"If you have food, friends, and a comfortable place to live, you are all set to live an incredible life."

"If you have food, friends, and a comfortable place to live, you are all set to live an incredible life. Everything you buy, and every experience and commitment you add to the plate beyond this point is a trade off: a guaranteed reduction in cash and free time, in exchange for a possible increase in thrills delivered by fun or novelty."-Mr.Money Mustache

I read this quote last week after reading an article I found on msn.com about a man and his wife who retired at 30 years old. I was immediately intrigued. How does someone retire at this age? Why are most people struggling to pay their bills and working into their late 60's and 70's and this guy managed to work for a taxing 9 whole years?

As I read more about this Mr. Money Mustache, I realized he didn't do anything fancy to retire at this young age. He cut out all extra expenses, biked to work, and saved every dime he could towards retirement. By 30 years old, he was a self-made millionaire. 

His quote (and many of his blogs) spoke to me in many ways. As Barry and I have been working hard on our budget, reading financial books, and discussing money on a nearly daily basis, we have realized many things. 

Three things we have learned:

1. Debt is normal... and we don't want to be normal. 

2. Most people, including us, overspend each month (and then justify it, of course!)

3. Most of us don't realize how truly blessed we are with what we already have. 

The idea of cutting expenses is rarely discussed. Most people are so worried about how much money they make a year, what type of raise they will receive, and/or when the latest iPhone is coming out that they rarely think about how much money they are spending. 

Here's a couple tips that have helped us to cut costs:

1. Grocery shopping: We try and buy most of our bulk items at Costco such as toiletries, chicken, eggs, Greek yogurt, almond milk, etc. Food items that go bad (mostly fresh fruit and vegetables), we purchase at Aldi. (Gotta support my cousin, Erika!) This saves us quite a bit of money and saves us from spending lots of time clipping coupons.

 

2. Negotiate phone/Internet/cable: We contemplated cancelling our cable altogether, but realized we would spend more money in the long run by going to restaurants to watch all the sporting events we enjoy such as the Colts, Pacers, and Dodgers. Instead, Barry called AT&T and discussed different plans and ended up cutting our bill by over $50! 

(and increased our Internet speed...Double win!)

3. Complete home improvements: We started a kitchen remodel this past weekend consisting of refinishing/painting cabinets, replacing the oven range and sink facet, along with a new kitchen counter top. Many of these items aren't anything we are skilled to do on our own, but I knew we could do the painting of the cabinets. We are still working on this daily, but the final project should be finished this weekend. Barry also completed a fire pit project this weekend that looks amazing! (And for less than $100!) 

Here's a sneak peak of the renovation.. and the inside of our cabinets LOL :)

Six months into our Total Money Makeover, I feel like our thoughts, actions, and focus has completely shifted. Before, we rarely thought about how much money we spent eating out with friends on the weekend, during our monthly trip to Costco (filling two carts on one memorable occasion), and on miscellaneous items throughout the month. We rarely said "No" to any event or invitation. 

Our goal of our Total Money Makeover is to pay off all our debt as soon as possible

 (updated goal is mid February 2015) to enable me to be a stay at home Mom when the time comes. I also want to build a simple lifestyle for our family that doesn't focus on the things we have, but the experiences and the time we spend together. Having a solid plan for the future has strengthened our marriage and I'm forever grateful we have taken this step together. 

Do you or your family have a budget? What sacrifices have you made to help reach your financial goals? Where do you see yourself or family in 1, 3, and 5 years from today?