It's amazing how the little things add up! I have sold a few things on E-Bay this past week and made about $50. I sold a Bionicle toy, two Christmas ornaments, a PartyLite candle, and a small train. These things were sitting on the floor near the computer, and it's nice to get them out of the house.

I think in Feburary the thing that I will work on is me. I focus on the kids' wants and needs, especially my 15 y.o. She has a great wardrobe, but mine is sadly lacking. Whatever I sell on E-Bay for the month of February will go towards me! This will be a new experience; something I'm not used to! I've decided to be my own Valentine...


Looking back over the month of January, for the most part I'm pleased with my progress. I've eaten out a few times at work, I think 4 or 5. We have sometimes cranked the heat up. For the most part though, I've diligently packed a lunch and kept the temperature down.

I pay for the groceries and gas in cash, now. It's much more obvious how much I spend when I don't use the debit card. Of course, all change goes into the money jar.

My daughter just came downstairs and told me that something is moving around in her wall. "Go to BED" I said impatiently. I've already worked, cooked dinner, helped with homework, supervised Nick's bath, and so on. It's supposed to be Mom time now. "SERIOUSLY Mom!" She did look pretty freaked out, so I went up to investigate.

There is something scrabbling around in her wall! Ew Ew Ew... It sounds like some kind of rodent had babies and they are all making noise and scritch-scratching around. Sigh.

My list for today is things that are TOO frugal;


Sleep three in a bed to share warmth LOL

The heck with doing laundry! Wear the same socks all week until your mother notices; put them back on after your bath. (DS is 10, need I say more?)

Tell your parents that you're not hungry. Go to visit Grandma & Papa. Eat everything in sight. Grandma wonders why we aren't feeding her grandchildren.

Who needs dog food when your two little doxie dogs can just sneak next door and eat the bread and rolls that the neighbors throw out for the birds and squirrels? We don't have fences in this subdivision, and the back yards are all woods.


Anyhow, time to get serious here. My goal is to do something each day to be frugal, and so far it's going well. I did install the thermostat with the timer, and that will save quite a bit on heating costs. I'll be able to compare the bills over the next couple of months to see what the savings are.

I own a toy store, and yesterday I talked to the phone company about reducing costs. I have three phone lines - one for the telephone, one for the credit card machine, and a third for the fax machine. Did you know that you can get junk mail through a fax machine? I'm not sure how, but I get advertisements and sales pitches that are faxed to me fairly often. When I meet with a sales rep and place an order, they write it out on an order form. When they get back to their office, they enter the order into their computer, place the order, and then fax me a copy for my records. I have asked that they put these in the mail from now on. The cost savings is $34 per month for the extra phone line I got rid of, plus the cost of fax film, paper, and so on.

I went over my monthly bills and noticed a $3.50 charge from my credit card machine company for "equipment warranty". They removed it when I requested. They didn't sell me my machine, why the heck would they warranty it? Savings monthly at work - about $37.50 per month.

I have stopped eating out for lunch. There are many restaurants within walking distance, and it's too easy to spend a few dollars each day. I've been packing a lunch for the last 12 days. At $3 - $4 dollars a day, that helps a lot. In fact, today the owner of the deli next door came in and asked if they had done anything to upset me, because I suddenly stopped dropping by! Sheesh.

I called Kohl's today, because we had been assesed a $25 late fee. I had overlooked a balance of $1.34. So, this month's bill was for $26.34. They were very nice and dropped the fee. Did you know that most times if you ask, credit card companies and stores will drop late fees? Trust me, I know from personal experience. Don't be shy about calling and asking. Hopefully as time goes by, I won't need to do that anymore, because I won't HAVE credit card bills. I also cancelled my Kohl's charge account. Who needs a bunch of cards anyhow? Less temptation.

I seem to be writing a novel tonight. Even if no one else is interested, it helps to keep me on track. Each small accomplishment is a good feeling, like the feeling you get when you do something nice for someone else. We are doing something nice for ourselves, and it feels good, doesn't it?

Like everyone else, I've made a resolution to get in good financial shape this year. Hopefully next December I'll look over my entries and see how much I've accomplished! With that in mind, my goals are to step things up month by month. In January I'm doing something money-saving every day, no matter how small. These little things add up, as you know, and it will get me in the right frame of mind. February I'll continue with that and add something else as well.

Today I have lowered the heat way down because it's a sunny day. We have a thermostat timer that has been sitting around in the box for ages. My goal for today is to install it. This should be interesting. Whenever I install or put together something I'm one that does things backwards/wrong etc. More on this next time!

Well, I smell something suspicious in the hallway and Shadow (dachshund dog) is now dragging her butt across the carpet. I just let her out, too. Good thing I love her.

Back to my glamorous life.