Financial Review

It's the first of the month. That means time to talk bills... I know you all have this marked on your calendar right, because it's always a lively fun topic to discuss.

Well, in our case it actually is. This month we plan to pay off our car !!! YEAH!!!! This is one of the last major milestone to our debt freedom. That will put us in line to still meet our goal to be debt free by June.

So the setback of unemployment hasn't hindered us too much. We are still moving toward cutting back on everything, but I know the Lord has great plans for us and we are just walking with him hand in hand. It's actually quite exciting. I don't recall a time I've been so open and receptive to the Lord's guidance. There is definitely no me,myself, and I mentality here. I know there is absolutely no way to walk through this without him. And as always, our gracious Father is there for us and with us.

Menu Plan Monday

I am so late... It's Wed already. I was feeling a bit overwhelmed this week and had no desire for planning. But alas, it must be done, so here is what I have:

Breakfast:

Sausage Rolls (Sunday breakfast)
Coffee Cake
Cereal x3
Homemade Donuts
Cinnamon Rolls

Lunch:

Calzones x2
Homemade Hot Pockets x3
Grilled cheese
leftovers

Dinner

Chili, homemade rolls
Porcupine Soup
Short Ribs, Beans, Mexican Rice
Taco Salad
Homemade Pizza
Potato Soup bread bowls
Superbowl party with friends

(Next weeks plan)
Pork chops, rice salad
Broccoli cheese potatoes
Turkey meatloaf, corn, homemade rolls
Sweetheart's Birthday...
Homemade Calzones

Eat from the Pantry Challenge Final Results

YEAH!! we made it. We survived one month in our pantry. We actually opted not to go to the grocery store at all last week. And one week's trip to Kroger didn't happen.So the final results of our challenge:

We only spent 111.66 for the month. Can you believe it!!! I am so shocked, and very, VERY proud of my prince. He did most of the leg work and kept me encouraged and excited the whole month. What a guy!!

I will admit I think we may be keeping these goals from now on. I do know we are in desperate need of a BIG shopping trip to restock some staples. But even that I don't foresee as being a huge trip. I'm predicting around $100 total, but my goal is to cut that in half as well.

I was also very surprised to see that we actually ate healthier meals this month than our usual fare. I think one of the biggest things that we need to change is the frequency of our trips. I'm going to try to plan this weeks menu for 2 weeks and see how we do.