Where there's a will, there's a spreadsheet

A couple weeks ago, after the boys were in bed Aaron and I sat down and talked about our goals for the next 3-6 months. These discussions used to be quite regular between us, but with my illness hitting crisis mode in February of 2008, they took a sabbatical. They were first replaced with trying to survive each second, then each minute, hour, and so on. Finally time/goals were thought of in terms of each specific day, then each week, then FINALLY each month. The recent evening was the first time in probably a year or two that we discussed our 3 and 6 month plans and goals. It was so refreshing not to be so weighted down with the present that we were able to look that far ahead. We know where we want to be 5 and 10 years from now, and the events of this past year or so haven't really changed that. We've just been detoured, so we're figuring out new paths to take to still get where we want to be.

Anyway. We have been praying for some time about some possible changes that might take place before the end of 2009. (Please join us in praying about them, whether or not you're one of the few who know specifically what they might be.) If these changes take place, then it would be helpful if there was more in our savings account than there is currently.

So, where there's a will, there's a spreadsheet! We took a serious look at our spending/saving habits, and have made drastic changes. Currently we've agreed to our "new budget" during March and April. At the end of April we'll see what kind of progress we've made to the balance of our savings account. We're both hoping to stretch this spending freeze and saving frenzy into the late Spring and early Summer months also. But we started with just an eight week commitment. We thought that if we saw an end date, then some of the drastic changes we instituted would be easier. But, we hope that once we get used to a new way of living/spending it'll be easier to keep it up.

Of course I'm not going to tell you the nitty-gritty specifics of our budget, but if we can do this, then we'll be able to live (as a family of 4) on ONE of Aaron's paychecks, and completely SAVE the other one each month. We're now several weeks into this lifestyle change, and so far we're doing GREAT - our bank account is growing faster than we thought it would! God's even been providing in new ways that more than compensate for some of our "sacrifices." I'm planning over the next couple weeks to let you know some of the changes we've made, and tricks we've learned/figured out.