Adventures in Debt

Well, it’s about that time for another number crunching session. I know I haven’t been posting as much as I’d have liked, however work has kept me pretty busy. I’ll try to do better in the future. So without further ado… 

Total debt: $17893.03

Total paid in the $5000 Debt Payoff Contest: $702.30, $3173.35 in total. (I’m getting close! Although unless I win the lottery, I don’t think I’ll be making my goal by the end of the year. But I will have made a very good attempt, don’t you think?

Total savings this month: $300

Emergency Fund total: $1292.27

So I’m continuing to make progress. November’s “extra” paycheque definitely helped lower some interest costs, although it played havoc with my discretionary spending. But I was able to complete my Christmas shopping early, and found some specials too, so I wasn’t out of line with that (not that I usually am anyways, but since I’m trying to be frugal this year, it’s important.)

While crusing around the blogosphere, I happened upon BoingBoing’s post about a truly interesting recycling product: the EcoCentric Camera Bag. It’s a bag made entirely of used leather belts, and looks just fabulous. Some people commented on the blog that the bag might be too heavy to make for practical use, however you could even just use it as a regular purse, as I suspect it’s just the right size for that.

The point in talking about this camera bag is the idea of recycling and reusing. While this particular instance isn’t necessarily the best idea for recycling and reusing because the bag is being sold for over 239 Pounds (UK pounds), it brings the idea of reusing and repurposing items for different uses.

It can be something simple like using an old coffee can as a piggy bank, or pen holder on your desk. Or something as complicated as turning an old computer monitor into a flower pot (I don’t know if that one actually exists, it’s just an idea I had.) The point is, if we try to think of how we can reuse items instead of just throwing them out, then we can help reduce the amount of garbage we send to the dump. And it helps us save money because you’re not buying more stuff, and therefore save some money.

Another way to repurpose items to save both money and the environment is to have a clothing swap. You can do this for yourself, your spouse or even your children. Just pick a date a few weeks in the future, and tell everyone to gather up the clothes they don’t want anymore or don’t wear and be ready to bring it over to your house. On the appointed day, everyone gathers and just dumps their clothes into a big pile on the floor. And then you spend the afternoon picking through the pile, trying on clothes as required, and having fun. At the end of the afternoon you leave with clothes that are new to you, and you have gotten rid of clothes you didn’t want anymore. If there are leftovers, you can simply package them up and either keep them for the next clothing swap, or donate them to one of a dozen charities in your city. It’s lots of fun and can be an enjoyable way to spend the afternoon.

What other things do you do to recycle, reuse and repurpose items from your home? Come on, leave a comment and share, as it helps everyone.

As my birthday is coming up in a month, and it’s on a weekend, I thought it might be fun to do a girl’s road trip. Then I saw that my beloved Montreal Canadiens are playing the Toronto Maple Leafs ON my birthday, IN Montreal, and that settled it. I polled the group to see who was up for the trip, and three brave souls are coming along with me. It should be a fun time.

While we planned the trip, I scoured the ‘Net for hotel deals, train deals, and even some restaurant deals, and found a few. But that was after going to all the sites separately and searching through them. Had I known about HotelsByCity.net when I was planning, it would have made the whole thing easier. The site’s got sections on hotels, restaurants, and attraction information, all on one site! Very handy. While I was able to find some deals on my own, this would have saved me loads of time, and potentially even more money, as they might have had better deals than I was able to find.

My next trip will be to the US to visit a friend in Houston, so I will definitely be checking out the USA Hotel Guide at this site. I’m sure I’ll be able to find a good deal there.