OK so my grocery budget for this month is gone, the good news? There is food in the house and a new month begins Friday. That means that all the bills are due once again, they seem to come in back to back in a never-ending stream that often makes me wonder if I'm losing my mind.
I have to reduce the expenses that we have but I'm spoiled and Theresa will be the one suffering if we cut out the luxury of the television and her movies so that's an area that has to be examined carefully before anything is done.
I haven't gotten much work done lately which is putting a strain on the budget as well. OK I'm going back to worrying and attempting to get a little bit of work done. We only have a half hour of speech today during which I'll read my book for a while to take a break.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Repairs, repairs and repairs
Lovely fixing the pipe will cost just a little bit more than it would have originally. Seems that it helps to get all the parts before you crawl under the house. So until tomorrow I have water just not running water because some there are no cut offs under the house. This just means that I have to make up the difference to buy the one supplement that Theresa is gonna run out of this month or hope that she's got just enough to last until the next payday.
I actually wish that my other half had spent some time trying to get the riding lawnmower to work. It's like he doesn't understand the grass actually needs cutting and he refuses to push the lawnmower around; it's too much for one person to do alone. Alternating or maybe running two lawnmowers at once would be the best way to get it all cut.
I tried to reopen my savings account online a few days ago but I didn't have any luck. It seems that this time I actually have to find the time to go to the bank and open it in person. Fun, fun, fun. I have yet to give into the temptation to turn the air conditioning on and be super cold until the reality that it's not working properly kicks in.
I actually wish that my other half had spent some time trying to get the riding lawnmower to work. It's like he doesn't understand the grass actually needs cutting and he refuses to push the lawnmower around; it's too much for one person to do alone. Alternating or maybe running two lawnmowers at once would be the best way to get it all cut.
I tried to reopen my savings account online a few days ago but I didn't have any luck. It seems that this time I actually have to find the time to go to the bank and open it in person. Fun, fun, fun. I have yet to give into the temptation to turn the air conditioning on and be super cold until the reality that it's not working properly kicks in.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Increase Gas and Grocery prices leading to habit changes
Gas prices are ranging from $3.33 to $3.76 in Southeast Alabama making lower income homes feel the increase drastically. A two car family is likely to feel the impact instantly at the gas pumps; at least my two car family has. The prices at the pump and the prices in the grocery store are outrageous. My last trip to the grocery store I managed to spend approximately $91 in a half hour, either I was really hungry or the prices have gone up a great deal. I think it was both.
A half gallon of milk is over $2 and the gallons are almost $4, being on a budget this week I bought the smaller of the two. Now it gets rationed out to use until the next trip to the grocery store. A gallon would be gone in two days so I’m not sure how that half gallon is still almost in tact from yesterday. The worst part is that the groceries that I bought yesterday should last about a week for full means with a little bit leftover to make meals when I go back to the store.
There are numerous changes occurring daily in this household. I still attempt to work at least some each day. The biggest difference is that more time is taken to do things by hand and from scratch in an effort to lower cost. My clothes dryer has not been used at all in over a year but the washing machine has; now I’m working to eliminate the washing machine from my life. I am slowly but surely getting in the routine of hand washing almost everything.
I sat down and thought about the concept of hand washing, and since my washing machine is no longer doing the job that it’s supposed to I decided to do a little experiment. Each day I do a few items by hand in addition to the items that are put in the washing machine. Yes, it is strange but there is a method to my madness. Even though my family is small we go through a lot of laundry since our youngest member is only four years old. I have noticed that my washing machine is not working correctly to the point that the clothing I wash by hand is getting cleaner than the ones I place in it.
As a result I’ve decided that my next purchase with my Amazon gift cards will be a new scrub board for the laundry in addition to the new battery for my laptop. My utility bill recently took a jump of around $80 which led to some immediate changes and repairs that could no longer be put off. Out utility usage is now averaging right at $207 each month which is more than just a little bit out of our budget. The simple change of washing at least half of our clothing by hand will keep the washer from running at least three times a week. That should bring the bill down enough to help make up at least a little of the cost of gasoline.
The largest problem with the light bill is that is is on the budget billing system. At the moment the rate is $200 a month, which isn’t actually in my budget. At the rate the rates are rising it’ll be more than that when the cycle for the billing begins again. I’m hoping to get the bill low enough that the monthly budget amount drops some to make more room in the budget for everyday items and repairs as they come up.
My savings account is empty and the car insurance renews in a couple months. That means that once again we pay it by the month, and we will pay more for it than if we paid it off at the beginning of the cycle. Hopefully the rate will not increase this time. I’m not sure how many more price increases I can take. My income is going down instead of up although I am working on fixing that issue.
I am doing some research to aid in improving my writing. It’s been a while since my high school graduation and there are a few areas such as punctuation that have been neglected too long. I find that new guidelines mean I have no choice but to study citations the way they were done long ago for research papers. I have no memory of how to do them.
While I would like to ramble here all day without the pressures of work, I have a lot to do. I need to do yet another editorial on how much work it’ll take so that I have my goals in a public place to force me to work harder for them. I also need to work on something that has the potential to earn a payment today.
A half gallon of milk is over $2 and the gallons are almost $4, being on a budget this week I bought the smaller of the two. Now it gets rationed out to use until the next trip to the grocery store. A gallon would be gone in two days so I’m not sure how that half gallon is still almost in tact from yesterday. The worst part is that the groceries that I bought yesterday should last about a week for full means with a little bit leftover to make meals when I go back to the store.
There are numerous changes occurring daily in this household. I still attempt to work at least some each day. The biggest difference is that more time is taken to do things by hand and from scratch in an effort to lower cost. My clothes dryer has not been used at all in over a year but the washing machine has; now I’m working to eliminate the washing machine from my life. I am slowly but surely getting in the routine of hand washing almost everything.
I sat down and thought about the concept of hand washing, and since my washing machine is no longer doing the job that it’s supposed to I decided to do a little experiment. Each day I do a few items by hand in addition to the items that are put in the washing machine. Yes, it is strange but there is a method to my madness. Even though my family is small we go through a lot of laundry since our youngest member is only four years old. I have noticed that my washing machine is not working correctly to the point that the clothing I wash by hand is getting cleaner than the ones I place in it.
As a result I’ve decided that my next purchase with my Amazon gift cards will be a new scrub board for the laundry in addition to the new battery for my laptop. My utility bill recently took a jump of around $80 which led to some immediate changes and repairs that could no longer be put off. Out utility usage is now averaging right at $207 each month which is more than just a little bit out of our budget. The simple change of washing at least half of our clothing by hand will keep the washer from running at least three times a week. That should bring the bill down enough to help make up at least a little of the cost of gasoline.
The largest problem with the light bill is that is is on the budget billing system. At the moment the rate is $200 a month, which isn’t actually in my budget. At the rate the rates are rising it’ll be more than that when the cycle for the billing begins again. I’m hoping to get the bill low enough that the monthly budget amount drops some to make more room in the budget for everyday items and repairs as they come up.
My savings account is empty and the car insurance renews in a couple months. That means that once again we pay it by the month, and we will pay more for it than if we paid it off at the beginning of the cycle. Hopefully the rate will not increase this time. I’m not sure how many more price increases I can take. My income is going down instead of up although I am working on fixing that issue.
I am doing some research to aid in improving my writing. It’s been a while since my high school graduation and there are a few areas such as punctuation that have been neglected too long. I find that new guidelines mean I have no choice but to study citations the way they were done long ago for research papers. I have no memory of how to do them.
While I would like to ramble here all day without the pressures of work, I have a lot to do. I need to do yet another editorial on how much work it’ll take so that I have my goals in a public place to force me to work harder for them. I also need to work on something that has the potential to earn a payment today.
Friday, March 11, 2011
One Article for a Tank of Gas
I sold an article today on "Coping with your child's Autism Diagnosis" and it'll cover a gallon of gas. Oh well, it's got my name on it and I kept rights so I'm happy with the little bit it got. Since I have first hand experience with the topic it didn't take that long to write.
I'm still waiting for an article at another site to be reviewed. I've decided to try my luck with Constant Content to see if I can work less and make more. I have some articles in mind to write and there are some on the requested content list that I want to try. I'm still trying to save money with rising costs and an idiot that doesn't understand money.
I'm still waiting for an article at another site to be reviewed. I've decided to try my luck with Constant Content to see if I can work less and make more. I have some articles in mind to write and there are some on the requested content list that I want to try. I'm still trying to save money with rising costs and an idiot that doesn't understand money.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Increasing Prices Call for More Creative Savings
Prices are going up at an alarming rate and my income is decreasing at just as an alarming rate. I have no idea how to keep up. I have a number of things that costs can be cut on. Theresa is small enough that she can wear diapers instead of pull-ups at night for less money each month. The cost of her supplements is about ridiculous. I've decided to do articles about each one of them individually and the uses when it comes to Autism. That's going to take a little bit of work but that's fine too.
My daily work schedule is getting increasingly hectic. There is a ton of housework to do and I have found that I've grown to like TLC's Sister Wives show a great deal. I'm not sure why but the sister wives and all those children seem to make life a bit more fun. How do you manage to spend as many as 16 years with three wives when most marriages today end in divorce? It's fun to watch how they all manage to work through the issues. The best part is that none of them have to spend 24 hours a day with the husband. Well, in my opinion that's the best part.
OK it's time to start working for the day. I have a budgeting editorial and need to begin the supplement articles.
My daily work schedule is getting increasingly hectic. There is a ton of housework to do and I have found that I've grown to like TLC's Sister Wives show a great deal. I'm not sure why but the sister wives and all those children seem to make life a bit more fun. How do you manage to spend as many as 16 years with three wives when most marriages today end in divorce? It's fun to watch how they all manage to work through the issues. The best part is that none of them have to spend 24 hours a day with the husband. Well, in my opinion that's the best part.
OK it's time to start working for the day. I have a budgeting editorial and need to begin the supplement articles.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tax Refunds Don't Alway Spell R-E-L-I-E-F
Well, my tax refund or rather what's left of it arrived today. So far it's gone as soon as it came. There are six months of auto insurance to pay in May to prevent having to pay approximately $46 each month which makes the total premium a bit higher. Last time I paid it for six months it was only $258.30. Paying it each month is a total of $276 or more since the monthly premium tends to go up and down slightly without rhyme or reason.
The last two light bills have been in the high range. They were $420 and $381 which is kind of two high. My budget billing amount is $200 so those two put us over budget by $340 and some change. The month of October is when the settle up bill which is the overage plus the actual bill is due. That's 7 months away. There was a water leak under the house where a pipe broke? I think. Hopefully the bill will go down some since the pump won't be running constantly now.
We need oil changes, I have no idea when the last ones were. We need a tire fund too. It won't be long before we need new ones. OK I'm confused so I'll be going, math is the thing that confuses me the most so I'll be going to sleep soon.
The last two light bills have been in the high range. They were $420 and $381 which is kind of two high. My budget billing amount is $200 so those two put us over budget by $340 and some change. The month of October is when the settle up bill which is the overage plus the actual bill is due. That's 7 months away. There was a water leak under the house where a pipe broke? I think. Hopefully the bill will go down some since the pump won't be running constantly now.
We need oil changes, I have no idea when the last ones were. We need a tire fund too. It won't be long before we need new ones. OK I'm confused so I'll be going, math is the thing that confuses me the most so I'll be going to sleep soon.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)