Kicking off the January Spending Freeze

Happy New Year! At 12 o'clock I sure was happy to see a brand new year. However, as reality sinks in for what is in store for this year, my stomach has been in knots. Maybe it's looking at this mountain of debt - much higher than I ever expected it to get. Or maybe it's the fact that I asked out a guy today and we're having dinner on Friday and I have to do the first date dance and I'm really nervous and awkward. Either way, I'm WAY outside my comfort zone just hours into the new year!

What better way to continue this dive outside of my comfort zone by freezing my spending? As positive as this will be for my finances, it makes me nervous. I have too many "what if" scenarios in my head of how this will be difficult mentally and socially. They're ridiculous scenarios and I know my priority of paying off debt will be well worth the sacrifice, but yeah, I'm nervous. Maybe it's just getting rid of the credit card safety net that freaks me out. It's hard to live within my means when I don't make that much money. But I can do it and I will. Man, this post is full of rambling, huh?

I was going to go see Saving Mr. Banks today but then I realized I couldn't spend money. Thankfully there's a Happy Endings marathon on VH1 to keep me fairly entertained. However, I'm bound to go stir crazy at this rate.

I updated my budget today and made my first debt payment of $145. It feels good but it feels so small. I'm embarrassed to admit how high my credit card balance is. It's higher than it has ever been and I'm ashamed. I'm freaked out that I have no babysitting jobs on the books for January yet and no resumes to do.

But how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Who came up with this anyway? People don't eat elephants!

The best I can do is $1 at a time and do the best I can. And I'll put my nervous energy into working hard and setting up more jobs instead of worrying my days away.

Cheers to new challenges and a new year! If you're doing a spending freeze, be sure to link up with us on February 4th!