Money,Money Monday!

I have become obsessed with saving money.

Why?

Not because the media says we are in a recession. Those are just scare tactics. When the current regime wants to send a Bill through to the House and Senate for 70Billion for war for the 2009 fiscal year, I have a really hard time swallowing that we are hard up for money in this country. But I digress...

No, I want to save money because there are things we need that just can't wait any longer, and I spend the money I make from my PC earnings like I am a Rockefeller.

I'm. not. going. to. do. it. any. more.

SO!!! To keep myself accountable... I am stating it here, on the blog, so you can all help me.

If you see me blog about something I bought recently, I rarely do, but just in case, REMIND ME THAT I AM TRYING TO SAVE MOOLA!

I am going to keep track of all the things I was going to buy, calculate what I would have spent on it/them and PUT AWAY IN AN ACCOUNT what I saved by restraining myself.

I already do it with eating out and have been for years.

We used to eat out at restaurants all the time when the kids were smaller.

One month, I happened to see the debit card statement looked a little bigger than usual, and I pondered it for a while. I WAS SHOCKED to see how much money was THROWN AWAY in one month.

Let's do the math... shall we?

I'll even be conservative in my calculations.

Let's say we ate out twice a week at $5o per time... that's $400 a month!!!

You know a family of 5 can't go out for dinner and eat for under $50 bucks, unless it's fast food, and even that is expensive!

UNBELIEVABLE!

Do you know what I could have done with all that money? That's $4800 a year!!! And it was actually more than that, because dinner was actually about $80!

ON DINNER!!! Don't get me started on lunch out or fast food trips! yikes! I was shocked and downright mad... at myself. So, when I felt like being lazy and not wanting to cook that night, I would decide where we would have eaten dinner, how much it would have cost us, and pull that money right out of my account, and put it aside.

If I was okay with spending it on dinner, I would be ecstatic about what it could buy me later on.

We haven't touched our credit cards in almost 7 years. Except for our house and car, we owe NO ONE, ANYTHING! If I can't buy it cash, I don't need it. We buy nothing on "time".

I was mad at saying things like "I can't afford" something when I was "affording" giving a restaurant upwards of $100 for dinner,when that same $100 bucks would have bought 4 dinners at home, or new sheets, or blinds for a window, or new towels or

ANYTHING WITH LASTING VALUE!

Now don't get all mad and comment about how you eat out all the time, and it's okay, and you resent me for saying all this.

WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR MONEY IS YOUR BUSINESS!

What I am trying to help all of us see is that if we spent our money DIFFERENTLY we CAN afford some things we didn't think we could, that last an awful lot longer than one night out to dinner.

Let's get away from the eating out talk... how about buying things just because they are ON SALE!

(sirens, bells and whistles sounding here)

ME!! I'M GUILTY!

My closets are FULL of junk I have purchased because it was at the stupid Dollar store, or on sale and I MIGHT use it one day, so hey, LET'S GET FIVE! All those dollars add up.

For me, that store should be called the $50 Tree.

Well... no more.

No more Tuesday Morning runs, No more Ross, Big Lots, The Alley, Marshalls, or TJMaxx

unless it is my birthday and I have cash to burn.

Here is what I am going to be spending my hard earned PC Money on.

1. New sand for our beach out back.

2. New Furniture for the patio, cushioned chairs and a tile table and kitchen cabinets and a sink for the backyard kitchen.

3. New bed for Bill and I. Ours is 15 years old. Gross.

4. New roof that actually matches our new stucco job.

And that's just the beginning.

I won't let the media or our government scare me into thinking I don't have enough money to do the things I want because gas prices are soaring or groceries are expensive.

It is what it is.

Bottled water is still 10 times more expensive than gas, and I have been a tap water girl my whole life. I drive a big, gas guzzling car because I have three growing boys that play 3 sports at a time, and every day, they need more leg room, they grow so darn fast. BUT! I am much more judicial about how I drive, and if I can, I do the school and shopping in one trip, rather than multiple trips.

I purchases more vegetable plants this year, and 5 new herbs, to ease the grocery bill.

I've gotta do something! When I think of the money I made last year and what I have to show for it, it makes me want to cry!

I'M GOING TO SAVE MORE MONEY AND SPEND IT MORE WISELY.

Hello, My name is Saundra, and I am a spendaholic.

I have been sober for 39 days.

Have a great inexpensive day, loved ones!

Ciao!