It's been a hot minute......

 since I posted. But things have been good. The Hubby is so, so much better it boggles the mind. He still has a little shortness of breath now and again, but it clears quickly. He is doing more and more around here and will be returning to work on Monday. We will see how that goes. 

Last post I commented on how I had applied for a personal loan to pay off the credit cards. Well, we got the loan. I paid off all the credit cards but 2. I think I've talked about my budgeting software before, You Need A Budget or YNAB, well after paying off the credit cards I sat down and watched a couple of videos on how credit cards work in YNAB and a little on how to use them responsibly. We have a couple of cards that offer good rewards and I wanted to be able to use them but I don't want to lose control again. So I learned how to use YNAB to make credit cards work for me and we have been doing that. We have a Savor card that gives 3% back every time we dine out, so when we go out to eat I put it on that and then budget the money right away to that card. I've been paying it more than once a month to keep the balance at zero and to not pay any interest charges. We are also planning a vacation in June and I have a card that earns 1 point for every $1 spent and you can redeem the points for all kinds of things. So I've been using that for the vacation planning and same thing, putting the money away immediately and paying often. I can see how people can work the system. I know someone who flies all over the world, or they used to before Covid, using only points and miles. I can see how that works now. But you have to come at it from a zero balance or you will get screwed. But I've also shifted in my thinking. I don't want to buy things like I used to. I consider each purchase before buying. Sometimes I put things in my cart and then walk away. If I still want them a few days later, I'll get them but if not I won't. It has really changed my spending habits.  I now consider each purchase and try to decide if I really want/need it or not. That has helped our budget greatly.  Also, once you have money it just seems to keep rolling in. We got paid today. Monday I get paid from my other job. Next Thursday we are getting a bonus. And the 3rd stimulus checks should be coming through soon. With all this money I'm thinking we will get our vacation completely funded and possibly pay off the few little credit cards that are left. Sweet!!!!!

Other than that, life has been good. I have made a huge mental shift and I'm just a happy, happy person now. Things are good in my life and I like it that way.