Goals for March

Ok,  as I said in my last post Feb. has been a hard month for us.  I have decided that I need to set goals for March so I can get the bills paid. ~smile~

1.  Groceries and eating out - we eat out way too much.  We need to limit eating out to pay days only. We look at this as our date night but truthfully we eat a lot of our meals with just the two of us now.  Ian is working nights and Rachel is still away at school.  Maybe we need to eliminate this until Rachel gets home at least.  Groceries is another issue.  I have a lot of food in the house and if I would take the time I could make it work.  I only have $146 budget for food for March.  That is for both categories.  I have to work hard to make it work better.

2.  Utilities - these were double what I was expecting except for water.  We need to do better with  wasteful use of our electric and gas.  Water stays about the same when Rachel is not home.  When she is home it increases about $10 a month.  I need to go around shutting off lights and regulating our heat.  Dh already says that the house is cold but my bill is still way to high. 

3.  Cell phones and home phones - I need to start writing letters or send messages on email.  Our cell phone bill is slowly creeping up due to my use.  We only have local on the home phone and I need to start using it for local not my cell phone.

4.  Discretionary Spending - I need to not buy anything for a needlepoint class I am taking.  I need to make use of what I have already.  This can really add up fast.  Dh buys for his class room animals from our money so I need to figure out how much he uses each month to budget for it.

5.  Household Budget - this is for things for the house.  Weather stripping, drywall mud, etc....  Our backdoor in the laundry room needs weather stripping and new trim.  I will try to find the money to start this.

6.  Spring Break - Dh will be home the entire third week of the month and will be wanting money to do things around the house.  We will have to sit down and determine what we are willing to pull out of the savings for this.  Also we will be driving to pick up Rachel and then taking her back.  This will take money for gas, food and lodging.  Dh is going to get her and will stay in her dorm room to save money but going back we will both be going (as of right now) so a hotel room will need to be reserved.

7.  Taxes - I still need to file these.  I will work on Ian and Rachel"s first as theirs are a lot easier then ours.  I will most likely need to take ours to someone this year.  Ian owes us $60 and has said that we can take it from his return.  We will most likely owe money this year because of my disability.  They did not take taxes out last year.  I have corrected that so that next year we don't have the same issue.  

8.  Crafting - okay this is the area that I enjoy the most.  I need to get some sewing done but first I need to work in that room.  I need to continue working on my class project and my other needlepoint piece.  I also need to start working on the six wedding gifts that I will need starting in April.  One in April, three in June, one in July and one in October.  Busy busy wedding year.

I think this will give me more than enough to concentrate on for March.

Wish me luck.