Ok. CC #2 is down to $372.25. CC #3 is down to 96.33! Eek!! I am so close. I got a check from Ebates for $9.89. I will put that towards #3. I told my sister that I would house/pet sit for her. For free. Because I owe that much to her. If for some chance she does pay me anything, I will use it towards gas and CC #3. But....I am not planning on that.


I am planning on grocery shopping tomorrow. We have food still....but its hard to make a whole meal. But we do need things like milk, water, etc. The water in our area is horrible. Nobody drinks it. At one point it had more chlorine than our pool! For real!


But that leads to my garden info. We moved the garden a couple of weeks ago and I planted everything. So far I have broccoli, radishes, lettuce, green beans, snap peas, carrots, watermelon, cantaloupe, zuchinni, and something else I can't remember, all sprouting. Our peach trees are also producing fruit this year. I am so excited! OOOHHH...and tomatoes. But if we can get any products from these plants I will be sooo happy. And that is less groceries to buy. We moved the fencing and I used popcicle sticks as markers. So I am only out $7.00 for repellant and the cost of seeds. Less than $20 probably.

Well, my shopping went well. I had $114 I could spend. And on this trip I had to buy household products like TP and paper plates. But after coupons and adding a couple of extra items, I only spent $84.50. So I will put $25.00 back in my Grocery Jar. If I can continue to stay under, I will use that money towards debt. But for right now, I'm just going to keep it in the jar.


Next payday I will be able to pay off cc #1. And by 05/16 CC #3 will be under $100! Still sticking to my goal to have all CC debt paid off by September. That thought makes me soooooo happy.

Ok. I am grocery shopping tonight. I have $114 budgeted. My list totals $95.00 before coupons. That is for 2 weeks worth of meals and a couple of extras. So we shall see!!

My money flow feels pretty good right now. We filed and paid our taxes...on time. And I had the money set aside to pay them. My CC #1 will be paid off in the next couple of weeks. I was able to transfer $100 into our savings (Payback from our business). I have money ready for our mortgage payment and we are paying extra. I have money set aside for our pest control for the quarter and my sister's birthday. And at the end of it all...I will have a little money left in the bank and a little in my wallet.


I still haven't counted my change. It has just been very hectic in my world lately. But I still intend to count and send some to CC #1. Even if its $20...I could knock it out quicker.


I have been cutting lots of coupons, preparing for my shopping trip next week. And amazingly, we still have food left. I plan to go to the store on Wednesday...so we will see what we go through between now and then.

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!

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??

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.

Not a lot going on today. I did get my Walmart Ebates card yesterday. I also have a $5 Walmart GC that I forgot about. So I will be using that $15 towards my groceries this week. My goal is to spend $60 or less! (Including toilet paper, paper plates, and I will have to buy some meat.)


I am going to meet a friend for dinner tonight. I found $10 in a coin purse, so I am using that to pay for it. So it should be a good time and I don't have to worry about paying for it.

So, since we live in the country now, I am taking advantage of the land and starting a garden. It will be small...at least until I get the hang of it. I am doing:
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Carrots
Herbs
Cantaloupe
Tomatoes
Peas
Garlic
Yellow Onion
Shallots
Most of these are items I buy on a weekly basis so if I can grow them myself that would be great. I started the seeds inside a couple of weeks ago and I HAVE SPROUTS. Its pretty exciting and I realized that I really enjoy it. Prepping the land, working with the soil, watching them grow. Kind of theraputic.


And today I spent $5 on something. It was a total waste of money. And I feel dumb for doing it. Why would I just waste $5 of my $11? Impulse! I've got to learn to move past the feeling. Learn to ask myself...Do I need it? Total "Doh!" moment.

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.

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.

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!

2 things have been on my mind in regards to produce. I know this doesn't sound like a financial issue, but it is. Last weekend at our new house, while walking in the front yard, I discovered turnips. Just right there next to our porch....lots of them. And it got me thinking. 1 - Can I eat these? and 2 - That means the soil must be good for growing...unless turnips are just easy to grow. So potentially I could have a pretty good garden and save money on produce at the store!

The other thing that was brought to our attention is becoming a garlic farmer/producer. It just requires 1 acre of land, but I don't know all the rules and other requirements. I am sure there is insurance and equipment and blah blah blah. But apparently there is some good money it. Maybe I could go from an accountant to a garlic farmer.

I've managed to cut it too close this week and I need to have a NO SPEND WEEK. I was excited about 1 day...but I don't know if I can do a whole week. I may have to put gas in my truck at some point, but besides that I shouldn't have to spend anything. I have groceries and cleaning supplies and dog food...all the essentials. But I am super worried!!!!