Last year at this time paying household bills was not a priority for me. First I bought groceries, then paid rent, then bought necessary household or personal items, then paid more than $450 towards student debt — then paid hydro, water, and gas.

It got so bad that once a month there was someone knocking on our door threatening to turn off one utility or another. Finally I decided “I do not want to live like this anymore!”

I talked to my husband about our goals and we changed our spending habits. We posted a list of DOLLARS SAVED on the wall and every time we chose not to go out to dinner, or not to get a movie (as was our routine) than we posted it on the wall. These extra dollars were put towards our utility bills.

Little by little, the tide shifted and now, a year later, I proudly pay my bills and rent first, then my student/credit cards and then the rest follows.

My goal for this year is to earn a great income with my online business and to be able to pay off a bigger chunk of our debt this year.

Thanks Carrie for all your helpful suggestions!

Seriously Carrie, you accomplished a great deal. Everyone’s business took a dive while people focused on Christmas shopping – and it’s starting to pick back up. Don’t beat yourself up – it’s just part of the cycle.

You and I have been working really hard while others have been playing. I think we’ll have a pretty good edge next month

Have a very happy and safe New Year!

I regret trying to do things too big too soon. I have never really been patient When I can visualize it in my mind, I’m ready to go. I will do a better job of focusing in 2009.

I regret that I didn’t do a better job of monitoring my sites as well to catch the slipping profits before they slipped so low. But, on the other hand, I’m proud of the projects I successfully began and the ones I let go.

In the upcoming year my goal is to better balance my time to better balance my life.