The Budget Is Still Going Strong

We're still truckin' along with our couponing and budgeting! I've had some great grocery shopping trips as of late, getting stocked up on things that are necessities around here. The stockpile is humming along nicely, so nicely, in fact, that this week's grocery bill totaled $27!

We've also found other ways to save cash that was otherwise being 'wasted.' For example, we put up a clothesline in the yard, and now about 1/3 of our laundry is dried outside. Sheets, blankets, t-shirts, and occasional other items are all dried outside. And believe it or not, the sheets dry FASTER when they're outside! Not to mention they smell so good! For every three loads that go in the wash, only one load is dried in the dryer. Another way we've cut cash flow is by utilizing a rain barrel.
I found a large, 50-gallon rain barrel on clearance last year at Wal-Mart. I use the rain water collected to water all my window-boxes, pots, and my vegetable garden. And from a scientific, horticultural standpoint, the rainwater is SO MUCH better than the city water (fancy words, I know). No chlorine, no fluoride, none of those chemicals. It's cut our water bill down big time.
Our biggest way we've saved cash is to get smart about using the air-conditioner. In our large, large house, it doesn't take long to run up a $200 electric bill. We've got 2,000 square feet of 11 foot tall ceilings and UN-INSULATED walls. However, we've just recently installed brand-new ceiling fans in every room. We made a deal to not turn on the A/C until June 1st, and when we did turn it on, we'd be responsible about it. We only run the air from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. And if we're gone most of the day, we won't turn it on. We also close blinds/shades at certain parts of the day, and only run the dryer in late evening. We've found that the 11-foot tall ceilings do help the heat rise off the bottom half of the room, and if we keep the fans running 24/7, it's actually pleasant even without the A/C. But as they say, it's 'not the heat, it's the humidity.' And it's the danged truth!

I'm telling you, people, it's these little things that are helping to free up the cash that's needed to add to our debt snowball. We're 'gazelle intense,' as Dave Ramsey says, and we're not losing sight of that debt-free place we want to be in!