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21.12.09

So a bit of an Update

The GECU Savings Challenge announced its winner Sunday December 13th.






And the Winner Was.........














Yours truly! I indeed won the GECU Savings Challenge. All thanks to my helpful coaches, Alex and Sophia, GECU, my Family, my Friends, and my loyal readers.

I can say with confidence that if there was one real aspect of my application that set me apart from the other competitors, it would be my blog. And I created my blog for vastly different reasons than why I continued my blog.

Updating was never easy, but knowing that there were people that were genuinely interested in what I found, what I had to say, and the way I delivered it really helped to keep me motivated.

So thank you all so kindly for reading and for your fellowship and comments. It has been a crazy, crazy year!

And next year proves to be crazier. Check out a sneak preview here.

Love you all!
Contact me: email
~Krystal
20.12.09

2010---Diet Challenge

I spent a whole year saving money, getting out of debt, and really getting my life back together from a financial explosion of epic negative proportions.

I wanted to continue the theme of year long adventures into 2010. One year, one mission, one chance to get one aspect of my life back on track.

My diet.

Ohhhh no! I've said the "D" word. Well, fortunately, nobody is going to rinse my mouth out with soap for dropping that word, but frankly they should.

I'm on a mission this year to get healthy, get active, and get back to where I can look at myself in the mirror again and not find those parts of my body that I hate and that hate me. It's not going to be easy. Let's face it, that's not how I roll. But it will be fun and it will be challenging, especially since I'm not just going to be dieting and exercising. I'm going to be testing the limits of my body. Nothing to extreme like marathon running or climbing Mt. Everest.

No, what I have planned is a bit more sinister. You see, there is a researcher inside of me that begs to be finding the best way to go about doing things the right way. You can't trust diet claims on the internet or television or from your neighbors coworker's ex-boyfriend's mother's hairdresser. It just doesn't work that way.

So I'm officially setting the challenge up for any and all forms of dieting. 50 diets. 50 weeks.

You heard that right... or rather read that correctly.

I am going to give 50 diets one week's worth of testdriving. Keeping track of everything from weight to measurements to how I feel on the diet. I'm looking forward to researching these 50 diets leading up to the first week of January when it all goes down.

As a control setting, I will also get moving and get active. Pictures, videos, blood, sweat, and tears all to follow.

I hope you'll stick with me in 2010, lord knows I'm going to need some friends to hold my hand and help me stay on track.

This Little Diet of Mine, kicks off January 1, 2010.
1.12.09

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...


Snow! Alot of Snow! I'm ecstatic. As you can see, we took advantage of the weather and built a few snowmen. This brings to mind the upcoming Christmas season and how to shop frugally.

Here are my tips and hopefully ones that I will employ with rapidity :P

Start earlier – Do it from now
The reason is the store is not too crowded and the amount of goods still lot, so you can be more free to choose the gifts you want to buy then you can choose good quality goods with reasonable price.

Conduct research
Find ideas about the kind of gift that will be given to the people you care about by browsing to the online store, reading magazines, watching TV, and chatting with friends. So you will get idea bout the right stuff to give.

Gift List
Create a gift list before shopping. Write the name of the person you want to give a gift, type of gift, and the store where the gift is sold.

Do not over-budget
Don’t let the amount of money you spend beyond the budget that have been made. Of course you don’t want to start 2010 with a lot of debt right?

Don’t forget to compare
Check the online store in advance about the specification and price of goods you want to buy, and then compare it with the offline store. Considering the discounts offered too. If the price of goods at the online store can be much cheaper, then you don’t have to bother to go to the shopping center.

Special wrapping
If the stores offer special free wrapping service, I recommend to use this service, because it can save a little money to wrap the gifts.

Make gifts

Shop Good Will-ONLINE!

Tis the season to be giving, but don't give to the point of financial ruin. Consider Secret Santa parties where you draw names and are responsible for one gift rather than two thousand. Or give the gift of food--minus the fruit cakes. Or donate to a charity as a family--Ronald McDonald House of El Paso, www.candlelighterselp.org(donate clothing that doesn't fit anymore this holiday season!), to name a couple.

Sure it feels good both to give and to receive, but think of the Christmas's to come when you are more financially stable and able to give the way your heart desires. Those holidays will be possible because you made a simple sacrifice this year.