Save now

We're hitting the SAVE button all the time. On emails, on documents. And we save stuff like birthday cards and magazine articles and baby clothes. So we should be really good at saving money too. Shouldn't we?

But we're not. As I am navigating my way through our own personal finances, I am learning more about the habits and realities of my fellow citizens. I just learned that more then 50% of Americans have over $10K in credit card debt, no retirement savings and no emergency savings. So we're obviously not saving in the right places.

Don't get me wrong - I believe that there is a fine line between saving for the future and spending in the now. But I come from a family where we didn't save and didn't plan and I see the affects of those choices now.

So in an attempt to save, I decided that August was going to be a No Spend month. Well, August is over and Quicken is updated and though a category like Personal Items is low, others show the affect of not being fully aware of how much we spend. And not being fully committed either. Now I have my husband on board and Groceries will be just as frugally purchased as everything else.

By the way, I would love to know what you all spend a month on grocery shopping? Our monthly total for August was staggering and not sustainable.

Anyway, we are going to try it again, for real. And instead of calling September a No Spend month, its going to be a Mindful Spending month.

We will hopefully:
curb impulse buying
plan meals and grocery shopping
delay gratification
avoid debt

And so begins, our form of saving now for what is important later.