Kyle and I are contemplating buying a house. In preparation for this possible life-changing and scary event, we are trying out living within the tight budget that we would live under if we had a house. This is both to save money and see if we can do it. It’s making me think about money way too much.

Actually, so far it hasn’t been bad, living under this budget. Turns out if I cut away all the extra things I have on a daily basis, I don’t really miss them (as long as I get to do one or two fun things). It’s trite but true that it makes you appreciate what you have.

And after all, a lot of the fun in life–picnics, hiking, etc.–is free or cheap. In fact, I wrote a list of cheap things that we can do instead of spending money, and it was surprisingly long. I also wrote a list of things that we have but never use, like our tent, craft supplies, and tennis rackets. Why have things if you never use them? We are going to start using them.

Also I have been cooking at home a lot more. I decided to make a game out of using up some of the odder ingredients in my cupboard, those things you buy once for something and then they sit there taking up space until they go bad. It’s kind of fun. I’m making food I would never usually make. So far that includes:

I have others planned. They include:

So this whole budget thing is going all right. I’m distracted by games like the above. And I’ve been reading, drawing, painting, making jewelry, gardening, playing with the kitten, going on a lot of walks with Kyle, watching movies at home, having candle-lit dinners, turning off the TV, and hiding from the heat. Nothing fascinating, but then again, not so bad either.