Budgeting in the past has not been my cup of tea. I really didn't know how to do it, or how to stick to a budget. My husband and I have always felt like we are on a tight budget money-wise, and there never seems to be extra for fun stuff, or gifts for others, or stuff for ourselves. We have been paycheck to paycheck getting by.

That all changed this week. We have a plan. We FINALLY have a budget, complete with an excel spreadsheet to track our spending. We've realized just how tight we really are and how without careful monitoring and spending we could easily go over budget. Things that helped us get to this point this week:

• 1. Financial Seminar - We have a certified Financial Planner in our church (who happens to be the pastor's wife) and she is doing 3 seminars the last Saturday of each month this fall and her info is invaluable! My husband and I went to the first one this past Saturday and she made everything clear as mud, showed us how to plan, how to manage debt and how to save money. Amazing. If you are in town you need to go to the next seminar....this information from someone like her would regularly cost $150/hr, and we get 6 hours with her free. Can't beat that.

• 2. Budget - Using an excel spreadsheet, we entered in the numbers of how much we are making a month and what all our fixed and variable spending is per month. I've been tracking as we've been paying bills, buying groceries and plugging the numbers into our spreadsheet. I can't believe it took us this long to do it. I don't know how we could have possibly functioned much longer without it.

• 3. Meal Planning - I know, I know, I've been plugging my new blog way too much lately. But meal planning really does help you cut down on your budget costs. Not only that, but I've discovered some new tricks from $5 Dollar Dinners for saving money. I found my grocery stores flyers and coupons online, and I planned this week's meals around what was on sale. I was able to get 6 lbs of ground hamburger, 6 lbs of chicken thighs, and salmon into my grocery budget this week, and I still spent at least $30 less on our groceries than I did last week (and last week I didn't buy any meat). I was SO impressed. It makes that big of a difference. No longer will I scoff and say "that coupon only saves us 50 cents" or "who cares? That rebate is only $3", or pass up the 50% Manager's Special discount on meat. Every little bit adds up. I also just discovered The Grocery Cart Challenge who cut her family of 6's food budget from $800 a month to $50 a week! That's incredible. She has some amazing tips for how to save money.

• 4. Planning Gifts in Advance - This area has always been hard for my husband and I. I feel so guilty because family and friends are SO generous with us when it comes to giving gifts and random "I love you" presents out of the blue, and yet my husband and I have never been able to afford extra to do the same back. I decided to actually include a "Gifts Fund" in our budget so that we can be generous when a new baby is born, or a birthday comes up, etc. My friend Vanessa also has some great ideas for making homemade gifts for friends and family at Christmas like knitting projects and giving seeds from her garden.

I have to say I feel IN CONTROL now. I feel a huge weight off my shoulders that we don't have to worry about money anymore. Don't get me wrong, money is still tight, but with a plan we can do it.