It never fails to happen. I had lost my clip on sunglasses that came with my prescription glasses. They were made to go with the glasses so were a bit expensive. After tearing the house and the car(I thought) apart. I finally bit the bullet and got another pair from my eye doc. $50.00 I would have rather not spent. On the way home from work today creeping out from the passenger seat there they were, the original pair. I had convinced myself they were a part of the Disappearing Object Theory. Guess it was instead a part of the not putting them when they belonged when I used them the last time. Oh well, now I have two pair. Hopefully I can take better care of my things and won't have to replace anything else like that. Feel like that $50.00 just flew bye bye.

Ouch – cancelled those extended channels

I am not as brave as some on the boards. I did not think I could go without cable cold turkey so instead; I just called and requested that the extended channels be removed from our bill. This will be a $30.00 per month savings. I hope we can survive not having the extended cable. I don’t mean to whine but we are a family of channels surfers. I guess with a lot of reruns now it the time to be without them.

I left the high speed internet alone but may drop it down to a lesser speed internet and save another $10.00 but right now I really like the fast speed because I am online quite a bit.


I just sold another item on E-bay so more to add to my savings. I am trying a new way of thinking and as I get the money I hope to pay it on a bill. I feel that will keep me more motivated if I used the money to pay something immediately instead of just saving it. I think that will keep me wanting to sell more on e-bay and not practice daily spending.

Yesterday I was talking to a neighbor who is a stay at home mom. She recycles everything and was taking about taking her cans in once a month and getting $5.00 for them. Some of the ladies in our group were laughing but I was very proud of her. She just has a bag she keeps in the garage and that is where she puts all her cans so it makes it pretty easy. I think I am going to try this. 5 bucks is 5 bucks.

I am really working on more no spend days also.

It seems like the more we try to get our debt under control the more it controls us. Just going thur our bills today since payday was this week. We both get paid every two weeks. It seems like each utility bill has had an increase - not so much for usage but taxes, service fees, etc. Although each one is just a few dollars it sure is frustrating. I am trying hard to keep my savings jar going and sales on e-bay are helping. DH and I discussed today the cable bill. It is now $92 per month and that does not include any movie type channels. We do have our cable internet and it is $39.00 which is a portion of the bill. The remainder is basic, few extended like HGTV, Liftime, etc. We may have to go back to very basic cable. I feel like I am just throwing money away.

Yesterday was such a wonderful day. Our grandbaby is 3 1/2 years old and it was our first long car trip with him. We took him to a zoo two hours away. We had all the great plans of taking a picnic lunch and not spending very much money but due to poor planning it did not work out that way. He pretty much has us wrapped around his fingers so we had to take him to McD's for breakfast and was was $11.00 for three of us. We then had to pay a toll for the turnpike which would have been $4.50 total but on the way home my DH took a wrong turn it so it cost us another $1.25 for the toll. The cost to get into the zoo was $16.00 for the three of us. I could have passed him off as a two year old but I am just too honest to do that. Of course there was the money spent at the zoo gift shop $11.00 for rubber animals. Snacks at the zoo were also expensive and of course it took another full tank of gas for the trip. Was it all worth it?? You bet. Sometimes we just have to remember that time spent with the people we love is worth the cost. We could have saved money but I'm not carrying any quilt on this trip. Of really good piece of luck was I had taken my wedding ring off on the way to the zoo to apply some hand lotion and had put it in the seat next to me. After we had parked and gotten inside the zoo I noticed that I had forgotten to put my ring back on. My DH went back to the parking lot to get it for me. As I was getting out of the vehicle it had gotten knocked out of the seat and it finally found it on the ground next to the front tire. Thank God he found it. It was insured but still I did not want to lose it. I will have to be more careful.

Normally each Friday night my DH and I have out "date night". We had decided last night to forgo date night because we are taking our g-baby who is 3 1/2 to the zoo tomorrow and know we will probabably eat at least one meal out. I got a call from a neighbor that they are hosting a cook out tonight. So we will go there to join in the fun. I was e-mailing my DH about what to buy from the meat market to put on the grill and then thought, hey I don't have to to that. We have two small steaks in our freezer that were given to us by a friend the food business so I will simply put those in the micro to defrost and that will be our meal at the cookout. Each person is bringing a side and so bread was needed. I could not get to the discount bread store so I purchased some Challah from the local bakey for $4.99. Not too bad for a meal tonight. The money I am saving from not having to buy something for the grille will be added to the money jar.

Another e-bay sale. Not going to get rich by any means but I am selling a few items and every dollar is going into my money jar. I am finding this e-bay thing pretty easy to do. When I have a couple of free hours, I am taking photos and writing up my description. I try to do at least 4-5 items at a time. These are all items I have around the house that are no longer being used. I am going to do more clothing than I have been and see how well that goes.

I did it again. Went to TJ Maxx last night just because I had not been in close to three weeks. I just wanted to get out of the house for awhile to take my mind off of my mom being ill. I don’t know what it is about that store but I always make a purchase there. Last night was no different. I found a really cute skirt and top that together cost $40.00. I justified the purchase because my DH told his mom we would go to an anniversary party with her this weekend and I didn’t have a thing to wear.

When I got home, my husband was still out playing golf so I casually threw the bag under my desk. He hates it when I got to the Maxx. I kept feeling guilty about this purchase and this morning found the perfect dress in my closet to ware to the party. Today I spent my lunch time today returning the purchase to the store. Whew, I sure feel better now.

Note to self: If I have to hide it from my DH not a good purchase.

Sure you have! I find it funny that when a department store such as JC Penney’s has a sale (which in my area is constantly), they will always tell you at the end of the purchase how much you have saved by buying on sale. You have just saved $200.00. Never mind that you have just spent $75.00 on items that you really did not need. Don’t buy on sale unless you have a need for the product and can be sure that you are getting the best price. As with a lot of things that we buy on sale, if you can do without it, it’s not a smart purchase.

Reading one of the other blogs made me realize that I have had my first non spend day. It does feel good. I ate breakfast at home, lunch was leftovers eaten at work and we had DH's mother over for dinner at our home. It helped that we have carmels at work that are free for the staff so that was was sweet tooth fix. I did almost borrow from a co-worker to buy a soft drink but had water instead. I just can't believe that I got by without spending anything.

My mom has to go the hospital tomorrow to have a test that will take 3-5 hours to see how well how well her blood flow is. Last week was when she found out that she had diabetes. I had used up all of my vacation days until June 1st but my boss is allowing me to take a PSF day which can be used with management approval for paid sick family days. This really made me feel good as I have to take her to the hospital and will need to stay with her during the testing. I hope everything works out ok for her.

Tonight we went to Wal-mart for our weekly grocery shopping. I also had an item that I had bought two months ago that was still in my closet with the tag attached. It was only $4.17 but still better to return it than to just keep it and not use it. More money added to the savings jar. Only extra expense was that we got $20.00 cash to give for a graduation gift. Wish we could have given more. I guess I better start thinking about my goal for the savings. Do I want to use it to pay off some debt or keep it as a safety cushion as we pretty much put all out extra money into our retirement fund.

Second item sold tonight on e-bay. Awaiting payment and then that will be almost $25.0o to add to my savings. Feeling great about that. Tomorrow night I am going to list some more items that are just sitting around the house collecting dust.

Well, I have mailed out my second item sold on e-bay. I am starting to get the hang of the whole e-bay thing. If I can just stop buying on e-bay I'll see a profit. No, really, I am doing pretty well with not buying anything. It is more time consuming than I thought it would be but I will keep it up just because any money coming in helps. I will put the money in my money jar. There are so many things coming our of our paycheck, we may still be a bit in the red. What did everyone do for the graduates that you recd' a invitation from. We normally give $30.00 is a fair amount? I guess I will buy a few extra graduation cards on sale so I will have them next year at this time. My car is in desperate need of an oil change and wheel alignment which I guess I will have done tomorrow. Really, can't put it off any more or I may regret it.

My mother found out of Friday that she has not only high cholesterol but also diabetes. This was really a downer for her. She did find out that the problems she was having with walking very far is possibly related to some type of blockage in her arteries and may be very treatable. She is taking Lexapro for her depression (she still says she was not depressed) and that is helping. We had looked at senior housing on Friday and I thought that was going to be done deal but now she tells she it is too soon for her to make a decision about moving. That was hard news for me to hear as I wanted her closer to me so I could check on her more often. She still has the right to make her own decisions and I just have to accept that. I know it will be very hard for her to give up her home to move to a smaller place. It is just a matter of time.

My DH and I are paying for a lovely home on the golf course. We have lived there for two years and we have a great network of friends from the old neighborhood that also moved there. So what's the problem? This house is eating our lunch. All the bills are so high with this larger home and the travel distance to our work is also longer. We have been having a serious discussion about selling this home (I should say our dream home) and moving to a condo with less yard, better commute and hopefully alot less upkeep money wise. We would like to have some extra money for travel and basically just extra money to do things we can't afford to do now. Also another benefit of the changing housing would be that we would be very close to both of our mother's that we are the ones who they both depend on. Only drawback right now is the real estate market in our area is the pits. Nothing is moving at the golf course because it has been so overbuilt. Not sure what we will decide to do. Just nice to know we have options. Trying to do better with spending. Not touched my money jar which is a very positive things for me. I have surprised myself that I have not "borrowed" from it for something I wanted. Last night we dined out for our Friday night date (on Thursday) since I am doing so things for my mom today and tonight. Spent only $14.00, we shared a meal from the appetizer menu and also were able to get two for one marguaritas. Had a very relaxed time.

Sooner or later the bills come due. I had ordered shutters for our home. I made sure that the money I got from my credit union was earmarked to pay for these shutters. Half of the payment has already came due and been paid. The rest of the shutters will be installed tomorrow and the balance is due. Our home mortgage had jumped $200 a month and it has put us a bit behind this month. My only option now is the keep the money for the shutters in the checking account and pay for the shutters with a 9% interest credit card that I have been trying to pay off. I feel like right now it is more important to keep a cushion in our checking acount until the next pay day and then send a check to the credit card company for the amount of the shutters. I love the shutters but should have waited a while before making this impluse purchase. I love my DH but he lets me buy what I want and that sometimes leaves me spending too much money. I have been doing better though as at least now I am putting some money away in a cute little box at home and not taking it out for anything. I am still taking my lunch to work so I think I will actually see more of a money saving once I get over this addtional money for the mortgage. I am at least keeping a spending book and know where the money is going. Baby steps for me.

My dear mom is 77 years old and I have always viewed her is being able to take care of herself. This is mainley because she is a caregiver for my 98 year old grandmother. Just in the last week I have found that mom is not as invincible as I thought. She has been having trouble walking and her eyesite is not all that great. She owns her home and some land next to it. She only lives about a 30 minute drive from me. I have spent the last few days going with her to doctor and hospital visits. I looks like I may be a caregiven sooner that I thought. She can still take care of herself but her home has gotten to be too much for her to manage. We are currently looking into a senior community. We will go in two days to visit the homes and see if she wants to move there. Our main discussion has been what to do with her home. Does she sell it, rent it out, just keep it in case the senior home doesn't work out. Her feeling now is that she just wants to get rid of it completely. I am an only child so I am trying not tell her what to do but only lay out the options for her. I would appreciate any thoughts that anyone would like to share. My mother really does not want to live with me as she is still pretty independent.

Friday night is our normal "date night" I had expressed to my DH that we could just cook at home and save some money. We actually ended up with leftovers and then hit the golf course - we pay a monthly fee for unlimited golf - to hit a few balls. I was glad that we did not spend the normal money on going out to eat but he says he really looks forward to date night since he never eats out during the week. From some other posts I have read I understand that some things are just too important to stop so I guess date night will be back in. Both of our mom's are still living and so since we had bought a digital camera several months ago it seemed like a good time to put it to good use. I had loaded photos my grandbabies to the computer photo program and made photo DVD's for our mom's. Ran into to one problem and had not bought the right kind of disc for their DVD players so back to the store for another pack. Could not return the first ones I had purchased but thankfully they are re-writeable and we can use them on ours. I did not buy my mom a card as I have a box of all occasion cards at home that I chose one from. My husband spent $5.00 on a card for his mom as he did not know I had some at home. Oh well, next time.

On Saturday we did eat breakfast at home but lunch at McDonalds. What was I thinking. Never again. Too much money of semi ok food. Saturday night I did fix dinner at home using a recipie on the back of a bisquick baking box. It was for their impossible cheesburger pie. I had looked at the recipie several times but had never taken the time to try it. Well pantry and fridge were both in need of supplies so using what we had we were able to prepare this. It was delicious and we will make it again. Afterwards went to the grocery store and only spend $63.00 dollars. This is good for us. My DH normally gets a $20.00 allowance for two weeks but agreed to take only $10.00 to see if he could get by on that. If he finds he needs more can always get more from the bank. My theory is you spend what you have. We still have not been able to add to our savings as all the money we have saved in the last few days was money necessary for other items.

Oops! Forgot to tell my husband we were starting a new savings program. I had done really well yesterday by eating all meals at home and was feeling really good about not spending any money. Last night when my husband got home he had stopped by a card shop and bought a Mother's Day card for his mother and one for me and also a small gift for our grandbaby. The total cost was $14.00. I suggested he not sign my card and just return it to the store but he had purchased it from a store that was going out of business and so could not return it. I can't be mad a him as his is such a sweetheart and is very thoughtful. We did not go our for our Friday night date so I guess it all worked out ok. Today was a little different, I had to pick up a prescription for some medication and while we were out we stopped by a McDonalds - overpriced food and certainly not worth the $8.00 spent but working on doing better. I did think about what I had spent and McDonalds and that is something I normally do not do. Oh well, we will eat home tonight. I did call our daughter today and ask that she come and cut our hair. She is a social worker now but has a cosmtology license so if she makes it out to cut our hail that is a savings of almost $30.00. I don't have the money to put in my savings jar now but at least I am not going any further in debt. I will give her some clothing that no longer fits me for her time.

It was wonderful to see the comments posted to my first blog. It will certainly make it easier to get with and stay with a savings program. Today I am having a weight watchers lunch that has been in my work freezer for a couple of weeks. So in addition to not spending money eating out I am also eating healthier. I had breakfast at home which was great. I normally stop at McDonalds for Chick-Fil-A for a breakfast sandwich and a coke. Had cereal at home and brought a diet coke from home. I don't know yet what the exact savings will be. This is going to be a tough two weeks as I have some major bills coming due so really can't add much to my saving but at least won't spend any extra that I really don't have. My husband and I normally have a date night every Friday night when we go out a have a dinner and drinks usually at $30.00 a pop. Tonight we are dining at home and taking a nice walk or hitting some golf balls to relax. As my title says, I feel great. Thanks for the support.

Lola

Hopefully this will help me keep on track with my spending. I took my mother to some doctor visits today and she insisted on giving me ten dollars for gas money. Even though I kept insisting it wasn't necessary she wanted to do it so I finally took it. It will be the first money to go in my money savings.

I am the spender in our household. My husband likes for the to be the one that keeps tracks of our spending. I guess that way I am the one stressed out when money is low. At this time our payroll is direct deposited and my husband only takes an allowance of $20.00 for a two week period. He takes his lunch to work each day so really only spends this money for a daily cup of coffee at 25 cents a cup. I on the other hand do not take my lunch and spend around $5-$7 dollars daily going out to eat. This does not included what I spend of cokes and a afternoon snack from the machine at work. I am going to do better.

I find that the reason I like to go out to lunch is to just get away from the office. My time at lunch would be served If I took a sandwich from and spent more time walking on my lunch. Also I will cut out the soda's I know I would feel better. Way too much caffine. I will actually start my lunch savings tomorrow.

I also find that we spend a lot of money on going out to eat. I can cook, just don't like to. I am looking a simple ingredient cookbooks for some cheaper, healtier meals that can be prepared in advance.