When we moved in together with our big family in 2009, we had $350k worth of debt – all our home mortgage.  I tend to have a penchant for stylish clothing and nice holiday accommodation, so suffice to say, our mortgage reduced at the usual rate until this time last year when…I ….said……

STOP

(and hilariously, my husband had been saying “stop” for ages…)

At the time, making a decision to reduce our spending in this way, I felt like our dog Izzy, when we first gave her a shave. She went from this:

To this:

And it felt very…..exposed.  No more Sunday-shopping-is-my-hobby time.  No more pre-order clothing before public release.

So we decided 2014-15 would be our year of Austerity, just like Greece, and we would cut down on the “non-essentials” like….my main hobby of clothes shopping and would convert to (GASP) shopping at Aldi.  Anyhoo, this blog will trace our psychological journey of discovery and self-discovery as we graduated from Colesworth (Careless Whisper on the over head loud speaker and a Zen experience at the checkout) TO Aldi (crazy cult culture and panic attacks as our shopping fills more than the counter will cope with) and other wild savings adventures…..