Since we found out we were pregnant last year we took a pause on getting out of debt. Dave Ramsey recommends pausing paying off debt. Instead you save up the money you would put towards debt just in case there is an emergency/complication with the pregnancy. Now that our baby is born and things are going good we are getting back on track.
One of the main things we did to cut back on costs was not renewing our Costco membership. Costco is a dangerous place. I could go there and easily spend $200….a week!! And that would not cover everything we would need for putting meals together. Spending got a little out of control. So I told my husband I need him to help with our budget and keep me more on track until I get used to it again. I am typically the one who does it all but I wanted to get some help and encouragement from him. So far in the last two weeks we have managed to keep way under budget on groceries. We are also going to eat only healthy foods. We went to Harris Teeter today (my favorite store on the east coast) and got everything we needed for every meal next week and spent $59.00! I know we can cut down more on costs but I really want to get healthy foods still and not just cheap junk foods. We could eat top ramen instead and keep our food bill to $30 or less a week but our medical bills would increase because our health wouldn’t be that good. So we are trying to just balance it all out.
At the end of the month we will calculate what we have saved each week on groceries and apply that to debt. For example: we budget $100 a week for groceries, if we only spend $60 then the left over $40 goes to debt. I feel excited to get back on track with budget and health food.
We also are cutting out extra stuff like going out to eat. That typically can get out of control when you let it. We have been spontaneous in this area and not really controlling it. Not anymore. When I was pregnant the only thing I could stomach most of the time was the Chick-Fil-A Grilled market salad with honey mustard dressing. So it got a little pricey. I really love to cook and eat healthy so its going to be fun to get back to it. I will also be taking a before and after picture of myself and also weigh myself to see if there is a huge difference. I am curious how big of a difference it makes. I will try to update more to hold myself accountable and hope to help others out that want to get rid of debt.
Live happy
Live healthy
Live debt free
And
Live Simple
Flourishing Home with Hannah 