I got sucked into looking at Groupon today. I wanted to by a harcut/deep-conditioning/style/with highlights deal today....it was $29.00. Its a steal! But, I didn't do it. All extra has to go to taxes. It was hard....because I need a haircut. But it will just have to wait. But then I started thinking about all these other things that would be great to get. Luckily, I still didn't buy anything. So today will be a NSD. I think to keep my mind occupied and not thinking about how much money I need and how much money I want to spend, I will just try to spend some time outside. It is 80 degrees in Texas today. Might as well enjoy it.

So after some thinking, I have changed my budget for the next month an a half. Debt repayment will have to take a back burner while we sort out this tax issue. So far I have found $680 to apply to the $4000. Plus $1200 that we should be getting for our unemployment taxes in the next couple of weeks. That makes $1880.00. And we could potentially have another $300....which would take us up to $2180.00. I don't know that we can find another $1820.00 in a month, but we are tightening our purse strings, belts, shoes, and anything else that will tighten, so we can squeeze some money out. If we didn't have a little bit of a bonus pay period, I don't think I could find as much as I did. I'm sad that I cannot pay all of this to my debt. But if we can do this to pay off the taxes....then we can do it to pay off the little bit of debt I have. It has really been an eye opener. This next month will not be fun....but I will do almost anything not to owe the IRS.

Oh SA friends...when I tell you I am shaking in my boots....I can hardly stand it. We are going to owe taxes. I have found as many expenses for deductions as I think I can. And I think I have a big $4000 staring me in the face. I feel sick. Luckily I paid too much on our Unemployment Taxes for the business, so we will get $1000 back. But that still leaves $3000. I have learned a lot from this. Including how important it is to make sure we put our self employment taxes back. But I really thought we would get money back. I assume the IRS will let us do payments??? But how long will that take???

I have not been at my best the last few days. Lots of bad choices....too much money spent and the need to spend more money.


My step daughter was with us this weekend. I ended up having to give her my credit card to buy lunch and gas....my husband didn't put gas in the truck on his way home. So that was $30 that I didn't plan on spending and definitely didn't plan on putting on my card. And I have zero extra right now...so I am going to see if by Friday I can come up with a way to shave $30 off my budget. I already tightened the budget to come up with the extra money for the HSBC card. Maybe I could split the extra money between the 2 cards? Still make extra progress on HSBC and pay part of the other money back?


Also realized now that I need new brake pads and rotors. Pads on front and back. Rotors just on front. It will cost about $150 (husband can do the labor). I haven't started an Auto jar, so somehow I have to come up with it. I really don't want to take it from savings because we only have $1184 in there.


And my mom had to go to the ER yesterday. So my plan of being extra careful about driving this week isn't going so well. I had to drive from my work to the hospital and back home. The good news...my mom is ok. (Just stress) The bad news...I have a quarter of a tank of gas to last me until Friday. Its Tuesday... and there is no way.


So....I don't know. I can only throw a pity party for so long because I am in this position because of decisions I have made. And I know it could be worse.

Sent my found money to my credit card this morning. I know $15 isn't a lot, but I know if I keep doing that, I will knock it out. My Ebates total is only up to $9...not the $11 I was hoping for. But still...there is another $9 I can send to the card.


I think I am about to give up on Swagbucks! I watch the Swag TV and try to do surveys and do the daily poll but I only have 144 points!!! I just don't get it. Maybe its just not meant to be. Or maybe I am not doing enough? I have never met my Daily Goal...ever. I think today it said my goal was 90! How do you get 90 points in one day????

We survived dinner last night. I was able to pay for my family's dinner plus split my mom's check with the cash I had. No extra left over, but at least I had enough!


I bought some household items yesterday on drugstore.com through Ebates. I think I will get another $3.00. Add that to the $8.00 I already have - that's $11.00 I can put towards the credit card when I get the check!! I also decided to split the "found" money from yesterday. I will put $16.00 towards the graduation savings and $16.00 towards the credit card! I am kind of liking these snowflakes!


This week will be really tight. After everything is paid (or budgeted) I will have $6.00 left. Not much wiggle room at all on this one. But at least I am in the black (at least for the budget).

Well, I came across an account that I had and it has $33.39 in it. Not sure if I should 1) Treat it as a snowflake and put it towards debt repayment 2) Put it towards Savings or 3) Xfer it to my step-daughter's graduation savings or 4) Stick it in checking to add the cushion. So many options for $33.


And my mother invited us 2 days ago for a birthday dinner for her husband tonight. *Sigh* I didn't have money budgeted for that. And we already used my $20 out to eat allowance for the week over the weekend. And unfortunately the place we are going is not the cheapest...about $15.00 a person. So I cashed in some change and came up with $45.24. And I signed up for their email club and got a $5.00 coupon. I am hoping the 3 of us can eat fairly cheap and maybe I will have some left over?? And at least I will have leftovers for lunch tomorrow?

Day 2 of the fruit cleanse. I have a little bit of a headache, but overall its going ok. I am pretty hungry though! I am taking this time of cleansing to also think about money and taxes and life. There is so much I want to achieve!


Nothing new on the finance front. Everything is paid...and I think I have $7 left again until Friday.

This weekend was so busy. I cleaned all day Friday. Hand scrubbed all the floors and baseboards....just really cleaned. Saturday I worked at our shop all day. Then Sunday I cleaned more. I finished all but one room! So today, my plan is to clean that room, do my 19 minutes of cleaning the rest of the house, do yoga, and tan before my husband gets home at 6:45. As for tanning, I don't pay for a membership. My neighbor/friend has a tanning bed, so I am just going to walk over there and tan.


I should have NSD for the next 2 days. My husband and I are doing a fruit cleanse, so I can't eat anything other than what I bring with me. Unfortunately I had to buy some things this weekend, so won't have the cushion I was hoping for. But I still have my lottery winnings to either put towards savings or debt repayment. Luckily it hasn't melted yet. But I want to do something quick.


I also saw on Ebates that I will be getting $8.11 back so far. Plus my $10 card for signing up. Hopefully I can use Ebates to buy my household stuff and then use the checks to put towards my credit card.

Not much to report...which I guess is a good thing. Today is a NSD for me. Going home after work to cook me brussels sprouts for dinner....which I have been waiting for ALL DAY! My husband hates the way they smell, so he is working a little later tonight. And I am still trying to calm myself and relieve my stress. Tomorrow I am off from work (worked 4 - 10 hour days) so my goal is to clean my house really good. That way on Monday I can start the Real Simple 19 minute cleaning schedule. Basically you do little stuff everyday so its not so hard to do at the end of the week. I think it will help me.

I bought a scratch off ticket. I couldn't help it....it was screaming my name. And I won $50.00. Of course I know that lottery tickets are not a good thing to spend money on, but at least I came out $48.00 a head. Going to keep $8.00 in my wallet and put the rest somewhere so I don't spend it.


I went through my budget and reduced my planned income. My hope is that I can train myself to live off less. It wasn't a lot, but if I act like the money isn't there, then maybe I can build a cushion in my checking account that I can later use for debt repayment? I don't know....that's just what I am thinking for now.

Ok. I feel like I have lost a little bit of financial confidence. I had to take $234 from savings to pay for the hospital and an unexpected pest control visit. When Friday comes around and I pay all of my bills and take out my "jar" money, I will have $40.00 left in my account. So at the end of next week, should I apply what's left to debt or put it back in Savings? $30.00 is automatically going back to Savings already.


We are also doing our taxes for our business. Sure hope we find some expenses! Never thought I would say that!

Well, I thought everything was on the up and up, but I ended up having to go to the emergency room Friday afternoon. I have been having chest pains for about a week, but as Friday afternoon rolled around, I started to get scared. After all the tests and blood work, we found out that my heart and lungs are fine. They are treating me for esophegeal spasms - caused by acid - caused by stress. So not the best Friday night. Cost me $200 - but the piece of mind is worth something.


I have been under a great deal of stress. I am a worrier by nature, but between my full time job, doing the books and back-end work for our business, trying to manage our money, plus everyday stuff with a household and my step daughter - I guess I just reached a point my body couldn't handle. I just want to figure it all out. Actually I want to feel ahead of the game.

So after working on our business stuff last night, I looked into Second Spin some more. I had 7 movies, in good condition, that weren't very old and I was offered $4.13. Doesn't seem worth the effort for me. Maybe we can do a garage sale and just include the movies or something. It was worth a try though.


I ate leftovers last night and packed a lunch for me and my husband today. And I plan to make dinner tonight with enough leftover for his lunch tomorrow. Plus I still have $20.00 in my account. My work owed me for gas, so I used that to put gas in my car this morning. So it looks like I am going on NSD #2.

At least I feel like I am figuring it all out. After thinking about our utility issue, we decided to take the amount we are over from the Escrow overage. I hadn't sent it yet, so it will be better for that to be slightly less than take it from savings. The escrow payment I make will still be over what we are estimating we will need.


Everything is paid and I still have almost $20 in my account. And I even have a little cash on hand. I have not started taking a "paycheck" for our business yet. This is a slower time of year so its better for me to just devote my time. But once I start getting that, it will great to start pushing that money out to credit cards and savings.


We have leftovers from dinner last night, so today will be a NSD! And I have stuff to pack for our lunches tomorrow and stuff to cook for dinner. So tomorrow should be a NSD too!!


I've heard a lot of people talking about second spin. I thought about checking it out and seeing if I could possibly earn a little bit off movies that I don't watch. Guess it doesn't hurt to try.


I know this post is all over the place. But I am really feeling the positive energy today.

So....we had a water leak. Last month I noticed that our bill was about $20 more. We walked the house and check everything and couldn't find any leaky faucets or hoses or anything. Well that's because it was a main water line closer to the property line. Luckily my husband was able to fix it and conveniently our neighbor (and husband's best friend) does plumbing on the side, so he gave us the parts. But our water bill for this month is $70.00 MORE!! YUCK. Then I got our electric bill. HOLY SUGAR...it is $320! Last month was $158. What the heck happened? I called the electric company, they said it is our heater. So I guess I am going to have to turn it down a couple of notches. Not the happiest camper today.

Ok... so 2 unrelated topics but both on the brain today.

First, the mortgage. I found out that our mortgage is going DOWN! So my husband and I talked and have decided to continue to pay extra on it...since we are already used to that amount. It will knock off 10 years! Excited about that.


Now, the forums. Wow! If ever there was somewhere where I felt like I didn't belong...it would be there. I didn't read many. I actually just stumbled into the forum area a couple of days ago. But the ones I read, made me feel like an idiot. Like people were looking down on me because I misuse the term Budget or because I don't buy something because I "can't afford it." As I have said before, I am here to learn and grow. Think I will stick to the blogs.

We have sooo much food right now. At least it seems like it. I was going to do a food inventory a while back, but never did. So tonight will be a good night to do it. I am hoping to have 2 weeks worth of meals between my pantry and fridge/freezer. We will see!

So money seems pretty good right now. Everything is paid and I have $6.00 in my wallet. Today will be a NO SPEND DAY for me. WOO HOO.

I see a lot of people starting money challenges...how do you have $12 or $20 to add to challenge money everyday? Or even $1 or $2? By the time I go through and pay everything and put money in savings or whatever I'm going to do, I usually have little left and I only allow myself $10 in cash. I do the "jar" technique....take cash out...but it in jars and try to only spend that on my variable expenses. So instead of leaving the leftover in the jars...should I put it in a challenge fund?


I still have a few things left to pay. I am going to transfer a very little bit to savings. Still haven't moved the thousand...its just sitting in our bank account. But I am also starting a savings for my step daughter's graduation gift and expenses. I'm only putting $20.00 in this week, but she doesn't graduate until May. We want to give her cash, so I have to start saving now. I also got a ticket for a U-turn....I totally didn't see the sign. So I am having to come up with $107 in the next 2 weeks. So no extra money right now. I think I will have 0.97 but we have groceries and gas and everything we could need for the week.

3 weeks have flown by. We survived the holidays. I did pretty good on money, but under estimated how much gas I would need while I had family in town!

I got paid today. I already paid everything that I had to pay. And after I put in gas and allow for my $20 for dinner out I think I have about a $1.00 left.

We had an unexpected check come in the mail....from our escrow account. A pretty large check for us. But instead of spending it or doing even doing anything with it....we decided to put the majority of it back into the escrow account with our mortgage payment. The reason for this is that I know our taxes are going to go up. We got to carry over the previous owner's exemption and since we are not veterans, we will lose that. So we are just going to stick it back in there to cover the increase. I do have over $1000 to put into savings though. So that will be nice.

I also sat down and looked at my credit card debt. There is absolutely no reason why I should not have all of my debt paid off this year. I just have to pay $38.00 more than what I have budgeted. So I have an amount for each card I have to pay each month to wipe it out. And I want to pay as much over that amount as I can. Even if its only a couple of dollars.

I cannot believe it is almost December already. I am feeling a lot of anxiety right now. Especially in the finance part of my life. Sometimes I feel very secure and I feel like I am on the right track, but right now I don't. I am hoping that I can stick with my December budget...very strictly. I need to do it. Not just for the financial side of it...but so I can teach myself to be disciplined and know that I can do it.


And as the year is coming to an end...I feel like this has been kind of an overwhelming year for us. Buying a new house, starting a business, step daughter's senior year, and trying to pay off debt. Its been the most expensive year. I guess I am grateful for survival.

Since I got cancelled from my 2nd job tonight, I plan to use that time to do a food inventory. That way when I go to the store on Saturday I can try to get just the bare minimums. We should have Thanksgiving leftovers to last us for a couple of days and I think I bought extra eggs and milk with my Thanksgiving money. I do want to try to get some good deals on food my husband can take to the shop for lunch and I want to get plenty of rice and soup for me to take to work. Our goal is to try to cut our spending for December.

I do plan on hitting some Black Friday sales. Hopefully I get what I am after, but if not...I will just have to find other ways to be frugal.

So Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for this site and all of my Financially Focused Friends!

I am posting my December budget. I feel like I need some guidance. I am not getting anywhere. I know that I still spend when I shouldn't. I don't go crazy, but here and there I indulge. So...here is my budget for December and my debt (not including mortgage and student loan). If I could just knock out my credit cards, I could move that payment money to my student loan. And I should say that my actual estimated take home is $2072.00 but I estimated low for some wiggle room. Other things that are important... we live in the country and work a lot, so I am not willing to give up our Dish. It is sometimes our only entertainment. Since we live in the country we do not have any other options for internet or electric providers. Ready for suggestions or enlightenment.



IN:
Husband $1456.00
Household $420.00
Payroll $1960.00

OUT:
VEH GAS -$250.00
GROCERIES -$160.00
CELL PHONE -$170.00
SPEC. INSUR -$48.00
CAR INSUR -$115.00
EATING OUT -$75.00
CASH -$20.00
MEDICAL/RX -$80.00
ELECTRIC -$285.00
DISH -$72.25
INTERNET -$61.10
HEALTH INSU -$420.00
CHRISTMAS -$80.00
CC REPAY. -$80.00
MORTGAGE -$1356.50
STUDENT LN -$65.00
CLEAN. SUPP -$10.00
PET -$10.00
HOUSE SAV -$20.00
CLOTH/OTHER -$20.00
SAVINGS -$90.00
WATER BILL -$70.00

IN: $3836.00
OUT: $3757.85
REMAINING: $78.15

This budget does not include my 2nd job. Take home on that is estimated at $70.00/wk. Half will go to SAV and half to Credit Cards. At least that is my plan.

I will be the first to admit that I am no where near where I need to be. I don't always make the best decisions....and sometimes I spend money that I shouldn't. But I come to this website 5 times a week....multiple times a day....so I can learn and grow. If anything, at least I am becoming more "aware." And I am slowly becoming more disciplined. So thank you to those who are encouraging and that offer advice. Because I think we can all learn something. Especially when it comes to money.

Sunday the 21st, I was stung multiple times by a wasp. He was on my seat in my car...I leaned back...he stung me...and then stung my hand multiple times when I put my hand back there. (not knowing what was going on). Everything seemed normal, BUT apparently it wasn't. I got a staph infection from it. My hand and finger started swelling up last Tuesday (9 days after the episode) and finally by Thursday I had to go to the Urgent Care Clinic. 2 shots, 2 antibiotic prescriptions, and a copay later....I think I am finally getting better. I had to take money from Savings to cover the Dr, but luckily I will get checks back from AFLAC that I can use to replenish.

BUT...I am having to make an unplanned trip out of town this Thursday. My step-daughter wants to go visit a college a couple of hours away. So it looks like I will be paying for a hotel room for one night and maybe one dinner. Cheapest room I could find that wasn't too sleazy looking was $66.00. So, unfortunately I feel like I'm taking some steps back. Especially since I can't work my 2nd job right now because of the infection. (Sigh) Maybe I'm not going backwards...just treading water.

I have been thinking about my Grandma lately. My father's mother. When I think about her and her financial abilities, I can't help but long to be more like her. Before my time, my grandparents owned a bar. When they sold the bar, they bought rental houses in a lower income area. I remember going with her to collect rent when I was little. Somehow, all of the rental houses were paid for. Her house was paid for. She had a nice car that she paid cash for. She had money in the bank and a little in the stock market. But if you saw her, you wouldn't think that she had money at all. She made her own clothes. Cooked dinner every night and would drive around town to get the best deals. She had a stockpile of toilet paper, paper towels, and anything else she could need. But appearance didn't matter to her. She wasn't interested in renovating her house. She didn't need a designer purse. She didn't mind eating a bologna sandwich. So I just wonder if maybe I need to adjust my whole way of thinking. Or at least find a middle ground between the 2. But I do wish she was still here to teach me her ways.

I've been at my 2nd job for a little over a week. After working my full 8 - 10 hours at job #1, another 3.5 hours makes for a long day. The good news is that I hope to put my paycheck towards savings and credit cards this week. I can only put $25 towards my card, but hey...at least its extra. But if I can stick with it through November, I will be able to pay off a credit card and add $500 to savings. Its just hard. I am so tired when I come home.


I took off tonight from #2, to go to dinner with my husband for his Birthday. I can't wait to just enjoy the night.


Oh....and termite treatment is Thursday. My sister is amazing and gifted us the money for the treatment. To say that I am grateful is an understatement.

The exterminator came today. I decided to work from home until he came so I didn't have to take a vacation day. The news....not so great. With a discount...probably because I started crying while he was there...it is $936.00. I didn't cry to get a discount. I cried because I am completely and financially overwhelmed. I quickly dried it up and realized that THIS IS WHY WE HAVE EMERGENCY FUNDS AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS. Unfortunately, we don't have enough to cover all of our recent financial "happenings." But we have to have our house treated. Its not optional and he said we need to do it within the next couple of weeks. Which means shortly after that, we HAVE to do the siding on the house, to protect us. And of course, we still have to fix my husband's transmission. And changing the oil filter on my car...didn't fix the problem.


*deep breath*


I am so overwhelmed. The good news is that I did get the job at the restaurant. I am just a cook. Should be easy enough. The pay is not huge, but its extra and if I could put $100 of it a month towards my debt repayment, I could probably knock it out pretty quick. And put the rest towards EVERYTHING else. I start tomorrow.

We have termites. A little while back, I was afraid we may have termites, so I invested in some home treatments and home test kits. And...we have them. I am afraid of what the treatment will cost. I think it could be anywhere from a couple of hundred to a thousand. I will know tomorrow. I am hoping with every ounce of my being that we caught it early and it is the low end. We don't have a huge savings, but we could cover that.


My husband's transmission is in the repair process. I am hopeful that he is able to fix it. He does not want to pay someone 2K to do it nor do we have 2K to pay someone. So... what can you do?


My car was also having some issues. My husband truly thinks that is was because the wrong oil filter was on it. I hope that he is right. We will see if I have any more issues, because he changed the oil filter last night.

And finally, I applied and interviewed for a part time job last night. Its Monday - Friday, 5-8 PM. Waitress and possible cook. I enjoy the restaurant business, its only 3 hours a night, it will bring in a little extra cash, and its only 6 miles from my house. Which for being in the country, that's pretty good. I just realize how much I miss our savings account. When we had 10K in there, I knew we would be ok if something came up. I feel like now I am just floating in a sea of danger in a saran wrap dingy.

I am trying not to let the fact that we have to fix my husband's transmission get me down. The upside of this situation is that my husband is going to try to fix it. Should be $300 - $500. If it doesn't work, then rather than deplete our savings, my husband is going to sell one of his "man toys" to pay for it. Down side is, I won't see my husband much. Luckily we have another vehicle he can drive (eventhough it is a gas hog) and he can also ride his motorcycle.


Other financial ramblings... I'm looking forward to October. Excited to make bigger credit card payments. I will also be able to put a little into savings and boost my Christmas savings.


Luckily this week will not be as tight as last week. And I am hoping that no EXTRA expenses pop up. Lots of work to do at our shop and around the house, so I should be too busy to spend money. And I took Monday off from work, so I'll save a little on gas.