Hello reader, we meet again!

Thank you for the warm welcome on my first blog. I received amazing feedback.

What I heard the most was appreciation for my raw and realness.

I’m glad that one can see I am pretty transparent and I don’t know any other way to be other than myself. I feel, at such a young age, I have done a lot of living, and been through what most haven’t by the time they turned 30.

My husband and I both lost our fathers young, and we have been on our own for as long as I can remember. I am pretty proud of how far we have come, although the constant struggle to keep our heads above water is always there.

It seems like the second you “catch up” your car dies, or you have a leaky roof, or medical debt you didn’t prepare for.

When I open up to my peers, and we really get honest, it seems everyone in my generation is in the same boat. I am generation X. Yes, the generation that was taught that you had to go to college, or you would amount to nothing.

The generation that fell for The American Dream. The dream that sounds something like, when you get out of high school, you go straight to a university, and when you are all done, a nice cushy job is going to be waiting on you.

So many jobs waiting on you, you are going to be able to pick and choose which one you want to work at the most.

So, sure, go ahead and get all those student loans that you have to get to pay for college, and have a little extra because when you get out you are going to make tons of money to be able to pay for these monthly loans.

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but life ain’t like that.

Statistically, my generation is the first generation in 80s years that is not doing better financially than the generation before us. We get paid the same salaries, yet our dollar is not stretched as far.

Long gone are the days of buying a 4-bedroom 2-bath house on a golf course in a nice subdivision for 100,000, and this was only 20 years ago in the south.

Just 20 years ago one parent could work full time and the other could stay home, and they could make ends meet.

Today, honestly I don’t know any married couple with children who both aren’t working full-time jobs, and lets not forget side hustles.

Everyone I know has to have one, just to survive.

So whats the answer?

Honestly, you are just going to have to except the struggle, unless you have a trust fund sitting  for you somewhere, which I’m keeping my hopes up for.

Any day I’m waiting for my mother to call me and say its all been a joke, and we are really millionaires. But I’m not going to hold my breath.

In the meantime I can budget and save, and I am proud to say this girl can stretch a dollar. I have learned to grocery shop on 50 dollars a week. We are a family of three, but I cook for a family of four. I’m not saying all the food I buy is healthy, or this is the right way to do things, I am just telling you that this is what works for my family and might help you as well.

First off, what I lay out to cook is what we are going to eat. I prepare for a week in advance. I keep spices and more expensive things on hand, and I find the best savings are always at Walmart. (Thank you Lord for Great Value.)

I pick out four dinners and recipes for the week, and for snacks, breakfast and lunch we generally have the same thing. I write down on chalk board what we will eat from day-to-day. Starting Monday we had Quick Beef and Pinto Bean Chili; Tuesdays are always Taco Tuesdays; Wednesday, Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore (can I get an Amen for slow cookers?!); Thursday is Italian Chicken; and Friday, pizza.

I am a strong believer in leftovers, and we do breakfast for dinner on the weekends a lot.

A consignment store lover, it does not hurt my ego to shop at a garage sell. I have found some amazing deals in doing so!

So those are some of my tips for bargain shopping, and I hope this helps.

Please know you are not alone in the struggle, we all are.

The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.

A good friend once told me the set back is a set up for the greatest come back.

We  are all in this together.

“Look to the Lord and His strength seek His face always.”