No check yesterday. I can see on the website that my claim was approved....so I am still just waiting for the check.

I forgot my lunch today so I had to go grab something to eat. Not happy about that. But I was starving. I did get something that I could eat today and tomorrow. And maybe even Thursday.

I got my test results from the dr yesterday. Just standard blood work. They want to put me on medicine for cholesterol. I am doomed to have cholesterol problems because of family health history. But I really don't want to take this medication. It has a lot of side effects that don't sound pleasant. I'm going to try to shave some money off of something this next week so I can buy some natural supplements and see if it makes a difference. And if not...I guess I will just have to take the prescription.

I added a free app to my phone. Its called Snap from Groupon. Basically you take a picture of your grocery store receipt and claim money based on offers. So this last trip I claimed $1.50 by buying apples and milk. There are offers for yogurt, bread, diapers, butter....all sorts of stuff. $1.50 isn't much. But its free money. You can cash out at $20.00. If you want to use my referral link it is
https://snap.groupon.com/app?ref=2ed52a9621d69d53

Not sure how the link stuff works. But I wanted to at least share the info.

My insurance hasn't posted and I am still waiting to get my Aflac check, so I am not sure where I am at yet. My goal is to just be in the black. Seems easy enough. Hoping by tomorrow I will know.


Birthday dinner for my husband went great. The food was really good and the restaurant was pretty reasonable. I split up my gifts. I gave him one last night with dinner and I will give him the other one on his actual birthday on Thursday. I signed up for an email promo so we will be going to dinner on Thursday for half price. That will be nice. Then we don't have any other celebrations until Thanksgiving/Christmas. Out wedding anniversary is in October also, but we just can't afford to do anything this year.

Ok. Its payday. After everything is paid and set aside, I am still in the red, but only $9.56 I think my insurance will actually be $4.00 less than what I budgeted and I can pay a few dollars less on my student loan. So hopefully I can clear that up. I have $70.00 budgeted for groceries. Hopefully I can spend less than that. But we need things. A lot of basics.


On a high note, I think my Aflac claim was approved. Hopefully I will get a check in the mail soon. And I do have $6.00 from Pine Cone coming my way.


I hope to have a low spend weekend. We are going out to eat for DH's birthday. I have money set aside for that. And I did very minimal gifts. But it should be fun.

Ok. This is where I am at. I will actually be in the red $62.00 after payday Friday. I have a doctor's appointment today. I budgeted $40 for it. I am not sure if I will have to pay a copay or not because its an annual exam? But even if I do, I am going to do an Aflac claim. I will get reimbursed $60 for a Wellness exam. So, if I get the Aflac check, I should be almost even again. Let's hope it goes as planned.


I am hoping the month of October is kind to me. The last few months have been rough, so I could use a win.


And I updated my side bar. The numbers went in the wrong direction. But I have to be honest about it.

I feel stuck. Stuck financially. Stuck physically. Stuck mentally. I know that I can work my way out of this, but I am really struggling. I have been using money to cope with bad days. I justify the spending somehow. Using my credit cards because I have overspent in my bank account. Buying groceries because I want to eat better, but its not budgeted for or planned. Buying "things" to make me feel better because I am having a bad day. These are all bad things. Suck it Up September didn't work for me. I am in a bad situation right now. On Friday, after I am paid, I am over budget...in the red. And not just in theory. Like, I have spent more than I have. I will be short $155.09. If I do not make any payments towards my credit cards, I will only be short $43.09. Obviously, I cannot make credit card payments that are going to make me worse off. But that puts me even further behind on paying off my debt. I did pay off the personal loan. And before this hiccup, I was going to have CC #2 paid off 11/14. And CC #3 paid off 10/31. So I am just frustrated with myself. Frustrated because I am making bad choices.

Sometimes I feel like we are really coasting along. And some days I just feel lost and deflated. I guess that is where I am at today. Sadly, I think my debt payoff will be pushed on until next month. Even then it will be close. I am still looking for extra money, but its hard. I don't know if I can do another PT job. I already work FT and I do work for our own business, so I would consider that my part time job. But I just don't feel like we can get ahead. And the lighting/electronic wipeout has not helped. I would still love to do personal chef work, but I can't spend the money to test recipes. Maybe I can do a little at a time, but that isn't an easy money maker. Maybe I just need to Suck it Up and work another 15 hours a week somewhere? 40 hours FT/ 10 hours PT - our business/ 15 hours PT somewhere. 65 hour workweek. Is it worth it? Some weeks it would be 70 - 75. Depending on my FT job.


And my husband is in a funk too. He works a lot. Its been hot and he can't enjoy the outdoors or work in his garage. Having employees is hard on him sometimes....having to be in charge and having people take advantage of him. And this electronic thing is a real bummer for him. I feel like we need a break, or a vacation, or something. But no money or time right now.


Ok I'm done. I can't ride this pity train any longer....jeez. But surely yall can see my frustration. (Even if I am the root of the problem.)

We had a bad storm on Saturday. Lots of lightning...which hit close to our house. We lost our computer, our vinyl cutter, and modem. The printer survived and luckily my laptop was not plugged in. So far, it should cost about $2300 to replace. Insurance deductible is $1974, so it just doesn't make sense to file a claim. So, we have to come up with $2300 more dollars now. Feeling discouraged. The computer is used for work (for our business) and so is the vinyl cutter. And we were going to use th vinyl cutter to make some extra money. So I'm not sure what to do. We have to have another $200 by the end of this month so we can pay to have the dogs fixed. The computer should be about $500. And we need that as soon as we can do it. And the vinyl cutter is not an emergency, but we do use it for work. So we would like to replace it sooner than later.

I feel guilty for trying to pay off my credit cards now. Should I start putting the extra money towards this problem and extend the debt? I really wanted everything paid off by then end of the month.

Blah

Not much to say except I kind of spiraled out of control since my last post. Made some really poor money decisions. I am not wanting to do a sob story, it is my fault. I saw myself headed that way. CC #3 is up to $81.20. CC #2 is down to $340.38. Savings is down to $900. I have dug myself out of the hole I got myself in. I didn't miss any payments on anything. But I made things really difficult on myself. I am really doing poorly in all aspects of my life. I have been working hard this week to really pull it together and get on track. I am my worst critic, but right now...I'm right.


I did get a raise today. Starts next week. Should net an extra $120 a month. As always, my goal is to pretend like its not there. Easy way to knock the rest of my cc debt out earlier...if I can just get my sh*t together.


I have no excuses. I have been stumbling lately and I finally just fell. I guess as Scarlett said "After all, tomorrow is another day."

So, we had a "meeting" at our house yesterday as a result of our shocking news. Monday and Tuesday I found myself driving towards the store to buy things to decorate my house. Both times, I turned around and went back to work. I have had 2 NSDs. But I had convinced myself that I "needed" these things. And had mixed feelings about not buying the items. Almost like I was going to be embarassed by how my house looked if I didn't have these decorative items from Hobby Lobby. I guess what matters is that I didn't go. I didn't buy anything.


I have to take my dog to the vet tomorrow. Its time for shots and hearworm. We are taking the money from Savings. I plan on using part of my monthly pet budget to slowly reimburse it. But we have to do it. Especially with all the rain...the mosquitos are going to be bad.


Going to the grocery store tonight. Going to try to spend as little as possible. But the list is long this time.

I am just not feeling it today. I'm tired. Something in the air is killing me. Watery eyes, nose issues, no energy.

I worked on my household situation last night. Made some progress in the office. But I didn't finish everything. I have to finish the laundry room and bedroom tonight since the pest control quarterly treatment is tomorrow morning. The money is already set aside for that. I cooked dinner last night, and cleaned up immediately after. Trying snafu's suggestion. We will see how it goes.

Ready for this day to be over with...

For weeks now, I have been trying to get my house clean and organized. No matter how hard I try, between lift and work and business paperwork....I just can't get it all done. Sooo.....I broke down and paid a lady to come help me clean. It came out of a cash stash I had. She helped me for 3 hours. Surprisingly, we cleaned for 3 hours and it is still now where I want it. And my office is still a mess. My plan is to finish when I get off work today. Sometimes paying a little bit of money is worth the stress relief.


No other financial happenings right now. Just waiting for Friday.

Its almost over! Right now we are busy with the hustle and bustle of Christmas. I have some time off from work to enjoy time with family. Then I will be figuring out end of year stuff for our business and it will be time for a new year. 2013 was not the best year, but I have learned some valuable lessons, gained some perspective, and grown as a person. I am hoping to start 2014 wide-eyed and ready.


So I want to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my SA friends. And Best Wishes for a Financially Awesome New Year to you all!


I'll be back after the 1st!

The majority of the ice is gone now. Today its raining but luckily we aren't getting below freezing. The electric companies have been great getting people's electric back on during outages. We didn't experience any outage, but I know our electric bill will be higher this month. It was just really cold for us. Not used to 15 degree weather. Next week we are supposed to get up to 60 degrees....Texas weather...always changing.


Its payday! And I got a bonus! It will have to go to Christmas, but I am so grateful for it. I also got a gift card at my company party yesterday, so I plan on regifting it. (Even though I would love to keep it ) I made my credit card payments and put money aside for household bills.


We are still in the process on our insurance/accident stuff. Had the estimate done today and it was over 3K in damage. But it is all still under "investigation." I think if you brake check someone and then leave the scene...you should be found responsible. But I guess they still have to look at the whole picture.

So...since my excitement from the yearly budget, I have had multiple money issues. I almost feel like I put bad juju out there for being so "optimistic." My husband was in an accident this weekend. Good news...he is fine and so is the other person. Bad news....damage to the car. Bad damage. Luckily it is driveable right now, but we will have to do something about it. Repair the car with the deductible? Repair truck with money we get from insurance company? Or bite the bullet on getting a new car (but we were trying to wait until Spring.) Other various money issues have come up. Small hits of financial drama. How quickly the exciting feeling goes away.


Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

We have not had the heater on yet. In Texas we have still been in the 60s and 70s. It has gotten to 66 in the house, but we have been able to handle it. Well, tonight it is supposed to drop to 26 degrees and the wind is crazy. I think we will just have to turn it on. I'm hoping since we haven't been using the heater or the A/C that our electric bill will have a decent drop. (Although...I have been leaving the light on more for our puppy.) But I think its time we turn it on. At least for the next couple of days. I think we will be back at upper 60s by this weekend.

Anyone using the Target Red Debit Card? I'm tempted because of free shipping and 5% discount. But am a little leary of linking my checking account to it. Anyone have good or bad experiences?

My sister moved away about 8 years ago. Things have really not been the same for them since. Here, they had a nice home, they both had good jobs, 2 kids and family around to help them. Now, they are 12 hours away. They rented for about 6 of those years. My sister had another baby when they first moved, so she was not working and did not work the majority of the time. My BIL was promised a large bonus for moving, but he didn't get everything in writing so they screwed him over a little bit. But even with that said, he makes pretty good money. My sister started working PT at a retail store a couple of years ago to help out. But they were still able to provide for the kids and take vacations, so I thought they were good. Well my sister started working FT last year. But the job was just a 1 year contract so they released her. Now she has no job. But instead of them rearranging their budget and cutting expenses, they are just sinking. I am worried. I'm worried that the boys won't have what they need. And we are several states away so its hard to help except send money. I don't want to intrude on them. They aren't asking for help. But I have a feeling they will be in a deep credit hole before all is said and done.

Anyone ever worked on oDesk? Or know good or bad things about it? Seems like a possibility to make some extra money without the commitment of a regular part time job...

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.

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)

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.

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!

I just wanted to post a picture of our Giant Cow. Some of you may have missed on Carolina Girls entry the other day, but I posted our Valentine's Day tradition. My husband proposed to me on Valentine's Day in front of a giant cow statue. So every year we go back to the cow and think about that day. So I just wanted to share the cow. Happy Valentine's Day!

I survived another week working at my main job, our shop and the restaurant job. Tonight is going to be hard because I have my full 8 hours at my main job then I have to work 6.5 hours at the restaurant. I know that I am making progress but it is at a very low rate.


I got hit with a late fee on one of my credit cards. The payment was initiated before the due date and posted on the due date, but they considered it late. I've called and they won't refund it. Its very frustrating because it was $35.00! So that kind of messed me up. I did make credit card payments today and one I paid double the minimum. And all the cards will get another extra payment this month.


Our electric bill came in. I tried to save money this month by raising the temp 1 degree during the day and 1 degree at night from our normal temp. So I was super excited to see that my bill was $110 less than I had budgeted. So I am just going to leave that surplus in my household account so we have a cushion.