The New Year

Since I have been terrible at posting, I have never gotten on and posted my New Year's Resolutions. I know its now February but I decided I should post them so that it will really seal the deal. I only have two that I've been working on, but for me they are pretty big.

#1: Cook more, eat out less.

Kent and I seem to have gotten in a terrible habit of eating out this summer. I mean it has gotten so bad that I hate to admit that we were eating out for lunch and dinner ALMOST every night of the week. It was terrible! Not to mention UNHEALTHY! We tried to control ourselves by saying we'll just eat out twice a week but that plan never got put into action. I NEVER grocery shopped...EVER! I mean when I say I had no food in my house, I literally had NO FOOD in my house. Which is probably why we ate out most of the time on top of my laziness to get to it and cook! Well, at Christmas, Kristin came to my rescue and gave us all this HUGE 3 inch binder full of recipes from my mom, herself and some of her friends. I decided it was time to me to start over. I have to admit that I really have been doing MUCH better! I cook almost EVERY night except for maybe 2 nights a week and even on those nights we don't necessarily eat out! Its amazing the difference this has played on our weight, health, and bank account! Hopefully I continue to stick to it!!

#2: Shop less, save more.

Since Kent and I have been married, luckily for us we have never really had to worry too much about money. I am very grateful for this. We've never really been in a financial bind and had to struggle like our parents had to. If we needed or wanted something, we never seemed to have the problem of being able to afford it, not to say we're rich by all means but we've just always been financially stable. I would never say that my shopping got out of control but I guess for some reason it hit me this year that I probably shop WAY too much and get things that I don't necessarily HAVE to have at that time. I'm not used to having to save up to get something because the money has always been there. For some reason this all of the sudden hit me and I've become more a stickler about what I decide to buy and if I really NEED it. Let me tell you just with small things it has amazingly saved us LOTS of money. Don't get me wrong, I still spend on occasions but I think I'm learning to appreciate things more. We aren't stingy with our money nor do I think we ever will be because that's just not how we are but I've decided to be a little bit more reserved with our money. I have been able to see our savings account increase dramatically and it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside! Lets up I stick with this when the baby comes...