Debt Free Wannabe

Been a while

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:37:31 PST

OK, so I haven't posted since the end of August. What have I been doing all this time? I am not really sure, but I definitely wasn't posting on here. I did go through a miscarriage in October and haven't felt like doing much of anything since then, but I am coming around slowly....

Finally - something to help keep me organized!

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 09:59:19 PST

I am one of those people who can't remember what needs to be done unless it is written down. Therefore, I have about 4 to-do lists floating around at any one time. One for home, one for work, a grocery list, a Target list, an event planning list, etc. Unfortunately, the lists never...

6 months of progress

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 08:37:22 PST

We started this journey out of debt just shy of six months ago in the middle of February. When we realized that we were thinking about expanding our family and realized that we couldn't afford to pay for daycare for a second child with the amount of monthly debt payments we were under.

So...

Birthday Party Planning woes

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:40:56 PST

My son, Caleb, turns 3 on Labor Day Weekend and we have decided to throw him a little party with his friends. After the last two years with all of the family there turned into nightmares, we will be limiting it to his little friends ONLY. Here is the rub....I have NO IDEA what to...

Forever and then some

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:57:02 PST

It has been a LOOOOOOOONG time since I felt like posting on here, but I am going to try and be a little more frequent. I have fallen off the debt bandwagon a wee bit but am in the process of getting back on. Don't get me wrong, we never quit paying down debt like we have planned,...

"Vote early, vote often!" and other tales

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Fri, 18 May 2007 13:25:23 PST

I don't know how many of you saw it, but there was a blog contest out from 5/1 to 5/15 having to do with "Confessions of a...". There were several entries and everyone can now vote on their favorite 3. Go check out the blog section of the forums and vote! There were some great entries!

Now...

Rummage sale-o-rama!

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Fri, 11 May 2007 14:30:16 PST

Took the morning off of work today and went to some local garage sales with a friend of mine. The small community we were in has a city-wide sale at this time every year and they are fabulous! We spent 4 hours and only made it through ONE neighborhood. Spent $100 but got all of...

Back to normal

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:35:27 PST

Unfortunately, our total cash available was down to less than $100 before getting refilled this morning. We "borrowed" $1200 from ourselves in the form of OD transfers. OUCH! But, we are almost back to normal. We will have less to live on for the rest of the month than we are used...

A little more income

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Wed, 09 May 2007 07:15:53 PST

I did my first survey for Pinecone last week and am having the $5 sent to my bank account as we speak. Also, I sold 3 books last month on Half.com and they just deposited $19 into my checking account. Gotta love it! As soon as we are back flush with our savings account (tomorrow)...

Blah blah blah

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Tue, 08 May 2007 08:18:05 PST

Even though the days are getting longer, my time seems to be getting shorter. Scott was gone last night to Grand Rapids so of course I didn't get anything done around the house. We didn't get home until almost 7 due to chiropractor appointments and having to stop to pick up dog food,...

Confessions of a Compulsive Shopper

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Thu, 03 May 2007 09:57:32 PST

Hi, my name is Sara, and I am a compulsive shopper. Worse, I am married to another compulsive shopper. As a result, we are $33,000 in debt in about 9 years. The first step in many recovery programs is first admitting you have a problem and Saving Advice has been very helpful to...

OAMC

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Wed, 02 May 2007 07:19:57 PST

Homebody asked in a comment to my last entry, what I made at my latest OAMC (Once A Month Cooking) session. Well, the list is huge, but here goes:

Pepper Steak
Polynesian Steak
Greek Burgers
Jamaican BBQ Chicken
Chicken Fajitas
Apricot BBQ Chicken
Moroccan Chicken
Ginger...

Long time gone

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Tue, 01 May 2007 15:12:32 PST

Man, it has been forever since I had a chance to post. Last week was just INSANELY busy at work. I had very little time to even think straight, much less fill you in on anything. Then, the weekend was gorgeous so we spent most of it cleaning, working outside and spending time as...

Paid surveys and OAMC session

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:15:11 PST

After noticing that many of you are making some side money by completing online surveys, I thought I would check it out. Based on what I have read/heard/seen, I signed up with Pinecone Research (after finally finding a working link) and am waiting approval. I am thinking about signing...

Lower cell phone bill?

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 06:58:03 PST

Well, I finally convinced DH to switch our cell phone plan last night. It was quick and painless and MAY save us some money. It will definitely save us from the standpoint of not going over on our minutes.

Right now we have a nationwide family plan because DH was doing a lot...

A little bit of everything

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:42:12 PST

This week has been a whirlwind. I can't believe it is already the end of Monday because it feels like I have been running non-stop. Work has been crazy and will only get crazier in the coming weeks. The weather is finally getting nicer so now I have stuff that I need to do outside...

Taxes are in the mail!

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:35:15 PST

Forgot to mention that I put our federal tax payment ($1499) in the mail on Saturday. We got $1155 back from the state, so we only had to kick in an extra $344. Tried to carve it our of the monthly budget but ended up having to take it out of the EF instead. Oh well, at least it...

Weekend update & wage increase

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:02:02 PST

Another weekend has come and gone and I don't have a lot to show for it. My parents were in town for a few days, which was very nice, but not exactly relaxing. Since they were keeping the boy occupied, I was able to get a little bit of stuff taken care of around the house, though....

A little more progress

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:12:49 PST

DH's payday was today and every penny of it has been given a job. And every penny of my paycheck tomorrow has also been given a job. Unfortunately, most of it is going out the door right away. However, for the first time in a while, we are not spending MORE than we are earning....

Income and outgo

sara.withrow@tds.net (Sara (a.k.a. newlyfrugal)) — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 11:39:09 PST

Tomorrow DH gets paid and I get paid on Friday. I have already scheduled several payments that will go out from my credit union's bill pay system. One of the payments will pay off the small amount we have the credit card we did the balance transfer from and the other will pay off...