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Trimming the financial fat…

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My husband and I occasionally go out to eat. We squeeze in dinner with friends, a cheap happy hour drink downtown, a rushed fast food lunch, and the occasional Saturday morning California burrito after working out in the yard for a few hours.

At the end of each month, I analyze our spending and look for ways we are becoming ‘financially flabby’. I discovered this extra food spending was contributing to some of our annoying financial flat lining (fatty restaurant food doesn’t exactly add to the aesthetic qualities of our physical bodies either).

I know, I know, we had a good month this month – but it could have been better if I had worked a little harder.

So, I proposed a new rule to my husband. No dinners/drinks/food out for the next 60 days. Fortunately for me, he’s game.

This could get interesting.

This party funded by the State of California…

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My husband wanted to throw a party at our house to celebrate the fourth of July. We can see two fireworks shows from our backyard and we’ve enjoyed watching them from our home for the last three years.

Problem? I was so anxious to pay down the truck, I didn’t leave any money in our account. Yes, we received two extra paychecks in July but… I but somehow I forgot to budget silly, unimportant things like food and gasoline from those checks.

I was starting to panic until I opened the mail to find a check from the State of California. It has been so long since I submitted my claim to the California unclaimed property division that I completely forgot about it.

I ran to the bank, cashed the check, set aside money for groceries and gasoline, and gave $60 to my husband for Sunday’s event.

I’m not sure how he pulled it off, but he kept his food and bbq supply bill under $60 – which leads me to believe that given a goal, my husband can do pretty much anything.

How was your fourth? Did you stay safe? Did you stay away from ATM machines and credit cards?