Money, money, money

A few weeks ago, it dawned on me that we have a daughter coming (in 10 weeks) and she's going to be expensive.... and not just because she's a girl! So, I decided to put together our budget. I gathered a list of our income, and an average of our committed expenses (bills). There was a very healthy cushion left over. That was the good news. The bad news is that is not reality. We do NOT have a healthy cushion left over each month. So, this evening, Tygh and I put together a very serious budget. The kind with all the spreadsheets and everything. We tracked our discretionary expenses, made sure the tithing amount was 10%, and added in Sienna's daycare costs. Ummmm. Yeahhhhhhh. Ouch. Suffice it to say that when she arrives and goes to daycare/school in September, the Colton household budget is extremely tight. That's when reality set in and we decided to make some lifestyle changes. Less going out to eat (which is rare anyway), less "grooming (aka manis/pedis), just overall less in general. Bottom line, until we make more, we need to spend less. I know this isn't rocket science, but it's still really hard to put into practice. Especially for me. We've already made some initial changes -- generic groceries vs. brand name, more walking the dogs ourselves and less doggie day care. Let's face it -- kids are expensive. That said, we believe God will provide, as He always has. We believe it is important to tithe, so we are committed to that. We also believe in being good stewards of our money, so if that means that my roots have to show a little longer than I like, so be it. (Just please don't make any comments about it!) ; )