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Archive for October, 2010

Halloween is winding down

November 1st, 2010 at 01:54 am

I have turned the lights off for the trick or treaters. I have a LOT of candy left. It was a very small turnout compared to last year. I will have to find some way to get rid of the rest of it.

I am starting back on Weight Watchers for the 80-billionth time tomorrow. I am unable to workout, but I can still do the meal plan. it'll just be tougher because working out meant I could splurge a little more food-wise.

I have already pre-packed my food for work tomorrow. I am upstairs & getting ready for bed in a minute. I LOVE coming upstairs to a completely clean room & made bed. I am going to try to keep this up.

The weather warmed up in the afternoon, but got chillier again at night. I have made it all the way through the month of October without turning on the heat. We will have to see how it is going forward. The house is a little chilly and any more drop in temp & I will definitely want the heat on Smile

Tomorrow, I will be posting November goals and will be working hard to stick to them. I can already share that I am doing another Lunch Challenge. I get so easily distracted from packing my lunch Smile The threat of layoff will definitely be a motivator.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

October 31st, 2010 at 05:51 pm

Today is another good health day! I'm trying not to push it, but I really need to get stuff done around the house.

I went to the store this morning, bought a little extra Halloween candy ($4.25), some cat litter & bags ($6.84) and some groceries ($18.06).

Then I came home & cleaned my bedroom, dusted & vacuumed. I also quick cleaned & vacuumed and wiped the upstairs bathroom.

I have most of the Friday the 13th movies on DVR, so I am having a marathon. I am putting my feet up for a few minutes, then will vacuum the living room.

The last goal I have for today is to prep as much food for the week as possible. Once I go back to work, I expect to be really tired in the evenings.

I am looking forward to seeing the trick or treaters! I love the costumes Smile

Happy Saturday

October 30th, 2010 at 11:43 pm

Well, I survived my vacation from work, but had a wealth of health problems. The doctor still does not have a diagnosis for me, which is frustrating. Where is Dr. House when I need him? lol

This week was not too spendy, but today was. Yesterday was payday. I spent $20.00 on a copay to the doctor.

Today, I am having a great day health-wise, so its just a great day in general. I woke up this morning paid my loan at the bank ($98), went to another bank to meet the other members of the Homeowners Association and transfer ownership of the HOA account.

The HOA's bank is next to the Farmer's market, so I stopped there for veggies & fruit. ($15.76)

I stopped & grabbed gas ($30.44)

Afterward, I went to lunch with my folks and they paid. I gave my nephew a Halloween card with some money in it ($5.00).

We then went to my nephew's ball game & froze our butts off. The ball league was having a sale on a bunch of their stuff and there were some 2009 t shirts they were giving away for free. I took 2 in my size and intend to use them as workout or housecleaning clothes. (Yay free!)

After the game, I stopped at the library & picked up some new books. Then headed to the Dollar Tree Plus which no longer has stuff only $1.00. I got a 30 piece set of plastic containers for food storage for $5.00, a 5 pack of toothbrushes, hand soap & dish soap. ($8.00)

Now I am home and am working on a meal plan for the week. With my current health, it is really important to plan for the days when I'm too tired to cook, but still be able to remain healthy.

In unhappy news, I heard from a very reliable source that my work is looking to lay off around a third of the departments in the next 2 weeks. Its pretty scary. I really need the health insurance as well as the income. So I hope I make it through this.

Cash Budget Balances to last until the 15th:

Entertainment: $55.00
Groceries: $64.24
Cat litter: $10


And another Heat update - its still off Smile

Hello Again - Into Fall

October 27th, 2010 at 12:11 am

Hello again. Its been awhile, health problems are still here and its been rough.

So here are some quick updates.

- The HSA has run out - all other medical expenses will be paid in cash.

- I found some of my medical needs online was able to buy 3 of something for 21.22 instead of the $9.99 each at the local pharmacy. I'm really glad for that deal

- I am in the middle of my week long vacation from work. My goal was/is to rest up and help with my health

- I had a horrible migraine that completely incapacitated me over the weekend. My parents were able to help take care of me & I bought lunch $20.00 one of those days

- My mom's birthday was yesterday & we took her to dinner. My portion of dinner was $15 & I planned on buying her tickets to a play $38.00

- I have been reading TONS of library books and spending time with my family.

- Today, I rented a Redbox movie to watch with my dad $1.02

- I had a new key to my grandmother's house made $1.33. I then headed over & had her gas meter read.

- I also made copies of some photos for my mom & sister, roughly $9.00

- I haven't been home a full day since my vacation started Friday night, so tomorrow, my whole goal is to have to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I CAN do things around the house if I WANT to, but nothing is required. And I have a LOT of horror movies on my dvr to watch. I LOVE tv during the month of October!

Currently, I have $44 left in my checking to last me until payday (Friday). I need to buy a book of stamps. I also want to spend as little as possible so that the extra funds can go to make up for some stupid spending I did last week - purchased some clothes - but they are very useful for work, so I am going to finagle the budget to make it work Smile

Well, I am off to make pasta for dinner & sit on my butt & watch Rocky Horror Glee Show (Glee's doing Rocky Horror! I can't wait!)

To do this week (but not necessarily tomorrow):

- Budget for the next pay period
- Meal plan for next pay period
- Food plan for next pay period
- Work on Christmas shopping
- Find items to sell on Craigslist
- Clean kitchen
- Clean bathroom
- Do laundry


P.S - forgot the best news! Still no heat! In fact, we have the windows open tonight!

Medical Expenses, Budget & being broke

October 20th, 2010 at 12:42 am

After my bills have been paid this pay period, money is pretty tight. I have had a LOT of extra medical expenses. My HSA is about to run out of funds and after I refill my normal prescriptions one last time & pay the last of my ER bills, I will be out of funds and paying cash.

Right now, I have left in my budget:

Groceries: 47.39
Spending: 32.21
Mom Birthday: 40.00
Halloween leftover funds: 0.83
Stamps: 9
Photos for family gift: 7.4
Vacation Money: 37.1
Meds: 8.9

Next week, I am scheduled a week's vacation. However, I have no plans and since my health has not been at its best, I plan on doing very little strenuous activity. I'm debating splitting up the vacation time in case I have more bad health days & need to stay home. I plan on talking to my manager about it tomorrow.

There is very little time open to me for vacation days in Nov & Dec, that I am afraid if I don't use them, I might lose them.

In frugal news, the heat has yet to be turned on. Its starting to get a bit chilly, but so far blankets and an extra layer are doing me just fine!

Hey Everyone!

October 10th, 2010 at 02:44 pm

I'm still struggling with my health, no exact diagnosis made. I will say that I am on a lot of medications to deal with symptoms and I am VERY thankful for my insurance and HSA card. I have another test coming up, its a nuclear scan and they are looking at my thyroid again, however, its kind of 'just a guess' at this point.

I am at the point where things are manageable. This upcoming week will be the first week in a month where I won't have to take a day off for my health (as long as nothing changes). My manager at work has specifically told me that since I am still managing to make my projects/goals (and still being a top performer), the time off is not a concern and that she and her manager are NOT concerned about anything and that I have full job security. It was REALLY good to hear that. Probably it helps that I look like poo lately and its plain to see I'm not faking.

In other news, my spending had been a little crazy. My parents have had to put up with me spending the night, late night calls for help, driving me around and taking care of me. In exchange, I have been paying for meals for 3 people - eating out because nobody has time to make meals.

This week, I am back on a budget. I finally have a small bit of energy and I plan to put it to good use cooking healthy meals at home and at work.

I get paid on Friday again & will be working on my budget this week. My lunch challenge went out the window this month, but I hope to do better the 2nd half Smile

Still here

October 4th, 2010 at 12:55 pm

I've been MIA for a little while now. Having problems with my health still and they can't tell me whats wrong. Its very frustrating.

On the financial front, I was paid on Friday. I paid all of my normal bills and have cash left for cat food & litter, groceries, & entertainment. Due to my illness, I haven't been able to cook much for myself, so I have been eating out. I'm running through my entertainment money faster than I'd like.

Well, I am hoping that this week is better than the last. Here's hoping.