Financial Shape in 2008!!

January 3, 2008 at 6:45 am (Financial Shape 2008)

I’m sick of overspending. That’s all there is too it. I don’t have a workable budget and while I remember to pay the bills, I am TERRIBLE about sticking to a plan. I have no impulse control. Its awful.

I’ve discovered with great interest that budget shopping is actually a really cool game of sorts. The objective is to beat the stores at their own game. If its possible to get deodorant for free then I want in on it.

Crystal Paine, over at Money Saving Mom, has issued a challenge: Financial Shape in 2008. I’m up for it. I’m there. Count me in. Our first assignment is to work on a budget. Crystal posted her family’s budget on her site. To be honest, its not much more than ours. They live in Kansas, I think. We live in Southern California. I’m really shocked. If they can live off of less than $2500 a month, then I bet we can too. They pay a lot in life/disability insurance. We don’t have any of that. And while we do have a car payment until September and my student loan until April, I completely think we can do this for under $2500. After taxes, that is slightly more than what Mark makes each month.

What if I could “save us” down to one income? I mean, my income is pretty much required because of our huge rent (which we cannot change and we cannot downsize)… but if I could take the burden off myself… well, the sky’s the limit.