2009 . . . Year of Change and Victory

Since this is a budgeting forum, I will try to stick to talking about money. I am sure it won't be hard the way this economy is going. Today I went out and spent money I probably shouldn't have; however, I don't feel bad. Since my husband walked out on us back in August, I haven't bought anything new. So tonight, I took the baby over to Kohl's and Target. At Kohl's, I treated myself to new bath towels, rugs, and a shower curtain so I could "redo" my bathroom. It is really nice in there now and feels like I renovated it. At Target, I treated the baby to new totes and bins for her room, a new hamper, and two wall organizer. I am redoing her room tomorrow so she will finally have a bedroom!

I am interested in seeing how this year pan's out. A lot of my faith is being put to action, as I am not the only provider for a family with a teenager AND an infant! According to paper, I am $1400 shy of the money I need to run the house every month. However, December was the first time I needed to borrow money from savings to pay for the bills, and that was because I spent some money on Christmas presents.

Finally, what have I been doing to help with cutting costs:
3 months now, I have used Angel Food Ministries instead of buying meats at the grocery store. For $30 a month, I am feeding my family all the meat we need.
2 months now, I have cut down how much Starbucks I drink. I actually cut it completely out of my diet / spending plan 2 weeks ago, but then received $50 in gift certificates for Christmas!
1 months now, instead of eating out, I find the recipe online and make the meal at home.
Several months now I have use Freecycle as the first place I look to see if anyone has something I need or want. If they do, I ask for it. If I don't get it, I think about how much I need / want the item, wait a week, and then go buy it if I determine it is good.

That's all so far. Hopefully I will be able to contribute more in the coming months as I learn this site more.