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"I hate to say it, but I am more than ready to kiss March and April goodbye and welcome May with open arms. Not just for the weather (Cape Cod never seems to have a spring and the weather has been cold, rainy and dreary), but because of the enormity of the financial burden these two months have delivered. March and April have always been a birthday marathon for me. My three kids were all born in these months, along with other family members and friends. But this year was particularly difficult financially and here&amp;#039;s why: \u00E2\u00A2Three children&amp;#039;s birthdays \u00E2\u00A2Four relative&amp;#039;s birthdays \u00E2\u00A2One friend&amp;#039;s birthday \u00E2\u00A2One wedding shower in which I provided the bulk of the food and all of the wine (gifts too) \u00E2\u00A2The balance of my daughter&amp;#039;s 8th grade graduation trip to New York \u00E2\u00A2Easter \u00E2\u00A2Gas prices that went up another $.30 per gallon over these two months With the exception of the gas prices, these are all celebratory blessings, but it doesn&amp;#039;t make it any less easy on the wallet. On top of that, my ten year-old went through one heck of a growth spurt and suddenly needed all new clothes. May, here you come! I only have Mother&amp;#039;s Day and one friend&amp;#039;s birthday in May. I think I can handle that! In the meantime, there are steps that I have to force myself to take this month to go into &amp;quot;recovery&amp;quot; mode and spend as little as possible to make up the deficit and get back on track. Here&amp;#039;s where I&amp;#039;m starting: I will only have one dinner with meat in it per week. I don&amp;#039;t know about you, but the cost of meat has gone way up in my area and I&amp;#039;m sure I can realize some significant savings on my food costs by cutting down. The health benefits to taking this step are extremely beneficial to all of us as well. Next, I am shutting and keeping my heat off. No matter how cold a Cape Cod spring is, I will throw on a sweater, grab a blanket or do whatever else I have to do to keep it off. This will cut my gas bill in half, if not more. No meals out / No takeout: I have slipped in this area on nights when fatigue wins out. Not this month. I will use part of the weekend to plan meals ahead of time so I don&amp;#039;t fall into the trap. Do you have any other suggestions about where to cut costs? Please share! "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/life/a43277/tgim-thank-god-itas-may-7148/>