The Ugly Truth

The other day I recieved a text message that asked if we carry any debt and how we were paying off our debt.
Yes we have debt. Of course we have a plan. I think. It's in my head. 
 Since then, I have been obsessing over these questions. And I realized that my plan pretty much sucks. I had mentally planned that we would just pay what we could every pay check...... And if we did that, we'd never actually pay off our debt. So onto the new plan-
Our budget is broken down into pay periods. My husband gets paid every other week. He keeps a little bit of money for himself and to pay his credit card (like $100 bucks) and he also keeps money to pay our mortgage. We pay our mortgage on the 1st and 15th of the month. Doing that alone will save us thousands in interest on our loan. Then he sends me the rest of the money. And I go to the mall.
Not really. I pay the bills, do the shopping, and make pretty much every financial decision that needs to be made for our household.  We make the big decisions together, of course, but when it comes to the best deal on toilet paper or what is on sale at the grocery store, that is all me.
I have always cconsidered myself to be good with money. I shop the sale ads at the grocery store. I use coupons at other stores whenever I can. I shop around for the best proces on things. but I know that there is always room for improvement. I know that I can do better than what I am doing right now. So my plan for this family blog is to document our journey of saving money, paying off debt, while still enjoying life with our family.

The Plan
Our budget will be broken down into catergories: Bills(Utilities, Cell Phone, Netflix, etc), Household Purchases (Groceries and other Household purchases like toiletries and cleaning products), Tithing, and "Extra." The "extra" will be all those extra things that we spend money on. This could be anything from a hair cut to a fun family outing. Whatever money is left over in our bank account from that pay period  will be put towards the debt. So for example, if we make $500 and spend $100      on bills, $100 on groceries, $100 on "extra" stuff, and $100 on tithing, we will be able to pay and  additional $100 towards our debt. But if for some reason we need that money for an unexpected anything, we will have a little bit of cash instead of adding more to our credit card. Make sense? I really do believe that the money we send at the end of the pay period is going to make a huge dent in our debt. Every little bit helps.

Every pay period I plan to include a set amount to send to my credit card. I decided $100.00 was a doable amount that I know I can pay. I will include that with the other bills I pay during that pay period.
Things may change along the way. I'll see what works and what doesn't and make changes accordingly.
The First Pay Period- April 9-22, 2014
Total For Bills: (I've actually decided not to include this figure. It is what it is. more on that later)
Total for Groceries/Household: $100.00.
Total for "Extra": $100.00.  
Total for Tithing: $20.00
Our bills are high this pay period, so I decided to cut back on the grocery budget. We will eat out of the pantry and freezer.

Things I forgot to budget: Ava's First Haircut, "Egging" a few friends, Preschool Easter Party

I am in charge of bringing the supplies for Ava's preschool class's Easter bags for the egg hunt at their Easter party this week and I completely forgot to add that expense in. It won't be much, but I don't want to be dipping into money that I am really hoping I can put towards the debt. Then it hit me! I have a few things to return to Hobby Lobby and Walmart from Will's baptism last weekend- the 2 stores that I will need to purchase the supplies from, so I think I can swing this just from the store credits. I know Ava would love to spread some Easter cheer through egging a few friends. I think I can round up the supplies needed from around the house and squeeze a bag of candy into the kids's easter basket budget, so that we can do this. Ava's hair cut on the other hand.... not sure how I can afford this one this pay period. We may have to wait until next time.....She has gone 3 1/2 years without a hair cut, so i don't think it will hurt her to go another week or so.  

Reflections:
Phew! That was pretty tough. Tough to watch every. single. penny. and where it went. And unfortunately I failed. or rather I didn't do as well as I originally intended. So where did I go wrong? The first week was easy! I managed to go grocery shopping and had $25 left over to buy fruit, bread, and milk the next week. I was only using the cash in my "extra" envelope for all my "extra" purchases....Then the stuff that I hadn't originally planned for or thought through happened. I didn't think about our actual plans for Easter. I went to the grocery store and spent $50 on a few groceries and some wine and beer for the husband. Which I know aren't necessary, but we needed a treat. (It had been a long week with Will's surgery.. more on that later). On Easter Sunday we bought lunch from Luby's so I wouldn't have to cook. The week before I spent $30 at a Christian bookstore. originally had planned to buy 2 books for the kids, but the 2 turned into 4. I bought a devotional I had been eyeing that was on sale and I bought another book. Then yesterday, I spent $13 on valet parking at Texas Children's. I was unfamiliar with the hospital and late to Will's appointment.  I was able to send $18.37 to my credit card. I was hoping for more, like $118.37, but I'll take it and try to do better this next period. And I almost forgot about the almost $2500.00 I charged to my credit card to pay for the surgeon for Will's procedure. Thankful that we have credit to pay for things like medical expenses. 

This next pay period I plan to really look into the 2 week period, especially those last few days, to figure out our expenses. From there I will prioritize the "extra" expenses.  That was my biggest fault, I think. Wish me luck!