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The holidays were brutal. But I am here to say that we made it through without using our credit cards to make up the difference. We did, however, decimate our emergency fund. Making kids happy on Christmas morning is an emergency right?
We didn't go overboard, (really!) but we didn't go into the holiday season with a plan, either. There was no time to prepare. We worked hard all fall to build up that emergency fund, start up the debt snowball and shove it down the hill. There were no pennies left to even think about Christmas.
So here we are and the chips are falling. We have a whopping twelve cents left in our savings account, so we are back to square one. The good thing is that we are not experiencing the post-holiday blues like we have in the past - by opening up the credit card statements, one after one, and being consumed with remorse. For that I am very, very thankful. We have not used credit since August, and it feels sooo good!
We finally pushed up our sleeves and had the long-needed budgetary meeting this past weekend. We haven't had a plan since the beginning of November, and it is nice to see where we are heading. It is a busy time right now... karate lessons are going up in price as Jordan has moved up a level, lots of activites with scouts for both Jordan and Rylan are adding up to dollars here, dollars there... and we don't want to be caught empty-handed.
Relearning the lesson to just say 'no'
Dean and Jordan will be foregoing a boy scout ski trip this coming weekend because we had an emergency repair to the dryer last weekend. Dean did the work and saved us a boatload of money, but the part was just expensive enough that there is little left beyond grocery and gas money for the rest of the week. Dean would have had to pay for the lift tickets this past Monday to hold their spot, and there just wasn't enough left. We had to back out... but that is the kind of decision-making that has to happen if you are going to commit to getting out of debt.
I am having to say 'no' to a painting lesson with friends this coming Friday night, because - again, there isn't that much room for error during the next pay period. We have already mapped out the cash flow, and it is apparent that hardly anything can be shunted back into the emergency fund. We are being hit hard with annual drudgery like vehicle tags, vet visits and the like...
Getting out of debt is not a quick thing. The process for us will take a long, long time. This coming holiday season, though, we are going to be prepared with A PLAN. I don't like looking into an empty wallet and feeling the fear, day in and day out, that we are just an emergency away from serious trouble.
