One Month Down

As you may recall, my wife and I have declared this the year of getting out of debt. January has come and gone, and it has been an interesting ride thus far.

I cannot say we made significant progress in decreasing our liabilities. This is mainly due to the fact that our businesses are extremely seasonal (winter being our low season). And, while our income is at a minimum, our bills and expenses continue to be the same. Add to this some advertising opportunities we wanted to take advantage of.

Therefore, this month's focus was on monitoring our spending. We only spent money on that which was necessary. We kept a very close eye on our grocery budget and only ate out (fast food) when we had no other choice.

This month we said "No" to:

A Friday fish fry (and going out to eat in general) x10
New cell phones
The Wynn's $109/night deal (not really!)
Arby's
Drumstick ice cream bars
Going to the movies
A Juicy Couture swimsuit (for Monica)
Using a really good coupon to Express for Men
Bath & Body Works hand soap
A couple books

We've found that staying out of the malls and stores has helped a lot. Even staying out of the grocery store has kept us from buying unnecessary food, thanks to Peapod.

I have been working a part-time job and am also working on a new business idea that should help us make significant strides.

This month has taught me the importance of discipline. In order to balance everything I have going on in my life while keeping a close eye on our spending, I need to keep a thorough calendar of each day's events. I'm trying the block schedule approach suggested by Liene from The Smart Planner.

It's hard to say what February's focus will be. My income will go up this next month compared to January. With this extra income, I think the trick will be deciding how much should go toward our debt and how much should be saved for future expenses.

How has your year started financially? Have you been monitoring your spending more closely?

Be Smarter than the Average Bear

I have talked in the past about how incredible it is that the malls and restaurants are packed during these "hard economic times". I was struck with this realization again yesterday, but in a new way. In the past, I was wondering if the economy was really as bad as the media was making it out to be. I have since been convinced that we truly are in a recession and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better.

As I was looking for a parking spot at [the looks-like-it's-December-23rd-packed-full] Best Buy last night, I was amazed once again at all of the money being spent on so-so food and soon-to-be out of date gadgets. I understand there are some crazy steals out there, and they are very hard to pass up. But if you don't have the money, (or don't really need the item to begin with) just say "no"! A penny saved, is a penny earned, right?

My biggest concern is that people are aware of the hard times we are in, yet they choose to spend their money carelessly anyway. Where does this end? Are we, as the American people hoping to get into so much debt that we also qualify for a government bailout?

Supposedly, the average American is behind in mortgage payments and up to his eyeballs in consumer debt. Even if this is not the case, and everyone out shopping this weekend is current with their monthly payments, will this continue to be the case in the coming months? Why spend that Christmas bonus when the clouds are predicting a rainy day to come?

Now is the time to make decisions about how your money will be spent - while you are at home with a clear mind. Don't wait until you are in the middle of Macy's contemplating the 70% off sale.

My wife and I have recently made the decision to make a drastic change in our spending habits, which I am excited to share about in the days to come. I hope there are others of you out there who have already made these hard decisions or are also wanting to make this change. The only way we are going to survive these times is to make wiser decisions than those who are spending their money rampantly. It can be done! I look forward to the discussions that will take place here in 2009.

You're going to charge me to pay you?!

Have you every tried to pay for something with a credit card only to find out that you were going to be charged a "small" fee to do so? Or maybe there was a minimum purchase requirement and you were forced to purchase something else only to "qualify" to use plastic? Well, I'm sorry to say you have been taken advantage of.

Terrica, of Fabuluxe Events in Georgia, has a great post today that goes into detail about the terms that merchants agree to when they allow credit card purchases. Be sure to read this information so that if you are ever confronted with this situation you can make a knowledgeable and sound argument.

Black Friday Already?

This infamous day will be upon us shortly. In fact, some stores have already begun their deep-discounted holiday sales. Of course, one way to find out about all of the sales is to wait until Thanksgiving for the six-inch paper with all of the ads. Or, you can check this site out and get a heads up on your holiday "deals and steals". (I use that term jokingly because I think it is so corny. Add to that "tips and tricks".)

The argument is out there that it is wise to start your Christmas shopping early because it spreads the expenses out over a longer amount of time. This is more psychological than anything, but whatever works.

For me, I try to get all my shopping done early so I can actually enjoy the season without the stress of overrun malls and picked over merchandise. Maybe you feel it is too early for Christmas shopping and you can't get in the mood. If that is the case, turn on one of your local radio stations that is already playing Christmas music and get a peppermint hot chocolate from Starbucks and you'll be ready to go.

What suffering economy?

I don't have a lot of time to post today, but I do want to make note of an observation I have made over the last couple weeks. Things are supposedly doing terrible in regards to our economy. The stock market is way down, foreclosures are through the roof, and personal debt is as high as ever. But drive by your local mall and you will see a full parking lot. The restaurants are full of people. Is everyone in denial? Maybe people haven't felt the effects yet?

Granted, every store in the mall right now is having some sort of sale. And don't get me wrong. I'm not bitter or anything like that -- just amazed. I was one of those people this weekend at the mall and out to dinner. I wonder what it will actually take for people as a whole to start cutting back on personal spending and dining out. I don't think we'll be able to plow through this recession without cutting back on at least some of life's luxuries.

What do you think? What have you cut back on in recent days?