resolving to be simple--but not broke

My resolution for this new year was to live a little more simply: not buy as much crap as I usually do (from Target), not give in to the urge to have all the latest of coolness, get rid of my credit card debt, not fill my brain with celebrity gossip (sick, sickedy, sickness), not eat as many pre-packaged foods, spend more time with the family, read more, walk more, sing more, enjoy life more simply.

Simplicity all of my own doing--until I was hit with the reality that December was a 5-week month and that the money that I would have used to spend on my bills at the beginning of this month was used to actually pay for Christmas (I was avoiding credit cards the last two weeks of December...part of my "simplicity" plan, which is actually a "get off the master's card" plan). SO I have had no extra money at all, other than that needed to buy gas and groceries. So it's not so much fun any more that I'm actually broke. But it is indeed, I think, my own fault. I know it is my own fault.

Making this transition from semi-broke to living with less is hard. But I think that downgrading has allowed me to see how much I really don't have and how much I depended on charging for things.

(I have to insert here that I work with low-income folks for a living, so I know what real broke is and RRrrrreeeeal broke is. We aren't real broke. Just 1% real broke. But I feel the pinch.)

So what are we doing this weekend? Using our Blockbuster "get one free" coupon, swimming at the Y, making pizza at home, taking the dogs to the park, singing, playing cards, putting away the decorations (such a cheap option for entertainment), and dreaming of next Friday: payday...and Wendy's fries.