I hate to post this because I know a lot of you out there are flooded but, WE NEED RAIN!!! We got a whole 1/2 of rain for the month of May and June has produced nothing for us so far. We can watch the radar of the storms coming our way. As they get right up to us, they disappear giving us nothing, nada, zipo. We actually can SEE the rain coming from the clouds on the horizon. But nope, us nothing. Our garden is just about to give our on us. The plants are so small and puny. I'm hoping they will come out of it IF we get some rain.But finally, we have a good chance of getting rain today. In fact they are calling for sever thunderstorms to come through here tonight. Here's to hoping they actually rain on the farm.
Now on to financial news. I feel like I can tell things on here not because I'm a wiz at doing things, but I think that maybe, some how, my mess ups can help other people too. Hubby and I were talking about some of our wish lists. You know, the, "If I win the lottery" talk. Well, we got to wondering how many of the people, that my husband works with, can afford to buy new trucks and motorcycles and still get new houses and things like that. They made the same amount of money as he does so why were we living paycheck to paycheck? Did their wives work and make thousands of dollars a week? What was the deal?
Well, we got to looking at our budget, or should I say lack of one, and we were noticing that over half of our money was going to fuel and eating out. WHAT???? You mean to tell me that it was adding up to that? WOW!!!! That really put things into perspective. Even though we live about 30 minutes from any large(er) town, it was really taking it's toll on our money when we, on a whim, decide to go and, let's say, get an ice cream. Those things really add up! (They add up on your waist line too, but that's a whole other issue. lol)
So what are we going to do about it? Well, for one, we are not going to eat out. We realize that we like my cooking better than most restaurants anyway. Plus, it's a lot more healthy for us too. And since we are stopping our "let's go for a drive" mentality, we don't have to worry about needing something to eat while we are out. I realize that I will have to make sure that I plan out our meals so that I know when to get something out of the freezer to thaw. That way it won't take very long to make meals. I really think this will work. We need to stop using "eating out" as our "lets do something" idea. I would rather go fishing anyway. lol
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, homebody.
P.s. It started raining while I was writing this post. YAY!!!!!
9 comments:
several years ago, my husband and i found ourselves in real trouble because we spent more money then we made..and were not spending what we had sensibly...i figured up that we spent over $2,000. just eating pizza hut every friday evening for a year...that was just the tip of the iceburg though...anyway, we went on a budget and stuck to it. there were times my husband hated not being able to use credit cards or just getting whatever he wanted when he wanted it. the first year or so was really hard but it paid off..we are out of debt with the exception of our automobile. and the homestead is all ours!
Anony, that's what we are hoping to do too. Wish us luck! Lol
I'm glad you're getting rain, send some this way please!!
It is 103 out here today, so summer has moved on in from out of nowhere and it did so with a vengeance.
We've gotten a little better at budgeting and only buying what we need and not what we want, so we've managed to start saving a little each paycheck and putting it aside.
Good luck to you, you can do it.
Hugs
~Fel~
Fel, it's funny, when we made less money I could budget better. Lol
Been the same for us (SW France)....been very dry here and we are losing the grazing on the fields too early in the year, which means having to buy in hay if it doesn't rain soon. And like you, rain clouds come over us, but leave their load of rain up on the hills nearby, and not on us.
As for eating out, ....that is a habit we started getting in to during the first few months of this year, mostly because of having our builder get the kitchen sorted out. But once the kitchen was done, we still kept up with the habit, which was not good. So I am trying to make the effort of being organised with food.....it is not easy, as you well know!
SFG,
We've put ourselves on a budget a while back after realizing our money was going out faster than it was coming in. We had adult children constantly asking for help (from a previous marriage). We put our feet (both husband and I) down. Three of our (my step kids) were adults, holding a good paying jobs needed to learn to stay within their means financially. Now granted if the situation came where each kid was homeless or couldn't afford food we would help...........but they're NOT!!! So they're on their own, and we are slowly but surely paying off the debit compiled from their car problems, medical payments because they didn't have the deductible....ect......
We created a budget using Dave Ramsey's free worksheets off of this site: https://www.daveramsey.com/tools/budget-forms/
Have saved $1,000 cash at home for emergencies, have a solid savings account, pay on debit above and beyond the minimum payment, and don't use credit cards.
Once you put your mind too it, or tell kids "NO" (like in our situation) that's when you'll feel the monkey climbing off your back (figure of speech).
You can do it girl!!!
So glad you got the rain! And as you know, budgeting is the first step in realizing where all that $$ is going. I hate to say it, but I enjoy "just going for a ride", and that does suck money through the gas tank. Maybe if I ever get the darned mule saddled up we can take "rides" like that.
We use YNAB(You Need A Budget, it has saves us so many times, would highly recommend it!
Budgets are wonderful! We've never had to have one...but a few years ago I started a "sure thing" business and used credit cards and a line of credit to start it...within a few months it was obvious it wasn't going to work. After cleaning out my personal checking and savings account I was left with over $50,000 in debt. I could have had my husband bail me out, but the business was something he had not supported AT ALL and there was no way I was going to do that to him. I thought it would be easy for someone with my experience to find a good paying job...it wasn't. The economy had crashed and no one was hiring. I sent out over 100 applications...I was over 50, over-qualified and fat. As luck would have it I was offered a very part-time job as a substitute cook at the elementary school at $10.00 an hour and I jumped at it. Long story short I bought the Dave Ramsey book at a yard sale for $.50...followed his plan...I was promoted to Head Cook, worked off-site catering jobs, sold fruits and veggies from my garden, sold the teachers eggs and honey and managed our local Farmers Market...I threw every cent I had into paying off my debt and into my savings account; my debt was paid off in 2 years. That was a few years ago...I now have a nice retirement, several savings accounts, pay cash for everything including my new car and money in my pocket...it feels great and I never touched one cent of my husband's farm income...that went back into the farm and savings. I still sell produce, eggs and honey, but gave up the catering and the Market Manager position...still the Head Cook, but it's all by choice; no longer have to work if I don't want to...feels GREAT!
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