No Whining

With all the conserving of energy and money that we're doing at our house you might wonder about our attitudes. I'm very proud to say that we are a "no whining" family.

Not all the changes we've made are easy or fun, but I'm taking it as a personal challenge to see how low I can get our spending. Luckily, the whole family is on the same page. We are all excited to see our spending go down, down, down. It's already making a difference. Of course, if gas and groceries weren't so high, it would be making much more of a difference!

A few years ago, the current economy would have seen me throwing a huge pity party. With the knowledge that I have now, I know that I still have many choices and it doesn't seem like we're doing without anything. I think the word "choice" is the key.

The kids don't feel as if they are doing without either. They are still getting things they like from the sales we see.

My husband is glad we are saving more money. I hated that we were spending all or more than he made. It was unnerving, knowing that we were just a payday or so from being in real financial trouble. Our savings is going up at a good pace, and that makes us all feel SO much better!

It's the time of year for home school resource fairs and early curriculum planning, so we still must spend on that. Yes, it's possible to home school on a shoestring budget, but with a high school student I want to make sure she gets a great education. I've been tracking down good, used curriculum as well as offering some of our used curriculum for sale so that has helped.

The point I'm getting at is that we are still able to supply our material needs less expensively so that no one is "feeling poor." Wealth is truly a state of mind.