Budgets

Aaron and I have really been trying to stay within a budget month to month so we can put more money away and so that we can retire as "millionaires" as is his dream. We've been using a website called www.mint.com which tracks all of our transaction whether it be with the debit or credit card and as well as all of our utility and medical bills. It's a really handy tool that is absolutely free.

So Aaron thinks I've been spending too much on groceries so he has decided to do all the shopping this month. To this announcement I did a little happy dance. I am more than happy to just e-mail him a list so he can go to the store rather than dragging my three little monsters to "the walmart" as Ryker likes to call it. I know he thinks he's totally going to beat me when the month is over, but I highly doubt it.

I routinely get lectures on how I should use coupons, blah blah blah. In my defense, I rarely use coupons b/c I generally buy generic. And using coupons works a whole lot better when you live in a bigger city so you can shop around for all the best deals. All I got is walmart and Safeway and I hit Safeway up anytime I can if they have good deals on meat or produce. I live an hour away from a large city and any money I would save using coupons at other stores I would lose just driving an hour both ways just to get those deals.

So we'll just see how this month goes. Thankfully since Jilly turned 1 we don't need to buy formula anymore and she pretty much eats whatever we eat. That will save at least 150 bucks a month. I talked to him last night about possibly buying a jogging stroller so I could try to get in to shape, but then I got another lecture about how we just can't fit it into our budget. Maybe I should make a bet with him that if he does all the grocery shopping this month and stays within the budget then I get to buy a jogging stroller. I think that's a win/win situation.