I took yesterday off to drive my sister to Gainesville for eye surgery. Surgery went well and she filled up my gas tank when we got back. Since Tuesday is the day I usually fill up I didn't have to spend any money filling up. I had $38 left in my gas budget so I rounded it up to $40 and sent it to the hospital. I have sent over $100 extra dollars this month to the hospital bill. I wish I would have these snowflakes all year long but they are likely to dry up after the first of the year.

I am thinking of getting rid my satelitte and opting for a Roku. I have researched it enough to know that the shows I watch are on Hulu the next day. That is fine with me.

The only concern I have is football season. I love to watch as many football games as possible. I can get a subscription to NFL game Rewind but I don't know if I can access it for the Roku. Can you go to specific websites on the roku like you can from a computer?

My took me out to lunch today for my birthday. A little late but he has been out of town. We went to the hibachi place and it was as good as always.

Ordered pizza for dinner last night, but did it on a budget. Instead of 2 pizzas(because you can get two for the price of one), I used an online coupon for one that came with a 2 liter of coke. I also didn't have it delivered. We live within a mile of the pizza place so there really is no reason why we can't go pick it up. That saved the delivery fee and the tip paid to the driver. So what has generally been 24 dollars was only 10. And it was just as good.

Have to take my sister to Gainseville tomorrow to have her cataract surgery done on one eye. Then next week for the other eye. Will be an all day thing.

Today is my 10th day of not smoking. According to Quitnet I have saved over $20 and 66 cigarettes. Impressive. It is weird though...Somewhere in my brain is the thought that I will be able to smoke again some day. Like I am just quitting for now. That is definately not my intentions, but there is this little nagging voice. It needs to shut up.

I woke up to rain this morning and it has been raining ever since. I got up, took my morning medicine, sat in my chair and promptly fell back asleep. I slept for two hours in my chair. I hate it when I do that. It is always a fitful sleep, not a good sleep.

Yesterday was a NSD. Today's spending was only for a package of lightbulbs. The bulb in DD's room burnt out and we didn't have any replacement ones.

I finally got our Christmas tree put up. We also got most of the presents wrapped. Just a couple left to wrap. I have gotten everything that I ordered so I am in good shape.

On Thursday nights we go to my mom's house and pick up her trash to put at our curb. Last night, mom called and asked me to stop at Arby's to pick her up a sandwich. I thought it would be nice if we(dd and I) got something to eat and eat dinner with her. I have a debit card on my mom's account so I didn't have to pay for hers. DD and I each ordered a combo meal. When they told us how much it was I about choked. $16! I couldn't believe it. No wonder they are going out of business. They have already shut down for breakfast. I won't be going there again anytime soon.

Today is payday. Nothing really to do as I set everything up in advance. Stopped and cashed a check this morning for my allowance money. Will go to the grocery store tonight.

Today is going to be a long day as there isn't much that has to be done. I usually leave early on Friday's since I am the only one here. But my co worker is here today so I need to stay all day.

The last of my christmas presents arrived today. Now I just to get busy wrapping. Just can't seem to get in the spirit this year. We haven't even put a tree up yet. Maybe we will get that done this weekend. Have lots of presents to but under the tree.

I got my refund from Weight Watchers today. I transferred it from paypal to my checking account and should be here by Tuesday. I already set up a bill pay to pay that money to the hospital bill. I have paid almost 100 extra this month toward that bill. Not sure that I can continue that but it sure would be nice.

And so far it has been pretty easy. Had my first smoking dream last night. Any time I have quit before I always dream about smoking. Thanks Library Lady for suggesting the quitnet website. It has really helped. It says that so far I have saved 9.10 not buying cigarettes. I think at the end of the month I will transfer the money saved to the hospital bill I am currently paying on.

Throwing anything extra toward the hospital bill. I want it gone. At $2900 it will take me some time to get rid of it. My base payment is $200 per month.

DS called today to tell me that they need their chimney swept. Lovely. So I guess I need to arrange that pretty soon as the fireplace is their only source of heat, beside space heaters, which drive up the power bill.

I received my ebates payment today. $32. I have transferred it from my paypal account to my checking account. When it shows up I will put it toward the hospital bill I am currently paying on.

I am out of my allowance money so no more spending the rest of the week. I have decided to up my allowance to $50 for two weeks. That is probably more realistic. It is nice to eat out or spend money knowing that it isn't coming directly out of my budget money and when the money is gone it's gone.

Today is the 4th day of no smoking. It hasn't been hard at all so far. I haven't had any cravings at all. Hoping it stays this easy but I am sure I will have some weak moments.

It is raining...which always leads to extra time in the mornings. DD overslept so I had to take her all the way to school. And in my rush to get out of the door I forgot my bagels and cream cheese. Fortunately I have enough of my allowance left to cover breakfast today. Don't know that I will eat anything for lunch.

It was very weird this morning to not smoke when I put the dog out. I also am not as thirsty since I am not smoking. I used to drink a full glass of orange juice after smoking at home. Now I only drink enough to take my pills with. That should save me some money on orange juice.

I have had a NS weekend. I went Friday and stocked up on bagels to take to work and for home. The only thing I should have to buy this week is dr pepper to keep at work. I still have 15 in my allowance so this should be fine.

Haven't done much with my finances this weekend. Really haven't been on the computer much.

Today is the second full day of no smoking. So far it has been pretty easy. No super duper cravings or anything. But work will probably be a challenge because I used smoking as an excuse to get up from my desk for a while. Will have to find something else to do.

So far so good. I got up early this morning and went to a friend's DD baskteball game. Then went to their house to hang out for a while. We watched the Army/Navy game. I didn't get to see the end of it but I have it on my DVR to watch later.

Then I took DD to my mom's for her to do her chores. She wanted to go to walmart to get her friend's Christmas present. It is in the next town up so my gas usage will be a little more this period. It is the only thing we have bought at an actual store. Everything else was purchased online. I couldn't convince DD to order her gift online.

So far I have had no real cravings so it has been pretty easy. Hopefully it will continue to be easy. But I know that is not likely.

I went to Food Lion last night to get bagels, cream cheese and orange juice. That leaves me with under a dollar in my checking account after I get gas on Tuesday, but of course it probably won't take all 41 to fill it up. But then again we did have a trip to Blairsville so who knows. I still have 15 left of my allowance so I am in no means hurting for money. Everything is paid and we have groceries.

When I got to my mom's house last night she had arranged a small surprise party. There was food, balloons and ice cream. The cookie cake was delicious. It was a nice surprise.

Today was a NSD. I can't tell you the last time I had a NSD during the week.

Today is the last I am officially in my 30's. I turn 40 tomorrow. I don't feel all that different.

I played around in TurboTax last night and estimated my taxes. If my numbers are even close I will be getting a refund on 2000. I don't get to claim my medical expenses though because I don't have enough to itemize. The interest on the rental property goes to a different line item now. And I don't get to claim DS anymore. It is better than I thought it would be. I don't know what next year holds if the rental property stays rented I won't have a loss on it.

If all goes as planned I will use the money for our New York trip in July.

I just purchased my last pack of cigarettes. They will probably last until Friday. I will purchase no more.

I filled up the car tank today for 28.01. I had 39.99 in the budget. I sent the remaining 11 something to medical bills. Every little bit helps.

I passed right by Burger King this morning. I came to work and ate a bagel with my dr pepper in the fridge.

Still haven't found my office keys. In the process of replacing them. The owners son is supposed to be bringing me a mail key but he is unreliable at best. Don't know when I will actually get it.

I have had the worst afternoon. I went to Ingles to get Dr Pepper and a bag of ice. I went to the bank to deposit the rent. I went to BK and got a drink(out of my allowance).

I got back to work and dropped the drink while picking up the ice. I get to my office and realize that I don't have my office keys. They are nowhere to be found. They probably fell out of my pocket at one of my stops. I went back to Ingles to see if they were in the parking lot. I asked if anyone had turned in any keys. The answer to both is no. So I called the bank and they didn't have them either. Fortunately all the offices in our group use the same key so I was able to get into my office.

There were two keys on the chain. One for the office door and one for the mailbox. I have emailed the building administrator to see about getting another key. They are special keys so we can't just make a copy of it. I emailed my boss's wife for a copy of the mail key. I think I remember giving her one. Hopefully she has one. I just need to make a copy of it.

Oh and I left my cell phone at home this morning. I feel naked without it.

I said I was done with my Christmas shopping last week. But this annoying little voice in my head wanted to get my DD one last present. A hairdyer. So she didn't have to use mine anymore. The little voice was loud and I almost gave in. But in the end I decided that she has enough and it isn't killing her to come upstairs to use my hair dryer.

I have 29 left in my allowance for the next two weeks. It will probably be tight but I can do it.

I just figured out that there is room in the freezer at work to keep a bag of ice. That way I can bring my dr peppers to work instead of stopping for one. That will save me money. I know I should quit them but I just don't have the will power right now.

My birthday is Thursday. I am quitting smoking. I figure 20 years of smoking is enough. It will be hard but I think I can do it.

Didn't do much this weekend. Yesterday was a NSD. Only left the house to pick up rent from one of the kids. Today we went to my mom's house so DD could do her chores. We stopped at Ingles on the way home to get some everything bagels. My usual grocery store didn't have any of them. I also got DD burger king for dinner.

Georgia lost to Alabama yesterday. DD was very happy. I will never hear the end of it.

Here is my final budget for November.





The telephone expense includes two months of payments. I can't believe that I spent 1200 on medical expenses this month. I have got to do something to get these medical expenses under control but I don't know what. Its not like any of the spending is voluntary.

I know I say it every month but the eating out has got to stop. It is just so hard for me. I bought bagels at the grocery store for breakfast during the week so that will stop most of that. Plus I have given myself an allowance and will be leaving my debit card at home.

My groceries went over. I just can't seem to keep it under $100 every two weeks even when I go in with a list and don't deviate from it. I need to increase it to $150 a payday.

The Amy category is also high. That is because I didn't cancel the weight watchers correctly and was still charged for it this month. I should be getting a refund for it just not sure when.

I got a statement in the mail from my therapist office for 80. I called to find out what that was about. They said that when they filed the insurance they were told there was a 40 copay per visit. This came as a surprise to me. It used to be that there was no copay for mental health visits. After I called the insurance company I found out that as of October 1 there is now a copay for mental health visits. I wish I would have known that because I would have paid it at each visit. Now I have a bill that I will have to make payments on. And I might likely cancel my next appointment until I get the balance paid.

The eye doctor told me that my eyes haven't changed much. But they are now to the point that if we fix the far sightedness that the near sightedness would suffer. I will need to start wearing reading classes for up close things. But he said that there was such a slight change that I could go another year without changing my prescription. So in a year or so I will probably have to start wearing reading glasses. Getting old sucks.

DD still have the same prescription in both eyes so we only have to order 1 box of contacts. She also picked out frames for glasses. The frames were 90 and the lenses were 60. I didn't think that was too bad. She doesn't wear them enough to invest alot of money into them. I paid for the exams today and will pay for the contacts and glasses when I pick them up.

All the Christmas presents are starting to roll in. Some are coming to my office and some are going to my mom's house. When they all get here I will start wrapping them. It feels really good to know that I am done and that it was all paid for with cash.

Worked on my January budget again this morning. It is starting to look better.

DD and I have appointments to have our eyes checked today. I don't think mine have changed that much but I have to have the exam to get more contacts. DD thinks hers have changed a bit. I had to split the dr fee and the actual contacts between this payday and next payday. The dr fee is more than I had planned on. But at least I have the money for it and I can pay cash.

Yesterday would have been my parents 58th wedding anniversary. I wished my mom a happy anniversary but I am sure it was a sad day for her.

The first Christmas present arrived today. I have gotten shipping notices on all of them so they should start flowing in.

When I checked my checking account this morning it was in the negative. I thought the dr DD saw yesterday said that she wasn't going to charge us for the visit since they had to swab her nose twice. So I didn't enter it into my register and took $20 out at the ATM. What she meant was that they wouldn't charge us for the swab. Not sure how that helps us since insurance would likely pay for it. Fortunately nothing came through last night that incurred any fees. I will transfer some out of the rental checking account to get by until Friday.

I worked on my budget for January. As usual it starts out looking really good but then when I add everything it is really bad.

I called Food Lion today to inquire about my application. The manager said that they don't come to him until they go through corporate. So apparently they didn't think my application worthy enough to forward on. And there is no way to get online to resubmit now that my schedule has changed. Will have to work on that one.

I have had a boring day at work today. There is plenty for me to do just don't feel like doing any of it.

I finished up my shopping yesterday. Ordered everything online. The only thing I have left is the cash that I am giving to DS. Feels good to be done so early. Can't remember the last time I was done so early.

I used ebates to place most of my orders. Right now I have 30 in rebates coming to me. Awesome!

I have been looking over my budget numbers for November. It is not pretty. I went over budget in a few categories. I will have to try harder next month.

I am just about done! Yipee!! I am totally finished with DD. I have bought DS one thing and will give him the rest in cash. All I have left to buy for is my nieces two little girls. And the best part is it is all paid for with cash!

I tried to use my sears card for a purchase and found out that they have closed my account. So I am forced to pay cash for everything. This is better in the long run.

3 aquantices(?) have died since Friday. My mom's sister(who I had only met once), my bosses brother in law, and my best friends mother in law have all died. I am going to the visitation for my bf's mil. I am friends with her husband too so I feel I want to support him. He was super supportive when we were dealing with my dad.

My BF's mom, who went through treatment for breast cancer, found some nodes that were swollen. They did a biopsy and the cancer has returned. BF really has her hands full.

I haven't eaten out all week. I guess it is just when I am at work that I get weak. I have my allowance in my wallet and will be leaving the debit card at home except for when I have to get gas.

I went to pick up my thyroid prescription today. I must have been shorted some since it didn't make it to the first of the month. But when I got there after some investigation I realized that they had filled the wrong dosage of the medication. I had no refills on the right medication and the doctor's office was closed today. They gave me enough pills to get through until Monday. I am glad as I don't want to go without it.

I also filled up my gas tank. Since I have been off this week I haven't used hardly any gas. It was only $16 to fill up.

Well I haven't left the house today so it was going to be a great NSD. However, I asked DD to stop into Food Lion and buy another package of rolls. The final count for tomorrow keeps increasing. So I owe her the money for that. But other than that it is a NSD.

I had a check for $200 cleared my account last night. I was at a loss thinking what it was. I found out it was for my personal loan payment that isn't due until December. I apparently forgot to cancel it in my online bill pay. At least I had the money to cover it. But now I am short until the 14th when I had it scheduled. I will come up with it somewhere.

I made my first corn casserole. It is in the oven now. Smells really good. I hope it tastes good.

I hope all of my SA friends have a great Thanksgiving!

Today was a nsd. The only time I left the house once to go to my mom's so dd could clean her house. Just ate my dinner...a pot pie.

Finally entered all my charges from the weekend into my account. There weren't alot of them but I was procrastinating balancing the account. After spending so much at the grocery store(to clarify, I probably spent about $40 on Thanksgiving and the rest was just overages on normal grocery food.) I still have my allowance money so I will be fine. Plus I don't need anything.

We went to the grocery store today. I am glad that Thanksgiving only comes once a year. I spent $174. That is $74 more than I had budgeted. Fortunately I have the money in my account to cover it. I am responsible for the corn casserole this year. I will make it on Wednesday so it just needs to be heated up on Thursday. This is will be the first Thanksgiving since my dad died. It will be a sad day.

I set up a transfer out of my savings account so that I can do my shopping online this Monday, what is called Cyber Monday. I hope to find some good deals. I know what I am getting DD, just need to find some sale prices in order to get both of the items I want to get. I have no clue what to get DS. I will probably just give him money or something.

All that will be left will be the two young girls that are in the family. I get each of them a couple of things to open. I hope to be done by next Friday with all the shopping.