Now, that may not sound like a big accomplishment but hear me out. Statistics show most people spend $250 per person a month on groceries. We were able to get away with spending that same amount for two people.
How did we do that? By shopping from our own pantry and freezer first. Really Chris is quite creative with the dinner menu. He has a knack for coming up with inventive recipes for barely anything and making our food taste delicious. He's a great cook and I have to give him full credit for continuing to keep our grocery budget low month after month with his ability to use what we have to its full extent.
We are now getting to a point where we don't have to watch as closely on how we spend our money as we're able to trust the numbers that we set out for ourselves. We may go over a little here in there, but we have a bit of a buffer built in our budget and as long as we stay within that buffer it's just smooth sailing.
Are we perfect? No, we're not and we never will be nor do we ever claim to be perfect but we do take some solace that we're making an amazing headway in setting up realistic financial goals for ourselves and being able to meet them consistently.
On a more frustrating note, we still don't have clear information for Canada Revenue Agency about Chris' previous taxes as well as the outstanding balance of $1,500. We recently contacted them with questions and received very few answers in return. Thankfully, Chris is meeting with our accountant again and I'm sure soon enough we'll have a more concrete idea of what's going on. In meantime, we're just in a wait and see mode. It's not a huge deal and we're doing what we can to get it resolved ASAP.
Having said all that, I think the best part of 2018 so far (and we've only just begun!) was our chance at a little holiday. We went away for a week and hung out with family -- for FREE! I've never laughed so much over rounds of Rummy 500 or eaten apple pie that tasted so good!
We're so thankful to have been invited to a little getaway. This was the first major holiday Chris and I have had since we've been married. It felt like a little slice of heaven. So blessed.... and that helped us refocus our energies on finishing this year of debt pay off strong.
We had a goal to be done by my 40th birthday. That may not happen since I now have the dental debt for my implant, but we can still finish by December 1st -- if not before. We keep finding little ways to shave off the debt just a bit more here or there that we didn't see at the beginning of the month and every dollar we put towards our last two debts is a huge step in progress.
I only hope you guys are taking some baby steps of your own. I want to see everyone succeed in this fight against consumer debt so badly! Oh, it's like a new lease on life when you finally get it! Let me know how it's going and if there are any wins to celebrate in your life! God bless you all!
