Saturday, January 10, 2009

life right now...

...is good!

Although I've been sick for the last few days, I must say that life is good. Now that the holidays are behind us, life has slowed down and we're back to our "normal routine" around here (whatever that means).

Lately, I've been big into saving money! I clip coupons like a mad-woman, check some frugal blogs on a regular basis (look for links down on the lower left), use the Grocery Game (Last week my total was $78 before coupons and deals. I left paying less than $38) and repeatedly revisit our budget, giving, savings, spending, and overall situation. I know this money we have is not ours...it belongs to God. He's put it on my heart to be sure I'm using His money wisely. It's important to be a good steward! Funny how this has been placed on my heart and yet I'm totally enjoying it. No one ever said that following God's prompts had to be painful. :)

I also think it's funny that the Lord opened my eyes to all of this just as Ben was promoted. For so long, we've been the "struggling college kids." Now that Ben's done with school and my master's program is over, we've got more coming in than ever before. We are by no means rolling in the money, but we are doing our best to be wise with what God has blessed us with. Besides, someday (not anytime soon) there will be a baby Simmons and it would be wonderful to have enough funds to stay at home!

If possible, I would love to know how others are saving money. Feel free to share your thoughts and ideas.

While you're pondering what to share, please enjoy the following pictures. Since we don't have kids of our own to display, I'll be using some other cute faces that we've recently seen (hope that's okay)...

How cute is Case? He shopped with us like a champ. Here he is relaxing on a couch at Crate & Barrel.

This is what Kara will look like in the near future! LOVE IT!

Here are the girls all decked out in their Christmas outfits! Evie (left) & Ella (right) are getting bigger all the time. I sat here with both of them and had a new-found respect for Emily (and Ryan too). I don't know how she does it with two...even if they are so well behaved! :)

And I leave you with this sweet face. I heart him...

4 comments:

Stacy K said...

I so enjoy your blog! Glad you are feeling better.

Stacy K said...

Do you have this site?
http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/

Jess said...

Budgeting now puts you so far ahead of the game for when you enter mommyhood - so smart. My tip would be to meal plan for the entire week. Then you know exactly what to buy and not buy things that just sit on your shelf.

christy said...

I also plan out my meals with the ingredients I get with the grocery game. It really saves us quite a bit!

I also look online for coupons before I boy something new. For instance, I bought a rug this week but before I did I signed up for a mailing list so I could get an extra 10% off. Every little bit helps!

Glad you are on the mend. Being sick in no fun.