I just counted my jar change (otherwise known as the $20 challenge) and I have $40.19. This is good because the last time I checked I had $37 in it and that was before I stole from myself. ;o) So I'm starting over with $40.19 and no more robbing of the change jar...until I decide what it is for, that is. Maybe vacation.

And I've finally decided to start blogging about my weight loss. No one needs to know just how much weight needs to come off, but I'll log a loss of 14 lbs.

I was around quite a bit three years ago and was very active on the message board and less so in blogging. Since my return, I've noticed the message boards seem to be all about...how shall I say this nicely...tough love? And the blogs seem to be all about support. I keep telling myself, hey, I paid down $27,000 in debt. Yes, my original goal was to do so in one year's time. Did I manage my goal? Um...no. Was it because my plan was faulty? No...it was because I was naive, idealistic, unrealistic and in my rose colored world there were no broken down washers, kid's school expenses, or doctor's visits. Would I advise someone else to keep a $100 balance in their checking account while throwing every spare cent at the credit cards without any type of savings at all? No I would not. But did it work for me? Apparently so.

I'm struggling to pay for Christmas right now without putting money on the credit cards. I know the words "I'm struggling to pay for Christmas" sends chills down spines, tears to some eyes and breaks the hearts of the tender hearted who care very deeply about the children. Then there are those, and rightfully so, who don't care a bit if someone can't afford Christmas because it's about the spirit of the holiday. But for me, "I'm struggling to pay for Christmas" is really just me complaining. We'll get through the holiday, some of it will have to go on the card, but we're expecting a large reimbursement check next month that will cover it. It will, hopefully, be the last time we're looking backwards.

In any case, I'm proud of what we've done. We're at point 0 right now, surface level, and the waves are gently making it a struggle. But there are no rip tides in sight.

I had a freedom account established a few years ago, and though it didn't lost long, I liked having it. We're expecting a large reimbursement check within the month that will take care of Christmas plus a good amount to start up a FA. I've been brainstorming categories I need it for today and estimated $1000 for misc. for the year. I wonder, should clothes and home improvement monies be accounted for in a FA or in some other way? We've scrimped for so long, we've never had money for either category and bought only when necessary and then only very cheap.

I received my rewards checks from Kroger today so I headed over to Kroger and purchased Christmas gifts! I got a couple games for my kids and some foods you can only get in Ohio for my dad who moved to Florida recently. I came in under the amount I had in rewards, so I received $3.00 and change to add to my challenge jar.

I stole from my jar last weekend because I had some needs to purchase at Sam's club and they only accept cash or my debit card. I didn't want to go any lower in my checking account, so I used jar money. I'm a little peeved at myself for doing so because I've been in the challenge for a whopping week and my own personal conviction was that I would not dip into that money under any circumstances. But, like any good idea, you just get back on the wagon and move on. I'll have to count my jar money to see where I really am.

We went to a festival last night and I took along $40 in cash. When we were emptying our pockets last night I told my husband I'd like to start putting $1 bills into the coin jar as well as loose change. I had a ten dollar bill and several ones. I asked him to please give me the $3 I knew he had in his pocket and I'd give him the ten dollar bill from the festival. He argued and argued with me that we could put the $10 in the jar because he didn't understand what I was trying to say about saving $1 from now on. Finally I decided it was the silliest argument so I tucked the $10 into the jar and figured I worked for that $10 in words alone and it should count! LOL! So I added $13.66 to the jar last night.

We also got to see New Moon last night. I can't believe we saw it on opening night! The only reason we did so was because we didn't have the kids! I'm a little phobic about crowds. I come close to panic attacks in certain situations, including traffic. We caught the matinee and there were only maybe 50 people in the theater. But after our movie was an enormous line! I clammed up on the way out and hid behind husband, there were so many people!

My feelings about this series amuse me. I loved the books! (except book 4...I hated that one) I am a big Edward fan and I did not enjoy Jacob's character in the books. Now generally speaking, 99% of the time in fact, I do not enjoy the movies that follow my favorite books. Twilight is no exception. I don't really like the movies at all. But in the movies, I actually root for Jacob! LOL! I do not like the actor for Edward. I just can't past the pastiness of him or the whining and the melodrama. But Jacob is so sweet! Quite the opposite in the book.

I enjoyed the movie. To be fair, it follows the book fairly closely and doesn't leave a whole lot out. I thought that which was left out was just fine.

I was reading an article about buying cheap things and it got me thinking about things I am cheap about vs those items I insist on quality regardless of cost.

Shoes: The shoes on my feet cost a ridiculous $285 and I own two pair (sandals and tennies). Now on the plus side, I can have them completely overhauled as often as I like or need for only $50-$60. That's like a new pair of $285 shoes for $50. I figure that's a pretty good deal. And with these shoes I do not have knee, back, or foot pain. And my closet is nice and spacious and uncluttered by cheap shoes!

Clothes: I swing both ways here. I go through spurts. I try to get clothes from the thrift store and actually end up with better quality there than when I go shopping for new items. When I buy new it's generally because I'm in need of something specific, and everyone knows you can't go to the thrift store with an agenda. ;o) But my quality/expensive clothing always lasts longer, fades less, and looks better longer. Where I might replace a cheap pair of jeans within a year, I'll wear an expensive pair for five+ years, waistline willing. ;o) (Actually right now, I'm hoping to get out of these 5 year jeans and go smaller!)

appliances: I'm big on buying high quality appliances! This seems to be hit or miss, unfortunately. We bought a top of the line fridge a few years back and we hate it! For a couple months every time I opened it a new little piece of plastic popped off! The part that held the container for the ice maker completely fell apart. But we just bought a new washer/drier (needed to) and bought top of the line. In this case I'm glad we did, so far.

Socks: Only high quality for me. My gold-toe socks are still being worn after...um...1989!! Wow! And daily! I got them for Christmas in high school. Any cheapy socks I've purchased since have been replaced yearly. Now for the kids, only cheap socks. Yes, they wear out in about three months, but they're also generally so filthy I don't mind throwing them out. I bought them high quality socks once and still threw them out after about four months just because they had turned unalterably brown.

For other items I am cheap! Food at Aldi's. Furniture is almost always hand-me-down. I buy generic soaps. I devour books at the library and if I purchase them it's from a half-price book store. I just avoid new bookstores, because I can't walk out of a bookstore without a purchase. Who am I kidding? Three purchases!

I found some old gift cards and decided to check out their balances online. Glad I did!

Kohls 4.66
Walgreens 17.70
Walmart 74.88 (!)

Total: $97.24!!

Sam's Club takes Walmart gift cards. If I do Click N' Pull, I won't get sidetracked and spend money I didn't intend to spend! Yeah! And if I send DH to get the goods, it's even less likely to happen!

Now...what stocking stuffers can I find at Kohls for $4.66?

I gave up my cell phone a couple months ago for a couple reasons.
1. It broke and was going to cost me $50 to fix.

2. I rarely used it and was pretty sure I used it far less than my bare-bones policy accommodated.

3. I get tired of how rude other people are with their cell phones and didn't want any part of it for me.

At first I thought I'd look into pre-paid phones. But it has been two or three months now and I have only missed the phone on a couple occasions. I wished I'd had it when my husband and I got separated at my kids' carnival, but I stayed in one place and he found me. And I sometimes wish I had it to make a quick phone call home from the road, just to check in. But now I just call from work before heading the door if I want to check in.

It's oddly freeing not having the cell phone. No one can call me at inopportune times and I am not obligated to listen to the voice mail on the stupid thing. And I'm saving about $45 a month.

DH has a cell phone paid for entirely by his employer and I can use it if ever necessary. And if I ever take a long trip or something by myself, I'll look in to a pre-paid phone. But for now, I do not miss my cell phone.

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but as soon as my feet hit the floor this morning I started scrounging for money. I scrounged in my husband's sock drawer, pants pockets, coat pockets and car. I found...


THIRTY SEVEN DOLLARS AND THIRTY SEVEN CENTS!!!

I can't believe I found that much pocket change. Only $8 of that was dollar bills. I ran out to the store and spent $2.75 on coin rolls and rolled it all.

So I begin my $20 challenge with pocket change and am very pleased.

Now that the credit cards are gone, we're facing Christmas without any savings and I'm bound and determined not to have any debt when this holiday season is over. So I'm looking ahead. I'm also looking ahead to Thanksgiving. It is going to be such a busy week. I have to host twice because my in-laws and my own family do not get along. Every year I either host two Thanksgivings or two Christmases. I really don't mind, but usually I have the entire week of Thanksgiving off at work. This year I'm not off until Thursday. So I'm stuffing my freezer this weekend with what I can.

For the freezer:
Sweet Potato soufle X2
Corn casserole X2
mashed potato bake


Next pay day is the Friday after Thanksgiving, so all expenses come out of this paycheck. Hmmm...

Forgive me, but this whole no-credit card debt is new to me. I watched with fear, biting my nails, as the news reporter told me of all the horrors banks are throwing at their costumers trying to make as much money as they can now before the new government protection rules go into effect. Then I remembered...I don't have to worry about this! My debt is paid!

The temptation is so great! We just bought a new house, and I love the home! And though the home is much larger than our old home, the previous owners chose a really small fridge so that it didn't stick out too far and impeded the flow of traffic into the kitchen. I can see that. But they bought a side by side and the freezer is so small you can't fit a frozen pizza in it, or even a box half its size. And the fridge? There's no way a turkey's going in there. And we host two full Thanksgivings and one full Christmas.

So I want a fridge to put in the garage! I'm close to saying I actually need a fridge.

But...

We will just pay off the credit cards this coming Friday. Finally! I do not want to put more on the card than we can pay off by next Friday and Christmas is coming up with no money yet put aside. All these years it's been about the credit cards.

I need some encouragement to not buy a new fridge. We have a ridiculously large freezer in the basement that the owners left. It's the fridge I lament.

Perhaps some tips on how to accommodate the holidays with my tiny fridge?

Now that the debt has been paid off, DH and I would like to work toward living off one salary and socking away the other. I just added up all the expenses (bills) that come out of my paycheck and was shocked to see we have close to $400 left over at the end of the month. I'm not confident that's accurate yet because we just moved and I know water/electric etc. will change a bit. That $400 would have to stretch over all non-bills: food, haircuts, entertainment, etc. So we aren't quite there yet. Once we get the car paid off though, I think we can swing it.

In an effort to stay in this frugal mindset I've been in for so many years now, I have a bit of a plan for the weekend:

1. Go to Aldi with a list for breakfasts, lunches and tonight's dinner. I have other dinners already prepared for the week, but tonight we have company.

2. Buy my son new shoes. I can see his toes.

3. Buy my other son new pants because only two pair fit.

I've been waiting to write this entry for a very, very, very long time now!

Finally today, I wrote one of two final checks to clear out our massive amount of debt! The rest will be paid off after pay day next Friday. Wahoo!! We will have 0 credit card debt!

This has been a long time in coming. I will never know what the worst of it was because I was afraid to look until it totaled $27,000. I thought it would be easy to pay off. I thought if we stuck to a plan we'd have it paid off within the year. That was three years ago. I don't suppose three years was all the bad in retrospect. The problem was that even though our plan was always to send X amount to the cards each month, things come up. Holidays, food for holiday guests, vacations we couldn't say "no" to, school pictures, school fund raisers, car repairs, doctor's visits, emergency dental needs, worn out shoes, Christmas gifts, new baby gifts, etc., etc., etc. The best of plans have a way of getting derailed.

But today as I type we are finally credit card free.

Next mission: the car. If I do nothing we'll have it paid off NEXT Spring. But if we put more toward it...who knows. I think what we're actually going to do is just sock money away and once the balance in savings matches the car payoff, we'll send it all in.