We choose this auspicious date not because it’s fun to say 7-8-9, but because it’s pretty much the middle of the year, and it’s easy to remember.

We made a pact today to stop eating out until the end of the year. Yep, 12/31/09. No more doughnut runs on Sunday mornings, or Friday pizza deliveries or stops at the Mc’D's just because we’re too lazy to cook or pack a picnic.

This will boost our budget by the balance needed to get out of debt by 12/31/09. Everything but the mortgage. After that, we estimate we can pay off the mortgage (if we keep this house) within five years.

Cheer us on as we take on this adventure. We discovered that eating out was like “death by 1,000 cuts” when it came to our budget. What is $5 for a pastry and a coffee on the road? It’s really not much until you multiply it by the course of the year and the interest we’re paying on our debts.

No more!

IMAGE CREDIT: THE VINTAGE MOTH

Tags: Budgeting  Debt  foodView Comments