All of our August debits have cleared and we just put the final approval on our September budget. So, how did we do on our first month of budgeting and on the
TMM Journey? We were $125 under budget! For most, this may not sound like a lot, but when you do Dave Ramsey's plan, you budget EVERY penny of your income. So we cut our costs even further than expected!
We completed our $1,000 emergency fund and paid-off/closed three of four credit cards. (We normally have these paid off each month but we took a huge hit on expenses the last two months, some our own doing. Our fridge went out and we lost all that food and had to buy a new one. We took advantage of sales to stock up on diapers/wipes until APRIL for two kids. We have 6 months of meat and pasta stocked up. We built a sand-box for Nathan. We had to buy furniture for Nathan's new room. And we had a $300 vet bill. Whew! We now budget in a little for expenses like these so it's not such a hit!) Anyway, our goal is to have our last one paid off, along with our SUV by Christmas.
Surprisingly, we were able to do a lot on very little. For $75, we were able to get in a trip to Brookfield Zoo, a local baseball game, a Culver's/Dairy Queen outing, a family BBQ and a movie/dinner outing for our date night.(Prior, we probably would have spent that on just the movie/dinner!)
I cut our groceries to $149, which was mostly more stocking up. I probably could have gotten by on $80 or less for necessities. Our water machine is gone. Our phone bill is cut. And we didn't put one penny on a credit card!
I think it was a great first month!
How did yours go? If you haven't begun your budgeting adventures and would like to, pick-up the book
Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey!
, we paid off all of our credit card debt and two vehicles, leaving us with only our house for debt. We are currently on the step of saving 6 months expenses for emergencies. Then comes paying off the house! I assure you, it's one of the best books you can probably read if you need some guidance on paying off bills and getting on the right road to being debt-free. 
