HelpMeFriend's Personal Finance Blog

About two or three weeks ago, I had a weirdo idea. I wanted a dog. My mom told me that I shouldn't get a dog unless I was going to have another baby. A puppy is like a baby. It is expensive, needs diapers, and chews and puts everything in their mouths. Well, she was right. I had to buy puppy pads for it to pee on. I spent about $20 on treats, special food, and a brush with spray to help him not stink. What a great idea.

Two problems: I am not allowed to have a pet, not even temporarily.
I also know that I have to get the dog shots. I think the dog is about three months old and it hasn't had any yet.
I don't want to think about what could happen. I am currently still working on having the boys get dressed and eating breakfast instead of playing with the puppy.

Any ideas about our Christmas pup? 22 days until Christmas. Should I buy him a $10 bed? Should I expect to keep him for more than two more months? I am not worried about my landlords finding out about him, but know my neighbors would be upset, since they can't have a dog either.

I am about to go to my gall bladder ultrasound for my study drug. I hope it is good. I will get $1115 for the entire study at the end of eight months. I really want the $180 for today. Too bad I won't get it till next week.
That's okay. Maybe I'll get it today.

Spent $10 on two cases of Mt. Dew
Spent $6.15 on a big can of popcorn
Spent $3.16 on bread, some old from the bakery for Italian loaf for dinner tonight.
Made Olive Garden alfredo sauce and Angel hair pasta for dinner and it was delish!
Washed and returned Thanksgiving dishes to rightful owner. They thought I should just take the baking dish.
Total for trip today was $78.97
That's a weeks worth of groceries, including lunches and dinner for tonight and tomorrow. Leftovers will have to be eaten tomorrow!

With all the problems the entire world is having with their money, I haven't posted in a while as I didn't even want to think about MY finances.
I am a grownup and will face it like a woman.
So, my credit stinks, my longest open card just closed on me and won't reopen it. I have been hanging on by string, but still making it. I also have gotten a new job. My training starts after Christmas. I am excited about that.
I worked Saturday night at my current job. I hadn't worked before then since Oct. 30th. Wow!
I am not worried a bit about Christmas as we know we are not getting much. Our drawing for the adult kids is going strong again for the third year in a row. I am not worried about school either. I am certain that I will pass with flying colors. My hope that I will do better next year doesn't seem so bleak. I could be way worse off.
On a better note, i am saving with SmartyPig and my Santa savings I just opened will be mighty full by next Christmas!
I am also taking part in a drug study that will pay $1115 after 8 months. I am happy with that too. It is for a weight loss drug. So, I want to win two ways. One to lighten my load and one to fatten my savings wallet.
The sun is shining...

We went to my kids fall festival today at school. $9 for three plates of spaghetti. $1 for two drinks and 14 pieces of candy from the hallway trick r treat. What really got me, other than me paying for all that, was the pumpkin auction. The different classes painted and decorated at least 20 pumpkins. There was a real auctioneer there getting the price up as high as he could. When the price was $5 to $20, I would bid, but they were getting rather pricey. $60 for a pumpkin painted black with white stripes to look like Darth Vader. A King Tut one went for $65. $105 for a pumpkin with a blonde wig that was meant to look like the principal. I do love my kids, but really. How on earth can you afford to pay that for a painted pumpkin? Yes, I wanted to buy the ones my children helped to do, but there's no way I can pay more than $20 for a piece of fruit I can only have for one season. I guess its a good thing I took pictures of all of them, so that I have the memories forever, and am only out ten bucks. Wish I could do more, but I think some of them were ridiculously high. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Finishing my paper tonight I realized that I am getting better with my money. I needed to be in a big hole so that I could see how nice it is out of it. Happines is important, but money won't bring it. We (the fam) are doing well about not fighting, giving each other space, and when we don't have something, finding fun by giving something else a whirl. Can't wait for Christmas!

If I thought I didn't know how to handle money before, my class is letting me know how much I really don't know!

Strange that when the numbers get into the millions and higher the difficulty in dealing with it. I am doing well in the class, but it is a little stumping!

When I posted about my TV I wasn't expecting such an outpour of disaproval. I shouldn't complain to you, since it was NetWorth people who critized me. But, since I feel that you know me better, feel this. I bought the TV instead of booze. I am doing good in that department and have thought about AA meetings. Why do I feel so bad? Because I have kids. I don't want them to say things when I am drunk and make them sad. So to me, I have made a move in a positive direction. To heck! with what those people say!

Grandma:$500.00
Credit line:$175
Credit line#2:$165
Rent:$460
TV:$1000
Cable:$140
Phone:$50
Lights:$100
Gas:$75 on budget

That doesn't seem too bad to me.
I am glad that I have paid down the money I owe my grandma. I have no other outstanding debts, besides my student loans.
Way to go me!

When I don't post, I am irresponsible with money. I did make a good decision with about $100 though. I have purchased an electric heater for our living room to keep the gas heat off for as long as possible. $88 plus tax is $96.14. When I saw the ad in the paper, I was excited. I saved for a while for something in the house that was for all of us, and I think this was a good purchase.

I am currently finishing up a paper due for my Intro to Finance class. DIP financing is not as interesting as is sounds, but I am glad that some institutions are willing to help in these tough times.

My darling children are out of school for three weeks. Their fall break comes after my school semester is just beginning. Thank goodness for moms and best friend's moms!!!
My Smarty pig account is slowly but surely getting bigger. I added a goal to help my saving of daily money and when I roll change that I collect, I add it to those accounts.
Breakfast is over and cartoons are going. I am volunteering at the church for a rummage sale today. I really don't want to buy anything there, but I am taking $5 just in case I see something we need.

Well, working the last two nights instead of three took some hours, but I did pocket some change off the ground last night, so I think I made out.
I forgot I got a raise and have earned an extra $.50 an hour more. Tonight I earned $48.88 before taxes. Last night I made the same so I get $97.76! Woo Hoo
Also, I picked up so much change off the ground that I couldn't fit it all into my change purse. COOL
I am sort of nervous about my call tomorrow on the Dave Ramsey show. Should I be getting a lot of info ready to go in case he asks me? How do I keep from babbling or sounding foolish? You know what is really foolish? I am holding on to two of those $1 a day movies and I haven't even watched one. I will do it tomorrow and take them back. That goes on my to do list. As well as getting my check, taking it to the bank, and paying on the light and gas bills! Go me, pay the bills, it's your birthday!

I am going to be a caller on the Dave Ramsey Show this Monday at 12:30-1:30 EST. I am so excited. I am going to talk about how I ended my love affair with the dollar store and all their junk that I spent my hard earned money on.
I can't wait.

Also, I found a penny on the ground in the city today. It was cool!

Actually, I found three. Two in front of the CVS doors, one by the gas pump, next to a used Mentos that I did not take and one dime at work on the sidewalk.
All and all it was a good night. I only worked five hours, but it's better than nothing.

Went to work tonight. Made $59.50 before taxes. Picked up $.20 change tonight but had some REALLY STIFF competition. There was a police officer who would pick it up right after the person dropped it. Why would you be so rude. If they are standing right there, give it to them. But he was really petty about it. A penny fell and he actually went under my feet to get it. I told him next time, I would step on his fingers. There was another penny, and I think he believed my threat because he didn't dive bomb after it. I stood on it and he waited right next to me waiting for me to move for 30 minutes. I figured he was really hard up for money. Anyway, that gave me something to talk about. I still found 1/5 a dollar.
Found money is a wonderful thing.
Counting money jar balance:$9.13
Total now:$9.38
Something's wrong with my counter!!!!!



Oh, I went back to college. I signed up Tuesday and go the end of September. Wonder what classes I'll have and what books I have to buy.

I went to work and bought dinner from the roach coach, but that was about it. We received free tickets for a pre-season football game, spending nothing there. And today, I am making pork chops that we have had in the freezer and plan on spending nothing today too!!!!!
That's a lot for me!
Found $.70 at work on the ground too. Don't ask me what my balance is, I don't think I have one. Right now my counting money jar says $8.86 in change on my desk. Way to go me!

I made $60 at my four day yard sale. By far the worst I have ever done. I closed early on Sat. and am regretting now.
I had to work that night, so I wasn't staying open late, but we went to a birthday party and now they are accusing my son of stealing. What a bust weekend.

Someone took my signs down last night. I know they were taken down and not blown off because they were on there good and there was no sign of it to be found.
So, I put new ones up. Can't get me down that easy. While I was putting a new one up, someone asked me where it was and stopped by. Thanks people! I'm feeling the love from strangers as I tell them that things are $1 and 50 cents. Take it out and give me peace. Too much stuff is probably how I ended up in this no money business in the first place. So far, there is $21.75 to put into Smartypig. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

I am selling my children's clothes and my useless crap! Dirt cheep prices will move the stuff, I hope. I have advertised craigslist.org and put 10 signs on corners around my street. I only plan on having a break when my mom shows up for a minute and on Friday when my kids are out of school.
My oldest boy will stay here with me and help out. He wants to sell his stuff. Awesome buddy. Help the family out. I will automatically put all the funds received from the sale smartypig.com account.
My mom gave me money for my kid's school pictures that they are taking tomorrow. Thanks, Mom!
I only need to get some change at the bank on the corner, a little cooler of water for my hot day tomorrow and pray for no overnight rain. I hate when I leave things outside as it is, but if they get rained on, I my be discouraged.
I hope that when we make some money the kids focus on me putting it away instead of spending it right away. I will let them keep the money from their toy sales, but encourage them to save it until they have $20 to put into their accounts at the bank.

I have managed to keep a small chunk of change, and I do mean change, in their accounts. I am not expecting to make more than $100 all weekend and so they should get what their stuff brings. They can see their account balance and I need to get them into the recording of the deposits. I will get a recorder book from the bank for them.
Wish me well on my money making endeavor. I only need a little shove, not a push over the edge!

I am torn. Do I return to college this fall? My first day back is a day when my kids are off for the day. Missing the first day is bad. I guess I should stop trying to find things to stop me. That is what got me here.

I am shocked that after all this hard work that I had done over the last eight months has been to end in flames after less than two months of penny rolling.
My yard sale is two days away and I am worried that I won't have anything but a couple of cents and a couple of bucks for change. When I first got set up I had $60 for change. This week just needs to shape up.
Working less, which is weird, since I just got a $0.50 raise. My boss said that it would be on my check from yesterday, but it wasn't. When I asked him, he said that I should be happy I got it. Okay, but I still haven't gotten it yet! And it would have really helped to be on this check!
Signed oldest kid up for a runner's club after school two nights a week for 4 1/2 weeks. That should help him get some activity and separate the brothers that need some alone time. Got to get out there and find a job that will work with my schedule of school and my kid's school. Good Luck!

I paid $660 to have hot water. I am thankful. I am a little pissed about how ghetto the operators were to me. After I took my dishes to my grandmother's to do them, I told her that I almost felt sorry for making fun of my ex-sister-in-law for trading sexual favors to get her utilities turned back on. Almost.

Lights and gas paid. Water and phone are next. Maybe a credit card will get paid next month.

I guess that's where an emergency fund comes from. I only have $25 in mine and my man's transmission in his work truck went out Friday. Now he is driving the gas guzzler loaded down with hundreds of pounds of tools. No extra spending!

Last night was good for me. I found 28 cents and I earned $56 (before taxes). So, I guess I have something to put into the bank now. I also scored a bottle of Jose' that I will be using tonight at work. I am not working, so it will be good. Can't party too much though. Saturday is an all day festival show. Yeah!

I returned a car part that was purchased but not needed. That was $42.
I worked from 6:30 to about 10:30 and made $25.
I did not buy any cigarettes or alcohol today, which is awesome for me since I am feeling down.

I contacted my cable company and they told me that in order to get service without buying a box for digital signal, my bill will be raising on September 11th from $33 to $45. "You get more channels." Don't you get that I am trying to go cheap? I guess I will see when those digital boxes are less and get a coupon for reimbursement or something. We can live with Fox and public television but with nothing even I will go crazy.

I tried to call my college today and it was a weird conversation. They changed the name of my school, which is cool, but I asked to talk to some really well known people in the office and the girl answering the phone did not know who I was talking about. So after asking if the dean was the same, she explained that there was an entire staff meeting and she was filling in. I asked her if there was a list of people's extensions so that I could leave a voicemail and she was looking at the list and no one I mentioned was on it.
Weird. I will call again tomorrow and get the down low on what I need to do to start up again this September 29th. Before you jump my case about needing work worse, I can't afford to start paying my student loans, which are about $10,000.00. I have only two months until my six month grace period is over. Really, it is over in August, but I will be registered by then. I forgot that I found two pennies on the ground today.

GO ME!!!

Paying off cards to get the credit card companies to stop calling me 20 times a day hardly seems worth it. I am now $200 lighter and my life seems bleak. Rent is paid, but we still have no hot water. The cable company is going to shut us off and repo our box. I don't know how much longer I can take this. My children have started school and their supplies and textbook fees really strapped me. At least I don't have to pay the $50 a week for Kindergarten this year.

$658 for gas due
$117 for cable due
$132 for phone due
$156 for lights due
$50 for one credit card due
$40 for another credit card due
$101 for yet another credit card due
$60 for my major credit card due
$18 for my last credit card due

My head is above water for now, but it won't be soon. My kids keep me going. My job lets me hang on. My sanity is still in check. Without those things, you would never hear from me again.

What is the name of my blog? You must first help yourself, which I have been doing, by doing a minimum of 20 hours of job searching every week. That is time I could be working and earning money, but my job isn't the best about giving hours. It isn't their fault. I will continue to look, since I am to be starting school again this fall.

Wish me luck!

Work and more work are planned for this weekend. We are sitting at home with the kids and watching TV. Lunch will come out of the freezer and dinner is on Dad. I hope that it doesn't rain on me at work tonight. It is raining now, so that is why we aren't going anywhere. Also, I work 25 miles away so I am saving our gas. Next week is back to school night and school starts that next Monday. Time flew so fast. We have most of our supplies ready to go. I hope that we have a good year this year.

These next two weeks are going to be outrageous with things that need to be done. I have already started on the laundry from our trip, but other than that I have to schedule my son's eye surgery, we have a family meeting with the school counselor, a lot of bills are due, and work is hounding me to come in early this week. Tomorrow I have to sign up the boys for school and finish getting their school supplies together. What else needs to be on my plate right now. I am starting school in the fall too. I had a six month break and I am ready to go back, get into the grove, and graduate. Hopefully with my degrees I can talk my boss into that raise I've deserved for over a year. I could also talk him into some working while the kids are at school sort of thing. I did that for a while, but he wanted me to do physical work instead of paperwork. I really hated getting dressed in my fancy office clothes to dust and clean on my hands and knees. I had no problem doing the laundry of the company, but really, scrubbing the table legs in a dress didn't work for me and I told him. Since I am deaf on the phone, I wasn't the best message taker for lunch time either.
I am going to be looking for a new job. Wish me luck.

Well, my lease is up in October. I really want to leave this dump, but it's cheap and has a great school for my little n's. Without finding a full time job that pays at least min. wage, I can't afford to go anywhere. I say at least minimum because I could be a waitress and make a few bucks. That won't be enough.
Right now rent is cheap for the good area I'm in, but I think my family needs more. I know that we should be happy for what we have, but my 6-y-o told me that our house is too small to get away from his brother. Two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and bath. That is a really tiny place when you write it down. I guess I'm not counting everything. There's a small bathroom, smaller laundry room, and a hallway connecting the four major rooms. I found a place with three bedrooms, fenced in backyard, attached garage, with new windows and insulation. $560 to $875 is quite a jump. DH won't let us move because he is the only one really working. My job is a joke. I work one week and not for two. Since I get paid bi-weekly, it sort of doesn't pay at all. I have to drive 45 miles to get 6 or 7 hours in and then drive home at 1 in the morning, and for what? To get a paycheck for $100 twice a month? Yes. At least I have that. I have to remind myself to be thankful for what I have. Maybe I'll find a cute small house for the same amount of money in November. I'm sure that my landlord will be flexible with me. I am their best tennant.
I am happy we have a house and aren't living off our parents.

I went to the dollar store and spent $21. When did they raise prices from $1 to $5? I can't believe that. I did save an awful lot of money on my cell phone though, so I guess it evens out.

Have I even thought about how much gas would cost to drive south this weekend. We are taking a non-gas guzzler, so that is a plus. But I have been to worried about having fun and budgeting that and forgot about gas. Food is good, clothes are owned, and we are ready to go. I hope that we only have to fill up twice. Once on the way there, and once on the way back.