I bought my youngest son a new winter coat, snow pants, a pair of sweats and boots for Christmas for our usually very snowy season in Michigan. But, nothing so far. In fact, we have had very warm weather here. It is going to get in the 30's over the next few days, but that is all they are predicting. My son does have a coat he can wear if it gets cold, so no worries.

Cost of returns, around $95.00, back in my pocket. That almost covers the cost of the purchase of my drywall.

Now that Christmas and birthdays are over, I am sitting down with my children to go over the budget. One of my goals/resolutions is to be mostly debt free by the beginning of November 2007. The first five items listed under my Debt column should be paid off by then.

So, everybody pretty much got what they wanted, but then there wasn't a lot that anyone wanted. My children are very practical and don't ask for a lot of hyped up stuff. It was actually hard to shop this year.

I only got one gift certificate and some really nice presents. A $30.00 gift certificate to Alexander's Car Wash (I love this. I can't wait to get my car cleaned inside and out).

My returns:

K-mart - no receipt so I got a gift card for $12.27. Spent it on necessities.

Meijer - w/receipt. Got $16.97 back.

World Market - no receipt. Got a $9.97 gift card.

Kohl's - w/receipt. Got $79.50 back.

Totalling $118.71.

I also got a raise of $94.00 more a month or $1,128.00 a year.

I am going to list my new budget campaign real soon. Exciting.

I was reading Nisha's blog and she mentioned she is getting married. First of all, Congratulations. Secondly, it can be done on a budget. I thought I would tell you of mine and maybe it would give you some ideas. Totally done on a budget, but not lacking quality.

First, we decided what our budget was and whether we wanted to have a big or small wedding. We chose a small wedding. We just didn't feel like we needed to invite extended family and friends. We chose a date and I went to Michaels Craft Store and got the blank wedding cards with envelopes and printed out my own. We chose a date in later July to assure we would have good weather. The weather for our day was spectacular.

We found our rings and only had a Maid-of-Honor and Best Man to witness for us (My husband's brother and his wife - family members). My Maid-of-Honor and I shopped at bridal stores and finer department stores for our dresses. I found a beautiful full-length, sleeveless and backless white cocktail dress at an upscale department store on sale for $99.00 and my maid of honor found a beautiful periwinkle blue flowing dress for $79.00. I took my dress to the local tailor in town and she shortened it to cocktail length and I bought the cutest and most comfortable shoes ever to run around in.

After much searching and calling around to different banquet rooms, our church and other venues, we decided to get married farther from home. Mackinaw Island, Michigan was our destination http://www.mackinac.com/ to get married. We invited our immediate family members and close family friends, which turned out to be a total of 24 people. We did let them know that we couldn't pay for their accommodations, but we could pay for the ferry ride to the Island and the luncheoun after the wedding. A total of 20 guests were able to attend. The other 4 had commitments they couldn't get out of.

I let everyone know which hotel we were staying at so that they could book the same one. We were able to get a group discount which helped a lot. We all left on a Friday morning and met at the hotel we were all staying at. We decided to stay in Mackinaw City and then take the ferry to the Island the next day, Saturday. Saturday was the actual day of our wedding. I gave everyone film for their cameras and asked that they give me their film when they were done. Nothing like not posing for a picture. We had some great ones. Lots of laughs.

We all had dinner in the City together, that me and my fiance were going to pay for, but somehow, someone else picked up that tab (I think it was my father). We had a blast being able to spend quality time with our immediate family. We all parted ways to our own rooms for the evening and got up early the next morning to get ready for the wedding.

The guys in one room, us gals in another. What a riot. The guys boarded a different ferry while us girls boarded the ferry closest to the hotel, so we wouldn't see each other until that special moment. I also just bought simple boutinierres and coursages for me, my fiance, best man, maid of honor, my father, and three mothers. We picked them up before we left and brought them with us. My husband and I split them up and handed them out on Saturday morning while getting ready.

There are many places on Mackinaw Island to get married. We chose Surrey Hills Gazebo (which didn't cost anything, just had to reserve it). Mackinaw Island also provides a list of names of people to officiate the wedding. I contacted all of them beforehand with a little interview over the phone and chose our man. He was awesome.

When we got to the Island, at different times, we all boarded carriages which took us up to Surrey Hill Gazebo, past the Grand Hotel and other beautiful spots. The Island has so many beautiful homes, flowers and trees. Breathtaking.

After the ceremony, we all either walked or boarded different carriages that took us to our eating destination, which I had booked beforehand. The place was awesome. We had decided not to offer their complete menu, but picked 4 main choices. The restaurant had printed us up our own menus which they provided to our guests. It was a great souvenier, at no cost. We had a beautiful luncheoun. After the luncheoun, everybody kind of went their own way in groups to explore the Island. We met up later, changed around a few groups and explored some more. We all eventually met back in the City and had dinner together.

The next morning, Sunday, all our guests headed for home and me and my new husband spent another couple of days in the City and exploring the surrounding areas as the new husband and wife team.

The total costs of everything, including our accommodations, cost us $1600. Most of that was made back by the gifts of money we received from our guests and extended family and friends.

It was one of the most beautiful times in my life, aside from giving birth to my children. But, being able to spend such quality time with treasured family and friends was worth every bit of not having a large wedding for us.

Hope this helps with any ideas and keeping a smaller budget.