Today is pay day and I am gearing up for the New Year by buckling down the household expenses.

I have $600 in credit card debt that I have to pay off by August 2006, but I want to do it sooner so right away I sent out $100 through my banks online bill pay system.

I want to build up a cushion in my checking account, so I left $30 there and withdrew the rest in cash. I have $100 per week for groceries, gas, and household items. No yarn, no fabric, no thrift store trips, no fast food stops for awhile.

I am allowing myself one treat a day -- a 32 oz. Diet Coke from the gas station. If I save my cup, I can get it refilled for $.89. Yeah, I know I can buy a 2 liter but I love the fizz and need the caffeine. :)

Thanks for letting me put this down in writing.

great idea! Let me think on my "goals" and I will come back later to post!

Kinda like a support group huh?

Tawnya

Great ideas! I too have some major buckling to do this upcoming New Year!!

Let me think about my goals and then post them!

I am glad my post was an encouragement to you. I am *ok* with managing money but not as good as I would like to be. After many years of trying this and that, I decided that an ALL CASH system is what it is going to take to help me meet my personal financial goals. The first 4-6 weeks are going to be rough, rough, rough, but I am trying to see it as an enjoyable challenge . . . not drudgery. More time to read, more time to bake, more time to read, more time to sew, more time to knit. KWIM????

So who else is with me?

We are going to try to cut back at the beginning of the year. But, dh said he didn't want to do anything drastic until after I'm done with school. It's so stressful right now, that we don't need to put additional pressure on ourselves. We will, however, start setting some serious financial goals in May.

I feel like I have had a couple little victories today. After I dropped Abby off at playgroup, I stopped Kohl's and AC Moore. I have a gift card to Kohl's but I didn't see anything I needed/wanted. In the past I would have spent it for the sake of spending, but not today. I browsed through the yarn section at AC Moore and even though I was tempted to buy a couple skeins of cashmerino from the clearance rack, I didn't. Instead, I started knitting a soaker for a mama over at SM out of some wool that I already have. :)

Baby steps, baby steps, baby steps. . . how was your day?