Doodle Acres

Today at Money Saving Mom, Crystal Paine encouraged us to get our finances in shape in 2008.  Well we are blessed with an income that meets our needs and many of our wants.  We have worked hard on being fiscally responsible, have very little outstanding debt (only our mortgage), and generally live below our means.  However, as Len and I look at our finances, we can honestly admit that there is a lot of room for improvement with our spending.  In 2007, I FINALLY (after years of trying) got my grocery spending under control thanks to Crystal’s “Supermarket Savings Course” (see my right sidebar).  Of course this is always a work in progress as I work on trimming the fat off of my food budget.  However, if I never improved beyond where I’m at now, I think I would be satisfied in this area.

What I’d like to work on this year, is increasing our savings and using the savings to pay off a chunk of our mortgage.  This is going to require a hard look at our budget - a hard look!!!

I plan to take the next couple of weeks to take that “hard look” recognizing that it will be a process of negotiation with dear husband.  I’ll let you know what I come up with and look forward to hearing what others are doing via the links at Money Saving Mom.

Today at the library I picked up a copy of The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn.  I periodically take out books on frugality and simple living.  I never read these books cover to cover but am happy to glean a few hints/tips to incorporate into my life and budget.

Well as I lazily read the book from the comfort of my armchair this afternoon, I came upon an article which referenced the USDA’s ”Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home at Four Levels“.  Now the article was written in 1993, so I decided to check on line for the current levels of spending for American families.  Recently, I had shared that I spend $120 a week on food for my family of 6.  I wanted to see whether this put me in the Thrifty, Low-cost, Moderate-cost, or Liberal plan.  I was thrilled to see that we were on the Thrifty plan.  Of course the author of The Tightwad Gazette spent about 1/4 of the Thrifty plan amount!!!  But you have to start somewhere and I’m happy for the gains I’ve made (although I know that I have more work to do in this area).  If you have any money saving tips, I’d love to hear them.  And I’ll post any ideas that I come across in my reading.  Let the sharing and savings begin!!!