We are back to cash only. We have slipped up a fair bit the last few months and haven't put as much in savings as I like.

I will be taking $300 cash out of the bank every Friday and that will be it for the five of us for the week. This will include groceries, clothes, eating out, entertainment, kids' activities, and dh's spending money. It will not include gasoline because both Dh and I are compensated well for our gas and mileage and the amount is almost always more than what we spend on gas in a month.

So, we started this weekend. I spent $160 on groceries, $17 at the movies for ds and I, $20 went to ds for babysitting, $20 was used as a birthday gift for dd's friend (a $20 bill rolled up and put inside a roll of toilet paper and then wrapped nicely), and $20 went to Dh.

I now have $63 in my wallet. I'll be spending $6 on 3 tickets for the school play, and will be going out for breakfast with some coworkers on Thursday. Dh will most likely require $20 today or tomorrow, so I should get to Friday and still have money in my wallet. Both sons will soon need some shorts for summer as they've outgrown everything from last year. I can buy the youngest one's at thrift stores, but ds13 has asked me to not buy him second hand clothing anymore. He doesn't want name brands, new from Wal Mart is fine, and I can go along with that. I remember being 13 and feeling the same way. Dd (10) doesn't care...she actually prefers hand me downs, because she can 'get more variety'. Funny, funny kids!

Next week, I have a birthday gift to get for ds's friend and my wonderful stepmom. We'll have a dinner for her at our house, and don't have to buy anything expensive, but I would like to get her something nice from the kids, at least. So, if there's some money left from this week, that would be great!