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!

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.

Had a great weekend. Worked a lot. But if I'm working at the shop, then I am not spending money. The shop is starting to get really busy, so I am hoping I can finally start paying myself for the "extra" work. Our step daughter was over this weekend. Its time to buy the prom dress. Its $250.00. We will pay half...but I am also paying to have her makeup done. Its a splurge, but I already have the money for that socked away in an ING account.


I am taking some vacation days from work. I will be off this Wednesday all the way until Monday. I can't wait to have 5 days off in a row. I know I will be at the shop and there is a lot of cleaning and organizing that I want to do at the house. But it will be nice to not have to cram it all into a weekend like usual. I just need to stay busy so I don't find myself lurking around Target or something.


I got my first Ebates check. It was $9.92. So I will be sending that to my CC#3. It has the lowest balance but the highest APR. I also moved my first $150 toward the IRS short coming. We have $1250.00 of the $4000. I am hoping to move at least $350 this Friday. I'll let you know after vacation how that goes. I also forgot that I still have $100 to deposit into savings to pay back for the brake job. I'll have to take it to the bank while I'm off.

I guess I didn't have much to report over the last week. Still trucking away at coming up with money for this tax monster. We did get the $1100 refund so that is a good start. I have been putting little bits of money away as I have it. $1 here, $10 there. Hopefully it adds up. I have also posted some adds on Craigslist and we are still trying to sell a dirt bike. I did pay the minimum on my credit cards, so on Friday I will be able to put $150 towards the IRS. I just hope we can continue to get as much as we can for the next month.


Today is a NSD. Hopefully tomorrow is too. I'm feeling a little under the weather so luckily I just want to go home and rest and not make any extra stops.

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.

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.

I am really looking forward to having no debt. It would feel great to have extra money at the end of the week. I filled up my gas tank and kept an extra $10 just in case. I have our mortgage payment ready...paying extra. Have to pay misc bills, buy dog food, and our $20 out to eat splurge. I'm left with $11. Even putting a tiny bit in savings. I just can't wait until I don't have debt.


So very randomly my sister asked me to house/animal sit. I have to stay overnight 2 nights, but she is willing to pay me $150.00. Interesting that the cost of my brake repair happens to be about $150.00! So we will be taking the money from Savings and replacing it in 2 weeks after I complete the job. I'm still not ahead, but at least I am not behind. And luckily I didn't have to try to shave off more from my budget these next couple of weeks.


But in 3 weeks we have an extra pay period. Although, it really isn't extra. But there will be a little bit of wiggle room. I'm going to add a little bit of a cushion to my jars, put some in savings, pay extra on my credit cards, and maybe have a little leftover.


And our shop is getting busier. So maybe I can start to pay myself just a little bit. HOPEFULLY!

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.

Talked to HSBC today. Asked for my annual fee to be waived. He said no. So I said..."What is the benefit of me having this card? You won't lower my APR. I have to call long distance to talk to a person. And you charge me a $79.00 annual fee." So he agreed to give me a credit for half. Which helped. Then he said he went ahead and credited the WHOLE THING!! So if I still come up with the $79.00 then I will be further ahead. WOO HOO!

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?

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, its payday. I took the $7.00 I had left from last week and sent it to a credit card. Our mortgage is due, and this month starts the reduced amount. The reduced amount is because of our escrow and insurance and blah blah blah. But we are going to go ahead and pay over. So that is going out. And after paying our utilities with the overages, I managed to put just a little bit into savings. Some is better than none, right? All said and done, I have $31 to last the week.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Well, I got my AFLAC checks in yesterday. I will be able to deposit those into savings to make up for the money I took for the wasp/staph incident. I will still have to figure out a way to put back the money for our college trip tonight/tomorrow. About $100 overall. I would say that I could just deposit my paycheck from the restaurant when I go back, but I am beginning to wonder if they will want me back. They went 10 days without me...maybe they will just tell me not to come back. Ugh. Although the extra time at night has been nice, especially since I haven't felt great, I would like to work a little longer and really make some progress on my debt and savings. I guess we will see. I should probably call them and see what they say.

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.

Retirement has been on my brain a lot lately. A year and a half ago, I didn't even have a 401K. And although my contribution is small and I do not get an employer match, I still feel like I am accomplishing something by having one. I had a 401K years ago, but due to financial "ignorance" I took a total distribution when I was laid off. But....you live and learn.

But retirement has become so overwhelming. According to Merryl Lynch, I need at least $600,000 at retirement. I do have over 30 years before retirement, but how in the world can I save 600K? Pay off debt and put that amount towards retirement? Even then, its not enough.

Retirement has been on my brain a lot lately. A year and a half ago, I didn't even have a 401K. I did have a 401K at my previous employer, but being financially dumb I took a distribution when I was laid off. Not the best decision. But you live and learn. My employer now doesn't match %, but I feel like I am accomplishing something by just having one. Unfortunately, I can't change my percentage for another couple of months, but I plan to raise it.


But retirement seems so overwhelming. How am I supposed to come up with $600,000 (According to the retirement calculator, that is the minimum I need)? Pay off debt, then use that money towards retirement? Find a different way to invest? I have over 30 years until retirement, but the days are just flying by. And I don't want to be stuck with nothing.

So, its Wednesday and I have 0.00 of my $2.96 left. I had to make 2 trips to our shop so I am completely out of gas. I had a little bit of cash set aside to get gas to get me through the week, but with the unplanned trips, that is gone. Luckily we do not need anything from the store until Friday, so I will have to steal from that jar for gas. Ugh. We also had a last minute invite to watch a show premiere at a local bar last night. My husband had cash so he bought our drinks. So that worked out.

My plan for tonight is to stay home and make a grocery list. We have not eaten off my meal plan so I should still have some things left. Luckily we have been eating off the inventory so its slowly going down. Husband will be home later than normal so maybe I can do some stuff around the house too. We have just been so busy lately...I am just glad I don't have to be anywhere tonight.

This past week we had some unexpected expenses - termite treatment (do it yourself kind), household items, and one of our insurance policies went up. So when I got paid today, I went ahead and did all my financial planning and paying...transferred money away for our utility bills, paid credit card payments, accounted for car insurance coming out in a week. And I have $2.96 left. I even took out cash for us to eat out once this week and filled my car up with gas. So I am hoping that I still have $2.96 left next Friday. Luckily I have groceries and I think I have $10 in my "Food" jar at home in case we need milk or something along those lines. But it will be a tight week. But next week will be better.


And even though I am saving for Christmas and my husband's birthday right now, I will be able to pay 4x the minimum on my 3 credit cards in October. I feel like I'm doing ok.