I've decided to start including photos in my posts, since i found a working camera in my husband's miscellaneous electronics box. I know that photos make blogs much more interesting. The photo you see here (courtesy of my cell phone, not the camera) is of one of our dogs. His name is Elliot and he is full of personality. He's a 3 year old mini dachshund, weighing in at about 11 lbs. I love this cutie.
Well, life has been a journey lately, that's for sure. There are a lot of new things happening all around, and while it's all been very exciting, it does wear a woman down to keep up with it all! I've been a Mrs. for 4 months now, and I am beginning to feel settled in to this new role. I still have so much to learn, and so does my husband, but in just 4 months, it's amazing how normal it feels now. There are some big changes happening at my job, and I've only been back with this company since May. I have also decided to start attending a different church, which has been more of a process than one might expect. I was at my previous church for almost 7 years, and so leaving it hasn't been exactly cut and dry. But I definitely felt the Lord moving me in another direction. There have been other changes and possibilities in my life too, but none concrete enough yet for me to talk about.
The big thing on my mind lately is finances. My husband and I decided before we were married to use this first year (and maybe the next) of our marriage to concentrate on eliminating debt. This means not buying a house, and not making any huge purchases. This means being more conscious of what we spend on groceries, making less trips out of town to visit our extended family, and keeping eating out to a minimum. This means keeping small purchases, well, small. and infrequent.
I have tried a few different budgeting tactics over the past few months, and think I have finally arrived at one that will work for us in the long term. Before Bill and I were married, we spent our money however we wanted to, living in the present. Now that we are married and have a direction and goals for our future together, our money need purpose. I tried a very strict budget and found it too difficult for us to keep, and found myself discouraged when we "failed". But what I have arrived are a couple of ideas that will work for us. The first is that, aside from bills and fueling our cars (cost that we can't really negotiate or change), will will only pay for purchases with cash. If I take out our allotted amount for groceries every week and put it in an envelope, I know that when the envelope is empty, I am done buying groceries. That makes me consider my purchases at the store just a little more carefully. When I was paying with my debit card, I didn't really fret about the possibility of going over the budget a couple of dollars. This new tactic should keep me on track. I have also decided to give Bill and I each a small allowance every week to spend at our leisure. If he wants to go out to lunch with his colleagues, fine, he can use his allowance. If we want to go on a date, great, we can use our allowance. If I want to get a new dress, fine. Just use my allowance, and maybe even have to delay my gratification by saving up my allowance to purchase it. This all might sound very primitive or elementary, but I think it will really work for us. I think it will allow us to have some fun without feeling guilty (unlike my old budget plan), but it will also keep us in check and make us think a little harder about how we spend our money.
Whew. That's all I've got for now. I am going to try to keep my posts more regular from now on. I think this is a good outlet for me.
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