Happy New Year! Welcome to G.G.'s Life Without Credit Cards Day 1.

Welcome New Year. My goal this year is to live without credit cards. Here is a picture of me (Garden Girl aka. G.G.) with the little frog I bought a Kohl's yesterday. I'm thinking of naming him Ebenezer. I bought this Simply Vera shirt that I've been eyeing for awhile because it looks like something a gardening type person would like to wear. The belt also has flowers on it. So decked out in my garden clothing I went out and took some photo's of Mr. Ebenezer frog in the winter garden. To my surprise I found life out there in the garden. My cat nip plant was still alive, and some small weeds were also thriving despite the recent blizzard. It was very nice to see green.

One thing I love to do is read magazines. I can't get enough time in my Papazan reading magazines. Here is a photo of me with one of my favorites. Better Homes and Gardens. One of my most recent magazines gave a great tip.

Have January be a "buy nothing month." (You only buy necessities in January.) That is why yesterday I had to get up early and beat the crowds at Kohl's and get my few last of the year purchases. Of course I had some Kohl's cash that I needed to spend. I got a $49.00 Crock -Pot for $9.00. What a deal. If I had just stopped at that life would have been good. But I had my daughter with me and we bought the frog, and some shirts. Oh well, had to get that last moment of

spending out of me. Now I'm prepared to go Credit card free. (Or so I think)

So on day one of living without credit cards, I've looked up "Who invented Credit Cards?" It is very interesting to know that Credit cards or the ability to buy on credit has been around a long time. They haven't always been in the shape of a card, and they haven't always been plastic.

The use of credit cards in America began in the 1920's, but references to credit cards have been made as far back as 1890 in Europe. I think we might find it even father back we will see.

What is interesting about credit is that it is a method of selling goods or services without the buyer having cash on hand. And guess what? That gets some people in a whole lot of trouble. So my goal is to only buy if I have the cash on hand. What I think is most important is that you need to think about each purchase and be prepared by knowing how much you have to spend and what you are spending on. I'm hoping I have the will power to do this. As I progress forward in this I will be looking for other bloggers who are doing the same thing for tips. When I find them I'll give you the links.

Garden tip: The best predators of slugs in your garden are frogs and toads. Unfortunately you need a pond in your garden to get these little animals to live around your garden. I don't think my husband will be building me a pond too soon.
Moments of Joy: Not working until Midnight any more. It's so nice to get home before 11pm. Spending a lazy morning with my kids. Reading a good magazine. Walking around my garden and seeing some green and growing plants. I can't wait for spring.