As we enter the second quarter of 2019, I’m so excited about the possibilities it brings. My hope is that these savings challenges help motivate you to do a little more when it comes to achieving your financial goals.
April Savings Challenge: A Little More Attention to Detail
For the month of April, my family has made a goal to pay off $2,750 worth of debt through careful savings within our budget.
While we don’t have any specific debts that will completely take care of, the majority of the money will go straight to paying down our last credit card, which we will hopefully be able to pay off in May. After that, we will be moving on to pay off our car loan.
To do so, we will be following the Blessed Budget Planner closely and navigating through the exercises it provides.
Ways We are Saving This Month
In addition to our already established savings incorporated into our budget through the Blessed Budget Planner, we have decided on an additional method of savings this month.
Coupons
I’ve never been a big fan of couponing.
Honestly, it seems like a messy process, requires a lot of forethought, and mostly takes me back to the shopping trips I’d go on with my mom that seemed to take an eternity as she checked each item to make sure there was an applicable coupon.
After talking to a friend this past week, though, I decided to check out the coupons in my own newspaper and see what I could find. Turns out, there were coupons for items I actually purchase on a weekly basis!
So, I clipped those coupons, added them into my cash envelope system (you can find the inserts I use HERE and the binder I use HERE), and plan to embrace them and many more in the upcoming weeks. In addition to just using them, I’m also going to set aside the difference toward savings.
For example, if I pick up an item and am able to use a $1 off coupon, then that $1 will go to savings.
Note: the problem with couponing or embracing sale prices is that it’s easy to buy items you don’t really need, just because they are on sale. In this case, I’m still going to make my meal plans and grocery lists as normal, but then I will look through my coupons and determine if there are any applicable ones.
Ways We Might Fail This Month
Despite the fact that we are still riding the high of last month, there are several ways we could be prone to failure this month.
Spring Break
The first week of April is Spring Break around here which means that everyone will be home and ready to participate in fun activities. Justin and I have made the choice to have a low-cost break and embrace activities such as hiking, biking, playing games, and watching movies we already own.
Ultimately, we’d like to be able to travel some this summer, so I think that should be incentive enough to keep us on track.
Birthday
Rebecca’s 11th birthday is coming up this month and could be another reason we are tempted to overspend the budget.
I’ve got her birthday present planned already (I’d tell you, but I want it to be a surprise), and a bit of money set aside for cake and decorations, so as long as we stick to the plan (as an entire family), then we should be set.
Do you plan ahead for the expense of birthdays?
What about You?
How are you going to achieve your financial goals this month? Will you follow along with us, using coupons and saving the extra, or will you choose a different method?
Leave me a comment below and let me know what route you plan to take! (I’d really love to cheer you on!)
Have an awesome day!
Tip #1: Struggling to get your family on board with your budget? Check out this post.
Tip #2: Want a FREE Savings tracker to help you track your savings this month? Grab one HERE.
