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I’ve been known to be cheap, err, frugal. We don’t have a lot of cash and I’d prefer not to go into debt so I’ve been caught acting ridiculous a time or two to save money.
I knew it would catch up with me.
I made a fresh batch of cookies the other night and grabbed my husband’s Charger football oven glove from the drawer to pull the cookie sheet out. As soon as my gloved hand touched the hot metal, I screamed and dropped the cookies on the floor. Upon further examination, I found a rather large hole in the thumb finger of the glove. My hand suffered a nasty burn.
I angrily threw the oven mitt in the trash and used another one from the drawer for the remaining cookies.
Last night, hubby made a yummy dinner and I heard him shuffling through the oven mitt drawer while the baby and I were playing on the living room floor.
‘Hey hon? Where is my Charger mitt?’ he asked.
‘It had a hole in the thumb and I burned myself so I threw it in the trash.’ I called from the living room.
Silence.
I picked up the baby and walked into the kitchen. He was staring at the drawer, deflated.
He looked up at me, ‘I know it had a hole in it. I just didn’t use the thumb part. Things have been kinda tight lately and I didn’t want to spend the money to replace it. And aren’t you always saying we need to make things last longer?’
Sigh. He caught me on that. He should be allowed to have at least one crazy frugal holdout. Plus, I should have known not to throw out a man’s football anything.
Looks like the first thing I’m buying in debt free March is a Chargers oven mitt. Sorry honey.
At the end of each year, I like to reflect on the last 12 months. For years, I’ve blogged about the best things that happened month by month. This year, I decided to do something a little different. I’ve decided to pick my favorite day of the year.
My favorite day of 2011? Nope, not the day I got to write a nice check to my credit card. Nope, not the day I discovered we were less than three months from pay off.
It was the day we met this little guy.
Oddly enough, paying down debt helped me enjoy that day all the more. We had prepared ourselves financially and I didn’t have to worry about scary hospital bills or returning to work before I was ready. I enjoyed every single moment – even the painful ones – because I didn’t have Visa or Master Card sitting in the visitor’s chair beside me.
Some of the folks in my life had kids this year. They talk about not wanting more – or waiting years to have another because babies are hard. I wonder if everyone received a memo I missed because…
I want 10 more.
I’m exhausted. I’m sick. At times, I’m overwhelmed…
But there is nowhere and no one else I’d rather be.
I woke up this morning at 4:30 am and snuck a peek at my sleeping son before hopping in the shower for work. His beautiful face was peacefully relaxed, his pudgy cheeks soft and warm.
I have been so very blessed in 2011. Forget having a favorite day. This has been my favorite year.
Wishing you and your family a sweet 2012.
The question has come up a few times about staying at home with my son rather than working and paying for daycare. There are books about the true costs of working rather than staying at home and admittedly, they are high. Daycare, work clothes, gasoline, car maintenance – they all add up. So why don’t I stay home?
Our mortgage is more than 50% of our income.
My husband and I make nearly the same salary. The math is pretty easy on that one.
Would I stay home if we lived in an apartment? Unlikely. We wouldn’t have daycare expenses, but we’d have to squeeze out rent and healthcare from our current budget and it’s tight as is.
Once we finish paying off debt, we’re looking at two options: 1 – Hubby finds better employment or 2 – We move out of state.
Being debt free has always been so far in the future, we never had to think too seriously on either front. Now that we’re two months away, we are starting to consider both options. Once we save up our 3 – 6 months of expenses, we’ll make the leap.
Every year, my sister gives me the BEST Christmas gift and I always forget to copy it the next year.
Sigh.
Next year. I’ll remember next year.
What is the gift? Food! She carefully measures out ingredients to make dinner, packages it beautifully, and prints the directions on stickers placed on the jars. It’s great for broke *cough* frugal folks like myself AND great for busy families who struggle to make a home cooked meal each night AND great for the people who seem to have everything.
This year? Soup, cornbread, pancakes, and hot cocoa!
Christmas Eve, like all the previous years, was wonderful. We had a great time chasing down trains, loading the kids up on candy, and playing game after game at the bowling alley. It was a special treat.
My favorite picture?
My son was laughing hysterically on the train. It gave me hope that he’ll love this day as much as I do.
A few months ago, I went on a rant about the show Extreme Couponing on TLC. It seemed like the couponers were hoarders in sheep’s clothing.
Sure, I’ve been known to buy one too many sticks of deodorant and I may hand out bottles of shampoo as parting gifts – but I don’t have a problem with buying 45 bottles of conditioner when I’m bald or 70 bags of cat food when I don’t own a cat.
But the show left me a little sensitive to my own growing personal stockpile and I decided to finish the year without coming home with any more free beauty products. Sounds like a good idea right?
Until I’m in the shower and I hear the ‘Pthh’ of the empty shampoo bottle I’m squeezing.
“Hey hon?” I yell.
“Yeah babe?” he asks through the cracked bathroom door.
“Could you please grab me another bottle of shampoo from the closet?” I ask.
Pause…
Pause…
Pause…
“There isn’t any” he says. “I looked everywhere.”
The screeching violins from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho ‘ filled my ears as I looked at the shower alcove with my husband’s hair care. All he had was a product by Old Spice that is somehow shampoo, conditioner, and body wash all in one.
Oh. Dear. Lord.
Now, not only do I smell like a man today, my hair has a funky texture, and I owe an apology to the hoarders *cough* I mean, ‘Extreme Couponers’
I’m clipping coupons… and buying 400 bottles of shampoo so this NEVER happens again.
I’ve been hanging on budget wise by the hair on my chinny chin chin. Added healthcare and daycare eat up everything we were applying to debt. Add diapers, wipes, and therapeutic wine, and the budget is pretty tight.
I’d been holding on, waiting to hit my milestone year at work. Once past the milestone, healthcare costs are greatly reduced – we’re talking a couple hundred a month.
…Until they released the 2012 rates and took away milestone benefits for longtime employees. My benefit package is nearly $200 more than I budgeted each month.
Sure, I get it. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing and I can’t expect my employer to cover it, but I was oh so sad to hear about the rate adjustment.
Hubby and I have to sit down and take a hard look at what we can adjust. I’m just hoping for a raise to clear the difference so we won’t have to cut the food budget. I’m not ready for a season of Ramen… again.
About This Site
My Debt
- Original Debt: $38,495.86
- Added Debt: $1,781.50
- Total Debt: $40,277.36
- Paid: $36,084.36
- Remaining: $4,193.00
- Broken Down
- Auto Loan 1: $0.00
- Credit Card: $0.00
- Student Loan: $4,193.00
- Auto Loan 2: $0.00
- Vet Loan: $0.00
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