Even more so now than in the past, I find that I'm changing my habits

I went online to pay one of my credit cards and saw on the main screen "Late Payment Warning"

So I clicked on it and received a nice little "warning" that if my payment was just a little late, they'd revoke my 1.99% APR (balance transfer) and increase my rate to 29.99%

Wow! That just made me even more passionate to get rid of that credit card.

I'm confident that once DH & I get out of credit card debt, we will STAY out of it simply because bank practices are becoming way too scary.

In good news, I checked DH's earnings statement to find out what we'll be receiving at the end of the month for his pay and was pleasantly surprised to find that the amount was $800 over what I was expecting!

After bills are paid that left me with a budget surplus of $1179.

I'm also trying to plan Christmas, however. I've slowly started working on shopping for my family already. So far, I've only bought the baby one thing which was a LeapFrog Violet. But I'm trying to get my list in shape, including my own wish list of items.

When I started the list, I had a lot of things on there. Kindle and some other stuff. And as I go back I think... I don't really NEED a Kindle or a CatGenie. We have a Litter Robot that works fine & I've lived without a Kindle for this long, I can continue to do so.

What I do need is clothes & I would like a mixer to help me with baking/cooking. The biggest thing I've wanted has been the matching wedding band to my ring. Last I checked, the price was $1750 (my ring was $3800) and I've wanted it for the past 2 1/2 years as a 10th anniversary gift.

I'm doubtful we'll get it though. That $1750 would be much better spent towards getting us out of credit card debt so I don't have to worry about a bank turning evil & charging 29.99%. So for now, I'll settle for clothes.

We also found out we won't be moving till July & we won't be going to Mississippi after all. I am THRILLED! I didn't really want to go to Mississippi & moving the kids in the middle of the school year with their therapy appointments was something I did not want to do.

At least this way it gives us another 8 months here, the kids can finish their therapy, and we can re-negotiate for orders. Hopefully orders we like!

DH is up for shore duty & if we can get shore duty on the west coast or Hawaii - I'll be over the moon.

So, that is what has been going on here. Mostly Christmas has been giving me reason to pause & try really hard to be financially responsible this holiday season. I'm sticking to my rule... no credit card usage, but knowing how much to plan to spend on each family member (We're only buying for the kids & each other) is something I'm not sure about.

The younger kids I know can get by with budgeting less. The baby's clothes & toys are much cheaper than the older kids'. But last year I spent $1337 on Christmas for this family of 6. That's $222/person.

So yeah, I need to really try to plan this out better. There is no way I'm spending that much again this year. I'm sure I can find a way to make it work regardless of the kids' expensive taste in toys.