North Georgia Gal's Financial Awakening

I have about $40 left in my account until Payday. I think I can make it. I filled up my car this morning and still have $16 left in the budget for gas if I should need to top off later in the week. I don't have to drive to Calhoun any more this week so I should be able to make it on one tank of gas. This also doesn't include the cash I have in my wallet. $40. I have decided that I like having cash on hand for anything that might come up...like paying to get into the soccer game or something like that. I have been keeping cash and I like knowing it is there. I usually keep $60. I will have to replenish it this payday.

Broke down and ordered pizza last night. I was starving by the time we got home from cheer. It should all work out though because she doesn't have cheer the rest of the week we won't be eating out the rest of the week. Make sense? LOL

I did get to work this weekend and got some OT. Makes my check look real nice. Still can't put anything into the savings account but should be able to starting the next check. And if ex gives me any money than that can go in the savings account. Keep your fingers crossed that he will have some money for me. I don't "need" it but it should would be nice to have it. I called him and left him a message this morning and he hasn't called me back. I think he might be ignoring my phone calls....hmmmm. Will have to track him down another way. It just infuriates me. I mentioned to him that he should pay pro rated rent since he wasn't out on the first and he never responded to that. But technically they didn't even give me 30 days notice. Oh well. Lesson learned. Would have thought I had learned this one long ago! Cant depend on the ex...isn't that why I divorced him????

My daughter is going to start working out with me. I called Curves to see if she was old enough and they said she could come for an additional $10/month. SOLD! I will probably be more motivated to go if she is going with me. Can't wait for cheer to be over so we can start having a life again!

Got a notice from my coupon website that everything at Aeropostale is on sale 50%. We had a competition in Dalton today and Dalton has a mall...not like the mall of georgia or anything, but a small mall. And fortunately they have an Aeropostale(I know I am spelling it wrong, but can't get it right). We went in and my daughter bout $200 worth of clothes for $100. I had this money saved in the savings account that I have for her and one for her brother. I automatically have $20 per paycheck deposited into the account. So it didn't come out of my budget.

Went to see Hop last night. It was a cute movie. I don't know that I would see it again, but it was definately worth seeing once.

At work today doing some stuff to get some OT. I really need it for this week coming up. Hopefully ex will have some more money for me on Friday, but I am not holding my breath.

I hadn't heard from the lady I was talking to yesterday so I called back this morning. The lady I talked to this morning said that the reason the number doesn't match the letter is because of the refund from dropping the classes and that the 294.75 is the correct amount that I owe. I still think there is something wrong, but I went online and paid it right away because I don't want them to take another look at it. So glad I had that much in my savings account that I could transfer!

I called the school this morning to find out what my options were for repaying the money. She said I only had a balance of $200 and something. I asked her about it and she is looking into it further and is supposed to call me back. I am thinking that the refund of my classes took care of the portion I owe, or most of it anyway. Keep your fingers crossed that that is the case and that I only owe $2something. That would be totally awesome. Than I could go ahead and pay that without draining my savings account.

Okay...So I posted about the $1300 in student loans that I have to pay back in 45 days. I didn't think there was any way to do this. But looking at things, I can get pretty darn close with my next paycheck. But it would drain the $500 I have managed to save. I would be starting from 0 again. I like having money in the savings account as a cushion. I am torn. Should I just pay a portion of the amount due or try to pay it all? After 45 days they report it to some committee that will probably try to collect it. I am just worried that they will report it to a collections agency and it will show up on my credit report, which I am trying very hard to prevent anything bad from showing up.

So my questions is what would you do?

Since I forgot to stop and get gas yesterday, I had a NSD. I did go to food lion for work, but since I didn't purchase anything for me, it still counts!

Stopped this morning and purchased cream cheese. They didn't have the bagels I like. Will go to Food Lion tonight to get the sale items I need. All day yesterday and this morning I was thinking that today was Thursday and that I would be spending money on eating out. I finally realized it was only Wednesday and I don't have to spend that money. Took pork chops out of the freezer and will cook them for dinner tonight.

I traded in my Suntrust Points for cash! I got a deposit of $25 into my checking account. So far I have gotten $50 for my suntrust points. Using the debit card for my car repair really helped.

Went to Kroger last night to get biscuits and cinnamon rolls, but they weren't on sale like I thought they were. So I just purchased my frozen lunches for the week, which were not on sale...ughhh. But necessary. They keep me from going out to get something to eat. Will have to go tomorrow and get more cream cheese and will probably pick up another thing of bagels. Tonight I need to get gas because I never have time in the morning to get it. Well...today was almost going to be a NSD.

Long Story Short...I registered for three classes and soon found that I was falling behind. So in order to protect my GPA, I dropped all of the classes. I received a letter today that I have to repay the financial aid I received. $1200. In 45 days. Yeah right. Like I have $1200 sitting around. I don't know how I will get through the next month without that payment, let alone adding an additional $1200 to the mix. Guess I will try to get that set up on payments. It really sucks.

Had a very quiet weekend. Didn't do much of anything. Went to CVS yesterday and got $90 worth of stuff for $40. Felt pretty good about that. Now that I have my stockpile pretty well supplied, I only have a few items to buy at the store. Actually just one. Biscuits and cinnamon rolls that are on sale for .98. I have coupons for them too. Will be a huge savings. I do need to stop at Dollar General and get a cooler. Mine seems to have disappeared. My teenage son had it last so I am likely to never see it again.

Well...because of the rain my daughter performance was cancelled for today. YEAH! I avoided having to drive to Calhoun.

I got up this morning and ran to the bank to deposit the check my sister sent me and to get gas. It is days like this that I really love full service gas stations!

I cashed in my suntrust points for $25 statement credit. that should show up in a couple of days. My ex didn't put the money in my account that he was supposed to. He said that he should be able to put it in on Monday. I really won't miss this when he gets moved out of the house.

Other than that...not much going on on this rainy Monday. Just a lazy day.

And I paid $20 extra toward the principle.

Today is my pay day. Once again I have everything already set up, including direct deposit. The only thing I have to do is take my car payment by the bank. It is kind of a let down.

Today won't be a NSD because DS has a soccer game and I will most likely have to pay to get in. I also need to fill up my car so I don't have to do it in the morning. DD has a performance in Calhoun and we have to be there at 10:30. Don't these people know that I sleep late on Saturdays??

The new cvs list is out at souternsavers.com. There is nothing really for me to get. I might get the papertowels, but since I already have two packages of them at home, I am not sure. Anything I get will be stocking up.

I had a lot to do last night! I went to the grocery store before going home for our bi-weekly shopping trip. I haven't gotten the totals together for what we saved, but feel that it was quite good. The good news is that we are well stocked on all canned goods and snacks. The only things I will have to buy in the foreseeable future will be things that are an exceptional good deal. I will have to curb myself since I enjoy grocery shopping. I guess that relates to when I couldn't do grocery shopping on a big trip. had to buy just enough to get through. I have really come a long way!

When we got home, I stripped my sheets and put them in the washer. I Sorted through years of pictures and then I constructed the display board for DS's senior night at the soccer game on Friday. DD helped with that. I asked DD to make dinner, which she did. She doesn't usually mind cooking. She rather enjoys it most of the time.

My sheets didn't get dry until about 11:00(including the comforter). So at 11:15 I did a lice treatement and got in the shower. I am exhausted this morning! Just wanted to stay in bed for a little while longer.

I had to stop on the way to work and get a bag of ice. It was $1 at MCdonalds. I like their ice better because it stays in little cubes instead of freezing into one big block of ice and you can't beat the price. I like to drink my sodas for breakfast and lunch with ice.

I didn't have to pay to get into the soccer game yesterday, but I did stop at Walmart to get more lice treatment medication. Spent $23.40. I can't tell you how much I have spent trying to get of the damn things. I am so ready for them to die and be gone!

I have to get gas today so it won't be a NSD. I also have to get a board to make a collage for my son's senior night at the soccer game. Not sure how much that will cost me. Will have to go through boxes of pictures tonight to put on the board. And I need to find all my scrapbooking stuff...it is packed up in one of the boxes in the basement. Just not sure which one. Should have done it over the weekend, but forgot. Of course it wouldn't be me if I didn't wait for the last minute to do it.

I started thinking about it and I haven't ordered Pizza is quite some time...at least 2 weeks. I used to order at least once a week, more like twice a week. There was always pizza boxes in the fridge with left over pizza. The delivery guy greets our dog by name. It was just simpler. But I haven't ordered pizza since I don't know when. This is huge for me! I am doing my coupon thing again and we have a ton of food in the house so I am not even tempted to order pizza. Haven't even really thought about it. GO ME! I can't wait until cheer is done and then I can get rid of eating out those two nights a week., not to mention all the gas I will be saving!

Today would have been a NSD, but my son has a soccer game and I am sure I will have to pay to get in. Bummer. Oh well. There is always tomorrow. I think I will get some disposable razors today since I will already not have a NSD. I need them badly. The razor I shaved with wasn't very sharp and I have patches all over my legs of hair it missed. I completely missed the back of one of my legs. Nice.

I thought that I had won the war on the lice on my head. It had been a week or more since I had found any on my head. I found two yesterday. Seriously??? We have been battling these suckers since before Christmas. I am almost to the point of letting them live peacefully on my head! Not really, but it is tempting. Does any one have any suggestions?

Yep! No more relying on my parents to get me places. I have my car back and it is running great! I feel liberated! I will miss seeing that large balance in my checking account though.

It appears that I have lost some weight. My starting weight is less than it was two weeks ago. I didn't make that connection at first. I guess getting off my thyroid medication really has helped. I still haven't had a period yet.

Went to rite aid last night and saved $20.46. I had to get abreva so it was kind of expensive trip. But the abreva was on sale and I got 3 UP rewards.

I have had $75 in my wallet for a couple of weeks now. I never carry cash, but I am finding that I like having it in case I need it. I also haven't been spending like I normally do. Usually when I have cash I spend it pretty quickly. BUt I have had the same $70 in my wallet. I am quite proud of myself. That is huge for me!

I am so excited. They called me this morning to tell me that my car was ready to be picked up! It will feel so good to have my own car back now. And the $100 I gave my parents for gas money will now come back to me. I can't remember how much gas is in the car, but it can't be too low as I never let it get real low.

On a positive note, I can't remember the last time we ate out. Since I have been doing the coupon thing we have had so much food at home that we don't need to eat out. We even went through taco bell yesterday just to get drinks. It didn't even sound good to get the food. I hope I can keep this up. I can't wait until Cheer is over than we won't have the two days of eating out a week.

I have set a mini goal for myself with my weight loss. I am going to set a goal of 5 pounds. I think this will be easier and won't be so overwhelming...like thinking about losing 70 pounds might be. So I am going to take it 5 pounds at a time. My starting weight is 214.7. I bought a bunch of lean cuisines to have at work for lunch and I have bagels here for breakfast. That is how I lost weight before. Lets hope it still works for me.

Went to the grocery store to get the sale items that I needed(wanted). I saved $31.74 at the grocery store. I also went to CVS. I bought 4 items and spend 12.88 Opp. I used coupons and EC Bucks to get a spin brush, allegra, tampons, and a razor. I got 16 in EC Bucks back. Very good shopping trip. I am getting frustrated with Ingles. They don't have items that are listed for sale and I have to search the store to find the items that are on sale. Might start omitting them from my list of stores. Total saved today was $64 and I transferred that amount to my household maintenance account. I did get 6 bottles of Herbal Essence shampoo and conditioner for 1.25 each.

Took J by to look at the house yesterday. Hopefully he takes the house. He said that he is lazy by nature so I don't know if doing the stuff around the yard would be too much for him. We shall see. Keep your fingers crossed.

Waiting to pick DD up from her dad at 5:30. She needs to do a lice treatement. I am finally lice free, but she still has them. We are going to be more aggressive to get her rid of them. I truly believe they are from the devil!

Yesterday was technically a NSD. I took $100 out of my account to give to my parents for gas money, but other than that, I spent no additional money.

DD has her last competition in Tampa on April 9. I sent out an email yesterday to my two sisters to see if they could help with the costs any. One sister has volunteered to drive us down there so she can stay with her friend...and we won't have any gas expense. The other sister is sending me a check for $250 to help cover expenses. I can't wait until this last competition is over. I am about tapped out and don't know what I would do if I had to continue paying the fees. This is likely be her last competition ever as she really dislikes the team she is on now and the only other one within driving range is about 10K per year. There is no way I can do that.

I sent ex a text message asking if he was still going to have about 500 for me today. he hasn't responded yet. that probably means no. Hopefully he has pretty close to that amount. We shall see.

I have an opportunity to get some ot this weekend. I need to prepare our books for the accountant. It shouldn't take long, but any ot would be great!

Well...the last two days have been close to NSD's, but they weren't. I got breakfast both days. I need to go to Food Lion and get some frozen lunches so that I have enough food to make it through the day.

Payday is still a week and a half away, but I am excited for it. Even though I am back to 40 hours, I am going to pretend that it is still 30 and put the additional in my EF and then start paying off credit cards. If I could live on the $725 that I got every two weeks, than I should still be able to live on it. We shall see.

When people on here post how much they make, it makes me realize that I do pretty good for the amount of money I make. I used to feel bad because people were posting about how much they saved or paid toward debt because I couldn't keep up with them. But now I now why. I just don't make that kind of money. I just had this realization when someone(love the life you live?) posted their monthly budget. It is no wonder that I can't keep up with them.

Today was a NSD. I went to the soccer game, but my father bought my ticket. Thanks Dad! I didn't even have to pay my co pay at the doctor because I had a credit balance. My co pay was reduced from $40 to $20, so last time I overpaid.

Worked from home today because of the car situation. Didn't have a ride to work until like 1:00, so just decided to work from home.

Possible new renter is going to look at the house this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed.

I talked to my best friend today and told her that the ex is moving out of the other house. She knows of someone who is looking for a house. I told her I would charge him $450/month if he will clean things up and make the house more presentable. I really think it would be a good deal for him. I hope he takes it. I would then be not as bad off as if no one was living in there. Plus he would clean the yard up and make it nice again.

Ex husband told me today that he is moving out of the house. They found something cheaper and closer to where he works. Thanks for the notice! I don't know what I am going to do now. I don't think I can rent it for what he pays. At best I think I could rent it for $450-500/month. That is less than the payment is. I can't afford to not have income from that house. I guess I will go back to like before, just barely keeping my head above water. At least the power bill will be less. I hope I can get it rented. I doubt seriously that I can sell it, but I would love to.

Yesterday was a NSD. I went to day and bought some more water. Food Lion has it on sale for $2.99. I think I have bought enough to get us through to when it will be on sale again.

Today is payday. Since I have already set everything up, there is nothing for me to pay today. YIPPEE!! I also received my federal refund today. That puts my auto repair back up to have enough money to cover it. I told my ex yesterday that I needed a substantial payment this week. Let's see what he considers substantial.

Yesterday was a nsd for me. I haven't had one of them in a long while. But I bought bagels at the store on Wednesday and have been eating them for breakfast. I also bought some frozen meals and have been eating them for lunch. I can't keep eating the way I was eating and continue to gain weight. I have to start to go down.

I decided to do my grocery store tonight because I had the car for the evening. Wasn't sure when I would have it again. I got everything on the list and a few extras. The cash register rang up at $71 and I instantly started thinking about transferring the difference between what I had spent last night and tonight with what the budget amount was ($50). I already envisioned doing it. I went out to put the groceries in the car and realized that I didn't get any meat. I went back in and got two roasts and two things of chicken. Another $41 spent. So I didn't get to transfer any money! Bummer! On the flipside, we have enough groceries to get through another two weeks.

I also have made dinner every night this week. That is the most nights in a row in a long time. We even have some left overs for my son to eat.

Went to the grocery store last night for a few items. I have heard somewhere that you want to get everything once a week at the grocery store because everytime you run in for something you spend an average of $40. I spent $31.88 last night and the only thing I was going in for was bagels and cream cheese! Will have to remember this for next time.

Latest on the car -- still going to be around the 20th before they get the engine to put into the car. I "borrowed" from the repair fund to go ahead and pay my mortgage. I was going to pay it Friday anyway. WIll just have to put it back into the car repair fund.

It is a rainy yucky day here. The kind of day that is good for sleeping! Wish I could still be in bed!

The war against lice rages on in my house. We treated again last night. I bought new pillows. We washed all the sheets and comforters. Spent $49 at walmart for treatment, pillows and pillow cases. We just can't seem to get rid of them. DD found hardly any in my hair but I found a TON in her hair. The nasty little creatures just refuse to die! At least most of the ones I found on her were dead.

I went online to check my refund status and due to processing delays, it is now expected to be paid March 15. That is huge problem for me since I have too many expenses that are due on the 11th. It was supposed to have been paid on the 4th, which was in plenty of time for the other expenses. Now I am not sure what I am going to do. But I will figure it out...I always do. If ex would have the $1000 he owes me, I would be in the clear! I am still torn about that. If I evict him for non payment, I doubt that I will get anyone in there to pay the mortgage. Right now I feel the smarter thing to do is to let him stay and get the money a little at a time, as opposed to no money at all. He said that he should have money for me today. But I can't get in touch with him to find out for sure.

Found out that the cheer competition doesn't start for us until 4:00 on Saturday. That means that I can cancel the hotel for Friday night and drive over Saturday morning. I am riding with one of the other mom's since I still don't have a car. I put the $150 I saved for the hotel room in my EF.

To kill time yesterday while DD was in cheerleading, I went to the outlet malls to walk around. In the kitchen store, I found a set of Pfaltsgraf dishes for $29. We are in desperate need. We only have 2 bowls and 1 small plate. So I purchased them. I also got a new measuring cup as our old plastic one is getting really hard to read. I had a fry daddy also picked out but decided to wait on that.

When I checked our mail yesterday I found a check from my ExMIL to help with purchasing senior pictures for DS. I was really surprised, but delighted. She is going to try to come for his graduation so I must make sure she gets one of the 8x10 pictures.

Well, I finally ordered my son's senior pictures. I had no idea they would be so expensive, which is why I have been putting it off. But I got an email today for 20% off. That saved me $79. I feel like I got a good deal but still spent $349. I took the money from my car repair, but have the money in my savings account if I need to replace it before my next payday.

And once again, I have all my payments set up so there is nothing for me to do. Kind of a letdown. But at least stuff is getting paid!

I looked at how much my ex owes me for the house. If he would give me what he owes me, I would be sailing very smoothly. I am torn. Do I let him stay knowing that I will get the money in drips or tell him to leave with no guarantee of getting it rented, especially not for what he has agreed to pay. I know he doesn't have the money. It just seems that he has the worst luck of anyone I have ever met. That is part of why we split up. Too much drama. I just don't know what to do.

My state income tax refund is in my account this morning! I filed on Monday night. That was really quick. I now have enough for our trip to Columbia next weekend.

Went to the grocery store last night and spent $168. That was $18 over my budget, but I got ALOT of food. I am glad that I am including grocery money in my budget now. It sure makes a difference knowing that we have food in the house.