Hello everyone! All my January bills have been paid. I am thrilled that I have $70 left and I have already applied it to my credit card! This was an unexpected event and I can't tell you how happy I am.

Here at home we are beginning to thaw out. We are going to get above freezing today so I will probably venture out to pick up a few necessities after lunch. I have $80 in cash left that I will use to make my purchases. I hope I can include a few groceries in this trip but we will see. My plan for today is to make a menu. Have a good day everyone!

Hello All,
This has been an odd week to say the least. I have not worked since Monday because of the weather. I live in central Alabama and we are in a crisis mode because of snow. I know it is nothing for folks who live up north but this is a nightmare for us. We don't know how to drive in this ice and snow. However, since I am home I have finalized my February budget down to the penny. I am so excited!

I opened a Capital One 360 savings account with the goal to save $1K. I found a chart using pintrest on a way to save $1000 during the year. I thought this looked like a good plan. I set up atomic payments that match my paycheck for the entire year. I am pretty excited about that.

I am still working on the goal to pay off that stinking credit card. I have taken advice of others and have shopped around for another card. I think I found one that will work for me. It will have 0 interest for 14 months. I have been approved just waiting on the paperwork to see how much of the balance I can transfer. My goal is still to have it paid off by he end of the year. Looking forward to a February with a new budget. My goal is to see if I can come under budget. Have a great rest of the week!

I feed a family of four. Two adults and two teens. My grocery budget has been out of control. I have been getting a lot of advice and I have tried to take advantage of it all and see what works for me. I went grocery snooping yesterday and spent $90. I know that seems like a lot but it is a savings for me and I will get better. I am just so excited it is under $100. Next month I am budgeting $100 a week on groceries. This is a good start and a practice run for me. For example pork chops were on sale and I got a family pack for a little under $5. It had 8 pork chops in it. I broke that pack up and froze it so it would be a meal for this week and one for next week. My thought process is that if I can stay with my budget and maybe by an extra meal each week that maybe the last week in February I can purchase very little and pay it on debt. I have been reading a lot about stockpiling. Do any of you do this?

I have spent the last two days working on a budget. I am very happy with the results. Today I reviewed my credit card statement because the billing cycle ended yesterday. We have only one credit card and it has a huge balance. I currently have a 13% interest rate. I called the company and asked for a lower interest rate and was told no. Oh well, I am going to tackle this debt and get it paid for as soon as possible because I paid $102 and change in interest. Holy Smokes! I am beginning this billing cycle with a balance of $8583. I paid the minimum payment today of $188. I plan to make another payment on Thursday with the remaining money from my check. I have scheduled automatic payments of $180 each Friday beginning Jan.31 until the last Friday in May. I hope to make additional payments and have the card down to $4000 by the start of June.

Up next, the grocery budget. Oh boy, mine is out of control. Anyone have any secrets to share?
Have a great night everyone!

I am recently new (within the month) to this site. I have taken advantage of the forums and asked a question and received support with a challenge. It is past time to get serious with our money.

I am married. My hubby and I each hold down a full time job. We have two daughters. DD1 is 15 and DD2 is 13. With DD1 starting a job we need to be role models for our children.

My first step is to identify my debt. I have a total of 4 debts and they are biggies.
1. Credit Card $8600
2. Travel Trailer $8800
3. Car 1: $19,000
4. Car 2: $18,000

We have our travel trailer up for sale. Hopefully, it will sell by spring. I am hoping to have credit cards paid off by Dec 2014 and first 1000 in emergency fund.

I am hoping this blog will give me a chance to share my feelings, thoughts and progress as I become debt free, fund emergency funds and save for our children's education.