The Light

I am excited to say that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I know darn well that it is not a train! I started out with $71,779.01 in credit card debt. While the debt hasn't gone away, I have chipped away at some of the problem ones and now have it down from 11 accounts to 4. Two of the accounts are at no interest (hey, "some money is better than no money I told the creditors", and after not being able to collect anything for several years, they concurred).

Part of the change is in my thinking. I used to see just the mountain of debt that I was diligently working on. I was working 70+ hours a week just to keep my head above water. Now, I am focused on building wealth, even though I haven't fully eliminated my credit card debt...yet! I also used to be extremely miserly with my money, but have come to realize that there are people that have it worse than I ever did, so I am sharing out of my abundance.

I have truly been blessed with health (which is improving), family, and employment. Some don't experience that blessing.

Thank you for all that you have done, and keep fighting to keep more of what you make!

Have a great day!

Saving Money With Dogs

I realize that having a pet is an expense, but since my wife and I rarely go to movies or go out to eat much, having a pet is an expense that we chose. We first had a Australian cattle dog-mix (still going) about 8 years ago. She has developed cataracts and a bit of neuritis in the last few years and we decided to adopt a blind, high-energy Australian Shepherd who is about as opposite as you can get. The older dog tolerates her fairly well, but the puppy seems a bit incomplete (our perception) as she loves to play.

We solved that dilemma last week when we drove 200 miles to adopt another Australian Shepherd who is nearly twice the size of our youngest despite being just one day older.

Dogs can be expensive, but we have discovered a way to be frugal with dogs. This is a challenge because we reward our dogs (through obedience training) with treats. We don't buy the commercially made ones, we make them ourselves.

Our treats are one of two types: chicken or pumpkin. Both are fairly easy to make. You can find the pumpkin recipe here or we use an inexpensive dehydrator, buy chicken breasts in bulk, chop the chicken into tiny (about your pinkie nail size) pieces and make a load of treats for a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercially made ones).

A New Book

I have been at it fairly feverishly for the past 10 days as I have decided to write a second book about debt, but I have included a whole section on using coupons to save massive amounts of money. For this portion, I have enlisted the assistance from a former high-school classmate of mine. She is notorious for buying a cart load of items and walking away with a receipt for often under a dollar. She knows her stuff!

I am excited that I am attending her class in Branson Missouri on the 6th of March! I am going to first attend her class on coupons, and afterward will team up to write that section of the book.

I am still playing with a few ideas for the title, but will know more later. The book will be available for purchase/download by July 1, 2011 and 50% of the profits are going to go for her charity in Branson that helps the less fortunate people who need a hand up (and some complimentary food and supplies will be greatly appreciated! I will be sharing a few tidbits on here as the book progresses!