Our most recent oil bill ($600! And we have a super-efficient furnace and use less than 450 gals a year!!!! ANd will probably have one more tank fill this winter… god) made me freak about money, so we’ve set a challenge to Not Buy Anything We Don’t Need* until March 1. Which is interesting, because I find myself windowshopping like mad all of a sudden. IE, I now want an Apple TV. The new update that makes it work standalone is pretty cool, and having AppleTV, I could subscribe to the daily show and colbert report and other shows, so it would be like having the exact cable shows I wish I had. In theory. And if AppleTV & iTunes ever do a netflix like thing, w00t, I’d be all over that.

Also windowshopping: cars. I really want to drive my car into the ground, and I’m doing well with that, but it doesn’t mean I can’t browse the websites for local dealerships. Honestly, it was less panic-inducing than I might have thought — I found a great used Outback, with 41k miles and all of the luxe features I’d want, for just 12k! And saw a car almost exactly like mine, with higher mileage, selling for 7k. Mine is prob in worse condition — it’s 10 years old and counting, and showing it’s age — but this one was just 2 years younger. I have kind of an arbitrary goal of making it to 200k in mine, and we’re at 135 now. And, since I drive about 5 miles a day, total, just 5 days a week, it could be years before I get to 200k, so I’ll just keep saving and hope to one day pay cash. On the off-chance I would need one quickly (horrific car crash, etc) it’s at least nice to know what’s out there.

And of course, new windows  — the show Tom did of the two we’ve put in Ing’s room aired this weekend, and it made me want more! more! MORE! But, alas, we will wait. I mostly want to see what our accounts look like after a month or so of necessity-only spending.

I don’t know how people who can’t afford oil, are affording it. It’s almost double what it was when we first moved in, four years ago, and like I said — we use very little! We  also keep our thermostat lower than anyone we know — 54 during the day (when we are not home) and 62 overnight, and 64 during the evening hours that we are awake.  And we have this woodstove, that the chimney sweep advised against using, but we really need a second opinion — especially if oil is like this next year. It’s also a goal to pre-buy this summer; my boss did, and paid a full DOLLAR less per gallon (2.49 vs 3.49) so that we don’t get these puke-inducing bills.

A month of window-shopping isn’t so bad.

*Exceptions are a photo-thank you card for my Grandma, for our Christmas checks, and we can use any giftcard balances we have, as that is not coming out of our MONEY.