I wrote just yesterday, that the provision for the extra expenses we have encountered has been amazing. That doesn’t absolve me of the responsibility to be very careful with with finances over the coming weeks. I’m still paying my mom for the washer, and now I have to pay for the air conditioner, and then I will be saving money for a trip to Vegas that I haven’t even told you about yet. That loan from my mother for the washer is the only one I plan to have, too. I’m not going to get caught up in the interest rate nightmare.

Credit cards have generally been bad news for me. I learned the hard way that if I see something I want, and I have a credit card with me, I’ll buy it. That leads to a lot of impulse purchasing, instead of carefully considering my options.

It’s carefully considering the options that helps me save money. Just this past fall, I had DD#1 compare car insurance rates online, and we ended up saving $400 every 6 months because of that. I try to do the same with any major purchase. That’s one of the great things about the internet: comparison shopping is easier than ever.