All about my Dad

This was info filled out by Breanna for her Dad for father's day:


My Dad's name is : Rob

He is 33 years old

His favorite food is : Spaghetti

His favorite thing to do is : Play with me.

My favorite thing to do with my dad is : Play with me

When my Dad goes to work he does: Tortillas

Week 1 update

We are doing really well so far, our grand total for the first week was...... $92.92. 


This is because we got more groceries for the week and spent $19.42 (almost $20!!) on necessities like toilet paper, etc.

This $92.92 includes Rob eating out at Wendy's for $4.50 and Chipotle for $7.63.  This actually made me kinda mad at first b/c he is not committing 100% to this like I feel like I am.....then I thought about it more.

Rob usually buys something EVERYDAY while working on the route.  To have only bought 2 items the entire week is actually a huge success.  Yes, it's not perfection, but it's pretty darn close!  Especially b/c I didn't behave perfectly this week with the garage sales, and I guarantee I am going to spend $5 on garage sales this weekend.

But, that is under the average that we need to spend each week to make our goal!!! Very exciting and a successful first week.

We have some things coming up though, so we REALLY need to be careful.  We have a family event on Saturday that we need to buy food for.  Also, we have friends coming to visit over Labor day weekend, so if we can get through this whole month with our "mini vacation" included that would be amazing.

One last thing....I have an almost empty tank of gas....so I'm thinking I'll put in $20 to start off week #2 and see how long it can last us!

Go us! (Yes, I am my own personal cheerleader....someone has got to do it right?)

Day 2

Today we went to Sprouts to get the fruits and veggies we needed for the week.  I spent $13.47, which I was really happy about.  This will hopefully last for the whole week for us.  I only bought fruits and veggies on sale.  No extras....a lot of times we get yogurt covered pretzels, nuts, pirate's booty, drinks, etc....that aren't necessarily on sale.

I got 3 bananas, 7 apples, a bag of clementines, 2 tomatoes, 2 bags of carrots, 4 potatoes, 1 cantelope, and 1 bag of grapes. 

We already have lettuce, avocadoes, cilantro, broccoli, one onion and celery to start off the month. 
The nice cashier gave Breanna and Ethan each a fruit strip thing after I bought the groceries for free, so they got a treat, without even asking for one :)  She was really nice and this is the 2nd time she's done this with my kids.  Last time was when I was 9 month preggo with Luke she gave them each a chocolate milk for free.  Really cool.

I did something I shouldn't have and went to some garage sales on the way home.  I wasn't planning on it but I did and I wasn't going to post about this, but I had $5 in cash and decided I could spend that and no more (even though I was thinking of ways to go get cash as I saw the garage sales).

I did well! I only spent $3 and I'm really happy about my purchases. I got Luke a toy like this for $2, which usually the cheapest you can find is like $25 or something like that.  I also got Breanna some sparkly/girly tennis shoes (big for later) for $1, which she has wanted for a long time and cost at least $15 in the stores new.  So, definitely not necessities but happy with my purchases and the fact that I didn't go too crazy! 

Total spent this month: $16.47.....now to try not to spend over the weekend!

Day 1 of our "No spend month"

I saw this idea to do a "No spend month" on pinterest.  So, the timing is perfect.....one month exactly from today we are boarding a week long cruise.  What a perfect ending and reward to a "No spend month," right???

Here's the link to the blog:

http://smallnotebook.org/2012/07/01/no-spend-month-start-here/


So we aren't going to use our credit cards for the month.  We will only pay our bills (mortgage, utilities, health/car/life insurance, etc.)  and then we still need to decide on a set amount of cash for "everything else" for the month.

This way we pay for our gas, food, and anything else out of this set amount and cannot go over.  Obviously we will pay for the gas in Rob's truck and too and from work out of our "bills" b/c those are non-negotiable.

Usually our grocery budget for the month is about $500.  So I was thinking to have the whole budget for EVERYTHING be $500 for the month.  Basically that means we don't eat out at all.  We don't buy anything extra or unnecessary, only the things we need for the month for $500.  I already have enough formula for the month, so that is kinda cheating b/c I will have to spend extra on it next month, but I think it will be a really good experiment for us to CURB OUR SPENDING :)

"No Spend Month is a chance to take a break from buying stuff. It’s like boot camp for your budget, but it’s not actually about the money. Personally, I like the opportunity to practice self discipline and to really appreciate what we have.

What’s amazing is how much free time you discover when you stop looking for the next thing you can buy that might improve your home, appearance, and productivity.

In past years we’ve found ways to save money that have impacted us ever since."

I am excited to see how this affects our family.

The first thing that I noticed was that Rob left his credit cards at our house this morning, and debit card, so that he can't spend today at work! Great job Rob!

I am putting this on my blog to give us some accountability.  Hopefully it will help us to be successful with the project.

Ethan

For my own journal....these are messages that a couple ladies in my ward wrote on facebook yesterday about our awesome son Ethan.

"Brooke! I have to tell you what a rockstar Ethan is in nursery. He is right there with us participating when we have singing time and always volunteers to say the prayer. He did it all by himself on Sun and started right off with thanking HF for his primary teacher. We all wanted to cry it was so sweet!!
Anyway, he is so winning. :)" (This is from the primary chorister, who comes in to sing with the kids during nursery at church).

 

 

" I should also add he was so sweet to Judd last week when he was crying. He kept bringing him cars because it was making him happy. What a super loving boy you've got!" (This is from a mom in our ward who's little guy is new in nursery).

 

 

The bathroom