How are you stretching $$$ ?

I thoroughly enjoyed my pedicure and manicure. I fell asleep in the living room after I got home.

I ate supper at home.

Thursday I'm getting the car serviced. Thursday afternoon I'm seeing my lawyer.

Thursday I will be baking a homemade pie. It's either going to be a pecan pie or a lemon chess pie. Both recipes were my great-grandmother's and are over 100 years old. She was born in 1868.

1. Paid two bills (am now current)
2. Ate lunch at home
3. Turned the thermostat up to 80
4. Made enough lunch & dinner for the next three days

 

I work today - taking the kids I watch to a farm where they can feed the animals, take a hayride, etc. so today should take care of itself. Their mom will pay for everything so I get a nice time hanging out at a farm too, for free. tomorrow and saturday will be devoted to the community yard sale as I try to get rid of junk and make some extra $$. DH suddenly decided to participate (he loves his junk, lol, so nothing of his is ever put into the sale) and said he would spend today cleaning up the kids' bikes, his extra tools, and some other stuff to sell. Whoopee! I only have baubles and whoozits to sell for small change but...if he gets some furniture tidied up, the bikes oiled and washed, etc. we could end up making enough to help out this month. After the sale on Sat. we plan to load up the dog and some beach towels and head to the lake for the rest of the weekend. We have been able to meet all our expenses this month and were able to put $200 into the savings for this month's mortgage payment. I feel as if I am holding my breath, every week, to see if we'll make our budgeting goals, and we are always pretty close to making it at the very least. Mostly we just squeak by...peace.

Pamelaw, you may be squeaking by, but you're getting there. You should feel good, although I know there's anxiety about actually getting there.

We were bad last night and went out to eat. I just didn't feel like cooking. So we'll be having the hamburger tonight instead.

Should be a no-spend day today, unless a bill comes in. Breakfast was eggs and sausage, lunch is PB & J, veggies and grapes. Dinner will be the hamburger, but probably not the taco salad I had planned for last night.

We had another visit last night from the police officer who handled our little dog's nipping incident. Luckily he was just following up to make sure everything was going OK (no more incidents, no rabies, etc). He was gone by the time I could put the dogs away.

Today is the last warm day before it heat up over the weekend. Then we get a real taste of summer.

I hope everyone has a good day today!

Jill

Today should be another no spend day. Staying home and doing laundry and cleaning up. Put some red beans in the crockpot this morning. Also need to mow the yard this afternoon.

Checking and marking sales ads (they start today) and seeing what combines with my coupons.  Lots of road time today -- south to one town for Aldi's & Kroger.  North to another for DH's prescriptions and stepson's gift; DH had a migraine yesterday and couldn't go anywhere.  Tonight is DD's soccer registration, so $50 out for that.  We will be at McD's so will get everyone a treat -- ice cream for DH & DD; ice coffee for me -- so another few $ for that.  This is our closest McD's at 16 miles away so the good part is that we eat even less fast food than when we were in VA, but when we do go we always get a small treat.

Had the roast last night; lots of leftovers, but not as much as I hoped.  DH ate 2 huge pieces of beef along with potatoes and carrots and a piece of bread.  Still, just over 1/2 remains.  He's excited to eat it again tomorrow.  Thinking of buying a couple of steaks; cheaper than going out and will make DH happy.  Will plan that for next month though since I just made the big beef roast.  Soup tonight I think; fast and easy and will make cornbread muffins to go with it.

Picked up the mail yesterday; have some bills to pay -- 2 months worth on the phone bill.  Apparently they billed us for last month and this month, but it's just this one time they'll do that.  It's prorated for July and it includes our dish bill and our internet.  It'll be about $100 for all and includes all the taxes and some features (at the lowest package).  Back home the same package ran about $30 higher. 

Also have to go back to the post office and pick up a package today; it's either my few skeins of floss that were delayed or DD's summer wardrobe for next year (5 outfits for less than $30 including shipping!), which is one of her birthday gifts, so I'll need to hide the box until she goes to bed and I can make sure the order is correct.

Lots of prayers for those getting ready to see dr's for various reasons!

<3

I'm working 1/2 a day today. This afternoon, 3 of my good friends are coming over for a play date (hee hee, their kids, not us, LOL) and then staying for dinner. We are all chipping in for pizza but also everyone is bringing something else to share (salad, fruit/veggies, dessert, bread) so hopefully, we can just order one large pizza for us and the kiddos. No hubbys, otherwise we would have to double the order, LOL. I'm making an easy mock key lime pie. I had all the ingredients except the graham cracker crust (and I was out of graham crackers) so went to the store and they had the pre-made crusts on sale for $1.29 each! Saves me a ton of time. I had the condensed milk, lime juice and cool whip at home. I will make it this afternoon and chill for tonight. My in-laws are going out of town to see DH oldest brother in California so they dropped off six ears of sweet corn and 1/2 a watermelon. Very nice! I'll make a pitcher of lemonade this afternoon, too.

Tomorrow, DH leaves at 5:30 a.m. to drive to Missouri and pick up our dog from the vet school and bring her home! She has been gone an entire month for cancer treatment. She fostered with a vet student so we do have to pay her a boarding fee but compared to the quoted boarding fee for the vet school, it's $350 less and our dog was able to go home with someone and not be in a dog run 24 hours a day. DH put the payment on the credit card for the vet school but is taking a check to pay the vet student for the boarding. We have the cash for that, thank goodness. We'll pay the treatment bill over 3 months. It sounds like everything went well. Hopefully, she can be a part of our lives for many more years.

I won't be on the forum much tomorrow or the weekend. We are heading home to visit my dad Sat/Sunday. It will be a hot weekend so planning on taking our boys to the local pool (where I worked all throughout highschool and college!) to swim on Saturday. Church with dad on Sunday and then wanted to do a picnic but with temps at 98, I think we will eat at dad's, LOL.

Take care, everyone!

 

Good morning all,

DD took lunch and I brought mine as well.  I brought in some lentels and put some in the freezer too.  Made too many! 

Last night my girlfriend came over and I made pasta with that Italian sausage I had in the freezer, so that was fun and stretchy.  I will have to eat the fish tonight that I had thawing out in the fridge.

No money out today.  Might get to go to a step class tonight, that would be good. 

Starting a list of things I need, but will really try to wait until August 15 to buy anything much.  I am well into week two budget, but I don't think I will go over my 200,.00 limit.  I just might hit it sooner this month than last.

So far so good!

Good Morning to all...

Should be a stretching day today as I will work for 10 hours then to the library to drop off books - then home :)

Yesterday after work I met a friend at the local Mall for a quick dinner...when I pulled into the parking lot the outside temp read 120 - yikes...It had been at 116 at work when I left - no wonder I don't go anywhere on a lunch hour - just too blasted hot!!!  That said, I was SURPRISED....ummmm......HAPPY to see that the electric bill for the month of July (one of the hottest in a long time) was only 203.00 that is really good for the July heat in Arizona - we are still hot so I'm hopeing that August will be close to the same :)

My niece in Indiana sent an e-mail last night to me that the "shipment had arrived" which was a special ordered casket that my mother has chosen and will be stored in their Amish barn untill needed - I ordered it just the other day so that was quick - both my kid's think its really strange and weird that I ordered it "early" but I explained to them that this is what their Grandmother want's and anything that I can do to make this time easier or less stressfull for her I am happy to do....

 

Take care my friends - be kind to yourself

 

Deb in az