Keep our heads up
Finding time to get chores done around the house have been a little difficult lately. I am constantly on the go and instead of getting caught up on house work when I find down time I am catching up on rest. I am now working a totally of 84 hours a week. Luckily though, 44 hours of that is spent babysitting in my home and half of that time babysitting is at night so I am asleep as long as the baby is asleep. So the hours don't seem as harsh as they sound as I get to be at home and with my family too.
This week is my week off I guess you could say, at least from my babysitting gig. I plan to get things caught up around the house as long as I have the energy to do so. Mike has been wonderful with trying to help with what he can since his surgery. I like that he is home but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss him being able to do as much as he usually can. He has been so wonderful though with trying to help out that I worry he is going to over exert himself and I catch myself nagging him not to over do it.
We have been trying to stick to budget but last Friday I went over my weekly budget on groceries. I spent about $30 more than I have allotted per week but I stocked up on pantry staples to the point that it will even out by month's end because I will only need to get milk bread and produce as needed for the next couple of weeks and that's it. But even though I went over my weekly budget I still did really well as I saved 57% off my total.
I was chatting with my best friend Saturday night and we were talking about me blogging and ways that we are both trying to cut back spending when she made a comment that she was somewhat of a shopaholic and she loved getting good deals on things and how she tries to use that energy towards other things instead to avoid spending. And then she made the observation that I get excited over shopping too but my energy has been aimed now towards saving and getting the best deals on groceries - And she is right. It has become like a game to see how little I can spend on groceries and to get more (percentage wise) off than I did on previous shopping trips. I think I aim my energy towards the groceries because I have already tried to eliminate all other temptations to spend when it comes to other things such as clothes, home decor and eating out, by just avoiding the stores I like shopping at completely (unless I have to get something specific). So that leaves groceries as my last item that I am still shopping for since its the only thing that I have to buy regularly.
I have given up on car shopping for the time being as I am not finding the deals I had originally hoped for and I do not want to get tied into a deal that is going to cost me a lot more in the long run and on a vehicle that is going to gain negative equity quick. So we are going to make do for the time being with my car and after a couple of months we are going to trying to sell it by owner, since we can get more for it that way, and then buy a used van out right afterwards so that we no longer have any car payments for my vehicle.
We are still doing the "snowballing" on our credit card bills. Slowly but surely we are getting them paid off but as soon as this first one is paid its going to move faster in getting the rest paid off. Right now it just feels as though its taking an eternity.
We paid of the car warranty on my husband's car and so that cut our outgoing down by about $180 a month. But our car insurance is due next month and we still need to put aside a little over a $100 more for it but I am not worried.
We have yet to have a garage sale but I am not upset as we have been sorting through things and are going to have much more than we originally anticipated selling- which is fine with me!! That means we can make more money and I am getting rid of clutter. I am tentatively planning to have it in a couple of weeks so if any one has anything they want to donate- Contact me!
This week is my week off I guess you could say, at least from my babysitting gig. I plan to get things caught up around the house as long as I have the energy to do so. Mike has been wonderful with trying to help with what he can since his surgery. I like that he is home but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss him being able to do as much as he usually can. He has been so wonderful though with trying to help out that I worry he is going to over exert himself and I catch myself nagging him not to over do it.
We have been trying to stick to budget but last Friday I went over my weekly budget on groceries. I spent about $30 more than I have allotted per week but I stocked up on pantry staples to the point that it will even out by month's end because I will only need to get milk bread and produce as needed for the next couple of weeks and that's it. But even though I went over my weekly budget I still did really well as I saved 57% off my total.
I was chatting with my best friend Saturday night and we were talking about me blogging and ways that we are both trying to cut back spending when she made a comment that she was somewhat of a shopaholic and she loved getting good deals on things and how she tries to use that energy towards other things instead to avoid spending. And then she made the observation that I get excited over shopping too but my energy has been aimed now towards saving and getting the best deals on groceries - And she is right. It has become like a game to see how little I can spend on groceries and to get more (percentage wise) off than I did on previous shopping trips. I think I aim my energy towards the groceries because I have already tried to eliminate all other temptations to spend when it comes to other things such as clothes, home decor and eating out, by just avoiding the stores I like shopping at completely (unless I have to get something specific). So that leaves groceries as my last item that I am still shopping for since its the only thing that I have to buy regularly.
I have given up on car shopping for the time being as I am not finding the deals I had originally hoped for and I do not want to get tied into a deal that is going to cost me a lot more in the long run and on a vehicle that is going to gain negative equity quick. So we are going to make do for the time being with my car and after a couple of months we are going to trying to sell it by owner, since we can get more for it that way, and then buy a used van out right afterwards so that we no longer have any car payments for my vehicle.
We are still doing the "snowballing" on our credit card bills. Slowly but surely we are getting them paid off but as soon as this first one is paid its going to move faster in getting the rest paid off. Right now it just feels as though its taking an eternity.
We paid of the car warranty on my husband's car and so that cut our outgoing down by about $180 a month. But our car insurance is due next month and we still need to put aside a little over a $100 more for it but I am not worried.
We have yet to have a garage sale but I am not upset as we have been sorting through things and are going to have much more than we originally anticipated selling- which is fine with me!! That means we can make more money and I am getting rid of clutter. I am tentatively planning to have it in a couple of weeks so if any one has anything they want to donate- Contact me!
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