HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

Contradiction, I know

I went to the Farmer's market for groceries and came straight home. $8.03 spent.

I made breakfast at home, then started pre-portioning & making food for the week.

I took a large container of yogurt & put then in single serving plastic containers to grab & go for work.

I pre-made a large pasta salad. At the same time, I cut up veggies for a salad to take to work. I pre-portioned dressing to go with the salad.

I also made a bowl of tuna salad with onions, celery & spices. I ate 1/2 today & 1/2 will go toward a lunch this week.

I put animal crackers & pretzels into plastic bags to take to work.

In my fridge, I put a pitcher of water, pitcher of cherry limeade and a pitcher of lemonade. No soda for me!

All in all, it took me under an hour. Now I am watching old episodes of Parking Wars & am snuggling with the kitties. The rest of the day will be pretty lazy.

I only have a few things I want to accomplish:

1. Organize work clothes for the week
2. Clean out my purse
3. Put together birthday present for friend
4. Work on debt payoff plan for with & without rent. Roommate still is saying she will be here through January.
5. Enjoy my Sunday!

Had a great night in last night. I was able to get some things off my To-Do list done. I shredded 3 grocery bags full of documents, put away laundry, handwashed some items, watched tv & talked to an old friend by phone.

Today, I have grand plans (NOT!) I already made myself a nice hearty breakfast, I'm watching an episode of CSI and when its over, I will be getting to my to-do list.

1. Make food for party tonight
2. Seal basement windows with plastic window shrink wrap
3. Change cat litter
4. Clean out car
5. Plan work clothes for next week (trying to wear nicer outfits to work lately)
6. Meal plan for week (scrapped the old one)
7. Grocery Plan for week
8. Change sheets on bed.


Tomorrow, I hope to get my Christmas tree & do some decorating!

Today, I packed my food for work & came straight home after. I had a busy week and am totally beat.

I made dinner at home (FREE!) and am watching stuff off the dvr. I turned down a couple of invites to go out tonight, but since I have a big outing tomorrow, I decided to stay in.

I will be traveling to a friends house about 45 minutes away for her birthday party. I already have her bday gift (earrings from etsy.com) and am planning on bringing some type of appetizer. To be determined!

Today's 5 Things:

1. Work on Christmas presents (DONE)
2. pack lunch for work (DONE)
3. dinner at home (DONE)
4. Put laundry away (DONE)
5. Clean bedroom (DONE)

I am moving some funds around in my cash budget. Here are my totals:

1. Medical $40
2. Cat litter/food: $55
3. Groceries: $60, now at $50.11 after groceries purchased yesterday
4. Entertainment; $60, now $32. I had a big night out the other night!

This cash budget has to last me until the 15th.

I packed breakfast, lunch & drinks today. However, yesterday I bought some food at the work cafe. That was my 1 day allowed for hte month if I want to complete my December Lunch Challenge.

In other news, I am nearly done my Christmas shopping and it was all done in cash. Yay!!

Today is payday. I have already paid all of my normal bills online. I have withdrawn cash for Medical (60), Groceries (60), pets (55) & Entertainment spending (40). Pet food is high because I buy the REALLY REALLY large bag from the vet (one of the cats has crystals). The bag will last about 6 weeks & then I still need to buy litter & litter plan bags.

Today's spending: $0.55 soft pretzel. This will be my last one because I start my December lunch challange starting tomorrow!

Yesterday's 5 Things did not go as planned. Instead of what I listed, I did the following:

1. Put air in tires (Free)
2. Sort through all paperwork
3. Finalize December budget
4. Put together loose meal plan
5. Go to bed early! lol

Todays 5 Things:

1. Get free oil change (Coworker went with me to drop the car off & another coworker will drop me off at the end of the day to pick it up)
2. Pay Bills, organize cash for cash budget (DONE)
3. Finalize grocery list/meal plan since some things changed with my schedule
4. Prepack food for tomorrow
5. Organize library books to be returned

My roommate came home today after being away for Thanksgiving since Thursday morning. First thing she tells me is that she is planning on holding off on the moving, until January at least. I will take it! Last thing I wanted to do is get a new roommate at the holidays.

So as long as I have the full rent in hand on the 10th, we will be good. Because of this situation, I plan on continuing with my bare bones December budget and will put the extra Rent funds into my Emergency fund instead of heavily to debt.

Hey - I will take any good news I can get! lol

I am not doing shopping, as I am almost done my Christmas shopping. I have to update the sidebar, though.

Today, I spent $0.55 on a soft pretzel & $30 on a specialist copay. I am feeling better (Although not perfect) and I want to get back to my normal stuff as much as possible.

So, today, I am starting back on my 5 Things list. This is the 5 things off my to-do that I plan to tackle today. I can never seem to do EVERYTHING off the list, but if I can accomplish 5 a day, its definitely worth it.

So today's 5 Things are:

1. Finalize December budget
2. Make meal plan & grocery plan for the next pay period
3. Do emails for HOA
4. Laundry
5. Clean bedroom (including vacuuming)

I also have set some goals for December:

1. Complete Cash only Christmas
2. Pack lunch all days but 1 (my personal December Lunch Challange)
3. Stick to budget 100%
4. Continue to put up stuff to sell on Craiglist
5. Look for new roommate
6. Keep heat low & sweaters on

I had a great day with the family. Just my parents, sister & nephew. We had food, watched a movie & played boardgames. It was very nice & relaxing.

I did splurge on bringing coffee & drinks to the house, spent about $7.00 total.

Tonight, I came home to an empty house. The roommate went to her parents for the weekend! Woohoo. I am no relaxing with an old movie that I love, Desk Set, with Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy. I love old movies!

Tomorrow, I head back to work. No Black Friday shopping for me! I plan on a low key & even lower spending this weekend. I have a $95 shortfall in my December budget. I am going to try to make up the difference. I am not counting on the income from the renter. Until its in my hand, it won't be budgeted. So in the mean time, I would REALLY like to not hit my savings to cover the shortfall.

I hope everyone had a great holiday & will have an even better weekend

My roommate tried to get out of paying me any more rent other than what she's already paid (which would get her through December 9th).

Basically, as of this weekend, she told me she did not have a move out date nor did she know exactly what was going on. I have been patient and said to just let me know when she's ready to give 30 days notice. All weekend she never said another word on the topic.

I was off work Friday & Monday, which she knew. She had sent an email to my work on Friday, stating that she didn't know when she'd be moving out, be it the '1st, the 15th or whenever' and that she did not see in the rental agreement where she needed to pay through the 30 days notice.

I was outraged when I read that at work yesterday. At NO point did she say anything to me about this face to face. I went home & found the signed rental agreement, told her I read the email, that the 30 day notice WAS in there and that I would accept Fridays email as her 30 day notice.

I followed up this conversation with an email confirming what we spoke about:

-that she is paid through the 9th
-she owes me 30 day notice payment of $150.00 to cover the 10th through the 19th (the last of the 30 days)
-and I also (GENEROUSLY) provided that if she (or any of her belongings) stayed any time after the 19th, then she would pay the rent divided by 31 days ($15) per day.
-I also clearly stated that that offer of extension on the rental agreement was good until the end of December & that I would be looking for a new roommate to start January 1st.

I just truly hope she pays me. And I'm kinda hoping she'll be out by the 19th.

However, this leaves me with a problem with my December budget. I will stop my aggressive repayment of debt & only pay the minimum. I have the new car payment to account for in a new budget without a roommate. I also have about $200 of upcoming medical bills to still be paid between now & the end of December.

I am doing what I can to make a budget where I do not have to use any savings & still pay all the medical & Christmas expenses in cash. Fun, oh fun. And I am NOT counting on any additional rent from her until its in my hands.

BUT today was a start, I sold a DVD set for $15.00 off Craigslist. I will be putting a LOT of new listings up tonight.

And in terms of good things - the craigslist sale happened, work let me out 1.5 hours early for the holiday, I got a nice haul of books & movies from the library, my parents brought me leftovers from their lunch out at a restaurant right by my house & I got a free dinner that I did not have to cook!

Still struggling medically. Unfortunately, they STILL do not know what is wrong with me. I had a good week, but today was really bad. I basically spent the day on the couch. My mom did drop my nephew off for a bit & we spent 2.5 hours watching cartoons & playing Monopoly. It was his first time playing, so it was fun to teach him

Staying on the couch means that today is a no spender. I plan on running out tomorrow for fruits/veggies. But other than that, there will be no more spending.

The roommate still has not given official notice of leaving. She has another interview on Monday & I think the second that she finds a new job she's out. But in the mean time, each day that she stays (and hasn't given her 30 day notice) is an extra $15/day for me.

As soon as she gives notice, I will start on Craigslist for a new roommate. I already have put out the word to friends, family & coworkers. But lets be honest, its the holiday season, its going to be hard to find a roommate before the new year.

And on top of everything, I have about $200 in extra Medical expenses between now & the end of the year. But I will be paying cash for it. And for Christmas, so I am happy.

Well, I was all happy yesterday that I was paying cash for Christmas & my medical bills while still being able to pay down debt. Only to come home last night & find out that I would probably be losing my roommate in December. And I only found that out because I asked her how work is going.

She's likely to lose her job. And when she does, she's decided to move to another state. She apparently looked at apartments there last weekend. The lease is month to month with 30 days notice & she said she will give me official notice for sure at the end of the week. If she does, since her rent starts on the 10th, she's paid through December 10th and I'd likely only get another 7-10 days of rent out of her for December.

This has put me into super frugal (read PANIC) mode as I have had higher expenses due to Medical AND this would be the first time I would be roommateless with the car payment.

Its managable, but it will be VERY tight and I will have to cut out a lot of things. As soon as she gives me her official notice, I will be putting an ad on Craigslist. I already sent out an email to friends/coworkers letting them know I'm looking for a roommate. I also put something up on Facebook. Hopefully I would be able to get a friend of a friend, but I will also be reviewing Craigslist applicants.

Wish me luck! I hope to find a roommate by January.

Well, the doctor still is not sure whats going on with me. Unfortunately, my day to day living is affected, I have put hundreds of dollars into tests & copays and even had a horrible experience with a supposed 'specialist' that was just too busy to even listen to me. He truly did NOT hear what I said, as his advice is physically impossible for me to do right now.

So, I am back to square one. I will be seeing my primary physicial tomorrow ($20.00 copay). My budget for the next 2 months is going to be tight, tight, tight because I am paying the medical out of cash at this point.

The good news is that I have NOT wracked up any new debt during this period & I am still on track to pay off the small credit card at the end of the year.

I paid all of my bills for this pay period, and I currently have the following left for variable expenses to last me until the end of the month:

Groceries: $68.84
Spending: $44.45
Medical for copay: $20
Medical for medicines: $10-ish? This is the only variable expense not in cash. So I don't have the exact # with me at the moment, but its on my budget at home

I am going to challenge myself to spend as little as possible while at work and with eating out. The exception is the few social activities that I am capable of. I have been too tired to do much socially, but I do want to continue doing what I can

As for Christmas, I did some online shopping and was able to score big on some jewelry and other items off Etsy. Then yesterday, I did some shopping & hit up toys-r-us and Pier 1. I have cash for all my Christmas shopping, but Pier 1 was making an offer. Use your credit card for any purchase & get a $20.00 Pier 1 gift card in the mail. Heck, I"m in. When the bill comes, I will just pay it off. I spent $9 on 2 tree ornaments and will get $20.00 free. Can't beat that.

And in good news, although I am out of the Heat Challenge, we have been having decent weather & I was able to turn the heat off again! Whew

Well, I made it all the way through October with the heat off, which was my goal and last night I turned the heat on. It was 60 in my living room and I had had a bad day medically yesterday, so I wanted the comfort.

I'm keeping the heat on pretty low. When I left the house this morning, it was 64. I put the heat down to 61 and came home to 65. So it wasn't running during the day at least!

Today, my work group & I did a community event where we did yard work on houses owned/lived in by handicapped people. While we were there, the office was getting word of layoffs starting. My group was not affected, but I know plenty of people that were.

We finished the work on 3 houses by 10:30 and went to lunch as a group. $11.00 spent for a sandwich and fries AND a large salad to go (for dinner). From there, we were getting more texts about who was being affected and some of us decided to head to a bar. Of course, conversation turned to the layoffs as we heard more & more, but it was also good to relax with my coworkers. I spent $5.00 on a drink & desert.

I am grateful to have a job and I am not looking forward to seeing some people not be there tomorrow and those that are there, but will not be within the next few weeks.

Today was already spendy. I spent $2.70 on breakfast (has a slow start to the morning).

I spent $30 for a copay for a medical test & $5.13 for medicine.

And oops, I forgot AGAIN to get stamps darnit!

My goals for November are to:

1. Stick to my budget
2. Pack lunch every day for work. Have lee-way with breakfast
3. Keep my heat off as long as possible.
4. Make a masterlist of all my financial information
5. Pay cash for all medical expenses
6. Pay an extra $196.00 to CC#1

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

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 The threat of layoff will definitely be a motivator.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

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

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

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

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!

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!

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

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.

Well, today I went to the doctors for a medical condition I was having. Long story short, I left work with the intention of going back after the appointment, but ended up being send for tests. September is not my month, I can't wait for October.

Anyway - doctors appointment was a $20 copay (used the HSA card). I spent about $9.49 on an item for my condition, but was unable to use the HSA card for it.

I also spent $32.37 for gas & $4.99 for Wendy's. The fast food was my emotional spending after a stressful afternoon.

I am now home. Tomorrow, my boss is having us go out to lunch. However, we will have to pay for ourselves. I have $15 cash for that.

Well, today is a cooler, rainy day & makes it perfect for lying around. Thank goodness, because I need it. I have done something to my leg or am having something going on because my leg is all swollen. I plan on going to the doctor tomorrow, but today, I will be putting my leg up.

This week is going to be very hectic for me. Monday, I hope to get to the doctors. Tuesday & Wednesday - I am watching my nephew after school. Wednesday night, I have a homeowners association meeting and Thursday will just have to be a night of rest

Yesterday, I went on a wine tasting tour. Its a really good deal $30.00 for tastings at 10 wineries over 2 weekends. A single tasting is around $7.00, so the deal is good. I did not pay for the pass today, as I was designated driver. I did pay for gas, brought food to picnic with and bought a bottle of wine to take home for a later date.

Today, I already returned some yard equipment to my parents, picked up a book & some Halloween decorations that my mom got me & dropped off some stuff my friend left in my car yesterday.

My goals today are to:

1. Sit down as much as possible (this is REALLY hard for me)
2. Create a meal plan for the week
3. Finalize a budget for October 1st
4. Make dinner & food for tomorrow
5. RELAX. I hate that I need to tell myself that


And here a few pics from the wineries!

Over the last 2 years or so, I've mentioned some backsliding with debt. I am not going to make excuses. But I am going say that I have not added to the debt in months and I am working to pay it off.

I've personally faced the reality of my debt, but I haven't really shared it. I'm going to be brave and do it now. UGH. I hope for constructive criticism and not flaming and I know my SavingAdvice family will come though

And I would note that over the last 4 years, I've paid off over $20,000 in student loans & school expenses, paid cash for the down payment on the house, bought a new a/c unit & hot water heater for the house & paid for several car repairs for my old car.

Mortgage: $157,224.83
2nd mortgage (part of a county incentive program) $4502.14 at 0% APR
Car Loan: $13,301.14 0% APR
Fed Student Loan: $3689.59 5% APR
CC#1 A: $627.77 $12% APR *this is the new debt
CC#2 D: $5654.70 0% APR *this is the new debt

I hate those #s and I plan on paying it down as quickly as possible.

CC#1 started at $751.20 at the beginning of September. I would also point out that my budget is very tight, even with the roommate, so I need to get creative about paying down the debt!

Well, I did not pack any food today (Failing my lunch challange for this pay period). So I had breakfast in the work cafe and will grab a sub from subway. I WILL be packing again tomorrow.

In other news; I got a $50 bonus from ING for opening a checking account with them.

I received a $10 gift card to Old Navy & another is on its way to me. I took advantage of a 3 times the points promotion!

Last night I returned a cable box from my bedroom, which will save me approximately $9 a month. I got 2 of the digital converters (Free).

Yesterday, I switch my homeowners insurance. The company I was originally with wanted $449.00 for the year. The new company is $480, but is the same company as my car insurance, so I will save 10% on the car insurance - savings of about $140 yearly. And I get better coverage with the new company.

I am still waiting to downgrade my gym membership. I will do that next week. Savings of about $10/month.

So - lots going on. This weekend, I am supposed to go to a Wine Tasting Festival at several wineries. The ticket for 2 days is $30. There are 10 wineries. There will be live music, beautiful scenery & some food.

The friends I am going with have done this before. Apparently they pack some food & each buys wine at a couple of the wineries and at the end, we sit at a picnic table & finish off all wine & have a picnic.

Lucky me can't drink. So I am going to be designated driver. I will not have to buy the pass $30 savings. I WILL bring food $approx $25 and I probably won't be buying any wine. So at least this way it will be more frugal!

Maybe I will be able to drink the 2nd Saturday of the festival.

My mom & I went to see Easy A, which we both really liked. She treated for the movie ticket & popcorn and I treated her to lunch out after. $10.85 spent for 2 slices of pizza, a large salad to split & 2 drinks. Not a bad deal.

We had a good time & it was REALLY good to get out of the house. Something is still not quite right with me, I am feeling pretty tired and just 'off' and being cooped up in the house due to lack of energy is getting me a little down. So the movie was a great pick me up and was much appreciated.

Tonight, I watched some trashy tv (Real Housewives of OC, ect), made sloppy joe & packed food for work tomorrow. Then I settled down to read 'Letters to Jackie: Condolences From a Grieving Nation'. Its a compilation of letters written to Mrs. Kennedy after JFK was assassinated. The letters are very moving and its a very interesting look into the lives of all types of Americans at that time.

I was not alive at the time of the assassination, but I do remember experiencing the Challenger launch and its tragic end while in school. That had an impact on me and I cannot imagine what I would feel about seeing the President assassinated.

I plan on asking my parents about their memory of the event and I know my dad will enjoy the conversation. He is a history man - but not in terms of facts and dates, but experiences. I actually plan on recommending the book to him as well.

I'm watching Til Debt Do Us Part & Gail just asked the couple to research the benefits of leasing a car.

I understand what she is trying to do - use leasing versus buying to get the cheapest payments possible to have them pay off their debt as quickly as possible.

However, she does NOT explain the the long term benefits/faults of leasing. Anyone watching this show is being led to believe that leasing is better because the payment is better 100% of the time.

What do you guys think? I'm a car buyer, not leaser. But I do understand that leasing has its benefits. I just feel its irresponsible to only give the benefits of one side for this one situation.

Well, I have been MIA. I was in the ER Monday night & out of work Tuesday through Thursday. There is a $150.00 copoay for the ER visit, which will be covered by my FSA plan. I went back to work yesterday after a follow up doctors appointment ($20 copay). After work, I ran some errands then rested up at home.

I plan on continuing the rest throughout the weekend. I feel better, but am not 100% yet. The last few days used up the last of my sick time, so I have to be very careful. Any more time, would have to be supplemented by my vacation time.

Yesterday, I spent:
$7.00 - Dollar store - groceries & greeting cards
$14.75 - lunch & dinner (salad & sandwich)
$47.79 - groceries (with lots of 'splurges' like bagel thins, strawberry yogurt & weight watchers muffins!)

Today, I spent $19.59 at WalMart. $9.88 of which was for a camping chair to take to my nephew's fall ball games. The rest went to shampoo, conditioner & deodorant. As for the chair - I lost the one I've used for years at a concert I attended this summer. So I'm happy to replace it, it will get MANY uses.

Today, I am running to the library ($0.75 fee to be paid) and then to my nephew's baseball game (free). I plan on watching library movies & reading at home tonight

Cash Envelope Balances (good through the 30th):

Kitty Litter: $10.00
Groceries: $29.43
Entertainment: $41.00
Weekend Wine Tour: $70 (this is a 2-day planned event with some good friends. This amount includes the ticker, food to picnic with & a bottle of wine)

I was laughing to myself earlier about how domestic I was being today. Then I realized I really was being more frugal than domestic.

Today, I made dinner at home, packed tomorrow's breakfast & lunch, sat with the windows open & a/c off, I drank water & lemonade instead of soda.

I bought veggies from the farmer's market vs the grocery store, probably saving me $5-10.00

I vacuumed with what I like to call my franken-vacuum. Its pieced together with electrical tape & a clothespin - but hey, it works! And it was free after my dad fixed it up.

I watched library movies & worked on a puzzle I bought for 50 cents at Good Will.

Then I took out my winter wool pea coat, which has been sitting in my bedroom closet waiting to have 2 buttons put on and my old express work pants, which needed the zipper re-sown and the pant leg hemmed. I did the buttons and zipper. But I am going to have to buy some hem tape because these pants have been a pain with the pant leg.

I also pre-planned my wardrobe & jewelry for the week. This is a first for me. But I am trying to adhere to the new enhancements to the work dress code & I wanted to be prepared for the week.

And I have to laugh, my personal goal is to actually do my hair & makeup each morning this week. Normally, I sleep in until the last possible second. Then I go to work with half wet hair & no makeup. Which is the norm for half my coworkers, but I decided I'm going to try to start spiffing myself up more

Hope everyone had a frugal day!

Well, to help me with my lunch challenge, entertainment spending & with weight watchers, I have a weekly plan set up. I've set a meal plan, workout goals and my social commitments to a calendar.

Money-wise, I've been able to have the a/c off & windows open. My roommate's rent was due on Friday (the 10th) but it is still unpaid. However, I have not seen her since Thursday since she's been away all weekend. That may be why I haven't received it. She's always just handed it to me instead of leaving a check. Hopefully, I will get it tonight when she comes home.

As for my schedule - I would like to note that my exercise activities have been modified for the next week or so due to tendinitis in my foot. Booo to that.

Today, I am home doing laundry, planning my weekly wardrobe per our new dress code, and watching movies from the library. I have The International, Black Christmas and When a Stranger Calls. Yay for free movies!

Monday:
$0 spending.
Gym - bicycle 30-45 minutes, plus weight training.
Entertainment - no commitments
Breakfast: oatmeal, apple
Lunch: Salad with tuna
Snacks: goldfish, microwave popcorn
Dinner: pasta with spinach and a salad

Tuesday:
$10 spending
Gym - off day
Entertainment - Nephew's ballgame (free); Pub night with friends ($10)
Breakfast: apple, animal crackers, cereal
Lunch: Salad with tuna
Snacks: goldfish, microwave popcorn
Dinner: pasta salad (to be taken to ball game)

Wednesday:
$15 spending
Gym - 30 mins bike, 15 mins strength training
Entertainment - Dinner out with friends
Breakfast: oatmeal, apple, animal crackers
Lunch: Pasta salad w/ turkey pepperoni
Dinner: Medallion salad from restaurant

Thursday:
$0 spending
Gym - 45 mins bike
Entertainment - no commitments
Breakfast: to be determined (after grocery shopping!)
Lunch: Salad with meatloaf muffin
Dinner: shake n bake chicken/potatoes

Friday:
$15 spending - happy hour dinner & drinks
Gym - 30 mins bike
Entertainment - Happy Hour with coworkers
Breakfast: to be determined
Lunch: pasta salad
Dinner: Salad at happy hour; tuna sandwich at home after

Sat -
Spending: $10 at Delaware Park races (can bring own food). Then $10 Oktoberfest with sister to celebrate her anniversary

Sunday - Day at home; groceries shopping for spending; movies from library (free)