late car payment...

[DoctorWhoville]

has been payed with this first check of the year. as well as last month and this months credit card payment.

after putting 100.00 in savings, that leaves me with a grand total of $199.20 in my checking account. i know that's not all that needs to be paid but until my husband sits down with me and we discuss the bills...i don't know what else it will be.

it's all very sobering, yet satisfying somehow. kwim? even though i know we are very broke, at least i feel like we are heading in the right direction in this tunnel and eventually we will see the light at the end.

yesterday, i made a list of everything in our pantry. i couldn't believe the amount of stuff we had! and worse, the amount of expired stuff. man, what a waste! i spent about an hour last night putting all that stuff into supercook.com and found that we could make over 700 recipes JUST WITH THE STUFF IN OUR CUPBOARD! and that's not including convenience foods. i felt so shameful. to think about all the money i have wasted when i have food literally going to rot right under our noses. the only thing i need to buy this week is potatoes and cheddar cheese. two weeks ago i would have went to the store and spent 100.00 on stuff i didn't need and then be frustrated because i didn't have anywhere to put it all!

last month i prayed that God would make good stewardship part of our desire to serve Him. i can feel it working because i have NEVER felt such a strong desire to be financially stable and frugal. i'm so thankful that we have "woke" up. i just pray that we can be strong enough to overcome temptations when they come along.

thanks for being my sounding board! any tips or friendly advice welcome!
also, does anyone have ideas about canceling cell phone service early? i have a VERY expensive all-the-bells-and-whistles plan that i want (i think) to cut out. thanks!

[Greebo]

Call the provider and ask what the cancellation fee would be and how long is left on your contract. Multiply your monthly average by the time left on the contract, and if that's more than the cancellation fee, cancel.

[Josephhgoins]

I am not sure who you have, but Verizon let me cancel my bells and whistles on my contract without cancelling the contract itself. I have the phone and it works great for work, but I don't have unlimited texting and pix messages or the gps stuff. I do have a phone that works just as a phone which is what I want.

[duallypilot]

It's always a good feeling when you can make a turn in the right direction.
I won't speak for Christianity, but the Red Road that Stacy and I follow, we are told that we can ask things of the spirits and the creator, then we need to meet them 1/2 way with the prayer (don't expect them to do everything). It sounds like you're holding up your part of the bargain.
You're in a great support group here and if you need a nudge to get you back on track, just holler.
Just my 0.02 worth on the subject.

[DoctorWhoville]

thanks everyone for the replies! I'll look into the cell phone thing.

Duallypilot- i used to practice a similar faith before Christianity. we still have a similar "policy"-- faith, without works, is dead. we all have free choice, after all.
thanks for your thoughtful reply.

[mombottoo]

Sounds like you are on the right track! Knowing is half the battle and doing is the rest. I'm going to check out the webite you mentioned and see what magic can be done with my cupboards!