At the beginning of this year I had set some pretty lofty goals for savings each month. In order to reach these goals I knew I had to figure out where all our money is going. I decided to sit down and write my planned extra expenses for the month. Basic things, kids haircuts, money for school lunches, co-pays for scheduled dr appts, car registration. I now know how much extra I have for necessary expenses each month. I have also been tracking all of our spending and have a better handle on leakage.

I'm working on expenses for February and March, I'm trying to balance extra monthly costs to be able to keep up with my savings goals. DH told me today that the dog needs groomed, great, can it wait until February, I'll put it on the list for next month.

In the meantime we keep on track with cooking and eating at home. We have not eaten out since Christmas and that is a big deal for us. With two full time jobs and two teenage kids we are constantly running, it makes it a challenge to avoid eating out. It has taken a lot of advance planning but it is so worth it.