Thrift Drive

Recent turns in the economy are quite scary. I can't even bear to look at the 401k recap because the number keeps dropping daily. The government bailing out companies who should have known better and no real help for the general public. What is a girl to do? Run and bury my head in the sand? I don't think that will help much. So as my Pap would say I will be watching my pennies closely. Alison from the Vintage Housekeepers and Brocante Home has challenged the group with a thrift drive. A pledge to try and lower expenses by 5% over the next week. I have been working on this for some time now. Getting receipts in order, entering numbers, researching recipes, cutting a few coupons. But now it is time to get serious (I have to order the propane as we are down to 6% left in the 1000 gallon tank, it will be quite an outrageous bill). SO here is what I did today: entered all my receipts into Pear Budget so I know exactly how much I have to spend. Time consuming, yes, but very eye opening. Last month we went way over budget just on little things that added up quickly. After that mind numbing task I had a cup of coffee and Bug had a bottle with a snuggle. Snuggles make the day so much more tolerable. Next up I canceled my automatic coffee delivery, (gasp) , it was hard but I have quite a few pounds stock piled in the pantry. After that I called to research the best propane price in our area and ordered the tank to be filled. We really need to look into some alternatives. And most importantly I stayed home and didn't run around or visit any stores. That alone saved a ton on gas and no temptation to spend. I think I may have already hit my number. Now if Amazon would stop emailing me.....