My spending plan

Last night we picked up our Costco groceries, butter, cheese, etc. When I spotted and loudly gasped at their very soft body pillows. I had purchased one more then 2 years ago but now it was flat and not fluffy soft. I had been looking and waiting for another one for a few months now. However this is the first time Costco had them in stock! And they were on sale $9.99 instead of $14.99! Ohhhhh! But we're trying to save money, spend less. . oh but so soft and fluffy! I'm quite sure DH knew this inner monologue was going on because he said 'Oh just get it! You know your going to regret not buying it!' Love him! Had I been alone i probably would have been good and walked away, but reported my find to him later.

That's how our money gets spent, a spouse finds something they want and the other spouse encourages the first one to buy it. We both want each other to be happy, and we certainly don't want to bum the other one out so we encourage the purchase. But its not helpful to our bank balance, and it need to be curtailed somewhat. My plan to spend less is:

Shop alone: When I do a rite aid or Walgreen's coupon hunt Dh goes off and looks at things by himself. Sometimes that adds a few items to the cart. Especially if we go to a department store or mass retailer. However the problem with this is its hard for me to get the car. One or two days a week I need to make sure I have the car and that I don't let other things side track my shopping. Plus dh does not want to shop when he gets home from work, he would rather stay home and relax. If I go he wants to be with me so he comes too, I need to get it done when he's at work.


Thrift stores: For some reason we've gotten out of this habit, I'm not sure why. But we both enjoy shopping at thrift stores and its much cheaper for the pocket book. I want to very seriously consider every non-sale purchase there. Its easy to brush it off and say oh 'well its only $6, the thrift store is already so cheap' but the truth is they generally have great sale merchandise. Why spend $6 when I can get it half off? We don't buy under ware, shoes, or pants at the thrift store but everything else is game.

Keep track of money, OUT LOUD: Dh does not pay attention when I tell him at the start of the two weeks that we have X amount of money to last. He doesn't subtract money spent from the total. I need to keep a more accurate running total and constantly update him.

Stop eating out: We tend to be on the go a lot and generally grab meals while we're out. This is unhealthy and expensive. I need to get a better list of meals that can be prepared without knowing exactly when hubby will be home. I love to cook, he loves to eat my cooking and its better for us. NO EXCUSES! However we did allow one meal out per week.

Buy things that matter to us: I can tell you very few purchases from the past two weeks, yet I know we spent a ton of money. I want to stop buying the kind of items we can't remember and just buy the ones we do. At the thrift store. On sale!

We used to be really good on all these points but as we became good at them our available money increased and gradually we lost the habit. I like being frugal. I like really appreciating the 'small' treats. Its time to go back to our penny pinching ways!

Now if you'll excuse me I have a very very soft pillow to stroke, I mean cuddle. :)