Budget Craziness

It won't be long until I say "farewell" to my tiny income, dressing up/showering, and driving to work. I soon will embrace full-time motherhood. I've been a mother all along, but this will be different. It will consume my life and there will be no place to hide. At work I always had my desk and a nice 15 minute break. My days will be filled with laundry, dusting, and deep cleaning (all the fun stuff that was neglected when I worked a very full 13 hour work week). I will brush up on my cooking skills and prepare a nutritional dinner that consists mostly of non-bagged, non-frozen chunks of meat in uncanned sauce. I know that I'll be an awful "housewife" because I don't like to do any of that stuff. NO MOTIVATION!...but I'm a better fit for "soccer mom"/"mom-in-a-mini-van". I have to say that I look a lot better in my floral apron than hubby anyday too.

I can take care of my kids, but with the budget talks making their way to the dinner table far more frequently, I think I may lose my most dependent babysitter. Premium tv channels are on their way out. I stopped going to get my car hand washed last year and I am slowly making my way to Smart & Final more than Ralphs (sadly,they DON'T have the light-up freezer section. I will miss that). I actually yell at my kids now when I can't find the scissors to clip my coupons. I've even borrowed a stock pot from a friend to make a triple batch of split pea soup so I could freeze some for future meals (very light on the wallet). It is a lot of work to save money. It's been a few months since the last financial pie graph chat, but I am sure that it will break my heart once again.....it's for the family!

So with all of that said, here are a few crazy things that I thought a budget-friendly person might say to make "it" hurt less:

*It really was between the Mercedes and the Honda Fit, but I went with the Honda 'cuz it really is more economical.
*Nah, I'd rather wash my own car. I enjoy spending hours scraping the bird-do and dead bugs off of the grill. I also get to keep all the change that I find under the mats. BONUS!
*I'm practicing my organization and alphabetizing skills with my new accordian folder. Clipping coupons has really improved my cutting skills too.
*Yeah, really, the generic brand tastes just as good as the real thing!
*The kids really do LOVE Top Ramen and Mac and Cheese....for lunch everyday.
*I know that there are holes in my underwear/socks, but they are just sooo comfortable.
*I'm on a diet. I'll just eat the (free) chips and salsa/bread and butter with a glass of water and a lemon slice.
*Um, we save the ketchup packets and hot sauce for the kids school lunches. Less mess.
*What a deal! Those $.50 greeting cards. No one really cares about the card anyways.
*I HATE Walmart...but they are the only store that sells Low-Sugar Frosted Flakes...
*When the restaurant gives you 2 corn tortillas for each taco, it's like a 2-for-1, but they don't even know that they're doing it. (Like stealing candy from a baby!!...and ignorance IS bliss!)
*I just couldn't put the book down. I finished it overnight because it was so good....and I needed to return it to Barnes and Noble so someone else could enjoy it.
*We really enjoy sharing cooties and because we are in LOVE, we can sip from the same cup at any restaurant.

Embrace the budget!