Have you made any resolutions having to do with your spending?

[Kristen]

Do share. :D

[Christi]

Yes, we have. We have resolved to not use the credit cards except in the case of an emergency. Sometimes we might use them when we don't have much cash on hand (like when eating out), but that MUST be paid off that month. We will have to use them in relation to the cruise, but otherwise they are off limits.

[Beka]

Yes- we're back on with our snowballing of debt repayment (as one item is paid off entirely, the ammount from it's minimum repayment then gets added onto the minimum repayment of the debt with the next highest interest to pay that one down quicker and so on) we were putting it on hold due to saving for my sisters wedding but then i thought balls- we told them at day one we couldn't afford to go, they're forcing us to go (and offering to pay- my parents that is) so I am still carrying on with our life as normal as we would have when we had said no thank you, we can't go- we've been emotionally blackmailed into going (such as saying my father will probably be dead before we can afford to go- my dad does have kidney issues so that really wasn't a fair card for my mother and sister to play but the did along with a few others like saying if i didn't go they'd not get married) so i am still carrying on with our personal goals financially and not troubling my head about how they're paying for it (I know that sounds terrible but i said outright no and they won't accept that so i am not willing to feel guilty after i outright said no and got ignored- i never asked anyone to pay for us or even hinted at it)

So i am continuing with that.

We are also making small improvements to the home but ones with furnishings etc which can all move easily with us when we get rehoused (so nothing wasted- i don't want to spend on paint/carpets etc that would be left behind)

We've minimalising what we are buying in terms of clothing- i have realised i tend to buy too many poor quality items when I should buy a few better quality ones, we're also decluttering in line with this goal. (we're doing 4 "good" outfits, 2 play outfits + school uniform per child, aiming for mix and match and as they outgrow stuff then "good" clothes will become play clothes and buy new good clothes) I'd rather wash more often and get more wears per item than buy alot that looks tatty quickly due to poor quality- same with footwear.

We also are teaching all the kids to save their spending money for vacation which is going pretty well.

[Beka]

ohhh yes- Christi reminded me we've also put up the credit cards, are clearing them all and only taking them as "safety" for my sisters wedding as we may need them but i am not spending on them routinely anymore.

[Jbird]

Ugh - January and February are going to be difficult financially, with all the birthdays and recovering from Christmas. But I have resolved to not use my credit cards except in case of emergencies (or things like buying food or diapers - must haves), or when I buy something online. I have GOT to get them paid off this year.

[Christine]

We'll be paying down CC debt with some of our tax return. In the spring we'll be starting the Dave Ramsay program at church and we're committing full-tilt.

[Mary]

We are resolved to start saving NOW for the trip to NYC we want to take this fall. I would like to have enough saved to cover the accommodations and the plane tickets by September so that, when we go in October, the only thing we'll need to take out of that month's paycheck is spending money and food money.

Also I resolved to buy less junk I don't need so that I can afford to get my plane ticket for my trip in May early, so I can get a better price on it than I would if I waited until two weeks before the trip to buy it!

Besides those I just want to buy less superfluous stuff, in general. I hate that it's a given that if I have money, I'll spend it. I want to spend less money on food throughout the week, too.

[MathSpeak]

Yep... I altered my paycheck at the end of last year to have more deducted before taxes. I've always been one to save, so that wasn't the issue, but with the increase in salary, last year, I didn't increase my savings accordingly. I saved a lot of money last year, but I spent a crap-load, too... Since I'm moving, I'm being smarter about bringing unnecessary junk into my house - Target will do that to you. So, I no longer take random trips there when I'm bored :)

[Kristi]

Well we are making Tim's dad take the money we him when we get our tax return. WE had it after last years tax return and he didn't take it and it is all spent.

We are also starting to put away $50 a check to save for the summer. We have quite a few trips planned. Last year we had to use CC's for our trips and struggled after we took one. So not this summer.

We also plan to budget and start building a savings account for emergencies.