Getting My Four Walls Up

Today I wanted to discuss Dave Ramsey's 4 Walls:

1. Food
2. Shelter
3. Transportation
4. Utilities

1. Food is essential to every one's life. It is vital to eat. I take food very personally. It tugs at my heart when I see people hungry. I thank GOD everyday that I have enough to eat, and it shows :) So I looked at how I can shave my grocery bill. I am an avid coupon clipper. I look for deals all the time but yet I fall a bit short. My family devours everything I buy. Sometimes we run out of food too quickly and I stress out about how we will make it. Has anyone had these issues? My mind races thinking of the next meal for dinner. When I get no input from the hubby I get terribly upset because I'm making all the decisions and it's a lot put on me. One time I cooked chili, which my kids loved and my husband hated. I felt inadequate as a cook and saw the food in the pot wasted. (The hubby works during the night. When he comes home dinner is waiting for him. There are many times he does not put the leftovers in the fridge.) I am all about leftovers. That's extra money I can pocket by bringing leftovers for lunch. Many times there are no leftovers. I hope to save more and start making a lot of casseroles to live off of day to day.

2. Shelter. It takes a lot to make a home. It also takes a lot from me to pay my rent. But this is something I have always paid on time, so I don't stress much in this area.

3. Transportation. Gas prices now are sucking the life out of me. It takes $50 to fill up my little Jeep. My insurance is pretty good for full coverage. My payment on my car sucks too. I plan to pay this debt off fast. I am lucky that I live close by to work. I really save on gas. I want a bike but saving for one is like pulling teeth right now. I'm working on it.

4. Utilities. Last month my electricity was turned off. I owed $160 for my bill. Well since they shut it off I was required to pay a security deposit of $220, $65 for the month's bill that was past due, and $25 for them to turn the electricity back on. I was heated because I never received a bill. I tried to fight this but ended up losing because of my bad payment history. I learned that in order to have a home you must pay to have the lights on. I also signed up for budget billing and I know how much I owe every month.

The moral of my post was to see my mistakes and what they are doing to me. I still have not achieved financial peace but I am aware of what I did wrong. I am keeping myself accountable. It's going to be a long journey but I'm going to make it and I'll let you all know.