Dave Ramsey Would Be Proud!

Well, I'm proud anyway.  My husband and I have made it through 5 weeks of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University classes!  But I've actually felt a little discouraged through it all, until last week.  We're not deep in debt, we don't use credit cards, and we already watch what we spend - so we haven't seen any major changes in our finances yet, although we have made some changes.  So really, there's no reason to feel discouraged - I should feel proud we've done this well so far!

 

But last week I had a breakthrough.  Friday was my husband's birthday and he requested a pecan pie.  I went grocery shopping and found a barely expired bag of pecans, and stepping totally outside of my comfort zone, I asked the cashier if I could have them at a discount.  He said yes!  I got a $5 bag of pecans (nuts are expensive!) for $ .99!  Then I went to another grocery store, having read the weekly ad, and purchased 2 lbs of grapes for cheaper than 1 lb at the next cheapest store.  Score!  I called my husband and said, "Dave Ramsey would be proud of me!"  He didn't seem quite as excited over the nuts and grapes as I was, but he humored me anyway :)

 

And then this week I discovered these things called coupons.  Ever heard of them?  I think it's a fairly new idea.  *wink wink*  Anyway, today I went shopping with a coupon for $1 off 2 packs of toilet paper, and happened to find that toilet paper on sale too!  I told my husband all about it over lunch.  Again, not quite as excited, but he listened eagerly nonetheless.

 

So the doors to saving have been opened!  While we are already doing an okay job with our finances, I've found an area that I know I can do better in.  My plan is to search for coupons and deals (mainly at Coupons.com and Money Saving Mom), read the weekly ads from my local stores, and shop the sales and menu plan around them.  It's really pretty easy and doesn't take much time.  And now that I live in town and I'm kid-free twice a week, it's not a big deal to hit up all the stores in town.  I can't wait to see the difference in our grocery bill! 

 

I also can't wait to see how our finances change once our house sells.  I really want to start giving more for offering and I'd love to start supporting a mission, ministry, or charity of some kind.  We don't do a good enough job in the giving department and I hate to say it, but I don't think we're going to do better until some more money frees up.  I hope that happens soon!

 

Until then, I will revel in my tiny victories at the grocery store!