So Now What.... Personal Finance Blog

Everything is overwhelming to me right now...including finances. I felt the need to read my horoscope and although they can be generic sometimes, it is definitely fitting.


Today July 2, 2013
Daily Overview
Money issues are taking up too much of your mental energy -- so settle at least one big problem once and for all! It could involve forgiving a debt or taking on a second job, but it's likely to be major.

After work today, I plan on starting my household cleaning and organizing. My pet sitting gig was cancelled so I will have some extra time. I would like to be done by Saturday afternoon. Then I can work on business paperwork. There is a lot of progess I need to make on that since its the end of the 2nd quarter. So my weekend won't be fun. But just imagining how I will feel when everything is done makes it worth it.


No extra money this week. But all the bills are paid and we are sending extra to the mortgage. So I cannot complain.

I still have debt. But after my next payment, CC#1 will be under $300! And CC#3 is almost to $150. No...they aren't paid off. But there is just something about hitting certain numbers that make you feel good.


We have an event tonight for our shop. Then tomorrow I work my regular job and then have to do some pet sitting overnight. I hope that I can get some serious cleaning done Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. I have been working hard to "organize my life." Its a process, but its getting better. When my life is organized and everything is on track, its easier for me to keep the money on track!

Not that it is a whole lot, but I sent the extra $20 from my food jar to credit card #3 today. I wanted to go ahead and send it before it got used on something else.


I am feeling better today. I was starving so I splurged and spent $7 on pasta for lunch. I am sure I could have found something cheaper....but it was good and I still have $15 in cash.

Well, I had to go to the dr yesterday. I've been fighting some sinus stuff for about a month....just couldn't get rid of it. And of course it is a sinus infection. Antibiotic, nose spray, steroid shot, and $125.00 later....I hope I start to feel better. I'm sitting here a work today...and I can feel that I have a blazing fever. But luckily I can go home in a couple of hours. And as much I would like to work on housework or paperwork, I may just have to get some bedrest.


I did my checkbook and paid all the bills. I can't spend anything else since I had to pay for the dr. But here is what I have in the jars:

Fuel: 0
Food/Groceries: 48.00
Dining Out: 23.00
Other/Gifts: 10.00
Cash: 28.00

Hoping to take $20.00 from the Food jar and send it to a credit card.

I was doing really well with my planning and accountability until I stopped paying attention to where every dollar was going. So, I will be starting the tracking again starting tomorrow when I get paid. I am sure my spending plans and notes about what I buy are not the most interesting things to read, but they really help me be accountable. So... tomorrow.


Kroger has a deal right now that they will double fuel points, so I am going to grocery shop there tomorrow. I have 63 points and for every 100 you get 0.10 off a gallon. I should be 27 points off from getting 0.30 off a gallon, but .20 off will be great. My list currently adds up to 57.50 before coupons. My goal is to spend 50.00 (I have a 5.00 off coupon plus several little ones so I should make it.) I also have to buy some household items, which I have 20.00 and 40.00 for dog food. So $110.00 for the whole trip. Kind of scary, but I think I can do it. I have actually planned out 2 weeks worth of meals and my grocery budget is actually 80.00 so I am cutting it by 30.00. Plus I still have 20.00 from 2 weeks ago. If I can pull this off...I will be super happy. And I can finally send the extra 20.00 to a credit card!

So yesterday I posted about the puppy we rescued. I thought some of you might want to see his progress.


(I'll post about money later)

I don't think that I have mentioned it on here, but the day before my birthday (back in April) I found a puppy in a ditch out where I live. It was cool and rainy and I knew if I left him, he would die. So we rescued him. My sister paid for him to go to the vet and for him to stay there a week. She also helped with the vet bills since the puppy had mange. Severe mange! So, instead of paying as much on our mortgage, I have had to take $50-$75 from it and put it towards this dog. And I also did some pet sitting to help pay. But now...I have 2 dogs to feed. 2 sets of vet bills. Double the treats. I don't regret saving him...but he has been expensive. Hopefully now that he is feeling better and the mange is gone, the vet bills will be REDUCED. He is 7 months old, so we will have to neuter him. So my husband and I are working on a way to pay for that. Should be about $200.

But I guess this is where I get confused. I can squeeze out money to pay for a special event or something that comes up. Why can't I just pretend I have a special event and put $200 towards a credit card and pay them off? Its not the lack of "want to." Ugh...I get so frustrated with myself.

I have not made any extra progress on debt the last few weeks. I feel like I have been in a funky haze. I didn't even look at my checkbook for a week. Not for any particular reason....so no desire to do anything. But, I did look at it today. And I paid all the bills.


I did order my husband and 2nd step father something for fathers day. I ordered them clam chower with bread bowls from the Boudin Bakery in San Fran. My husband and I loved that place, so I thought it might be meaningful. It came with 4 bowls and 2 things of soup, so I'm splitting it. Its about $20 a piece..so that seems reasonable. And I am making my husband breakfast that morning. We are celebrating my sisters birthday that day too....at a baseball game. I really do not like baseball...neither does my husband. But it is free and its for my sister...and the food will be free.


So I am just muddling through right now. Not off track...just the super slow track.

Well...my step daughter is officially a high school graduate. Yeah. We took the "suggested item" list from the college and split it up over my family. Between everyone, she managed to get almost everything on the list!! It included everything from laundry detergent and an ironing board to power strips and a microwave. She has also gotten over $1000 so she should be able to cover what is left.


I went to get my car inspected yesterday and it FAILED. The mechanic at my work looked at a couple of things before I went, and so we think the system got reset. So I will have to drive a little bit before I can take it again. I have 15 days. I also had to buy windshield wiper blades. I budgeted for the inspection but not for wiper blades. They were $20!! But I should be able to scrape by.


Tuesday was a horrible day at work. Had a person that was not my boss "get on to me" and basically tell me all the things I was doing wrong. It was insulting and done in a very unprofessional way. So my boss called me today to talk about it. I explained how I felt about it and he made me feel better about the situation. He also said he would address it with the jerk bag. The whole thing has really had me in a funk the last few days. I have been in a negative mood. I have been short with my husband and distant to others. And I have surely neglected my house. It looks like a disaster...which will only make it harder for me the next few days. But I am glad that it was addressed and hopefully I can start to feel a little more positive.

Odd....2md post in one day!!

Somedays I feel like I have too much food. Somedays I feel like I do not have adequate amounts. Anybody else have this problem? The grocery store is the one place I can blow my budget! I have said it before....I can always convince myself that I need more cleaner or food or snacks or whatnot.

So I made a grocery list. Scaled down from what I normally do. My budget is $70:

Milk - 4.00
Cokes - 5.00
Bread - 3.00
Baking Potatoes - 2.00
Toilet Paper - 7.00
Paper Plates - 3.50
Ground Beef - 4.00
Cornbread - 1.00
Vitamins - 6.00
Block of Cheese - 3.50
Little Debbie Snacks - 2.00
Lemonade - 3.00

Total - 44.00

Should I cut out the meat and cornbread and just see if I can make it without it? I haven't done a food inventory so I have no idea what all I have. My list doesn't seem too extravegant to me. But maybe we can do with less??

I am only working a half day today and I'm off tomorrow. We are having an event at our shop tonight. Then tomorrow we have a program/chapel service for step daughter's graduation. Then graduation is Saturday. I cannot believe she is graduating high school. It has been an expensive year!! And on Sunday we are having a family dinner at a nice restaurant downtown. (With money set aside. )


I know the expenses aren't over yet. We still have to get her set up in her dorm room. But after that...hopefully the expenses slow down some.

Thank you all for your comments yesterday. Luckily we only got heavy rain. The hail and winds fizzled out, which is just fine with me. We have no rain in our forcast for at least a week. For that I am grateful!


Some of my numbers changed. CC #3 is finally under $200! Its at 193.92. And my student loan is finally under $3000 (barely). Its at 2988.88.


Here is my money plan for Friday:

Gas - $60
Groceries - $70
Household Account - $50 (Putting back for mtg pmt)
Dining Out - $20 (Jar Money)
Cash - $20
Pet - $10 (Jar Money)
House - $20 (Jar Money)
Holding for bills - $110
Savings - $30
Other - $10 (Jar Money)
Step Daughter Graduation Money - $20
Loan - $40
Car Inspection - $40

Leaves me with $6.
________________________________________________

Cash Left:

Dining Out - $30
Rx - $20 (Jar Money)
Grocery - $15 (Jar Money)
Wallet Cash - $8

I'm hoping if I still have money at the end of the week I can apply it to something.

For those of you that don't know, I live south of the DFW area. Close to where the last tornadoes hit. Today, we are all preparing to be hit by the storms coming from Oklahoma. We are all under a tornado warning already. My work is actually letting us go home early to prepare and because we work out of a trailer/temp building. This weather has been overwhelming to say the least. Our thoughts are with the Texans that are still recovering from the last tornado and with our neighbors in Oklahoma dealing with the devastating tornado that just hit.

The tornadoes that just hit Texas were about 15 miles from my house. We were slammed with large hail and high winds, but luckily we are all safe and we did not have any damage. As for our neighboring cities....they have been devastated by this horrible storm. Situations like this make me scared. Sure, I am scared of the weather itself. But I am more scared of the financial turmoil. We have $1000 in savings. I am overwhelmed with the thought of how quickly that can be blown away.


I am just left with the thought of how do I save and pay off debt and prepare for the future when there is only so much money coming in. Maybe its all just too much food for thought right now.

I cleaned out my purse last night. It had gotten really heavy...and I wasn't sure what all was in there. Well, I ended up finding $6.40 in change!! That is a lot of change. I just dumped it all into the change jar.


I also got my Ebates check yesterday. It was $11.37. So I sent $10.00 to CC#3 today. I will be able to send a little bit on Friday too. It will finally be under $200!

Well, my grocery store visit didn't go exactly as planned. Although I didn't cave in to all my wants, I did buy the dog bones. But everything was a little more expensive than I had planned. But, I still came home with $15.00 dollars. I could have gotten my wants, but it was better to keep the extra money.


I still have in cash:
14.00 - my cash
30.00 - dining out (jar money)
50.00 - RX (jar money)
2.00 - left from fuel (jar money)
So not too bad.


Saturday I cleaned ALL DAY. I didn't go to work at our shop just so I could commit to cleaning. And I cleaned every room except my office, which I hope I can tackle today after work. I have a lot of paperwork that I need to catch up on. And Sunday went great. My mom's lunch was a success. I made plenty of food and everyone liked it. It was nice to see that I could make really good food for about $30 for 6 people, including dessert. Then my husband surprised me with a movie and a gift card and the sweetest card. It was really nice to feel special.


Hope everyone else had a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day. I'm ready to make it through this week.

I've made a list for the store today. I need to buy all the fixings for our surprise Mother's Day Lunch and there are a few things we need at the house. I am going to try to buy very little. I have $70 budgeted for the house and $20 for Mother's Day, but I am going to try to only spend $43 on us. But there are some things I would really LIKE to get at the store, including: some dog treats, a couple of dog toys, and some chips and dip. It comes out to about $17.00 worth of WANTS. I could buy them and still be in my budget. Or I could NOT buy them and have $27.00 left. I don't know that I can adjust the list to be able to buy the wants. The list is pretty much just what I need. I will just have to do without.

Friday will be my first payday with the new insurance deductions kicking in. (401K increase already started) So after raising my 401K % and adding 2 AFLAC policies, I will actually get 0.13 more a paycheck. After talking to my AFLAC rep, we found a lower cost cancer policy, so I went with that and the critical care. So all in all, I feel like I made the right decisions. My 401K will build faster and I won't take a hit in my purse.


Yesterday was a NSD. Still have all my cash. Ready for tomorrow so I can look at the budget and plan out the week.

Well, I have done pretty good. Although I think next week will be hard, especially since I need to budget in Mother's Day.


So far I still have the following in cash:
$20.00 - from pet sitting
$2.00 - left of my $22.00 for fuel
$2.00 - Leftover from week before
$20.00 - left of the $40.00 I had for dining out.


I also saw that I have an Ebates check coming. I think it is for about $11.00. I plan to send that to CC#3.

I have been battling some sort of cold/allergy/crappiness for days now. I can't breathe, so I can't sleep. And now I have this irritating cough. Nyquil and Dayquil are not helping...so I need to try something else. But I pretty much feel like doodoo.

To add to my day, my husband had a blowout on the way to work. And the lock on the wheel broke, so we couldn't put the spare on. Luckily our insurance had free towing for up to 15 miles and he was only 3 miles from our house. Too bad the tire won't be free.

Here is my money plan for the week:

Starting with $1340.73 (After deposits)
Gas - 50.00
Mtg pmt (reg pmt amt $1024) - 1150.00
Savings - 25.00
Loan - 50.00
CC#3 - 20.00
CC#1 - 15.00 (Minimum due)
Forgotten Hospital Bill - 25.00

I am left with $5.73

I also have:

20.00 Cash - for Pet Sitting
20.00 Cash - for Dining Out
20.00 Cash - for Dining Out - not used last week
22.00 Cash - for Fuel
2.00 Cash - leftover

I would like to pretend like I don't have any cash, but I am sure something will come up.

Well, I looked at my budget and checkbook after I paid everything and I actually had a little more left afterwards. Instead of $7.74 I have $11.89. Sweet! I did spend some cash. I don't regret any of my purchases, but I only have $10.00 left.


My husband treated me to a night out with some extra cash he had. We went and watched the UFC fight with some good friends. We hardly ever get to go out, so it was nice.


We also got the notification from the IRS for our payment plan. $300/ month. I don't have the paperwork with me, but I think after the $1500.00 we sent, we still owed around $3000.00. We are going to try to pay as much over $300 we can. And I am socking away money now for taxes at the end of the year. (Business taxes and self employment) I don't want to be in this boat again.

Today is payday! Woo hoo! This is where my money is going this week. (Writing it out...keeping myself accountable)

Starting Balance: $584.24

Gas - $50.00
Groceries - $80.00
Household - $50.00 (Holding account for utilities/bills)
Dining out - $20.00
Cash - $20.00 (Hoping it helps me not spend by having cash TO spend)
Cleaning Supplies - $10.00 (Jar Money)
Pet - $10.00 (Jar Money)
Household Supplies - $20.00 (Jar Money)
Holding for next week - $160.00
Savings? - $30.00
Other - $10.00 (Misc jar money/ clothing/ gifts)
Savings for Step-Daughter Graduation - $30.00
Loan - $40.00
Sister Bday - $20.00
HSBC CC#2 - $25.00
_______________________________

Ending Balance: $9.24
Actually, I will have an ATM fee for the cash...so it will actually be $7.74

I did send the $15.00 extra dollars to the CC#3. And I have to pay the $25.00 to CC#2 because the minimum is due.

I also have $3.00 left from my cash from last week. The numbers aren't super high or wonderful, but at least I have a plan?

My step daughter had her senior speech yesterday. I went ahead and took off of work so I could go. Afterwards, I spent the day cleaning our shop. I did eat dinner out (on my way home) but I used a coupon for a free sandwich. Just paid for the drink and chips. I forgot my lunch today, so I did eat lunch out. Opted for a piece of pizza which cost me $3.00. So of my $19.00, I have $10 left. I hate that I spent anything...but I am aware of my spending and at least I haven't bought anything too crazy.


Unfortunate turn of events...as soon as I got my $52 from the shop I received a bill from my doctor's office - for my visit in OCTOBER! I had to pay it, which was $37. So I only have $15.00 left for CC#3. But I am going to send it today before it isn't there.

Was it spectactular...no. I did go to Walmart. We needed some things at the house. I did buy lunch...but I used cash I had. I wrote everything in my "spending tracker." And I splurged on ice cream for dinner on Saturday. Husband was out and so I indulged...put that on the debit card. Not sure why I didn't use cash. So to make a long story short, I have 0.43 in my checking account after everything clears and I have $19.00 in my wallet.


Actually...I have a little more in my account. I have $52.68. I took my first payment from the shop in the amount of $52.25. So should I send that all to one credit card? Should I put in savings because we only have $1025.00? I just need to do something quick because I do not want that money to magically disappear on crap.

After reading the comments on my post, doing some thinking, and really looking at myself...I realized I need to make some changes.


As I have said many times on here before, my mother has also shown love through things. And although I try in a lot of ways to do some things differently than my mom, I realized that I do that too. I buy for my step-daughter...no matter what. Just like with prom. I had the money set aside for her makeup. But she wanted some extra things. Instead of saying no and sticking to my budget, I spent the money. So that is issue #1.


Issue #2 - I need to stay out of stores. And I have said this before too...but I shop just to shop. I don't buy expensive things, but I can easily spend $20 on cleaning supplies when I have plenty at home. Or I buy things at the grocery store when we really don't need them. No...I'm not going to TJ Maxx and buying all the cute stuff I want for my house. But buying $60 worth of unnecessary food/supplies is just as bad. I am just trying to justify it because its "food" or "household supplies."


So I am going to write down every time I spend money. And I am going to notate how I'm feeling, why I'm buying, and whether it is a need or a want. I am also going to try to go over the budget and see if I can make sure I have a little bit of money for me. Maybe if I have $10 in my pocket that I CAN spend, I won't feel like I HAVE to spend it. But if I do spend it, I won't feel guilty.


And I am going to be either at the house or at the shop all weekend. Both places need work and I need to stay away from stores. Sorry for the long post....but I am hoping I am on the right track.

I have been blogging on here for 2 years. And although I have gotten great advice and help and encouragement.....I have not made great progress on my debt repayment. But even so, I felt like I was still on the right track to make better choices and work toward making progress. This weekend, I am pretty sure I have fallen out of the tree of wise and responsible choices. I have no excuses. And as much as I like to tell myself, its ok....you can get back up and start over...I don't understand why I keep making bad decisions. I know that I want to do better....but for some reason it is like I sabatoge myself. This weekend I overspent by $169. Like into the red...account would be overdrawn $169. Luckily I have our savings to cover it....but why would I do that? Then I used my credit cards. Not 1....BOTH. Were they for big purchases...no. They were for stupid things. I am so frustrated with myself. I can talk to people all day long about budgets and how they can get their finances on track but I can't seem to hold myself accountable. Does anybody have some real advice about what I need to do to really get my butt in gear? I don't know why I am having the disconnect! HELP!

I am trying to decide what to do on my payroll deductions. Our insurance is changing, so our weekly amount is going down. Currently my total deductions are $173.65. With the change in insurance and an increase in my 401K %, I am at $151.89....a savings of $21.76. So my question is...Should I:

A) Increase my 401K % again. (Would still be +13.39)

B) Increase my insurance coverage to include an Aflac Cancer Benefit. $12.15/ wk for me or $21.84/ wk for my and my husband. Something I have been wanting to do.

C) Increase insurance coverage to include an Aflac Cancer Benefit and Critical Care Coverage (Heart Attack, Burns, Coma, Stroke, etc) Since we own our business and income is not "guaranteed" it seems like this would be smart. It would be an additional $8.37/wk plus the Cancer Cost. (Increase cost 8.45)

D) Increase insurance coverage to just include the Critical Care Coverage. $8.37/wk (Still be +13.39)

E) Just have an overage of $21.67/ wk.

I am leaning towards C. I know its a increase of $8.45 a week. But we would have extra coverage and I would still be increasing my 401K a percentage. Any thoughts?

So, my husband surprised me on my birthday with a metal detector. I have been saying since we moved into this house just a year ago, that it would be neat to see what kind of stuff is buried out there. Especially being out in the country. I thought it would be neat to start a jar dedicated to money found using the metal detector. So far I have just found old beer cans. But surely I will find something!

Well, today is my 32nd birthday. My birthday is a lot like the New Year for me. I feel like its a time to look at my goals and life and happenings and see what needs to be changed or see what IS working. I am hoping this weekend I can sit down and evaluate some things and take some time for some "inward looking."


And a high note....my employer is matching our 401K contributions now. And you can be fully vested at 4 years. I have actually been with the company for almost 5 years, but we had a buyout/ name change in 2009 so the vesting goes off of that date. So in July I will be fully vested. Our open enrollment date is next week, so I am going to try to look at my budget and increase my contribution.