~ from my home to yours, living the Working Pantry lifestyle ~
seasoned homemaker * gardener * keeper of my home * food preservation * herbs * sensible preparedness * working with my hands * can do spirit and attitude * home economy * pantry * student of God's Word * sewing * wisdom that comes with age * self-care * looking well to the ways of my household

Friday, May 24, 2024

Hunkering Down in 2024: Week #21

This week has been a week of just living out the financial decisions we've made. 

Less spending, less driving, and so on.  Its's what some would call the daily grind. It sounds boring doesn't it, but and this is important ... it's through the daily grind that we achieve our goals.

The daily grind is our ticket to success ...

The daily grind teaches us discipline ... 

The daily grind shows and confirms to us that there is no easy, quick fix way ... 

We can't borrow our way out of debt ...

We can't ignore our way out of debt ...

The way to a debt free and or building savings lifestyle has to be done through the daily grind!

We're five months into our financial journey and the goals we set for this year.  Honestly, at the beginning of the year when we set these goals, I didn't think we would be where we're at now.  It has taken more sacrifice than I have wanted to give at times, but having clear goals with broken down baby steps for each of those goals has helped keep me/us grounded and on track.

Has the sacrifice thus far been worth it?  Absolutely, we already have quite a bit more wiggle room in our budget and I can't tell you how good that feels.  It's that extra wiggle room that has kept us out of debt with the unexpected medical expenses we've incurred the past couple of months.

When I start feeling like I want to purchase something that's really not a necessity, I think back through these last 5 months, and I/we know that we can delay our wants just a little bit longer.  We can do this ... we are doing this ... through the daily grind!

Looking at it that way, the daily grind is not so bad after all!

One more thing:  For those ladies who are following along with our ladies Bible class over on From This Heart of Mine, Lesson 2 in our study of 'Mary of Bethany: Choosing the Better' has been posted HERE.

until next time,

mrs. patsi @ A Working Pantry

She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27 

Sharing 44 years' experience of frugal, prudent living and pantry building 

My second blog:  From This Heart of Mine, where I share my love for God and His Word through my personal Bibe study.  Physical preparedness is important, but not near as important as spiritual preparedness.  Ladies, join me over at From This Heart of Mine and study God's Word with me.

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9 comments:

  1. YAY!!!!! There is no sweeter taste that reaching financial goals and the freedom that comes with the effort and focus :-)

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  2. πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘it really does take discipline and asking the Lord for help

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    1. Lee Ann, oh yes, those are two priorities in our journey!

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  3. I think it is great the way that you work together on reaching your goals, even when times are tough. Myself and my husband have always had the same approach to money - don't spend on silly stuff, pay your bills first and try to put something away for a rainy day. It must be very hard when couples have differing points of view or competing goals.

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    1. Tracy, in my opinion, it would be almost impossible if we weren't both on the same page with our goal.

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  4. The daily grind is how we have left our retirement savings alone and held off on taking my social security. It has really gotten to be just the way we live and last night I wondered what we would do with all the money when we do start pulling those funds. The daily grind works!

    This week we saved a bunch on plumbing repairs because Hubby bought the parts and did the work.

    I saved the trimmings from the begonias that I overwintered and have them in water rooting. Annuals used to be part of our Spring purchases but they are just too expensive now. Instead of two flats I bought two 8 packs.

    We were able to eat outside in the screen porch this week which is for us is eating out for free-ish!

    Two bottles of salad dressing rang up wrong at the grocery store so they gave them to us for free.

    We can do it!

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    1. Lana, yes, the daily grind does work and those who live by it, can testify to it. It's not always easy, but like you said, the longer you do it, the more of a way of life it becomes.

      Begonias are one of my favorite flowers and yes, spring flowers are just another thing that has gotten just too expensive to buy.

      Yeah for the free salad dressing!

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  5. You have done wonderful. So true, it can be daunting at first trying to NOT do certain things or buy, but it sure does pay off. For myself that way of living just became the norm, so I can save and it is never a sacrifice.

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    1. Cheryl, in the beginning, it's kind of like some kind of bootcamp training, isn't it!

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