Today I take the cash $$ for the budget out of the bank and start spending. First off, I dish out $7.00 in allowances, so down to $93 right off the bat.

The needs list seems longer this week. I get nervous feeling that it is just not going to be enough. I have a good stockpile in pantry and freezer, I just hope I can keep it stocked and all of our needs met.

I will keep posting as I spend.

Well, we were spending beyond our means and slowly we are trying to get a handle on this. It started with me deciding to keep a spending log so that we could finally (honestly) see what was going out and where.

The first eye opener was dining out. We didn't think we ate out much, but a quick McDonald breakfast, pizza night, something here and there was adding up to around $150 a month. Now we have gone over a month without spending a dime on dining out (not even school lunches)....