I called to find out about my car yesterday and they told me that it had been out of oil. I apparently ran it out of oil. I knew it was well past an oil change but I thought there was a light on the dash that would tell me if the oil was low. Guess not. He said they put some oil in it and are hoping that I didn't do any permanent damage to it. Should know something this afternoon.

Add benefit of not having a car is not having to buy gas. My parents insist on putting gas in their car and since I am driving it, I don't have to buy any gas. I will probably try to give my parents some money toward gas, but they won't take it.

Speaking of parents, mine have been truly wonderful. They have let me borrow their car leaving them at home without one. They have worked with my schedule to make sure that DD makes it to her cheer and I make it to work. They are going to help with the repairs to my car. I am truly lucky to have the parents that I do. My mom told me this morning that they were so proud of the way I am handling things...meaning my attitude. I am not giving up or upset. I have come to a point where what happens happens and I am not going to stress over it. There are people with much worse things going on.

I redid my taxes last night and now it looks like I am getting a refund. I received my second mortgage interest statement. Since I renewed the loan last year, I have two statements. That made a huge difference in my return.

That is the sound my car is making. It is coming from the engine. There is also some metal shavings in my oil. This is not good. Dropped it off this morning and I am just waiting for the repair shop to call me to tell me it needs a new engine. My ex is looking for a used one from a junkyard somewhere. I can't afford a new one and my parents are all tapped out. they are giving me $1400 toward it...that would just about cover finding a used one and having it put in.

Yes this is the same car that I just put a transmission in. If I had known that the engine was going to crap out, I wouldn't have put the new transmission in. I would have traded it in. Too late know. I have too much invested in the car now. But I will never buy a car from North Georgia Ford in Blue Ridge GA again.

I would have waited to get married and have kids. I got pregnant right out of high school and ended up married shortly after. It was not a great marriage. If I had waited I could have found someone who truly loved me and I might have been able to stay home with my kids. I also would not have gotten into such debt.

Well, I figured my taxes today and am really upset. It appears that I won't be getting refund. In fact I owe $46 to federal and $236 to state. I am really disappointed. Apparently once a child turns 17 you no longer get the child credit. And I apparently made so much money that I only got $400 for the EIC. I don't understand now I can make as much money as I do and I am always broke. I don't have any money in savings and I am struggling to pay my bills. In fact I haven't paid rent or power in a couple of months. My parents are paying it. I just don't get it. I don't live extravagently. I don't have all new things. I think I spend my money wisely lately. I just don't understand.

Today is payday. Nothing exciting. I only had to pay two things today, as the rest are set up as automatic debits. It is such a let down sometimes. I know that sounds funny, but since I have been actually paying my bills I am excited for paydays to come. Then there is nothing for me to do.Oh well. I guess that is just something I will have to get used to. It could be worse. I could not be able to pay my bills.

I made dinner at home last night. I made a hamburger helper. I had the hamburger in the freezer and the helper was $1 at DG. Made some garlic bread to go with it and dinner was served. My son now has food to eat tonight. (I don't eat hamburger meat, but my kids do so we end up with a good amount of leftovers.) I am enjoying cooking. Even though our schedules rarely line up to eat together, I at least know there is something there to be eaten. Lets hope I can keep it up. I did have to throw away the first thing of hamburger meat because the cats got into it and ate half of it. my daughter forgot to put the meat back in the microwave, which is where we hide things we don't want the cats to eat. Frustrating, but at least we had some more in the freezer.

I am trying to quit smoking...again. The last time I went almost 2 months before I started again. I had my last cigarette yesterday morning. Let me explain...I don't believe that I am actually addicted to the nicotene. I have always been able to go without having a cigarette for many days. Mainly it is when I am bored that I smoke. So the key is to keep myself busy and then I won't be tempted to smoke. The worst time is when I am work. I also treated having a cigarette as a kind of break to get me away from my desk for a minute. So right now I am very close to going to get a pack of cigarettes. Heres the thing though, a co-workers husband was just diagnosed with cancer and as far as I know he never smoked or dipped or anything. I also have another friend going through chemo for non hodgens lymphoma. I don't want to end up like either one of them. I also like being with my daughter. I have never admitted toher that I smoke, but I am sure she has figured it out. So when I would have to run to the store, I would make her stay home so I could smoke a cigarette. I enjoy asking her to go with me now. Just alot of reasons to quit and quit for good. Wish me luck.

Sorry for rambling. Like I said, I am bored at work right now.

Well, today is humpday. I am so glad. I sure didn't want to get out of bed this morning. It was so nice and toasty warm! It is raining too, which didn't help my motivation too much. It briefly turned to snow but now it is back to rain.

I took out some hamburger last night to make a hamburger helper meal($1 at DG). I have probably 5 more packages of hamburger meat in the freezer. That is part of what I am going to try to get rid of.

I have a question for you guys...in theory, I am going to be able to put $300/month toward my debt starting next month. Should I pay of a credit card, put the money toward my car loan, or put the money into my emergency fund(which is almost non-existent)? I am torn about the best use of the money. What do you think?

My daughter and I went to the grocery store today. We started out at Dollar General. The savings there was obvious. We spent $66 and easily saved $15-20. I felt good about that. Then we went to Food Lion. I had already gotten most of the things on the list so there wasn't too much to get there. In addition to food, I got dog food(which I should have gotten at dollar general, but didn't think about it) and cat food(also should've gotten at DG). We didn't need these yet, but I figured that buying them now would keep me out of the grocery store that much longer. Total at Food Lion was $102. But I think I easily got enough food to last 3-4 weeks. I shopped smart. Even got some snacks for the kids. I like shopping from a list. All in all, I spent $169 and got a ton of groceries. I stayed in my budget and didn't spend money I don't have. GO ME!!

I put a roast in the crock pot this morning. It is smelling really good. And it looks like we should be able to eat before we have to leave to go to cheerleading. I plan on making some cornbread to go with it. I am in good spirits and excited about going forward. Haven't said that in a while.

My ex husband sent me a text that he put another $150 in my account today. That is excellent news. I can now go to the grocery store tomorrow. It will be good to have groceries in the house again. I also took a roast out of the freezer to put in the crock pot tomorrow. I am going to slowly work my way through what is in the freezer. Therefore, I won't be buying any meat at the grocery store tomorrow. I know I have hamburger meat in the freezer. I also found a crock pot meal in the freezer. There was three packages of bacon. I feel BLT's coming on! I am excited to start working my way through the freezer. Fortunately it doesn't appear that too much of the food is freezer burned. The roast I took out tonight is right at a year old, but no freezer burn. Who knows what else I will find in the freezer!

I checked my bank account this morning and my half.com payment of $85 is there. That is good because I will need to get gas tomorrow. That was part of my gas money for the week.

Wish I had had a better weekend spending wise. We out to mexican on Saturday and sunday we ordered a pizza. We are truly out of groceries. It is funny. It seems that I don't have the money to go to the grocery store, but I always find money to eat out. Wonder why that is. I could have taken what we spent on the two days and gotten quite a few groceries. I must work on that.

My son also informed me that we have alot of food in the freezer downstairs. I thought that we had depleted it. I guess I must journey down the stairs to see what we have. I know we have a couple of roasts, so the crock post will see some action in the next few days.

I was going to start working out at Curves today. I have been paying for them for a year but haven't been going. I had my membership changed to the Calhoun gym so I can workout while DD is at cheerleading. But I didn't bring my clothes and I can't help myself from getting unhealthy breakfast. I really need to amp up my resistance. I have got to start to lose some of this weight. I have slimfast shakes in the fridge, but they didn't taste that good. I need to just buckle down and drink them anyway. I know it isn't going to be easy to lose the weight because of my thyroid. But I at least need to try.

Ex husband said that he would have some more money for me today. He is hoping to have the whole $215 that he owes me. That would be good. Then I can go to the grocery store and stock back up.

I don't have much to report today. My checking account is still in the positive, if only a bit. I got the email that the half.com payment will be deposited into my account shortly. I have $50 to last until Friday(not including what I have allotted for gas, I have that money set aside.) Payday is looking good as well. Especially if ex husband gives me some more money. He owes me about $200 right now. I should get my financial aid sometime in the next week or so. But things are so different from how I used to be. I used to be in such desperate shape when I was expecting a large payment, that I was depending on it. I am not depending on this payment. It is going to get my mortgage caught up. It is only about 15 days past due. I get to throw the entire financial aid payment to debt. I can't wait to get it, but it is good to not be depending on it.

My ex husband told me today that he didn't get to work on that car so he isn't going to have all the money he owes me. But that he has $300 for me right now. I will take it. It still puts me in a pretty good position. I will be able to make the payment for cheerleading tonight, which I thought I would have only give them half. So that is a plus. Two more payments on that and then I will be done with it. She said she is not going to do it next year. I can't say I am disappointed. Not only for financial reasons, but the time committment. I actually can't wait. That will be an extra $170/month that can go to other things. I will be able to get things paid off alot quicker. The possibilities are exciting.

I decided late today that I was going to go to court and ask the Judge to reduce my tickets. He reduced them by $60. Not bad. I would have liked more, but I will take it! So my tickets cost me $250. Ouch. Guess I learned my lesson on speeding!

My ex husband said that he is going to have the rest of the rent money, power bill and cell phone bill for me this weekend. That will put me sitting pretty. Can't wait for that. He has been out of work for a while and I have been carrying him. I just can't afford to do that anymore and told him so on Tuesday. I don't know what he is going to have to do to get it. Not my problem. But I look forward to having it.

When I checked my account this morning, my child support payment was there. I didn't have to transfer any of the money to be able to pay the tickets. I have decided to go to court to see if the Judge will reduce the tickets any. If he doesn't, that is fine, I budgeted for it. If he does, great! I will let you know.

Ordinarily, my child support payments are deposited into my account on Tuesday, like clockwork. So I set up some payments to be sent tomorrow. However, today is a bank holiday, which I forgot about. Therefore, my child support might not show up until Wednesday. Now I am scrambling to find money to cover what I have to pay tomorrow. The largest of which are my speeding tickets. Well, one ticket for speeding and one ticket for having an expired tag. Total is $310. I am about $30 short...but wait, I just remembered that I have money in my kids savings accounts. I put $20 each payday into each of the accounts. I hate to touch them, but this is an almost emergency. I am not sure what the penalty would be for not paying the tickets on their due date. I know have enough to pay the tickets! YEA! That is a huge relief.

Today is payday. I am always excited at paydays to get stuff paid. I guess that is because for so long I couldn't pay for things. It is nice to have things paid on time for a change.

I called to find out the balance on my car, just for giggles. It is alot more than I thought. It is over $5000 left owing on it with a little over a year left on payments. Not sure how that happened, but need to start sending extra payments to them.

Keep your fingers crossed that my ex husband will come up with some money for me next week. I sure could use the money that he owes me. I would be smooth sailing with it. Hopefully the roads will become clear enough that he can make it to Dahlonega to work.

I finally went to check the mail today and found a check in the mail from my ex father in law for Christmas. I am not sure how he got my address since we moved, but I am not going to question it! I also received my rebate from Verizon...$50. So I grossed $100 today!

Bad news from the ex husband...he doesn't have any money for me. he hasn't been able to get to work this week. I hope he will get to work next week. I am good until the 21st. I finally started keeping a spreadsheet of the money he owes me and what he has paid me. He owes me $500 right now. Boy I could sure use that money now. But I am afraid that if I ask him to leave, I won't get the house rented and then I won't get anything. And this is the first month that he hasn't been able to pay the rent in full. Not sure what to do.

I sent my mom an email letting her know that when I got my financial aid refund, I was going to give most of it to her. They are covering my mortgage and my power bill for the last couple of months. She sent me back an email telling me that I don't need to give them most of it. To pay off my credit cards or something. They know that I am struggling but that I am trying. They are so good to me! More than just financially. They care for my children and do more for them than any other grandparent I know.

So when I get that money, I will have to get my son's senior pictures and announcments. The rest can go toward credit cards. Might even be able to pay one off. That is exciting.

I revamped and updated my budget this morning. I know I should be working, but I am drawn to my budget instead. I am now good to go until the 11th of February. Plus I didn't include any money that my ex husband will(might) give me. So that will just be extra. I also didn't include the financial aid that I will be getting toward the end of this month. I am stoked. I went from having a deficit to being totally prepared. I made up the shortfall by selling things on Amazon and half.com. I still have one book listed, but since it is only used at my college, the chances of selling it are slim.

I called this morning to see how much I really owe for my car payment. I have been paying extra with each payment so I was ahead a bit. They told me that I only needed to pay $39.10 for the month of January. That was awesome news. If I had to pay the whole thing, the budget wouldn't look so good.

The main road was finally clear enough for me to make it to my work today. My mom got stuck in my driveway though. My son had to go out and push her. She eventually got free.

One good thing came from this storm. Since we are the only person on the cheer team that lives so far away, we were given the option of not going to the competition this weekend. DD was disappointed, but understands. The roads are still in no condition to be driving to Chattanooga. They are going to rework the routine so that her place is filled. This is going to save me a ton of money! I won't need to get a hotel on Saturday night. I won't have to pay admission for Sat and Sun. I won't have to pay for food out. SO this snowstorm has ended up saving me a ton of money! This is great since I really didn't have the money to spend. Maybe God knew that so he sent this snowstorm! LOL

Once again, I am snowed in. The roads are bad due to ice and snow that fell overnight. I know that 8 inches doesn't seem like a lot of snow to those of you in the northern part of the us, but when it snows that much here, we basically shut down. So at home I sit. This is the second time I have been trapped at home since December 1st. And another on Christmas day when I didn't have to work anyway. I think this is going to be a bad winter!

Financially, I don't have anything new to report. I have about $30 to last me until Friday. My exhusband said that he has $120 for me so that will help with my shortage for the 14th. Still need to come up with more to cover the hotel I have to have on Saturday night. My daughter has a cheer competition in Chattanooga Saturday and Sunday. It is cheaper to rent a hotel than drive back and forth. Originally I wasn't happy that she wanted to take next year off, but the more I think about it, the glader I become. Financially and time wise, it will just be simpler.

The money from the books I sold on Amazon is being deposited into my account today. That is good because I was running a little low until Payday next Friday. I am growing closer to my goal on the 18th. Hoping that ex husband will have some rent money to give me by then as well. I pushed my car payment back to the 28th so I wouldn't have a shortfall this payday.

I forgot that I have a hotel stay next weekend. My daughter has a competition in Chattanooga that is a two day competition. It would cost me as much to come home as it would to get a hotel for the night. It will be a tight stay though.

I am closer to having the money I need on the 18th. I am only $30 away now. Hopefully the ex will have some more rent for me and that will take care of that. Although it is unlikely that I will not spend any money, I am still getting closer.

I just talked to my ex husband and he is going to put some money into my account today. He is also going to have the first part of his rent this week. I am looking okay for the next couple of weeks and I am slowly making the shortage for the 14th go away. It is unrealistic though to think that I won't spend any money between now and then. So actually I will need to come up with more money. My financial aid won't be posted to my account until around the 25th. By that time I will be in desperate need. The pay day of the 28th is looking pretty desperate. I haven't done any juggling yet so I might be able to make it better. But I really don't want to. I want to be able to pay everything that is due that payday. I will keep you posted.

My son't car broke down yesterday. And since he was quite a way from home it still cost us some money. Insurance covered the first $50 but we still had to pay $70. Bummer. At least I had it to pay for it.

I went and picked my sister up in Atlanta and brought her back for the holidays. I just took her home today. She snuck $60 into my purse when I wasn't looking. That will go toward the shortage that I am looking at for the 14th.

All my books sold. Two sold almost immediately and one sold on half.com yesterday. That is $94 toward my shortage. If it weren't for the tow, I would be very close to the shortage. I am getting real close to having it covered. Feeling pretty good about that right now. Then when I get my financial aid, I won't have to use it to get caught up on anything. it will just give me some breathing room.

Good News! I sold two of my textbooks last night. They have been mailed and the money should be in my account shortly. Hopefully the last one will sell shortly. Keep your fingers crossed! It worked for the first two!

Today is payday. Not much to do. Have to wait until my child support payment to make the mortgage payment. My daughter is spending the night at a friends and my son has gone to a party. So I am home alone. YIPEE!!

Hope everyone has a happy new year!

My plan has changed for my old textbooks. I was going to sell them back to the bookstore, which cuts a check the day they receive them. But they weren't paying enough for the books. So I have listed them on Amazon. Hopefully they will sell. Keep your fingers crossed.

I typed out this semi-long post and then it disappeared! UGGG!!!

I have a shortfall beginning January 14th. I will need to come up with about $500(not including spending or grocery money). Here are my ideas to come up with it.

Sell textbooks from last semester - $200(at least)

rent from Ex Husband - $300(is more but he usually pays in two installments)

Take title to auto shop to salvage vehicle $75.

Other than that, I am out of ideas.

I realized this morning that I forgot to budget for my car payment and forgot to set it up in my bill pay. Now it will have to wait until January 14, which is still technically in the grace period. But they will call me anyway.

I checked out my credit score yesterday. It is up to 633. That is great considering it was in the low 500's not too long ago. I was impressed. I guess making payments on time really does make a difference.

That is about all for now. Hope everyone has a great day!

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Looking at my budget, I am in the hole beginning January 14th. I need to come up with about $500(not including money for groceries). Here is my plan:

Rent from ex husband - $300(Owes more but it is usually paid in two installments)

Sell back college books from last semester - $200(at least)

Take title to auto shop to salvage vehicle - $75

Other than this, I am out of ideas.

I discovered today that I forgot to make my car payment for January. It is due January 6 and I forgot to set it up in my auto pay and forgot to budget for it. It will have to wait until January 14 to be paid.

Checked out my credit score yesterday. It is up to 633. That is up from 525 about a year ago. I guess paying things on time really does make a difference! This car payment will be the first time I am late on anything in over a year. And I believe that as long as it isn't over 30 days, it isn't reported(at least that is how it used to be).

That is about it for today! Hope everyone has a great day!

I can't believe that the last time I was on here was in September! Not much has changed since then. I had to put the new transmission on my parents credit card. It was worth it to do the repairs. My car is still in good shape.

I managed to get through Christmas without using any credit cards. My kids had an awesome Christmas and it was all paid for with cash.

I am still attending college online. I got a c and two b's last semester. I think I may have overdone it taking three courses. But if I don't take that many, I end up having to pay some out of pocket.

I haven't been able to make extra payments to my credit cards in a while. I am pretty strapped right now. I was cut to 30 hours at work and that has really caused a shortfall. It amounts to over $400 a month that I am losing. But at least I still have a job. Yes I could look for another job, but I am really well paid for the area I live in and doubt I could find a job making the same amount of money. I would still be short if I found something else. So I will just stay here and work things out.

Thank goodness for my parents...without their help I would probably be homeless. I haven't been able to give them anything toward my house payment. I am hoping to turn things around in January.

We have also been battling Lice in the household. My daughter started it and it has since spread to me. I hate the little suckers. It seems we just can't get rid of them! I even soaked her head in mayonaisse, which worked the last time. We did another treatment last night and washed everything in hot water. Hopefully this will be the end of it!

Sorry to ramble. I promise to not stay away so long this time!