On Track

That is exactly how I am starting to feel! The month of July with all events really threw me for a loop. It affect everything from budgeting to couponing. August started with a bang, Matt lost his job July 27th so by the end of the week, we were starting to make plans. One of the best decisions that we made was to go ahead with our week of vacation. But that in itself also messed up the developing schedule. At that point I decided at least for August to work as many hours as humanly possible for me after vacation. Both Amanda and Haley started school a week apart as well. I decided that after vacation, I would try and get a sense of normalcy back in our lives. But I forgot that Zach's birthday party had been schedule so we had to pull it together. Finally just this week things are starting to slow down. Tonight it occurred to me that wow we might just make this work. So I wanted to make a list of the areas that we are focusing on and changing with out new arrangements.

The first major obstacle with Matt losing his job has now been solved. We were able to purchase a car. It is a 1999 Chrysler Concorde LSI, it is a very nice car both inside and out. We have found that the driver side floor mat has a hole and the sun visor clip is broken. We paid CASH for the car with the only downside being it has 205000 miles on it. It was a pleasant surprise to find that all three car seat fit across the back easily! So we now have 2 operable vehicles! Once we are able to reduce our debt load we will begin to save in earnest for our next car purchase which hopefully will occur a year from now :)

Next in the area of budgeting, I am beginning to coupon shop again. Tonight we made a trip to Harris Teeter to use a coupon they sent me. My goal is to get our food budget down to 600 a month or less by October. Angel food will play a huge roll in this as well but I think it is achievable. The current plan is to start within the month using all of Matt's unemployment to pay off debt such as credit cards,taxes and outstanding medical bill. The rationale for this is that unemployment is limit so if we can reduce the amount need each month then when this stops we will have a smaller budget overall and also be living on my earning alone. Finally the biggest change that we have agreed on in the area of budget is our tithe and gifts. We will start tithe on the income we receive instead of a "best guess." This will be deducted first and not included the two gift we currently are giving on a monthly basis.

Finally, after working as much as possible, I have developed a schedule for regular work week which should allow me to be home every evening by 5:30 and earn enough for our current budget. My current plan are for two days a week to be "light" days which will allow for scheduling of doctor's appointment and other things that have to occur during business hours. I am aware that it will take several weeks for this schedule to be implemented complete but even this week as been much easier for me!

On the right track...exactly how I feel today... now next week this may change