Money

Money. It's my enemy. I hate it yet I love it. Sometimes too much. Here's the scope: I like to shop, find good deals, get out of the house, etc. etc. until I blow the budget. My problem isn't that I'm a careless spender or that I buy a lot of things. It's more finding ways to better spread the finances and be more responsible about what I'm spending on what. I have often gotten sucked into buying something I totally didn't need just because it was a good deal.

So here's my challenge to myself:

One week
$100

That's it. Here are my rules:

Monday to Monday, seven full days
Groceries are not included or things like tuition to preschool
I must must track all expenses even things I try to sneak in not that I ever do this

I am challenging myself to this because budgeting or .... not budgeting are a source of contention at our house. I frequently go over budget simply because there are few consequences please realize by writing this, my husband will read it and there will probably be consequences now... darn it!! . I very rarely pay attention to bank balances etc and my husband will say "we are getting low" or "okay, we are over again"... and then he will fix the situation.

Let me put this another way. Whenever we get bonuses or tax refunds or whatever I cannot be told until we have the money or it will be gone. Okay... that sounds bad too. We don't have debt. I'm not crazy with money but I have things to work on. Let's leave it at that. So! My challenge is to stick to my budget and try to be creative. As a SAHM (stay at home mommy) it is one of my many jobs to show my girls how to be responsible with money and it's never to early to start.

But... and... the reality is we live in an expensive state, have one income, have two very active girls and I get stir crazy really easily. Wish me luck!