Confession

Well, what can I say? Though I promised myself (and you) to stick to the $400 a month grocery/household budget, I must admit that I've strayed a bit off track here. Strayed so far that I no longer even know what I have been spending for June. May started off well, but in vacation preparations I kind of spun out of control.

I've struggled in some ways with handling the Lilly Grant money and my own frugal ways. Should I clip and scrimp and save wherever possible? Should I throw it all to the wind because this money was in essence a gift to be spent? It is in fact a nice quandary to have and one that will not likely be mine again.

So, in the spirit of actually being on vacation, I have not been closely watching my spending in this area. I've gone to one store and allowed myself the freedom to buy convenience foods that have served us well. So it is. No regrets.

However, we have made some adjustments in other areas of the budget and been pleasantly surprised by some deals we have come across on some bigger ticket activities (KSC memberships, kyaking, gas rebates....)

So there is a bit of money left for a special surprise for the kids on Saturday. They are going to go over the edge when they figure it out. We're just going to get in the car Saturday morning and go. Can't wait!!

But not to worry. The frugal $400 is back in session for July and the remainder of the year. We've had a chance to work on the budget, read some good material and set some pretty exciting goals financially while we've been here. It's been nice to actually have time to have a conversation about this actually. And God has been opening some exciting doors for Sean while we've been here as well to make some extra income this summer. The Lord continues to bless us in our rest and in our work.