So, Christmas shopping has been a real eye-opener for me this year. First, I'm shocked at how foreign the whole idea of spending hours shopping has become. I am completely out of the habit, and yet that was something I used to do quite regularly.

This season has also taught me why I stopped making shopping trips in the first place: the impulse buy. I bought many gifts for myself. True, some were things I needed and were incredibly good buys, like $30 Reebok shoes. But other buys were pure impulses, like a winter hat and ear headband, and slippers. Yes, they were cheap. In fact, I think combined they totaled $15. But I don't NEED them. I have slippers. I have a hat and headband. So, I took both the hat and the slippers back to the store today. And I had to force the woman at JCPenneys to give me a refund on my credit card instead of a store merchandise card. But I'm now $15 richer. And just slightly irritated at how easy it is to fall back into old spending habits.

I feel a bit like I'm losing my financial mojo. I've stopped tracking everything I spend. I'm still using my budget, but I went over on household expenses due to needing to get a new door. I want to pay everything off now, and I get frustrated when I realize how long it will take to even feel like I'm making progress. It is discouraging to see so much of my debt payments going towards interest.

Despite this, October should be a good month. This paycheck will have 10 hours of overtime on it. Plus, my tiny raise went into effect in September, and it looks I'll have an additional $25 each paycheck. And I think October is a 3 paycheck month. Oh how I love those months, since that last check has fewer deductions.