Today while reading one of my favorite blogs I set a new goal for myself. My new goal is to limit my trips to the grocery store to twice a week for the next month and if I can to reduce that down to once a week for the month of January.
By reducing my trips to the store, I can reduce impulse spending and will try to make my trips more planned, hopefully reducing our spending even more.
This is a gradual change that I feel is very important.

I just did the math for the first time tonight. I realized that my second daughter who wants to go on a mission was now going to be able to go two years earlier, but I didn't realize that was just 3 years away. Financially that means I have to make some hard decisions, but I am sure that it will all work out.

I can't close the lid on my trash can, and I still have another full day before the trash is dumped this week. We have been working hard to de-clutter our home, but I thought we had already made so much progress over the past few weeks that there was no way we would fill the trash this week. I guess I have a lot more to do than I originally thought I had. It has been a year long process and we are still working on it. I have been trying to simplify my life, and it is not as easy as I thought it would be. Howeve,r I am happier as I see the changes taking place.

A friend of my suggested studying the words of Isiah. I started to read it tonight. I understand why this is so important now. There is so much in his words that teachs us the importants of humility and repentance.
A really great website that can help us understand the words of Isiah is:
http://www.isaiahexplained.com/