I briefly touched on how being organized is important and vital in being successful with budgeting and saving money in an Instagram post last Friday. In this instance, being organized is synonymous with planning. You are organizing your budgeting by planning what expenses you will have. As you will see today, being organized does not mean you will always reach your goal because you also need dedication and self control but it will truly be helpful in planning your budget and being prepared for life events and being realistic with how much you can spend and save. Here are some areas that I think it is important to consider and…

Last week, the boys and I sat down and looked at some pins I had saved on Pinterest over the years to find some things we might have fun doing this summer. I am still hoping to visit my new baby niece (close to DC) this summer but we probably won’t go unless things open up more. We would like to take advantage of being in that part of the country to visit Washington DC so we may wait till the fall. Until our visit, we will enjoy pictures and videos of her as she is a cutie. But while we are home for probably most if not all of…

Since we are 4 months into the year and I often try to share some of the budgeting tips that have worked for our family (search budget posts on the blog), I thought it would be helpful to share my budget wins and fails so far. It also helps me celebrate my wins or learn from my fails. January and February The first two months of the year would count as fails in my book even though I was still able to put money into savings. Of course having been able to save they are not total fails. However, my hope was to start the year with a small credit…

Well, I am refraining from mindlessly clicking add to cart on Amazon and thinking through before making any clothing purchases but this past week, I did add 2 things to my closet. # 1 Tommy HIllfiger black puffer jacket My puffer jacket is a hand me down from my mother in law and while I do like the white color of it with its crispness, it is a little large and not always practical. After putting some thought into it, I decided that I wanted a black puffer jacket with a hood for the end of this winter and for the future. Such a jacket would be practical if we…

Each year, at the start of the year I revisit our budget, make adjustments and outline some goals. This year, with a new tool in hand (my Budget by Paycheck workbook, see this post and this post) and a somewhat of a new budget, here are my adjustments and goals. Food budget These 4 boys of mine can eat! While my husband travels out of town 4 days of week, I still go through groceries quickly. Yogurts and snacks disappear quickly and sometimes meals don’t leave any leftovers. So I adjusted my grocery/household budget from $600 to $700. I will still strive from $600 but I will not beat myself…

Since I did not purchase but one article of clothing my favorites for this month are a little different! Kut from the Kloth denim Jacket I have worn this jacket 5 to 6 times already this month: I held true to my no clothes shopping month after this planned purchase on the 1st of the month. The denim is soft and the cut is perfect. I sized up to a medium. The Budget Mom budget by paycheck workbook I shared this workbook last month. If you want to take charge of your finances, see where your money goes and start paying off your debt or do a better job of…

Since I am trying to be thrifty this fall, especially for this month of October, I decided to see what I could do to add a little to my fall decor to welcome fall in. I started with the items I already had. My little Target bird and my letter board adorn my mantle. I know sand and seashells are not fall decor but sorry, not sorry, they are a sweet reminder of our summer trip to Spain and France this summer. My buffet table behind the couch displays this fall sign I found last year at Hobby Lobby and a few pumpkins from Target dollar spot (also old). I…