Obligatory awkward first entry.

I stopped blogging a long time ago. It was taking up far too much time and effort, and I had no real focus. That was back when "lifestyle blogging" was all the rage. Is it still? I genuinely have no idea. But in some ways, I really missed it. I didn't miss trying to make my life seem interesting or trying to convince my husband to take "outfit of the day" pictures for me... But I missed writing. Having a place to clear my head and get out my thoughts and goals is super therapeutic for me. I kept journals all through my childhood (and ended up discovering them as an adult and literally throwing them in a burn barrel because I was so mortified by myself... But still, they had served their purpose well) and I've always been a pretty avid writer. In high school, I was first place for class B schools in entertainment writing for the school paper. I went to state and didn't even place, so basically I am the worst of the best. And I am totally cool with that.

Which brings me to now. Time has flown by. I am 26 years old. A married homeowner with a three year old boy and another baby on the way. I have all the stresses and bills that a mortgage and a family usually come with. We're living in stressful times, where prices are rising on basically everything and the "buy, buy, buy" pulse in our culture is as strong as ever.

I have been fighting that pulse for awhile and working toward following the beat of my own drum. So this will be a place for me to make goals and hold myself accountable, share money saving tips and tricks, ask for advice, research and write about various topics that interest me financially, and any other beats I pick up along the way.

I decided to call the blog "Money Saving Mantra" because I've come across & developed a few mantras that I follow in my life to remind myself of my financial goals. I like the word "mantra" in particular. Yeah, it's a repeated slogan, but it's also defined as a word or sound to aid in meditation. I like the idea that these things I tell myself are meant to bring peace to my life. Especially since I think we can all relate to the way money and finances seem to bring misery and chaos.

However, the mantra posts will have to wait. It is this mama's bedtime and it has been a long, long day. At the end of every month, I go over our budget and see how we came out. For a few months now, we've been coming up short. Granted, there is always a perfectly good reason (the last couple months it was medical bills and ER visits for my son and this month it was dental bills for my husband and a few home expenses [plumbers, dry basement experts, and having a tree cut down]), but the trend is worrying. If you're like me and your chronic stress and anxiety pounce every single chance they get, these budgeting days add a lot of extra stress. So that's why I had to start this tonight. To remind myself to get my ducks in a row, my eggs in the basket, my... Uhhh... Money in the wallet?