Month One Re-cap

We have completed our first month on our journey to being debt free. It was a long month, but we made it. We made it completely on cash and we made it with cash left over. Some of our expenses ended up costing less than we had planned and we were left with a surplus this month. hooray!

ALL of our credit cards are at a zero balance and our emergency fund is in place and making interest. Baby Step 2 is in full swing.

Bobby did a great job taking his van-pool to work as much as possible. He deserves a huge pat on the back. Because of his hard work, we spent $100 less in gas than we had budgeted.

We spent more time together as a family this month. I have been planning our meals and grocery shopping accordingly. This means family time at the dinner table - eating home cooked meals. Friday night is always pizza night. Bobby has been making our pizzas instead of ordering them. They taste better, and it costs less. We have been freezing left overs and really utilizing what we have in the pantry. We've been going to the library and playing at the park and we are not spending money we don't have.
As crazy as it sounds, we really have wanted for nothing... because really there is nothing extra that we need. We entertained guests for dinner, celebrated 2 birthdays and paid a hefty medical bill - all on cash. And because we have been living within our means, we were able to pay over 5 times the minimum payment on our HELOC this month. Next month we will be able to pay twice as much as this month.

April's expenses are all planned and we are looking forward to month two of our journey. We will be having a garage sale in April, and all profits will go to debt.