Countdown to Christmas

Wait, what? We just got done with Christmas! Why are we starting the countdown already?!

Apparently Tony and I are on an every other year financial trend of being awesome with our money one year and then completely losing it the next year. Rewind to Christmas 2012... we saved up at least a $1000 in cash and did not put a dime on our credit card... in fact, I think we had even paid off a few cards that year. Last month, Christmas 2013, was quite the opposite. Sure, I can blame it on maternity leave, our home purchase earlier in the year, career changes, etc. The fact is, we were lazy. We forgot to tell our money what to do. We forgot to give each dollar a job. 

Not this year baby!

What's the latest craze in savings? Among all of those New Year's Resolutions posts on the FB a few weeks ago, many of my friends were sharing this one:

(Not sure the original source since it's been shared so much!)

As you know, in the past I've typically stuck to the Dave Ramsey plan. But this year I've decided to branch out a bit and try a few other techniques and philosophies. Along with YNAB, I decided to try this challenge as well, but do it backwards! I wanted to get a running start and then have it impact my pocketbook less and less the closer we got to Christmas. And just an FYI, I don't plan on spending all $1378 on Christmas gifts, but it's nice to have the option and/or a financial cushion.

We just finished Week 4 and have $202 in our Christmas Fund!

I think we will be able to stay on trend... as long as this kid doesn't bust our grocery budget...

As we wrap up January, have you had any successes with your New Year's Resolutions? Or if you didn't make resolutions, did you have any small life victories this month to share?