Our October Food Budget – And Saving for a Short-Term Goal

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Mara Strom

As I mentioned last week, we exceeded our food budget in September by nearly $100. Not good. Not good at all. Fortunately we underspent in other categories to absorb about $40 of our overage, but there is still another $60 that we'll need to make … [Read more...]

{ 4 Comments }

June Financial Goals: Cutting Our Grocery Budget Challenge! Care to join me?

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Mara Strom

I've been in "survival" mode with our food budget for the last 6 weeks. Do you ever feel that way? It's like everything in life is in a holding pattern. The kids are still fed three squares a day - but creativity and color are a little... … [Read more...]

{ 4 Comments }

April Budget: How Pesach Affects Things at Our House

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Mara Strom

A few months ago, in my post on Variable Income Budgeting, I shared that DH and I are both self-employed, so each month our budget looks a little bit different. I also mentioned in that post that we budget a month ahead - i.e. the income that we earn … [Read more...]

{ 1 Comment }

Our 3 Financial Goals for 2011

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Mara Strom

I have always been honest on this blog about our finances because I want you to know that we are REAL. And we REALLY do struggle, just like so many Americans (and Israelis), to figure out how to stretch our too-small income to meet our too-large … [Read more...]

{ 22 Comments }

Because Knowledge Really *Is* Power

Posted on December 27, 2010 by Mara Strom

Remember when I said that the single most important thing you can do to save money is to pay attention? Today I want to ask you: Are you paying attention to how much money you are spending every month on food and household items? I'm not … [Read more...]

{ 4 Comments }

Financial Goals for November

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Mara Strom

 I can not believe it's already November! Doesn't it seem like I was just posting about my OCTOBER monthly goals?! As you might recall, this past month, we were attempting to scale way back after a rather expensive September. We had bumped up … [Read more...]

{ 5 Comments }

My Financial (& Other) Goals for October

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Mara Strom

Shavua Tov! It's a new week, and a new month - at least on the secular calendar. October is one of my favorite months, as I'm a big homebody and these cooler temperatures really say "stay at home and snuggle with your family" to me. Plus, I don't … [Read more...]

{ 7 Comments }