So....Swagbucks. I have managed to get 434. But I did a task that paid 500! It says it could take 7 days for me to get credit. So I am just hopefully it posts. Nothing as of today. And I really don't want to try to fix it.


I am a little discouraged about my money right now. The last almost 2 months have been sketchy. I have not been on top of things. I have spent more than needed. Today I was trying to figure out where my money went. Where is my raise money? I should have extra. Then I remembered my pet store and Bath & Body excursions. That is where my raise money went. This week is going to be tight. Mortgage, grocery store, Insurance, cell phone, and time for my vehicle registration. I will have $1 left. YIKES. But I need to start to get up and dust myself off. Yes, I'm sad....on pretty much a daily basis. I miss my brother, my friend, and my dog. But I don't want my finances to be depressed too. I need to remember what I am working towards. I can still miss them and take steps to get back on track.

I am overwhelmed. But this time with positive. A family member has offered to pay for our siding for our house. It is such an amazing gift. We didn't ask...they just offered. Maybe things are turning up for us.

Can't believe its Monday. I spent a little bit of money on Saturday. It wasn't necessary, but I didn't want to be home. I know...its a bad excuse. I spent $30 on our little dog. With us losing our other dog, I am having a hard time letting him play with her toys. So I bought some for him and some treats. It was $34. And then I went to Bath & Body. I spent $10 but I got a couple of things, plus I got 2 free candles. Of course I have buyer's remorse, but I just need to go with it.


I did manage to do balance my checkbook. And I am up to 405 on Swagbucks. Maybe I'll actually get to 500 for a gift card.

If you have read my blog, you know that I have had 2 monumental losses in the last month. I am trying so hard to just function and continue on. But just as I was starting to "get back on my feet" we have suffered another loss. My dog ws hit by a car and died Wednesday night. She was one of my best friends and again I am devastated. Yesterday, a truck threw a rock and cracked my windshield. And when my husband and I stopped to grab some dinner, his car broke down....as a huge storm rolled in. (Thankfully my husband can work on cars and we found a covered car wash to do it at.) I just can't seem to get my footing. I don't understand why all of this is happening. And I know if I didn't have such a wonderful family and some great friends, I wouldn't be able to get through it. And in all of this, I am learning to really nurture every relationship I have. You just aren't guaranteed anything...including another day.


There haven't been any big changes in my finances. I am honestly just trying to keep things going. The numbers are down. And at least that is the right direction.

I had been wanting to get a NeatDesk or NeatReceipt for our business paperwork. But...I didn't want to spend the money on it. Well... my mom had 2 NeatReceipts, so now I have one! I haven't tried it out yet, but it seems pretty cool. I have a system for our household paperwork....but if I ever get caught up, maybe I can look into that. I really need to get my butt in gear on the business paperwork. I am a little behind, and that is never good.

I know I'm kind of going off on a tangent here....but am I the only person that feels like they are constantly behind? I see these people that are super organized, with a super clean house, and perfect paperwork, and a nice financial outlook...and I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. I've tried major overhauls. I've tried doing little goals. I've tried checklists for each day and detailed budgets. I just feel like I am always trying to catch up. And not with other people...just with how I want my life to be. (Which is kind of similar to those people with the super clean houses, perfect paperwork, and nice financial outlook.)


Ok...I'm done. I guess I just needed to let that out. Goodnight everybody!

Well, Friday I did Swagbucks again. None Sat or Sun. And earned 31 points this morning. I'm actually up to 271. Pretty good for me.


I'm sure not everyone wants to hear that I had to buy a bra.....BUT I had to buy a bra. My new puppy has chewed up 2 of mine. And bras are expensive. So unfortunately I had to shell out $40 for one. Wasn't exactly planned, but I think I can limp the budget through until Friday. Just not as much into savings. I also put my husband's birthday present on layaway. (With money I had set aside) I like layaway because I am saving a little each week to pay for this gift, and since I am getting him a BBQ grill, I was worried that they would all be gone by the time I saved the money. I will sell our current grill and recoup some money. And I didn't go with the extreme, super grill. But it was on sale and it will be big enough for us.


I had coffee with my sister on Saturday. She paid (with gift cards I had given her) and she also brought me a pair of jeans, a shirt, and 2 little shell sweaters. Awesome surprise and MUCH APPRECIATED. And I was just thinking about how I needed to buy some jeans.


Besides that, I really didn't accomplish much. I have a hectic week ahead. Hopefully its as productive as I want it to be.

I always feel so inspired by creditcardfree's swagbucks success. Again today I found myself trying to figure out how I can be successful. So I re-read her post from May and tried again on Swagbucks. Although I didnt' reach my goal of 80 (which seems really high), I did get 38. Bringing me to around 180. Is that excellent? Absolutely not. But 38 is substantially higher than the 8 I had. Hopefully I get better and maybe, just maybe I can get at least 1 gift card.


I haven't slept well in 3 days. I am SOOOOOOO tired. So although I have a list of stuff to do when I get off work, I am hoping the sandman comes and knocks me out. Or....I may have to open some wine. That should help me sleep.

I don't have much to report right now. Hopefully there is some activity on Friday when I get paid.


Since I got my new phone I have had nothing but problems. The store rep told me to do something that was wrong, so I had to do an 11 hour restore, make a trip to the store, and make 4 separate calls to customer service. My phone is still not right, but hopefully I am almost there. Hopefully I won't have to get another phone for a while. I am keeping my old one, just in case.


I think my husband and I have decided to have a garage sale in about a month. We have a lot of random junk in our storage loft. So I have started going through things in the house too. Clearing out: almost new bottles of nail polish, hair color, hair accessories, office supplies we will never use, etc. Hopefully in a month, the weather is a lot cooler and I can get it all priced. Texas and Summer garage sales just don't mix.