Today is my first day of training at Starbucks. I'm a little nervous about it but am also kind of excited. I like to learn new things so this will be fun, I hope. But I can't help be nervous about it. So, wish me luck, y'all, and if you pray, say a little prayer for me that I'll do well and like it!

DH wanted to open an account at a bank closer than the one we use now so we went out to do that. Although we didn't get that done, I did add another dollar to my savings amount.

We stopped at a convenience store and DH got a drink and 5 granola bars. He asked if I wanted something and I told him no thanks but that I'd like a dollar when he got a minute. He immediately handed me a dollar bill with this quizzical look on his face and said, "What do you want?" I told him I didn't want anything and he said, "Yes, you do." I think I was grinning!

When we got in the truck I told him about the challenge and that I wanted the dollar since I didn't get anything to drink or eat. He just kind of ignored me and started up the truck...

Men, gotta love em! And women, gotta love us, too!

So, I'm up to $3 so far for today!

I'd love to have $100,000 saved but the thought of doing that is just too big for me to even consider. I do much better if I break large goals into small ones I can manage. So, I don't even look at the large amount of money I'd love to have saved and focus on more manageable, reachable goals. Saving that amount of money is going to take me a long time and can't even get started until I tend to some other things on my plate. So, I'm in the process of emptying that plate!

One of my goals for this year is to have $2500 saved by the end of July. Right now we have about $1100. The thought of saving $1400 in six months is overwhelming to me so I have to break the goal into mini goals and minute steps. It might be pie in the sky to think I can come up with $1400 in six months but I don't think so. I'm going to give up just a few things in an attempt to meet my savings goal. Here's how I plan to do it.

I have 15 pay periods between now and the end of July. If I save $25 from each of those pay periods, I'll have $375 at the end of July. That helps but is a far cry from $1400. I don't think I can afford to save $50 from each check but if I push the limit a little and save $35 from each check, that gives me $525 at the end of July. Much better but I still need another $875.

I have to get creative with this and come up with ways to save a little more here and a lot more there. And it wouldn't hurt to throw in some things that will improve my health, too, so for every meatless meal DH or I eat, I'll add $1 to my savings. I generally eat at least 5 meatless meals per week but I can increase that to 10, I think, without it being a burden. There are 29 weeks between tomorrow and the end of July so If I do that, I'm $290 closer to that deficit of $1400 and now I need $585 more. As long as I'm thinking health and wealth, I'll add $1 for each time I don't stop for a soft drink or snack while out and about. If I can keep to that, I'll have a minimum of $5 more a week which puts me $145 closer. I still need $440 to meet the $2500 goal.

It's getting more complicated now as I have a husband who loves meat (hey, so do I!) and will only tolerate so many meat-free meals and thinks little about stopping at a convenience store for a drink and snack. However, this challenge is MINE, although the money is OURS. I'll reward the savings account with these small amounts of money even if he isn't really on board. As long as I don't indulge, I'm doing well.

While composing this, my stomach started growling so I prepared eggs with a slice of cheese, topped them with salsa, and added some avocado slices. And DH had scrambled eggs with toast earlier so cha ching, there's $2 so far today! I work late tonight and am taking vegetable soup so that's $1 more.

So, I still need to cut back somewhere to close that $440 gap. Any ideas on that?

I used to sell on ebay, half.com, and Amazon but those have petered out for me and I don't think I want to try them again. I might but I don't see it happening right now. I'm considering babysitting to earn extra money for the challenge but that's just a thought at present. Our cell phones are down to bare bones now and we don't have cable television or subscriptions or dues to cut. We eat very few items that we find coupons for so adding coupon savings won't help much though it will add a little. I do plan to learn more about CVS savings and if I get that rolling, the savings will be added.

If you have ideas on other ways I can shave a little here and a little there, please share!

Okay, I've given the $20 challenge some serious consideration and here's my plan.

Tomorrow I'm going to put $20 on a gift card at Target. I think it needs to be $20 a week but I'll start with $20 for two weeks and see how that goes since the goal is to save, not spend. That's my 'at work' spending money. I don't shop there a lot but do get drinks and occasionally a snack when I'm on shift. I'll take drinks, dinner, and my snack in the attempt to spend less of that $20. What isn't spent during that two weeks goes into my savings jar. If there is none left at the end of two weeks, I won't be surprised. But this is an experiment so we'll see what happens.

By the way, I don't know if this is true at most retailers but if your Target gift card gets lost or stolen, the company will issue a new one if you have the original receipt for the card. So, if you buy Target gift cards, keep the receipts!

I'm also going to continue to put my change in the change jars, one for pennies, another for 'silver'. Once a week I take the quarters out and use those for laundry and that's a necessity so I won't change that but I'm going to not spend any of the other change and keep adding to it. Every two weeks I'll roll that and deposit it into savings.

Also, for every meatless meal I prepare and we eat, I'll add $1 to my challenge money. This won't be very easy as DH and I both are meat eaters and though we're happy to have meatless meals, he'll likely fuss if I serve too many. Right now he is eating a meatless breakfast so cha ching, there's $1! Ha ha, I just mentioned something about thawing ground turkey and he just said, "For sausage? That would go good with these eggs right about now." See?

I'm still thinking about this and will add changes as I figure them out.

We went to a movie tonight, our third in 12 years!

We saw "I Am Legend" and if you like Will Smith and/or apocalyptic type movies, which we do, you should enjoy it. I admit I shed a few tears during the movie, too, but we had a nice time and it was a great reward.

For what were we rewarding ourselves?

We have $1100 saved in our emergency fund!!

Now to some of you that might be nothing but to us that is a MAJOR deal so we splurged and spent $22 (not of the emergency fund, though!) for the movie, two drinks, some chocolate covered peanuts, and one bag of popcorn.

Another goal reached - go us, go us!!!

I really have good intentions to blog regularly and I do try! But life gets in the way, I get busy, and the blogging slides until I get this wild urge to do it again. I'm sorry I'm such a lousy blogger. Forgive me, please.

So, what's new with me? Well, DH and I are getting counseling and working to save our marriage. That's a wonderful thing! He opened up a business after we split and it's doing well. We pray its successful and I believe it will be.

I got a job at the new Target store here. I really like it (I might be crazy but I LIKE retail!) but am switching to the Starbucks at that same Target on January 6th. The pay is a little better than cashiering and I hope I like it and do well at it. Hey, the coffee is a nice perk, too! Since finding a job was a goal for me, I feel great that I've found one that I like and pays halfway decent. Though I know I won't get rich in retail!

Tonight I've been planning our meals for the next week. Between having a job with irregular hours and the recent and ongoing increases in food prices, meal planning is more important for us than ever so that's something I want to get done. In a separate entry, I'll post our food inventory right now and the meals for the next week.

To Carol in Australia, who reads this blog regularly - would you please email me? I can't find your email address and want to email you.

I don't use a multiple envelope system where there's one envelope for each bill that's coming due but I use a single envelope system. It's a bank envelope and the amounts due are written in list form on one side of it. Once the entire amount for that bill is in the envelope, I check it off. I can easily look at the envelope and see how much is in it, how much I still need to get, etc. But it's a new system for me and this is my first month using it.

Right now there are no unchecked items and it's only October 7th! I just put in enough money to pay the storage and electric bills. The electric bill isn't due until the 24th but I'm going to pay it early this week.

Wow, it feels great to have all bills paid or the money for them set aside so early in the month.

The system I'm using seems to be working.

Go, Denise!

I checked my electricity account online and got a great surprise. The amount I owe is $72.06 and not close to $150 like I suspected I'd owe. Since this is the first full month and the first electric bill which was for 9 days was almost $40 I just knew it would be between $120 and $150. I'd figured my average daily kWh as 22 but the bill shows it to be 20. What a pleasant surprise to get a utility bill that's actually about half of what I thought it would be! I've tried not to use the AC much but I'm really not sure how it worked out this way. But hey, I'm not complaining.

And I managed to keep the kWh at 20 or less which has been a goal.

Yaaay, go me!

I got to the house I was to clean at about 11:30 after a very fitful night of not sleeping. The back door wasn't unlocked and there was no key to be found. I called the client and he had someone come let me in. So, I got in and started working. I thought it would take about 3 hours to clean but it took 4 and 1/2 hours. There were messes that I wasn't aware of but I managed it. Pay wise, it works out to a little over $13 an hour. It's hard around here to make that kind of money, especially if you're 'undegreed and uneducated' so I think I did well.

The client just called me and told me he was very pleased with the house and that it smells good. That made me feel nice! "Make it smell good" was his big request for the day so I succeeded!

But I am one tired girl! My back hurts, my feet hurt, and my head hurts. I was hungry when I got home but so tired all I could do was open a can of vegetable beef soup and eat it right from the can, no water and no heating. Now that's pretty tired!

Anyway, I survived and I hope he ends up being a regular or semi-regular client. Of course, if he does, it shouldn't take that long each time. I think I could do it monthly in 3 hours. That would be great!

And the best part is I have 60 more dollars to add to the bill envelope.

There are a few money-related things I need to work on so I've set some goals for myself for the month of October. They are:

1. Learn more about maximizing coupon use via thegrocerygame.com, CVS ECBs, and other methods. I've paid for membership with GG for October, November, and part of December and that should give me plenty of time to decide if I like it and if it's worth the money to me.

2. Keep my grocery spending at or below $125 for the month. Normally I go for $100 but with Thanksgiving approaching I'll need to buy a few things for the family get together.

3. Cook less and make better use of leftovers so little to no food is wasted. It's difficult to cook for one after years of cooking for a horde - or even a few people who eat like a horde!

4. Look for a local part time job.

5. Have at least two no spend days every week.

6. Put aside for savings 10% of all money I bring in.

There are other things I need to work on but if I try to do too many, I won't succeed at any!

So, I've been working on my new budget, trying to come up with a realistic one.

Originally, I'd budgeted $100 a month for food. I'm slightly over that for September and the month isn't over. But the grocery money is gone so I'll make do with what I have for the next six days. And I really do think I can do with $100 a month as long as I'm very careful about what I buy.

I registered at thegrocerygame.com and will see if that helps. Of course, after I registered and paid, I found groceryguide.com which is almost the same but free. Argh! I talked to a few people who have tried both and they all prefer the grocery game. I'll try it for the few weeks I paid for and if I don't like it, it's worth the money to know that.

Most of my expenses are fixed and I'm trying to keep the ones that aren't fixed under control. One of the big concerns I have is paying the electric bill. For nine days in September it was almost $37. Of course, those were nine very hot Texas days!

That doesn't sound too bad until you multiply it by 3 and see that a month of electric usage is about $120. That might not seem like a lot to some people but that's more than I can handle right now so off the AC went and off it's going to stay for some time. Unfortunately, the unit that cools is also the unit that heats so once it's cold, I'll have to use it unless I come up with an alternative. There's always layering clothes and hot coffee, though.

Here's to cooler weather and low grocery spending... may they be with me for awhile.

It's after midnight and I can't sleep. It's 63 degrees out and I sat on the porch awhile hoping the beautiful night might help me relax and feel sleepy. No such luck. There's not much on television but I have some old John Wayne movie playing. I can't see the screen from where I sit but I can hear it. I still love the sound of his voice...

I have way too much on my mind. The wireless install jobs are going okay but there aren't very many of them yet so DH isn't making much money. We're getting behind on things again and it makes me very nervous. I've filled out job applications but there isn't much hiring going on right now and going to another town isn't an option. We've gathered some things to put on eBay so I hope that works well. The last few things we listed didn't sell or sold for very little so I'm a tad reluctant but we'll see how it goes. Hopefully they'll bring in a little cash.

At any rate, it's a good thing I don't have plans for later today. I have the feeling I'm going to be tired...

So, this morning bright and early we walked outside to have some coffee and check on our plants. Here's a bit of what we saw:



This is bed 2. Right now all that's visible is broccoli but there's also fat man beans and a lot of other good stuff planted there.



This is a closer picture of the broccoli plants which are doing very well.



And here are the 24 tomato plants we got FREE at the local hardware store. Most of them had gotten a wee bit cold recently and had a bit of brown on them so they just gave them to us. We think we'll lose 2, maybe 3, of the 24 and that's not bad at all.



And here are the two beds we've planted so far. The tires in the background are stacked and used to grow tomatoes and squash.

And now for something completely different...I figure we all should
Make our own conspiracy theory at least once in our lifetime. Why not?

I've washed a load of clothes and a load of towels and hung them on the clothes line to dry.

DH and I moved the antenna away from the house and closer to the fence. Since we did that, we haven't lost our connection - it seems much more stable. We didn't gain any speed but not dropping every few minutes is worth something!

I straightened up the kitchen, swept the floor, and made more tea. Earlier today I browned the ground turkey for tonight's goulash. We'll have that with spinach and green beans and rolls with butter and everyone will be fat, sassy, and very happy.

Today we got a water bill for $35.22. That's the lowest it's been in a long time. This is the first full billing cycle since we've initiated a couple of changes.

One thing we did is put a brick in the toilet tank to reduce the water flow and I think that's helped.

We're basically down to three people now rather than four and the one who isn't here is the one who took 45 minute showers so that's helped. He still pops in now and then to shower but it's rare and I limit him to 10 minutes.

In addition, I've stopped washing dishes in between meals. I used to run a sink of dish water 5 to 7 times a day because I really dislike dirty dishes in the sink. Now I generally wash dishes 3 times a day, just rinsing anything that turns up between after meal washings. Surely that's made a difference, too.

Hopefully that difference will stick with us. Now if I could just make such a difference in the electric bill but that seems to be an impossibility.

Oh well, one bit of progress at a time...

The repair on the truck was only $135 instead of being around $700 as we figured. Yippeee! While we were out this morning we bought the double minutes plan for DH's tracfone, finally! Last month we went over the 600 minutes on my T-mobile and we've done it again this month. I don't use the phone much but with our ISP down for 3 weeks, the T-mobile was all we had and DH has been using it for business when we're out on a job so the bill is way too high. Now that he has his Tracfone that should end. We paid $140 for the double minutes plan and that included 420 minutes. Those will last him 2 to 3 months, probably.

There is a bit of good news, though. He did two wireless jobs over the weekend and has at least one and possibly two scheduled for tomorrow so that's more money coming in. I'm taking a bit out of all that comes in and putting it away. No set amount yet - just a little here and a little there. It makes me feel better to have a little bit stashed away. But we absolutely have to get caught up and that's where most of what he gets for the next two weeks is going.

We have plenty of food to last us so that shouldn't be much of an expense. The wireless jobs are all fairly local so gas shouldn't be a major expense, either.

Hey, I think there's light at the end of that long, dark tunnel!

Last week DH earned about $1,100 doing the commercial and wireless installs. There aren't any more commercial jobs to do right now but he'll be called if and when more come in. That could be a week or months, no telling.

As for the wireless installations, he should be able to stay busy with those. The pay isn't great but it should be enough to keep body and soul together and allow us to save some money, too. If he gets commissions for sales that would help tremendously! All the details aren't worked out but there's hope on the horizon.

It feels great to have some work coming in and be able to pay bills on time!

We still have no internet access but should soon, I hope. I'm checking email from the computer of the friend buying the ISP and he says he isn't sure when the T1 will be put in but he thinks it will be soon. Since he's the buyer, he knows a lot more about what's going on than the rest of us do.

So, we still have no access but I thought I'd check in and say I'm surviving. Barely.

Moneywise, things are tight but they always are! Hope is on the horizon, I believe, though.

More to come later...

DH is a FileMaker wizard. Me...not so much.

But he just helped me created a marvy database for keeping track of expenses. I can categorize them daily, monthly, weekly, etc and it will give me running totals. I'm so excited!

I've been keeping track of things in an expense book and while that's a good way to do it, I really prefer something on my computer and I really didn't want to use a spreadsheet because the functionality of those as opposed to a FM database is almost nil.

So, now I have a great way to keep track of expenses!

Next is a better way of keeping track of income.

Our ISP has been having major trouble. They're in the process of selling but the trouble has been going on almost since day one of our time with them. Anyway, our connection hasn't worked properly for a long time but the last few days have been horrendous so I haven't been able to do much at all online.

At any rate, a friend of ours is buying the ISP and he's asked my DH to go to work for him! He'll more than likely be doing sales and installs but the chance for a partnership is there, too. I'm thrilled, just thrilled!

Maybe there will be some work for me, too, but if not DH should be able to do fairly well in this business. It's the only wireless provider in our area and they have a stack of site surveys they haven't done because they were having so much trouble and didn't have the time or people to get to them. So, the work potential is very good! If we can just pay bills on time and save some money, I'll be overjoyed! Sad but true..

I'm not sure when the sale will be final but it should happen quickly.

Please keep us in your thoughts.

Ahh, apparently it's a homemade outdoor wood furnace.

We have a central heat and air unit that also can function as a heat pump. We don't use the heat pump function as it just doesn't seem to warm up the house. The air that comes from the vents is simply cold air. So instead we use the central heat to heat the house. Now, part of the house is about 55 years old and not well insulated. Another part, added later, is pretty well insulated but still stays cold.

Even if we turn the thermostat up to 72 the house is pretty cool. We usually keep it down, though, and just wear layers when we need them. But we're looking into other methods of heating as a $250 to $300 electric bill (specially when the house stays cool) is just ridiculous! We've thought about putting a fireplace in the living room but don't really have room for that.

So, to the point...

DH went to play guitar with a guy last night who built a very interesting heating contraption for his house. He's a welder and he put together this huge heavy gauge steel cylindrical tank which sits outside the house. In it is another cylinder in which a fire is built with whatever kind of wood he can find. There's a smoke stack going up about 15 feet and the heat is piped, via insulated pipe into one room of the house. There was just a small fire in the contraption last night and DH and the guys were playing two rooms away and he said they had to open the front door after awhile to let some cool air in because the place was burning up!

We're going to talk to the man to find out what it would cost to build us one of those. Have any of you heard of one of these? If so, do you know what it's called and do you know much about them?

but had to borrow $500 to do it. I didn't want to do that, Lord knows I didn't, but we can't rent a place for less than our house payments. The car and bike haven't sold yet but if they do, we'll repay that $500 right then.

We now have about $35 and that's it. The electric bill and a house payment are due late next week but we're dealing with that. Fortunately, we have a well stocked pantry and just paid the water bill.

Now that this major hurdle is over we have to work on the smaller ones. Neither of us have found a job yet, but I'm sure I can find something in retail, even if it's just part time. If I can make enough to cover the house payment, I'll be thrilled.

So, yeeeehaw (sort of!), we saved the house!

Man, this is exhausting...

So far this month we've deposited $1,618 into the bank. The balance in the account and the expenditures for which I have receipts total $1,599.19 so somewhere out there $18.81 is unaccounted for. Argggh, I wish I knew where it went!

But considering that this is my first attempt at a zero based budget, that isn't too bad, I don't think.

Is it?

It's great being able to see just where our money has gone - at least all but that $18.81!

Alright, this might work for me..it might just work.

Gloom, despair, and agony on me!!!

I got Dave Ramsey's TMMO book in the mail today (free from someone who read it and passed it on to me) and read chapters 1 through 8. I'm not sure if I should feel some hope or if despair is called for.

I feel somewhat hopeful because his plan, while obviously not easy, appears to work. And (this is a biggie!) we don't have $85,000 in debt like so many people who sing Dave's praises. We only have about $16,000 in debt, not including the mortgage. However, we also don't make $120,000 a year! We've taken a loss the last two or three years so I can't say we really make anything at all. As Dave puts it, we don't have a business - we have an expensive hobby. And there's the crux of it all. Sure, we spend money on things we shouldn't at times but the reality is that we don't make enough money to cover our basic expenses. Last year our income taxes showed our $11,000 loss. So no matter how much budgeting we do we're still in danger.

After I read the book, my man person asked what I'd learned. I told him "Not a lot" as I'd listened to so many of Dave's archived radio shows and read so much online that the book was really a refresher more than anything but that I did learn a couple of things. He asked what, of course. I hesitated a bit and finally told him I did learn something I'd suspected. He asked what and I said, "I think it will work for us but to make it work, there would need to be major changes. I mean really major changes and to be honest, I'm not sure we'll make them." There, I said it. I've hinted, alluded, and suggested but tonight I finally flat out said it. He asked me for details. "Our problem isn't just too many expenses. It's also not enough income." He agreed and I told him that the only way out of that is to increase the income.

So, we talked for a few minutes and he told me that he's decided our business isn't working and that he'll just go get a job. Whoa! He hasn't had a "job" in the 13 years I've known him. He's been self-employed in one fashion or another and nothing has made him get a job, no matter how desperate we were.

I haven't the foggiest how this will pan out. I don't think he'll actually get a job. Why? Because I've told him more than once (and more than 10 times) that a job paying him $300 a week would be better and give me more security than a business that might or might not provide $2000 a month. I've tried to explain that if I knew we had $300 a week coming in, I could deal with that one way or another but not knowing from one day to the next or one month to the next what money there will be leads to insecurity for me. In all the time I've told him this he's never understood.

At any rate, I told him I'd get a job and he said no, we can't do that. I'm not sure what he meant by that but that's what he said. Since we only have one vehicle and he uses it during the day, I've told him before that I'll work nights but he won't hear of it because the only night jobs around here are at convenience stores and that's just too dangerous for me. That's nice and I would worry, too, but we're desperate. And have been for awhile! So I don't mind getting a night job if that's what I need to do.

So I'm wondering..what if I worked days and he worked nights? That would be hard but it could be done. Many couples have done that. He wouldn't like it nor would I but it's something to consider.

Anyway, I'm just rambling. Trying to figure out where we're headed, if we'll ever dig ourselves out of this mess, and just how we're going to do things. There might be light at the end of the tunnel, though. At least he listened to me and he said he'll read the book. And he's admitting that the business isn't working out and he needs to get a job.

That's progress. I think.

I've been on a de-cluttering kick for awhile. It's slow going as we have a lot of stuff accumulated and my other half isn't into getting rid of stuff. In fact, he's into getting stuff - hence, all the stuff we have! He's one of those who sees some broken item somewhere, thinks he might be able to repair it and perhaps sell or use it so he throws it in the back of his truck and brings it home.

More often than not, he rarely touches it after that, although he might move it once or twice. It generally is just in the way though causing me to mutter under my breath and even lose my temper now and then.

Our front porch was littered with this stuff until recently when I went on a cleaning binge. Now it's fairly clean but in the three weeks since we cleaned it off, he's managed to put on it a broken ice maker, a broken freezer, several pieces of plywood and I don't know what else.

Lord knows I love him and I even love his ingenuity and creativity! But..I don't love the accumulation of stuff. I'm slowly trying to weed through it all but it's taking years. Literally.

Discardia is a site I read. I imagine most of you know about it but for those who don't, check it out. It's pretty interesting reading and I've gotten some different perspectives on some things there.

Could someone please explain to me, in layman terms, what Emigrant and ING are? I've read references to them and did some searching but my brain just isn't comprehending what these two things are.

I certainly don't have money to save right now but hope to in the future and maybe one or both of those will be options for me.

I've been listening to Dave's radio show archives all afternoon and I think I'm finally beginning to understand his system. Do any of you use his baby steps and have they worked or are they currently working for you?

Almost every caller has what I consider a large income and job benefits - so far none of them are like us, living at or below the poverty level, not insured, barely getting by, etc. so I'm not sure how well his suggestions would work for us but I'm very willing to give them a try.

DH isn't quite on board with all this yet. I've mentioned things to him but as of yet, he hasn't commented. I might have to do most of this on my own but if I have to, I will.

I have 5 lbs of chicken cooking on the stove right now. After it's cooked and cooled, I'll de-bone it and put the chicken in containers in the fridge and we'll use it over the next few days.

Tonight's dinner will be... chicken! Surprise! I'm not sure what I'll do with it but it will either be homemade chicken pot pie, a real favorite around here, or perhaps chicken salad rollups and sandwiches.

I need to wash a little laundry again and hang it on the line. I make a confession to you all right now. The "boys", ages 22, 21 and 16 don't like to use towels more than once. They're funny about that for some reason and while I don't have a problem with it in theory, in practice it creates more work and expense for me. Although the guys wash and dry their own laundry, they don't normally wash and dry towels; I do it. So yesterday I got a bright idea. I hung their wet towels on the clothes line and when they were dried, I just folded them neatly and put them on their dressers. They'll use them again today. Now, why didn't I think of this sooner? I haven't a clue! At any rate, if I can make a towel last two or three days instead of just one, it's less laundry which means less money spent and less work for me. Yeehaw, I like it.

I'm working online today, earning what money I can. And I shouldn't spend a thing. The only money spent today should be whatever DH spends while he's out making calls.

I didn't quit smoking on the 1st as I'd planned but I did quit on the 2nd of January. This is what my quit gadget just gave me:

17 hours, 55 minutes and 29 seconds smoke free.

60 cigarettes not smoked.

$7.00 and 11 hours of your life saved.

Wow, $7 saved already! Impressive

Okay, I've been reading about credit stuff and still am confused. I got a copy of the standard DV letter but am not sure just when to use it. I don't know if I should just ignore the ones that will be rolling off before long or pay the bloomin' things!

In August, I will have money to pay off some debts so I wonder if I should just pay them them.

I understand that from a moral standpoint, the debts should be paid and I am good with that but I don't want to cause myself damage in the long run by paying off something that might be best left alone.

Ahhh, the thrills and joys of bad credit!

Speaking of bad credit, as I said I didn't pay the $8 to get my score but I did use the credit score compass at:

http://www.credit.com/landing_pages/compass/

to get an estimate. It's bad, very bad. The estimate is ... 495-535. Gulp!

Please, don't hate me because I'm a credit risk!

I see a few places we can cut back.

We have the cheapest cell phone service we can get with T-mobile but I think when we have the money I'll go back to pre-paid with Trac-fone and get the double minutes card. We like not having a bill to deal with and in the long run that saved us quite a bit. We'll more than likely have the satellite TV turned off. If it's a choice between that and the ISP, we'll take the ISP as it's important to the business and the satellite TV is not.

The electric bill is always so high but I don't know what to do to lessen it. This house isn't as well insulated as it needs to be but until we have the cash to add insulation we have to deal with it as is. We only use the heat when it's really cold and lately it's been fairly warm so we haven't used it much. I've come across quite a few people who maintain that they've lowered their electric bill by eliminating or decreasing phantom load. I've read up on this and it does appear that unplugging some appliances when they're not being used can save up to 26% on the electric bill but I can't get DH believe it or to go along with it. I really would like to just try it for a month and see if it makes much of a difference. I'll try talking to him about it again and see if he'll agree to a 30 to 60 day trial. I wonder if doing the phantom load test would have him rethinking it. Hmm, something to ponder...

The water bill is too high, also. It's never as cheap as I'd like but it's been higher than normal for the last couple of months. I'm going to start sending the boys into the bathroom with the kitchen timer and tell them they have 10 minutes. When that timer goes off, the water needs to be turned off and they then have 5 minutes to dry off, dress, and get out of the bathroom. Two of the three that are often here will stay in there for 45 minutes to an hour!

So, one for the next month is to decrease the electric and water consumption.

Our electric bill for November was $171.60, 2292 KWH used

For December it was $140.16, 1803 KWH used

Our most recent water bill, due on the 10th, is $56.02, 6800 gallons used

I should be able to improve both of those. We'll see.