Mamasita's Quest for Financial

SO loves to cook and really enjoys trying out new recipes. During the school year SO and I do a lot of "once a week" cooking, where we whip up a big salad or soup on the weekend after grocery shopping and rely on those meals to make lunches for the week.

Pros:
-one less thing to think about each day (what am I going to eat for lunch?)
-easy lunch packing
-healthy (we choose recipes with lots of veggies and good stuff)
-tasty
-way cheaper than buying lunch
-cooking together on the weekends is fun (most of the time!)

Cons:
-by Friday you can get a little tired of the same meal

The Pros outweigh the Cons, so it's a keeper! We switch up the fruit or side dish so we don't get too bored. And we are grown ups, so if we get tired of the same meal, well, next week it will be something different, suck it up, buttercup.

I need to get better at taking the meal and whipping it up into something new. Kind of hard to do with soups or salads but I know that with entrees some cooks are really good at getting several different meals out of a "starter" meal.

I revisited David Bach's "Automatic Millionaire Homeowner". I do recommend this book as an easy-read starting point to finances, especially if you are a worrier like me. It streamlines finances so you don't have to think about things so much.

I reset my automatic savings plan at ING to divert funds to my long-term savings. So now I am saving 30% of my income through my 457 plan and long term savings, when calculated using my net income.

Child support is usually saved and then I pull from it as needed for additional expenses such as yearbooks, glasses, parties, etc. (Those are the expenses that have thrown me off lately, with the child support delay).

The rest of my bills continue to be paid online, so no worries there.

So I can put aside the anxiety that I have had lately regarding my finances. The big things have been taken care of, I just have to live on the rest. I'm a big girl, I can figure that out!

I've really enjoying the summer so far. I have been practicing my Spanish consistently using Rosetta Stone. I have also been teaching myself to sew on a machine, it is a lot of fun! I finished one project for my classroom, a weighted lap pad. I'm pretty proud of it, for my first project.

My girls seem pretty happy with their summer. They are spending lots of time in the water and getting lots of time with their dad, which they missed while he was active duty and deployed so much.

Even though it rained steadily, and our pool party had to turn into a house party at the last hour, my daughter had an awesome 13th birthday party! The house looked great, just some simple decorations and glow sticks. The pizza was the most expensive, because I bought so many, and we bought my daughter's favorite, not the cheapest. But we gave out leftover pizza and froze the rest. A friend of ours told us that if you freeze pizza, and just reheat it in the oven, it tastes fine.
I really enjoyed making my girl happy with a simple party with her closest friends. She can be so sweet and you could tell by looking at her that she was having a great time. xoxo

I went ahead and paid summer camps, birthdays and travel out of savings, instead of the credit card. That way I can continue to put money in savings each paycheck instead of sending it to the credit cards. My savings is intended for the things that don't come up every day. I guess I do have a short-term savings account that will flow up and down (this is the account that I will have $5,000 saved by December). I also have my long-term savings which I will transfer most of the cash to when it hits $5,000. Then the plan is to start saving in the short-term account again.

Savings will get back up to speed again, though. Child support has been an issue lately, that has impacted my finances the most. All bills and expenses are still covered, but I have little left over to save. With the paycheck on the first, though, I should be back to saving something each paycheck.

I only worked a couple hours at the end of June, so I have my first check: $50.63 that was automatically deposited into my online savings account. I also have mileage and cell phone reimbursement coming my way in a separate deposit.

My savings account is basically treading water at this point because I have tuition for my 2nd out of 5 courses to repay. Instead of putting $275 in savings each paycheck I will only put $50. Then I will put $225 on my 0% credit card each paycheck until the tuition is paid off, should be 2 months. Then I will put that money back to savings. So my little part time job will be a little extra in my savings account for now.

I added $15 to the cruise fund after selling a textbook, getting close to the deadline!

I also updated personal savings to $6,443. Getting there, slowly, but surely!

I work a few hours this morning at the part time job and then I have the rest of the day off. I haven't gotten a paycheck from the new place yet. It will be automatically deposited into my ING account, so I won't have to touch it at all.

My finances have been a bit in an uproar in June. My ex husband is retiring and his finances are all out of whack, so child support has been a problem since May. I have faith that he will have all of the kinks worked out soon. He's never had an issue with child support in the last 5 years. It's tough to adjust from 20 years in the Armed Forces to civilian life, especially if you didn't plan very well!

Fortunately I can cover things with the family and home on my own, I just won't be saving very much. Thank goodness this is temporary, though I have no idea what the new child support amount will be, if it changes.

I started my new part-time job this week and met my first client. I think that it can be interesting work and I have no problem working 12 hours a week in the summer. I'm just concerned about the time commitment when the school year starts back up. However, I've got to keep my eyes on the prize: Invaluable experience in the field, that will set me apart from other educators. The extra cash won't hurt, either. I have my paycheck set up to automatically be deposited into my ING account, where I keep my long-term savings. Out of sight, out of mind.

We all ate at home this week, minus a trip for Italian Ice, delicious! This summer I see us spending lots of time in the kitchen, as my girls enjoy cooking. I "supervised" while my youngest made homemade tortillas and hummus. Then for another meal my girls worked together to make lasagna, I was impressed that they worked so well together. Usually during the school year there isn't much time for leisurely cooking, so this has been fun.

The water bill at my rental condo is $100 more than it usually is, and I don't know what that's about. I have to add the water agency to my list of phone calls to make...

I had an amazing time in Europe, for 5 quick days! I didn't spend too much money, because I have an aversion to "stuff" in my house and my SO covered all of the food and drinks with her dining allowance. I did spend plenty on souvenirs for the family, and my girls loved the things I brought back for them.

As soon as we got back I had my first training for the part time job. I felt good vibes from the company, not sure how to explain that. The staff seemed very professional and "fresh", not beaten down like so many workers seem to appear nowadays. I'm looking forward to starting with them, though it will be a very challenging job. I have already received my first case, and I shadow my supervisor this week to meet the client and family. I wish I could devote more time to this company, but I can only really do the minimum at this time, about 15 hours a week, since I have a full time job as it is. When I meet the family we will decide on a schedule that is acceptable to both of us, so it should be pretty flexible. It's perfect for the summer, as I like having a little something to keep me in the game. It's when I start back in the classroom in the fall that I am worried about keeping up with everything.

According to my Oriental Trading calendar today is Log Cabin Day, so my daughters and I are heading to a local park with the dog to pick up little sticks. We will make a log cabin for the Barbies. Add a break to go to the pool and some dance lessons, and Monday is covered!

A few more days at school, then I'm leaving out of the country for a few days to meet up with SO! So right now there is "zero" down time. Even as I'm procrastinating reading these blogs, there are a million other things I am supposed to be doing!

I haven't thought too much about the part-time position yet, because I don't have the training until I get back. I am concerned about the impact it may have on my home life. My mom has already agreed to help out with child care as needed. I pay her for this, because I don't want her to feel like I'm taking advantage of her. And SO is willing to help out as much as she can after work. They all know that this position can help my career path.

I need to decide if I will sign up for the next class, class 2 out of 5. The first one was a killer, but I kept at it. I think I'm ready for class #2, it starts July 15. I'll be working part time by then, so summer classes should be easy, but it doesn't end until October 8, a month after school starts. Which means beginning of school year mayhem AND tough class of my own to finish up. But I can do it, one class at a time!

Way back in March I applied for a part-time position to gain experience in a related field that I have been taking classes for. I never heard back from the company, and just assumed they blew me off. Well, today after work I got a call from the company. They asked me if I was still interested in a position, because they have secured more clients to serve.

In the summer it wouldn't be a problem- I can work part time, easy. During the school year, though, not so sure. I have plenty on my plate as it is with my family and my full time job. But this job can provide me with the supervisory hours I would need for a certification I want. So it would be a temporary sacrifice of free time, in return for some very valuable experience, that may lead to much higher paying career choices in the near future.

I accepted the job offer, because this certification is something I really want to earn. The extra money each month will be nice, too! We will just have to see how this pans out with my family.

I've looked at my credit and debit card accounts online, and I spend way too much money on food. Coffee, meals out, this is adding up. I grocery shop every week, there is food in my house, I'm just giving in to laziness. It doesn't even save that much time to eat out- you still need to sit there and be waited on, and you still have to wait for your food to be cooked! Fortunately I don't usually do fast food, that's just gross to me. But restaurant food isn't much better, just costs more.

Problem #1: After work, 15 minutes from home, feeling weary and hungry.
Solution: Have a meal in the fridge already prepared, that just needs to be heated. Think about how delicious, healthy and cheap a home cooked meal will taste after a long day at work.

Problem #2: Out in town, running errands, away from the house.
Solution: Before I leave the house stock a cooler bag with snacks and drinks that we may need during the day: water bottles, fruit, snacks.

Problem #3: Needing to eat a meal while engaging in entertainment on the weekends (such as out of town, at a festival)

Solution: First, stock a cooler bag and keep it in the car. That way, if we do get hungry or thirsty I can try to postpone the purchase by reminding everyone that we have goodies in the car if we can only wait a little bit. (I'm as bad as the kids at this one, if I get hungry or thirsty, I turn a bit whiny!)

Then, try to plan for these events: bring a set amount of cash, and try to leave the event with cash left over. If out of town: Plan to eat meals out that are actual entertainment, meals that are enjoyed. If it's not "special", make it a meal that you can eat in the room. Those random breakfast, lunch, dinner meals eaten out add up fast.

I'm glad I wrote all of this out, it was in my head, I knew what I needed to do, but now I feel like I have a plan to counteract all of the food spending I was doing!

I'm expecting a productive day at work, I've got end of the year paperwork I've got to get started on somehow.

I showed the condo yesterday, now that the tenant moved out. Hoping it won't take too long to find another tenant. I can afford to pay the mortgage if it's empty, but it will take most of my monthly savings to do so. So the sooner I get a tenant the better. Every day I will take a step to make my condo a more efficient investment. Yesterday I showed the condo. Today I will reschedule the carpet cleaners. This weekend I will purchase the new appliances. Then I can show it any day next week except Tue and Thu. The painter will be out there on Wed.

I don't know about the $10,000 goal. Unless I can figure out a way to make $1,000 in June! I may have to push the goal to the end of July. Which is ok, considering the circumstances.

The weekend was full of family, enjoying the water, and celebration. Exhausting! Luckily I have a short work week, looking forward to relaxing over the upcoming weekend.

I will be busy the rest of this week getting the condo rented. The tenant moves out today, so I will meet up with her to do the final walk-thru after work. And I have several people interested in looking at the condo tomorrow after work. So hopefully by the weekend I will have a new tenant. A little hectic, to be sure, but once the new tenant is in place things will relax a bit. This stuff gets easier with practice. Also I'm learning to just plunge ahead with the tasks that need to be taken care of, instead of avoiding and hoping the issues will just "disappear".

My savings is a bit stalled at the moment. With the child support delay while exhusband is in the process of retiring from the military, and a huge payment to my student loan that was not expected, I've actually had to take out of savings this month. I do get paid tomorrow, though, and I'm still expecting tuition reimbursement. If I don't get the reimbursement this paycheck I will be calling to check on it. I've got till the end of June, though, to make my goal, so I can still make it!

Well, trying to! I placed an ad for my condo to get a new renter, my current tenant leaves on the 31. Today I will call our handyman to paint, and call another company to clean the carpets. I also want to replace the stove in the house, but I don't think that will get done this weekend, maybe after work one night next week. I'm going to have a very busy weekend because my big brother is getting married!

So the biggie for this weekend: wedding and family.
Biggie for next week: finding a new tenant and getting condo spruced up.
Biggie for the next two weeks after that: wrap up school.

Child support money will be a bit uncertain for the next few months. ExH is retiring from military, and needs to find a civilian position. He didn't plan very well, and some expensive repairs have cropped up on the house he rents out, so CS will be delayed a bit until things settle with him. I wish I could go in there and "take charge" of finances, but that is no longer my job! Really as long as he pays CS I should have no comments on how he chooses to spend his money. He has always been very good with taking care of our kids financially, even beyond CS, so I know that once he adjusts to this new phase in his life he will continue to do so.

After just a few hours on Amazon, my textbook sold! I ship it out today. After shipping and Amazon fees I clear $93. Not too shabby! That will go in the cruise fund, to finally break the $800 mark.

I had a fun weekend. Some great family time outdoors, a girls night out, church, and home doing crafts and cooking. Even quality time with SO!

I found a cute teddy bear at the thrift store and stitched some "fidgets" on it for my students. Part of my new craftiness! I was proud of myself at the end. And it was a lot of fun.

There will be plenty to keep me busy until June. 6 days until my brother's wedding... lots of anticipation! I do have a cold, though, so I need to get better soon. I'm also waiting to hear if I will be offered a position for summer school.

I have a small cloth basket on my desk that is wide enough to fit file folders and other papers. During the week I quickly scan through mail, hold onto the stuff that I need, and drop it off in the basket on my desk. That way I toss the unneeded stuff right away and get it out of my kitchen. Then when I've got some downtime (like early Sunday morning while the rest of the house is still sleeping)I check the basket. I have a chance to schedule bills online, jot down dates in my calendar, and file everything away or toss it away after bills have been paid. Some things linger in there a while, but this way I have to see it every week until I take care of it or decide it isn't of value. I try to keep the basket as empty as possible.

I'm starting a new hobby, teaching myself a new craft. So this weekend I've been hunting for materials around town, pricing them online, and just getting set up. It's kind of fun getting into something new. I don't really "create" much, and I am now enjoying the process. I'm not allowed to tell myself that I am not "crafty" or creative. Everything has a learning curve, and I'm going to stick with it until I get better!

I listed a textbook on Amazon. I wanted to try this route before just selling it directly to a textbook company, as it looks like I can make a good $50 more listing it myself. Of course, if it doesn't sell, then I've made nothing, and I will sell it to the textbook brokers. But I'm going to give it a little time to try to sell first.

I received my paycheck yesterday, and all of my bills are scheduled to go out for the 15th. I still haven't received my tuition reimbursement in the amount of $850. That will be nice whenever it gets here, though it will go straight into savings.

I received a $5 rebate in the mail, which will go to the cruise fund. That brings the cruise total to $767. I'm chugging along to $800!

I am also still waiting to hear about summer school. I applied this year because it is super close to my house and will be very convenient. Although a few assistants who applied have been notified that they weren't selected, it haven't heard one way or the other. There is a lot of competition for the positions this year because the program was slashed due to funding, so there are very few positions available.

My brother is getting married on Memorial Day weekend, so there is loads to get done before the big day. May is swooshing by, it seems!

This time of the month gets a little dull, financially. I've put money in savings, paid the bills, now I have what is left over to work with until the next paycheck. Repeat.

I'm such an optimist, though. I'm just thankful my finances are "boring" at the moment. I've had the days when everything breaks at once and the savings account dwindles to zilch to cover it all. I'd much rather have boring finances!

I will, however, continue to seek out opportunities to improve my finances and learn more. Soon I will be looking for a new tenant. That is some income. I have applied for summer school. That is another opportunity. It's something.

I'm already looking forward to next weekend!

I did a 5K "extreme" mud race this weekend. Mud is much more painful than I thought! There were mud hills, walls to climb, tunnels, water pits,and barbed wire to crawl under. It was great, a lot of fun! I'm also proud of myself for accomplishing this, I'm in much better shape than I was in my 20s, even though I might have weighed a little less back then (I'm 35 now).

There will be some big meetings this week, as well as another field trip. Busy, busy! It makes the week go by fast. I plan on getting my exercise in through a zumba class this evening, followed by a dance class. I've done two sessions of yoga/stretching already this month towards my 555 goals.

On the financial front, I received a $14 check from selling books. This will go right into the cruise fund. I will also be taking $160 out of savings to pay for an appointment for SO and myself.

Hope everyone has a productive week!

For some reason I'm up an hour early. I feel like I've gotten enough sleep, so I'll just enjoy the quiet.


So I stole Baselle's idea to add a 5 year goal because I realized that I froze up at the idea of where I want to be in 5 years. Maybe the timeline is just too close to fathom my wildest dreams? But I'm putting them down here. As ridiculous as some of them may seem, or as dull, I'm putting them out there for SA to see. I'm just telling myself, why the heck Not?! Why can't I set anything I want for a goal?

-Have a Baby with SO (working on this!)
-Live somewhere tropical with my family(SO is working on this with the military orders)
-Teach overseas (assuming we get the military orders SO is working on)
-Take family on a fabulous trip to celebrate oldest DDs 18th bday, assuming she wants to hang out with us (hypervenilating at the thought that my baby will be 17.5 in 5 years!)We're thinking Australia, or Africa
-Purchase a small place somewhere warm on the water in the states (rent it out in the meantime), or in previously mentioned tropical paradise

I know that anything can happen, and that is one of the scary things about putting dreams and goals on paper- the possibility of heartache. Just like love But you can't get anywhere without taking the risk of dreaming, and then taking steps to make it possible. I know that these goals might get changed, for example, depending on college options for DDs. Or SOs orders. And life happens- better than you can imagine and the devastating. But you've got to start somewhere!

When it comes down to it, I'm perfectly content to stay where we are, with my little family and steady job and comfortable home. These other goals are just icing, a new way to enjoy life and see different things. I figure I'll go for the icing now, while we are in the position to do so. But I also know that WE (that's me with my family) will do just fine wherever we end up!

Now I have to think of some goals for myself!

1. Run 5 extra miles this month- 1 extra mile per workout
2. Complete 5 yoga routines from my yoga app
3. Replace my 3rd cup of coffee with a cup of hot herbal tea (this one is going to be tough!)
4. Cook at home 5 out of 8 weekend dinners. This one will also be tough and requires some planning.
5. Whip up smoothies for breakfast/lunch- I would love for this to become a new habit!

5 year goals- In the next 5 years, I will:
-still working on these. This one is tough, because I know that I WANT to complete a specific certification program, but this program requires a lengthy practicum that involves logging in hours over the course of a couple years. I don't know if I'm going to be in the same area for a few more years.

Looking to the upcoming month, I've got some financial housekeeping to complete.
-Increase monthly savings by $50. (increase of $25 per paycheck)
-Receive tuition reimbursement (hopefully in May sometime!) and deposit into savings
-Reach $10,000 savings goal by end of May, and start new savings goal of additional $10,000 by December 2012. Yes, my goals are very exciting (not!)

I don't have any more concrete goals besides just building up the cash- the future is sort of up in the air as far as where we will be living, that sort of thing. If we stay in this area, I guess I'll just keep saving according to plan. If we move in a year, well, the money will come in handy when it comes time to either purchase somewhere else, float me while I look for work, or any emergencies. Or I could just use all of this savings for retirement. I do contribute to retirement through a tax deferred plan as well as an employer paid retirement plan, but it doesn't seem like there is much money in it. I have to add up the total amount of the accounts, but it is a paltry sum compared to the million or so I will need to retire!

I will need to decide where to keep this cash once I make my May goal. The rest of my long-term savings is in a taxable investment account. I hate just piling it up in a savings account, but I'm also a bit leery about putting most of my savings into the investment account. I sure know how to complicate things!

Just a few days left in April, and I'm going to need everyone of them to get everything done! Work is going to be nonstop for the next few weeks. But if I can keep up this pace for a few more weeks then I will be right on schedule to meet all deadlines before the end of the school year. There is an end in sight!

Besides spending on McDs coffee after work lately, I haven't done much spending this week. I've managed to make it home each night without giving in to the temptation to eat out. This has resulted in much less money going out, and more down time with the kids.

I have noticed other SA members "pay" themselves when they have a no-spend day, or if their favorite team wins, etc. I need to start something like that for my cruise. I want to have it paid for by the end of August, and here it is almost May. Time to start getting creative and get that account built up. Maybe each day that I don't buy any food or drinks, I pay myself $3? Or each day that I exercise I pay myself? Maybe both. Reducing caffeine consumption and consistent exercise are both priorities for me, so I might as well reward myself for them.

Also on the financial front, I increased my automatic monthly savings by $50 a month. This should start to make a difference after a few months.

I had a very satisfactory Monday. The students were happy and cooperative at school. I stayed after 1.5 hours to catch up on paperwork. Then after a quick dinner I enjoyed a heart-racing (if uncoordinated!) zumba class while my kids had their dance class, which was followed by another hour of my regular dance class. The girls were in a good mood, I got them to bed almost on time and after a hot shower I fell fast asleep. Can't ask for much more on a Monday, that's our busy day!

I received $16 in rebates in the mail yesterday, so that bumps up the cruise fund to $748.

We won't hear anything on the possible new orders for a while, as it's still over a year away. But it's exciting to think about!

Today I have another training after school, so we will get home much later than usual. Well, this should be the last mandatory training of the year...

I talked to ex about future, and he plans on working a job where he is gone for so many months and then time off at home for so many months, like a rotation. So with this situation our family doesn't "have" to stay put in order for him to spend time with the girls. Basically their dad can stay wherever he wants when he is in the states, because he won't be working then- that is his time off. We can plan out trips for the girls to be with him when he is back in the states, and he can fly to be with the girls when he is off until he has to leave the country again. No reason to stay put in an area to be close to their dad if he's not even going to be there. Our girls are pretty familiar with the frequent deployments of their dad, they were raised in that lifestyle. As long as they get to see him when he is not working, they will be happy, as they have always been very close with their dad. That will always be a priority for me.

I don't want to jinx myself, but SO is making progress on the next set of orders! The girls and I used to live there, and they loved it. Their dad could even get a short term rental for when he is off work and with the girls. Shoot, I'd pay for the rental myself so he could spend his off time with the girls out there! The basic expenses would be covered out there through SO (rent and utilities), and then our paychecks would cover all of our other living expenses. I'd have to start the job hunt all over again, which is never fun. But who knows, a new job will bring different opportunities for my career. There are lots of other factors to consider, but the good thing is that we know and love the area, and that's a start.

We still have over a year before we have to go anywhere, but I felt so uncertain about how to move forward. I feel much lighter than I have felt in months, having a bit more clarity on which direction we are all headed, and talking to the girls' dad about upcoming arrangements.

I'm pleasantly surprised that most of my plantings from last year returned- hostas, lilies and tulips. In fact, it looks like my tulips multiplied, I don't remember having this many last year. We weren't planning on growing any vegetables this year because we were preoccupied with work and school, but little DD came home with several plants. Her garden club at school has a relationship with a horticulture class at a nearby college and they donated a pallet of plants for the kids. Besides planting them at the school garden, the members were given plants to take home as well. So yesterday we planted a tomato plant, cayenne pepper, cilantro and cucumber. Little DD is becoming quite the gardener from this club! Since we used containers from last year, we didn't have to buy anything. I'm glad to get more use out of previous purchases and looking forward to some home grown produce this summer.

Work will keep me busy for the rest of the month. I've been working furiously on a tough issue that is finally easing up a bit after yesterday's meeting. So I can catch up on everything else that has been needing my attention. It always feels good to take care of things like you should!

Life in general has been feeling a bit more positive... My little brother found a job! I say little, but he's 30 years old! He starts in mid May. The pay is nothing fabulous, but very good benefits that start right away. Since it is a large company there are all sorts of avenues for advancement and other positions that he can go for, once they become available. I'm relieved, it wasn't the money so much I was worried about, he rented out his house and doesn't have any children, so he managed. I was worried about his mental health- he was really becoming depressed about his inability to find work, and he just stopped caring about himself for a little while. I know that positive steps bring about more positive change, so he can make the best of this opportunity.

I enjoyed a blissfully relaxing break, and today is the day to return to work. I'm ready, though, bring it on!

Besides filling up my car with gas yesterday I had a no spend day. We had barbeque leftovers for dinner with homemade tortillas. Delicious, free, and helped make some room in our fridge.

Tonight after work we will have a quick dinner at home and then off to dance class, followed by showers and bed. Mondays always seem to fly by for us.

Tomorrow I may attend a local real estate investor's meeting... I've been meaning to go to a meeting for a while...

Besides one night out of town, we've spent the rest of Spring Break at home. I've really enjoyed the time here. Waking up leisurely, exercising, cooking, and taking our time with errands and shopping is just pleasant! We've enjoyed a couple trips to the park with the girls and the dog, done "kid things" we usually don't have time for during the week like Chuck E Cheese and going to a toy store to finally use a gift card. The kids also spent a couple nights with Dad. I like to think that they've had a nice Spring Break!

We've done lots of medical appointments for the family this week, which equates to less time off during the school year. I always feel I've checked something off my list when we complete the Dr. visits.

While we ate out Sunday and Monday afternoon on our overnight getaway, the only other meal we've spent money on was pizza at Chuck E Cheese (with a coupon and we brought leftovers home!) SO mentioned to me how nice it was to eat at home- the food was good, no waiting around to be served, and we didn't have to waste time driving around town to eat. And the savings? I know we have saved at least $100 this week skipping a couple meals out, if we keep it up through the weekend.

We took a couple bags to the thrift store, and my home feels even lighter without that extra stuff. Less stuff equals less cleaning!

I'm investigating a new approach to finances- instead of thinking of ways to work more to earn more money, I'm focusing on how to Need less money. At this point if I'm honest with myself I can say I make enough money for my needs, and some of my wants. I don't really have to make more money. I may be better off thinking of ways to reduce my expenses to a comfortable level and enjoying that, instead of devoting more hours to working. But this is all for another post down the line...

I wouldn't be able to tell you anyway, I've lost track. Most of it over the weekend was for food. Now I feel like I'm back on track and will get back to my normal frugal self today!

The good news is that final grades posted and I officially have a big fat "P" for passed! So I will get reimbursed $850 tuition, yay!

Today should be beautiful weather so we plan on grilling, I'm looking forward to that. Groceries have already been purchased for the week, there shouldn't be anything else to pick up.

My tenant's lease ends on April 30, then I will need to find another one. It's a beach condo, though, so I'll be tempted to keep it vacant for the family to use... but I think I'm too cheap for that!

Today should be fun at school. I'm trying to keep the day as "normal" as possible for the class, and just throw in some Easter/Spring themed reading/math lessons. We'll make some Easter baskets for art. At the end of the day we'll have a quick egg hunt, and wish everyone a happy break! Anything more than that will disrupt the schedule too much for my students.

The family will spend one night out of town staying at an indoor water park, then head back the next day (it's only an hour away). SO has the week off as well so we will all partake in local fun activities. I plan to take these costs out of our regular budget, shouldn't cost too much. I've also scheduled all of our Dr. appointments during this week, so no time off of work.

I haven't had much chance to check out money during the week, so that's something I'll do this weekend. It should all match up with my budget spreadsheet, unless I've done something wacky that I've forgotten about (been known to happen).

I'm behind on my exercise goals, I didn't reach my running goal for March. I've met my goal every month for over a year, up until last month, off by 9 miles. So sad. But we all got sick, I was finishing up my online class and studying for final, generally other things got in the way. For April I am going to be extra focused. I would "really" like to "make up" those 9 miles from March in April, just to put my mind at ease. My problem is that I actually have to DO IT. But I'm going to give myself a grace period to complete my March miles. It was a rough month, and I need to build some wiggle room in my fitness for months like March.