Living simply.

This summer Tim and I concluded that life would be easier on us all if we eliminated one of our two mortgages.  Simply put, our rental property will not be the college fund it was intended to be until we actually OWN it.  We've been throwing a little extra cash it's way for some time now, hoping to make some more headway but decided we needed to go full force on the thing, Dave Ramsey style, and live bare bones for one year.

To be sure, it's not as if we were living high on the hog in the first place.  I mean, the fact that we are in a position to pay off a mortgage at our age is evidence of our frugality(and a consistent salary-thank you Tim!).  Still, as we started tracking our spending more carefully, we noticed just how comfortable we had become with not sticking to the shopping list at Target(dangerous place, I tell you), falling back on eating out when I had a wringer of a day, and paying for our entertainment rather than enjoying the many free things Boise has to offer.


Instead of the old-fashioned spreadsheet we'd been using to track our spending for years (a method which was so laborious we sort of abandoned it a few years ago anyway), we invested in a budget software that includes apps on our cell phones(and other devices) which allows us to enter in amounts on receipts real-time and bills we've paid automatically.  I can see how much we've got left in our grocery budget while I'm at the store and can modify my spending accordingly.  It's awesome, even for an already budget-conscious person as myself.


The three categories we've cut back significantly are: travel, kids activities (gymnastics, swimming lessons, etc.), and entertainment/eating out.  As always, I expect we'll enjoy far more benefits than the ones seen in our bank accounts.  Healthier eating, more quality time together as a family enjoying simple pleasures, and plenty of time "roughing it" together in the wilderness instead of waiting in lines at Disneyland.  That is, if I can get past my irrational fear of bears.