From the monthly archives:

December 2009

Goals for 2010

by jolyn on December 31, 2009

I generally dislike New Year’s Resolutions — too vague and easily unaccomplished. Like telling someone you want them to be happy without ever asking them what would make them happy. Or something. Goals, however, are worthy: we’re all going to end up somewhere at the end of the year, why not pick our own map? [...]

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Do You Pay Through the Nose for Your Teeth?

by jolyn on December 30, 2009

A couple of days before Christmas I (literally) paid a visit to the dentist for two fillings that were long overdue. Long overdue because I had to cancel no fewer than three appointments in a row this Fall because one kid or another (or me) got sick, bam-bam-bam. Until I gave up for awhile and [...]

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… a whopping $715. Keeping It Real Does that seem like a lot? How much did you spend? Did you create a budget and stick to it? Do tell. The thing is, despite the name of this blog, The Hubs and I never really sat down and said, “We’re only going to spend this much [...]

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Follow Me!

by jolyn on December 27, 2009

For those of you who so kindly mentioned that my RSS feed wasn’t working… I finally have it it fixed! At least, I think I do. Please let me know if you encounter further issues. You now have the option to subscribe to my posts through a reader of your choosing, or by email. Just [...]

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Good Read$

by jolyn on December 27, 2009

$$ GOOD READS $$ Get Rich Slowly: Financial Balance Lets You Enjoy Tomorrow AND Today Man Vs. Debt: Is Travel Worth It? Man Vs. Debt: Debt Tsunami: The Ultimate Method to Pay Off Debt No Debt Plan: I Like Dave Ramsey, But He Is Still Wrong Debt- Free Adventure: Credit Card Debt Reduction How-To Handbook [...]

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Mine, most decidedly, are not. This comes from having a teenage brother whose nose is stuck in his own DSi (that he bought himself) more often than not. Does that mean his 6yo sister should have one? Certainly not! She even helped a little brother out, so to speak, and wrote a note to Santa [...]

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$5 Dinner Mom Have I mentioned my friend Erin? Yes? Surely I have. She started a blog a little over a year ago to help her family to save money on their grocery bill. The blog took off (possible understatement of the decade) and after posting a bunch of money-saving grocery shopping tips, even more [...]

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We love having a fireplace and made it a point to have this one inspected and serviced when we moved into this house two years ago. (To the tune of $1000+) (Ooch) A lot of homes for sale will say, “Fireplace not warranted,” and this house was no exception. We made a point to have [...]

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A Very Not-So-Merry Messy Room

by jolyn on December 15, 2009

My 6yo is a sweet, helpful little girl with a service-oriented spirit. Usually. She’ll offer to unload the dishwasher. She readily helps me with dinner. She’ll even strike a pose and hold it until my point-and-shoot decides to cooperate. But good Lord Almighty in Heaven above, the child will not clean her room. This is [...]

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Tis That Time of Year…

by jolyn on December 13, 2009

…when many people start thinking about those tax benefits of giving to a charity before the end of the year. I was listening (actually, watching) Clark Howard (do any of you all follow him at all?) recently, and he mentioned a website you can go to to check out a particular charity that you may [...]

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