Weekly Money Check-Up

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on my niece's college tuition... $561. My niece is in a tough financial situation, so we pay this monthly to help her out with college. It's expensive, but worth it! I do look forward to when this amount is lower or completely gone though, so we can put that much more towards our debt.


2. Today I feel really good towards money :) I am really proud of how this last weekend went. We stayed on budget and paid for everything with cash. As each day went by, I started to feel better about only having a quarter in the bank. That means I'm doing it right! It motivated me to look over my budget again with a fine tooth comb, to make sure every dollar had a duty and that I would only be left with change after the bills were paid, if anything at all!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was went to a local, free village fair. They had vendors and craftsmen all set up with their goodies. It was fun to walk around and take it all in. I even parked the car far away so we wouldn't have to pay to park! It was a beautiful day and we got some fresh air and exercise. All in all, a good day and we didn't have to spend a penny.

4. I will consider this week a success if I don't dip into next week's money envelopes. Since this was my first real week paying for everything with cash, I hope that I budgeted accurately and won't have to dip into next week's envelopes for gas or groceries. So far, so good though!

5. My go-to recipe is BBQ Chicken Pizza! I haven't made it in a while (we're on Atkins now) but when I do, it always comes out really good :)