Being Frugal

So - I've always considered myself a frugal person. The last time I paid more than $20 for a pair of jeans was when I was in high school. I buy my shoes from Payless Shoesource and my makeup from Target. I do like to 'splurge' on hair product - if you can count spending $12 or so for a bottle of shampoo splurging. Anyway - it's grocery store hair care for us now and it's going to take some getting used to!

It makes me really nervous to not have a backup of pantry items, meat, laundry soap, fabric softener, etc. so it's making me crazy to use everything up as we go. Also something I'm going to have to get used to! Hopefully DH & I can start to build up a nice food supply when this is all over.

So - I'm learning that even though I've always considered myself frugal, I've never been so deliberate in my spending habits. I can see what a huge difference it makes and what a huge advantage it is to plan where every penny goes before it gets to you and then actually sticking to that budget. What a revelation. It's like calories and weight.....(lightbulb!!)........I've been doing it all backwards! I get it now.......I need to create a calorie deficit and a dollar surplus, not a calorie surplus and dollar deficit! DUH!

I am so grateful for a great hubby who is supportive and committed with me to get rid of this ugly debt. Although I hope that some of our budget amounts increase next year, I also hope that we continue this system of working together, envelope budgeting and never getting into this trap again.