I just haven't had a lot of time to post. Work has been busy. Life has been busy. And I haven't had a lot to post, I guess.


We are about to get some cold weather.... low 30s with rain, so I am going to the grocery store tonight. I don't get paid until Friday, so I am just borrowing the money from our household bill account until I get paid. I just don't want to go in the cold and rain. But hopefully with the cold, I can stay inside and get a lot done this weekend.


I did sign up for the Target Red Card (Debit). I saved $3.00 when I got it, but I think I can do some good savings during Christmas. I do a lot of shopping there. It did take a while for the transaction to post. I'm still a little nervous about it. So we will see how it goes.


I accidently used a credit card the other day. So my balance went up $30.47. So I will need to send that money off to the credit card so I make up for it. Just a stupid mistake while in a hurry.


And I have all my ingredients bought for Thanksgiving. And money set aside for the meat. So I'm pretty excited about that.


Ok....so lots of random info in here. I felt very weird not to be on SA this last week.

I survived the first week. I am still feeling very aware. Caught myself wanting to eat out a lot...but didn't do it. I did have an unplanned breakfast, but 1 is better than 4. So I need to continue to work on it. I need to buy 2 tablecloths for Thanksgiving. I am considering counting some change to see if I can come up with the money. That way I don't use my debit card and I don't take money from my jars. I included some Thanksgiving groceries on my list this week. Thought it would be good to go ahead and get some of my items so I have them and it wouldn't be such a hit if I spread it out. I have already budgeted money for the meat!


I got our insurance renewal yesterday on our home insurance. It is going up almost $600 a year. I called them to see if there was something we could do and they were able to give us a different policy with better coverage for about $300 more. We could get it to only $10 more a year if we switch over our car insurance, but we really don't want our car insurance with them. So, I think I am going to get some more quotes and see what I can find. I wish we could just get home insurance with Progressive too and have all our policies in one place. (But they don't offer it in our area)

November 1st - my tracking starts today. Tracking is going to make everything very real. I am already thinking about my purchases because I don't want to look at the log and see a whole bunch of entries! There isn't much to spend this week. But the trick will be realizing this and not spending it. I really hope this helps me. I don't want to be a money mover. I want the money to built up and not shifted around because I overspent.


I have to admit, I had to make an unexpected purchase today. We are having a flea problem and I have to put something in our backyard to help. So I spent $16 on that. But I didn't see a way around it.

I downloaded a free app for my phone called Santa's Bag. Basically it allows you to put in a budget, enter gifts as you purchase them, give you a summary of how you are doing...and of course a countdown until Christmas. Only 55 days to go. I have figured that I am short on my Christmas budget. I need to do some serious frugal shopping! But I love the idea of getting someone something really great that I got for half the price (or less). We don't spend more than $20 on one person, but that adds up. Hopefully this little app will keep me in check.

I had to go BACK to the eye dr Saturday. Got 2 more eye drops. One I got as a sample. The other was $155!! Luckily I have an awesome pharmacist that found a coupon and I got it for $25. I have totally blown any budget I had after all these copays and medicines! But I am so thankful the prescription was $25 instead of $155. I did do an Aflac claim, so I should get something back. And I think I may be able to do one on the original eye appointment too. But I'll have to check into it.

I had another dr's visit scheduled for yesterday. Its been scheduled for about a month. Luckily my yearly physical is covered with zero copay. I did end up having a kidney infection, so I had to get another antibiotic. And I have another appointment today for a follow-up on my eye. Luckily she does not charge a copay for a follow-up. I am definitely done with dr visits for a while I hope.


I got a gift certificate for a massage on my birthday (back in April). I just realized that it expires 10/31. I called to see what they had available before next Thursday and all they had was tomorrow! I guess its a good thing I called. I would hate for a $60 massage to go to waste. But after these last couple of months, a massage might be just the thing I need.

So I woke up with my eye hurting. It feels like something is stuck in it. I tried to deal with it but it just hurt too bad. So...I ended up having to go to the eye dr. Luckily I went to the dr a couple of weeks ago to get glasses, because I haven't had new ones in 8 years! But if I didn't have new glasses, I would have been in trouble today! Dr says I am having some sort of allergy. Have to use eye drops and do cold compresses to get the swelling down. So, I had to do a $10 copay and whatever the drops cost me. I guess it could be worse.



I made extra payments to my credit cards. $133.68. Every little bit counts. We are postponing our garage sale again. Concrete guys are going to be out Saturday, so I think it would be too hard to do both. Plus it will give me a little more time to find more stuff.

Well...long story short....I ended up just adding an "actual" column to my budget spreadsheet. And in my checkbook register, which I write in at least once a day, I will just be more detailed. Then at the end of the month, I can just add my actual in and see how I did. I was just trying to make it too difficult. Oh, and cash I will continue to do in the "jars" but will have a sheet in each jar. Put the receipt in the jar so I know what I spent. That really is how I was supposed to be doing it this whole time (Gail Vaz Oxlade way).


I feel very aware right now. And still overwhelmed by what I was doing. So November 1 will start the new way of tracking.


What I am reallly thinking about is....what do people that don't think about their expenses do? I worry about my finances and work to try to keep them somewhat on track. So how do they get through? How do they not worry?

I feel like I am trying to make this overly complicated. I started writing everything in a little book. Then I created a spreadsheet...but now I don't know what to do. So, I need suggestions.


I need a way to track my spending that I do through debit card/checks/ach and a way to track my cash. For my variable expenses, I use cash. Sooo....What is the best way to track this? Should I do a spreadsheet for my non cash spending and maybe have a log for each "jar" of cash spending? I think I have thought about this so much I am not sure what kind of spreadsheet to use for my non cash spending. I would really love some help/ suggestions/ words of wisdom/ etc. Or some screen shots of what yall do? And then what you do with it. Add up categories at the end of the month and compare it to what you budgeted? I've lost my financial brain apparently.

I have a budget. It is broken down into weekly - based on my pay. Today....I realized that even though I have a budget, I'm not following. I am to a point. But, I am spending money on random crap and not even realizing it. Which means I am not following it. I have been tracking my spending for October. This is not something I usually do. Sometimes I will pay attention to my cash spending, but when I looked at all my entries of what I am spending.... wow. 1.29 for itunes, 2.86 for a snack, 14.36 in out to eat lunches in 2 days....and I didn't "BUDGET" for those. So, my eyes are open. A budget doesn't matter if there are small (or even big) purchases made without acknowledging the budget. When I wonder where my extra $32 a month is going - well the answer is itunes, car wash, snack, lunch, etc. I made a spreadsheet to actually compare what I spent to what I budgeted. This out to be disgustingly interesting.


And I realized that I am a shifter. I will shift money off of something to cover something I did. So I will never get anywhere if I am just moving the money around instead of not spending the money.


(I feel like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation when he just starts going off and calling his boss all those names....and he ends in Hallelujah, Holy Sh*t. Where's the tylenol..... Only I am yelling at myself

Its my husband's birthday Wednesday. I have set aside $80 for us to go to dinner on Friday. Its more than I would like, but I want him to have a nice dinner and really enjoy himself. We are going to a steakhouse. In my mind that should cover an appetizer, cocktail, his meal, and whatever I eat. Hopefully me being vegetarian saves us a little. My family will be joining us - everyone will pay for their own bills. I also have to drive to pickup his gift that is finally out of layaway. I paid for it over the past month so I didn't have to borrow from savings or put it on a credit card. So I will be driving more than normal this week. We also have a wedding on Thursday night. So we will have to drive to that. And the reception is afterwards at a Mexican food restaurant. Unfortunately and fortunately. Unfortunately it is a restaurant that I cannot eat at....at all. Even their chips are made with lard....so it is not vegetarian friendly. I guess fortunately...I won't be able to eat anything so the bill should be cheap. So lots of driving and more going out to eat than normal.

Productive....sending it all away. I set aside my utility money. Paid what was due. Paid over the minimum on all 3 credit cards. And in 2 weeks I will be able to pay towards them again. After that payment, my CC3 will be under $100. Whew! I also set aside money for our termite annual renewal and put a little bit of money back in savings.


I ended up with 2216 Swagbucks when I logged in today! Cashed them in for 2 $10 Target cards for Christmas. Super excited about that. I did my Christmas budget and I am a little off-track on my Savings for it. I am going to have to be frugal! Even MORE frugal than normal.


I am cooking free steaks for dinner tonight...a customer gave them to my husband for all his help. (Customer is a butcher). So between finishing the cleaning and cooking that - my Friday will be over. And I can work all day on business stuff tomorrow. Oh I hope I can get it all done.

I realized today that I have to get an oil change. *sigh* Which is more than $40 because I use Synthetic oil....but I can go at least 5000 miles before my next one. So obviously today will NOT be a NSD and I will not have an extra $40 dollars. On the up side, I did half the cleaning last night. Tonight I will do some more. And I will finish whatever I have on Friday. Saturday I want to devote to business paperwork. I just need to keep the momentum.


Good news for today - I got my 500 Swagbucks. So I actually have 1116. I know for some people that seems like nothing, but I am EXCITED. Especially since I barely had any before my fellow blogger inspired me. But I am trying to decide if I should get Walmart cards and use it towards groceries. Or get Target cards and use them towards Christmas. Personally, I am leaning towards Target...especially since I have been doing all my shopping at Kroger. If I get a few more...I could get 3. And hey, $15 is $15.

I am still having a problem getting everything balanced. I had convinced myself to take $40 out of my money this week and pay someone to help me clean my house. But...I am trying to convince myself if I just do a little each day, by this weekend it should be better. And I can use that $40 for something else. Debt, Savings, whatever. According to me, if I break it down into minutes, I have 3 hours worth of work. So 1.5 hours today and tomorrow? 1 hour each day - today, tomorrow, and Friday? Not sure the breakdown. But I think its the right thing to do. Even though I am exhausted. So.... I'm going to do it myself....no need to spend $40.


Oh and yesterday and today are NSD!!!

I am functioning on about 2 1/2 hours of sleep. So....needless to say I am a little tired.


This week has been more positive so far. They started on our siding yesterday. Our computer died, but a friend built us one for free. *awesome.* I have a fridge and a pantry full of groceries so I can cook all week. I've managed to make my husband's lunch 2 days in a row. I did a little bit of housework yesterday. So I am almost in a groove. But the amount of business paperwork I need to get done is insane. Especially with it being the end of a quarter. So...I am hoping that eventhough I am tired I can get some of that done today. Along with some work and maybe a couple of household chores.


I did manage to get up to 586 Swagbucks. I am still awaiting my 500 points. I'm giving it until tomorrow to see what happens.

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.

I am definitely ready for this month to be over. Ready for a clean start.... at least for the month.


Today is payday. I paid all of the due bills. I also bought a cell phone today. I paid 0.01 for it. The contract isn't a huge deal because we don't plan on changing companies and we can still downgrade plans if we need to. I set aside $20 to save for my husband's birthday, $20 for Christmas. I sent my nephew $20 for his birthday (which I planned for). And I should have $10 to move to savings. Its not much, but at least its something. Hopefully next week I can apply my pay difference toward CC #3. It is so close to being gone. An extra $30 a week will be nice. Especially if I do like I said and pretend its not there. (Put it towards debt.)


I also called Dish Network yesterday. My bill seems so high, but my husband only watches one channel and I can't lower my package anymore or I lose that channel. So I managed to get a $10/ month discount. At least its something?

My life feels anything but normal. I kind of feel like I'm just floating through the days....does that make sense? I don't have the thoughts and interests that I had a few weeks ago. I'm sure it will get better. I went to a benefit for my husband's friend on Sunday. They are trying to raise as much money as possible for his daughter who is in her late teens. Unfortunately, I think I caught some sort of stomach bug while I was there. So I missed work yesterday because I was too sick at my stomach to even leave my bedroom. But today is better. And the benefit raised some good money.


I won't know how much my new pay rate will be until tomorrow. I am anxious to see. And I don't see myself spending any money in the next few days. So that should be good. Honestly I don't feel like doing much.

My life feels anything but normal. I kind of feel like I'm just floating through the days....does that make sense? I went to a benefit for my husband's friend on Sunday. They are trying to raise as much money as possible for his daughter who is in her late teens. Unfortunately, I think I caught some sort of stomach bug while I was there. So I missed work yesterday because I was too sick at my stomach to even leave my bedroom. But today is better. And the benefit raised some good money.


I won't know how much my new pay rate will be until tomorrow. I am anxious to see. And I don't see myself spending any money in the next few days. So that should be good. Honestly I don't feel like doing much.

I am so ready for the weekend. More than anything...I need a getaway. But that will probably have to wait.


Good news is...I got a review and a raise. I think it will be about $30 a week. My plan is to just act like I didn't get one at all. At least for now. I did manage to pay bills today and balance my checkbook. I know I need to buy laundry supplies... hopefully I can find some coupons. I allowed myself $15 cash for the week, but that may have to be used for the laundry stuff. I am just glad everything balanced out after all the spending I have done. Zero is better than negative.

Well, I'm here. Back at work - normal days. Tomorrow would have been my brother's 26th birthday, so I am trying to figure out how to deal with that. I am having a hard time concentrating, but I know it will get better. I did manage to balance my checkbook. And I looked at my budget...and how out of whack it is. But I know it will get better too. I have overspent by about $180, between eating out and gas and everything else. I think I have rearranged enough so it will balance out on Friday. I won't be able to save anything this week, but getting through the week is an accomplishment in itself.


Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. The support is wonderful.


I will continue to take it one day at a time.

I am dealing with the loss of my brother and my husband's best friend. One was 25 and the other was 34. Devastating losses that are preventing me from staying focused. I did manage to pay my credit cards...late...but yesterday I got the companies to waive the late fees. I am just overwhelmed right now. Hopefully my finances can coast for a little while so I can get my composure.

I'm off on Friday, so I am hoping to use that day to take care of some things. Both dogs need their nails trimmed - so that is first on the list (Cash set aside). And I will need to go to the grocery store. Hopefully between the rest of the day Friday and all day Saturday I can clean the house and get some paperwork done. I am really thinking about getting a Neat Desk....maybe that would help with the business paperwork?


Payday is tomorrow - so here is my budget

Gas - 60
Groceries - 80
Cell Phones - 177 (Really need to lower this!!)
Insurance on Truck - 49
Dining Out - 20
Cash for Wallet - 10
Savings - 25
Rx - 60
Loan - 50
Pet - 10
Christmas Sav - 20
Hold for next week - 30
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Leaves me $11

I have got to save every way I can this month. So let's go August!!!