I found two more pair of those clearanced knickers! Someone had returned them, I suppose, so I bought those suckers for $3.74 each. I also bought a dark milky way bar. My spending today came to $8 and some change. Not too bad for two pairs of sleep pants that my DH *really* likes on me and a quickie snack during my break. And I never even thought of looking at the other clearance items. I was just thrilled to find the knickers!

I took my lunch to work - homemade beef tips and rice with gravy and green beans. I ate it hastily but it sure hit the spot.

Tomorrow I work most of the day so I'll take a sandwich and a tin of kippers and an apple. That should keep me going until I can get home and eat dinner with DH. Dinner is going to be barbecued shredded beef sandwiches and chips. Light and easy since I have a full schedule.

That's a quote from the lusty and busty Mae West, who was known to overindulge in many areas of her life. I have to admit I can relate to her in some ways. I've overindulged in many things, too. And it becomes habit if we let it. Breaking the habit of overindulgence, regardless of the 'drug' of choice, isn't easy. But I think that with work and dedication, progress comes. Baby steps are a start if they're in the right direction...

I went to the store today to talk to my boss about something. DH had commented last night about how he likes the cheap Mossimo knickers I got there and how they make my rear look 'very nice' and I should get more of them. So when I went to the store I intended to get more of those knickers if they were still at the nice clearance price. I figured I might treat myself to a Java Chip Frappuccino while I was out, too. I had $24 in cash in my coin purse and a check "just in case".

I got to the store and my boss wasn't there so I left her a note then headed to the clearance racks only to find there were no more knickers. There were very similar ones on other racks but they were full price between $14 and $17 and I didn't want to pay that.

I wandered over to the accessories and looked at the purses that were clearanced. There were some great ones for $4 but none of them appealed to me enough to choose one so I mosied over to the stationery.

I'm in the market for some kind of purse sized notepad or journal but they were all priced between $7 and $20. I found one I really liked but the thought of paying $20 for something in which to record expenses just struck me as incredibly stupid. I didn't want or need one that badly.

I headed back to the java joint to see if my boss was there yet. She wasn't but I talked to one of my co-workers for a few minutes. Soon the fragrance of coffee met my nostrils and the sound of the blender whirring assaulted my ears and I was tempted to order my favorite drink. I won't deny it;I was sorely tempted! But even with the discount, it costs over $3 so I left empty handed, consoling myself with the thought that I could make a cup of joe at home.

So yes, I left that store without buying anything at all. Nothing! No $4.84 knickers, no $4 purse, no $20 journal, not even an overpriced Java Chip Frappuccino!

Oh my, what's happening to me?

One of the cashiers at work called me today and asked if I can take her shift tomorrow. I'm scheduled to be off tomorrow but I told her I would. I need the money and it's a way to help her out. But then I called her later to let her know that if she wanted to work, I'd take her and she said she might be able to work tomorrow after all and she'll call me in the morning to let me know. Either way is fine with me. I'd like to have the day off but I'd also like to earn money!

We just got back from Dollar General where we spent $23.63 on trash bags, bleach, bread, salad dressing, and a few other food items. We stopped on the way back and put $20 in gas in the truck.

So, the total spending for today is $174.73. Yuck! I still prefer $0.00 but am grateful we had it to spend.

Yuck, today has already been 'spendy'! So far, I've spent:

$75.10 at the post office and $56 for my car insurance. There will be more spent later in the day. I knew it wasn't going to be a no spend day today but it still hurts!

DH has an eye infection and the drops the eye doctor gave him didn't clear it up so I just went and got the prescription drops. After my discount, they cost $68! We didn't have that in the budget for this month but oh well, infections happen! At least I got the discounted price.

While there, I picked up a bag of frozen Orange Chicken. Since the Cashew Chicken was so good I wanted to try this one. I also got a dozen eggs. Again, I used my discount but it still cost me a little over $6.

The total discount I got was $8.27 and I'm adding that to my challenge money giving me a new total of $69.10. Go me!

So, today's spending is about $75. I hope there's no more spending today...

In my last entry I mentioned that today had been a low spend day. I spoke too soon! DH wanted to go out to eat tonight so we went out for Chinese food and spent $20 there. Then we went to Target and spent $23.24. Not too bad considering we got a jacket for him (50% off), a pair of Mossimo knickers I'll use for sleep pants (75% off), some cat food, half and half, a loaf of bread, and 1/2 a gallon of milk.

I had to run to the bathroom, though, and gave the cashier my discount card. When I came out of the bathroom DH was standing by the front door waiting for me so we left. I just now looked at the receipt and noticed the cashier didn't take off the 10% discount! I'll take the receipt with me tomorrow and see if I can get my $2.32 back! If not, well...I'll know not to go to the bathroom next time!

So today's spending comes to $45.19. I liked $1.95 better.

I just got home a bit ago. It was a very odd day at work. Customers talked about "the recession that's coming" (those are the words most of them used) and although there were still a lot of debit and credit transactions more than usual used cash. There were still a lot of large transactions, too, so not everyone is worried about it but it seems that quite a few are.

And I missed out on a great deal! Yogurt that will expire in a week or so was clearanced for .06 each! Yes, six cents! By the time I got back there, there was none left, of course. I hate when that happens!

I bought an Americano during one of my breaks. That cost $1.95.

And I forgot my lunch but did have a can of vegetable soup in my locker so I ate that during my meal break and drank free iced water.

So my spending today was $1.95. Not too bad but not as good as a no spend day!

I spent $6 on a dozen homemade chicken tamales this morning. The maker of the tamales does a very good job and delivers them hot and fresh. I don't get them weekly but talked to her about giving me a discounted price if I buy 6 dozen or more. She agreed so I might do that soon. It's nice to have them in the freezer for nights when I work late or we're simply in the mood for them. They're great with a little chili on top, reheated for lunch at work. Yum!

Later we went to Wal-mart for a few groceries and spent $34.75. We used $8.80 in coupons for free stuff so that was a nice savings and that $8.80 goes in to my challenge money. The new total for the challenge is $42.83.

I have my lunch and snacks packed for work tomorrow;a turkey pastrami on whole wheat sandwich, a few potato chips, a tin of kippers (I run everyone from the break room with those!) and an apple. I have no drinks to take but I can get free ice water from the grill so I'll do that.

This week we'll have two of the four needed signs installed for the shop. It will cost $200 for the two big ones to go by the road. Next week we'll have the two smaller ones brought in and install them ourselves. Those signs will cost about $100 but we'll save $100 by installing them ourselves rather than have the sign company do it. The signs are vital, though. We're on the major drag in this town but the little office complex we're in is easy to miss. Signs will help increase the business and make us easier to find for the ones sent here by the local optical shops. A well written map doesn't seem to do the trick!

I also need to get my car registered so I can drive it instead of the truck. That will cost about $60 plus gas for the 50 mile trip to get it registered. And I need to pay my car insurance, about $55.

Wow, this is going to be an expensive week so I really need to make sure to take my lunches and snacks to work and not buy a thing that isn't necessary. Fortunately, the shop gives us some daily cash flow but today was slow as was the last part of last week. I get paid Friday, though. Half of that goes to savings and the other half to bills if we need it. If not, it will sit in savings. Hopefully the rest of this week will be good for the shop and we can save more than half of my pay.

Hey, a girl can dream!

Well, I ran off to work without my lunch bag so when my lunch period arrived I spent $2.75 for a Margerita Pizza from our grill at work. It was pretty good and meatless so there's another dollar to add to the challenge money. My new total is $34.03.

I'm off tomorrow and don't need to do laundry but I do need to get cat food and a few other things so tomorrow won't be a no spend day, either.

Tonight's dinner was Contessa Cashew Chicken that I picked up at work recently on sale. For less than $3 we got three servings of pretty good Cashew Chicken over rice.

Tomorrow I'll put a beef roast in the slow cooker and we'll have that with vegetables and maybe a salad. Yum!

I have to admit I'm somewhat discumbobulated over the Cowboys losing tonight. Grrrrr!

I finally got to the laundrymat! Six wash loads and $12 later, the clothes are washed, dried, and put away. I have to come up with a wash schedule I can live with so I don't fall behind and get overwhelmed like I did this week. I think if I wash clothes twice a week that will be sufficient.

It's just the two of us and I generally wear my work pants at least twice before washing them. So, maybe washing clothes on Monday and Thursday will work. It should, anyway, as long as I keep to the schedule.

I work tomorrow from 10 AM to 5 PM. I'll take something to snack on during my 15 minute break, a couple of drinks, and a lunch. Hopefully it will be a no spend day for me.

And I found 18 cents in the truck while I was looking for the ignition key I dropped. That 18 cents goes toward the challenge so now my challenge money is $33.03.

My challenge money is up to $30 now. I found some change in the truck and ate two meatless meals today so $30 it is.

I bought my $20 Target GC today and spent almost all of it! I forgot I had pictures being developed there that I needed to pick up. That was almost $8. And I bought three food items before heading home so that was another $8 spent. So now I have about $4 left on it. I didn't think $20 would be enough but I have to try it and see how it works. Of course, the food items and film could have been purchased with cash but I didn't have any on me. I might take what I spent from other areas and put it back on the card since that's supposed to be personal and not household money.

Anyway, I got paid today and it was a pretty decent check. Well, for retail in this area it was. Then DH and I went to Wal-Mart and spent about $75. Between putting gas in the truck and buying groceries, it seems like holding on to money is getting harder and harder!

Oh well, at least his business seems to be slowly growing and I have a job. We're making it!

I started my challenge with $20 and yesterday added $4 to it. We both had meatless breakfasts so that was $2, then I didn't get a soft drink or snack while we were out and about so that added $1 and last night at work I did eat something from the grill but it was a meatless pizza so that's another $1. By the way, the pizza was purchased with a gift card I had $3 and some change on so I didn't spend money out of my pocket for that.

So yesterday I added $4 to my $20! Go Denise, go Denise, go go!

Unfortunately, this morning I spilled coffee all over my white work shoes. They're not good for anything but gardening now so I'll have to spend money today or tomorrow for work shoes.

One step forward and two steps back!

Yippeee! Not bad at all!

My mother and I went grocery shopping today and I made up for it. I spent about $130 on groceries today but I'm okay with that and here's why.

I bought a lot of meat on sale, enough to last at least a month, two if I'm very careful. Almost every item I bought was on sale for a very good price and none of it was unhealthy or something I won't use.

Tomorrow I'll repackage the meat in servings for one or two, label the packets, and pop them in the freezer. Over the next two to four weeks I'll need to buy milk, bread and fresh produce but that should be it.

Since I shouldn't have to spend much more on groceries for the next six weeks or so, all in all I think I did well. Now I just have to come up with menus for the next couple of weeks to make the most of the food I have.

A friend of mine wanted to go out for dinner so we went out and had Tex Mex and she paid. I left the tip but that was only $4 and that's all I spent today so it was a frugal day.

I couldn't pay the electric bill because I hadn't received the paper bill yet and that's required to pay it at one of the local stores. But I got the bill in the mail today so I'll go tend to that tomorrow.

I did some more online work today and made another $20 or so. Not big money but it all helps so I won't say no to it. It goes into the regular checking account to help with the bills in November.

I've been managing to save about 10% of everything that comes in and while it isn't anything to brag about I do have a little cash saved. It's nice to know I have that. Apparently I'm a slow learner but I am learning.

I had to spend money today, money I hadn't planned on. I have a Mac Mini and a beautiful ultrathin keyboard shown here:

http://www.apple.com/keyboard/

I cleaned the keyboard this morning and couldn't get all the keys to work afterwards, although I didn't douse it with anything. I tried letting it dry in front of a fan but that didn't help so I went to a local place to get a new keyboard. None of them had USB ports and since I thought the cord on my Mighty Mouse was too short to reach the back of the Mini, I got a new mouse, too.

When I got home I found out the keyboard works fine with my system but the mouse doesn't. Fortunately, the Mighty Mouse cord is long enough so I'll return the other mouse next week. I'm also going to ship my Apple keyboard to my son in Austin and he'll take it to the Apple Store for repair or replacement and ship it back to me.

The total for the new keyboard and mouse is $37.64 but when I return the mouse I'll get about $16 of that back. I'll keep the keyboard - it's nice to have a back up, just in case!

But I sure miss that sexy Apple keyboard..and my $37.64!

On my way home from the store I stopped at BK and spent about $3 on a double cheeseburger and fries. I don't eat that way often but I was very hungry and it was very good!

So, I spent a little over $40 today. Ugh...

I cleaned my mother's house today and she insisted on giving me money. I tell her taking money from the woman who cleaned me and my room and raised me and fed me and clothed me just seems wrong on so many levels but she insisted and wouldn't take no for an answer. So, I finally talked her down to $25. I had a minor errand to run when I was finished cleaning her house and spent $10 of what she gave me so I still have $15.

$5 goes to savings and $10 goes into the 'bill envelope'.

Tomorrow I have another house to clean, but not for family. I should make about $60 and it all goes towards bills.

Here's my spending for October so far. I included what was spent on September 30 since most of it was for things to be consumed in October.

9/30

Valero - $13.00 (gasoline)
Albertson's - $43.56 (food for at least two weeks)
Wal-Mart $ - 16.37 (clothes line, clothes pins, cat food, light bulbs, instant coffee)

10/1

Food Fast - $3.00 (snacks while out with Mom)

10/2

$0 Yipeeee, a no spend day for me.

I want to see more of those $0 days!

Today was planned to be a no spend day for me. I wasn't going to leave the house and that means I don't spend money. But my mother had a 'quick' errand to run and wanted me to go along so I did. It just so happens that the place she had to go was very, very near the new Kohl's that just opened. Since neither of us had been in a Kohl's, we had to check it out. We found things we both wanted but I'm happy to say I didn't buy anything at Kohl's. Oh happy day!

However, Mom remembered another errand she needed to run and since it was going to take awhile and we were both famished we stopped at a convenience store for a snack. I spent about $3 but that's it.

We ran the other errand and went home and I will not go out again tonight. Period!

So it was almost a no spend day for me, close anyway.

Dinner tonight is Poor Man's Steak, brussels sprouts and a slice of pumpernickel with butter. I decided to try a different recipe than I usually use for Poor Man's Steak. I used this one today but cut all ingredients by half:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup milk
1 cup cracker crumbs
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 can mushroom soup
1 cup water or milk

Mix all together, except soup and water/milk and shape into a narrow loaf. (I flattened it on a cookie sheet instead) Let sit in refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Cut loaf into slices and fry in a skillet on both sides until brown. (I skipped the frying) Put slices in baking dish. Mix 1 can mushroom soup with 1 cup of water or milk and pour over each piece. Bake at 325° 1 hour.

Of paying bills, that is. Yes, today was bill paying day.

For most of the last 25 years of my life, bills were rarely paid on time. Yes, there were months when I was flush and they got paid on time or even a tad early but for the most part, it's been a major source of stress for me.

However, I have a new system that involves my mother helping me pay bills. At 45 I really shouldn't need her help but honestly, I have serious math problems and stress-over-money issues and this works for us. We sit together with a cup of coffee or a soft drink and go over the bills then write out the checks, drop them in the mail and go for lunch and just a little bit of shopping. There's a lot of giggling in there, too!

The total for rent, cell phone, and everything but the electric bill since I haven't gotten it yet and the storage unit since I want to move to a smaller one pronto, was $835.95. Ouch! But that includes $150 for spending money for me for two weeks. No, that really isn't all fun money since $50 of it is for groceries and $50 of it is for gas. I don't use $50 worth of gas every two weeks but since I'm looking for a job I might need that much. What I don't use will be put back in the account.

After we got checks made out and mailed we went to a local place for lunch then went to Wal-Mart and Target. I got a few little things I need and spent $19.88 and that included the cost of curtains for the living room. Then I got a couple of things at CVS and spent $8 and some change. I'll wait til Monday or Tuesday to do the grocery shopping since I'm okay on food right now.

Anyway, my bills other than those two are paid, I have money to go grocery shopping and put gas in the car and I feel fairly good about my financial situation. No, it isn't easy and I need to find at least a part time job but wow, it feels absolutely great to have paid the bills before their due dates and to know I only have two more to pay over the next month!

The last couple of months have been hellish but my mom has really been here for me. I'm blessed to have a mother who loves me as she does and tries to help me keep the stress under control. At some point, she'll turn the reins back over to me but not until I tell her I'm ready.

So that's my financial day in a nutshell.

I took these pictures just a few days ago. Wow, everything is growing so well! We only lost 5 plants, all cucumbers, in the recent late frosts. Other than those, everything is doing just beautifully.



All four planting beds/tables



Tiny Sweet 100 tomatoes, just forming on the vine



Beets, beets, and more beets! I love 'em



Broccoli and beets



Bob helping with the potatoes planted in tires



More tomatoes



Squash plants which now have huge blossoms and squash just starting to turn yellow



And more tomatoes! After all, isn't the growing of tomatoes what a garden is really all about?

Oh yeah, to keep this sort of on a money track, I went to Ace Hardware today and bought a few couplings for an install DH and DSS are doing today. I spent $5.30.

So it wasn't a no-spend day for us but it was a little-spend day!

DH deposited his check and got $20 cash. I stayed home all day but donated $5 to my favorite online forum. I'd like to give them more but that's all I can afford right now. Maybe I can give a little here and a little there. I know it all adds up.

It's 77 degrees and the AC is on again. I turned it on when it was over 80 but will turn it off right before I go to bed. That seems to help quite a bit.

The spreadsheet DH helped me make for keeping track of expenditures is working like a charm. Daily, I go through receipts and enter the expense in it, place, purpose, amount, date, method of payment, and it gives me a nice running total for the month. It's very helpful so far, so helpful that I created another one for income! Not that there's much of that right now but hey, there will be and I want to be able to efficiently keep tabs on it.

Well, we ended up having a very boring but very cheap dinner. When we got home from running errands DH had two pieces of bread with two turkey franks and some dill pickle relish. I had the last of the taco soup from last night and it was very good with a few fritos in it.

DH then left to go pick guitar with some people and I've been lying around doing nothing but watching movies and being a bum.

Oh yes, I did record today's spending in my log and updated the January records. Hey, I might be getting the hang of this!

We had to run to a nearby town to pick up some checks and cash them - another $150 toward the money we have to give the bank tomorrow.

We had to put gas in the car so we spent $17 for that. But even though we were both very hungry and wanted Chinese food at our favorite place, we passed and waited until we got home to eat. That was $13 we didn't spend eating out!

While there I called my Dr's office and found out my Novolog insulin was in so I went to get it. The pharmaceutical company sent me 4 boxes of Novolog Flexpens. That's about $720 worth of insulin at no charge! That's good news, indeed! Thank God for Patient Assistance Programs! And if that's not good enough, the needles I use on my Byetta pens fit on these, too, so I didn't need to buy needles!

I also heard from the bank and they don't need $1200 from us tomorrow, they need $1033 so that's a little less we have to pay them. That's good news, too.

Now I'm tired and about to go watch a DVD and probably fall asleep on the couch.

Umm, let's see. I spent $1 drying two loads of towels at the washateria. I also spent 75 cents on a soft drink. Not too bad.

Oh, I also got 3 coupons for $.55 off any Blue Bunny Good for You product! We love their Carb Freedom ice cream so next time it goes on sale, I'll use one of the coupons. Nice treat!

Well, we spent more than we wanted to but hey, things happen! One thing we had to buy was a toner cartridge for one of the smaller printers we use. We had to have it pronto so we bought it at Circuit City, the only place that had it, for about $81.18. Ouch! We also bought groceries at Sav-A-Lot and spent $86.27 but that will last us through the rest of the month except for milk, eggs, and a little fresh produce. Then we had to pay the cell phone bill (it's behind and was about to cut off) and that was $63. We're going back to Tracfone, though, as that's a lot cheaper for us and we don't have to worry about a bill.

We're now about $500 away from the $1200 we need by the 28th. The water bill is due before that and the electric bill is due right after that so even if we get to the $1200 we still need another $250 or so. Arggh, it never ends! But there's light at the end of the tunnel. We think.

We didn't spend much today though we did go to the grocery store for milk, bread, and a few other essentials. We spent $12.11 so that wasn't too bad.

Tomorrow will be a busy day, I think. The other half should be out making sales calls and I'm going to see if I can do some work online. I'm also going to vacuum the carpet and finish laundry.

We needed a few things from the store today so we went to the local grocer and dollar store. We spent $ 12.87 at the grocer and $1.08 at the dollar store. We also deposited a little over $71 in the bank.

Our salesman just called to say he had sold 8 ads and we're going to meet him in the morning to get the paperwork and money. I don't know the total dollar figure for those ads but will find out in the morning.

DH is on board! Yippeee! I'm not sure yet just how on board he is but he's almost fired up and I'm thrilled! He even listened to several hours of Dave Ramsey's archives with me. Yes, indeed, things might be looking up!

I washed clothes but they won't go on the line til morning because it was raining a good deal of the day.

Dinner was a beef roast (was that on my menu plan I posted a few days ago? noooo! but it's what we wanted and we had it in the freezer, purchased at .99 a lb of course!) cooked with a head of fresh cauliflower, carrots, and green beans, all seasoned with a spice mix given to DH today by a
Homemade Gourmet distributor. I'd never tried any of their products before but this woman called us about putting an ad in the next issue of the directory and DH met her and she gave him this sample for me to try. It's the Grandmother's Sunday Roast Seasoning. I liked it but it isn't something I'll buy. Rather, I'll figure out how to make a clone version. The instructions called for the entire $4 package to be used for one roast and vegetables but I used about 1/5 of the package and that was sufficient. It was pretty tasty and DH said it was cooked "perfectly". It was certainly tender and we cut it without a knife!

I made a few more bucks working online. Hopefully next week I'll get a check of $50 or more.

DH came home for lunch again today so that was money saved. He sold some ads and our salesman called tonight to say he'd sold quite a few ads. Yippeeee! And we have an idea for the business. I'll post about that tomorrow!

DH made sales calls today and ran to the post office to mail some things. He spent $13.44 at the post office and that's it. I haven't spent a cent in days and days.

Oops, that wasn't it. He told me he also spent about $5 on a drink, peanuts, and a pack of cigarettes.

So the total is $18.44