Seems like both the blogs and I have been quiet lately. Tis the season, I know...

I've only got 2 more gifts to get (gift certificates, both of 'em!), and am pretty much on budget for the holidays. Technically I'm over budget by about $50, but I don't feel bad since I had to add in 3 birthdays, 3 Christmas presents, and a baby shower gift. And that's for a total of 4 people!

My confession is regarding a purchase. In a way I'm really OK with it, but there's still that voice telling me I shoulda put the money towards debt.

At any rate, lemme give you the reasons why I'm OK with it. One: property taxes for the car & house were $162.62 lower than anticipated. WOO and HOO!!! The as-of-yet unrevealed purchase was $179.99 before tax, so only $17.37 was money I hadn't already planned on spending. Two: even with December being one giant cash drain (2900 in regular expenses, and 2000 for budgeted taxes and the holidays!ack!), there is still money leftover this month. Three: aforementioned purchase was a REALLY GOOD DEAL.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, baby

OK, here's what we bought: a 1000 watt home theater system (aka DVD/CD player tuner combo, 5 speaks and a subwoofer). Completely unnecessary, but a great deal nontheless. And, considering our existing stereo, CD player, and DVD player were all crapping out (and our 52" big screen was a freebie), $179.99 for a brand new setup isn't bad... Hey, it could have been worse, the one we *really* wanted was $249.99... Even I looked at that one and said "Boy, THAT'S sexy!"

The coolest part by far, though, is that there's a USB slot on the front of the receiver, so we can plug in our flash drives and play hours of our favorite songs. No more burning CDs and the associated costs therein! See, it was really a frugal decision! HA!!!

On a more serious note (kinda), I'm debating about how I want to tackle debt in the new year. Thanks to my snowballing spreadsheet I know what would make the most sense by the numbers. Thing is, I don't know if that would be the most gratifying way to do it. And more importantly, I don't think it would impress DH as much to do it the 'right' way.

I'll ask him, but I'm pretty sure he'll hop on the wagon more completely when we actually have some bills we don't have to pay anymore, rather than just seeing the existing balances go down. Ah, psychology, strange beast...

And good news: I may have found a buyer for our canoe! Yes, the same canoe we bought in September because DH had wanted one for 20 years, but has since only been used once... A co-worker is interested in it. Keep your fingers crossed, cause that would be an unexpected 400-500 to put towards the cause!