📘 Blog Post #6 — December Cycle 1: When Plan B Meets The Beginning of Christmas
Published: December 2025
🧑🔧 Hello and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to ALL
Knowing that December is Christmas month, I decided to deviate from Plan B — and I didn’t let AI know, LOL. But… it’s going to be a Merry Christmas, or so I hope so.😄 Below you will see how the first paycheck for the beginning of December was used and where I purposely deviated.
Bad day in the past leads to a good day in the present… Sad to say, but a few months ago our boxer “Lucy” of 12–14 years (we didn’t know her birth date) passed away. It was sad, sad, SAD times. But it’s time to get a puppy, so our other dog “Duke,” a simple‑minded Doberman, has a friend.
This post covers the first pay period of December 2025 — and the first time Plan B had to absorb a seasonal spike, real‑life holiday spending, and CHRISTMAS. November was a “control month,” and it was the first, so it was a bit easier to stay on track. December is not that month.
This is where the system meets real life.
And instead of breaking, Plan B did exactly what it was designed to do:
it bent, it adapted, and it kept us out of debt.
Below is the AI‑assisted analysis of every transaction from 26 Nov 2025 to 09 Dec 2025, along with a breakdown of where and why I intentionally deviated from Plan B.
1. December Cycle 1 — Projected vs Reality
Cycle Window: 26 Nov → 09 Dec
This table shows how December’s first paycheck period compared to the Plan B baseline.
📊 Projected vs Reality — December Cycle 1
| Category | Projected (Plan B) | Outcome | Difference | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries | $150–200 | Within | — | Normal month |
| Gasoline | $200–250 | Above | +90.43 | Holiday driving |
| Eating Out | $100–150 | Above | Slightly above | Family meals |
| Household | $300–400 | Above | +542.73 | Christmas + supplies |
| Kids | $50–75 | Below | –34.39 | School credit |
| Discretionary (Amazon) | $0–50 | Above | +29.77 | Small purchases |
| Entertainment | $25–50 | Above | +54.00 | Nutcracker + kids’ basketball game |
| Student Loan Payment | $242.67 | On Plan | — | Paid on time |
| Credit Card Payment | — | On Plan | — | Paid |
| Savings — Tuition | $200 | Below | –200 | Redirected for Christmas |
| Savings — Rainy Day | $100 | Below | –100 | Redirected for Christmas |
| Kids’ Savings | $0 | Above | +150 | Holiday deposits |
2. Totals for the Cycle
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Primary Paycheck | Received on time |
| Spouse Supplemental Pay | Received |
| All Expected Income | Arrived as scheduled |
3. Where I Deviated From Plan B (and Why)
December is the most expensive month of the year.
Instead of pretending it wasn’t, I made intentional decisions to keep Christmas honest and avoid new debt.
Below is the breakdown.
A. Savings: I Paused Tuition and Rainy Day Deposits
Plan B Expected
- $200 → Tuition Buffer
- $100 → Rainy Day
- $75 → Kid
- $75 → Kid
Reality
- $0 to both Tuition Buffer and Rainy Day
- $150 went to Kids’ Savings as expected
Why
I wanted Christmas to be funded with real money, not credit cards. $300 goes a long way.
Pausing long‑term savings for one cycle allowed us to:
- Buy gifts with cash
- Avoid new debt
- Keep January clean
This was intentional and temporary.
B. Household Spending: Christmas Hit Hard
Plan B Expected
$300–400
Reality
Exceeded by +$542.73
Why
Roughly 80% of Christmas purchases were made with debit, not credit.
This included:
- Walmart.com
- Home Depot
- Michaels
- Five Below
- Dollar Tree
This is the biggest deviation — and it was strategic.
I chose to use cash instead of pushing Christmas onto credit cards.
C. Gasoline: Higher Than Normal
Plan B Expected
$200–250
Reality
Exceeded by +$90.43
Why
More driving, more errands, more holiday activity.
Not a pattern — just a seasonal spike.
D. Entertainment: Family Month
Plan B Expected
$25–50
Reality
$104.00
Why
- Tickets for my wife's performance in the Nutcracker
- Paying to watch my daughter’s basketball game (insane you have to pay)
Family experiences matter — and December is full of them.
E. Discretionary: Amazon Crept In
Plan B Expected
Minimal
Reality
$79.77
Why
Small Christmas items and convenience purchases.
Not excessive — just part of the season.
F. Income: A Positive Surprise
Plan B Expected
Only my paycheck
Reality
A small supplemental payment from tutoring after school
Why
My wife has been staying after to tutor one of her students.
Not a lot, but it definitely helps soften the Christmas impact.
4. The Big Picture: This Was Not a Failure — It Was a Strategy
December is a high‑impact month.
Instead of:
- Running up credit cards
- Creating January stress
- Breaking the debt‑free timeline
…I used:
- Cash
- The Tuition Buffer (not all of it)
- Reduced deposits
- Controlled bill pacing
This is exactly what a buffer is for.
Plan B didn’t break.
Plan B absorbed December.
And in January, the system resets cleanly. Or so AI says so.
🧑🔧 Thanks for stopping by. Goodbye
After the AI review, I verified that all of the “Household” spending was for Christmas. I think it was a better decision to buy all Christmas with debit and not use credit. It was tough for me to know that I would not be able to continue with the avalanche debt payoff process for December, but it should allow for a faster recovery from Christmas. I did end up using money from the tuition buffer we started saving for. So that means we will have to ramp it up to make the goal of $3,000 by Aug 2026… actually July, since we have to pay then.
Next post will cover the second pay period of December 2025 and the full Christmas impact.
