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Well, we are turning over a new leaf with this tax return. I've never been particularly good with money. I'm not terrible about spending tons of it or racking up credit card bills. I have to be honest, though, I've never been good at keeping track of what I spend. I just spend. I know what I have in the bank, I'm just not good at knowing what's going to be taken out and when.

So, we are going to start keeping track. We have a plan to pay off all of our credit with next year's tax returns. This year, we are gong to focus on getting ahead of the bills once we have caught up with them with this tax return. It's not going to be easy. God knows having a house payment and all the bills that go along with a house isn't easy, but we can do it.

The plain fact of it is that I am not terrible about spending money on myself. I am terrible about spending it on other people. I like to give. There's no doubt about it. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to give nice things to the people I love. But, for the next few years, we are just going to have to suck it up and think of ourselves. Once we clear up a little financial breathing room for ourselves, we can start to be generous again. Until then, our family and friends are just going to have to understand and be patient. I know they love us, so it shouldn't be so much of a problem.

I have to take a moment here to give a shout out to my parents. Without them, none of this would have been possible. They loaned us 6500 dollars so we could make the down payment on and pay the closing costs on this house. They also come through for us whenever we have unexpected expenses and have watched Zoe for us since she was born. I'm glad that we are able to pay them back the money we owe and I'm glad that they have a granddaughter that is more like a daughter to them than anything.

Also, a shout out to Doug's mother, who came through for us at the last moment when the real estate agent and loan officer sprang it on us that we were paying all the closing costs and our down payment would be 7000 instead of 4000. She gifted us 1000 bucks and never batted and eyelash when she said she didn't want us to pay her back. Thanks, Schreen. We appreciate it more than you will ever know. You and I have never gotten along all that well, but I've never doubted your love for your son and grandbaby.