Operation Debt Reduction ~ part 1a

Greetings and salutations Ladies and Gentleman!  Jamie here and as you can probably tell from the title of this blog post, this has NOTHING to do with books at all.  So far books seems to be what this blog is all about so I'm going to add a taste of reality to the blog.  I'm in debt peeps.  Lots of it.  All most all of my debt is credit card debt and that sucks!

Starting today - September 18, 2011, I am putting myself on Operation Debt Reduction.  I still have to do all my math and figure out all the specifics yet, so there will more than likely be a Operation Debt Reduction ~ Part 1b later today.  But I am asking for a great big cheering section.  I freely admit to being pretty horrible with money, so I need all the help I can get to try and stay on task.

I do have several things that I am doing that will save me money in the long run.  Here are a couple of examples:

1. I LOVE to read (see books did make there way into this post!) but I am going to make a concentrated effort to read the books that I already have, which includes an overflowing bookcase - most of the books on it I have NOT read, several piles of books on my bedroom floor (almost all of which I have NOT read) and several bags full of books in my basement (almost all of which I have NOT read).  I'm also going to try and use my library more as well.

2. I have decided that I am going to be making several handmade Christmas gifts this year.  I've already started 1 which I've posted about earlier (Miami Vice Shawl) that I'm making very good progress on.  I've got the materials, minus a set of size 7 double point needles and a size 10 circular needle, for the next 2.  For the rest of my projects, I am almost 100% sure that I have all the materials that I need.  I just have to execute.

3. I'm in the process of giving up soda, again.  This should save me anywhere from $4-$8 every 2 weeks.

4. On August 1 I am able to upgrade my cell phone plan and I am going to try and get myself into a plan that will allow me to save a considerable amount of money a month.

I have more ideas that I want to try and I am always open to suggestions.  You can either leave me a comment here on this post or you can drop me an email at rutrow01@gmail.com.