The Rant

I promise I am not going to call names or be all political.

Like the rest of the nation, my paycheck was a bit thinner last payday. You can do your own research on the social security tax change and why it occurred. I get the reason, I understand - whether I agree or not is a pointless discussion because I can't do a thing to change it.

The bottom line of it is, for me, less money that always seems to have farther and farther that it has to go.

Everyone has a different family make-up, different routines and different methods of doing things.

MY story is a family of 5 at home. And although only two are actually teenagers, all bellies under this roof seem to EAT like teenagers. And we are all watching those grocery prices continuing to go up, right? We are a two-paycheck family, and we are supporting our oldest boy who is serving a mission for our church. (read: not living at home, still needs money, but for a really good cause.)

I have ALWAYS lived frugally. But we finally got to the point where we lived frugally in some areas (cheap meals) so we could splurge in others (dinner out once in a while).

But now I seem to be back to HAVING to be frugal so we can stay fed and housed and clothed.

And while I hate being in that position - I'd much rather be playing the game of "how teeny can we keep the grocery bill so we can go to Disneyland?" - it's a challenge that I'm up for and am determined to win.

Blogs are a groovy way to stay accountable.

Tackling the food budget is an on-going project, with a bazillion different possible places to start. Tomorrow I'll make a game plan and decide where step 1 is this time around.