“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”--Lao Tzu

Today was all about beginning. The goal was to kick of the new year by making even the smallest progress.

I decided to focus on saving. If we can save money on things we buy anyway then that money can go towards paying off debt.

We have been tracking our finances with Mint.com for awhile. It catagorizes our spending so we can see where the money is going. We were not surprized to find that we spend an awful lot of money on food and dining but just how much was shocking. In December we spent $1508.00 on food and dining for a family of 4. We eat out alot!!

Using coupons and looking for the best deals we went to the grocery store. The goal today was to stock up so that we have food on hand and do not need to eat out for convenience. Total amt spent $314.74, Total amt saved $124.69. Normally, we would not spend this much at the grocery store in a week but we were stocking up.

How we did it...1. Looked at the ads and made a list of the items we normally use that were on sale. 2. Used coupons from newspaper and from websites. 3. Went to multiple stores to get the best deals (this works for us because we have multiple stores within a 3 mile radius of our home so we didn't waste gas)

Websites that we found helpful: 1. Couponmom.com (several printable coupons as well as links to other useful sites. Free e-book available on couponing when you register) 2. Cellfire.com & shortcuts.com (allows you to load coupons directly onto your shoppers card) 3. We looked up companies whose products we use often and most offered coupons if you register on their websites.

Honestly, it did take time to get this all done but we believe going forward it will get easier.

New Year, New Rules

Welcome to Calloway Lane! Calloway Lane is my opportunity to share tips, ideas and inspiration. 2010 has inspired me to make significant changes in my life and I will share the journey with you.

The goal for 2010 is to kick off what my husband refers to as the Two-Year Plan. The Two-Year Plan has been a topic of both debate and humor in our home. Whenever we want to accomplish a big task my hubby evokes The Two-Year Plan. The reality is that we have never been able to sustain motivation for the entire time. We generally focus hard on the goal for approximately 3-6months and make significant progress but then our motivation wanes and we stall. This blog is my attempt to keep us focused for the entire 2 years.

Now without further adieu...

The Two-Year Plan

Health, Wealth and Freedom

• Health--Achieving a healthy body weight, physical conditioning and eliminating bad habits so that we are physically able to pursue our dreams
• Wealth--To pay off our debts and live debt-free.
• Freedom--The ability to live our lives to the fullest. To be able to make decisions about our lives without physical and finacial barriers.