April's all about money

This month is all about money and it's kind of appropriate since we will be selling our house in 2 short weeks and paying off all of our debt with the proceeds.  I'm excited about that but also feel a nervousness about being careful and showing restraint with what's left over after we've got everything paid off.  I keep a pretty close eye on the finances (mostly because I have to).  We don't spend a lot on clothes, toys or things on a whim, but if we don't keep a close eye on our spending, our dining out budget can (and usually does) get away from us.

One of the things I started doing a week or two ago is using a credit card for each of our spending categories:  groceries, clothing, gas, and dining out.  This has helped me keep a better eye on where the money is going and when we have capped out our budget (without having cash on hand...that seems to always disappear).  I know Dave Ramsey would probably roll over in his grave with this strategy (yes, I'm aware he's still alive, but couldn't think of another idiom to represent this idea).  We may modify this once we have everything paid off, but for now it seems to be working well and keeping me from having to log in to our account constantly to see if we've overspent...and yes, our budget is that tight.

So my punch list for April looks something like this:

• Continue using cards to categorize spending.  Once we get them all paid off it will be easier to see that we are truly staying within our budget but for now I know we are staying close.

• Set up recurring grocery orders for automatic delivery (through Amazon).  I've been pretty impressed with the services Amazon has recently launched.  We've been prime members for a while but have recently started using Subscribe and Save and I just placed my first Prime Pantry order today.  I've been fairly impressed with their prices and selection and can see this becoming a good way to keep the grocery budget in check (I always spend more thoughtfully when I can see the total grow with each additional purchase).