Posted in Austerity Program 2008

As my one or two faithful readers may remember, this year we have been trying extra-hard to live a life of thrifty-ness.  We even did this before it became "cool" due to our lovely economy.  Where is my bail-out, by the way?  Anyway, even though more and more people are fighting me for the boys size 7 jeans at the Salvation Army store, we are still managing to stick (mostly) to our program.  I will admit that my grocery budget has about doubled since the beginning of the year.  I used to squeak by on about $200/mo. (please keep in mind I am not counting the half cow that is in the fridge), but now we are close to $400/mo.  At any rate, apparently, this is still pretty cheap.

This week has been VERY atypical, as Monday we had leftover sloppy joes from the freezer (free), Tuesday we went out (hooray!) to Lone Star on Kids Eat Free night (I might add, kids no longer get a free ice cream with their meals, tragic!) (about $35), Wed. we ate at AWANA (we had to bring mac & cheese for 12, cost $2.50), Thursday we ate at my aunt's house (free), and tonight we are having bean & cheese burritos (about $6, with leftovers for tomorrow's lunch).  So even though we dropped a bunch of money at Lone Star, we made up for it the rest of the week.

As for our long-term plans, we are still on target to pay off all credit cards by spring.  I just paid another one off this month.  Hooray!  We do like to go out to eat, so we use the Amex to buy gas and use the Amex points to get gift cards for restaurants, then I pay off the card.  What a deal.

We did not go on vacation this year (waaaaaah!!!) which was very hard for me to accept.  But ultimately, it was best for us, even though poor over-worked Hub couldn't have gone on one anyway.  Maybe next year?  We are planning a 2 week vacation in May but it isn't set in stone yet.  I am not really sure we can afford it.  It's not worth it if I have to run up a credit card to do it!

We recently received 2 lovely boxes of great clothes for the kids from a dear friend (thanks!!!  you know who you are), so I rarely have to spend money on clothes.  I have been losing weight and I am lucky enough to have a friend who gave me some clothes to get me through for now, though I am going to have to get a belt!  (but I am NOT complaining!)

It is Christmastime, and I have been shopping all year long for the kids.  I started right after Christmas last year, and have been keeping a box for each child up in the spare room.  As I buy something, I put it in the box.  Some people say, "how do you know what they want?"  to which I say, "they want what I give them!"  But that's just me.  Maybe I am mean?  It's not like we don't listen to them (for example, K has her darling heart set on a snow globe (just in the last 3 or 4 months) so I did go out and find her one (on Christmas clearance (already!) last weekend for a mere $4).  Let's face it, it's a great year for thrifty shopping since retailers are desperate for our dollars!  I also braved the post-Thanksgiving crowds and got GREAT deals on Black Friday.

All in all, we had a pretty good austerity year.  I definitely am "the weakest link" as Hub is quite good at holding onto a dollar if necessary.  Me, not so much.  But even I am getting better.  I am trying to always remember, "do we need it?  or do I want it?"  "do we need it RIGHT NOW?"  "can I borrow it?"  We'll see what 2009 holds.