Well, I am happy to say that our budget is UP TO DATE!! I am not happy to say that I went WAY OVER in January, and by the looks of the "grocery" category -- of which I am already over by $143.23 (on a $500 budget) and it is only 2/16--we are really going to have to buckle down on the spending! I truly do love budgets because it keeps you focused and KNOWING where your money is going. Even if you don't "Balance", which is what we are all trying to do...at least you KNOW (and KNOWLEDGE is where you can start to turn things around!) where your money went and/or is going. I need to get back to the "pantry principle" where I am stocking my pantry with "on sale" items and preparing meals from what is in the pantry. Shopping weekly for our weekly menu is WAY TOO EXPENSIVE for the 6 of us!! Plus, you really need to keep up with your budget DAILY!! Because I have let it go for about a week, I had to spend unneccessary time sorting for receipts. If you do this daily, which I try to do when I don't get sidetracked ! (HAHA), it only takes 5 minutes per day. Because I got sidetracked with kids' sports, Valentines Day, getting ready for winter break, I didn't look at the budget like I should have on a DAILY basis, hence the overage in the groceries. I will try to make up for it in other categories and see how it goes. I am hoping that by blogging each day and really focusing on our finances, I can do a much better job on our family's budget and make headway on our journey to ZERO DEBT!! We are going to work on credit card balances first, then move on to other things such as boat, basement and mortgage payoffs! Yes, we have four kids to put through college, vehicles to purchase, and life's unexpected scenerios, but if we kept going like we were going, we would get nowhere. At least now, I am paying attention and trying to DIRECT where our money is going. I think this will be a very rewarding experience for my family. I would love to hear from any of you who are taking this journey with me!

God Bless!
DEBTFREEJOURNEY

PSALM 37:21 "THE WICKED BORROW AND DO NOT REPAY, BUT THE RIGHTEOUS GIVE GENEROUSLY..."
Footnote taken from Life Application Study Bible "You can tell a lot about a person's character by the way he or she handles money. The wicked person steals under the guise of borrowing. The righteous person gives generously to the needy. The wicked person, therefore, focuses on himself, while the righteous person looks to the welfare of others."

Let's not be greedy or selfish, but work on to balance our budgets so that we may live the DEBT FREE lives God wants us to live, and we are better able to live in HIS peace and further HIS kingdom with the blessings he places upon us. AND, HE WILL bless you as you honor and obey His Word. (I am really trying Lord! Thank you for hanging in there with me!!)