1. I could stop doing those things. They do take a bit of time, and since I don’t factor the money into my budget, I could easily drop them with no impact.
2. I could factor it into my budget. Only, it’s not really enough extra money that it makes a big difference, so there would be no point.
3. Put it toward savings. This is a good idea, but boring. There’s no motivation for me to put in effort to get $5 that I won’t see again for years.
4. Use it for “fun money” or a trip fund. Collect it for a rainy day.

I think I’m going with #4. My budget is pretty tight now that we’re having a baby, so we don’t have as much entertainment money, or any money to put toward things like a bigger TV or new laptop. So, any snowflaking money will automatically go toward such a fund. I do want a slightly bigger TV eventually, and this will get me there in a year or so.

In the end, personal finance is about being willing to change when your circumstances do. For so long, I’ve had to scrimp in order to pay off this massive debt. But now that it is over with, I’m having to change my views on budgeting. When you have no debt, you are actually free to spend your money how you want! It takes a lot for me to do this, because I feel bad about using money for something frivolous, but this is the reward we get for paying off debt! When you don’t have this massive mountain to cross anymore, the journey is actually pretty easy. Once you’re there, have fun with your money! Be frugal and wise, but also realize you can have fun now, as long as you don’t take on more debt.

You may notice there is a new page at the top called “Snowflakes“. I have found several ways to make small amounts of money online with little effort. Combined, it puts about an extra $20 per month or so into my debt removal process. It’s not a lot, but for a few hours of time per month, it definitely helps the cause! None of these opportunities are scammy or evil, because I choose only things that I enjoy doing and have already received a check from, before I post it to that page. Right now there are 5 opportunities that can net you some extra snowflakes for your debt snowball, and hopefully more as I discover them. I will also do a whole review post on these at some point, and any new ones I post. If you have a hot tip, please let me know, I’ll sign up, check it out, and if it’s legit, post it here. Note that this doesn’t include conventional things like blogging, starting businesses, selling stuff, performing actual side jobs, etc., but rather it is things you only spend a little time on and can do solely online. I hope it’s valuable to some of you!

Now, some actual updates on my situation. My financial aid for summer is STILL not going through, so I am forced to keep the debt snowball rolling the old-fashioned way. I’m almost at my halfway point of being debt free, and am on track to get rid of all my credit card debt sometime between May and December of 2009. Right now I have a ring to buy for a special someone, a potential wedding next year, and a ton of money going towards finishing school, so my repayment abilities are very limited. My girlfriend lives 2 hours away, so my fuel budget is skyrocketing since I spend most weekends there. Plus, now that school has started, I’m back into some bad habits, including buying vending machine items, fast food, restaurants, etc. Once I get some time I’m going to hit up Costco and develop some solutions for eating all day when life is really busy, and my budget should come back under some control. Things are looking up, though, and it’s still a long way forward, but I’m confident things will go well!