Living Frugally

Joe and I are embarking on a year+ of trying to live more frugally. Not that we've ever been very extravagant people, but we've been pretty used to having plenty of money and doing with it what we want. Usually what we want is nothing too insane, but it's been a little haphazard. We feel like now is a good time in our lives to change some of these habits, set up some new habits for the next phase of our lives, make some goals and learn to set a good example for our kids.

Our first step is that we're currently enrolled in Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace University, which I was highly skeptical about. But, while I know that you can find this information all over the place and don't really need to go to a class, I know myself well enough to know that without the outside motivation of needing to get my homework done and having people hold me accountable, I'm not going to do it. Because I hate finances. Budgeting, investing, etc. I hate it all. I hate reading about it, I hate taking the time to do it, I just... hate it. It also forces Joe and I to talk to each other and make long term goals together. We've just started but so far we think it will be really good for us and we're glad we're doing in now as more of a learning/preventative measure than potentially in the future needing it to dig us out of debt or help us gain control.

Other than that we have big steps and little steps for using this next year and a half to set ourselves up for the future. The big ones include:

- sticking to our new budget, especially using the "cash envelope" system (which terrifies me).
- emergency fund! Which we want to be fully funded for 3 months (to start). That's a goal that's pretty easily in our reach, so that was nice. (It can feel so overwhelming!)
- staying in our small(er) home for another year to take advantage of the great rent price and practice simplicity.
- planning for our big expenses in advance (traveling home for Christmas, birth bill)
- tackling remaining student loans with more purpose. We've always paid on time and the full amount, so we're doing well, but we want to get a bit more aggressive with them.
- connecting with each other regularly to discuss finances after the class is over!

Small steps include the little things like:

- careful meal planning on my part, including taking advantage of my part-time work status to do things like bake my own bread instead of spend the money on store bought. I always wondered who bought the giant bags of flour at the grocery store. Me. I do. Still cheaper than buying bread.
- taking advantage of all of the fun, free activities this area has to offer!
- making wise spending decisions. For example, do I need to spend $15/semester on gym time with Z? Nope, that is not a need. BUT! will it greatly increase both of our happiness to get out of the house during the cold winter months and interact with other humans while he can run crazy to his heart's content? YES! Worth it. Same with budgeting for date nights with Joe.

Wish us well. This is my "accountability" post that I will think of when I want to slack off.