Well, the first month of my journey is ending. I have learned so much. I had no idea it would be so hard to be brutally honest. I thought I would be able to handle those not so nice comments. Let’s just say I am in the process of growing a thicker skin. I set some goals but did not meet them all. I did less spending which is always good. I learned some really great money saving tips. I have decided to cook more using the crockpot. I have been reading up on make ahead cooking. I learned pay to click is not a good idea for so many reasons.
Here are the good things I did in January:
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Started a Christmas account and a emergency fund account
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Cooked more, ate out less (only ate out twice)
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Found out what was one of my biggest money wasters (eating out)
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Did not have to pay any NSF or late fees
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Did not use credit cards (in the freezer)
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Went grocery shopping and shopped well (not over budget)
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Did not overspend on Tj’s birthday
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Returned stuff I bought in December but did not need (over $100!)
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Brought all credit cards to date
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made a realistic list of goal ( immediate , short and long term)
Miscellaneous purchases
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Shoes for girls $30
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batteries for Wii $24.99 ( great deal, rechargable for sensor and controllers)
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renewed game pass at Hollywood Video $20.99
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Paid for kid’s lunches for the month $32.00
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Bought yearbook for Jazz $17
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Tj’s birthday under $100 (have to find exact figures)
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eating out $20.00
My oops list
I actually made up a menu for this last week
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Tuesday: pork chops, steamed garlic potatoes, mixed vegetables
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Wednesday : pizza , garlic bread
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Thursday: chicken and dumplings, chocolate cake
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Friday: chili and hotdogs
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Saturday: leftovers
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Sunday: ham, mac and cheese, greens, cornbread dressing, and sweet potatoes
So far I have been sticking to it and that is good. I am going to try to mix a few make ahead recipes in there for February. I actually am looking forward to February, I plan on really making a dent in our debt with our tax refund. I also want to really want to add more to our savings.
I was visiting boston gal’s open wallet and found this nifty little toy. It is a tax rebate calculator, unfortunately I could not get it work on my wordpress blog. I had no problem on my other blog so here is the link.
I came across this site www.fechr.com. It seemed interesting so I stopped and looked. The site pronounced “feature” helps with blog traffic. Every day a new site is featured. Right now the service is free and people are saying they have noticed a increase in traffic after linking to the site. All they ask for a small post about them. I figured why not give them a try. I am trying to learn the ins and outs of making money online so this seems like a good idea to me. Featured sites are promoted on Fechr for 24 hours and picked at random.
Yesterday I did not post anything and I felt bad. Well I really was feeling bad after my post on gaming. I’m not sure why. I do know why, I felt bad about my video game obsession and purchases. I guess I need to backtrack some.
December 31, 2007 I decided to get serious about my family’s financial future. But the one thing about me is I tend to get very passionate about my project of the moment. I go full speed ahead and usually burn out and ditch that “project”. I have done this with sewing, scrap-booking, going back to school, redecorating, running a daycare and remodeling to name a few. And yesterday I was having a real bad case of writer’s block. Every post I started I ended up deleting. I just could not get my thoughts together. I decided it was time to take a break from my computer. I was getting sidetracked way too easily.
I am just sooo excited about working towards getting out of debt. And I really want to follow through and prove that I am serious. It is just so much great information and support on the internet I am not sure how to process it all. I am absorbing everything and I find it a little difficult to find my place in the debt community. On one hand I want to become super frugal and sacrifice to get out of debt like so many bloggers before me. On the other hand I do not want to become a cheapskate and deny my family any and everything that is not considered “frugal”. It is really hard to find balance and somewhat overwhelming.
Then mommy things had to get done, you know laundry, baths, washing and braiding 3 heads of hair, homework and the list goes on and on. Before I knew it I had a list of things I didn’t do. I didn’t post my dinners, update my other blogs and website, go through literally thousands of email, pick my make ahead and crockpot recipes, sort my coupons and you get the idea.
I started feeling bad because January is almost over and I did not complete all of my goals. Why am I so hard on myself? Why would I only focus on what I didn’t do instead of what I did do? I honestly could not think. I needed to do some good old fashioned brainstorming with a pen and paper. That was such a great idea! I just put everything on my mind on the paper and I feel a whole lot better.
I almost fell off the horse, but I caught myself. And I am glad I did because I honestly feel re-energized. I need to take baby steps and not be so hard on myself. Sometimes I am truly my worst enemy. I am in a much better place(mentally) than I was a year ago. I am a work in progress and I accept that.
That is why I felt guilty
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