Less guilt, more joy

I am happy to report that I've been really good at sticking to our budget in January (except groceries), and I'm all pumped up to do it again in February! It's felt really good to only spend money when I have to, not when I want to. There will always be so many things that I want, and I'll never not have a list of things that need to be bought. I am teaching myself to change my spending habits away from buying and towards doing without and putting the money towards other things, like bills and debt. I've had so much less guilt as a result, and that makes me a happier person overall.

I say I did well in every category except groceries. I always feel like we spend way too much money on food anyway, and I've been struggling to find a way to get the number down, but this month blew every other month out of the water.

Bogdan and I both started juicing/eating vegetarian again in January, so all that organic produce has definitely contributed to the high number, and I've been buying baby food and formula like crazy because Naomi's been eating more. I'm not sure how long we're sticking to the juice/vegetable diet, but I'm going to focus this month on spending less and spending wisely. I think the key word is wisely. Sometimes I think I forget that every little bit of 'extra' adds up. If something organic is outrageously priced, I'll just have to do without. And I think we can do with less snacks, which are expensive. I always buy organic meat, milk, eggs, and certain fruits and vegetables that are known to have high levels of pesticides such as kale, zucchini, and apples, and we always buy organic bananas because we eat so many of them. I'm not willing to budge on those things, and I'm not willing to eat low-quality bread that isn't really bread, or buy deli meat with a million additives in it. I know that makes for a higher food budget than the average household, but I need to get creative and figure out a different way to get the spending down regardless. I'll use this space to keep me in line and report back at the end of the month. It'll be my motivation to stay focused. I've already made some changes in the baby food department, so stay tuned. :)

If any of you have any suggestions for me or things that have worked for you, please share. I would love some good ideas.

xoxo,
Tanya