Well I wish we did a budget. Our way of budget is in our head… We think we have so much until we look at our account once a week. We talk about it together, and both know how much money is going out or coming in. We sit down and do it together as a team! What is weird about it is that we have spent way less in every aspect of our life now that we run this site. I’m not sure if it’s just that being “Thrifty” is on our mind even more now, or that we are just too busy to go and do more shopping for things other than groceries.
I have to fess up that when we first got married 9 years ago I brought in more then $10,000 in credit card debt to our marriage. Sarah was so good about accepting me for me, and teaching me her thrifty ways way back then. I knew some simple budget rules, and simple ways to get out of debt, so I applied what I knew.
I sat down on a 4×5 inch note pad and made a chart. On top was our tithe to our church. Next was the bills like mortgage, then car payment, and utilities in that order. I figured that I could do with out the phone or do with out cable if it came down to us not having money to pay all of the bills. I placed everything in order of importance. Below those bills came the dreaded credit cards. The one with the highest interest came first. Next to the name I wrote down minimum monthly payment / credit card balance. Then I continued until I had every debt written down. At first I had to write pretty small.
So my plan was that when ever I got a check I wrote down the gross and the net payment on the very top of each 4×5 note pad. I paid my tithe, my mortgage on and on down the list till my credit cards. They say to always pay off the credit card with the highest interest first. So what I did was figured out the minimum payment for all the cards, and the remaining balance I lumped into the one with the highest interest.
I rewrote every card every 2 weeks along with my pay checks. I stapled them together after making all the checks out to my debts. I had a huge stack. But you know what, we paid each one off in only a year and a half. I am not sure how we did it now that I look back. I was a car salesman. One month I would make two or three thousand, and the next 5 months I would make minimum wage. At that time Sarah was working at the dealership too (that’s how we met and is a whole different story). She was barely making over minimum wage too. To give you an idea we spent $15 per week on groceries for 3 people (even when Matthew was born)
By the time Matthew came along, 1 and 1/2 years after we were married, we were out of debt and had 6 months of our mortgage paid in advance. Yeah I am amazed even now. Now that we are out of debt, there has been a huge burden lifted from us. People always say money is the root for a lot of divorces. The stress from bills, credit cards, and collectors can split even the best of marriages. Don’t let that happen to you.
I’m so thankful to my wife when I hear people tell us of how much money they have saved by following what my wife tells them. We both truly do this site for you and your family. Financial stress can be taken away or maybe even lifted by following the tips she shares. We just want to help anyone willing to take time and learn how to use coupons a new and different way. We want to show people how to be thrifty and independent from creditors. Pass what you have learned on to your friends. Being thrifty doesn’t mean having to live like a street person. We are not telling you to buy that 1972 Datsun, or to sit on milk crates in your family room. But what we can show you is how to save money on groceries, or save money on other shopping purchases. So that you can go get that nice car or nice house, and still live with in your means. Just yesterday we were talking to an owner of a business and he stated that driving a Ford Excursion is kind of funny while being thrifty. I chuckled and said, yeah when you can buy them at a government auction for under $5000 its being real thrifty. The largest SUV for that price is like getting your groceries for free. We buy all of our vehicles at the GSA auctions. To find one near you click here
Anyways, thank you for following our site. Hopefuly we have saved you money. Hopefully you and your spouse have smiles on your face when you come home shopping. That is why we do this, to make families happier by saving money and becoming A Thrifty Mom.
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OH~~~~ Thank-you so much for sharing this. It put a smile on my face knowing you both do this together. We also put tithing first. It’s funny becauce I work for Albertsons and I don’t know half of the deals your wife knows, and I’m there 40 hours a week
Thank-you for all of your hard work. I know sometimes there are weeks that it is beyond hard to buy food and in those case there is a organization call Angel food Ministries, for $30.00 you can feed a family of 4 for a week. I have had to use them once or twice. You should check out their web page.Thank-you again for all of your ideas and help.
Ginger
Thanks for this great post!
Sure love you guys! Thanks SO MUCH for all of your work ~ and I know it’s a lot and I know it’s WORK!
Our family has and is benefitting from your efforts and the things we’ve learned are helping us so SO much.
Thank you BUNCHES!!
Have to agree with Dave Ramsey but because of your site and other things we are hitting the credit cards and trying to become debt free as quick as possible but have over 70k so it will be a few years. One thing though is Dave recomends hitting the cards by lowest value to highest not by interest, mathematically interest is the best method but his reasoning which I now agree with after several attempts at getting it going with no steam that if you feel traction you are more like to want to keep going.
Have to say though I think my wife loves your sight more than I, she rarely shops anymore as I’m more analytical and like numbers and saving money so I do about 90% of the shopping these days with the help of your site. I do require she handles the meat and produce as those aren’t typically items for stock piling but because of your site we have a huge pantry filled, bathrooms full of personal supplies, and a laundry room with shelves full of cleaning supplies, the wive loves never going to a store and almost always having plenty of supplies for our family of 5, and one last boy on the way due in Novemeber:)
You two are fantastic! My family “loves” saving money! Thank you!!!
Thank again for all you guys do. I know you both put a lot of time and effort into this site and I really appreciate it. It has totally changed my way of thinking about our finances and where our money is going. My husband and I graduated college and had our first daughter last year. Our goal was to allow me to stay home with our kids, even though we knew it would be tight. I came across this site at a perfect time in our life. The information you share has been a huge blessing for our family. Thank you so much!
Thank you for an inspiring post! Grocery shopping used to be a chore, and I would dread it due to the dent in our bank account. But now following your site, I look forward to grocery shopping. Just last night I spent $30 for over $100 worth of groceries, and my checker asked me how I get all my coupons. My husband is proud and excited, too!
I agree with Jenissa. Dave Ramsey is AWESOME! The stuff he teaches is so practical and Biblical. It’s helped us out a lot!! My husband and I love to listen to his radio show together. You should check him out.
Thanks for the work you put into this site. I’ve just been reading for a few weeks now, but have already cut my grocery bill in half, which is a huge blessing. If only I had found you a lot sooner! Thank you again, and I hope you’ll continue to share your valuable info.
Great post. Some of the worst times in our marriage have been due to money issues. People say that a good marriage should never end over money, but unfortunately most of them do. Getting out of debt and staying out is the best advice ever, for a million reasons. Thanks for your site. Well done!
also for anyone interested in getting out of debt, daveramsey.com or look for dave ramsey on facebook or twitter… he’s got a book called the total money makeover and financial peace… it’s common sense stuff… living within your means and stuff like that.. he also has a radio show and fox tv show… once you start listening, you’ll be hooked… it’s good stuff… check it out.
ahhh, that was a sweet and inspiring post. I’ve been following this site for over a month now, and check it multiple times every day. WE have a family of five, and I set a budget of $50 a week and that includes all food and household. In two months, I haven’t broken it once, and I have built up stockpiles and storage of all sorts of things.
No doubt, you have inspired and taught many.
Today I got over $65 in groceries, for less than $7.
The coolest transaction was I got 4 boxes for cereal for $0.24 total.
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