North Georgia Gal's Financial Awakening

My daughter wanted to stop for Dinner after her LONG violin practice(3 1/2 hours getting ready for recital!). I told her I didn't have the money so we would have to wait until we got home! She volunteered to pay. I probably shouldn't have let her, but I thought it might be a learning lesson for her. Now she doesn't have as much money to take on vacation with her. Hopefully she will learn that spending now just because you have it isn't always the smart thing!

My son's checking account is up and running. I am very excited about being able to teach him this! I think he will do well.

Well, things are looking up again financially. I have looked through the middle of June and everything seems fine. If goes as planned, will even have some money in savings again. I can't wait! I even filled my car up again yesterday!

Went to the grocery store yesterday and CVS. CVS has pepsi products 5 for $13. It rang up wrong and they tried to charge me $27 for 5 twelve packs!! WOW! What a difference a sale makes! Also got some vitamins, bogo free. Did very well at the grocery store. Only spent $76. Didn't get anything we didn't need. Very proud of myself for turning things around again. It just proves that you can always change things, it may just take some time. I could have given up and not tried again. Gone back to living how I was. I didn't want to do that! I liked having money in the savings account, not having to worry if a check was going to bounce because I only showed $15 in the account(and might have forgotten something!) I look forward to getting back to that.

My dad worked with this woman for many years who has no family...never married, no siblings, etc. When she started to suffer from dimentia and other ailments, my parents took the responsibilty of caring for her well being. She was in an assisted living home. She passed away this week. We went today to move her furniture. I wasn't close to her, it just felt very wierd to be dividing up her stuff. And I feel kind of guilty because I was kind of relieved that my parents life will be much simpler now...they were fixing to have to move her to a new home and it wouldn't have been easy with the dimentia.

DH gave me some unexpected money this week so I am in good shape. I have the budget planned for the next month and all looks well. I am very encouraged. Plus my son got his first paycheck this week. We will go open him a checking account on Monday. I am excited about teaching him how to do a budget. No one ever taught me this and I am just now learning it!

Things are looking good still for the short term. Will probably be getting less $$ from DH because of the work situation, but I think it will be okay.

My daughter made the middle school cheerleading team! She is pumped.

I just received a call from a collection agency for the amount that was applied toward my deductible...162.33. When I had this done at the hospital, the hospital didn't forward the correct address to the radiology office. So I never received the bill. Ireceived a call in April about it. I told the agency that I hadn't received the bill. They refused to send me a copy of the bill, stating that I had my explanation of benefits. They wouldn't even tell me how to contact the radiology office. So I tracked them down,, corrected the address and requested a copy of the bill. I tried to set up payment arrangements with them and they refused! They said that the least they could take was $100! I don't have that! So I called the radiology office and they said that there is nothing they can do! I plan on making payment of $20 a month and if they accept them, great, if not, than oh well. I tried. And they had better not put it on my credit report! I am working really hard to get that cleaned up! UGGGHHHH!!! I know collection agency's deal with deadbeats, but I try not to be one of them! And they can look at it and see the circumstances. It just drives me crazy!

I checked this morning and nothing went through yet! I am so lucky! The child support will post today so I am out of the woods!

I stopped today and got a bag of ice tokeep at work. But I brought frozen meals to keep in the freezer and a 12 pack of coke.(CVS has them for $2.60/12 pack). So I am in good shape today.

I screwed up my online bill pay. I scheduled a large payment for last friday instead of tomorrow. So I am on pins and needles until tomorrow to see if i have any NSF. I hope not...I really can't afford it. I hope that everything turns out okay.

I am working from home today...got alot done...for work and for home. Been very productive.

I got paid yesterday! YEA! I filled up the gas tank...yes filled it up. Haven't done that in a while! Felt good.

I paid the cell phone bill, the homeowners insurance, and a loan payment. The Sallie Mae payment will come out of my account on Monday.

I am one step closer to getting everything caught up. I can't wait to get back to where I was. I have about $120 in savings right now...but I might have to use it before I get paid again to be able to stick to my budget. But eventually, I will be able to just let it sit there! Can't wait!

DH got the escape to start the other day. That is the car that my son flipped. He is trying to get it working so he can drive it. He spent $70 in gas yesterday!!! That is crazy! He is working a little bit away and he had to drive to different job sites. But hopefully he can get the other car working.

My son is going to prom tonight. Dropped him of a little while ago. Wierd arrangement...he isn't dating the girl and they are each paying their own way! Seems wierd to me but that is fine, since my son doesn't get his first check until next week!

I have been sprung! It has been two weeks so I am able to drive. Of course if my car had been in the driveway, I probably wouldn't have been so good! I am so glad to be out of the house!!! I have my follow up appointment this afternoon.

Ran around this morning getting the car my parents sold my son titled in my name. They had offered it to him before but he didn't want it. Now I guess he is either desperate or smarter...I am hoping the latter. It is an old car that they sold him for $300. And they are letting him make payments on it. My son started his first job on Monday and seems to really enjoy it so far. I am glad...I am planning on taking him to open a checking account with his first check. I am going to load Quicken on his computer and teach him how to budget and reconcile his accounts. No one ever taught me how to budget and I am now 36 years old and have nothing! So I can't wait to get him started on it!

Tomorrow is payday. Already have everything set up in my bill pay so I don't have to do anything. I love online bill pay! It makes my life so simple!

I am not a morning person! I usually go back to sleep after the kids leave until 9:00 or so. I don't have to start work until 9:00 and since I am working from home this week, I can crawl out of bed and be at work in a matter of minutes! But this morning, I started working at 6:30! I don't know what has gotten into me! But it is 7:52 and I have booked a very complicated airfare that involves 3 different airlines and 4 different flights! I have entered those flights into outlook and sent them to my boss. WOW!! So this is what morning feels like...

Yesterday was a NSD. Of course it helps that I can't leave the house! I can't wait until Thursday! I can start driving again! YEA!!! DH brought me home some chocolate ice cream yesterday. That was sweet of him...and unexpected. But we are out of milk, so I will have to come up with something else for breakfast!

Okay...I have kind of been feeling sorry for myself lately. But tonight I made a plan. I came up with the next month's budget and will be in good shape come next week. I will be able fill my gas tank up again! I am so excited! And if I can stay afloat until July, there is an extra payment. Plus I didn't account for any of the money put into the savings accounts. It is a very strict budget...just hope I can stick to it.

I also have the opportunity to get some ot this month, if I will just be dedicated enough to do it! So I should be in pretty good shape in the next month. Can't wait to get back to where I was!!!

Spent too much money this weekend...Daughter needed supplies for a school project and DH needed new shoes. UGHHH!! I feel like I will never get back to where I was. I am feeling sorry for myself today. I have been stuck at home for over a week. I am going crazy! I should be working, but I can't make myself do anything! Got to get out of this funk!

Gnats still driving me crazy! Of course the dishes weren't done last night...only a few glasses and a bowl. But I am tired of being the only one doing stuff around here!

Okay...I am going to go before I rant more than I should.

I have been fighting the gnat problem for a while now. I can't figure out how to get rid of them!! I this spray that I spray...it is supposed to be bio-friendly. And it does kill them. My counter ends up looking like a gnat burial ground! Pretty nasty! I keep the dishes done and the sink empty. I can't find the epicenter! I am convinced that these creatures were sent by the devil to drive me insane!! Does anyone have any ideas on how to get rid of them? I have tried a few of the old wives tales that I found online, but they don't work. I am at my wits end!

Spending wise, yesterday $45 was spent out of my account...how you might ask since I am confined to the house. Nice trick huh. My son used $21 for the flowers for prom. My DH used $24 for gas. Now if I could just figure out how to get money in my account when I don't leave the house, it would be perfect!!!

I got the phone call that every mother dreads yesterday. My son wrecked the car. I jumped up out of bed and starting walking down the street...he didn't even make it off our street. He had my daughter in the car with him. He hit some loose gravel, then a pothole, and the car went out of control.(yes he was going too fast...) But the car ended up upside down at the bottom of a 20 ft drop. Both kids(was taking my daughter to school as well) were able to make it out of the car with no injuries...not even a scratch!!!

Do you think it is possible that a car has a "spirit"? I am not a particularly religious person and I don't mean to offend anyone...but this car...I feel like it was sent to us to take care of this family. It has over 220000 miles. The only thing that has ever gone wrong was a hose on the transmission. Easy fix and as a single mom for years, an easy fix is the best kind to have! I have never been one to get regular oil changes and tune ups. In all fairness, this car has been abused. A few weeks ago, I bought the explorer(some of you know that I was deeply upset by that purchase) so that my son could drive the escape. Now I know why that purchase was made! They were in the escape and didn't have a scratch. I feel like this car gave its life to protect my family. I know that sounds wierd...but that is what it feels like. I am sad to see this car go.

The only money I spent yesterday was the tow charge. I should be able to submit it to insurance and be reimbursed for some of it.

I am home and recovering. They were able to do the surgery laproscopicly, but it is not looking like it solved the problem. Fun.

Since I have been stuck at home, I have had NSD. Although the other members of my household have been spending for me!!

Feeling pretty worthless because I can't do anything for myself! I did do the dishes today because they were driving me crazy! Shouldn't have but perhaps my DH will feel sufficiently guilty about leaving me home alone today...LOL.

I spent $30 on gas yesterday(got $10 in the morning and had to come back for more in the evening! Will sure be glad when I can get back to filling up!) and $5 on lunch. I had to buy a veggie plate and a large cookie for end of year party for cheerleading...total of $18. So yesterday was a pricey day. The grand total was $53. Wow. That leaves me a little over a dollar short in my account.

I got breakfast again this morning. I am kind of caught in a vicious cycle. I don't have the money to go to the grocery store, but I don't have the money to eat out either. It seems easier to spend a little each day instead of trying to go to the grocery store to prevent that! I need to make some adjustments to my budget for this week to be able to go to the store. Don't know how I will pull that one off!

I typed this earlier, but for some reason it didn't post.

Saturday I spent 12.50 for dinner, $10 for gas, and $5.33 for flowers for daughter.

Sunday was a NSD.

Got some OT at work, getting ready for the surgery. That will help this week.

Looks like it will be the next payday before I can start saving again. Bummer. I hate that I had almost $750 in savings and with one stupid decision, I am right back to where I started! Do we ever stop making stupid decisions???

Yesterday was a semi-good day as for spending. I had to get gas and wasn't prepared for breakfast at work.

Breakfast: 5.35
Gas: 20.00

I am back to just getting enough gas to get through. Can't wait to get out of that again!

I realized with my surgery next week that my gas budget will be less. I won't be driving to work for at least 2 weeks. YEA!

Things started to go downhill around the time that I stopped blogging regularly and stopped being obsessed with my checking account. So what I need to do is start blogging again regularly and again get obsessed with the account. Once I get the savings built back up, than I maybe I can cut back some on the ocd...but until then, I think I have to be obsessed.

My surgery is next Thursday. It is looking more and more likely that the laparscopic isn't going to work. Longer surgery = longer recovery! I really can't afford to be off work that long!

I haven't been posting lately. I had a great time on vacation. Now I am feeling sorry for myself. I have slipped right back into making bad money decisions. I am right back where I started. I can only get $10-20 worth of gas instead of filling up. I am having to juggle bills again. I am getting my checking account very low.

I know I made these decisions(mainly the car). I am just feeling stupid right now. I should have known better. But oh well. I will dig myself out of this again and start over. But until I do, I feel wrong posting my woe is me stories...

I am back at work today. Bummer. But we had a great time. The weather was beautiful...it didn't rain even once while we were there! Below are our totals for the vacation.

Dining - 290.77($72.69/ day for 5 people)
Entertainment - 451.98
Fuel - 137.50
Hotel - 394.08
Misc and Souvenirs - 58.58

Grand Total - 1332.91

This is higher than I had budgeted and I had to scramble to find money to put into my account. But all in all, I think we did pretty good. We ate breakfast at the hotel every morning and at one meal out a day. Other than that, we ate sandwiches and snacks that we had brought with us. Feeding 5 people for $73/day is rather reasonable. The bulk of the entertainment was the deep sea fishing trip. That was the whole reason to go to Jekyll Island and the kids loved it! No regrets! The rest was sightseeing and putt putt. The hotel and fuel were rather reasonable. All in all, I am quite pleased with the amount of money we spent. It didn't wreck my budget too badly and we are totally relaxed!

Now I can get back to saving again!

While we have been on vacation, we have done really well with our spending! We hav eonly eaten out the one time a day we had planned. Yesterday was $46. That was awesome! I am very proud of the way we have managed to do that. Of course, there is no fast food places here, so that helps alot. We have done the breakfast at the hotel every day and eaten sandwiches.

I am sunburned on the back of my neck...I have always had long hair so I have never thought about it but I can hardly move my neck! No more sandollars today. Dh and I snuck out before anyone woke up this morning and walked on the beach. It was very nice.

Home tomorrow. It will be nice to get home again.

So far...we are doing great toward the plan. We ate out once today just as planned. It was around $70 for five people. Not too bad for a resort area. But that is why we are only eating out once a day! We ate breakfast in the hotel and dinner was sandwiches for those that were hungry.

My ex-MIL came and spent the day with us. Long story, but she is still very much part of my life and the kids lives. It was a great day. Walked about a mile up the beach and back...will feel that tomorrow. but it was great. Have found 3 whole(as in not broken) sand dollars.

We are having a great time!!!

My son had a dentist appointment yesterday. I had entered it wrong on my calendar and thought it was today. So I called them first thing this morning and told them what had happened. She laughed and said she was fixing to call me because it wasn't like us to miss appointments. I re-scheduled it for next Tuesday. I immediately got off the phone and called my mom to tell her to help me remember it(she is almost 80, but keeps tracks of things better than I do!). She said that she would put it on her calendar when she got home. I asked her where she was and she said the dentist! She goes to the same dentist. The receptionist at the dentist was laughing in the background because she could hear my mom's conversation! Gotta love small town doctors! LOL

We are just about all packed for our trip. My DH's back is still killing him. He is at the Chiropractor right now. Hopefully he will get some relief. He spent all day yesterday cleaning the house...he has the spring cleaning bug. But I think he does too much. He ended up having to sleep on the floor last night.

We have to stop on the way out of town to check on the newborn kittens at my bf's house. They are so cute! They are about 3 weeks old! My house is full though!

In a way, I can't wait until this vacation is over so I can get back on track with savings! But I sure need this trip!

Well, we are just about ready to go. My DH has spent most of the day getting the house cleaned up and doing laundry. I hate to come home from vacation to a dirty house. I am packed. He is packed. Daughter is packed. All that is left is son...who will wait for the last minute and throw some stuff in a grocery bag.

Had to get dog food and cat food today to leave here. The neighbors are taking care of the animals for us. Such a relief. I know that they will be taken care of well.

On a non-financial note, my DH is driving me crazy about my son. It is as if my DH is jealous of what my son gets away with or is allowed to do. I almost feel like DH is looking for things. But I am dealing with that as best as I can...but it is starting to get to me. Son is a teenager and is doing what most teenagers do. I am also one of the stricter parents in my sons circle of friends...so I am not sure what else I can do, other than be totally unreasonable and call him on everything!

Yep...it might snow tonight. Can't believe it. Shouldn't be anything major. But I am prepared...I have my bread and milk!

Got gas yesterday for $37 and had to buy a card for my daughters friend.

We have the groceries all planned for our trip(Jekyll). I have planned the sandwiches and snacks. We have most of it already so we won't have to do much shopping. We have already paid for the hotel so we should be set. I am excited about having a frugal vacation. I have challenged myself. I will let you know how it turns out.

I am a bit frustrated with my DH today. He hurt his back Friday. Woke up Sat morning in extreme pain. He thinks he may have cracked or broke a rib. He went to the chriopractor this morning and got adjusted. The Chiro told him to do nothing today(which I told him all weekend long to sit down). So he is doing that for now. But he is refusing to take any tylenol or ibuprofen. I get so frustrated!

We had a cheer comp yesterday in Atlanta. Since my sister lives nearby, she met us there. She took us to lunch and then later dessert. So other than the admission, it was a cheap day for a cheerleading day!

Back in Novoember, I borrowed a large sum of money from her. I put $50 a payday into our joint account. She doesn't usually pull it out until there is about $300 in there so there was $200 sitting in there. I asked her if I could take that money and buy my daughter some clothes. She said that was fine(knew she would, she used to purchase all of the kids clothes in years prior). So we stopped by old navy and kohls on the way home. She got 7 pairs of shorts, 6 shirts and a dress for the pagaent...all for under $200! I thought she shopped well. She is now set for clothes through the summer. That is a relief.

We are taking care of the dogs across the street. They have 5 dogs and a bird that is hilarious! It was lauging at us chasing the dogs around! And when we call the dogs, he calls the dogs. It is so funny! Made us laugh!

I admit it. I am perfect at foiling my own plans. Latest poor judgement...purchasing this car. I can manage to convice myself that anything is a good idea. And try to convince others as well, although I don't think they always believe me. I have got the car in the budget and will be able to pay for it. However, in a matter of one day, I managed to destroy the money that I had been saving for 3 months! This is my pattern. Save hard and heavy for a few months and then blow it. Strong determination followed by spending spree followed by immense guilt and remorse. Don't get me wrong, the car is great and with 2 16 year old boys and a 12 year old girl to transport on family outings, it will be nice. The Gas mileage is better than my other car, so that will not be any different. I just wish that I would have slowed down and looked at the bigger picture longer.(I know some of you told me to do that, but once I get in that groove, there is no stopping me!)

My daughter needs shorts for school and a dress for a pageant for band. Now I don't have money to purchase that for her. I could cancel our vacation, but it is our first and I really feel that we need to do that. It won't be long until the kids will be gone and not going on vacation with us. I just need to get back to that position I was with the savings. At least I still have all of the other bills on time and current. None of that has suffered. I guess that is something.

I spent 1.07 yesterday on my morning coke. And $26 to fill up the Escape. Looking at my gas budget, I only have $13 left until next Friday. How did that happen, you ask? Well, I have filled up the explorer twice(trip to Atlanta took one of those) and the Escape twice. All of this I paid for. So I told DH last night that he was going to have to fill up the vehicles next week because I am out of funds! The escape will not need gas again until sometime next week. Good thing.

Lost my energy yesterday. Very tired on the way home. Decided to just sit on the couch for a few minutes before I started the task I wanted to accomplish last night. Next thing I know, my daughter is coming home at 9:00! YIKES! And I laid down at 11:00 and went straight to sleep. I don't know why I am so tired lately, but I wish I could figure it out!

I made a large payment to my applied card and it is now $10 below the limit! YEA!!! Of course, when they add the interest for this month, it will go back up, but not like it was! I managed to get all but one of my credit cards under the limit this quarter! Now to paying them off!

The guy at the gas station kind of irked me this morning. He is as nice as he can be...good ole country boy. But he told me that we deserved the new car because we work hard. How does he know? He doesn't know us from anywhere else? He doesn't know what other debts we have? I know he was just trying to be nice, but sometimes people speak without thinking! I know that whitestripe has blogged about that before, but I guess that it personally didn't hit me until he said that this morning. He has no clue!!

I haven't eaten out since Saturday. That is great! I have been struggling with that lately. Going to the grocery store helped alot.

I have also found my energy again. When I got home last night, I folded more laundry that DH had washed and cleaned our bathroom(scrubbed the shower even). Since DH isn't working, he is taking care of most of the stuff around the house, including taking daughter to cheerleading...so I just get to come home. Another YEA! I think that cleaning the house is a sub-conscience(?) thing about going on vacation. I have this fear that something will happen to us and someone will have to come into my house. Doom and gloom...that is me. Does anyone else fear that?