Stretchin' Our Dollars

We opened another envelope on June 15th! We have now paid off $5,108.58 since January 1, 2012. This is a big milestone in our debt-free journey. The note inside was encouraging. It reminded us that this process is slow, but worth every step. There are 5,280 feet in a mile, so if every dollar we paid off was equal to 1 foot, we are just about 1 mile out of debt. Our debt balance at the beginning of the year puts us at a little over "6.5 miles" in the hole! We're climbing out, and every dollar counts!

Here are some ways we save a few dollars here and there to make our income go farther:

1. We make our own breakfast, lunch, and dinner instead of eating out. We budget a few meals to eat out and they become even more exciting now that we rarely eat out. (I'm talking 2-3 times a month)

We also meal plan so we are only buying food we need for the meals we are going to cook. I like "roll-over" meals, because left-overs aren't always very exciting. For example: If I cook a roast in the crock-pot, the next night I can do beef and noodles or bbq beef sandwiches and make a totally different meal. My best friend Lauren rolls over spaghetti and meatballs to meatball subs another night. Genius! (less cooking too, by the way!!)

2. We grocery shop at Aldi for about 60% of our food- our staples (milk, eggs, pasta, baking mix, cake mix, seasonings, dressing, condiments, etc), some fruits and veggies, and low-cal popcorn and fudge bars come from here.

3. We price match at Walmart- we only price match things we normally buy, we don't buy things just because they are on sale!! These usually include boneless skinless chicken breast, chips, toilet paper, laundry detergent, and fruit. So for these items I bring in another store's ad for the week and show the cashier that the same item is cheaper and Walmart matches the competitors prices. Then I don't have to go to 4 different stores to get the best deals.

4. We buy store brand items on almost everything- diapers and wipes included. Even our son is in on this adventure!! :) Bonus: since my husband works at Target we get an extra 15% off!

5. We pay cash for groceries, dinners out, and special occasions. This helps us have a firm stopping point when we spend in these areas. We realistically look at each month and budget accordingly. Every month is different and we learned early on that we had to build in life to fit each month. Some months we are out of town several days and our grocery bill is smaller. Other months we add to it because we are having people over for dinner or need to make a side or dessert for a party and we need to make sure we have enough.

YTD pay-off: $5,108.58
Total Debt Pay-off: $29,108.58