Epiphany

I've been beating myself up for a few days because I sort of went on a spontaneous spending spree. I don't often spend money outside of groceries, but when I do, I feel guilty. I kept finding all of these fabrics I liked and HAD to have to support my new quilting obsession. Then I went to the Park City outlets with friends to shop for baby clothes. DANGEROUS.

Anyway, it's not like I spent money we didn't have, but I did spend money that could maybe have been better allocated elsewhere. It wasn't like it was a TON of money, but I did feel badly about it, especially since I don't make any money anymore. I was whining to Jeremy last night about my guilty feelings...I jokingly told him I would find a part time job or go sell more stuff on eBay, but he told me that I didn't have to do any of those things. He said "My job is to make the money. Your job is to save the money and spend it wisely."

I really appreciated that he said that. Sometimes it seems a little unfair that I get to stay home and be with Meredith all day while he has to go work to support us. But you know what? It's not unfair. It's the way it's supposed to be! He works so hard for us, and I am so grateful for that. So yeah, it IS my job to save money and spend it wisely. I have the privilege of being in the position to do that. I'm forever grateful I married a man who wants me to be at home with our children as much as I do. I'm grateful that he accepts his role as provider so thoroughly. The world is so anti-traditional gender roles, which I think is somewhat sad. I embrace being a woman and a housewife and a mother, wholeheartedly. I'm not always very good at it, but that's another story....

I'm slowly learning more and more about saving money and spending it wisely. It's hard though! I need to learn more tips and tricks. I have started meal planning, which is a great help. Last time I went grocery shopping, I bought ONLY what was on my list, and was even able to cross some stuff off my list after convincing myself that we didn't need it afterall. We've been getting the newspaper because I want the coupons, but sometimes I think couponing is a waste because 1.) most of the coupons in the paper are for items I don't buy and 2.) sometimes a coupon will tempt you to buy something that you wouldn't normally purchase, simply because it is a good deal. But then there's those cereal coupons and occasional others that do come in handy...

Does anyone know of any good websites for saving money? Are there any specific to Utah? I know of www.moneysavingmom.com, but a lot of their advice deals with CVS pharmacies, which we don't have in Utah. I'm not really good at knowing when a good deal is on, so it would be awesome to find a Utah website that would alert me....I seem to only notice or find out about things after the fact....