Make saving a habit not only for you, but for every member of the family including children. A rule that a percentage of all income must be saved, whether it's from a part-time job, a weekly allowance or any other source will teach your children the value of "paying yourself first" which they will keep for a lifetime.

Yeah! Christmas is coming.
I love it. I want to sing right now.
I really can't wait to take down Halloween decorations and put up a tree. Buy the way, HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2008.
I can't believe another year has flown by. When you are little, the time passes slowly. I can't believe that Christmas is here and my children are so big.

I am going shopping with my mom to an outlet mall about 35 miles south of here. We are going to the Levi's store to find jeans for my little ones. They aren't so little anymore.

I also have to find a present for my man. I have no idea what he would want.

Tick Tock. Tick Tock.

My little construction worker is about to build me some shelves in our shed. I will be able to put things up off of the floor. I will not have to step over or lean over crap to get to the crap that I want.
I am also about to do the switch of Summer Clothes for Winter Clothes. I got some space bags from my Momma for my birthday. I will empty them and fill them up again. Then, by that time, there will be shelves to put them on in the shed.
Thank goodness for my man. He got the wood from a guy at work yesterday. It was a little inconvenient, but it was worth it. I may have to buy a board or two for hanging it, but other than that, we are all set. My least fav part is going to be the emptying of the shed to build the things.
I am going to need pantry shelves too. Do you think I should buy those white wire ones?

I moved my fridge today. I cleaned the top off, wiped off the sides, vacuumed under and around it, and then emptied it so that I could move it myself.
I think I did a good job. I moved it out of the cubby hole behind the back door. I plan to build a pantry there.
I know that I will want the best area for my cooking and children's needs.
They are getting older and can soon pick out their own foods without my assistance.
I will let them know which shelf they can grab from. Right now they get to choose snacks from the drawers, but I am going to soon have a silverware drawer again.
I will also price compare all the things that I want to go into my pantry.
The construction worker that lives here should be able to get me some shelves no prob, but getting them put in will be a challenge. I know he works hard all week, but I want things built too.
I think that by January, I should have my kitchen set up the way I want it.
I finally got the triangle I need between the fridge, stove, and sink.
After vacuuming the entire room, since there is carpet in my kitchen, I wiped down the ceiling fan. Whoops!
I will still be happy that my fan blades aren't covered in dust.
I also plan on having a cute shower curtian as my pantry door. I wonder if I should get a design or just a white sheet for now.
I will have to figure that out when it gets built.
This is my sign that will go into the kitchen.

I haven't been adding my found money to my challenge. I am sorry.
I found two nickles at the Walmart after spending $195.
I found 16 cents in the washer yesterday.
I found $4 in a pair of my jeans after washing them today.
I wish I was thinking about it more when I find it. I really just stick it into my piggy bank at the end of the night, and that is when it hits me that I should post it.
Oh well.
I'm already on my way to bed now.
I'll do it tomorrow.
Find more money, post them both.
Here are three finds that are behind the times.


I did have to pull $200 out of my savings account today for a radiator for the work mule's car. I feel sorry for my DS2BH. He is working so hard, taking care of the three of us. Our boys are growing, so they are eating more. Gas went down, but that doesn't matter when it still guzzles it down.
I know it sucks to work all week and have nothing to show for it.
He wants to go in with his dad on a gun, but it won't be here, he won't use it, and it will set us back $150.
I guess he will sacrifice his new truck for it. I told him that if I could buy a new washer and dryer, I would buy him a truck. I bought the parts instead.

I hate to play the your money my money game anyway.
I have worked hard to get him to stop that anyway.
It wouldn't be fair if I started it now.

Besides, after this week, there is no more surplus money. The last of my land sale money is gone. I have paid off on credit cards, bought Christmas presents for all, and paid back my Grandma.
That was a large load off my chest.
I still owe credit cards, we will still buy more presents, and I still owe Granny, but life isn't as bad as it was.


BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE, INSTEAD OF HOW MUCH YOU WANT THAT!!!


Treasure your relationships, not your possessions.
— Anthony J. D'Angelo

I so need to get a part time job.
I talked to a career person at my college today. She might have something that is right up my alley.
I only need to work about 20 hours a week. That should suffice for now. Obviously, when I finish school, I will get a good job where I work while my boys are in school. That gives me a year to get my stuff straight and work hard.
I do know that starting out right after school, I won't get a great job, but it doesn't take much to make me love a place. If I like what I am doing and the people I work with, it will be good to me.

If you haven't seen, my October grocery budget has been spent. ALL OF IT!
$365 has been spent in the first three weeks.
I was trying to cut down, since I will be spending more during the holidays, but that didn't seem to make a difference. I hope that I have more self control next month, since that is what I was bracing myself for.
I did buy a ton of freezer food though. I won't have to buy dinners for another two weeks at least.

I will have a list the next time I go to the store, and I will stick to it.
I had a list last time, and still spent 45% of my budget on my last trip.
I hate Wal-Mart!

I finally caved in and paid for my credit reports and score.
It was only $14.95 and I will use it.
Equifax TransUnion Experian
Total Balance $6,889 $7,404 $7,908

These are the total balances for my three reports that it says I owe to my 6, 8, and 6 different accounts.
I believe that I will wait out this financial drought for at least five years before I try any serious credit moves from now on.
I didn't know my debt was this high.
I knew that some of my accounts were charged off, but this is outrageous.

I will enter the average of these numbers into my NetWorthIQ page on my sidebar.

I have been spending money again. I went to the store and shopped for things that I didn't need.
I thought I had stopped this foolish behavior. I had frozen my spending except for essentials for the home. I had to buy toilet paper and toothpaste. Shampoo and conditioner seemed to be used faster and faster.
Why now, am I blowing without remorse?
I do feel remorse. I DO! But I can't let my little relapse defer me from my goals!
I think when I laid down $313 for a washer and dryer, I could afford a couple more bucks.
That way of thinking has got to go. I have to get to work on my credit card debt.

My two loving children are out of school for three weeks.
They go to a year-round school. Nine weeks on, three weeks off. Summer is only a month and a half.

I am glad that my best friend and her mom are watching the boys for me so I can go to school while they are out.

I am trying to think of something I could give her that doesn't cost anything.
I have tried to clean her house, but she seems like she is ashamed of her clutter and doesn't want anyone to see it. I don't mind helping, but I see where she is coming from.

I guess I will have to build her a craft, or have the boys and her granddaughter to make her something and give it to her just because. I don't want to wait until Christmas. She means so much to us year-round.

99 days until my blogoversary.
I don't know where the time has gone. I believe that the posting here is helping me to think before I act. That is a plus. And, I hope to pass this info on to those who need the help.
Thanks to all 40,000 of you who have looked and commented.

I bought a washer and dryer set.
I went to a scratch and dent store, which was cool, and found a set for $325. Since I paid cash and was delivering it myself, I saved 10%. That took the bill down.

Overall, I am happy about my purchase. I did trash the old set, which made DS2BH mad a little. He wanted to fix them. I didn't want them sitting in my yard for months, covered in snow, wasting my space and making it look even more hillbilly than it does already.

I will be saving money on my water bill. I will definitely save on my electric bill, since the old dryer took a minimum of three runs through and this dryer only takes one turn. Sorta like it's supposed to.
They are energy savers, money savers, and my time savers.
I won out, even though I have to buy a work truck for my DS2BH. He really needs one too.
So, count $313 paid for my sanity and pleasure. Whatever pleasure I get from doing laundry is my own, and you can't take it from me now.

I went next door to my cousins last night. We had popcorn from my popcorn machine. We drank soda pop out of real glasses. That saved how much money?

At least $10 per person.
No one had to bring their own drink.
No one had to pitch in for paper cups.
No one had to buy a snack, since I had those things at home already.
Everyone had a great time, enjoying every loving cheap ass minute of it.

We went with the old standby game, Charades. It was my first time go round, but it was fun.
I also brought the paper strips for that game too, and the hat.

Good thing I showed up, huh?

I love my new Girl's Night that is so cheap and easy to enjoy.
Plus, when it is next door, it takes no gas at all.

I have figured my savings on SmartyPig.com. It is pretty sweet.
I have, as of today, $4520.7554 saved. That is adding the interest that has not posted, and all three goals together. There is more interest to be earned, and I will find it.
I still think that saving my money is a better idea than paying off my debts completely.
I did pay them down. I just didn't pay them completely off.
Way To Save, Me!

I hate the fact that I only weigh myself every three months now. I used to love it, not knowing. But now, my BMI indicator on my side bar is not moving. I know that I am at least losing fat, if not weight. I do have a ton of muscle, which weighs more. But there is more than that there.
I don't weigh in until December 4th. So, if you think I am making no progress, it just isn't showing on here yet. I am pulling my pants up all the time, even when wearing a belt. I am also noticing that my bra isn't working as hard as it is used to.
In case you didn't know, your breasts are the first thing to lose mass. Way before the thighs or butt goes, the goods go. I have also noticed that my face is looking less fat. There is no nicer way to say it. I am not ashamed to say that my face is less fat than before.

I have been taking the stairs at school everyday, including the days that I wore heels too. I will start paying myself for that. It is at least worth a dollar a day to me to do it. I have been doing it for free.
Let's hope for at least 5 lbs. loss in December from what it is now.
Wish me luck!

I never figured that I would have to figure what I was worth. I was always in the red, so what I was worth was nada.
I have been looking at my interest earned on Smarty Pig, and loving the results.
(for details, see my balance page)
I am trying to figure out how much money I will have at the end of this month.
I am figuring that I will have saved $4,530.79, including interest.
I will not get the interest posted to my account for another three months, but that will be two months at the end of October.
I have been a little lax on my spending curb I set for myself.
I did freeze any unnecessary spending, buying only what we need to survive.
I believe that with every cent I save, that is one more that I will have when an emergancy comes our way. That is a when, not an if.

I still feel broke. I don't think this bail out is going to bail me out at all. What do you think, George?

I spent $20 on help for cleaning my house. That is sad. I can't believe that I am so lazy that I needed help. My two young un's are trying to help, but that doesn't mean that they are not leaving clutter about too.

I think that I will bust butt tomorrow when I am by myself, but I have to do laundry and I can't since my washer is broken. I used my cousin's today, but that was only two loads. That's hardly any clothes or lessening my piles.

I have to get a washer and dryer. My dryer takes a minimum of three times to dry one load. That is even with an extra spin on them.

I will take S2BH to Lowe's for his work and check the scratch and dent section while we are there.

I found a penny on the sidewalk when I left for school, and I found a penny at school on the ground.

Lucky me!

My washer broke again. DS2BH wants to weld something on to it so that it won't come apart again.
Why can't I buy a sensibly priced economic and enviromently friendly product and use it.
I believe that my washer is not saving as much water as it could.

I should buy a set and just suprise him when he gets home.

Don't you think he would be mad?
Technically it's not his money I would be spending, but I would be asking for money for the bills soon enough.

Why should I have to suffer with 10-year-old hand-me-down set of appliances from his mom?

I want new ones!
I need new ones!
The money that it will save us on our utility bills alone is the reason I want to buy them. I still think that we should consider a new one.

I did find some money in the last load that broke the washer's back. It was a dime.
That's the only reason I do laundry anymore.
Add that to the Challenge!

Do you know what you have to do to get allowance? You have to do chores.
OKAY, CAN I CLEAN THE BATHROOM FOR $10?
Sure, but you have to clean the whole bathroom.

I delayed the cleaning as long as I could. I was fearing the mess I would have to clean up after my six-year-old cleaned the bathroom.
What was I thinking?
I let him start with the floor. First, pick up everything off of the floor. Take the trash out of the cans, clean the cans, and let them dry. Sweep and hand mop the floor.
Sounds good, right?
He did pick up everything, carrying the rugs outside to hang on the porch. I washed them and hung them out to dry so that he thought he carried them out himself and had to get them and put them back.
I didn't let him clean the trash can. That would be mean.
I made sure that the floor was dry, even if it does need mopped again. He then put the rugs back and wanted to move straight into the toilet.
I told him another day. Here is two bucks for the floor. If you earn $2 for every job in the bathroom:sink, floor, toilet, tub, and closet, you will get your $10 total.
He wants to do the inside of the toilet now, since it has been a couple of days.
I told him that the sink is next. I have let him clean the tub before. No shoes and very little spray, since that is the fun thing. I am glad that Clorox came out with green sprays. I still don't want him to spray his eyes, but he is bigger than that.
I told him that he could earn a quarter for every load of clothes he folds, and puts away. I only let him put his and his brothers clothes away.
I hang most of my things and he doesn't like hangers.
He wants a dollar. He is too old for coins now. I told him he has three more loads to fold. I may use this to my advantage. He is definately old enough to vacuum, and I have little bro dusting the living room, pretty much daily.
How old do they have to be to mow the lawn?
If I didn't care about the condition of my clean dishes, I would let them wash those. They do splash a lot though.

Now you see my problem with him cleaning the inside of the toilet.

Add $.01 to my son's $20 challenge. He was doing laundry and found a penny lying on the floor next to the dryer. I only find money in the machines.

I don't need a new dryer, I just want one. My washer was broken down. I couldn't stand not having my own washer. I was bumming my cousin's next door, since she did mine. I still didn't want to wait until she wasn't washing. I wanted to be able to do it when ever I wanted to.
I asked for my washer to be fixed. I threatened to buy a new one. He knows of my thing about having a matching washer/dryer. I was going to buy one when I bought my freezer in the scratch and dent, but he didn't want to spend the money then either.
I am glad he fixed the one I have.
It did save me about $400. I know I would have gone all out and bought $500 matching ones and it would have killed him.
I keep telling myself to leave my money in savings, but the other voice says,spend, spend, spend!
I hate it, but I have very little self control. I often act before thinking. I know this. I need him to tell me not to spend and fix the old one I've got.
Thanks so much, honey!

I tried to not spend any money today.
I took a banana and crackers for a snack at school. I ate them between classes and was satisfied, until I got home. After picking the kids up at the babysitters, and she said that they already ate lunch, I was hungry. I tried to come home and eat a bowl of cereal. I just couldn't do it.
I drove to Subway. I don't like their $5 foot longs, I want what I want.
I spent $6 for my sandwich and cookies.
I walked outside, found a quarter on the ground, and decided that I had to come here, to find the money on the ground.

$112.15
+$0.25
-------
$112.40 Balance for $20 Challenge

Last night was awesome, very fun. I can't do anything like that for a long while. Today, I had my very first hangover.
What an experience. The kids were good, that that was nice, but everything else sucked.

I still would have done it. I am glad we had a great time.

We got to the bar and I put money into the dart board machine. It told me that I had 16 credits. I only paid for four. That means someone had left $3 in there before we started. Thanks for the free games! There was no one around any of the dart boards when we got there or after. The pool tables were packed though. The price for that went up to a buck each game.

All in all, we had a great time and made it home before 12 am. I still went to my cousin's house after the boys were asleep. DS2BH had to work this morning, so they all went to bed and I went next door. That is where I got super slammed and had such a wonderful feeling this morning.

I will post how much money I am saving on liquor for the month. I may even wait longer, maybe only drinking at a holiday party or two.

I was dreading the thought of my bill, but I just couldn't take it anymore. I turned the heat on this morning.
I am wearing some fleece pants and two shirts with a sweatshirt. I was cold still.
I turned it up to 72* and quickly turned it down to 68*. I will leave it there until tonight. It will get colder.

I had fun last night, but am paying for it now. I feel a lot less fun when my belly is turning.

111 days until my blogoversary. This is amazing that I have had the focus and determination to keep spilling my money guts all over.
I am sure that posting my doings here has help me to control excess spending, and ask questions to people like me before making a big decission about money.
I do appreciate the help I get from you, checking out all of your pages too.
When January rolls around, I should be more financially fit by one year of posting that 25 years of life didn't teach me.

I just got off of the phone with my baby sitter. We were talking about how nice it is that she is watching the boys so that we could go out tonight.
She started talking about her daughter's husband, her sons, and the other grown children she knows and how they are all nice guys. I said that her husband is nice too, since he puts up with her and all of us. She said that she couldn't ask for a nicer or better husband.

That got me thinking. She is happy, and I know they don't have a ton of money. They are scraping by just like we are. They also have a one and a half-year-old granddaughter. They do treat my children like her own, just like they did before their granddaughter was born.
It makes you see that you don't need to have money to have love. Sometimes we forget that. I have tried really hard this year to see that things don't buy happiness. Strange, it sort of started around January, when I started posting here.

Tonight is date night. I started to realize that we are still young, both below the age of 30, and that we are turning into an "old couple". I've been watching the marathon of "Married with Children" on TV, thinking to myself that we are them. They don't want to be with each other. I can't let us turn into Al and Peggy. So, we are going out!!
I have pulled money out of my debit card, so that I don't carry it with us, and plan to spend no more than $40 all night. I did take an extra $20 for a cab, just in case. But DS2BH has to work in the morning, so that means he won't be drinking as much as I.

I am also going on a "double date" with my cousin and a guy from DS2BH's work.
She is so excited. She has already tried out a couple of outfits and painted her nails and toes. I am excited too. I was supposed to take him out for his birthday, but he was so tired, he used the babysitter as a sleeping time with no interruptions.

So, I hope that my night of pool, darts, and a live band will satisfy my urge to go out for a while. I don't see going out again before the holidays. That doesn't include the parties for Halloween either. I guess I don't have to wait that long huh?

Wish me luck on my very first mystery shop. I hope it goes well and that I make $15.00.
I still have to fork over $10.50 and wait for my money and reimbursment.
I am a little nervous and worried that someone will think I am being stupid when I ask the questions I am supposed to ask.
I will try my best to act normal.
They said that they want to know what I look like and what kind of clothes I am wearing during the shop.
Is that a little weird?
Here's to money earned. I do believe I will add that money to my challenge total when I receive it.

I called and cancelled my fitness thing in time and they said they could give me a full refund.
Whew!!!
I also have been doing my extra payments on two credit cards.
Today I called and asked for some help on one, she gave me a deal.
"If you pay $29.00 today, I can put a credit for an over-the-limit-fee of $29.00."
"So it would count as a $58.00 payment?"
"Yes, but I have to add the $7.95 pay-over-the-phone fee."

Well, some help is better than none I guess.

I also mailed off an extra $10 to my other credit card.
By January, I should be all caught up.
I need to pay off:$312.49 on one and $502.83 on another by January 09.
I am also saving up for rent, school fees, and the like. I hope I can do it. If I would quit spending like a fool, I probably could.
I believe I will count that $29.00 she credited me to my $20 Challenge balance. That will raise it up a bit.

$83.15 Previous Challenge total
+$29.00 Add this money I "found"
-------
$112.15 New total for Challenge since June 08

The Laundry Fairy loves me. She has stolen money from me before, but she always gives it back. Strange thing is that she makes change.

$82.95 Challenge total
+$.20 Found money in the washer
-----
$83.15 Challenge total since June 08