Spending money is my job.

That's right. In this partnership, my husband and I have decided that he earns it and I spend it. But not in the way you think. It is my job to RESPONSIBLY spend our money. Easier said than done. Growing up, neither of my parents were good at money. My dad bought everything AS NEEDED. Groceries, toiletries, cleaning products, housewares, clothing, etc. My mom wasn't much better. She planned occasionally, but not much past a few days. As a result, I was an EXTREMELY irresponsible young adult. I was constantly overdrawn, I used up the limit on my credit cards within a few months, I was always borrowing money for rent or gas. Then I got married. My husband came from a similar financial background, but we had decided, as a family, that we might struggle, but we would learn better practices so that, should we have kids, THEY would be the responsible ones. And it was HARD. It still is hard. Learning how to buy groceries for a whole week, learning how to stock up (while living in an apartment on a single minimum wage income), learning all to find all the places to find cheap or free clothing, housewares, baby goods, etc. It was exhausting. It was a full-time job. But I stuck at it. Now, happily married for 6+ years with two kids, we haven't been overdrawn ONCE (ok, ONCE, but it was a bank error and was fixed within 24 hours). For two people who have lived irresponsibly for so long, that's quite an accomplishment. We have had quite a few times that we've lived for a few days with $20 in the bank until payday. But we are slowly growing out of the "paycheck to paycheck" phase. Hopefully, over the next few posts, I can share some of my methods for saving money, but more importantly, for spending money. Even if only one thing works for your family, I will feel that I've accomplished what I've set out to do in this blog.