I did horrible for not eating out in September. I need to get a handle on eating out again. I know I can do it, just need to give myself the motivation to do it.

Went to the grocery store tonight to pick up a few items. It was $32. More than I planned on spending for just a few items, but I guess the dog food pushed it up.

I got Dog food, puppy food, 3 cartons of orange juice and peanut butter. I got a bigger jar of peanut butter than I usually get. It sure adds up fast.

I filled up the gas tank today for $26. I still have $74 left in the gas budget for the next week.

I spent $108 at the drugstore for my prescriptions. Since my scripts were less than I had budgeted for I went ahead and picked up my son's inhaler. He hasn't had to money to get it. I only overspent by $8 so I am happy.

I now have $25 to last until next Friday. I won't need all $74 for gas so that will get me through.

I had my weekly weigh in at WW tonight. I lost 2.6 pounds. I am not sure how since I have been drinking soda this week. But I will take it. I have lost 10% of my starting weight and I got a key chain.

Financially, I am looking good. I have $40 to last until next Friday. I still have to get my prescriptions but I have budgeted for them. Hopefully they won't be more than $100.

I have to fill up tomorrow but I have used very little gas. I didn't have to drive to work yesterday so it was a no gas day. Shouldn't be too much to fill up.

DD is sick with a stomach virus. She stayed home yesterday and came home sick today. Hope she gets over it soon. She can't keep missing school.

Ready for the football game tonight with the regular refs. Let's hope it is better and there is no controversy.

Today should be a NSD. I haven't left the house. I decided to work from home today since I would be the only one at the office. Easier to resist spending money when you don't leave the house.

It was a little more than usual for a Tuesday. I always fill up on Tuesday and Friday. Friday fill up is usually around $45 and Tuesday is usually around $28. Today it was $37. It is due to the fact that I had to make three trips to Morganton this weekend. It is roughly 10 miles one way. I usually don't do any driving on the weekend so of course I used more gas than usual. I had $58 in the gas budget so I was still under. I transferred the extra $21 to my savings account.

I went ahead and transferred $200 from my savings account today. It should show up by Friday. I needed to cover the dentist visit and the mortgage. I hate taking money out of savings but I guess that is what it is there for. I should be able to put it back in October.

Well...I had budgeted $200 for the grocery trip today. We spent $158. I had hoped to get by with $100. We did go with a list and apparently I was bad at estimating how much the items on the list were. Oh well at least we were under the amount I had budgeted.

I bought bacon and tomatoes and just had the best bacon and tomato sandwich for dinner. It was so yummy.

I am still $15 short for the dentist visit on October 2. I will be able to make that up with my gas budget for the next two weeks. I just need to get back to not eating breakfast out. I have the will power just wish it was easier.

We got lucky. The doctor's office didn't charge me a copy for DD's shot. It was just a nurse visit and they said the insurance should pay for all it. Sweet!

Going to the grocery store this evening. I have my list all ready. It became a pretty good sized list when I started thinking about things we need/want for the next couple of weeks. We should still be under $100 though. Hoping anyway. I might cross off a few things to insure that. Will let you know how it goes.

Today has just been a lazy day. Catching up on some tv shows.

Payday has come. I am glad as I only $4.69 left in my account. The first of the many medical expenses will be today. Have to take DD to get her shot. I am hoping that we won't have to see the doctor(we actually see the nurse practitioner) and only have to pay for a nurse visit. Keep your fingers crossed.

Friday is also the day that we do our grocery shopping. I just made our list. Nothing had made it to a list so I guess we don't need too much. Should have no trouble staying under $100.

It is just me at the office again today. It gets so boring when it is just me. Fortunately I have to leave early to take DD to the doctor.

Income:
From Son - 170
Paycheck - 936.96
Child Support - 339.00

Total Income: 1445.96

Expenses:
Groceries - 200*
Gas - 200**
credit card - 50.00
medical - 340
transfer to savings - 33.80
son's car payment - 229.20
auto insurance - 247.87
dentist - 174

Total expenses - 1474.87

Income : 1445.96
expenses: 1747.87

Shortfall - 28.91

* Budget 200 for groceries but have been getting by with about $100.

** Budget $200 for two weeks but have been getting by with about $150.

This two week period is heavy on medical/dentist expenses. I have to get my monthly prescriptions and DD has to get her shot, which involves the shot and the doctor visit. Plus I am paying on some other medical expenses that I am making payments to.

Computer problems have left me totally frustrated today. The IT guy took my computer home last night to reformat it. He wasn't completely finished with it this morning so I have spent the day loading software and trying to get my email to work. At one point I was ready to throw it out the window!(good thing I don't have any windows in my office!)

And I got this brand new printer/copier/fax machine. I got it installed and all is well. However, I needed to print something on paper that is stiffer than normal paper. All it did was curl that paper. I had to drag my old printer back into my office, install the software and use it for what I needed to print. UGH! But I got it done.

I got gas yesterday for $26.20, far less than the $60 I had budgeted for it. I have set up a transfer of the difference to go to my online savings account on Friday. I need the buffer until then.

I have my rough budget(kind of like a rough draft) done through November, but I expect that there will be many changes. But at least the groundwork is done. November will be a 3 paycheck month for me so I am hoping to get the Mortgage caught up.

I kind of feel just blah today. It is raining here and has been all day. That is probably why I feel like I do.

My computer semi-crashed today. We couldn't get the new printer to print. It kept locking up the whole computer. So the IT guy is going to take it tonight and reformat it. Hopefully it will all go smoothly. I can't afford to be without a computer.

I resisted the urge to go to Starbucks while he was working on my computer. Still want it but not worth going out in the rain for it.

Still struggling with my diet. Can't seem to get my motivation back. Not sure how to get it back. Just not in a good place right now concerning the diet.

I have to get gas tonight. I doubt it will take the $60 I have budgeted for it so I will transfer the difference to my online savings account.

Yesterday was coasting along...hadn't left the house except to take sister to the grocery store, where I sat in the car so I wasn't tempted to purchase something we didn't need. Then about 8:00 last night, DD came upstairs and couldn't stop coughing. The doctor didn't prescribe any cough medicine. So we packed up and went to CVS for cough syrup. We bought the store brand and it was BOGO free so we spent $5.87 for two bottles of cough syrup. Not too bad.

It is amazing how bad habits slip right back in. I have eaten out quite a bit this last week. Probably close to $20 spent. I need to get back in the routine of not eating out. Both for the budget and my diet.

My coworker asked me to go to Papa's Pizza with her for lunch. I brought my lunch and stuck to it. I don't particularly like Papa's Pizza. I never seem to get my money out of the buffet. So it was easy to refuse. I also only have $8 in my account until Friday. That will cover a gallon of milk if we need it before Friday. So I can't really spend any more money.

The guys just came and picked it up. I sold it for $400. It was less that I hoped for but no one else has shown any interest. They had trouble getting it loaded on their truck. It weighed almost 500 pounds. It pushed the guy down the ramps there were using to get it out of the house. Could have been a real bad situation but fortunately he was okay.

This helps tremendously with my budget. Now I am only short $280 for the middle of October. Hopefully the clarinet will sell.

I finished off the dr pepper in the fridge so the no soda challenge will be easier now. It isn't there to tempt me.

Going to a friend's house to watch the Tennessee game. It is at the same time as the Georgia game, but unfortunately the Georgia game is only available on pay per view for $26! I can't believe people pay that much just to watch a football game. I love Georgia but am not willing to pay that much to watch their game.

No Eating out: 11/14
No Soda: 0/5
NSD: 7/14

I have to admit that I am a bit jealous of a few bloggers on this site. Credit Card Free is one of them. Monkey Mama is another one. There are several more, including Ceejay. These bloggers have their financial act together. They have a healthy retirement fund. They have a healthy emergency fund. They can provide for their children without help from a grandparent. For all these reasons and more, I am jealous. I am getting my act together but I don't foresee being able to save any significant amount of money. I don't see my circumstances changing any time soon. I simply don't make enough money to pay all my debts. I have tried to get a second job but no one that I applied to called me back. It would help right about now. All I can do right now is keep on trucking and try to make a dent in my debts. I just get so frustrated sometimes that I let myself get in this position in the first place.

I went to the grocery store this evening and bought more orange juice and bread. Total spent was 12.56. I know have 1.61 left in my account until next Friday. That is assuming that I will spend $60 on gas on Tuesday and that should only be about $30. So I have a little bit of a cushion there.

No Eating Out: 11/13
No Soda: 0/4
NSD: 7/13

DD sent me a text from school asking me to come get her. Her throat is killing her and she just generally doesn't feel well. She asked if she could get taco bell since it is smooth and wouldn't hurt her throat. So I spent $2.65 getting her something that she could eat.

I really hope that the wood burning stove sells because I really need the money. The 5th of October pay day is looking pretty grim. Need to make up quite a bit of money. Not sure how I am going to do that if the stove doesn't sell. Keep your fingers crossed.

No Eating Out: 11/12
No Soda: 0/3
NSD: 7/12

This is hard to admit but I have never lied in these posts and I am not going to start now. Sooo...post what you like...I can take it.

I ordered a pizza tonight. I know that I am the one who suggested the whole month of not eating out but I had a weak moment. I had enough money because my mom gave me an even 100 for the doctor and prescriptions that came to $64. The pizza wasn't even as good as I remembered it being.

I will transfer $100 from my savings account to pay my mom back. I hate to take money out of savings but I guess that is what it is there for.

My DD went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago for a tick bite and suspected sinus infection. The doctor gave her one antibiotic for the tick bite and said that if that didn't fix the sinus infection to call her. I thought that she would call in an antibiotic for the sinus infection. But instead she wants to see DD. This is more than annoying since I only have $13.68 in my checking account. I had to call my mom for help. She said that she would cover the co pay plus the prescriptions. She told me that she always has money for things like that. So thankful that I have parents(my dad too when he was alive) that are in a position to help their struggling daughter.

I filled up the tank yesterday for $28.41. That leaves $16.59 to transfer to my Ally savings account. I now have $332 in that account. I think that is the most that I have ever saved over time. I haave $13.68 left until next Friday. Hopefully we won't need anything other than milk and orange juice. We have plenty of food in the house so we should be good.

This quitting soda has been really hard for me. I have failed both days. If I didn't have some in the fridge it wouldn't be so hard. But knowing it is there is really bothering me. I almost feel like if I hurry and drink it I can get along with quitting.

No Eating Out: 11/11
NSD: 7/11
No Soda: FAIL 0/2

My co-worker approached me to go to lunch with her today. I said no, of course! I brought my lunch and I stuck to it.

I emailed the guy that was interested in the wood burning stove for $400. I figured that no one else has really showed interest. And since I am $400 short for the first part of October, I might as well take it. It will get it out of my living room at least. He is going to come look at it next Wednesday. He is out of town until then. Keep your fingers crossed.

I was thinking about how much I spent eating out in July and the amount I spend on groceries. I don't know where I got the money from. I am cutting it close now so I definately don't know how I managed to eat out so much plus spend $400 on groceries. I am now making a list and spending between $200 and $250. I can definately tell a difference in how much cash I have on hand.

DS just called. The faucet at the other house has broken. I had to transfer him some money so that he could go to Home Depot and get a new one. He is going to install it.

No eating Out: 10/10
NSD: 7/10
No Soda: 0/1(totally failed)

I am going to try to go two weeks without any Soda. I know Lucky Robin is trying to but back on the amount of soda she drinks. This is going to be hard for me. Especially since I have Dr Pepper in my fridge at home. I just have to tell myself that it will still be good in two weeks. During the week I am fine. It is during the weekend that I really end up going overboard. This will be good for me.

The entire weekend was a NSD. I barely left home. But we didn't need anything. Today I have to get milk for work to make my oatmeal with.

No Eating Out: 9/9
NSD: 7/9

I had sent the man an email asking if he was still interested. He just replied that he found one in Chattanooga last week. Bummer. It is still listed on craigslist so hopefully it will sell soon. Parents should be looking for instruments for their children. I also have it on a list at the middle school for parents looking for their children.

My DS told me today that he wants to sell his car. He is tired of paying for it. I don't think this is going to end well. I am a co-signer on the car loan and I don't think we can get what the payout is. I certainly can't afford to take over the payment. I am strapped as it is.

I have had alot of interest on this fireplace insert that is listed on craigslist. I have it listed for $600. I got an email this morning asking if I would take $400 for it. I responded that I would take $500 for it. It is worth alot more but at this point I just want to get rid of it. I have listed it before with no interest and it is blocking my fireplace, sitting on the hearth. My sister bought it for me for $100 so what ever I make is pure profit.

I haven't heard from the guy that was asking about the clarinet. He probably isn't going to buy it. Bummer. I hope to be able to sell it soon too. I haven't had as much interest in it.

I also have several books listed on half.com. I wish some of them would sell.

No eating out: 8/8
NSD: 6/8

Today is a NSD. The only time I left the house was to take DD to my mom's to do chores around her house. I then came home and made a garlic chicken frozen meal and garlic bread. Yummy.

DD saved up to replace her iphone. It took her about 1 1/2 months to save up the 200 for the insurance deductible. I am quite proud of her. We deposited the money into my checking account today so she can order the phone. When she called them they have to send me an affadavit to sign. I will send it back on Monday and then her phone will be on the way.

No Eating Out 7/7
NSD: 5/7

DD and I went to the grocery store for our usual shopping trip. I think we did pretty good considering we had to buy a few expensive items like dog food and cat litter, cheese(we buy a big bag of shredded cheese) and laundry soap. We spent $146 and I had budgeted $200. That will give me money for fill in items next week.

I was really surprised at the price of chicken. I admit I don't remember what we paid in the past for boneless skinless breasts but I was in shock to see that for a package of breasts it was over $10. I know that I have never spent that much for chicken. Needless to say we passed on the chicken. I did get tenders so we can make sweet and sour chicken one night. Has anyone else noticed the price of chicken going up? I wonder if this has anything to do with the drought.

I filled up my gas tank today. It was $3.79 per gallon. YIKES! I fully expected it to be $60-70 since I didn't fill up on Tuesday. I always fill up on Tuesdays and Fridays. Friday's fill ups are usually around $45 and Tuesday fills ups are around $28. Today it was $54. I was pleasantly surprised. It is still hard to swallow but it was less than I thought it would be.

I am the only one here today. One person doesn't work on Friday's(must be nice!) and the other two are apparently working from home today. Makes for a pretty boring day. I will probably end up leaving early.

Today is payday. I had to borrow $100 from my mom to get through the next two weeks. I have two large payments coming out of my account on the 10th...DD health insurance and my student loan payment.

I have had lots of interest in the wood burning fireplace insert that I listed on Craiglist. Hopefully someone will buy it. I haven't heard from the guy who was interested in the clarinet since Wednesday. I really thought he was going to buy it. I am really hoping that something sells. I could really use the money.

I was up at WW last night. .8 of a pound. bummer. Soda was really my downfall this week. Will have to curtail that this coming week.

no eating out: 6/6
nsd: 4/6

When I went to pick up DD from school I almost stopped at Starbucks. It was really an internal struggle. But in the end I didn't do it! I really need a pick me up but I guess that will have to wait until I get home!

DD usually is hungry when she gets home and since she is hanging out at my work this afternoon I brought her a frozen meal. She said it really hit the spot. Otherwise she was going to ask me to stop at Chick fil a. So another wise decision.

Usually I have between 3-4 pending transactions in my checking account. But right now there is nothing pending. Could be because there is only $6 in my account so I haven't been able to get anything. Good thing I don't need anything.

I got an inquiry about the wood burning stove that I have on craigslist. Hopefully they will come through. I haven't heard from the guy about the clarinet. I am tempted to email him and tell him I'll take $25 off the price. I really need to sell it. Selling the wood stove would just be great too! Not only would it get it out of my living room but the money would not go to waste!

My dentist called me this morning. They went ahead and verified my insurance information. It seems that the insurance won't pay them directly. The check would be cut to me. So that means that I would have to pay for the visit when I am there. Since I don't have an extra $204 I had to cancel my appointment. This is something that I will need to save up for.

No Eating Out: 5/5
NSD: 3/5

I got an email from someone that is interested n the clarinet that I have for sale. I am hoping that this comes through and he purchases it. It is really a great deal at $550. I would make my mortgage payment with it.

no eating out: 4/4
NSD 2/4

Beginning bal in Checking account is $16.52

Income:
Paycheck - 936.97
From DS: 180.00
Child Support - 340.00
Half.com - 62.00

Total Income: 1518.97

Expenses:

MIL Loan - 100.00
Gas - 200.00
Student Loan - 53.75
DD Tumbling - 55.00
DD Health Ins - 486.46
Student Loan #2 - 269.53
Groceries - 200.00*
Cell PHone - 148.35
School LUnch - 50.00
Weight Watchers - 42.95
Savings Transfer - 59.00(gas under budget)

* plan to try to get out of the store for $100.

All of this adds up to me being $130 short for the pay period. I really want to transfer the $59 to my online savings account. I can make up the $130 by my gas allowances and my grocery allowances. It is just going to make it tight.