North Georgia Gal's Financial Awakening

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.

Overall this week, I got $216 worth of stuff and only spent $102! Awesome! The Biggest deal was two airwick automatic air freshners. They are $12.27 each...but they were BOGO free at Food Lion. That made them $6.15 each. I had a $6 off coupon with made one 15 cents. I also had a $4 off coupon, which made the other one $2.15. So I got both air freshners for $2.30!!! YEA!!!

First Stop: CVS
Receipt #1
Garnier Shampoo and Conditioners (3)
Cheerios (2) ($3.00x2=6) 1 off/two get 2ecb (makes it $1.50/box)
Suave Body Wash (3) (2/each) 1 off/three get 2 ECB (makes it .99 Each)
Colgate Advance Toothpaste 2.99 (1 off) get 2 ECB (makes it .99)

Total: 26.20
Coupons : -8.75
Total Check: 17.45
Received 7 ECB

Receipt #2
Clairol Nat Instincts Hair Color 5.99 (2 off coupon) received 2 ECB Makes it 1.99
Pantene Shampoo(2) 5.99 (1 off two) received 2 ecb
Dividers - not coupons
Face wash - no coupons

Total: 27.34
Coupons: -3.00
ECB: - 7
Total Check = 17.34
Received 4 ECB

Rite Aid
Kotex Panti Liners: 5.59( 1 off coupon)
Herbal Essence Sham and Cond 2.99/Each (used 2 1/off coupons)

Total 12.90
Coupons: -3.00
Total Check = 9.90
SCR = $3.00

Food Lion
Tyson Chicken Tenders 4.99 (2/off coupon)
Airwick freshners (2) 12.27 each bogo free (used a $6 off coupon and a $4 off coupon)(makes it about $1.15 each!!!!)
canned vegetables - .50 each (4)
Glade candles (2) 8.99 BOGO free (used $3 off coupon)(Makes it $2.50 each!!)
Quaker dipps - 2.00 each (2)
Tilipia - 4.99

total: 69.07
Store disc: 29.88
coupons: $14.00
Total Check: 25.19

Ingles:
Hamburger/Tuna Helper - (6) 1 each (used (2) .75 off 3 coupons) made them .75 each
betty crocker cake mix & frost (2.50) used 1 off coupon.
cake mix and frosting (2.50) used .50 off coupon
taco seasoning - (2).66(used coupon for 1 free)
taco shell - 1.82
grands biscuits - (4) 1.25 each. used (2) 1.00 off two coupons. (makes them .75 each)
crescent rolls - (2) 1.66 used 1 off two coupon)
dozen eggs
spider man mac and cheese(for dd)
boneless skinless breasts - 1.99/pound

Total: 60.84
Coupons: .5.91
double coupons: .75
Store sales: 21.57
total check: 32.61

So I saved $41.66 in coupons and $71.52 in store sales. Go Me!!!

Total for the month:
221.14 saved!!!

Oh and almost forgot! DD and I went to IHOP for breakfast...had a bogo free coupon. So saved $6.99!!! It has been a great coupon day!

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!

Well, I have been working on my budget and all is going well. I needed to come up with something like $180 by the 20th in order for it to work out. BUT WAIT!!!!

DS tells me last night that he is close to not being allowed to charge lunches anymore at school because of his balance. Had to write him a check for $40 to cover balance plus a few more days. And I wrote a check at Ingles last night for dog food and cat food. And we needed Sudafed to fight the seasonal allergies! DH also "borrowed" some money for gas since he started a new job. I don't know that I will get it back this week. So all told, I now need to come up with $300! So I will have to do some major reconstructiong. Might have to borrow some from my mom because the items to paid can't be put off until the next payday...but I can pay her back on that next payday. UGGGGG!!! I can't wait to get to a point where I have a cushion for these surprises. I try to plan for everything, even the unexpected, but some weeks, like this one, I just can't build that "extra" into the budget.

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 did some grocery shopping yesterday...below are the results.

IGA:
Tostitos
Salsa
3 cans beenie weenies($1 each)
Pillsbury Biscuits(2/$3)
2 Texas Pete Hot Dog Chili(.50/each)
Hormel Bacon (bogo)
Daisy Sour Cream

Total $24.17
Coupons $.50(biscuits)
Total 23.67
Sale Savings = 8.69

SUPER SAVER:
Hot Dog buns .67
(2) Hamburger buns .67 each
(2) manwich 1.00/each
(3) Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs .97/each
(4) Mayfield half gallon ice cream 1.50 each
(3) Bush baked beans 1.33

total 22.43
Not sure of the sale savings as they don't break it...but saved at least 50% on the ice cream alone!

So Far I have done very well I think. I am satisfied with the amount of groceries in the house. It is so different to go to the store and just get what is on sale because we don't really need anything! Plus I was able to look at stuff that was "on sale" and say, "that really isn't a great deal...good by not great and since I don't need it, I am not getting it". I am very proud of the shopping smarts I have acquired in the last few weeks.

Bummer though...there were NO coupon inserts in the paper this weekend!!! I can't believe it! We are limited in the paper I get and I really wish that we could get the AJC...oh well.. guess I will have to keep wishing!

Okay...I went to CVS with a plan...but an hour later, my plan had gone to crap. I still think I did pretty good though.

Receipt #1
Bounty Paper towels-6 pk 5.89
Secret Deodarant 3.99
Duracell 8 pk AA batteries 6.99
Duracell 16 pk AAA batteries 12.49

Coupons:
.25 off bounty
.75 off Duracell
1.50 off duracell

Total before coupons: 31.42
Total 28.92
Received 6 ECB


Receipt #2
Pantene Shampoo 3.49
Pantene Cond 3.49
Dawn .97
Soft Soap 4.99
Dove Soap Bars 7.99
Dove Body Wash 8.69

Total Before Coupons: $31.34
Total Coupons: $15
ECB Used: $6

Total check: 10.34
Received 8.50 ECB

Receipt #3
Tide (2) 5.98 Each

Total: 12.80
ECB Used: 7.50

Total Check: 4.30

Total of all receipts before coupons:75.56
Total of checks written: 43.56

Total of coupons: $32.00

That brings my total for the month to 86.25, between sale items and coupons. Go Amy..Go Amy...Go Go Go Amy

I went to make a bagel out for lunch and realized that I am out of cream cheese! I had to go to Piggly Wiggly and get cream cheese. I had a coupon for $1 off two. I bought two for 1.99 each, got a dollar off. So they were 1.50 each. But I was sucker for the temptation. I bought an edmonds frozen pie...the singles. UGH! Just looked so good. Then I had to get milk. So the lack of planning for the cream cheese last weekend cost me $6.

I went into CVS this morning to get stuff for work and noticed that they had tide on sale for 5.98($3 less). There was a coupon in the paper last week for $1 off any tide. ANd I had $2ecb. So my Tide cost me $3.40. More Saving to add to my total!

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.

I went to Food Lion today with my list and my binder of coupons. More than one person looked at me funny!! But SO WHAT!!!

I was disappointed with the items at Food Lion because out of the 5 things on my list, 2 of them were not at this store. Oh well. But BONUS!!! Ground Beef was on sale for .99/lb!!! There were people walking out with full buggies of ground beef! I only got 8 lbs...but should have probably gotten more since it will freeze. Might go back tomorrow...hopefully it will still be on sale. This brings my total for the month to $127 saved between coupons and sale shopping! OH yea!!!

Well...I didn't do as good as I would have liked at Ingles with the coupons. Especially since I see some of the things I bought were on sale at Food Lion! Must remember to check each place before I shop. This is a learning process.

Anyway...I had 6.35 in coupons, 1.25 in doubled coupons and 26.20 in sale items. So the total saving was 33.80. I only bought items that were on sale unless I absolutely needed them. That fact I am proud of. But I still think I could do better. I need to find coupons for meats, chicken, beef, etc. I don't have any for them.(I know Whitestripe...more beans!! LOL) But I am on a roll...won't give up now.

That brings my monthly total to 94.41...not including the check for $13.49 that I will be getting back from Rite Aid. Pretty impressive for my first month of couponing...and the most important thing is that I am not buying things that I wouldn't have bought anyway!

Oh...almost forgot. I had to go to Atlanta yesterday and stopped at QT to fill up(paid 13 cents more a gallon...could kick myself but couldn't make it to jasper for the cheaper price...should have stopped on the way down.) Anyway...QT had pepsi 12 packs 4/10, making it $2.50/12pack. The cheapest I have seen in a while. I got 4 at QT. I thought I should have gotten more, the way our family goes through soda. I stopped at racetrac to get a snack and they also had pepsi products on sale, so I got 4 more. We are set on sodas now for a few weeks. YEA! I did not include those savings in my totals because I never pay full price for sodas.

Okay...I went to CVS and Rite Aid today. I had my lists all ready based on what coupons I had and what was on sale. Below is what I got.

4 Boxes Kraft Mac and Cheese - $4
-4 ECB from last week.
Total .12
Received 2 ECB

Schick Quatro - 8.99(normally 11.99)
- $4 Coupon
- $2 ECB
Total 3.62
Received $2 ECB

That was it fo CVS...overall pretty good. Rite Aid is really where I saved though.

(3) 12 packs coke products...3.33 each
& $1 off 3
Glade Sense and Spray 6.99(regular 9.99)
Duracell 4 pack 5.49
Glade Sense and Spray refill(3.49)
Colgate toothbrush 4.89
glade lasting impression 6.99(regular 9.99)
duracell 16 pack 9.99(regular 13.99)
kotex pantiliners 2.50(regular 3.99)
kotex pads 2.50(regular 3.99)
colgate toothpaste 2.49
lysol wipes BOGOF 3.49
Composition books 1.99(buy 1 get 3 free)
spiral notebooks .99(buy 1 get 3 free)

Total $65.69
Coupons - 23.75
total = 41.94
SCR - 12.00
Total spent = 29.94

So total for coupons was $35.75!!! That is awesome. I don't have breakdown of what each coupon was for. But the air freshners ended up being free! I combined sale prices with coupons and saved a bunch! I hadn't shopped at Rite Aid before so I am real impressed. And the best part is that I didn't buy anything I wouldn't have bought anyway, except maybe the air freshners, but they ended up being free! I haven't figured the totals on my coupons yet for the month. I will update once I figure that out.

UPDATE: Monthly Coupon Savings - $60.61!!! Awesome!

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!

I didn't do much shopping this weekend, but I am really starting to stock up on items that are on sale. I went to Food Lion yesterday because they had laundry soap on sale and found that they also had Glade plugins and clorox bleach on sale,, which I had coupons for. I saved $7.73 with coupons and $8.99 on sales items. So a total of $16.84 was saved. That is awesome! I am now in the postive for cumalative coupon/sales savings. Taking out the newspapers and the organization supplies, I have saved a total of $14.68 on coupons over the last three weeks. It will be more from this point forward because I already have the supplies. I will need to purchase more baseball card holders, but can wait a week or so for that. I already have my list for CVS and Rite Aid. Will save more money when I go there on Friday(Payday). I have turned this into a game to see how much I can save. I am pretty pumped.

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.