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If you are new around these parts, the Mister and I took the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University course through our church last year. We have a goal to pay off half of our consumer debt this year. You can catch up on our journey by checking out our previous recaps:

• November 2016 update
• October 2016 update
• September 2016 update
• August 2016 update
• July 2016 update
• June 2016 update
• May 2016 update
• March/April 2016 update
• February 2016 update
• January 2016 update
• December 2015 update
• weekly FPU updates

December Budget

Sticking with the December budget went better than it did in November, though I’ll admit that we still re-allocated quite a bit of our grocery budget to going out to eat. Both the Mister and I and got sick in December, so there were a lot a evenings where we just went to bed early, which helps when you’re trying not to spend money.

I expected us to have a struggle with Christmas gifts, but honestly, it wasn’t that difficult. I had been setting aside the extra from grocery and a few other cash envelopes at the end of the month since about August, so we a few hundred already set aside, and we decided to keep the gift list very pared down this year. I also made a lot of gifts.

December Victories & Blessings

As you can see, we rocked the extra income this month. We’re really fortunate to have friends that need extra work done in their homes and who want to support us during this journey so the Mister keeps lining up side work such as painting and installing new light fixtures and fans.

Also, I was pleasantly surprised that quite a few friends reached out to me about custom orders through the Etsy shop for Christmas gifts and such. I have sold about a dozen messy bun hats, and the orders are continuing to come in.

Between all the extra income and some generous Christmas gifts, we cash-flowed some car repairs on the Mister’s new rider and made an extra $1000 payment on our debt snowball in December.

If you want to take control of your finances, I’d suggest reading The Total Money Makeover. Or go online to daveramsey.com to find a Financial Peace University course starting near you.

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