Budget? Did someone say budget??

I am a part of a few local Yahoo Groups.

Most of them (if not all)

are homeschool related.

They are ways to 

get 

and 

give 

encouragement.

A lady on one of my groups 

asked about Dave Ramsey
last week.

You can all imagine the look of 

PURE EXCITEMENT

on my face and the ants in my pants 

when I read that subject line!

I responded and pointed her to 

the posting I did a few weeks ago

(which by the way is the MOST popular

posting on this blog - WHOO HOO!!)

Makes me wanna do more like that!

And I love posting about budgeting...

I think I would enjoy a job in accounting

if I could handle all the

rules

and

regulations

and

laws

and 

"things"

like time value of money...

um, what?  

Who cares?

My time is worth way more than money!!

Right?  

Well at least I think so anyways.

So I have decided that I am going

to break down Dave Ramsey's

Total Money Makeover

and 

how we worked through it

and 

which parts we didn't follow completely.

So get ready,

get set...

Dave Ramsey's 

Total Money Makeover

"Review"

Series

Coming to 

"Are We Really Doing This???"

SOON!

Budget Re-Do...

I pulled out my Dave Ramsey Book 

"A Total Money Makeover"

again this past weekend.

We are slowly

working our way through 

his debt snowball plan

And I needed a little extra motivation.

It is EXHILARATING

to pay something off.

The high and uphoria of 

the payoff,

for me,

is more exciting than the purchase itself!

I started quoting from the book

to my husband

"Dave says, blah blah"

"Dave also said, blah blah"

My sweet hubs decided to remind me

that although Dave might be a good resource,

his book was not the gospel.

I know, I know...

Everyone does not fit perfectly

into his mold.

BUT,

his plan is a great one

and

after reading his books,

you get a swift kick in the BUTT!

And MOTIVATION!

I have been attempting to follow a budget

for a few months.

But haven't quite mastered it.

I am still figuring out what works

best for our family.

I seemed to be chasing our money

instead of "telling it where to go".

I would also try to budget for everything

that "might" happen that month:

Doctor's visits

pharmacy visits

haircuts

sports equipment purchases

dinners out

birthday/gifts

etc...

Not all of these things happened

each month,

so I found myself constantly 

and almost daily

making adjustments to our "budget"

in Quicken.

I also had our groceries & household

separate.

But I would sometimes buy household stuff

at the grocery store

but didn't have any desire to go through

the receipts and separate out the purchases

into the correct category.

So I have gotten rid of all but 5 categories:

Bills

Groceries/Household

Laundry

Gas

Blow Money

This is my first month attempting this plan.

Based on what we were doing,

I feel this will work well.

The blow money will include EVERYTHING

not listed under the other categories.

As I have said many times before,

we have NEVER had a budget.

But I really got tired of not knowing 

where our money went each month.

I would constantly sit down 

with a spreadsheet

and the bank statement

and categorize every purchase

then go into shock at how much we spent

at certain places.

When I started the budget,

it was really just for my benefit.

The hubs and I would talk about it

a little

but he really didn't seem to show much

interest in it,

so I wasn't going to force it...

can't make him be interested, right?

I am guessing he was just letting me

figure it out and sort through it all.

Cause now,

he is really encouraging me

and we do discuss it,

Every 2 weeks...

Where do we want our money to go?

What do we have going on the next two weeks?

Any major purchases needed/wanted?

Oil changes - got it.

Missions baseball game - got it.

Now we have it planned out.

And with any luck - 

I will know where almost every penny is going

before it goes!

Another headache with this budgeting 

is the grocery shopping!

I have been racking my brain

trying to figure out how to budget for groceries.

As mentioned before,

back home in NC,

I could sit down at the computer,

do my grocery shopping on-line

and flip through my coupon binder

and match up sales with coupons.

Then I would print off my grocery list

complete with prices

and mark which ones had coupons.

Then I knew within about $10 how

much I would be spending 

when I actually went in

and did my shopping.

That service is not offered down here.

So I have resorted to making my own

database.

I shop at the same store

every 2 week.

And their prices are pretty consistent.

They don't have major sales,

but offer coupons regularly

in the store.

I don't get screaming deals on meat

like I did back home,

I would wait til meats went on 

B1G1

or 

B2G3

or

B1G2

and just do big meat purchases

and stock our freezer.

It worked!!!

Can't do that here.

Even the Costcos &

Sam's Clubs

have similar prices to those

offered at our

ONLY

grocery store chain.

So I sat down with receipts from my 

past 3 shopping trips

and started creating a database

with prices.

Now as I create my two week menu

and then my grocery list,

I can add prices

and get a better idea of what I am going to spend.

This is the best way I know how to 

get a grasp on my grocery budget

and possibly find ways to trim it.

I have already started my menu planning 

for the next two weeks.

I am anxious to put this idea into 

action and see how it works.

Any other ideas 

on how to manage & foreshadow

 grocery spending?

What's For Dinner??

I try my hardest to feed my family on a budget,

sort of,

we have a budget,

but I really have NO idea how to use it!

I have the nifty Quicken software

and I have put what we normally spend on groceries

under the grocery category.

Then what? 

I have no idea of knowing how much groceries are

going to actually cost when I check out

at the store.

I usually stay within a certain range.

But how in the world am I supposed to know how

much I am actually going to spend

until I am there?

I am sure there are ways to do this,

but I already spend about 6 hours (at least)

on the entire shopping experience:

menu planning

list making

actual shopping

post shopping prep:

fresh greens

snack packs

I already carry around a big ole binder with me

do I really need/want to add a calculator into the mix?

And walk around the store with a calculator

adding things up as I go?

Not really!

When we lived in NC, I could budget by doing my

shopping on-line first.

I would make my list,

then I would sit with my coupon binder

and do my menu planning based on what

was on sale that week.

Then I printed it off

took it into the store and did my shopping.

I knew EXACTLY how much I was going to spend.

Now - not so much...

due to this monopoly that this ONE grocery store has down

here and they have mega stores here.

I have had to change things a bit.

I could do our menu more simply,

more processed foods,

more cheaply 

and

more bland...

BUT - 

I choose to be a little creative.

This past shopping experience 

I shopped for:

Taco Salad with homemade tortilla bowls (see below)

Sausage & Kale Pasta (we love!!)

Mel's Sweet & Sour Chicken*

Mel's Stuffed Manicotti*
Burgers
Stroganoff
Kielbasa, Mashed Potatoes and Cabbage
Mel's Beef with Broccoli*

(we have not tried the ones with the * beside them -
I will let you know what we think)

these will hopefully produce enough leftovers

to cover a couple of dinners too...

However,

as these kids get bigger, 

they are definitely eating more.

Every once in a while I will get a glimpse
into our future...
and there will be no leftovers
when I thought there should be PLENTY leftover!!

Side note on the Sausage & Kale Pasta -
this is a HUGE hit in our house!  HUGE!
So much so that apparently daddy and I are
now fighting over the leftovers!
There was 1 serving left,
I was so looking forward to those for lunch
the next day.
Things were crazy and I didn't get around to making
daddy's lunch for him.
So he made it himself and took MY leftovers
Yes, MY!  (haha)
What a disappointment when I went to the
fridge at lunchtime the next day
and couldn't find them.
I already use an entire box of pasta,
and entire bunch of kale
and a pound of sausage.
I don't think I have a big enough pot
to double this recipe!

So far this week we have tried two new things:

Homemade tortilla shell bowls
and
Scratch made blueberry muffins

Homemade tortilla bowls

They were ADORABLE,

but kinda hard to eat

for everyone!

I popped the corn tortillas in the microwave
to soften them up and make them pliable.
Then pressed them in between an upside down muffin pan.

Bake at 325° for about 10 minutes (check often though)

And this is what you get.

Unfortunately while Mr. T was trying to figure out 

exactly how he was supposed to eat this thing...

he dumped the entire contents of his bowl

in his lap!

 That morning I decided to try some homemade
blueberry muffins, with whole blueberries.
These were VERY time consuming and somewhat
labor intensive.
But I really like them!
So did J,
the rest of the family, not so much.
I did not use the sugar topping it recommended.

But they looked pretty!

Mel's Best Blueberry Muffins

How Do I Feed This Crew???

I took my typical grocery store trip,

but I did it on a Tuesday evening

(instead of my Sunday afternoon norm).

Before I left, I did my meal planning

and grocery list.

On the Menu for the next two weeks:

But this time, I added in "planning" for 

breakfast and lunch too.

I typically just wing those.

And doing a better job of having snacks available.

The menu is put on the fridge for all to see...
I used it for helping keep track of breakfast
and lunch this past week and it worked
well!

I have found a LOT of inspiration

on a new found blog called

"I Heart Organizing"

With a little inspiration from her,

I took all of the snacky foods

I just bought

and put them

in individual servings!

(yes the wine was necessary for this task)

And found a couple of relatively neat homes
for them in our pantry.

But they are not nearly as organized and cute as her's
- yet!!

So now, 

when we are running out the door

for practice,

errands,

or the kids want a snack...

I send them to the snack basket.

Aside from the snacks,

I always take the time to do a few more
little bits of prep before I finish up
my shopping process:

* Put large purchases of meat in smaller,

meal size portions for the freezer.

* Cut 16 oz hunks of cheese into

16 - 1oz sticks

* Pull apart and clean grapes and put 

them in a bowl for easy picking

* wash fresh greens (cilantro, kale)

and put in a zipper bag with a wet paper towel
(thank you Rachel Ray)

My entire grocery shopping process is 

rather time consuming between:

menu planning,

grocery list making,

shopping,

putting away

&

organizing...

I think I spend at least 5 hours

every 2 weeks.
But it makes the rest of the time a lot

easier
and the ONLY thing we will have to get
is milk...our garage fridge died shortly
before we made the move from NC
and we haven't found a $35 replacement yet.

What are some of your time saving

& 

money saving tips for your grocery shopping process??

Vacay - Part 2

Sorry to leave you guys hanging so long on 

part 2 of our mini-vacay!

When I finally get caught up on updates,

you will see why it has taken so long...

(If I ever get caught up!)

So last post, I filled you in on Day 1 of our trip.

The drive up

and then the stadium...

We ended Day 1 with a birthday dinner for R.

I wanted to go somewhere we would both enjoy,

so we decided on a hibachi place.

Unfortunately, those are hit or miss.

We found one, I went in to check it out

and did an about face as soon as I stepped in.

So on to plan B,

the problem,

we didn't have a plan B!

So 30+ min later, 

we wound up at Dave and Busters...

oh yeah!

(sarcasm!)

But the kids enjoyed it - 

it was better than Chuck E Cheese!

We stayed in a hotel not far from the stadium 

and then got up the next morning 

and headed to the water park.

For those of you not familiar with 

an indoor water park

just go to:

http://www.greatwolf.com/

It is amazing!  

Hotel,

food

& entertainment

all under one roof

and

I don't have to worry about 

sunscreen or sunburns!

Those two items alone are worth the cost!

Especially since half of us with burst into flames

with too much sun!

We got there before 10am.  

We were able to check in

since the hotel was EMPTY!

We even got a complimentary upgrade!!

We wound up staying in a 

KidKamp Suite.

We headed straight to the waterpark

cause of course we were already in our 

bathing suits!

And, as I posted a bit ago,

we had a cooler and bag full of goodies!

We did buy 2 kids meals with chicken fingers

and split that 6 ways

then had the 

apples 

and 

cheese 

and 

crackers

and

cookies

and

other stuff

we packed.

So it worked!

Since the water park was practically empty,

there was no rest for the ride-goers.

Once you got off, you climbed back up the 

105 steps to get back on again,

then you did it all over again.

Mommy only did it a few times,

I was stuck between the baby pool

and the wave pool with the littles.

Daddy, however, 

did this probably close to 50 times over the 

2 day period we were there.

What a good daddy!

We did give the boys a little more freedom 

than we EVER have,

but ONLY because the place was empty

and

they were limited to just going on the 

"tree house".

We didn't leave the waterpark til my feet

were SCREAMING at me

for keeping them submerged in water 

for almost 8 hours!

And no my feet were NOT the reason we left.

We were just flat TIRED!

We went back to the room,

showered off

and then wandered around

trying to figure out what we were

doing for dinner.

We decided to stay in the hotel

and eat at the Grill there.

Food wasn't the best

or the cheapest,

but we didn't have to leave...

so it was fine!

Then the littles and I went back to the 

room and crawled into bed.

While daddy took the two older boys

to play MagiQuest.

What is that you ask?

Addictive and a workout,

that's what it is.

It is basically an electronic scavenger hunt

through the hotel.

Ultimately culminating in fighting a dragon.

As if daddy hadn't had enough already,

he wandered around the hotel with the boys

til 11pm!

When they finally turned the game OFF!

Then they were up by 8am

(don't these kids EVER sleep???)

We were checking out of the hotel that morning,

so we ate breakfast

(that we brought with us)

Then we packed everything up,

daddy loaded the car

and me & the kids headed

BACK to the water park,

which had LESS people 

than the day before.

It was GREAT!

I didn't get a ton of pictures,

and most of the ones I did get 

are of the baby,

mainly cause I had to be within arms 

reach of our 19 mo old who

was trying to keep up with 

his brothers and sister

with nary a worry of 

DROWNING!

(that was my job)

After playing all day,

I could tell he was getting tired,

so I took him over and was drying him off 

and putting a dry diaper on him...

he was falling asleep while I was drying him off!

Poor thing!

We ventured over to watch daddy and R

come down a couple of the slides

while T was sleeping 

and get a snack...

Hi Daddy!

J hitting a slide too!

Monkey girl and show off boy!

All for them!!

Before we headed back home,

we hit MagiQuest one more time

to give the boys the opportunity to beat the dragon.

Try as they all might...

alas

they could NOT defeat the dreaded dragon!

We FINALLY loaded back up to head SOUTH

around 6:15pm.

I snapped these on the way out - mainly for Grammy

to show her how big this one was!!

It had 8 floors!

But the water park was the same size as the smaller hotels!

so this is NOT the place to go when they are busy!!

We grabbed a healthy dinner (bleh!)

and 

settled in for a long ride home.

30 minutes into our 5 1/2 hour drive,

I noticed it was awfully quiet...

And I turned around to see this!

Yep - that is a fry hanging out of her mouth!

Then there is the baby...

laughing and talking - LOUDLY!!

They all remained like this til 8:30pm.

At that time, the baby finally falls asleep

and the older 3 wake up!

What???

That was NOT a part of the plan!!

We turned a movie on

and settled in.

Then the movie went off and they all started talking!

Its 10:30 at night,

be quiet and go to sleep!!!

The other 3 finally fell back asleep about 30 min before we arrived home.

UGH!

We got home 11:15pm.

Then poor daddy woke up and made it to work the next day.

But it worked 

and 

we WILL be doing this again.

We have already started mentally planning our next trip up there!

There's A First Time For Everything...

And this weekend - my crew had a first!

We took our first solo vacation as a family of 6!!!

We have been BLESSED to live near family

and have ALWAYS vacationed 

WITH family.

This past weekend, 

we ventured out for our 

first family trip

SOLO!

Me and the hubs were the only
adults!

Whoa Nelly!

And we took the kids 

(all under age 8 - now)

to an indoor water park!

Were we nuts!?!?!?

NOPE

It was GREAT!!! 

My sweet husband and I make such a good team.

Our trip started on Sunday morning.

We loaded up the beast,

then piled in and 

hit the road for a 5 hour trip north!

According to the handy dandy navigation feature

on our phones, we were supposed to arrive in Dallas

around 3pm.

We were headed straight for the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

(yes for Mother's Day)

The kids and I had visited the stadium on our move.

(See that post here)

We finally found the opportunity to go back with Daddy.

We decided to take the kids on a little 

trip instead of doing the whole birthday party thing this year.

We were supposed to make this trip to Dallas in April, 

but life happened and we didn't get around to it until 

May,

which just happened to coincide with R's birthday weekend.

So back to the this trip...

It was a nice trip.

Daddy commented a bit into the drive,

that they were doing better than he thought they would.

We arrived at the stadium shortly after 2pm.

Daddy was in awe

and had a great smile plastered on his face

the whole time!!

Although I didn't get any close ups of that smile - 

here are a few we did manage to snap in the stadium.

The big boys all took turns kicking a PAT.

Daddy claims he actually made one, 

but I miss it.

QB Daddy is setting up a play 

and directing his wide receivers, 

R & J

R made the catch!

 Meanwhile, J is doing cartwheels down the field.

 A & T were walking the letters

in the end zone.

What a pretty football player!

The ball is almost as big as T is!!

Then daddy tried to get ONE picture of the 4 of them

in front of one of the field level boxes...

he just wanted ONE picture...

R, sit up.

T, look over here.

J, sit up.

A, look over here.

J, A & T - seriously - 

look at Daddy!

Will you guys please look at daddy!!!

Argh!

Forget it - close enough!!

Mommy & A in front of the cheerleader locker.

Look at the size of them shorts!

No way man!!

Yep - he's a star!

We asked a nice couple to take our picture in the star.

It was out of focus,

but you get the idea.

This one is in the Cowboys Locker Room.

(there's that smile on daddy!)

Then this time, they had a few sets of pads

and jerseys that people could try on.

Absolutely hilarious!!!

R resisted, mainly because we were giggling so 

much at J, but he didn't have a choice.

My Cowboys!

Even had names on the jerseys.

J had a hard time getting his off and right before I snapped,

he was walking around with it over his head

and all you could see where legs,

it was pretty stinking funny!

J and I walked up a few flights of steps

and then took this of the rest of the crew.

When we finally left we passed the Texas Rangers Stadium.

It was BEAUTIFUL!!

And is the home field of a guy I went to high school with.

Well my sisters went to high school with him

I went with his older brother.

you might have heard of him...

Josh Hamilton

(shameless plug there, I know)

That was all Day 1!

Tomorrow, Days 2 & 3.

Its hard to take pictures when you are chasing a 19 mo 

who thinks he can swim

(or atleast thinks he can keep up with his older siblings without drowning!)