Changing habits is tough

I hate to admit it by my husband and I fell prey to the world of infomercials. We recently purchased a "Redi Set Go" cooker. I just received it today and I am anxious to use it. The reason we purchased it is the flexibility it offers in preparing quick meals, especially breakfast. I'm trying to quit my McDonald's habit and I thought this would be a great way for me to make ahead breakfasts and also make them look visually appealing. This is not a shining example of frugal living, because we could have easily lived without it. Trying to change is tough.

I also saw Dr. Phil yesterday and I am fired up again on how important it is to live differently during this time of economic difficulty. I realized that I'm in control of the finances in our house and I have the ability to limit spending on unnecessary items. With a renewed sense of purpose I am going to work extra hard this week and try not to spend frivolously. Luckily I have a husband who always assumes we're broke and he always asks before spending. Now that we have settled in to our new house and most of the moving expenses have been taken care of it's time to get back on track.

I recently read a blog centered around 101 things you can do for free. Probably for half the items on the list one would not have been considered them "fun" in the traditional way but I found many of those items to be practical and worthy of doing. Some of the items hit on other goals I have of learning to live with with less, and decluttering. I know there are plenty of items that can keep me from spending extra money. I need to be creative in finding them.

My goals for this week are to utilize meals that are in the freezer; not to buy anything we don't absolutely need; and concentrate on unpacking and decluttering. I want to work on some of my personal goals I have established as well. This is a challenge I will be working very hard at it. Hopefully in the end we'll have a neater house, with less stuff and a fatter savings account.