Getting organized: Organize your finances

Today, I'm going to talk about something that isn't that fun to talk about- organizing finances.

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This is admittedly one of my biggest struggles- we've gotten slightly better at organizing our finances, but we've far from arrived. Two of our best resources for organizing our finances are our home binder, the mail bins in our command center, and our "bills to pay" list in the command center. 

First, let me tell you how we use our home binder to track finances. We have an entire page dedicated to tracking finances. It is right behind our monthly  calendar, and even though we don't always use it the right way, it does give us a pretty good picture of monthly expenses. 

We also use our "week at a glance" sheets in the binder to write down what bills are due for the week, or what we need to spend that week if there is something extra coming due. 

We have three mail bins in our command center. The one on the left is for bills that are due. The center one is for bills that have been paid, but haven't cleared yet. The bin on the right is for things that need to be filed. Everything else goes to the shredder. 

We also use the second pic frame from the left to record what bills are due and the dates they are due. 

We have also tried to keep a grocery list to record what we run out of, and make a meal plan before shopping. This has cut down on impulse purchases dramatically. 

As I said before, we are still working to become better at organizing our finances, but we certainly have improved a lot. Do you have any ideas you'd like to share? 

Linking to Stonegable, Worthing Court, Cedar Hill Farmhouse, Confessions of a Plate Addict, and French Country Cottage!

Weekend "travels" with the family

I am writing this post a day late, as I've gone back to work this week. Yesterday, we were swamped with meetings and open house, so I simply just didn't get to post. I know you understand, dear readers.

Budget matters: Saving money

This is not going to be a fun post. It's not about a fun project, or even an organizing project. It's about something completely and totally NOT fun to talk about...money.

The husband and I both have good jobs, but like many people in today's times, we don't have a whole lot of extra. We have a monthly budget sheet in which we track our bills and expenditures each month, but one month, it seemed we were hit pretty hard. We're also gearing up for our new baby and all the new expenses having another family member will bring.

Simplified cooking: Easy Taco Soup

Lately, as the weather is getting colder, I am on a quest to find delicious soups I can make that will also make more than one meal and are not expensive to prepare. I've never made taco soup before, but a local restaurant makes an amazing taco soup. I decided to attempt to make a copy cat version.

 The most expensive part of this meal was the ground beef, at $5.29 for 1.2 pounds. The Ro-tell and Dell Monte diced tomatoes were each $.97, and the taco seasoning and ranch packets were about $1. I paid $.92 for the pintos, kidney beans, black beans and corn because I bought store brand.

A cheap DIY: Burlap framed gallery

We had this small, blank wall behind our front door. The previous owners had a coat tree here, but I was afraid it would clutter up our living room and discourage family members from hanging up coats in the coat closet. I wanted to do something, though, and I kept coming back to something simple and something reflective of our family.

I love monograms. If you have been to our house, you know there is no shortage of items with a "B" on them. We have my daughter's name hanging over her bed, a "B" hanging over our bed, a wreath with our initial on the front porch... the list goes on and on.

I knew I wanted to do a burlap monogram.

Entertaining: Decorating using all discount store items! Challenge accepted.

I was challenged by a good friend to plan a table from dishes to decor using cheap items from a discount store, such as Garden Ridge or Christmas Tree Shops. I accepted the challenge and chose to dress my table using items from Christmas Tree Shops.

It's October now, and many of us are planning our holiday parties and dinners. I have a large arsenal of entertaining serve ware and dishes to choose from, but not everyone does. The husband would disagree, but I can always use more serve ware. If I were to go shopping at this moment, here is what I would choose.

High/low knockoffs: West Elm

Tomorrow morning, I will meet and begin teaching a brand new crop of eighth graders. My summer passed quickly, but it was a good summer and I'm happy to be teaching again. I'm even more happier to be continuing my blog series on high/low knock-offs.

This week, I am sharing my top five West Elm knock offs. They are, as always, in no particular order. Prices are included. 

5. West Elm Glass Jug Table Lamp,  $169