Loose ends

In the last few days, I have received numerous questions that I completely failed to answer. So today I am going to tie up loose ends...

1. I bought the adorable house shoes featured in this post at a Carter's Store for 25% off. Considering how cute the shoes are, this was a great deal.

2. Several people asked me what the woman in this post purchased at Target. I have no idea. She had two carts loaded with crap. The only thing I seen that looked expensive was an area rug - no electronics or other big ticket items.

3. In this post, someone asked why we can't stay with my cousin in Kentucky. To make a long story short, her husband has expressed doubts about hosting my family. So although my cousin is still eager for us to stay at her house, I cannot impose on her jackass husband. I am not bitter or anything.

In other news, Porgie's hair is finally long enough for me to do this...
And all is right with the world:)

Disappointment

As most of you know, we were planning on going back to Kentucky for Christmas. We had made plans to stay with my cousin and her family. Until yesterday, I was under the impression that all of our plans were set. But today, I sit here trying to figure out another relative we can stay with. It is depressing, because we don't have many options.

Although I hate to admit it, I don't think we are going to be traveling home this year. It breaks my heart, because my family hasn't seen baby Izzy yet. And in a few more months, he won't be a baby anymore.

More than anything, I hate the idea of telling my mom and grandma that we won't be coming home. I expect tears - lots of tears. I am not a very emotional person, so tears make me very uncomfortable. Especially when I am the one causing the heartache.

Although everyone will be upset about our canceled trip, it is probably for the best. Ten hours is a loooooooong time to be trapped in a car with two babies. We will save money on gas and gifts. We will be able to savor the holidays with our own little family, in our own comfy house. But despite the perks of staying home, I am still sad.

I want to be a fiscally responsible mama

I am a worrier. I worry a lot. I worry about little things. I worry about big things. I worry about other people's problems. I worry and worry and worry. So, it is no surprise that the economic downturn has me worried.

I worry that my husband will lose his job. I worry that we won't be able to pay our bills. I worry that my children will grow up in poverty. And really, I have no reason to worry excessively about these issues. My husband's job is pretty secure. All of our bills get paid every month. And my kids have everything they need to be healthy and happy.

But I still worry. We have a high mortgage payment, several credit cards, and tons of medical bills. Although we are able to make our minimum payments each month, it feels like we will never get ahead - we will never have money to save.

I really want to learn how to manage our money better. We eat out several times per week. We purchase things impulsively at the grocery store. We shop at Target WAY TOO MUCH. Although I have tried to curb these frivolous expenses, we seem to always fall back into the same ruts.

Any words of wisdom? How do you save money?

***This post was inspired by the woman in front of me at Target last night. She spent $952.38! As she signed her name to the credit card slip, she began crying. Disturbing and depressing.