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Home > Archive: April, 2009

Archive for April, 2009

Gnats are the invention of the "debil"

April 30th, 2009 at 03:42 pm

I have been fighting the gnat problem for a while now. I can't figure out how to get rid of them!! I this spray that I spray...it is supposed to be bio-friendly. And it does kill them. My counter ends up looking like a gnat burial ground! Pretty nasty! I keep the dishes done and the sink empty. I can't find the epicenter! I am convinced that these creatures were sent by the devil to drive me insane!! Does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of them? I have tried a few of the old wives tales that I found online, but they don't work. I am at my wits end!

Spending wise, yesterday $45 was spent out of my account...how you might ask since I am confined to the house. Nice trick huh. My son used $21 for the flowers for prom. My DH used $24 for gas. Now if I could just figure out how to get money in my account when I don't leave the house, it would be perfect!!!

Could have been so much Worse,...

April 29th, 2009 at 04:17 pm

I got the phone call that every mother dreads yesterday. My son wrecked the car. I jumped up out of bed and starting walking down the street...he didn't even make it off our street. He had my daughter in the car with him. He hit some loose gravel, then a pothole, and the car went out of control.(yes he was going too fast...) But the car ended up upside down at the bottom of a 20 ft drop. Both kids(was taking my daughter to school as well) were able to make it out of the car with no injuries...not even a scratch!!!

Do you think it is possible that a car has a "spirit"? I am not a particularly religious person and I don't mean to offend anyone...but this car...I feel like it was sent to us to take care of this family. It has over 220000 miles. The only thing that has ever gone wrong was a hose on the transmission. Easy fix and as a single mom for years, an easy fix is the best kind to have! I have never been one to get regular oil changes and tune ups. In all fairness, this car has been abused. A few weeks ago, I bought the explorer(some of you know that I was deeply upset by that purchase) so that my son could drive the escape. Now I know why that purchase was made! They were in the escape and didn't have a scratch. I feel like this car gave its life to protect my family. I know that sounds wierd...but that is what it feels like. I am sad to see this car go.

The only money I spent yesterday was the tow charge. I should be able to submit it to insurance and be reimbursed for some of it.

Surgery Recovery

April 26th, 2009 at 10:29 pm

I am home and recovering. They were able to do the surgery laproscopicly, but it is not looking like it solved the problem. Fun.

Since I have been stuck at home, I have had NSD. Although the other members of my household have been spending for me!!

Feeling pretty worthless because I can't do anything for myself! I did do the dishes today because they were driving me crazy! Shouldn't have but perhaps my DH will feel sufficiently guilty about leaving me home alone today...LOL.

Yesterday's Spending

April 21st, 2009 at 03:46 pm

I spent $30 on gas yesterday(got $10 in the morning and had to come back for more in the evening! Will sure be glad when I can get back to filling up!) and $5 on lunch. I had to buy a veggie plate and a large cookie for end of year party for cheerleading...total of $18. So yesterday was a pricey day. The grand total was $53. Wow. That leaves me a little over a dollar short in my account.

I got breakfast again this morning. I am kind of caught in a vicious cycle. I don't have the money to go to the grocery store, but I don't have the money to eat out either. It seems easier to spend a little each day instead of trying to go to the grocery store to prevent that! I need to make some adjustments to my budget for this week to be able to go to the store. Don't know how I will pull that one off!

Weekend Update

April 21st, 2009 at 02:17 am

I typed this earlier, but for some reason it didn't post.

Saturday I spent 12.50 for dinner, $10 for gas, and $5.33 for flowers for daughter.

Sunday was a NSD.

Got some OT at work, getting ready for the surgery. That will help this week.

Looks like it will be the next payday before I can start saving again. Bummer. I hate that I had almost $750 in savings and with one stupid decision, I am right back to where I started! Do we ever stop making stupid decisions???

Yesterday's spending

April 17th, 2009 at 03:07 pm

Yesterday was a semi-good day as for spending. I had to get gas and wasn't prepared for breakfast at work.

Breakfast: 5.35
Gas: 20.00

I am back to just getting enough gas to get through. Can't wait to get out of that again!

I realized with my surgery next week that my gas budget will be less. I won't be driving to work for at least 2 weeks. YEA!

I think I figured out the problem

April 16th, 2009 at 04:20 pm

Things started to go downhill around the time that I stopped blogging regularly and stopped being obsessed with my checking account. So what I need to do is start blogging again regularly and again get obsessed with the account. Once I get the savings built back up, than I maybe I can cut back some on the ocd...but until then, I think I have to be obsessed.

Surgery Scheduled

April 15th, 2009 at 10:39 pm

My surgery is next Thursday. It is looking more and more likely that the laparscopic isn't going to work. Longer surgery = longer recovery! I really can't afford to be off work that long!

I haven't been posting lately. I had a great time on vacation. Now I am feeling sorry for myself. I have slipped right back into making bad money decisions. I am right back where I started. I can only get $10-20 worth of gas instead of filling up. I am having to juggle bills again. I am getting my checking account very low.

I know I made these decisions(mainly the car). I am just feeling stupid right now. I should have known better. But oh well. I will dig myself out of this again and start over. But until I do, I feel wrong posting my woe is me stories...

Vacation Totals

April 13th, 2009 at 04:49 pm

I am back at work today. Bummer. But we had a great time. The weather was beautiful...it didn't rain even once while we were there! Below are our totals for the vacation.

Dining - 290.77($72.69/ day for 5 people)
Entertainment - 451.98
Fuel - 137.50
Hotel - 394.08
Misc and Souvenirs - 58.58

Grand Total - 1332.91

This is higher than I had budgeted and I had to scramble to find money to put into my account. But all in all, I think we did pretty good. We ate breakfast at the hotel every morning and at one meal out a day. Other than that, we ate sandwiches and snacks that we had brought with us. Feeding 5 people for $73/day is rather reasonable. The bulk of the entertainment was the deep sea fishing trip. That was the whole reason to go to Jekyll Island and the kids loved it! No regrets! The rest was sightseeing and putt putt. The hotel and fuel were rather reasonable. All in all, I am quite pleased with the amount of money we spent. It didn't wreck my budget too badly and we are totally relaxed!

Now I can get back to saving again!

So Far So Good

April 11th, 2009 at 04:25 pm

While we have been on vacation, we have done really well with our spending! We hav eonly eaten out the one time a day we had planned. Yesterday was $46. That was awesome! I am very proud of the way we have managed to do that. Of course, there is no fast food places here, so that helps alot. We have done the breakfast at the hotel every day and eaten sandwiches.

I am sunburned on the back of my neck...I have always had long hair so I have never thought about it but I can hardly move my neck! No more sandollars today. Dh and I snuck out before anyone woke up this morning and walked on the beach. It was very nice.

Home tomorrow. It will be nice to get home again.

Vacation Update

April 10th, 2009 at 02:41 am

So far...we are doing great toward the plan. We ate out once today just as planned. It was around $70 for five people. Not too bad for a resort area. But that is why we are only eating out once a day! We ate breakfast in the hotel and dinner was sandwiches for those that were hungry.

My ex-MIL came and spent the day with us. Long story, but she is still very much part of my life and the kids lives. It was a great day. Walked about a mile up the beach and back...will feel that tomorrow. but it was great. Have found 3 whole(as in not broken) sand dollars.

We are having a great time!!!




Funny Story!!

April 8th, 2009 at 02:12 pm

My son had a dentist appointment yesterday. I had entered it wrong on my calendar and thought it was today. So I called them first thing this morning and told them what had happened. She laughed and said she was fixing to call me because it wasn't like us to miss appointments. I re-scheduled it for next Tuesday. I immediately got off the phone and called my mom to tell her to help me remember it(she is almost 80, but keeps tracks of things better than I do!). She said that she would put it on her calendar when she got home. I asked her where she was and she said the dentist! She goes to the same dentist. The receptionist at the dentist was laughing in the background because she could hear my mom's conversation! Gotta love small town doctors! LOL

We are just about all packed for our trip. My DH's back is still killing him. He is at the Chiropractor right now. Hopefully he will get some relief. He spent all day yesterday cleaning the house...he has the spring cleaning bug. But I think he does too much. He ended up having to sleep on the floor last night.

We have to stop on the way out of town to check on the newborn kittens at my bf's house. They are so cute! They are about 3 weeks old! My house is full though!

In a way, I can't wait until this vacation is over so I can get back on track with savings! But I sure need this trip!

Just about all Ready to Go...

April 8th, 2009 at 02:31 am

Well, we are just about ready to go. My DH has spent most of the day getting the house cleaned up and doing laundry. I hate to come home from vacation to a dirty house. I am packed. He is packed. Daughter is packed. All that is left is son...who will wait for the last minute and throw some stuff in a grocery bag.

Had to get dog food and cat food today to leave here. The neighbors are taking care of the animals for us. Such a relief. I know that they will be taken care of well.

On a non-financial note, my DH is driving me crazy about my son. It is as if my DH is jealous of what my son gets away with or is allowed to do. I almost feel like DH is looking for things. But I am dealing with that as best as I can...but it is starting to get to me. Son is a teenager and is doing what most teenagers do. I am also one of the stricter parents in my sons circle of friends...so I am not sure what else I can do, other than be totally unreasonable and call him on everything!

Snow???

April 6th, 2009 at 04:13 pm

Yep...it might snow tonight. Can't believe it. Shouldn't be anything major. But I am prepared...I have my bread and milk!

Got gas yesterday for $37 and had to buy a card for my daughters friend.

We have the groceries all planned for our trip(Jekyll). I have planned the sandwiches and snacks. We have most of it already so we won't have to do much shopping. We have already paid for the hotel so we should be set. I am excited about having a frugal vacation. I have challenged myself. I will let you know how it turns out.

I am a bit frustrated with my DH today. He hurt his back Friday. Woke up Sat morning in extreme pain. He thinks he may have cracked or broke a rib. He went to the chriopractor this morning and got adjusted. The Chiro told him to do nothing today(which I told him all weekend long to sit down). So he is doing that for now. But he is refusing to take any tylenol or ibuprofen. I get so frustrated!

Weekend Update

April 5th, 2009 at 04:11 pm

We had a cheer comp yesterday in Atlanta. Since my sister lives nearby, she met us there. She took us to lunch and then later dessert. So other than the admission, it was a cheap day for a cheerleading day!

Back in Novoember, I borrowed a large sum of money from her. I put $50 a payday into our joint account. She doesn't usually pull it out until there is about $300 in there so there was $200 sitting in there. I asked her if I could take that money and buy my daughter some clothes. She said that was fine(knew she would, she used to purchase all of the kids clothes in years prior). So we stopped by old navy and kohls on the way home. She got 7 pairs of shorts, 6 shirts and a dress for the pagaent...all for under $200! I thought she shopped well. She is now set for clothes through the summer. That is a relief.

We are taking care of the dogs across the street. They have 5 dogs and a bird that is hilarious! It was lauging at us chasing the dogs around! And when we call the dogs, he calls the dogs. It is so funny! Made us laugh!

My Own Worst Enemy

April 3rd, 2009 at 03:11 pm

I admit it. I am perfect at foiling my own plans. Latest poor judgement...purchasing this car. I can manage to convice myself that anything is a good idea. And try to convince others as well, although I don't think they always believe me. I have got the car in the budget and will be able to pay for it. However, in a matter of one day, I managed to destroy the money that I had been saving for 3 months! This is my pattern. Save hard and heavy for a few months and then blow it. Strong determination followed by spending spree followed by immense guilt and remorse. Don't get me wrong, the car is great and with 2 16 year old boys and a 12 year old girl to transport on family outings, it will be nice. The Gas mileage is better than my other car, so that will not be any different. I just wish that I would have slowed down and looked at the bigger picture longer.(I know some of you told me to do that, but once I get in that groove, there is no stopping me!)

My daughter needs shorts for school and a dress for a pageant for band. Now I don't have money to purchase that for her. I could cancel our vacation, but it is our first and I really feel that we need to do that. It won't be long until the kids will be gone and not going on vacation with us. I just need to get back to that position I was with the savings. At least I still have all of the other bills on time and current. None of that has suffered. I guess that is something.

Yesterday...

April 2nd, 2009 at 05:31 pm

I spent 1.07 yesterday on my morning coke. And $26 to fill up the Escape. Looking at my gas budget, I only have $13 left until next Friday. How did that happen, you ask? Well, I have filled up the explorer twice(trip to Atlanta took one of those) and the Escape twice. All of this I paid for. So I told DH last night that he was going to have to fill up the vehicles next week because I am out of funds! The escape will not need gas again until sometime next week. Good thing.

Lost my energy yesterday. Very tired on the way home. Decided to just sit on the couch for a few minutes before I started the task I wanted to accomplish last night. Next thing I know, my daughter is coming home at 9:00! YIKES! And I laid down at 11:00 and went straight to sleep. I don't know why I am so tired lately, but I wish I could figure it out!

Another Credit Card Below the Limit!!!

April 1st, 2009 at 02:11 pm

I made a large payment to my applied card and it is now $10 below the limit! YEA!!! Of course, when they add the interest for this month, it will go back up, but not like it was! I managed to get all but one of my credit cards under the limit this quarter! Now to paying them off!

The guy at the gas station kind of irked me this morning. He is as nice as he can be...good ole country boy. But he told me that we deserved the new car because we work hard. How does he know? He doesn't know us from anywhere else? He doesn't know what other debts we have? I know he was just trying to be nice, but sometimes people speak without thinking! I know that whitestripe has blogged about that before, but I guess that it personally didn't hit me until he said that this morning. He has no clue!!

I haven't eaten out since Saturday. That is great! I have been struggling with that lately. Going to the grocery store helped alot.

I have also found my energy again. When I got home last night, I folded more laundry that DH had washed and cleaned our bathroom(scrubbed the shower even). Since DH isn't working, he is taking care of most of the stuff around the house, including taking daughter to cheerleading...so I just get to come home. Another YEA! I think that cleaning the house is a sub-conscience(?) thing about going on vacation. I have this fear that something will happen to us and someone will have to come into my house. Doom and gloom...that is me. Does anyone else fear that?