In these hot summer days of financial trouble all around, we have found new ways of saving money while still accomplishing needed work. For instance, the tree in our back yard has been in need of trimming, both for its own sake and for the sake of our house. On Saturday, I asked a neighbor if I could borrow their saw-on-the-end-of-a-pole. This was a manual job, but I think we saved around $150.00 by doing this work ourselves. My back and legs and arms and shoulders and neck hurt, but we saved money.

When we were in Cincinnati visiting my mother-in-law, we ran across one of my father-in-law’s old receipt ledger books. I remember both my father-in-law and my own father would enter expenses from receipts in a ledger book. And they did this on a somewhat regular basis. I don’t know if my generation just spends more money or whether we just forgot about keeping track, but I want to make this same thing happen for us.

So, I decided to play around with the Excel spreadsheet that our coach Rachelle sent us. I wanted to be able to see all our expenses in a single view on our home computer. The columns are labeled with categories like Utilities, Grocery, Gasoline, and Dog, and the rows are labeled with merchants like Atmos Energy, Price Chopper, QuikTrip, and PetSmart. Where the row and column intersect is where you enter the total from each receipt. And at the bottom of each column all those receipts are added up.

What our dads did by hand, we can do on computer. I am trying to get this ledger thing down to a fine art, so that I can sit down a few times a week with receipts in hand and update it while expenses are still fresh in my mind. I am also using my favorite colors in Excel to help guide my eyes to the right boxes. I want to be able to see at a glance where our money is really going, not just where I think it is going. I think there is still time for us to be as frugal and as wise as our fathers.

My Things-To-Do list is growing out of control. When this happens, it’s good to take a look at what’s been accomplished so far. With the Financial Makeover in mind, here’s my TA-DA! list:

*Delta Savings account with money actually in it, as opposed to a maxed out Line-Of-Credit at
 our previous bank,
*School enrollment fees are paid, and not with a credit card this year,
*Children have savings accounts now and are making efforts to watch their spending,
*Will begin teaching piano students in the fall. I have 2 lined up already,
*One credit card balance is now under $1000 and will be paid off soon,
*Buying only necessary groceries to last the week, with a few exceptions.

I really doubt any of this would have come about without the coaching from our CommunityAmerica Credit Union Financial Makeover advisors. When life gets busy the juggling act goes haywire and Willie-Nillie makes regular appearances and wants me to take him out to lunch! However, Rachelle and Randy have brought our focus back to the financial side of life. Next thing to try is the on-line envelope system, with opening several accounts to transfer money for planned expenditures. Life insurance, Christmas and birthdays, clothing, school enrollment, and the wastewater bill all added up to the exact amount of our credit card payments each month. With Prudence Planner by my side, we can make it!