I'm trying hard not to take money out of savings to cover the expenses for the end of the month. There were some things that cropped up that I didn't really take into consideration before stuffing money into my savings account, like dance performance tickets for my daughters' show, reptile cage for the lizard my daughter "won", and of course holiday gift "deals". All of these expenses have left me with very little extra cash. It's a bad habit of mine, I tend to put too much away and underestimate my expenses.

I also have a service request at the rental house, something is wrong with the washer. Fortunately the home warranty became effective on Nov. 27, whew! I have been keeping careful record of expenses and income on the condo so that I am accurate come tax time.

It was super tough to get up this morning, but now that I've got some coffee running through my veins I am getting back into the morning routine.

I really enjoyed the weekend. Besides spending time with family and doing lots of shopping, I got to enjoy some beautiful weather after Thanksgiving. It was t-shirt weather all weekend, and I finished up my miles for the month by running outside Saturday. I also hung up the Christmas lights, taking advantage of the gorgeous weather.

We've got a busy week ahead of us, both at work and at home. Busy means that we will get lots accomplished, though, and that always feels good!

I'm trying to get my stuff together at work and home so that when it is time to start my class after the New Year I will be prepared. I need to do well in these classes. They are the start of potentially new opportunities for me in my career, more choices.

I wrote down who I will be shopping for, so now I have a game plan. I might be able to knock it all out this weekend. I'm going to use one of my rewards credit cards and pay it off at the end of the month. I want to get the shopping done with and then stay out of the stores!

My kids shopping is complete, I need to just stop looking! There are so many things I know they would enjoy, I just don't believe in too much "stuff". I know that kids like to play, create, pretend, and generally be busy with different things (you should see my classroom!), I just "try" to keep the actual material goods toned down a bit.

I did get the winter coats for the girls, so glad I waited! With the Old Navy sale I picked up 2 winter coats that are very, very cute, 2 pairs of gloves,a pair of boots for older DD, and 2 shirts for myself for $71! Now both girls are set for the winter weather.

I registered for a spring class this weekend. I had to pay for it, but my work will reimburse me after I submit a C or better grade. It is one of five that is required for a certification I want to earn. Then I have to complete a number of practicing hours. All in all it should take about 1.5-2 years to earn the full certification, if I'm still working full time. Sooner if I switch to a job where my work hours can count towards practicing hours. Seems like a long time but I think it will be very useful in the classroom, and make me much more marketable if I choose to branch out to private agencies.

I finished Christmas shopping for my girls this weekend, and haven't even started on anyone else! I'm liking the online shopping, I tend to spend way less than when I go into an actual store.

I have really savored the long weekend so far and it has been a pretty cheap weekend for the most part. Friday I woke up, exercised, and did the grocery shopping for the week. We were under budget for groceries (yay!) because we have plenty of food in the house to pull together additional meals. We met up with friends for happy hour and enjoyed several hours of company on the cheap. Most of the group was military, and I know they appreciated the day off and recognition on Veteran's Day.

Saturday I did a couple hours of planning for the school week and then spent some time with SO before taking her to the airport for a work trip. The rest of the day went by quickly, picking kids up and dropping them off with friends, picking them up again.

Today I plan to exercise again, more school planning, get my cleaning done for the week, and do some cooking. It should get up to 69 degrees today, nice outside weather. I will take the kids and dog somewhere to enjoy the fresh air. I should be nice and tired by the end of the day, that way I will sleep well!

Not a very frugal weekend for me, sigh...

I had car maintenance done, almost $400. But this was necessary, I have to keep my transportation in good shape as it gets me to work and my kids to school. I want to keep this vehicle for a long time.

I decided to do some of my holiday shopping Saturday. The stores are already filling up with shoppers, and I decided I do not want to be a part of that crowd next month. I picked up all of the gifts for my children. The total for Christmas for both of them is $56.00, because $40 of their gifts came from an Amazon credit card reward.

I signed up for a home warranty program for my rental property, $40 a month.

I also purchased about $50 worth of supplies for my classroom, materials that should really benefit the students.

On the plus side, I had an additional $150 worth of purchases I decided not to make just yet. $49 for a printer, I'm going to make do without one for now. I have other ways to make copies if I need one, like bringing a flash drive to the local copy center, or printing school related things at school instead of spending money on my own ink.

I also want to check some local thrift stores before I purchase jackets for my girls. I don't have much luck finding kid clothes at the thrift stores here, but I have to check. You never know what you will find!