and the other shoe fell.

October 28, 2008 at 10:22 am · Filed under Uncategorized

So when things are tough, they’re really tough.

First it was the fuse panel for the entire house right before the wedding, then it was the washing machine right after, then it was just trying to catch up on the bills, then I broke the stove….now it’s the furnace, which is less than 2 years old.

There are days when I honestly think God or whatever higher being is out there hates my guts.  This is one of those days…as I sit curled on the couch with a laptop and an electric blaket with sweaty feet and a frozen runny nose.  Why this and why now?

I have two weeks until my holiday season officially starts with Avery’s birthday…and ZERO dollars to welcome it.  I get to pay for a service call on the furnace and don’t really have the money for it.

Somedays.

Hopefully someday I won’t own a house that betray’s me every chance it gets.

I think that’s about all I have to say for today.

It sucks.

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Today’s blah thoughts.

October 21, 2008 at 11:23 am · Filed under Uncategorized

along with the heating bills. We got the estimate on the fireplace. Four thousand dollars. Yeah, that’s not going to happen. Three years ago the quote was under $2500…I’m aware of inflation but that’s just ridiculous. I’ll go buy more electric blankets and stuff.

So, I’ve managed to put off grocery shopping for two weeks. I’ve also found that they don’t put many coupons in the Sunday paper anymore, what’s up with that.

I’ve also decided to get my produce from a farmers market that everyone tells me is cheaper but is an hour away…so it’s a draw but it’s got to be better than supermarket produce..which kind of sucks around here.

Now my focus is going to be on selling stuff around the house that we don’t need anymore. I can’t even tell you the last time the kids asked to play the Wii, or Nick picked up his PSP. Those could go and pay a month’s mortgage…by themselves. We have random computer monitors, printers, scanners, surround sound system. All that crap that we don’t use because we don’t feel like hooking it all up.

I’m also looking for either a second job, or one closer to home. I applied for a part time position here, and a full time. If I get either it will help. The full time one will save me gas and 2 hours a day on the road. The part time will supplement the full time job I already have.

Nick wouldn’t know what the hell to do if he had to get another job. He’s never known the meaning of giving something up…let alone giving up time. It will only be temporary but it will help out tons.

I’m looking forward to Christmas this year, it will be small but great I hope. It will be the first year I get to get Nick a real gift. I’m not sure exactly what to get him yet, but I’ll figure it out. I’m also getting new decorations for the tree. Spending money? Yes, but the old ones are cracked, fraying, and falling apart in general so I’m excited. I haven’t gotten a single new decoration in thirteen years. I’ve already found the perfect ones.

We also get our wedding pictures back this week so I’m somewhat excited about those. They’re not what I was expecting so I’m not totally head over heels for them but they’re still really good. I can’t wait to pick out the ones we want enlarged to hang on the wall. I still need to pick a couple of engagement pictures to hang up. I never did get around to that but I have them all on disk.

I just wish there would have been more face shots…more close ups, and more fun shots of my girls and I…we’re all just standing in one spot, looking one way or another. Oh well, what’s done is done, I’m going to deal with it.

Right now I’m debating on whether or not to grab some slippers to keep my feet warm when I go get plastic for the windows. We’ll have to see what I come up with.

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So here I am..

October 10, 2008 at 2:03 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

After my brief hiatus..okay, maybe not so brief.

Anyway, I’m very excited for this time of year. Fall is my favorite season and Christmas is my favorite holiday. This year we’re using a new tactic when it comes to fighting the cold and getting through the holidays. We’re hopefully getting the fireplace fixed in the next few weeks. The guy is supposed to come back on the 14th and I’m praying that the estimate hasn’t gone up. We’re going to have to really pinch it to make it work at what it was. I will have to flat out tell him we can’t do it if it goes up even fifty cents. We’re also going to basically wrap this house in a layer of insulated plastic wrap. I bought the kids all electric blankets so we could keep the heat dialed down at night. I’m hoping all of these measures work, we can’t afford to pay more for heating than we do for a mortgage payment.

Christmas and the holidays. I’m going to get my old Bath and Body Works store behind me in sponsoring the Angel House this year. Every year they sponsor the battered women shelter downtown. Not that it isn’t a worth cause…but everyone in town sponsors them…last year when we went to drop gifts of, we had to wade through TONS of stuff to get to the desk. They hadn’t checked it all in yet. For those of you that are unaware. Almost every county has an Angel House or something similar (call Social Services or the Red Cross to inquire as to what your local one is called.) This is where all the children that were taken away from their parents for abuse or neglect and are awarded to the state go. These “houses” are their safe houses. The people that work there are THE most selfless people I have ever seen in my life. They get their asses bit, kicked, spit on, beat up, called names and get the brunt of what is left of these shattered children…and they still hug them, read to them, cook for them, bathe them…care for them like their parents never did.

They are always looking for help with supplies, toys, food, clothes..you name it, they need it. They are state funded. And as you know anything pertaining to kids and state funding means they don’t get jack shit. I am excited about getting BBW to sponsor them with me.

I have also vowed that since my children are so spoiled and don’t know the meaning of going without, that’s exactly what we’re doing this year. I’ve set a strict $100 budget for each kid, this means everything. Stocking filler, gifts, candy…all of it for $100 or less. I’ve also vowed I’m not buying anything that’s not on sale AND I’m hitting the second hand stores. I’ve found stuff in these stores that you wouldn’t imagine. My son has 6 school uniforms. All Ralph Lauren….all for less than $10. That was for all 6 uniforms. Yup, major score…and the best part is…when I take them back, they give me store credit to buy more. That $10 investment is going to take me far when it comes to getting more and more clothes for the kids. Same for the girls. You won’t believe what you find there…and they don’t look used or worn. Same goes for toys.

I bought my youngest her birthday present already from one for $12. She’s an avid horse lover…they are all over her room, including a 12×8 ft mural on her wall. It’s a Barbie brand stable with Mare and pony. This thing goes for around $40 in the store brand new. The only thing it didn’t have was the box. Big deal..I’ll smack a big bow on top and she’ll never know the difference.

I’m also going to turn into the coupon queen. I have time, I might as well make it work for me. I’ll look for deals online on products that I buy. I will buy the Sunday paper and clip coupons, I will also shop using the weekly store ads.

Nick and I make good money. Not fantastic, but good. We work full time, have benefits, own our crumbling home…there is no reason we should be living paycheck to paycheck with no money in the bank. Here is why. Before I started working we lived on his income alone. Well, I worked at the mall part time for $7 an hour…for maybe 10 hours a week…that was our play money.

Why is it now that I’m making more than twice that are we broke? We had a wedding to pay for…that’s why, now it’s over. I have a plan to be caught up and have $1000 in savings by Christmas. Why do I say that here? So I can be accountable. If I tell someone, then I’ll follow through for fear of failure and having to admit that we’re too weak to do it.

I’m serious about it too…I’ve told Nick to cancel either the home phone or my cell phone. I want the cable cut back to basic…we don’t need all that other shit. We have games, if he refuses to do that then I’m selling the Wii…no one hardly plays it anyway…it’s a big dollar sign sitting next to my TV. I’m also going to sell the surround sound system. We’ve had it since we got the house….it was hooked up for a week then when we changed the living room around he never re-ran the wire…it sits there, for no reason…taking up space. We have two printers…a camera printer..and I think 3 PC monitors…why? I want to know why we have this stuff lying around..collecting copious amounts of dust and getting in my way?

This is my frame of mine lately. I hate being late on bills…I hate collection calls and we are behind on every.single.bill. That ends now…by the end of the month we will be caught up on all but a few small ones and by Christmas…all will be as it should. We will have bills paid (on time) and money in savings…and working on getting a second car that will hopefully save our ass in the unfortunate case of an accident this winter with the super-sliding, can’t even go on water car. In that case…we’ll pay that one off and live with the beater. No car payment. That’s an extra bunch of money every month…not to mention the drop in insurance coverage for not having to carry full coverage. Why on earth did we ever take on a car payment to begin with? I hate feeling like that. I am fully committed to being debt free in three years, with the exception of the mortgage and student loans. You can bank on that.

That said..I’m looking forward to colorful leaves..the smell of them burning, lots of baking (cream cheese cookies, banana nut bread, and weekly $5 pizza in front of the TV watching a movie). That also means snowmobiling season is soon to come. I love me some snowmobiling. Can’t.wait.

I am also curious in these hard economic times…what do you do to save money? How do you make it through the holidays…or even through the grocery store without going broke? Please tell me your secrets…I told you mine.

My spirits are high…my hope is higher that hopefully this year won’t be so bad as long as we plan for the worst…which is what I’m going to do. I just hope that my husband is behind me in this. He’s not very good at compromise and hates to give up anything he wants…for no reason other than he wants it. I’ve skipped starbucks three times lately…because I would rather use that $5 to put towards a credit card or towards a night for all of us at the movies. He flipped out when I mentioned cutting the home internet because he wants it…mind you he has a laptop for work with wireless access that’s paid for by them….but then he can’t play his world of warcraft. Can I just say that I hope the people that run Blizzard rot in hell for the stress they put on people and the amount of neglect they cause children. I hope they die slow painful deaths and rot in a hell that looks a lot like the game and they just have to play for eternity…no talking…just typing stupid text type and running in circles doing endless quests for nothing more than to hit a level 70…no other reason.

Anyhoo. I think that’s all I have for right now. I’m still waiting for our professional wedding pictures..and still hoping they hold off for a couple more weeks to get caught up financially before we have to pay the balance on them…but I am still dying to see them nonetheless. When I get them I will post a few of them here…because I’m positive I will love them.

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