God has been convicting me lately of my desire for things (mainly nice furniture and such) when the economy is in such a steep downturn and our economical future is fairly grim. So many people have recently lost their jobs; it's really kind of frightening. Chris and I firmly believe that God has placed me in the home for this season in our lives. Since I am not able to go out and work, I have been looking for ways to "make" money at home....in other words, increase the money we have left at the end of each month by minimizing expenses. If nothing else, I will probably learn to be more wise with what God's given me (not to mention grateful!). If you have any ideas, cost-effective recipes, etc - please feel free to pass them on!