It is snowing again and my shovel broke. I came home early to shovel and I am hating this weather. 25 dollars for a new shovel!

I can't wait for spring! I can't wait for the warm weather! Sigh!

Took the 98 Sienna in for simple repairs. It never turns out that way. It needs two front tires and the right steering linkage needs to be repaired. All this in addition to the back door handle breaking.

The bill to do all this will be 875 if we decide to do this. It just never stops. I am leaning towards repair rather than buying a new car. I think we can get 1 or 2 more years out of the mini van. DW wants a new car plus one for the DD. I hate to spend the money!

All I can do is the best I can do!

Another day where I spent no money. Found some change cleaning out drawers and coats. In the notions jar it goes.

We still have not taken my wife's van in to get the back door handle fixed. We'll put it off as long as we can.

My friend who was in serious financial trouble is now operating with his head above water so I save that money now that I used to send him.

My budget is still out of whack so I have to eliminate some more expenses from my budget. Cutting into bone at this time!

NO clothes purchases this year. That is the goal and I have broken out the needle and thread. I am so glad my father insisted I learn basic needle and thread skills.

I volunteer with the town and I get a free family pool pass for the summer. That should save us upwards of $200. We used the pool extensively last year. I alos get the free use of a gym but have not used it yet!

Our local library is really great and you can get DVDs and CDs of really neat stuff. I am not renting anything ever again from the local Blockbuster!

Just hooked up the P3 4400 Kill A Watt Meter to my freezer in the basement. The wife and I will also check the fridge we have in the garage. This device measures kilowatt hour use by appliances. We can then see how much it is to run the appliance on a monthly basis. The results might make it worth it to buy a new freezer that is more efficient and cost effective. We will be checking out our large appliances first and then the smaller ones as we use them to see where we can cut electric usage!

What killed us this last bill was gas usage. We use gas to heat hot water, our house, the range top, and our clothes dryer! We have lowered the temp on the water heater again. We have lowered the heat as much as we can but MIL is 87 and cannot take the cold. Good thing we don't have a large house. I use the dryer to warm up the wet clothes and then hang them in the basement.I am also using cold water to wash everything except whites and under garments.Showers are being carefully watched to make sure they are as short as humanly possible.

I have ended several magazine subscriptions even though I enjoyed them.
I have a 25 dollar gift card to Barnes and Nobles but I will use this for a gift for someone thus saving more money!

I make most of my calls after 9 PM and on weekends with the cell phone. We got three cell phones for just a little over 100 dollars for extending for three years. Our phones were kind of beat up and so it was time. It really was a good deal.

I have given up driving for pleasure. I try to set a route out when I run errands in order to use as little gas as possible. The wife has been pretty good of late with this as well.

Wow! That was pretty long winded of me! Still saving as much as I can and spending as little as possible!

We use our 10 year old Toyota Sienna a lot. It is getting long in the tooth but I figure getting a few problems like the back hatch handle fixed is cheaper than new car payments.

We have to start getting a bit more money together for a new car. My car is 8 years old and I am shooting for 7 more years out of it. I figure if I do the maintenance regularly it will last me a goood long while.

I hate car payments so I will kepp saving till I have a goodly amount of the price of a car.

Well, in any case I have to get the handle fixed on the back door of the Sienna. The bills never stop!

Wow! I have been here a while! I have not gotten to the place I need to be yet but it sure ain't from lack of trying!

Another no spend day for me. I have to keep it up.

Money is slow coming in. We just lost my wife's medical insurance a couple of months ago and are now paying 1500 a month for it.

We did not exchange gifts at Christmas. We are clipping coupons, cutting back where we can, and remaining hopeful for the future to be better.

I try and put together no spend days on the top of my list of things to do! I keep socking as much money away as possible.

I was shoveling snow last week and developed some sort of heart arrythmia. I went to the cardiologist and he does not think it serious but I am going for a nuclear stress test this Tuesday.

We had a cold spell and I found myself stuffing newspaper around the doors in order to stop heat loss.

I pay cash for most everything these days. I throw the loose change in a jar in order to save. When I fill the jar up I'll put the money in the bank.

I wish everyone a good year and the best of health!