January Recap

The original reason for even starting my blog (on Jan. 1 2009) was to keep track of debt reduction and weight loss. On January 1 of this year, I made a new list of goals - shockingly (or not) debt reduction and weight loss topped the chart again. What's different this year? I'm going to do a monthly recap to make sure I'm staying on top of my goals so that each and every one gets accomplished.

Weight Loss
This one has been slow going, but I'm still doing Weight Watchers and have lost a total of 8 pounds so far (since November, so it's not really that impressive). However, I'm now in size 4 jeans... I have never worn size 4 jeans in my life. Not even in college. I'm thrilled with my progress on this one! My goal for February is to lose a total of 4 pounds.

Debt Reduction
The little ticker at the bottom of the page is set to count down the percentage paid on our CCCS accounts starting with the total left in November 2009. In the past 3 months, we've paid 19.4%, leaving a total of 80.6% still to go. To be done in November, we need to pay at least 8.96% each month moving forward, so I'll need to figure out how to shuffle to budget to accommodate that. I think I can send in a double payment on my account this month. Keep an eye on the ticker!

Misc. 2010 Goals
Menu Planning & Once a Week Grocery Shopping - I rocked it in January, doing a menu each week and shopping just once! I missed yesterday because we spent Sunday in the emergency vet clinic with Marley so this week is a free for all. Back on the train next week, though. We've been saving a ton of money buying just what we need and not a ton of extra crap "because it's on sale". This has been pretty key in the debt reduction part of things... it was the random trips to the grocery store each week that really killed us.

Getting Rid of Crap in the House - I took a total of 3 trips to the Goodwill store this month, each time with a car load of stuff. It was mostly clothes, but also some random "stuff". An old iron, a few laundry baskets... stuff that was just taking up space in our little house. The closets aren't as jam-packed any more, but we still need to pare down some more. I know there's stuff in here we don't use, and we just need to get rid of it.

Take Lots of Pictures with the Rebel - Mission accomplished. I took a shit ton of awesome photos in January... not I just need to get them on to the computer so I can share them with you!

Beef Up Our Savings Account - This is an area we're really lacking in because our drive to pay off debt is so strong. In theory, we're paying more in credit card interest than we'd be gaining in interest if this money was sent to a savings account.... however, it's a little disconcerting to look at my bank statement and not see our savings going up every month. To be fair, we ended up with a boat load of emergencies (new alternator, emerg. vet bill) this month and didn't touch our savings at all to pay for them, so that was awesome.

Date Night - Pazo in Baltimore. The restaurant was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the little chocolate cupcakes with whipped cream and salted caramel were to die for. Great dinner. A+ on that date night.

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So that was January in a nutshell. I still have no idea what's for dinner this week, so I'll put something together and get it up tomorrow morning. Happy February!