Just the Essentials

As we get ready to turbo-charge paying off our debt, it gets obvious that we either need to cut costs or increase our income - or even better, do both!! Ben's willing to pick up extra shifts and I've been looking into what I can do from home, while also homeschooling. If you have any ideas on that - let me know!!

For cutting costs, we went through our bank statement to see what exactly we're spending our money on, where we can spend less, and what we can completely stop throwing money away on. We came up with a list of essentials and non-essentials. This will be especially helpful when there's a good deal ("but it was such a good deal!" I'm not the only one who falls victim to this mentality right?). If it's not on the essentials list - we ain't buying it!

Here's our list:

Essentials Non-Essentials

Tithing Restaurants

ORMC breakfast Fast food

Car maintenance Lotions/sprays

Home projects appraisal Home projects non-appraisal

Gasoline Soda

Utilities Candy

Insurance: car, life Cookies

Car Registration Kid classes/activities

Pet food Pet toys

Haircuts for the girls Toys

Medical/Dental Bills Books

Homeschool Supplies (try to find and use free when possible)

Is there anything we missed? What are some of your essentials and what are some things that you would cut out of the budget?