fROZEN fEBRUARY

After a careful analysis of our budget, we realized... we weren't. Budgeting. At all. So we decided to start again, considering we currently have no income. We revamped our budget and our finances and thanks to our trusty bank USAA, did so on a spiffy chart online that keeps track of what we spend where. We are loving it and made two Family Home Evening's out of it. (I love to read approximately ten talks on budgeting/finances for at least an hour and a half... sorry Dan!)

We decided to get our new financial outlook started off on the right foot, we would kick it off with something a little extreme to get our heads in the right place. That's where FROZEN FEBRUARY came into mind (Finanical Freeze February, shortened to Frozen Feb). We are challenging ourselves to see how little we can spend this month. It's actually pretty fun. It's a challenge.

I was checking our budget a few days into the month and noticed we had a charge from our credit card company. Dan reminded me that I had paid last months credit card bill a few days late (oops). Not the best way to start frozen Feb. So I waited until I was in the right mood, called up Chase, and explained to them that we just switched to paperless statements and I wasn't used to it yet and that I just had a baby and I've been a little overwhelmed and out of my funk (sighh...) and was wondering if there was any way he could waive the fee. He replied, "Well, Rachael, I see you have been one of our loyal card-holding customers since 2010 (woah), so I would love to waive that fee for you."

Learned that from my mama.

We had to completely replace our tires in November so we were surprised when our tire light kept coming on and Dan would have to refill them almost every day. We went to Sam's Club and they told us there was a huge hole in our tire and they would have to order a totally new tire. Since they were so new, they would prorate the price, but it would still cost us quite a bit. They called us yesterday to let us know the tire was in. We went over there tonight to have it replaced and another man helped us. He told us he checked our tire and we might not need a new one after all. We wandered around the store for about half an hour, then he found us, handed us the keys and it was fixed- no charge!

Had to pick something us from Target and happened to find a bag with a sweater to return on the way there... so we made $15.00 on that trip.

Jude had his two month appointment yesterday... no copay or anything!

It's like everyone else knows we are having Frozen February and they all want to contribute.

I will be keeping you posted.... wish us luck!

lists of doing&buying.

of how i really do seem to love and rely on to do lists. if ever i get a few minutes free at work [usually on my last or second to last night because my freedom is in sight] i will grab a blank piece of computer paper and start anxiously writing&doodling. i feel like i am unloading my ever-working brain. we even got a single "To Do List" in a card for our wedding, just one. but i love it. how darling. i surely haven't used it... oh! i will copy it!

when i get to actually cross things out on my to do list... well, that is bliss. especially things that have made their way on several different lists because i was never able to get them done. my current to do list [the one with 22 (now 30) tasks that i made after we got back from our trip] has the majority crossed out; i couldn't feel better about it.

when i was in nursing school i felt so overwhelmed and beat all the time i started adding mundane tasks that i knew i would get done to my lists [interspersed with actual tasks, of course]. ex:

dance

eat

laugh

say hi to a friend

laugh

brush my teeth

drink water

hug someone

call my parents

walk

it made me feel so productive and proud. [until one day it was commandeered by one of my most un-favorite nursing teachers as she read it so sarcastically in front of the whole class as everyone was laughing at me]

i make lists for grocery trips [always, this is an after marriage discovery, ask megan]. even if there are only 3 things. one time i thought i would be adventurous to venture into the wonderful world of walmart, just me and my cart, and see where i ended up. i ended up spending regrettable more than i usually do, and buying everything from pre-made cinnamon rolls to several brownie and cake mixes. a list at the grocery store gives me purpose, helps me stay within budget, and helps me keep my trips to those ever-so-tempting middle aisles to a minimum.

last walmart trip i was feeling extremely frugal and we tried something new. every time dan or i decided we wanted something that was not on the list [such as the fancy poppyseed dressing or a baguette] we had to remove something that we had already put in the cart, to control unplanned spending. it worked quite well. we ended up putting back one of our lime [which was 22 cents... we tried] and the second bag of chocolate chips].

my frugality advice: check your bank account and take a good, hard look at all the money you have spent recently right before you go grocery shopping {or any other shopping} and it will put things in perspective and infuse in you a new sense of "we don't need that."

good luck!