I work at Cracker Barrel on the retail side. You know, the side where all the neat and unique items are displayed. I have to admit that it is very difficult to resist taking something home after each shift. And the fact that something might be marked down plus my discount card makes it truly tough.

This may have been the case initially; I was practically spending my meager paycheck there. But things have changed now, since coming here and seeing how the $20 Challenge works, plus other interesting ways to save.

My [plastic] Coke bottle, which stands 2' tall, is getting fuller with the continued addition of my 1s, 5s and 10s each week. I started the Challenge with $86. I know now that I am over $100, or close to it.

NOT shopping at Cracker Barrel is a challenge in and of itself, but I have the willpower to succeed, if nothing else than to tell myself it's that much less I will need to pack for our eventual move.

I got a check in the mail from the IRS yesterday. I thought perhaps it was my rebate check. When I saw the amount of $25, I knew that wasn't it. So, what was it for? It seems I paid too much in what I owed the IRS, so got a refund for overpayment.

Since I wasn't expecting this, I went ahead and deposited into my Challenge account. I am going to want this baby to grow, grow, grow!

Looks like I am going to have to put the Challenge on hold, alas. With an unexpectedly high electric bill, high satellite dish bill and my health insurance premium having gone up because of my age - I turned the big 5-0 back on the 11th, it's all a bit over the budget for now. Thankfully, this is a 5-paycheck month for most of us, so that'll help.

Hopefully next month.....

I've decided to join the $20 Challenge, perhaps because it will get me disciplined in the true art of saving. At the same time, I can pass this challenge on to my kids - one's 23; the other almost 20.

I've got a pretty good start on the challenge. $86 to be exact. One way I add to it is by checking a newspaper vending machine at work for coins left behind in the coin return slot. I also believe in picking up coins, be it pennies or of the silver variety, and adding it to my coin jar. I don't like mixing coin and paper money.

Something else I do when I get my weekly paper check is to deposit an even amount into my checking account for paying bills. Then the odd amount of dollars and change will go to my Challenge Account.

I've decided to invest my money in SmartyPig where the savings yield is currently 4.30%.