Budget, budgets and more budgets

So yesterday Jeff and I were feeling pretty darn smug that we were starting to get the money situation under control. I got my third paycheck from my new job and I was checking off all the bills I could pay and how much I could contribute to the mortgage. AND I got a Christmas present for Jeff. Life is good, right?

Well.. I don't know what signal I sent out to the universe but BOTH our cars needed car repairs this weekend. BOTH OF THEM! GAH! My car, Liberty Jeep that used to be Jeff's was making this HORRIBLE whining noise whenever I turned. It started on Wednesday and just got progessively worse and worse. So today I took Jeff's car to work and Jeff took the Jeep in to be looked at. Turns out there are two pinprick holes in the power steering pressure hose and steering fluid had been leaking out AND spraying my engine. Lovely. But wait... there's more. The battery is apparently also dead. Sooo... the car is STILL at the shop and I can't pick it up until Monday night. That means I need Jeff's car for my trip to New Hampshire tomorrow and for work on Monday. Jeff is going to work from home on Monday (thank GOD he has the flexibility for emergencies like this) while I take his car to my job.

I did however, mention that BOTH cars needed work, right? Well Jeff's car has a bubble in his front tire. A bubble that has been there for QUITE awhile and means that any second he can have a tire blow out. We'd been ignoring it because we wanted to get a little caught up money wise before getting a new tire. Can't do that now... AND his windshield wiper broke. I swear, it's like the universe does NOT want us to get ahead. It's really ironic the sense of timing. So while my car was at the shop Jeff brought his car in and got those issues taken care of. Sigh.

The good thing? We can do this. We have two cars and the flexibility for one of us to work from home while the other uses the car for work. Not a lot of people have that option. Still... so frustrating!

The other good thing? I have two Christmas presents for Jeff purchased (NOT ON CREDIT CARDS!!!), and I have one present for my father. My sister and I decided we would get together for dinner rather than exchange presents, and we already decorated our Christmas tree so I'm trying to stay in the Christmas spirit. I may hate that I work three jobs, but I CAN work three jobs. And hopefully between those three jobs we'll get through this and actually have, oh, a savings account again! Wouldn't that be nice????

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and a better Saturday than we did! Oh, and the Dial soap at the Dollar Store? Don't get it, it really doesn't seem to lather well and I now have like 5 bars of the stuff. Double sigh there. ;-)

issue with Suave products

Okay, on Roxanne's point about quality over quantity - its definitely something I am mindful of. Meaning, most of my shoes are of higher quality. Why? I LOVE shoes (hello, they always fit, and how you can you not love that??), and I think the right shoe can totally make an outfit. So most of my shoes tend to be in the $50 and up range. I do have one pair of black wedge heels that I bought on sale for $29.99 and I've worn for three years straight, but for the most part I tend to pay retail for my shoes. I know its never a waste of money with me as I keep them FOREVER and have been known to have my favorite shoes re-soled and re-heeled. I kept one pair of super pricey black slingbacks for 4 years by having them re-soled and re-heeled over five times. Until the cobbler told me it just couldn't be done anymore. God I loved those shoes.

Where was I? Yes, Suave products. Now, normally I am a Sephora girl and my hair products tend to be Paul Mitchell, but its time economize. So Target was having this massive sale and I got two HUGE bottles of Suave conditioner for like 99 cents each. What's not to like? Well the Suave Refreshing Tangerine conditioner smells absolutely NOTHING like tangerine. In fact, there's no real scent to it at all. I'm not sure WHY they term it "tangerine" when there is nothing remotely citrusy to it. It's odd. It's not a BAD conditioner per say, but it's not the best. It does the job, but I'm not used to conditioner being so watery in texture. I'm used to super thick hydrating conditioner. Anyway, I'm going to use it up regardless because, well, I'm stubborn like that.

Does anyone else have an experience using the "cheaper" or "generic" product?? Anything I should stay away from?

Plan for tomorrow

I got a fabulous coupon to Kohl's for friends and family, a discount for 15% and I am already scoping out what I want.
I'm definitely getting a flannel shirt for my senior guy, and it seems I can get some really nice ones for a VERY nice price.

I am also thinking another blanket for our sofa. We have one down blanket that we fight over, and it might be helpful to have a second one. But we'll see... I don't want to spend more than $75 on this trip and I'm also planning to get some small Christmas gifts. You know, stocking stuffers, maybe some items for my father, some dress socks for myself... Oh, and maybe a new pair of work pants. I am too fat for most of my dress pants so I've been wearing the same black pair and gray pair every week. Alternating with a few dresses and skirts, and I'm thinking maybe another pair of pants would not be a bad thing.

Now, as a former compulsive shopper with an addiction to the, ahem, higher priced items in life, I never really shopped at Kohls or Target for clothing or shoes. If the shoes weren't insanely pricey, I wasn't interested. And that my friends, is how credit card debt adds up! SO.. in my efforts to be more fiscally responsible I've been rediscovering.. or discovering for the first time... bargain shopping. Now, wish me luck with this people because bargain shopping and comparing prices is NOT my strong suit. I'm the "see it, love it, buy it without a seconds' hesitation" kind of gal so actually comparing prices, using coupons, and THINKING about a purchase is all new. But if Jeff and I want to maybe someday finish our never-ending list of home improvement list, we need to save money and pay down debt. So I'm trying to be smarter. And on that note, I discovered this fabulous web site that lets you sell your old books. They even pay for shipping. It's :
http://cash4books.net/index.php?ref=41667

I just sold about 6 books for $12.00 and while that's NOT a lot of money.. that's still money back in my pocket for books I don't read anymore. Anyway, have a great weekend everyone, and happy shopping!!

desire to be warm this winter

It's chilly in our house. Mainly because our house is insulated with chicken wire and newspaper, and also because we only keep the heat at 65 degrees. It's not COLD, but you can get chilly. As a result we have multiple blankets to cuddle up with and I tend to walk around with a fleece jacket on. BUT, I am very tempted by the following:

It's called a "blanket wrap" and I kind of want it. Yes, it's hideous and I'll feel like I'm a hundred years old when wearing it. But I also think I will be nice and snuggly warm, and snuggly warm JUST may win out over vanity. What do you think?

Christmas Giving

Every year one of the companies I work for, Homeinsead Senior Care, put together a tree where senior citizens who don't have family close by or in their lives at all are asked what they want for the holidays and its placed on a tree. People pick an ornament and select their senior and get them the gift they want. While I was in the grocery store this evening with Jeff I saw that the tree was up and I went and took a peek. I wound up picking a senior who requested a flannel shirt and Diet Pepsi. That's it. That's all he wanted. I picked it because, what an interesting combination! I mean, Diet Pepsi and flannel?? Talk about two things that don't really go together. It's just so weird. But if that's what he wants, that's what he's going to get.

Last year I picked a senior who wanted a Christmas Sweater and I actually got her a "Quacker Factory" sweater from QVC. Okay, I got her two because I could NOT resist. I will never have an opportunity to indulge my passion for holiday sweaters ever again. If you haven't seen "Quaker Factory" and all the bedazzled sweaters that get sold, you are missing out. It's THE most entertaining television ever and I constantly tell friends that they're getting a sparkly snowman sweater for a gift. Check it out here:
http://www.quackerfactory.com/index.php

Anyway, even though money is tight for Jeff and I this year I still wanted to do something nice for someone else, so that's my good deed for the season. And btw, how much Diet Pepsi should I get this man? A case? A liter??? He kind of left it wide open to interpretation!

Weeks past

HELLO! I am soo sorry that I've been so bad about updating. I've been sick and started a new job, and well, the list goes on and one. So let's start it, shall we?

1. Started my new job as a "Relationship Coordinator" at a pediatric dental office in Lexington. It's VERY nice getting a regular paycheck again, but it is NOT nice having to be at work by 7:30am. I am NOT a morning person and adjusting my already insomnia prone clock to this change has been hard. As a result I am tired, very tired. Bone tired.
2. I have learned that because I am at a pediatric dental office that kids are petri dishes and I have gotten sick. Nasty cough, sore throat, and while I am slowly getting better, Jeff is now sick as well and we can only imagine what a barrel full of laughs Jeff and I are when we are BOTH sick. It's not pretty people, that's all I'm going to say!
3. Jeff and I went to "The Melting Pot" in Burlington for dinner and learned that you should NEVER have cheese fondue with only water to drink. Apparently that makes all that lovely melted cheese form into a hard block of cheese in your stomach and making you feel lousy with a capital L. So have the wine people!!!
4. Working 6 days a week sucks. I don't care who you are, it blows. I still work as a Recruiting Assistant on Fridays and doing massage on Sundays. I'm keeping up the insane schedule until Christmas so I can actually get Jeff a Christmas present this year!
5. No matter how big my pity party is - there is always someone worse off. I was at my Recruiting Assistant job and got a call from a gentleman who wanted to work as a live-in caregiver in exchange for free housing. He was a teacher who got laid off and lost his house recently and has no place to live. How awful is that??? Made me want to cry actually. And made me appreciate the fact that though our house is tiny, its still ours.

That's it people! Hope you're all doing well and I promise to be better about updating in the future!