It is really cold in here this morning! I am turning the heat on though. I am piled under two blankets. DH isn't here to build a fire...so bundled up I am. Working from home today since I have to go to Ellijay this evening. Saving Gas by not making two trips in the same day!

SInce it has been so cold in the mornings, we built a fire last night, closed the doors on it and let it simmer. When we got up this morning, it was comfortable in here. We have the fire going now and it is taking the chill off. It is only supposed to get up to 69 today, which isn't that cold, but the house never seems to warm up. By builing the fire, we haven't had to turn the heat on yet! I am hoping to keep this up for a while! Maybe through October...Would love to not have to turn the heat on!!!

This was the question that my DH asked me last night. He went to feed the dogs and there is half a bag of food and two unopened bags in the pantry. This is quite unusual. We are usually waiting until we are out and then make sure we remember to stop at the store. But since it was on sale, bogo, we have two bags! And I am thinking that I will get 2 more bags before the sale ends!

We also have more food in the house than we have ever had at one time!

Took dd to the consigment shop to get black pants for her band concert tomorrow. When I told her we were going there, she was so upset...like disappointed. But turns out she thought I meant the one that has nothing but run down clothing and nothing good. There is a consigment shop in Ellijay that has really nice clothes. She was impressed. We got her the black pants and a pair of jeans. She only found one pair of jeans that fit, but they said they were putting out more stuff next week. So I will take her there next week sometime. so we got black pants and jeans for Ashlee and I got two shirts for layering and a new purse. Total spent = $34. Sure beats the $49/jeans she wants! And she was happy. Definite difference between consignment and thrift. She is going to gather up her clothes to take there...might get enough credit for her entire wardrobe!

I actually got up in time that there was hot water left this morning! YEA!! It felt so good!

I don't know why the link to the sheet isn't working. BUt here is a link to my blog...there is alink there that should work.

http://lifeofacouponaddict.blogspot.com/

or you can copy and paste the link in the browser to open the document.

Picked up 10 dozen donuts this morning to sell. I was a little perturbed. I was planning on getting 50 dozen and selling them tomorrow. However, I was told that I could only get what I had actually already sold! So I only ordered 10 dozen. When I got there...some of the others had mentioned that they got extras to sell! UGGHHH!!! I wouldn't have participated if I had known I could only buy what was presold! Then to find out that I could have bought more! Yea...a little perturbed. Sure could have used the extra money for cheer expenses. There is a bunch coming up this month that I will have to pay for!

It was 46 degrees this morning! Really cold! It was 63 in the house! I am too cheap to turn the heat on so I am all bundled up! It will soon be the kind of weather where we have to turn the heat on at night and the air on during the day!

I took DD and her friend to McDonalds last night. It was funny...I told them if they could find the IHOP coupon in the car, we would go there...so they tore it up. Didn't have one. McDonalds has free french fries on Tuesdays, but it is per order per person. So we each went to the counter and placed individual orders for our value menu food and free fries. We all ate dinner for $5! Thought that was cool!

Nothing else to report yet.

Things are looking up again for the budget. I am so excited about it. I might be a little obsessed...but that is when my budget does the best...when I am obsessed. So...things are looking good through October. Still have to work on the 1st of November, since that last payday in October will have to cover those expenses.

I also found out that the minimum propane delivery is only $225. I had thought it was around $400. So that is good. I will have to fill up sooner, but at least we will have it!

My ex-father-in-law called me yesterday afternoon...I didn't answer because he seems to talk for ever about things I don't have an interest in anymore! I called him back this morning. Remember a while ago he sold me his big screen tv and refridgerator. Well, I have been sending him $30 a month toward it. He told me this morning to not worry about sending it to him anymore...he didn't need the stuff since he is living in his camper(going through divorce) and he didn't want me to pay him either. So cool! That is $30 a month that I don't have to worry about anymore!

I stopped and got $20 to get into the football game tonight. I was fiddling with the umbrella I bought, the chair, and a blanket. Got half way to the gate an realized that the money wasn't in my pocket. I remember seeing it in the cupholder and picking it up. But I can't find it. I have no clue where it went. I looked everywhere! As frustrating as that is, my sister has a good outlook...she said that I just believe that someone found it that needed to buy milk for their baby. So that is what I am going to think. I have found a $10 bill in the bank parking lot before and it was all I had for the week. I called the bank, but of course no one claimed it. But it was really a blessing...so I probably just gave someone a blessing.

I got gas in Jasper, which was about 15 cents cheaper per gallon. So I saved about $2 by filling up.

Got my coupons all organized for shopping this weekend. All ready to do my saving! Can't wait!

It has been a long week! I have been really sick. I finally went to the dr yesterday and got a steriod shot. OUCH! The coughing has eased up, but I am still absolutely exhausted! I could lay down and go to sleep! My daughter got over it pretty quick. My DH now has it. My son only developed an ear infection. Lets hope we are done now for the year!

Tomorrow is pay day. Most things have been set up already. The only thing that hasn't is the mortgage. I am going to be making it on time and paying $25 more than the payment. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it sure feels good to pay anything extra on it! Everything else is set up through bill pay.

Went through and made my lists today for the stores this weekend. I will match up the coupons tonight. I have to buy a few necessary items, but should overall do pretty well.

Still rainy and yucky...but the sunroof is closed!!! LOL. DD woke up not feeling good this morning. I was going to take her to my moms until the ibuprofen could kick in for her head ache. But as I looked at her...she just didn't look good. I took her temp and she is running one. So we are home...not wanting to expose my 80 year old parents to the crud. BUt because of the rain, the football game will likely be cancelled so she won't miss it.

Received my check from Rite Aid yesterday for $13.49. I don't have to use that at Rite Aid do I? It has a line printed to used for any purchase at Rite Aid. But it looks like a regular check. I thought it was going to be a regular check.

Yesterday was a NSD. The first in a long while! I have prepared my cvs, food lion, ingles, and rite aid lists. This website has added the ability to create lists that will print with the coupon options.

http://www.southernsavers.com

I really like this site...it has helped me a lot!

Well...my day started pretty normal until I went out to discover that I had left the sun roof open on the car. We had torrential rain last night! The cup holders were completely flooded! Thank goodness I have leather seats, but the carpet and the mail I had left in the console were soaked!!! The receipt from Rite Aid that I need to enter of course was drenched! Hoping I can still make it out enough to enter it. There was also my SCR from rite aid in the console...it was in the middle of the stack so it didn't get too wet. My son loved it because I got really mad at him for leaving the sunroof open in his car.

Then I dropped gravy all down the front of my shirt. What was supposed to be a simple software conversion has turned out to be nightmare! This is one of those days when I need to go back to bed and start over.

Not much has changed financially. Still not sure how I am going to come up with the money...but I will figure it out. Not going to stress about it. Stress gets me nowhere.

Speaking of stress...I have started another puzzle at home. I realized that I was spending too much time on the computer, so I decided to take a break. I wasn't even on it all last night! Go Me!

I admit it...I am addicted. I mopped my floor and thought it was clean. Just to check, I went over a spot with the Magic Eraser. YUCK!!! It was not clean at all! So...yep... I did the kitchen floor by hand with magic erasers. I tried the magic eraser mop, but it didn't do any good. I am exhausted! Feeling very impressed with myself. The kitchen and laundry room is now very clean. Since everyone has to enter through the laundry room, I am feeling very good about things...now I can start on the rest of the house! I probably need to invest in Magic Erasers....These things are awesome!

Financially, nothing has really changed. I have a lawyer calling me about a medical bill. I have been making $30 payments to the collection agency. I upped it to $50 2 months ago since that was what they told me they had to have. They sent it to a lawyer anyway. They told me at first that they coudn't accept less than $100 per month. I stuck to my guns. I can't afford that and told them so. He was going to let the lawyer know. He called back on Friday and said the lawyer wanted to know if there was anything I could do, even $75 a month. Told them the same thing...no. I was doing all I could do. I am hoping that if they decide to take it to court, the judge will consider that I have been making payments. It is what is.

I went to work this morning after taking daughter to performance. then took a long nap and then the kitchen floor. So I feel like I have had a productive day!

I am hopeful I guess that I will be able to do all I want to do this month. I have put my saving shopping on hold, since we have a good supply of food in the house and no fear of running out of anything. The rest of this month is going to be tight. I get paid on Friday, already have everything set up in bill pay. The good news is that everything is going to get paid, the bad news is that on the 20th, I will be short $183. I will probably have to reduce the amount I am sending to my snoball credit card. Bummer. I have it down for $100, but may have to send $50. That at least gets me closer to the shortfall. Will see as it gets closer.

I can't wait to get all of this debt paid off. The cashflow that will be increased will be amazing! I might even be able to save something! I have roughly $375 in medical/credit card payments right now. Imagine if I didn't have that...I could make double the car payment! I could add more to my mortgage payment! I could actually build my emergency fund. I guess it is baby steps...but seeing that so many of the debts are close it exciting. I will try to update a page to show the progress I have made. I am quite proud. And I probably wouldn't have been as successful with out the support and enouragement I have found here! Thank you guys!!

I managed to get the entire kitchen clean yesterday...I had already done one wall...so it was just a couple others that had to be done. I cleaned the walls and all. I got down on the floor and cleaned where the floor met the cabinets(dirt seems to gather there). The kitchen is now spotless...walls, cabinets, floors, and all! It feels so good to come into a clean kitchen. I also organized the shelves. Since I have started stockpiling, I need to know what we have. So I organized and all seems to be easy to see now. I know what we have and what we don't. The next goal is to purchase a stand up freezer. We have a chest freezer, but I can hardly ever find stuff in there and I can never tell what all we have! Not an urgent goal, but something for the future. Next is the laundry/mud room. It really isn't that big, but I need to come up with a solution for the floor. It constantly gets muddy when it rains...and any rug I put there never seems to last. Think I might go look at Dollar General for a larger rug that would fit in there and not slide around. The walls need to be washed and the floor needs to be scrubbed. Will start that maybe tonight...we will see how I feel when we get home!

I made my house payment on Friday...making an additional $25 payment. Not much, but something. All of my first of the month bills are coming out tomorrow. Good thing I just went and checked...forgot to set up two credit card payments!

We had a fundraiser for cheerleading this morning. We stood on the street corner begging for money. We collected donations at a 4-way stop. In four hours, we collected almost 700 dollars! YEA! When it is divided it will be about $50 per child. YEA! That is one competition fee down. It was amazingly hot though. I just don't do well in the heat. It makes me want to hurt people. fortunatly it was over before I could act.

Went to CVS today to get my free handsoap...it was a coupon on the website. And I managed to not buy anything else while in there! I didn't go to food lion to get more meat because by the time we were done begging for money, I was extremely ill and just wanted to go home. Not sure why the heat does this to me, but it isn't fun.

As I start this list, I think it will be a short list...I have never had over $1k to spend at once! Most of the items that are over that amount were purchased by others for me. Does that count?

Several Cars...most recent is $6K

House and 4 acres...$85K

Vacation...$1200

That is about it.

My sister paid for us to go to Disney a few years ago.

My inlaws at the time bought the washer/dryer when we moved into the house.

My ex inlaw sold me his 50" tv real cheap and a practically new refrigerator when ours quit working.

My sister gave me her old(but hardly used) furniture when she moved.

I guess I live a very simple life. It is very disappointing to see this in writing. I have nothing so show for all the money I have spent over the last 13 years of working!!! I am very blessed to have my family fill in the gaps when things have happened because, like I said, I never have 1K to spend!

Got up early this morning and went to a football game...it is the earliest I have been out of the house on Saturday in months! Felt good! Then I came home and started cleaning the kitchen. I have decided to break it into sections. I did the section to the right of the stove, the stove to the sink.. Will get up and finish the rest of that counter in a little bit. My sister told me to try the magic eraser...that thing is awesome!!! I am pretty discouraged though because my hand starts to cramp when I try to use the sponge! I am getting old!

My daughter needed new tennis shoes desperately. I couldn't fit it into my budget for the next couple of weeks...(Will have to use savings to get through next month). I asked my mom to buy her shoes and she agreed. So that is good. My daughter got her shoes and I was honest with my mom about not being able to pay her back. I feel good about where I am right now financially. I am such a better place than I was a year ago!

My turning point came when I was seperated from my second husband. The power was scheduled to be disconnected and I didn't know what to do. I had accepted the fact that my bank would pay up to $500 overdraft so I used that regularly to pay power, gorceries, etc. Doing this made me further behind! Up until this point, I had relied on my parents to bail me out...I no longer was willing to do that. I bucked up and asked my sister for a loan. Not only the power situation, but Christmas was coming and I had no idea how I was going to get anything for the kids. I actually found this site through another one and have been here ever since. I found hope and encouragement. No judging when I make bad decisions. Just help to make better ones the next time. I would like to say that I haven't had to borrow money from anyone since then, but it isn't true. The difference is that when I borrow money now, I pay it back when I say I am...usually the next payday. I haven't bounced a check since November of last year...and I have a small amount in savings.

I haven't posted much this week as we have been crazy busy! Thank goodness it is almost Friday!!!

I took a look at my budget for September. Everything is looking good. I have homeowners insurance due on the 28th of August. I debated about moving the money from the household maintenance account to help pay for it. In the long run, I decided to do that. After all, it is for household expenses. I wish I could just pay it and not touch the maintenance account, but I am not to that point yet. Hopefully soon.

I gave my sister $20 and asked her to pick me up three bottles of tide laundry soap. It is on sale at Kroger and we don't have one around here...total savings is $12 on three bottles!!! YEA!!! Still going strong with the coupons. I re-organized the book so that each coupon has it's own pocket, instead of each category. It should make it easier to find the coupons.

My son is still staying with his dad. He got pulled over on Monday. It was a huge deal because he still has his probationary license. He has 3 citations and has to go to court on Sept 8. This is all a little redemption for me. His father thought that I was just exxagerating and being overprotective. Boy is he learning!!! I don't know what the plans are for him coming home, but I am just taking it one day at a time. When he loses his license(most likely) he will have to come home to get to school.

One last thing...Chik-Fil-A opened in the town I work in. This is like a death sentence for me! They have the best biscuits and gravy. And since we haven't had a chik-fil-a, the sandwiches are calling to me! I have no will power. But I figured it up today.. breakfast $3.50...lunch $6.00 That is $9.50/day that I have spent Tuesday and Wednesday of this week(didn't come to the office Monday, but still got dinner when I brought my daughter down to cheerleading). That is almost $50 a week. $100 a pay period. $200 a month. Ordinarily I don't look at things this way because when they say save $200 a year, that doesn't impress me. But $200 a month! That impresses me! I have got to buck up my will power! I got breakfast today(before I figured it up) but ate the bagel that I have in the fridge for lunch. I can resist! I can resist! I also need to start eating healthier anyway...I weighed myself the other day and I have never weighed as much as I do right now! I have got to get serious about this! as soon as I pay off a couple of the credit cards, I think I am going to join curves again. It really worked for me!

I purchased at CVS:

(2) 10 pack pens
(2) Garnier Fructis Shampoo(big Bottles)
(1) MultiVitamin(would have waited til on sale but DD needed them)

Total Spent - 27.23...received 6.98 ECB

(1) 12 pack Charmin TP

Total 12.99
- ECB 6.98
Total Spent 6.92..received 3 ECB

(4) 12 pack dr pepper

total 12.00
- ECB 3
Total Spent 9.36...received 4 ECB

Total Merchandise 50.44
Total ECB Used 9.98
Total Spent 40.46

This doesn't include the sale prices one items. Still have 4 ECB to use. Will probably go get more Dr Pepper.

Well...I went to Dollar General this weekend for most of my shopping. I used coupons for a bunch of stuff! Of course, they don't offer double coupons, but the items I think would have been more expensive at Ingles. I plan to compare them when I go to Ingles next. But I saved $5.10 in coupons! And there were only a couple of things that I wouldn't have bought without coupons, such as the fruit by the foot that my daughter loves, or the cleaning supplies(which were on sale so it was bonus savings!).

I am keeping track of how much it is costing me to do the coupons(binder, sports pages, and the paper each week). So far, I am still $9 in the hole, but hopefully that will not last long. I was very disappointed with the amount of coupons in the paper yesterday. Not sure why, but there was only one section in the paper I got. Does anyone know of websites that offer the coupons out of the paper without purchasing the paper? Not really a trading club because I don't really have time to do that, but would like to get the coupons each week.

Well...just by chance I found a house for sale yesterday. It needs some cosmetic stuff done, but it would be perfect for my situation. It is 90% owner financing with at 10% down payment. I would put my current house on the market and rent it until it sells. I don't have the 10% down and was considering borrowing it from someone. BUT WAIT!!! I thought this through and have decided not to do it.

Finally...I am making smarter decisions...as hard as it is. I am the type of person that pushes for what she wants and makes it happen and sometimes regrets it later! But I talked to my sister and she basically confirmed my fears of relying on other peopr(renters) to make the current payment. I just don't want the stress of that and I am not in a position to cover it during an eviction. So here is what I am leaning toward doing....

Putting my current house on the market. I am not looking to make a huge profit, but would like to pay it off and have a decent down payment on another house. I think that if we price it lower than others in the area, it might sell relatively quickly and won't have to worry about the condition of the house too much.

I will be saving for a down payment on a house and still improving my credit score in the meantime.

If my house sells, I will move into an apartment until I can get a house.

This is my plan so far. It seems like it is a smart plan. Maybe another house will come available when I am able to purchase without those fears and maybe this house will still be there. But I am trying very hard to not make a stupid mistake again just because I want something so badly!

Well...after many months of no power disconnect notice on the door...I came home to one last night! I failed to call and make arrangements to pay the bill on Friday. Yesterday was only 1 day outside of the grace period!!! I thought for sure it would be okay until the 14th! They usually wait until the 18th to send someone(isn't it sick how I know that!) But I got online last night and did a e-check online. Now I am just hoping that it doesn't hit my account until tomorrow.

DH is still on the couch. We had a pretty heated discussion last night. I just don't see his point and he doesn't see mine. Neither of us are willing to cave. This latest round of issues is because he couldn't get in touch with me for an hour while I was at my friends house and I failed to tell him I was going there. He has major trust issues and I have had it! He actually hinted last night that I should give up myy friend. He said that he gave up his friends in order to not cause problems between us. Sick...right! My friend is a little pushy and overwhelming, but I have tried to distance myself from that part of her. I haven't seen her in almost a month and don't talk to her like I used to. BUt giving her up completely would be very hard.

Anyway..that is where we are at right now. The Great Divide.

My mom called me to tell me that her 27" tv in the living room wasn't working anymore. It had the display on it that they use when in the showroom. "I should be your next tv..." She had unplugged it and it wouldn't reset. So she was going to go buy a new tv. I couldn't talk her out of it. I thought I knew how to fix it, but she didn't listen. We went and helped her put up the new television set and I volunteered to take the old one to the dump. My dad, sensing an opportunity, asked me to take the other tv that had been sitting outside their garage with it, since we were going anyway. Well, I had no intention of taking the tv to the dump! We took it home, plugged it in, hit both volume buttons at the same time and it worked! My daughter now has a 27" tv in her room. It cost me $12.50 to take the other tv to the dump. So I paid $12.50 for her television! This is a funny story because ordinarily my parents don't spend money like that.. They manage as long as they can with what they have. So the funny part is that my mom probably just wanted a new television and this was her opportunity to convice my dad that they needed one. So unlike them!

In other news, my budget is created for the next month. If all goes as planned, everything should be on time by the end of next month. YEA!!! It is such a relief!

My DH is moving out...I think. It is very hard to tell what is going on. He doesn't talk. We got into an arguement yesterday morning and he said that he was going to come back and get all of his stuff but it was still there last night. He came home around 9:30. Didn't speak to me. Slept on the couch. Left this morning without speaking to me. So I don't know what to expect.

My son is staying with his dad for a couple of weeks. I hope this isn't a long term thing, but you never know. I seem to be handling all of this well. I am more mad than hurt. I have hit the end of my rope.

Stay tuned for further developments in "The Days of Amy's Life!"

When I checked the mail yesterday there was a refund check from a hospital for $323. I am not sure why...but I am not questioning it. It is amazing because I wasn't sure what I was going to do to get through the week! It is amazing how when I start to budget and put my money where it should be how money just turns up when I need it!!

I have had a pretty boring weekend. Although it started out bad. My son told me that he wanted to stay with his dad for a while. I was devestated. But then I realized that it was probably best. His dad has the same rules as I(probably more) but for some reason my son will respect his rules easier than mine. So we will see how it goes. There is a calm that came over me yesterday.

I haven't spent any money this weekend. Still have a half tank of gas.

I cut my coupons this morning and will do my shopping Friday. I hope to save alot of money! I will let you know.

I got my credit score at credit karma at the first of the year. I got it again yesterday. It has gone up 40 points! YEAH!!! It was real low. Now I am almost out of the poor area and into the fair section! YEA!!!

My kids got their school clothes yesterday and did very well. I had given them a set amount and they didn't go over it. DD was $80 under but then I ordered her some shorts online.

I am at home today with a UTI. Waiting for the doctor to call in a prescription. UGGG!!!! Very uncomfortable.

There really isn't anything to report on the financial side...Kids are going school shopping today. Start school tomorrow. Where did the summer go?

I am going to try coupons again. I have come up with a plan. I ordered some baseball card plastic organizers and I put the coupons in them. I can quickly see what coupons I have! I ordered the newspaper to be delivered on Sundays. So hopefully I will be able to save some money!!! Thought about doing the grocery game again, but I am going to try it by myself first and then see if I need to join. Last time Idid it, I wasn't at a point to stock up, which is how you save money with it. Now I am. So I think I could save quite a bit of money! Will let you know.

I made the second mortgage payment this month and my mortgage is officially caught up!!! I am so excited. It is not due again until the 14th! YEA!!!

I also have managed to keep my car payment current since I bought it in April! Not one late payment! YEA!!!

Now I can start working on getting the power bill and other stuff back on time. Can't wait!

DH is still in the hospital. He is grouchy. He can't smoke at this hospital(the one he was at let him go outside...this one is totally smoke free). He is refusing a nicotene patch because it bothered his skin last time. So he is ill...he is going to have his test done this afternoon. Hopefully then they will find out what is going on! He can't live with this pain.