The Budgeting Bug

This is a very silly post title, but I admit that I have an obsession with alliteration, hence the name of my blog.  However, finances are often a discussion point for the spouse and me.  We are always discussing savings, unplanned spending, retirement, etc as we plan for our golden years.  Being a military family, my income is always a variable.  In South Carolina there was work, but no teaching positions were open to even apply for in Rhode Island.  The other opportunities available didn't offset the cost of childcare so I was blessed with lots of time with Clara.  Iwakuni provided employment opportunities, but homeschooling is the best fit for our family here in Estonia.  I'm picking up tutoring gigs now, and am thinking if I plan carefully, I might bring in enough to cover our local groceries!  We have long-term goals, and I seriously want to contribute.

So, this morning I clicked over to Fox News and my eyes were drawn to a link to an article about a family of four lives on $14,000 a year.  I was intrigued, so read it, and discovered her blog:  Blissful and Domestic.  It is good stuff!  My stepmother was awesome at budgeting, and we griped as we clipped coupons, organized them into a thick photo album, and went grocery shopping at the store that did double coupons.  As a kid, it was humorous, as an adult, it is inspiring and brilliant.  In general, I'm good at stretching a dollar (or Euro) but have gotten a bit lazy, however this blog gave me ideas I've never considered before (please do not interpret this to think I am super thrifty because I can spend some money and my spouse will vouch for that).  But, I'm inspired to do better.  I'm going to give this idea of once a month grocery shopping some serious thought and work on a monthly menu today.  We are going to give freezing milk a try, and my next commissary order is going to be a bit more comprehensive as I am going to maximize that deep freeze in the garage.  She also suggested the book: America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right On the Money, which I'm going to see if I can check out from the Navy's online lending library...because if I'm going to focus on saving, I must try to get my hands on this book for free.