I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey and his advice. I listen to him for years but never really got on the band wagon or followed through with what he said. It was to0 hard I thought. Truth is I did not want to change my ways. I did not want to give up buying anything I wanted, going any where I wanted. The debt grew and grew.
That all changed a little over a year ago. The roof fell in on my money house and hubby and I had to change the way we viewed our money.
We got rid of the credit cards and went on a cash system. We set up a budget and wrote it down. Hubby puts it in his excel program but I want it on a yellow tablet. I want to see it and feel it. We followed this budget day by day and that feels good.
We had decided to move back home to Minnesota. That cost us our savings but we are home with family and that makes it all okay.
Now we have to get back to the basics. Pinching Penny's until we get settled and start bringing in the extra $. We need to build up our $1,000 cushion fund and then work on paying off our van as fast as possible.
Yesterday I got another email from Dave Ramsey and thought it was a great reminder to get back to do what is necessary.
The following is from Dave Ramsey.. enjoy and hope that something helps you.

Wherever you are right now, these four tips will help you make your money—and Dave's advice—work for you!
Write it down: Dave is a big fan of writing down your goals. He talks and writes about it often. There's just something about writing things down that adds power and tangibility to them. A dream is just a dream until you write it down ... then, it's a goal! When it comes to budgeting, give every dollar a name by spending it on paper, on purpose before the month begins. And remember, the dullest pencil is sharper than the sharpest memory!
Start Small: You know how to eat an elephant, right? One bite at a time! It's like losing weight or getting in shape. If you try big, crazy, extreme plans or diets, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Don't try to take shortcuts. Get on a plan that works, and stick to it. That's what Dave's seven Baby Steps are all about: adjusting your position a little bit at a time until you've completely turned things around.
Get Intense! You've got to get wired up and fired up about where you want to go! Do what it takes to keep yourself motivated, whether it's listening to people scream "We're debt freeeee!" on Debt-Free Fridays, reading powerful success stories, or making stuff with cut-up pieces of your credit cards. Continually think about why you're doing what you're doing. One way to do that is to keep a photo of your loved ones in your checkbook or envelope system, and remind yourself: I'm changing my family tree for them.
Get Support: Personal finance is only 20% head knowledge. It's 80% behavior change. That will make all the difference! That's why it's important to surround yourself with people who have the same goals, so you get the support and accountability you really need. There are thousands of Financial Peace University classes starting all over the nation. Take the step to get plugged into a community of support and encouragement that's a whole lot of fun for all involved. Find a Financial Peace University class in your area. You can attend the first lesson for free! Connecting with our new FPU Facebook page is another great way to get daily motivation to work your way through the Baby Steps! As the season changes, it's your chance to give yourself a fresh start! Good intentions won't change anything, but intentional action will do wonders. Jump in with both feet, and start doing the little things that make a big difference in your life! If you're new to all of this motivational talk and just want a way to get your head around the idea of looking at money differently, why not start at the beginning with Dave's best-selling book, The Total Money Makeover. Another great resource is Dave's Starter Special, an exclusive special for newsletter subscribers.
Thanks for stopping by... and Never Under Estimate The Value Of A Small Amount Of Money.. Grace

Menu Planning Monday Saving Money Eating At Home

A day late for my menu planning. Our plans for meals this week based on what we purchased is...
1.Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and pasta ( you can find the recipe listed on the right hand side under recipes. I had thought of trying a new recipe also and should I do this will comment on taste in a later post
2.Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup with a few chips
3.Sloppy Joe's ( my recipe or Lowell's.. a toss of a coin will decide) both are tasty and different from each other's with beans and chips
4.Left over Spaghetti and bread and butter
5.Hamburger patties, mash potatoes and a veggie
6.Left over Sloppies ( they are so good who cares if we have them twice)with the left over beans and chips.
7.Cook's choice or out to dinner after church and a light dinner later

Easy week of cooking. We are still unpacking and trying to fit our belongings into a tiny 1 bedroom cottage. Planning to have a yard sale before the end of the month if possible.

thanks for stopping by.. lets keep saving together and remember.. Never Under Estimate The Value Of A Small Amount Of Money.. Grace

Thifty Cheapskate Grocery Shopping Roundup

Our cupboards are almost bare with our big move to Minnesota. I did not have room to bring my stock of food we had not eaten. My sister bought most of it and the rest was donated to our neighbor.

Today we went grocery shopping for the week and having no stock pile it was pretty tough. I had managed to bring my spices so that helped.

Our budget for now is $50.00 a week for the two of us. That is a lot compared to one of my favorite bloggers . She feeds her family of 6 for $60.00. Plan is to try to cut that back some with better planning.

Here is what I bought this week

Cub

1 Heinz Ketshup $2.49

1 French's Mustard $1.49 ( used coupon)

3 boxes of Hamburger Helper 75 cents each ( part of buy 10 deal) ( used coupon)

1 box Betty Crocker Mash Potatoes 2 pouch pack .50 ( part of buy 10 deal)

6 Green Giant can Vegetables 39 cents each ( part of buy 10 deal)

1 cub brand brown sugar $1.49

1 cub brand Spagetti Noodles 99 cents

2 cans of cub brand diced tomatoes 69 cents each

2 packages of Malt O Meal shredded wheat 69 cents each

1 Maxwell Coffee $3.59 ( used a coupon $1.00 off from tear pad )

2 cans of Campbell's Tomato soup 79 cents each ( used 50 cent off 2 coupon printed)

2 cans of Campbell's Mushroom soup $1.09 each ( used 50 cent off coupon printed)

1 can of Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup $1.09

2 Jars of Rinaldi Pasta Sauce 99 cents each with store coupon limit 2

3 pounds of ground beef $5.64

2 packages of Land of Frost Lunch meat $4.99 each b1 g1 Free( used coupon from today's paper)

1 onion $1.07

1 loaf of bread 99 cents

1 package of hamburger buns $2.00

2 DiGornio deep dish personal size pizzas $2.99 each ( used 2 coupons for $2.00 off each printed from internet)

Velvetta Cheese $4.99

Blue Bonnet margarine $2.99

1 gallon of milk $3.09

1 dozen eggs $1.07

1 coffeemate $1.09

6 Yoplait yogurts 69 cents each ( used coupon)

1 package of coffee filters $1.89

Kmart ( they have double your coupons up to $1.00 but food was much higher there so bought only a few items on sale

/a

4 bottles of Diet Coke $4.00

4 cans of Bumble Bee Tuna $2.76

2 Jars of Kraft Miracle Whip $6.00 ( used $1.50 coupon )

1 bottle of water ( hubby can refill with Lake Superior water and have cold water anytime)

Cost was $68.84 with savings of $29.28

Over budget but should be able to spend less next week I hope. Now need to make my menu plan for the week.

Thanks for stopping by.. and remember.. Never under estimate the value of a small amount of money. Grace

Grocery Shopping For The Week

I made a quick trip to Randalls today for much needed milk and bread. While there I added a few more items for this weeks meals.
The small bottles of coke I had free coupons for after registering my coke rewards at http://www.mycokerewards.com/home.do.

Total spent today at Randalls $15.40.

Thanks for stopping by... thought for today and every day ... Never under estimate the value of a small amount of money... Grace

MENU MONDAY What's For Dinner?

Monday and time for me to plan what hubby and I will have this week for dinner with left overs for lunches
Easy to start off
Monday tonight is left over Sloppy Joe's, left over Bush's Baked Beans and Deli Potato Salad

Tuesday easy again.. left over Pasta and Homemade Spagetti Sauce http://couponloversunite.blogspot.com/2009/10/whats-for-dinner-home-made-spaghetti.html
Wednesday Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwichs

Thursday Deli Fried Chicken, Mash Pototoes plus a Vegetable

Friday Homemade Pizza

Saturday and Sunday to be decided

Now off to heat up dinner and go through my cookbooks for ideas for later in the week.

Busy Packing And Eating From Pantry

We have a big move coming up end of the month. We are moving from HOT Texas to COLD Northern Minnesota. Can't wait to get there and see my son's and grandchildren often. As I pack a few boxes every day I am also trying to either eat up items in my pantry or giving away somethings that I have way to much of.
Last night was my fantastic ( I think ) Spaghetti Dinner http://couponloversunite.blogspot.com/search/label/Spaghetti%20Sauce and tonight it is Sloppy Joe's.
This is keeping me away from searching and buying some deals. Eat up and Use what I have is the mission.
What I have learned is maybe to not over buy and keep more of my money in my pocket. Deals are important but when you have a year's supply of something that is over doing it.
We have been working at trying to put more money into savings so we can pay for our move out of our pocket since we no longer use Credit Cards for anything.
Well back to packing..

Hope that you all have a wonderful 4Th of July and stop by again.

Remember... Never Under Estimate The Value Of A Small Amount Of Money ... Grace

Crafty Ideas for Decorating Our Homes

Saving money can go beyond using coupons at the store. Finding great deals at the restaurants, watching for sales at the stores and so on. There is also great ways to decorate our homes on the thrift. I am a thrift store shopper and a garage sale lover, but tonight while wandering around on my normal blog reading I was directed to a crafty blog and the ideas this lady comes up are fantastic.
I will be adding a link to her blog on my sight so I remember to check her out again. Tonight I read how she made a bath mat out of wine corks and a lamp shade out of Tulle material. She sees these ideas in a magazine and then comes up with her own method.
Take a moment and read her posts. http://www.craftynest.com/
If you find any other sights that are similar I would love to hear from you.
I love unique ideas for my home, something that is different from everyone else .
Hope you enjoy ..

Thanks for stopping by... Lets keep saving together.. Grace