I asked my husband where I should hide the money and he looked at me quizzically.

‘Hide it? It’s one hundred bucks, not the Hope Diamond honey. Just put it on the desk’ he said.

‘No!’ I screamed. ‘Can you hide it in a DVD?’ I begged.

‘Sure’ he laughed (sadly, I’m used to him laughing at me).

A few minutes later I asked him which DVD he put the money in. ‘From Justin to Kelly – because no one on God’s green earth would steal that film’ he said.

Gee hon… thanks.

It’s funny how my views about money have continued to change over the last year. Last summer, I would have spent that $100 on a date night or a cute pair of shoes. Now, I can stretch that same $100 into two or three weeks of groceries.

At this time in my life, that $100 IS the Hope Diamond.

Perhaps it’s because my husband is blaring Amy Grant’s ‘Tender Tennessee Christmas’ in the other room.

No. I’m not joking.

His happy-go-lucky Pollyanna ‘I love the earth and all holidays’ attitude is for the most part a wonderful thing…

But thoughts of Christmas in October simply make me (and anyone within 50 yards of his subwoofer) suicidal.

I have to give him credit… it is an important reminder that we have to start thinking about Christmas gifts now. Since I’m broke and can’t spend 50 bucks on the last remaining blockbuster gift card in the Vons checkout on December 24th, I’ve got to make my plan of action. I’ve got to start taking left over change from payphones, digging through the neighbor’s garbage for recyclables, or compiling leftover foil for a life sized foil ball. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 29 years on this earth, it’s the fact that everyone needs a foil ball the size of a Honda.

No?

Hmm. Well, what was the best low (or preferably) no cost gift you ever received?

Last year my siblings and I compiled letters from us to our parents telling them how much we appreciated and loved them and had them printed and bound at Shutterfly.com (Walmart.com also provides the same photo type books we used). But I’m out of ideas! Help!

My husband is attending a bachelor party this weekend and the event required one credit card to book the trip for all five attendees (the bill could not be split). Most of our friends know about our recent credit card payoff (maybe shouting that fact from my roof and breaking into song was a clear sign) and naturally suggested that since we ‘had the room’ on our card (as if it were free), that my husband pay for the entire trip and be reimbursed later.

I’m not going to lie. I am upset.

Perhaps I’d be more trusting if this hadn’t happened before with concert and event tickets and in the end, we were always short. People conveniently ‘forget’ to pay or promise to pay later and then get annoyed when reminded. Plus, the credit card will be kept on file in case there are damages to the room or if alcohol is consumed.

When I asked why someone else couldn’t pony up a credit card, he told me it was because everyone is nearly maxed out but us. Um… isn’t that a good reason NOT to loan these people our credit card?

My husband and I rarely fight but this is a sensitive issue for me and I feel like we are opening ourselves up to a lot of potential debt.

Am I overreacting?

I left to housesit for a co-worker and came home to …

My husband explained that he had discovered mold under the floor and in the walls and decided to replace everything to be safe.

So why… why… why… did I assume that when we intended to insulate the separation closet wall in a 50 year old house, that we would simply be able to insulate the closet wall?

This is our spare bedroom as of today…

A few days ago, my husband asked if he could insulate all four walls. We both agreed that as long as we had one wall down, we should take down the remaining three walls, fix the electrical, and fix the phone line. Total tab so far? $142. I am so very thankful to be married to a talented construction man.

When making decisions like these, it’s hard not to want to put it off until later or take the easy way out. What we constantly have to consider is: Is this going to cost more later if avoided?

My nearly $200 electric bill tells me… I should have done this two years ago.

The good news? Energy improvements, including insulation, are tax deductable. Yes!

Want more info? Go to: energystar.gov/taxcredits

We paid off our credit card last week.

We’re still working on my husband’s truck loan and the student loan but we promised ourselves little rewards for each payoff. It’s a good way to stay motivated when finishing a long stretch before starting yet another long stretch.

Surprisingly, my husband suggested a night out (surprising because I expected him to suggest something more along the lines of a macho flat screen TV or a beefy new grill). We purchased tickets to see Spamalot at the Civic Theater downtown. The tickets were $17 each (we sit in the nosebleed seats) and with dinner, we’ll likely spend a total of $100.

We get a one night break and it’s off to frugality again.

Total Starting Debt: $38,495.86
Total Paid: $16,727.33
Total Remaining: $21,768.53

Breakdown of Remaining Debt –
Truck: $11,934.57
Student Loan: $9,833.96

We’re nearly halfway there. I got an updated payoff date according to our Debt Snowball Calculator on DaveRamsey.com…

December 2010.

We shaved off 4 months so far. Can I get a Woo Hoo?

I’m fortunate to be married to a hardworking construction genius who can do the work himself (plus, my husband looks irresistible in safety goggles). We only have to pay for the materials which should run about $100.

Why are we insulating? Our house was built in the 1950’s and no insulation was used on any interior or exterior walls. Our heating and cooling bills are much higher than they need to be. The initial expense of the upgrade will be quickly paid for in lower electric bills plus, it’s better for the environment. And… our new roommates are newlyweds – that’s reason enough in itself.

It always seems like when we have an opportunity to get ahead, the necessities of life burn through the cash. Between tuition costs, new dog vet bills, and the two weddings, we have had to pony up more than $3,000 in the last two months.

These expenses would have buried us in the past, but careful planning and frugal spending have kept our heads above water.

Then, he casually mentioned that the guests were old high school buddies and this was really important to him.

On the inside, our home is nice. On the outside… well, let’s just say we usually wait until the sun has set and our guests have had a glass or two (preferably three) of Chardonnay. We can’t afford landscaping so our yard is a grouping of well mowed weeds and raked dirt piles.

Before we went on this recovery from debt diet, we had planned to landscape our backyard and remodel our 50 year old kitchen. Take out another loan – it would have been so easy. But now, we’re living within our means and paying off debt. It will likely be another 5 years before we can pay cash.

It’s hard to deal with the pressures of keeping up with our peers. It’s hard to not feel a little embarrassed at our less than presentable yard (though to be fair, his friends had nothing but nice things to say).

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel frustrated but…

It’s not hard to feel relief from the lifting debt. Seeing we’re only about a year away from being debt free is like breathing again.

Our computer was devoured by viruses and is so old it practically runs on original UNIX. When it starts up, it sounds like an 18-wheeler!

My husband and I both received an extra paycheck this month and are contemplating purchasing a desktop computer. My employer generously offered to pay for 25% of the total cost.

I’m struggling with this purchase because it’s several hundred dollars – several hundred dollars that could take a chunk out of our debt. BUT, do I say no to a very generous offer? An offer I may never get again? Do I try to survive without a computer?

We decided to purchase a mid-line computer but the real question is…

what would you have done? Is a computer a ‘want’ or a ‘need’?

We don’t see each other often. Perhaps that’s why our marriage is so great. We don’t have time to fight – heck we’re just so darn excited to see one another we don’t really… um… talk much.

He took a rare three nights off last week and we went running and cycling together every day. We made dinner. We walked the dogs. We watched movies. We remembered what it was like to be married.

I couldn’t help but think about how wonderful it was to have him around – to see him relax, even for just a night or two. He must have been thinking the same thing. He said, ‘I want to work less and live my life more.’ He has decided to work 6 days per week and 2 nights per week – and yes, that’s a cut-back (he was working 6 days and 6 nights).

I can’t agree with him more. As he toils to pay our debt, I can’t help but wonder if our self-inflicted punishment of hard labor is worse than the crime of spending. I wonder if one day, we’ll look back and regret the time we missed when our life was just us. We can cover our bills plus some without the extra work so we’ve decided to slow down.

So… we will pay things off more slowly BUT I have my husband back – and I’ve missed him dearly.

A 7 pm bachelorette dinner time that coincided with a 7 pm baseball game start and the 7 pm Saturday night party crowd shot parking rates and traffic to a premium. Unable to find an overnight parking place, I parked in an hourly rate spot (a spot that makes more per hour than I do). All throughout dinner, I checked my watch thinking, ‘Tick tock goes the meter – and my $50 allowance.’

I ordered the cheapest item on the menu, a $9 greek wrap, and had 2 – $2 beers. I dropped in $20 to cover my meal.

$30 left in my wallet.

We went to a club where I used $6 from my ash tray to have a Corona with the girls. As I sat nursing my beer with ‘Bridesmaid’ bedazzled across the chest of my pink tank top, guy came up to me and asked me to dance, he mentioned it was his 21st birthday… which had me thinking, ‘What is the official definition of a Cougar? And dear Lord… I’m not one right?!?’

A few more hours passed and I realized that I could not afford $35 for the hotel. Parking costs had chewed threw my money. When I pulled out of the garage, the kind and generous parking man gave me a discount from $54 to $30. Maybe he saw the shock register on my face – or maybe it was because I had my car loaded with bridesmaids in the same pink tank tops giving him Colgate smiles while winking flirtatiously.

I survived the weekend on $56.

And… it wasn’t so bad.

My husband did an odd job fixing a sink and earned a crisp one hundred dollar bill. We decided to split the cash and use it this weekend. A ‘fair’ split would have been closer to 80 for him and 20 for me but he smiled and said, ‘Have fun’ while handing me a fifty (And that ladies…. is one of the millions of reasons why I love my man).

So, I’ve got to survive this weekend on $50…
$35 of which goes to a shared hotel with the bride to be.

It’s like going to the Cheesecake Factory and limiting yourself to 25 calories.

Should be interesting.

Financially, the smart thing would have been to keep my family a one dog family but every time I came home and saw my remaining dog mope around the house, I knew I couldn’t leave things the way they were. When he stopped eating and whined constantly, I was reduced to tears on a daily basis.

I spent a week searching shelters but couldn’t seem to find a dog that fit our dynamic. I don’t believe in buying dogs for short term commitments and knew bringing home anything but a perfect fit would be a bad idea. I decided to stop at one more, knowing if I didn’t find the right dog, I’d simply give up.

Then I met Hutch.

I was still in the habit at crying at the sight of dogs and sat on the floor thinking I’d never find another I could love at much as my last. Hutch took one look at me, crawled into my lap, and promptly fell asleep.

Needless to say, he came home with me.

Financially, I made a mistake. A dog is a financial responsibility – even if he is replacing another. Physically and emotionally, I did what my heart (any my other dog) needed.

If you see a redhead jogging down the street with two wagging tailed dogs and a grin the size of Texas… that’s probably me.

First off, I’d like to thank you for cashing my husband’s tuition check within 12 hours of receiving it. Who knew that was even possible? Though to be honest, I’m not quite sure why we pay two months in advance and are later reimbursed. It kinda sounds like a man I heard about… what’s his name? Ponzi?

Second, I recently received your request for an additional $150 per semester – as if the two thousand I just paid you was completely insufficient for a whopping six units… and let’s not discuss your $200 parking pass shall we? I was amused at the complete ambiguity as for the reasons why the additional funds were needed from all 30,000 or so students but I was NOT amused when I actually had to pay it. But hey, thanks for allowing me to defer this unexpected payment for three weeks. I guess that’s supposed to help me be happy about paying more and getting less? I have approximately $26 in my checking account. Clearly, I cannot spend $150 when I only have $26. Who do you think I am? The state of California?

Also, I want to thank you for delaying the receipt of my husband’s tuition funds for two months. Perhaps you are trying to help the business students perfect the art of living off ramen noodles and tuna and hone their negotiating skills with creditors?

When we called to check the status on the cash flow, you said the check was ‘in the mail’. 3 weeks have passed. Are the checks being personally delivered by a three legged dog on a skateboard? In short, in response to your request for additional funds…

The check is in the mail.

Sincerely,

The broke wife of a California college student

Here are some things that really stuck out to me this week:

PICKS:
Lose It! by FitNow, Inc.
Unfortunately this iTunes application is limited for use on iPhones or iTouch iPods but the good news is… its’ FREE. This application/program is great at helping you monitor portions and nutritional content of nearly everything you eat. It has a huge reference library of restaurant nutritional information and of everyday items from the grocery store. Users simply enter their height/weight information, the types of nutritional content they want to monitor, and their weight loss goals. While I don’t need to lose weight, this program is valuable to me since I want to monitor my fat, protein, and fiber intake for my marathon training. Diabetics can also benefit since this program monitors carbohydrates and sugars. I am now more aware of what I’m eating and how I can make small changes to my eating habits to make a healthier me.

PANS:
Sun Block by Target
I’m a HUGE fan of Target brand products. I like them just as much, if not more, than the name brands. Plus, the cost savings helps stretch my miniscule budget. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with their sun block. We took this sun block with us on our beach camping vacation and quickly discovered it was a waste of money. Our first clue should have been its label ‘water resistant’ and not ‘waterproof’ like the other sun block products. It washed off at the slightest sweat and did not hold up at all to a quick dip in the ocean. If you plan on not swimming or sweating, it’s great. I don’t know about you, but when I wear sun block… I’m in the sun. And, the sun is hot. In heat, I sweat… er… ‘glow’. I’m fairly certain that’s normal. Sorry Target, head back to the drawing board.

What are your picks and pans this week?

Camping allowed us the opportunity to cook our own food. We met up with friends before leaving and shopped for food together. We purchased only what we needed and divided the tab by 6. Each meal? Around $2-$3. We didn’t count this as an added expense since we used the money from our grocery budget – and actually spent less than we would have had we cooked for just the two of us at home. We brought a few bottle of wine and jugs of water from home. We did go out to dinner one night – to Carl’s Jr. – and we counted that in the $38 total spent.

Showers were 25 cents for 2 ½ minutes. I was more than willing to pay for warm water but my frugal husband showered in the cold shower by the beach for free. I’m not going to lie, it looked a little odd when he washed off his Irish Spring soap while surfers waited to rinse their boards.

When we booked the campsite 6 months ago, my husband cut some hefty branches off our trees. He stacked them along a shady side of our house for the last few months and we used them to fuel our campfire each night. People asked us why we were storing firewood when we don’t have a fireplace and we got more than one weird expression when we told them it was for our camping trip… in six months. But we saved a fortune by using a little elbow grease and cutting our own firewood. We didn’t have to buy any!

When it came to camping supplies, we didn’t have much. We own a tent and a portable grill but that’s about it. My brothers fiancé’s family is an experienced group of campers. Rather than purchase new items, we borrowed their shade tents, pots, pans, cups, games, and portable tables. One rule about borrowing – make sure you return the items cleaner than when you first received them and if you borrow something that requires any sort of fuel, fill it up before returning it. Also, return the item within a day or two after you come home.

The campsite was over an hour from our home. I wasn’t prepared for an added gas expense and was surprised when I realized… I didn’t have to be! We brought our bikes and traveled solely by ‘pedal power’ after we arrived. The truck stayed parked at the campsite and my car stayed home the entire week. With both of our cars parked, we saved money on gas!

So what did we spend the $38 on?

$18 on a game of golf at a beautiful municipal course.
$10 at Carl’s Jr. (I ordered a kids meal and he had a sandwich).
$10 on a t-shirt from an outlet store.

Sure, camping isn’t my vacation of choice, but I had a great time and spent far less money than I have ever spent on a weeklong vacation by the beach.

In short? A lot!

A few benefits of exercising (tip of the iceburg)?
Reduced blood pressure
Reduced feelings of depression and anxiety
Helps to control weight
Helps to build and maintain healthy joints, muscles, and bones
Reduced risk of diabetes

What do these have to do with finances?
Have you had to pay for doctors and medication recently?!? Ouch!! Also, exercise helps you sleep, puts you in a better mood, helps your self confidence, and gives you energy – all very important things in the work world where your paycheck comes from! Plus, people with a BMI of less than 22 get sick less often and miss less work.

I’ve been fortunate to have been physically active and healthy for most of my life. Running a marathon is just another way to push myself and stay active. Sure my sore legged walk makes Frankenstein look like a graceful ballerina but it’s important to encourage you to gain control in your finances AND in your health – they are closely connected.

Tomorrow is Saturday, take a walk with your dog, play with your kids, or ride your bike. Take a break from staring at that checkbook and balancing numbers to get some fresh air.

It’s good for you.

Some free sites to help you out?

www.Mapmyride.com
I use this site to calculate mileage and read elevation changes on my bike rides/runs.

www.Mypyramid.gov
This free site helps to guide you on better eating habits.

I’m warning you… these sites can be ADDICTIVE!!

What is your favorite FREE health related site?

We argued about who should pay for groceries, who should pay for dinner, and who should pay for everything in between. I hated asking him for his half of the rent each month. He was my husband – not my roommate. It finally came to the breaking point when he couldn’t afford rent and we had to clean out our savings and use our credit card to get by. We opened a joint checking account the very next month.

We learned to work beside each other and the arguing stopped.

We made our mistakes – financing nice cars, charging vacations to credit cards, and remodeling our bathroom on credit – but now that we’re working to become debt free, we are partners in the fight. I wish someone had told me early on that working together as a couple was a necessity for a good marriage and good financial health. As I listen to my co-worker talk about his wife ‘owing’ him money for tires on her car, I couldn’t help but think… ‘No wonder he’s on his third marriage.’

So how do we do it? We each get a $3 daily allowance in cash each week. I don’t care what he spends his on, and in return, he doesn’t care what I spend mine on. We usually spend the money on work clothes or a bi-weekly dinner out together. This week, we split the cost of a silly $15 video game we both would enjoy and a $25 set of solar lit pavers for our garden. (And yes I know, $3 may be more or less than you spend, but it works for us)

My husband and I rarely argue about money now that we’ve enacted the $3 daily allowance rule, but we still fight about very serious issues… like the direction of the toilet tissue.

Do you keep your money separate? Or do you have a joint account? And how much do you allow each other to ‘blow’ each day?

There are two types of spending: Capital and Operating

Capital funds are used to buy things (Ex: telephones, cars, desk chairs, radios)
Operating funds are used to pay daily operating costs (Ex: salaries, electric bills, services)

Obama’s funds given to many government organizations in California are for capital expenditures only (I have no idea if it’s the same way for other states. I only know what our agency is dealing with).

You can imagine the hateful letters, calls, and personal visits we receive when fire/safety/teaching staff and public services are cut while a new 21.2 million dollar diamond encrusted ‘Welcome to San Diego’ sign goes up.

Last week, congress approved 10% of the stimulus funds to be redirected to operational costs. This makes somewhat of a difference but many firefighters, police officers, and teachers are still going without jobs. Public transportation has been sliced. The routes around my house are gone – yet new driverless buses are sitting in a bus yard growing a layer of dust.

I’m not saying I know how to spend the money better. I don’t agree with the stimulus plan at all. But for the love of everything – stop screaming at the people who have no choice on how the money is spent.

No, I am not going to reveal my housing costs. Asking a San Diegan to reveal her mortgage payment is like asking a New York housewife to reveal her age. The only thing likely to happen is a giant string of lies.

I’m also not going to reveal our charitable giving amounts. What we decide to give is a very personal decision and it’s not an amount I’m willing to change just to pay more on bills.

Savings: $50
Electricity/Gas: $105
Cell Phones: $100
Cable/Internet/Phone: $100
Grocery: $300
Gas: $260
Laundry: $10
Toiletries: $11
Clothing/House Repairs/Animal Care/Spending Money: $200
Water: $70
Trash: $18

All remaining money is used to pay our mortgage, our credit card, our student loans, and my husband’s truck.

So. Am I normal by the numbers? What does your budget look like?

Um.

I hate to disagree with a professional financial advisor but…

He’s dead wrong (and is obviously invested in Starbucks).

At least when it comes to me anyway.

I don’t buy big items. I bought my dining room set for $75 off Craigslist five years ago. My couches are ten years old. My bed is a hand me down from my sister. How do I spend my money?

According to my online banking… I spend it in tidy $20 increments over… and over… and over again. My money doesn’t flood out, it trickles. The article recommended taking 24 hours to consider every purchase over $100. Good advice, but the last purchase I made over $100 was months ago. It’s not the $100 purchases that are killing me!

I feel like the article should have simply said, ‘Watch where the bulk of your money is going and try to find ways to save from there.’

My goal this month is to watch my ‘trickle’ problem. I’ve gotten to the point that I have to seriously consider every item I purchase AND if I wait long enough, will it go on sale? will the newspaper run a coupon?… or will I forget I even wanted it in the first place?

Is your problem a trickle? Or a flood?

I excitedly went to our local nursery and realized the 15 bucks I budgeted for landscaping each month would allow me to complete my dream backyard sometime in 2037.

Um. Someone forgot to tell me how expensive plants are.

Disappointed, I went to work and lamented to a co-worker about my landscaping situation. She sweetly offered me some cuttings of her plants – several of which were on the list from the landscape architect. While we were talking, another one of my co-workers walked by and joined the conversation. He suggested I contact local garden clubs including water saving cactus clubs. He happened to be moving and offered to bring in several of his plants that matched my list. Let’s just not tell these generous co-workers about my history of plant killing OK?

Inspired, I can home and did some research and thought I’d share it with you.

I found several garden clubs – some of which offer spring plant sales.

Our local college offers a degree program in Ornamental Horticulture. Students grow plants and sell them for less than half of what they retail for at nurseries.

Our local dump (should I be politically correct and call it a ‘Solid Waste Disposal Site’?) offers high quality mulch in several different colors and sizes. If you are willing to load it yourself, you can save a fortune.

And perhaps the most odd place to find plants… our local 99 cent store!

Any ideas I missed? Where do you get your plants?

I made a boo-boo, though. I waited until the last minute to get things ready and I couldn’t find our plastic eggs. They weren’t where they should have been and now I’m starting to wonder if they were sold during one of our garage sales. I had to take a special trip to get some.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow!

We went through that feeling of deprivation for a little while. I think the biggest thing for me was home updating. Our home was stuck in the 60s when we bought it and we spent some money (on credit) to spruce up some rooms. We did it cheaply – which I kick myself about now. The cheap stick-on tiles in the kitchen are not holding up at all. We did still spend money we didn’t have at the time.

After we started our debt reduction journey, that spending stopped for a while. I did start to feel a little deprived because not all rooms in our home were updated. Our bathroom has been a biggie. It’s pretty darn u-g-l-y and there is trim missing. I’m glad I only have to see it a few times a day. I feel a bit petty to be talking about our bathroom in such a way. It is functional, after all. Just ugly.

To help combat my feelings about the bathroom, I have been picking up things here and there for the past three years. I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted and thanks to giving the project some time, I now have almost everything we need to work on the bathroom this summer. The best part is that we saved some serious money by doing it that way because almost everything was a deal. From the 99 cent clearance borders to the “mistake color for another person but not for us” discounted paint purchased at the hardware store. We spent about $75 so far. The last thing we need is some trim and we’re ready to go. I haven’t caught that on sale, but I’m hoping to be able to make it to a discount lumber store this summer.

I guess that would be my contribution as to a suggestion on how to combat feeling deprived. If there is a project that you really want done – pick at it here and there over a long time frame. Gather all your materials and shop for the deals. Every time I found a deal for our bathroom I was so happy. I still have to deal with the ugly bathroom for a while, but at least it won’t be for too much longer. If all goes well, it will be a nice summer project

Let’s tally up what was spent on each of us (doesn’t count the cost of breakfast):

Our Son: $6.99 – a Deal or No Deal Case with Candy (here’s what it looks like), pencils and a card

My Husband: $2.99 – chocolate and a card

Me: $1.00 – cards

Grand Total: $10.98

Which one was the best gift? My son would argue that his gift was the best because he loves the case for putting stuff in and he loves the pencils (he’d take pencils as a gift over candy any day). I would say that the best gift was my gift. My husband spent $1.00 to get a set of Thank You cards. He filled them all out, thanking me for different things that I do. They were planted around the house for me to find.

One was under my pillow and I was completely oblivious to it last night, which my husband found funny. I guess I even put my arm under the pillow and knocked it on the floor so he had to re-situate it (once I knew I was on a treasure hunt I later looked under my pillow and found it). Another one was in the cupboard by the glasses so I’d see it when I went to get a glass of water. The last one that I found was pretty clever. I begged my husband for hints and he wouldn’t budge. He just said that I will definitely find it today. Sure enough, I did. He snuck one in with the mail. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I like mail.

What was in the cards meant a lot and the fact my husband hid them in places he knew where I’d come across them (showing how well he knows me – or perhaps how predictable I am LOL) made $1.00 go a long way. It’s food for thought when I get something for him next year. I think we should also do something similar to that for our son.

I opened up the envelope and closed my eyes as I pulled the bill out. Wait, I didn’t just close them…they were clenched shut. I was mentally preparing myself. I opened my eyes and witnessed the highest gas bill we have ever had – just shy of $200. Gulp.

Our usage was up and so was the price of the gas. I knew the day would come where our bill would be that high (bound to happen with the way prices are going lately). But I didn’t think it would be so soon. Times like these really light that fire to get that energy efficient home of our dreams. We’ll also inch down the heat some more than it already has been lowered.

Hopefully, upcoming reductions in our electric usage will help counter the increase in our gas bills. There will be more on that later

I tallied up our Christmas spending, and it came to $250. We were $100 over budget. For clarification, that spending does not include any gifts purchased from gift money received. The spending there is the money we spent out of pocket for gifts. Even though we went over, I think we did pretty well. Putting more thought into gifts paid off, especially with our son. We bought him educational toys and he loves them! Mom and dad love playing with them too!

All in all, Christmas was very practical this year and our family is set now with proper winter gear to handle our cold winters. Our son is always set, but mom and dad are now set too. It’s time to get outside more and do some family snowshoeing. We are excited about that. Now we need a nice winter day where we are all off work/school! That is one downfall of having both my husband and I working. All three of us rarely have a day off together now. We are working on that, though.

As for the blown budget, I plan on trying to sell a few more things and spending less money in January to make up for it. It looks like both my husband and I are going to give up soft drinks (again) for health reasons as part of our New Year’s resolutions. That will easily save over $50/month right there. Yes, we like our soda (caffeine!). There are other expenses we are talking about too, but we haven’t made a decision on yet. Cable is one thing on the chopping block as we speak.

My son, though. He is such a sweetheart. He was given an allowance of $10 to get a gift for mom and dad (which were gift cards from a while ago I had been saving). When it was his turn to go into the store with dad, he told me he knew exactly what he was getting. I found out from my husband that what he really wanted to get me was a pair of snow pants, but couldn’t. One, the store didn’t have any. Two, he didn’t have enough money. But the thought means a lot to me.

I’m not sure what he ended up buying. It’s wrapped an under the tree. I know what he got his dad, and I have to say that my son has picked up my tendency to purchase practical gifts. I can’t say any more or I’ll ruin my husband’s surprise

I did end up getting a gift card for my son’s teacher. While I liked the animal “adoption” idea, I was concerned that it wouldn’t make it to us in time. I may still do it as our end of year donation to a charity. I’m still trying to decide who we should support this year. Hopefully sometime soon we will be in a better position financially where we can start giving more and helping more organizations.

We still have a few more people to buy for. So far, we aren’t as far over our budget as I thought we might be. Alas, there are still 10 days before Christmas so I’m going to wait until then before doing the final tally.

Now banks are lowering credit card limits and home equity lines, and even consumers who have credit are reluctant to add to their balances during the economic downturn. That has layaway returning as an increasingly popular alternative.

Via [Detroit News]

I’m on the fence with layaway. Is it better than credit cards or are you still spending money you don’t have? I mean, less the layaway fee (according to the article it is typically $5), I can see layaway as sort of a forced savings account for an item. Then again, you are entering a committment to purchase an item and you may be hit with cancellation fees if you cannot make all of the payments.

What do you think?

For example, our budget includes the following:
- Gifts for family, friends, teachers, etc.
- Cost for lighting displays (estimated – nifty calculator here)

Our budget does not include the following:
- Toys for Tots purchases (they go under donations)
- “Special” food for Christmas Eve & Day (that goes into groceries)
- Spending for any new Christmas decorations for the house (they go under household since they are reused every year)

On the same note, a reader sent me a tip (thank you!) about a thread on the MSN Smart Spending message boards about Christmas shopping in case you would like to read more budgets or add to the conversation there as well.

Smart Money Christmas Thread (hopefully this link will work for a while).

So…how much are you spending for Christmas?

First of all, the gift I am making for my siblings ended up costing a little more than I thought. It’s still not a lot on a per gift basis, but I have a few siblings so it adds up. That added about $20 to the cost.

Next up was the gift for my son’s teacher. We usually get an ornament but I decided to not do that. I started looking at “adopting” a zoo animal in the class’ name. My son thought that was a cool idea so I think we will do that. The minimum to do that is $25. So that’s $20 more than we were planning on spending. BUT, we haven’t chosen a charity yet to give money to at the end of the year, so that gift could count towards that and not technically be a Christmas gift. Hmm…

I always seem to forget too that Santa has to get mom and dad something. Argh. To make matters worse, I was working on a snow fort with my son and my legs were freezing and I said I should ask Santa for snow pants. Kids do not forget. He keeps reminding me to ask Santa for snow pants. So that adds another $50 or so to the total if mom and dad get snow pants. I’ve looked for used so far with no luck. This “could” be considered clothing, though, since my husband and I could really use them since we deal with a lot of snow.

That brings us up to $95 already. What was I thinking? Oh well. I can say one thing, if we didn’t set a budget at all we probably would have spent way more than that already. At least trying to get our spending under that has really made us focus on the gifts and not just buy random things. Our son is only getting a few gifts, but they were well thought out. One thing we know he wants, one thing we know he’ll love, and one thing he will probably like after a while but it will be one of those “toss and keep opening presents” types of gifts at first.

I also didn’t consider stocking stuffers when doing the original budget. I have a habit of forgetting about those. They can add up quickly as I found out one year.

We’ll hopefully finish our shopping this week, so I’ll have to post how we did.

One such thing would be being approached by other relatives to split the cost for a big gift for another relative. Since we live far away, the gift is already determined by the time we are contacted. Same goes with the price. In the past, we haven’t had a say in the gift selection and are only contacted to contribute money.

It’s a very awkward position to be in. If we contribute, we spend a lot more than we wanted to spend and it doesn’t leave anything for getting gifts we may have had in mind. If we don’t contribute, then we get a bad rap because the others have to pay more since we didn’t contribute (it is often worded that we all have to contribute a fair share to make it work).

We haven’t heard about anything happening for Christmas this year. Usually we hear sometime after Thanksgiving. It is tough being a frugal family when others are not as frugal. I know there are a lot of frugal readers out there that may find themselves in a similar situation. How do you handle it? Do you contribute to keep the peace or do you have a good response to decline participation?

Our overall philosophy is that gifts need to be useful and have a good lifespan to them. So many times we have purchased things for our son that were only played with a few times and then forgotten. But there have been successful purchases (mega bloks purchased years ago are still used at least every other day by our son). We will take more time to think through every purchase.

Our tentative budget? $150. I say tentative because other things may pop up. More about that tomorrow. This budget does not include purchases for Toys for Tots or anything like that. It is only for gifts for our family and friends.

It will be tight, but I think it can definitely be done. What about you? Are you scaling back holiday spending this year?

Not too long ago I came across a “budget” carpet extractor that was getting some great reviews. It had a smaller profile than a vacuum cleaner, it was lightweight, it did a good job and it left carpets fairly dry. It was on sale at our local store so I took a deep breath and bought it. It cost $79 and came with some free cleaner.

It didn’t take long before I put it to work. Today I completed the third room, and all I can say that the darn thing is AMAZING. It’s a Bissell QuickSteamer. Now, it doesn’t actually steam the carpet – you just put hot water in it. It has brushes on it, but they do not rotate like the brushes on more expensive models. So it is a budget machine. But that thing worked like a charm.

For really bad spots, they recommend pre-treating. I had to do that in my son’s room because of some marker stains. Everything came up except for a red marker stain that has probably been there for a long time (it was hidden). I got it to turn a light pink color but that’s it. The rest of the floor looks wonderful. I couldn’t believe how black the dirty water was. All that gunk was in our carpet – yuk!

There is still one room left and I’ll probably tackle it early next week. Going forward, that thing is so easy to use that I am marking the calendar to do it every three months (at least) on the high traffic areas to keep our carpet looking great. It is also going to be a wonderful “accident” cleaner-upper for us since we have a child and pets. You just put some solution and hot water in the clean water bottle and you are ready to go!

Since we purchased a small package, the increase only amounted to a few dollars. Percentage-wise, that is a huge increase in price. I can’t help but wonder if this is happening all over or if it’s a local thing. If the prices go up again next year, I may think about taking our own pics next year. I did that when our son was in preschool and he loved posing for the pics in our backyard. They turned out so cute and I even put his name in the corner like with senior pics. But I have it in my head that we need to get the official school photos.

Anyone else feel that way? Have school photo prices increased for you?

Sometimes I think to the future, and I think about how great it will be to have some savings set aside specifically for certain things. I can visualize an account that holds about $15,000 in it that can be used to purchase a car debt-free or used for car repairs. There is no relying on a bank or credit card to give you the funds. You call the shots, because you saved up the money.

*happy sigh*

That thought is almost as nice as my happy thought of relaxing in a hammock on a warm summer day with no bugs.

*another happy sigh*

I’m thinking that once our debt is paid off we’ll find ourselves going into extreme saving mode

After two visits I quit. I’m on my own now. I do have some exercise sheets they gave me and I paid attention during my first visit when the therapist was explaining what was going on with my knees. I’ve also done quite a bit of research on the internet and armed with some fancy medical words that I learned from the therapists, I was able to find out some interesting things.

The bulk of my knee pain is likely due to the fact that I am an office worker who sits all of the time while working. The pain eases up on weekends (no work), but then starts back up on Monday. It also is exaggerated by being overweight.

I’m not sure how to fix the office work thing, but I can work to lose weight again (my weight has been pretty steady for some time now) and I can work on the exercises that they gave me. Hopefully these two things will do the trick. I am very grateful that surgery was never discussed because that leads me to believe that my knee pain can be relieved with some work.

I’m not sure how much this has impacted our grocery bill since I’m still working to finalize June’s spending. Even though we are skipping the really cheap foods, I think we are probably doing better with our grocery spending overall.

For instance, instead of buying french fries and Betty Crocker potato mixes, we are buying bulk potatoes and preparing them from scratch. I have learned how easy it is to make hashbrowns. Sure, the first few times left them burnt or raw, but now they come out just right. And you can prepare potatoes in so many ways! You can mash, roast, bake, twice bake, fry and season to your heart’s content. I’m still experimenting with them.

I am hoping that this change will also help with our overall health and I’ll be able to shed a few more pounds. My knees will thank me for it!

The fact that I couldn’t do something that I loved to do (drive) really bothered me. So I made the appointment for yesterday.

It turns out that my knees are not tracking properly. The movement should be smooth but it is clunky. The doctor said I could attempt to correct the problem myself by working on my inner thigh muscles. I guess they are really weak compared to my outer thigh muscles so it causes my knee to be out of whack. She also said that I can go to physical therapy where they will help me correct it.

For some time now, we have been doing so many things ourselves to try to save some money. Part of me wanted to decline the physical therapy to avoid the cost. I could read up on how to strengthen my muscles and handle it myself. If it didn’t work, I could then seek out a physical therapist. The other part of me said that maybe it is time to get that outside help. We are talking about my knees here. Without them, I can’t walk.

I told the doctor I would go to physical therapy and I start next week. They will evaluate my condition and develop a treatment program. Then I will have a better idea of how much this is going to cost. Right now I’m trying not to think about it too much.

She also prescribed medication for another condition that I have. I haven’t taken medication for it in years since I didn’t want to spend the money on it and it wasn’t bugging me too much. Not the smartest thing I have done. I did fill the prescriptions she gave me and they will cost about $100/month. That’s with my health insurance co-pay.

Just like the physical therapy, I’m trying not to think about the medication cost too much. It will be another expense that will need to be worked in the budget. BUT – that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to search on ways I can lower that cost. Of course, if I find anything I will let you know

We were a little concerned about the possibility of the show selling out because it is opening weekend and because the movie was getting such great reviews. So we planned on getting there 1/2 hour early, which was when the previous show was getting out. We only saw a few people leaving from the main entrance. The rest must have left through the other exits, I thought.

We went in as soon as they let us in and found a seat. I couldn’t help but notice that there weren’t many people there. The previews started rolling and the attendance didn’t change all that much. I’d guess that the theater was probably less than 1/10th of capacity.

I couldn’t help but wonder if the economy had something to do with it. I have seen people lined up down the street for this theater years ago. But not this time. Who knows? Maybe everyone decided to do something else or maybe they don’t like the theater. After all, the projection was a little off and the sound was way too “hot” (yeah, I’m a pretty picky movie watcher when it comes to the total experience).

Anyways, my son was happy to see the movie and even got a little Wall-E promo watch with his ticket. Mom and Dad were happy to see the movie, too, because it was really good. I didn’t think I would cry, but the softie in me let it out when, well…I can’t say because I don’t want to spoil anything

We are looking forward to when it comes out on DVD so we can see it again and pick up on the things that we didn’t catch the first time when we saw it. Cars (also by Pixar) was the first movie we saw in a theater with our son and we didn’t really like it in the theater. Since renting it, we love that movie. There was so much that we didn’t pick up on the first time around. Wall-E, well, we really liked it in the theater so we will probably really love it once we view it at home.

It felt so weird to do that. We should have a cart full of stuff we are pushing out the door. I felt like an oddball walking out of the store without a bag in my hand. At the same time, though, I felt pretty darn good.

For example, I didn’t decide to buy some clothes for next season on clearance. Normally, that would be a great thing to do. But not right now. We don’t have money so we don’t need to be spending money. That was a big problem that I had in the past. I’d often buy things on sale and make frugal purchases – but I put it on credit! I wonder if there is a word out there to describe that behavior. In my mind I was being a great shopper.

Probably tomorrow I will dig into our Quicken file again since some income has come in. I will have a better idea of where we stand and hopefully we can replenish our savings account some. I do think this spending freeze is helping.

We should do them more often

I think 99% of gadget-type purchases can be eliminated. No one needs a slicer when a plain old knife will do just fine for sandwich meat.

I think MeganM is absolutely right. I’m mentally going through my kitchen right now and we have a cute little frog cheese slicer. I remember buying that on clearance because I thought it was cute. Too bad it’s so small that it isn’t big enough to slice most blocks of cheese. Then there’s the chicken egg slicer. It was cute, and I thought we needed an egg slicer. I use it a few times a year, but a fork worked well in the past. We didn’t really need it.

Let’s not even start talking about gadget appliances. We have a waffle maker. I think we’ve used it twice in the three years we’ve had it. Oh, and the sandwich maker? We barely use that thing as well. I could go on for a while with the other things we have purchased throughout our life that could be considered gadgets.

We didn’t really need them. We barely use them!

It’s funny…at the time, we thought these gadgets would be great things to have. We’ll use them all the time! You can do so much with them! They’ll make life so much easier! Not really. They just ended up costing us money that we really didn’t need to spend.

At our last garage sale, I tried to get rid of a few of the gadgets we had and they didn’t sell even though the price was dirt cheap. I guess that should say something LOL

What about you? Have any gadgets that are collecting dust?

With my husband going to the doctors and being told to change his diet (less sodium), I overreacted a bit. I see that now in hindsight. We hopped in the car and headed to Walmart. The main goal of the trip was to purchase healthier food. We went up and down the aisles, looking at the nutrition labels. Both my husband and I couldn’t believe how much sodium was in many of the foods that we regularly eat. Polish kielbasa? I don’t even remember what it said. All I know is that I dropped it out of my hand so fast you would have thought it was on fire.

I had a similar reaction to quite a few products. We love sandwiches and when we made it to the lunch meat section I was shocked. I think I looked at every brand they had and all of them were loaded with sodium. Then the light bulb went off in my head. We’ll cook our own meat and slice it. That will definitely be healthier for us than the processed meat.

After we finished in the grocery section, we headed over to the kitchen appliance section and looked for a slicer. No such luck. I did end up finding a small tool that claimed to slice things as well as create wonderful french fries (a slicer/dicer). I plopped it into our cart and we headed to the checkout.

Our cashier was friendly and started ringing up our groceries. She picked up the slicer/dicer tool and looked me straight in the eyes. She paused just a bit before speaking.

“I have to be honest with you,” she said. “This is a horrible product. It says it makes fries but it makes mush. I used to have one and it was awful.”

I thanked the cashier for giving me her opinion and I asked her to set the slicer/dicer aside. I was so very close to impulse buying that slicer/dicer. We can do without one for now. When things are looking better financially we may buy one. In the meantime, we’ll rig up something.

Thank you Walmart cashier for giving a helping hand during a time of weakness for me

We pulled up to the house and my son led the way to the garage. He was pretty excited. I started looking around at everything and it became obvious that someone was selling many of their belongings. Glancing at the pay table, I see that it was a couple in their 70s.

We were there after noon, so many things were probably already sold. There were still older things left like a really neat camera that probably could be collectible but I passed it by. My new garage sale rule is to not buy anything unless it is useful. Last year we had three garage sales to get rid of our clutter so I can’t bring any more into the house!

I have to admit, I look at garage sales a lot differently now. Before, I used to think of the deals I was getting on things we really didn’t need (a nutcracker bowl comes to mind – when do we ever have nuts in the house???). Now I think about how much money the people originally spent on the items and how little they are getting back by selling them.

This particular garage sale had a very large collection of VCR tapes selling for $1.00 each. If they originally cost $10 each new, they easily spent over $1,000 on all of those tapes. Maybe they bought them used for a deal. I’m not sure. But I think about that now.

No matter the price, it helps me a lot to really think about what I am buying. Will I find myself trying to sell it in a few years? If so, even if it’s $1.00 perhaps it isn’t worth buying at all.

About two months ago, I decided to give online bill pay a try. With stamp prices going up, even if we could save a few bucks a month maybe it was worth it. So I tried it with one bill. The next month I tried it with a few more. This month I am replacing all bill payment checks that I would write with online checks.

What was so special about my previous system? I say this with a little bit of shame…I am a “floater.” Because things were so tight for us financially way back when, I grew accustomed to timing our payments and including float time (I include mail time up until the time the check clears the bank as the float). As a result, our bills were often paid right before they were due.

You can’t do that with online bill pay. You schedule the date that the check is to be cut and mailed and that amount is deducted from your bank account that day. No more 3-5 day float. Even though our finances aren’t as tight as they once were, I still was taking float time into consideration when it came time to mail out payments. It was a very bad habit that needed to be broken.

Now that we are paying the bills we normally pay by check with online bill pay, I had to shift around our finances a little. With some bills I would wait until receiving a certain paycheck before sending. Now I have to do it after the paycheck before. So far the transition has been going well, but I do rest a little easier knowing that our savings account is there in case I goof up a little.

There is only one thing I do not like about online bill pay. With sending a regular check to a vendor you are able to know if and when that payment clears the bank. Not so with online bill pay. The only notice you will receive of a payment not making it to its destination is when you notice a previous balance on your next bill or you receive a late notice. The control freak in me likes to be a little proactive when it comes to payments getting lost in the mail. If I see that something hasn’t cleared a few weeks after sending, I like to call and let them know that payment was sent. I think it shows good faith on my part, and I believe it has helped me avoid late fees.

In hindsight, I should have started using online bill pay a long time ago. I’m breaking my bad floating habit and it is so much easier to pay a bill online than write out a check. We are also saving money on postage. If you have been thinking about giving online bill pay a try, just give it a test run with one payment and see what you think. Don’t be stubborn like me and not even try it once before forming an opinion

It doesn’t bother me too much that the rates increased for electricity or gas. I look at it as a reminder that would should be conserving where we can. There have been times when the TV has been left on even though no one is in the room. Reminders like a price increase help to get us back into conservation mode.

Now for the water bill. This one bothers me because we already conserve water and we are consistently billed for minimum usage. We cannot reduce this bill no matter what we do because it is already as low as it can go. The only thing we can do is pay the increase because we need water.

What about you? Have your utilitity prices increased significantly lately?

It’s been almost two weeks, and the IRS has not cashed our self employment tax check yet. If there is one entity that I want to be completly A-OK with, it’s the IRS. It makes me sick to my stomach and I’m upset to see more money in our account than should be there.

I’m not sure what to do. Should I wait and hope it finally arrives? I’ve never had a payment to the IRS take this long. Should I cut another check? If I did that, I’d have to pull from our savings.

I am 100% certain that it was mailed because we made a special stop to the mail box to mail it. That envelope left my hands and fell into the box. I triple checked to make sure there was stamp on it. I did my part, but it hasn’t been cashed yet.

I guess I will give it a little more time before making a decision on what to do. I think I am going to look into making this payment automatically from now on.

Funks, although they are less severe, aren’t fun either. They also have a sneaky way of affecting your mood AND your budget.

For me, funks bring about the sweet food like ice cream and candy. The thing about splurging on those? You can’t do it if you do not go near a store. While it can be downright stuffy to stay home during a funk, I know what damage I can do at the store (although…my son loves my funks because I bring all types of goodies into the house!). I did let myself go to the store during this funk and I know I shouldn’t have.

Related to food, I’m also about four times more likely to get fast food than cooking at home when I am in a funk. I normally like cooking a healthy meal for my family. I go all out and even make salads for everyone. That’s one reason I love the weekends. I can cook dinner (normally during the week, I get off work too late to prepare dinner before 7pm). With this latest funk, the $5 subs at Subway called my name and I gave in.

I also get strong urges to go shopping for stuff. Maybe a new pair of shoes or something. The oddest thing about this urge is that I am not normally into fashion. But the minute I go into a funk I must think I need to be a fashionista (not that anything is wrong with that – it’s just totally against the norm for me). Sometimes I budget shop and buy clearance items, but sometimes I don’t. Again, it’s best to stick around the house and not go anywhere. I didn’t do this one (thank goodness – I have enough shoes!).

If you don’t go anywhere, you can’t spend money!

I know that I’m not necessarily dealing with the problem directly, but for now, it’s the best thing I can do to keep our budget intact during a funk. Sometimes I feel like my brain needs to be rewired and I’ve come to accept that it can take some time to turn around years of bad spending habits.

Way back when I was in college a very smart American History professor required that my class read a novel by Horatio Alger called Ragged Dick. The story, originally published in 1926, concerns a fourteen-year-old bootblack named Dick living on his own on the streets of New York. He works hard but is a spendthrift so he is always living hand to mouth. When circumstances result in his meeting a wealthy businessman who encourages Dick to go to school, work hard, and save his money, his life begins to turn around. He works diligently, opens a savings account and makes consistent deposits, and as opportunities befall him he is able to move away from his life on the streets and toward a life of productivity and security.

In the early part of the 20th century, Alger wrote many books with tales similar to the one in Ragged Dick—so many, in fact, that Horatio Alger’s name became synonymous with the “rags-to-riches” phenomenon that Americans love. Somewhere along the line, however, that phenomenon seems to have gotten a bit distorted.

These days we tend to equate rags-to-riches success with overnight success. We think of the American success story as winning American Idol at the age of 17, cutting a major deal with Donald Trump, or scoring a multi-million dollar windfall in the lottery. We’ve come to think of wealth and success as something that comes instantly, with little or no effort, or as the result of one big winner-take-all gamble.

But Horatio Alger’s kind of success was anything but instant. Alger’s philosophy, which fueled the incredible productivity of the 20th century, preached the benefits of hard, steady work and consistent saving as a way of being prepared for the incredible opportunities that life sometimes drops in your lap. For the most part, Alger’s heroes didn’t get many breaks, but the few that did come their way were useful only because the heroes had worked hard enough in advance to be able to jump at those opportunities.

Is it possible for Americans to re-embrace a Horatio Alger kind of outlook? Maybe. When I read blogs describing people’s diligent efforts to pay off debts and build savings, I think that perhaps we’re beginning to see the light again, that Americans can turn away from debt and build a future that is secure and ambitious. And with every post I read about snowflakes, e-funds, and debt-free living, I think somewhere Horatio Alger is smiling.

Thanks Nine Circles for the guest post!

A while back, I got an e-mail from a fellow-blogger who was compiling a list of personal finance bloggers’ splurges. He wanted to know what, amid saving money and cutting things out, we felt was worth the money.

It was pretty easy for me to answer that—chocolate. 1 bag of Nestle semi-sweet chips each week. Sets us back less than $5/week. I know that translating that out into the big picture comes to several hundred a year and that should (maybe?) make me uncomfortable. After all, we could put that money towards paying down debt and investing in our futures.

But I don’t care.

I’ve told fellow bloggers that I think similar indulgences are ok. Maybe a latte every day isn’t a good move if you’re looking to cut back, but there’s wiggle room.

What matters is the overall course of your lifestyle. If you’re a debt blogger (or a non-blogger getting out of debt) then hopefully taken steps to start that journey. It’s not always fun. Maybe you work more jobs than necessary to earn snowflakes or maybe you cut out everything but the essentials.

On the one hand, it takes a lot of intensity and if you’re in it for the long run, it may require leniencies or breaks. But then many people also get themselves into debt little by little and pass things off as one-time or as giving themselves a break.

So, how do you tell if something’s an ok indulgence or if you’re slipping into a lifestyle you don’t want?

I came up with some questions to evaluate the situation/indulgence.

First, what are your goals and how are you doing on achieving them?

If you aren’t achieving your goals, then maybe its the big and little things that are getting in the way. 20 purchases of $5 items will cost you $100.

Second, what is the motivation behind your goals?

I think most people trying to get out of debt are motivated by the desire to feel happier (in the long term), to be free, to feel less trapped, etc. Is this thing you’re questioning in line with those goals? Or will it be like cheating on a diet? Feels good at the time but you hate yourself shortly afterwards.

Third, how does it fit in your budget?

I work on planning yummy but frugal menus. We haven’t eaten out since November (and even then it was Chipotle). We stay within our food budget even with the chocolate. I’m sure we could cut back even farther, but I designed the budget to reflect a level that we’re willing to live with for the long-term but to keep us on track.

Fourth, are you going directly against your goals for this?

Wealthy_1 is going on a vacation this summer. She’s saving up for it so that she won’t have to use credit and get any more debt (good good good). She’s slowing down but not stopping her debt repayment (not bad). If this vacation helps her family build good memories and since they haven’t been on vacation in 3 year I think it’s in line with her goals.

It’s ok if you don’t want to be a gazelle 100% of the time. If you’re not getting yourself back into debt, if you’re headed in the right direction, if you’re in line with your goals and motivations, you’re probably doing just fine.

Thanks Mrs. Micah for the guest post!