My first post!!

I'm an avid blog reader but had yet to take the leap into blog writing. Well here I sit at my desk, at 1am and it finally hit me...MONEY! Saving money, spending money (wisely), making money, managing money. An essential part of life that fascinates me greatly. I'm not the best at managing money, and as a SAHM I hardly make any, BUT...it's always been an area that motivates me greatly.

In short, I get a THRILL...and honest-to-goodness, thrill out of saving money! Sometimes I can be a bit miserly though and realize that I'm not enjoying something that God wants us to enjoy! He blesses us with money (no matter how much or how little) and He wants us to be wise with our choices but be blessed and enjoy it as well. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in saving, managing and feeling like my husband and I aren't doing enough to save and then I suck all the joy out of the financial blessings God gives us.

So this..in part...is a blog about spending wisely and saving wisely. My goal for this year is to learn more, save more but also BUY more for less and get much more bang for our buck!

Sounds like a simple goal but it's not right now. My husband will be officially unemployed in less than a month when he separates from the U.S. Army after almost 10 years. We have a substantial amount of savings to live on for now (about $50,000) but...a big part of me is fighting hard not to stress over how long my husband may be unemployed. He'll get a check from the VA once a month for about 1/8 of his previous monthly income and add to that unemployment (which should equal close to 1/2 of his current monthly income) and money is not an immediate concern. But my mind keeps me worried anyway. LOL! We've paid off debt and built up enough to live more than a year on but it's hard not to let my mind wander to the negative possibilities when we're facing such a huge transition.

So a goal for this blog will be to keep me from obsessing too much about our finances. I hope that this will be a fun way to find deals, have a bit of fun with our money and learn lots of tricks and tips to save money on our everyday expenses to make our money stretch even further. In the mean time I intend to be HEAVILY in prayer that my husband is blessed with a great new job SOON, not just for the income but for the peace of mind and familiar routine that he (actually WE) are missing during this transition.

Now, a little more about me! I'm a 27 year old mom of 3 (ages 5, 7 and 8). I've been married to a wonderful (soon to be former) soldier for almost a decade! I currently bring in a bit of income freelancing from home (usually about $500 a month so it isn't much) and for our entire marriage, DH has been the main bread winner and I've been primarily at home. Needless to say, becoming a civilian family is not an easy transition when military life is all we've known together, but it's exciting and the possibilities are endless.

My DH (who is 28) is also a musician and plans to focus on starting his own production company soon. He's seeking employment right now but his ultimate goal is to build a business that can support us and be his own boss.

If you've made it this far, thanks for stopping past my blog! Hopefully I'll have some interesting content soon. Maybe a snazzy new blog layout at least...lol!

Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! 2012 is bringing changes and I am ready for God to pour down his blessings on us!