I got energy on Sunday to clean the kitchen and the living room! It felt so good. Of course then I had to lay down and take a nap! UGHHH!! The Energy Spurt continued into Monday evening when I came home, sorted the mounds of laundry in the bedroom and starting laundry. It at least looks like a controlled mess now. DH will continue with the laundry today.

We went to the grocery store on Sunday. Spent ALOT of money, but we hadn't been in a while. So this will curtail the eating out, since we have things at home now to eat.

I did get the new car, well new to me. I know that I probably shouldn't have, but I still have problems telling myself no when I have the opportunity for something that I have wanted for so long. Plus it gives my son/DH a dependable car to share(my old one). Neither one of them seem to have a car that they can rely on. So in many ways, it was a smart decision. Just feeling guily about it now. This is how I got into this mess in the first place. I can justify just about anything to myself and others if I want it bad enough. Good news is that the gas mileage is better than it was in my old car. We checked it out yesterday when DH drove to Marietta.

We leave for vacation a week from Wednesday(Jekyll Island). It is the first real vacation that I have been able to give the kids. I am thrilled and can't wait. It will have to be a little tighter since the new car purchase, but that is okay. We are staying in a hotel that has breakfast and has a refrig and microwave in the room. We are going to take lunch meat/sandwich things for lunches and snacks. Then we will only eat out one meal a day. The hard part is that my DH and I love to eat out, so controlling ourselves is what will be hard. But we have the beach and the pool, that should be enough...oh and they are taking a deep sea fishing trip. So that should be plenty. It will truly be relaxing, what a vacation should be.

I got the dining area cleaned up, the living room cleaned up and the Kitchen cleaned up! YEA! I feel better about being here now! I did list the TV on Freecycle and have not heard anything. I will take it to good will as soon as my husband can load it in the car!(he damaged his hand today.)

Speaking of DH, he is driving me crazy! He did a search on mapquest for the hotel we are staying in at Jekyll Island and it didn't show that it was on the beach. However, I pulled up pictures of the hotel website and you can see the beach! But he kept calling me over to show me where the directions were taking him! I tried to tell him that those mapquests are not always accurate, but it was driving me crazy!!!

I listed some items on ebay today. Hopefully they will sell and add to my ebay fund.

I told my parents about the vacation.It went something like this"

Dad:"Why Jekyll Island, do you know someone there to stay with?"

Me: No...I have never been there.

Mom: Are you camping?

Me: No, I found a good deal on a hotel on the beach.

Mom: Oh.

Silence.

Mom: Well, you will have fun.

And that was the end of it!

Today was a NSD. helps when you don't leave the house.

I almost made it! At 6:00 I was having a NSD. But then....

My DH elected to pick son up from soccer and do dinner instead of taking daughter to cheerleading. Ok...that usually works pretty good. However, he also had some work to do on his car. Now I know my DH pretty well...and one thing always leads to another. Usually when he says that, we come home at 8:45 from cheerleading and dinner hasn't even been started or has another 30 minutes to cook(always feels he has to do elaborate things!) So in order to save aggrevation and mad feelings, I picked up dinner on the way home. If I had pushed the issue, he would have had his feelings hurt because he is honestly trying.. Sometimes it is just worth it. I know my DH and love him dearly, his ADD is just something I have learned to deal with.

Good news? I transferred the same amount that was spent on food to the vacation fund! And I think he is starting to come around witht he budgeting thing. He actually knew that we shouldn't be spending the money to eat out, as we have been spending alot lately. that is a start! He also asked about the state of our(my) finances. Wanted to make sure we had enough to cover the propane and what he needed to do to make sure we had enough for vacation! Unfortunately, I wasn't in front of my account so I couldn't speak intelligently about it. Will bring that up again later!

Yes that is right...but let me explain. I have been unable to fight the temptation to eat out lately. So I have decided that when I do eat out, if it is completely avoidable, I am going to transfer the same amount into my savings. I transferred 7.78 for my lunch and 3.43 for my breakfast. I haven't decided if I will put this in the EF or the vacation fund. Probably the vacation fund since that is what I am supposed to be saving the most for right now!

yup...they finally came and picked it up last night. $50 added to my ebay total(actually is it was craigslist, but they all go toward the total!) I put the $50 into the household maintenance account. I wanted to put it into the vacation fund, but until we get the washer straightened out, I thought it should go there. I can always move it later if this part we ordered fixes the washer.

My child support payment was $9 more than I estimated so I transferred that to the vacation fund. New total is various savings accounts...$743!!! I am in awe!

We got the order forms for the class rings for my son. Have to order then on Friday with a $65 deposit. I will take that money out of his savings account. I hate to do that(seems now that there is money in ssavings, I hate to take it out, even for its intended use!) I then have to make payments on it, but thanks to my new financial mindset, I am not stressing or calling my sisters to help! I've got it covered! What a feeling!

On another note, I can't seem to shake the eating out bug. I left my cream cheese at home this morning, so i stopped for breakfast. It was late when we got home from thhe soccer game the other night, so i stopped at subway. I have just got to get myself back into the proper mindset to not do that! Yesterday I was wanting Subway for lunch. I don't usually eat lunch but yesterday, I could almost taste it! But fortunately, I had left my wallet at home and had no easy access to money...it wasn't worth going to the local bank(that we rarely use but still have an account with) and going into the bank(since I dont have any checks) and cashing a check. So i went home and we had grilled cheese and tomato soup. More cans off the shelf! Any ideas? My willpower just sucks right now!

Another half.com sale! Yea! This month has started off great! Still waiting on my money from the end of last month. It says it is pending....anyone know what I should expect? This is the first payment from them.

I don't think that I have anything listed on ebay, so I must get that done in the next couple of days. The ebay table is overflowing! There was a minor avalanche yesterday when the cat jumped from the top of the old refrigerator(that the person didn't come pick up UGGG!) to the ebay table....all is well though.

Picked up my laundry from my mom yesterday...all washed and folded. I know she doesn't mind, but I really want my washer back! Something about being 36 years old and having my mom wash my undies bothers me! We ordered a part last night and hopefully DH can fix it since we are not having any luck finding a used one and I hate to spend the money on a new one! I think that it is really shocking my mom that I haven't asked her for the money to buy one yet...That is the old me.

Might have to drive 2 hours for a soccer game tonight...will know later. I am hoping not. Had to drive an hour last night at the last minute! i couldn't feel my feet by the time it was over! I was the one with the ugliest knit blanket thrown over my head!(fortunatly I found it in the car!)

That is how much I have in my various savings accounts! I have never ever had that much money "sitting around". I know I blogged about that yesterday, but some was added today and I am just tickled to death!

I added $9 to my vacation fund. I had alloted $30 for Girl Scout cookies,not remembering how much I had ordered. They are only $21 so I transferred the difference into the Vacation Fund. That has been the biggest thing for me...putting anything over what I allow into savings...it is already taken out of myy account, so why not?

I might need to take some out of savings if my DH doesn't give me any money today. But I can make it back up when he does.

It is storming today...hopefully they will canceel the soccer game tomorrow. Isn't that terrible? But I really don't want to drive the 2 1/2 hour drive to sit all day!

I also paid all of the utilities today as well as the credit card payments. Every utility is on time! I made a payment on every credit card, and extra on one! I am on a roll...look out!

I do have one UGHH! My DH picked my son up from practice yesterday and went to Burger King. I have nothing against them going to burger king, but that meant that I would have to feed my daughter then. I hate to wait until we get home at 9:00 from cheerleading before I even start something, so fast food it was again! If he hadn't gone to BK, he would have made dinner and it would have been ready when we got home. UGGGG!!!! Another eating out that I wasn't planning on!

I received my tax refund this today. I made Jan and Feb mortgage payments already today. YEAH!!!

My DH also gave me some money. Since I don't depend on his money, everything he gives me can be put directly into savings most of the time. I split it between household maint, Christmas fund and vacation fund. He also paid for another load of firewood, so we should be set on firewood for the rest of the season and some of next! YEAH!!

I have almost $400 in my various savings accounts. That is the most I have ever had saved! It feels so good! I just keep looking at my balance. Can't stop! Plus, there is $250 sitting in the account that I have paid my sister that she hasn't taken out yet. So on paper, I look like I Have $250 more than I actually do!

We are going to the circus Sat night. they are calling for snow flurries where I live...should make for an interesting drive home as we won't be getting home until late. I have budgeted $150 for the circus. Think I might just take cash with me and when it is gone, it is gone. But I hate the idea of not having any access to any other cash in case of emergency. I could take the debit card, and leave it in the glove box...that way if I get the urge, I have to walk back out to the car. That might work.

I have been getting lots of questions about the item I have listed on ebay. It has 1 more day. Hopefully it will sell. That would put me close to the $100 challenge for the month.

I made my first sale ever on half.com...YEAH!! This brings my ebay total to 35.90(after fees, etc) for the month. Slowly but surely getting there!

I spent 6.00 today at the gas station, but other than that, it was a good day. Worked from home...makes it easier to not spend!

Dish Network came and hooked up the HDTV today. It is awesome! I also rearranged the furniture to accomodate the larger tv. Shouldn't have done that, but I did anyway. I am paying the price now!! Still have some more to adjust, but it looks better and I just couldn't move the sofa any further!

Went to my son's soccer game. They lost. But I always enjoy watching them!!

Well, So far I have already used $40 of my $125 Gas budget since Friday. YIKES! I might make since we don't have any away soccer games next week, but it will be close! I don't have to go to the game on Friday...it is just down the street from my sister's house, so I feel comfortable not attending the game. YEAH! I jumped right on that!(last time I missed a game, my son broke his ankle...it was the one and only game I have ever missed!!!)

I kind of want time to go fast so I can get on with the budget...but i don't want time to fly so that I miss life! Make Sense? I am excited about the budget and the fact that I am finally growing up!

I ate my bagel this morning...back to being good! Just have to be disciplined...I can do it!!

I spent $22 for gas today and $6 on snacks at the convenience store before cheerleading. Need to plan that better, but not sure what to do there. Any ideas??

I have several items on ebay ending tomorrow and don't even have any bids on them! Starting to get frustated! Do I just keep listing items over and over again? Or do I let them sit for a while and list them again later?

My mom tried to force to take a cedar chest today. I don't want it. i am trying to get rid of things. i told her that I didn't think I could use it. She sent back what it was used for and where I could put it!!! I politely told her that I didn't want it but that I would be glad to put it on craigs list if she wanted! I don't know if I offended her since it was my grandmas chest, but I don't want it! So go me for sticking to my guns and not taking the chest!

My mom has paid for my daughter to do cheerleading for almost 2 years now. She also pays for the violin lessons. Each of these is $95/month. I told my mom this morning that I will start paying for the cheerleading each month. I have worked it into my budget and I assured her that if I couldn't do it one month, I would let her know. She seemed a little relieved, but also disappointed. My parents are retired and their income has reduced due to the stock market. So they are stressed each month. However, I think my mom ENJOYS paying for things because she thinks it keeps her involved. Eventually I would like to pay for the violin lessons as well...but baby steps.

I ate out again today. I had a dr appt in Atlanta so I grabbed Chik-Fil-A on the way home. We dont have one of those here. Lately my willpower for eating out has been non-existent. I need to get back on that band wagon!

My appointment went well. I am going to have surgery to remove the endometriosis in April.

I have increased the amount of the automatic deposit into the kids savings accounts to $20 per pay period. Hopefully I wont miss it.

Finally got some items listed on ebay. I really need to spend more time on them, but end up hastily posting them. Maybe I can take a Saturday and get everyting posted. I don't think we have anything going on this weekend.

Today is my son's 16th birthday. I let him sleep late this morning. Ran several errands on the way to dropping him off at school. He told me last night that he has a soccer game tonight...and he needed new shin guards for it! Got the shin guards this morning. But since I go to all the games, I now have to drive to an away game this evening. I thought I was going to have extra money in my gas budget...but probably not now. will have to allot more now that the soccer games have started.

I was 2 hours late for work...not that that is a big deal. I have a flexible schedule so it is not a big deal. But we have a project kicking off next week so we are going crazy getting ready for it. I like it when we are this busy though...I work better under pressure!

Yesterday I spent $7 for lunch. My willpower is just not very strong right now. I made a catergory in my quicken for cash though so that i can keep up with where I spend cash, when I have it. I rarely keep cash on hand.

Well, I got two 1/2 out of the five goals accomplished. I planned the birthday party which happened today. It was a success. I did my taxes with turbo tax and e-filed them. And my husband did his laundry(that is the 1/2). Techincally, I didn't get but 2 done, but since I am willing to take credit for what my husband did too!

The cheer competition yesterday was good, but took longer than expected. My husband was up all night Friday night, really bad sick. He isn't sick much so I knew when he didnt get up he was truly sick. I had to drive the 2 hours there and back, which I am not used to. There was a co-ed Level 6 team(highest I have ever seen) that was totally awesome. But one of the men was doing their tumbling and hit a girl in the back of the head. She instantly went down and they ended up calling an ambulance. It was pretty scary for me as a spectator...I can only imagine what her parents felt. But that delayed the already running behind competition by almost an hour. So we didn't get home until about 6:00.

I had estimated $125 for the competition and going out to eat afterward. Last year we bought my daughter something at each competition, which was promptly discarded in the depths of her room. I told her this year we would not be purchasing anything at the competitions(maybe the last one or something). So instead we are going out to eat after each competition, since we live in the country, we don't always get good restaurant food. She doesn't remember that we ate out last year too and bought her things(no wonder I was broke!) so we are really saving money. Anyway...of the $125 estimated, we only spent $65!! Gas was $22, $10 to get in, and $13 for Chik-fil-A. We also stopped at the Dunkin Donuts(my family has a thing for donuts) and got a some donuts to bring home. I attributed them to the cheer budget since we wouldn't have stopped if we hadn't been at the competition.

I fell sleep on the couch when we got home. I think the competition did me in yesterday. We had to walk a good distance from where we parked and just being gone all day was a bummer. We had the birthday party today. I am really hurting tonight thanks to the newly diagnosed endometriosis. Really should be in bed by now. Going soon.

I had to get paper towels and toilet paper yesterday so I ventured to Dollar General. I know...I should use handtowels instead of paper towels. I purchased a large 30 pack of towels and have no idea where any of them are! Maybe if I got my laundry caught up I would find them! LOL.

I did real good though, as I only purchased what I needed. DG is usually a spend-a-rama for me. So I was proud of myself.

Checked my accounts online today. Sister 1 hasn't taken her $200 out of our joint account($50/payday). It has been sitting there. Sister 2 hasn't deposited her checks for $300. So as far as the bank is concerned, I have had over $500 sitting in my accounts for over a month now! WOW!! If only it were true!

Have a cheer competition tomorrow. Have to be outside of Atlanta at 8:30. We have been to Atlanta entirely too much lately! This will make 5 trips within 4 weeks!! UGH! And I have to go back next Thursday for a doctors appointment. I guess that is part of living as far in the country as we do...have to travel a good distance to have good doctors and entertainment!

Yesterday was a NSD for me. YEA!

I still haven't taken the pictures to get the items on ebay...I just haven't had the energy to do it. I am at home today with a (not so) sick kid. Maybe I will get some pictures taken later. Need to do some laundry too.

I have set up some new accounts in my sidebar and in my Quicken. I have added the car fund, the vacation fund, and the Christmas fund. These accounts aren't going to grow quickly, but seeing them will induce me to put money in them. I didn't actually open accounts at bank, but rather set up dummy accounts. Will transfer money to them on pay day so I can start watching them grow.

Yesterday was a weak day. I decided to get breakfast on the way to work. I haven't done that in a really long time. But I really wanted a fast food coke...they just taste different. Anyway, I didn't even eat half of my sandwich and only a few of the hasbrown nuggets! What a waste! Thought I wanted it...guess not.

at 5:00 yesterday, I was informed that my son needed a ride home from soccer practice. He hadn't mentioned it and I hadn't thought about it. So at 5:45 I left my friends house(closer to the practice) to go pick him up. They were supposed to get their jerseys. At 6:40 I left. I still hadn't picked my daughter up!!! Told him to get a ride to my friends house and I went to get Pizza. I had dinner all planned too. I was going to make tuna casserole(a favorite standby of mine). But it was too late to even begin! The pizza took almost an hour for them to make(I picked it up)...guess I know where my son should look for a job! But they had these coupons on the counter...I asked the guy about it since I wasn't given the deal. It took $10 off my total! I got 2 large pizzas and 2 orders of cheesy bread for $22! I thought that was an excellent deal!

I also filled up my car for $22 yesterday. It is funny how simple things make you smile. No so long ago, I didn't ever fill my car up! Granted the prices were outrageous! But even so, If I was still living like I was, I would only be getting enough gas to get me through to the next day or so. I can't tell you when the last time was that I didn't fill up my tank! And I actually have money in the account to do that! Like I said, simple things.

I made the final payment to one of my medical bills. And another one will be paid off on the 15th. YEAH!

Unfortunately, I think that I will start receiving bills for the CT's I have had done lately. The previous payments will be replaced with new ones! YUCK!

I transferred $40 into my savings account this morning. That is the amount of gas left over from last week's budget. I still think I will be able to two Mortgage payments in february, but not as early as I would have liked.

I made payments on all of my credit cards this month. Still need to get a couple down under the limit, but at least I made payments!

My brakes were more than I estimated. I had guessed $125 and they were $160! YIKES!

I went to the grocery store yesterday. Instead of going to Ingles, I went to the smaller IGA. My reasoning was that although IGA had slightly higher prices, their selection is no where near as great as Ingles.(and I wasn't feeling particularly frugal yesterday)! So I figured I wouldn't be tempted to purchase what we didn't need. I made it through every aisle in 20 minutes and only purchased what we needed. Spent $75. I feel sure that I would have spent at least double that at Ingles.

I didn't get anything posted on ebay yesterday. I am still really sore from the biopsy. Didn't do much of anything. Finally had to tell DH that i was in pain and I couldn't do like I usually do. No clean towels? Wash some! No tea made? Make some! He finally got the hint.

All in all, I think I am looking pretty good for february...as long as those unplanned things don't pop up too often!

Well, I got paid Friday. I made payments on my credit cards...all of them. So I met one of my goals for the month. I also have fully funded my contacts. My appointment is Monday. I can't wait.

Yesterday was a nsd...today won't fare as well. I have to get new rotors for my car for my dh to put on. He has gone to get them now.

Bad news though...there is no way that I will be able to pay he mortgage this week. I will have to make two payments in February in order to get it caught up. i haven't planned competely through Feb yet, so I am not sure that this is possible. Will try to figure it out later today.

I have lots of items top put on ebay today. Need to get pictures of them and get them posted.

Yesterday I got gas for $20 and dinner for my daughter and myself. It was a total of $26 spent for the day.

Today I spend $7 for a dozen donuts on the way back from the biopsy. That is all I spent. The hospital validated parking and my DH bought me dinner since I hadn't eaten since last night.

Got paid today, but am too tired to work out all the details right now. Had the 2nd biopsy today.(went much better than the one last week) Left home at 7:00 this morning and got home at 8;30 tonight. Everything that needed to be paid was set up with an automatic payment, so I am not concerned that something didn't get paid. Just too tired to work out the details right now.

DH left as soon as we got home to drive his brother and SIL to Savannah to pick up 2 cars that they bought. They will drive down tonight, get a hotel room and drive back tomorrow. I suggested waiting until tomorrow to leave, but they wanted to be able to drive during the day tomorrow in case there are any problems. Kids are at the Dad's so I am home alone until sometime tomorrow. Peace and quiet! Now if i could just find someone to take the dogs!

I had a dr appointment to find out about the dizzy spells.(Fluid on my ears). Copay $20 Prescriptions $39

Son had chiropractor appointment(not covered by insurance) $35

Total spent $94. YIKES!!! The Chiro was already in my budget, but the other two items weren't! Have to make more adjustments.

Discussed with DH the need to get some of the logs in the woods above our house cut up for firewood. I found some firewood in the paper for a pretty good price, but he is adament that he will get the logs down and cut up. We also decided that he would take his truck and load it with gravel then spread it himself. We can get a load of gravel cheap...we usually pay for the delivery. We are in desperate need as our driveway is a big mud pit due to recent rains! Working on more money saving ideas.

I have my 2nd biopsy tomorrow. It is at a different hospital. No eating after midnight and we have to be there earlier...so we have to leave the house at 6:00 AM!!! UGGGGG. I am so not a morning person!

I woke up and got in the shower this morning. As I was drying my hair, my daughter came in sick. She has a spot on the back of her head that she scratched to bleeding in her sleep. So I have got to take her to the doctor. I could have stayed in bed!!!

Yesterday was a NSD. Go Me! I have added some forgotten expenses into my budget and don't know how I am going to get through the next couple of weeks. I always do though. While I don't want time to fly, I just want to get this over with!

My best friend had a family situation a couple of nights ago. Long story short, her daughters cell phone was broken. Although they have the insurance, it is $50 to replace the phone. I decided today to give her the $50. This will not put a serious crimp in my budget. This friend has helped me out before when I needed it. Although the phone isn't a need, it will relieve a little of her stress trying to figure out how to replace the phone. It feels very good to be able to do this for them. In the past, I have never been able to help anyone. Since I have been living with a budget, I have been able to put money where it makes more of a difference and I rarely run short! It is amazing when I just started paying attention to where the money was actually going!

My daughter had pictures at cheerleading and one of the moms brought in Subway! How dare her! Anyway...that led to us getting subway for dinner. We haven't eaten out in a really long time so I am not going to beat myself up over it.

Subway $22

I have been swamped at work today...I like being busy and kind of wish it was this way all the time!

Yesterday was a pricey day as I had to refill my prescriptions..$55. Ouch! It was $20 to ship items sold on ebay and $6 for a gallon of milk and a newspaper! Another Ouch!

Just got home form the biopsy. I am sore but not in too much pain. It took alot longer than anticipated...not the test itself, but the waiting. We had snow last night so it took a little bit longer to get out of town, but the closer we got to Atlanta, the snow disappeared. They have already called off school for tomorrow as well.

I spent $7 at Chic-fil-a for dinner(Hadn't eaten since last night) and filled up for $23. It has been an expensive gas week so far and it is only Tuesday. The extra trips to cheerleading aren't helping! And we have to go back to Atlanta on Sunday for our first competition.

I called to make the appointment to get contacts. The appointment is next Thursday at 3:30. This is one of my goals! So it will be met next week! I am so excited!

I spent 9.00 yesterday for some labels to print postage through paypal. I also ordered a bunch of the free boxes from the post office. I am getting the hang of the shipping thing!

Still not sure how I am going to handle getting the mortgage paid(see previous blogs) but I am sure it will all work out. I am closer now and I know that my husband will be giving me some money between now and then...so it might be close.

I set up automatic payments through bill pay to come out of my checking tomorrow based upon an automatic deposit that comes on Tuesdays. However, since today is a holiday, it won't hit my account until Wednesday. Hoping that the automatic payments don't clear until Wed!(since this is a check that they actually mail, it should be okay.

I have my biopsy tomorrow. I am really nervous about it. I was okay at first but now I am freaking out. What if it is cancer of some sort. It hit my on Sunday that I never upped my life insurance. I only have $15k through work. That is hardly enough to bury me and pay my bills. I am sure that the house has credit life insurance so it will be paid off but with this market, converting that to cash will take a while. And then I would be leaving my kids to live with my ex(who is in a less than ideal living situation) and this would send my sisters into a frenzy causing a huge civil war in the north Ga Mtns! I am trying to stay calm and collected..but that only works for a little while.

I know this is long but I needed to get all of this out...especially about the biopsy...don't want to worry other people. That is what I do...I hold everything in. So thanks for listening.

I was tempted...I was starving by the time I was heading home. My husband had decided to go work on his truck(see husband rantings post). It was just going to my my son and I for dinner as my daughter goes to her friends house on Wednedsays and then to church. I thought about all the options...Taco Bell...Pizza Buffett...pizza delivery...wendy's. But in the end, we went home and had grilled cheese and french fries. GO ME!

We went and picked up my son's truck last night. When did I become old enough to have a child that has a car???? Just doesn't seem right to me. But none the less, I have a child that has a car. He is very excited about it. He should get his license next month. In a round about way, my mom loaned him the money to get the truck(loan from insurance policy in his name that she owns). She made him read all of the papers last night and sign that he had read it. He has to make monthly payments on it. I am not worried about him and money...he is like a scrooge and has learned well from my mistakes. Trust me, you don't want to borrow money from him!!!

I went Monday to the surgeon. He wasn't sure that the hernia is what is causing my pain. So he ordered a CT scan. Fortunately I was able to be worked in so I didn't have to drive the 2 hours one way again this week! But it made for a long day. The contrast they made me drink was nasty! I should hear something from the doctor today.

I spent quite a bit of money on Monday. The doctor was $40. The gas was $23. And dinner was $25(bought my best friend dinner because she gave up her day to go with me to the doctor).

Tuesday was better. Only spent $2 for hair ties and $8 for shipping an ebay item.

I have 6 items listed on ebay. I listed them at no reserve. I have only gotten 3 bids...for the .99 starting bids. It appears that I will be selling a basket that I paid upwards of $40 for for .99 unless there are some more bids in the next 6 hours. It is a very frustrating lesson learned. My only saving grace is that the money spent on these baskets was spent years ago when I wasn't in the financial crisis I am in now. Like purchasing the baskets is not a recent bad decision. Does that make any sense?

I haven't left the house today...and don't plan to since my husband has my car. I have spent no money today!

I posted some more of the "collectibles" on ebay. I might make another $100 or so. I think I got the shipping straight this time...lets hope anyway. Still have more to post, but the batteries in the camera died and I can't find anymore in the house that will make the camera work!

I was just looking at my financial picture. Things are looking pretty good. I still have to come up with some money by the end of the month, but I think I should be able to between listing these things on ebay and what my husband should give me. Ordinarily, this time of the year, I am just trying to hang on until I can do my taxes. I have always done the rapid refund becuase I REALLY needed the money. This is the first year in a really long time that I am not counting the days until I can do my taxes. I think I might actually do them on turbotax myself. I am just so excited!

I also have money in my savings account and my kids savings accounts. Sure it isn't much. But this is the first time in almost a year that the money put into those accounts have stayed more than 2 weeks! This is progress for me.

Took down the Christmas decorations today. I am home alone so I was able to get alot done. But I think I may have done too much as now my stomach is killing me! When DH gets home, he will have to clean the living room and daughter will have to dust piano. Go to the surgeon tomorrow. Not looking forward to that drive but can't wait to get this taken care of! Seems I can't get half of what I want to do done before I start to hurt.

I went to Home Depot yesterday to pick up some tools for the fence. THey have marked down their Christmas trees to $50! I was thrilled. Right after Christmas, this tree was $89. It was originally $130. so I was thrilled. However, when I inquired, the only one left was the actual one on display. It comes apart into 3 pieces, but I couldn't see me struggling with it. I guess that I have really started to get the hang of this money thing...because it wouldn't have been that hard, but I made up reasons why I shouldn't purchase the tree. It is getting easier each day to avoid purchases or to make up reasons why i don't want to go through the hassle.

I have to take my ebay items to ship today. Made about $100. I spent over $500 on the items 10 years ago, told that hey would appreciate in value. I was niave and spent money foolishly. They are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them. I have tried to sell them before and they never hit the reserve I was asking. This time I didn't set a reserve. It is worth it to me to have them out of the house and have a little extra money to help keep me on budget the next few weeks.

I spent $10.98 at Home Depot for the fence supplies. $15 in gas.

After the initial shock of the diagnoses yesterday I calmed down and began thinking rationally. I called and made an appointment with a surgeon for Monday that has operated on me before and my father before. I also checked my insurance. I should only have to pay $100 copay for the surgery, since it is outpatient. I talked to my sister(my medical go to person) and have a reasonable plan, as long as the doctor can work with my schedule. If I have the surgery on Wed or Thur, I should be able to at least work from home part time by Monday. This will cut down on the time off needed. I hate to use my days for this! Still nervous, given the past history, but at least I have done all I can to prevent the mistakes of last time.

I made $100 on the items I sold on Ebay. i straightened out the shipping fiascos and sent everyone corrected invoices. Will mail all items tomorrow.

I had to get gas this morning because my lovely DH didn't put gas in the car on the way home last night. Did I mention that I am ready to kill someone? Anyone will do. Just about togo crazy!

The truck for my son is awesome! DH will go this evening and put a deposit until the rest of the money comes. MS(son) is thrilled! Still talking about other truck, but at least he as different one to drive!