Just thought I would check in since it's been a while since I posted. Working on a computer 8 hours a day generally leaves me not wanting to get on when I get home. But here I am, taking care of some things for church and thought I would post.

Lots of stuff coming up soon. DD turns 8 in the beginning of April. She has her heart set on a Nintendo DS. I gave her a choice...a party with her friends from school and a small present or the Nintendo and an afternoon with 1 or 2 of her closest friends. She is choosing the Nintendo which makes me happy-no party to plan! My sister and 8 year old nephew will be coming to visit over April break and I told DD I would take the roller skating.

DD is also making her 1st Communion in early May. I just bought her dress ($39 at Burlington Coat Factory). I wish I still had the dress I wore even though it would be very outdated. We will have a get together after the ceremony for friends and family so I have to start planning that. Maybe a brunch.
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I did manage to put a dent in my debt. I received $1200 from our tax refund and another $800 from medical reimbursement. All of this I put towards debt. I had to get 4 new tires for my car which ended up around $500. That was an unexpected expense. I was surprised to see I had the cash to pay for them! That was an excellent feeling

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I have been buying the Sunday paper for the ads and coupons. I am not sure how much I have saved but it is adding up! I have also been going to CVS and saving some serious cash. This weekend I am going to attempt some freezer cooking. With the weather getting nicer I seem to have less time to spend getting dinner ready. My plan is to have at least 2 weeks worth of meals stock piled. I'll let you know how it goes.

How do I go about changing my password for this site? I have requested to have it reset because I had forgotten it and I receive an email with a link to follow but there isn't a spot for me to put in a new password. I don't know that I will be able to remember the long number password I was given.
Anyone have any ideas?

Well, I finally went ahead and got a CVS card. I wanted to see what all the hype was about and I am pleasantly surprised. The CVS I went to had everything I was looking for. I matched the Sunday flyer to some coupons and took DD shopping with me. I bought 14 items, 11 of which were on sale, used 6 coupons and got $2.00 back in Extra Bucks. My total for all 14 items was just 16.19 (that includes tax). Not too shabby for a 1st timer!!

We then headed to the grocery store armed with a list, the recipes for the week, and all my coupons. I had the coupons I knew I would use picked out already but brought all of them with us in case I had forgotten something. We bought a total of 49 items. Saved $18.25 using my Bonus Card and saved $10.20 in coupons. I also received 2 coupons for .50 off my next purchase and a coupon for some of the yogurt we bought. My total for the 49 items was $98.99. I was happy I kept it under $100.00.

So with all this food here is what I plan on making this week:

Breakfast pizza-kids helped me with this tonight. It was yummmy, easy, quick, and allowed me to get out of the house and to the gym.

Pot Roast in the slow cooker with mashed potatoes and a veggie

Hungarian Pork Chops with egg noodles and a veggie.


I usually only make 3-4 meals a week due to busy schedules (then the kids eat Spaghetti-Os), leftovers, and I hate to admit it but eating out. DH usually takes the family o dinner once a week since I do all the cooking. It's his contribution

Anyways, I am all set with lunches for the week and not forsee any unnecessary spending as of yet. I am giving DD $5 to buy a book at the school book fair tomorrow and I have budgeted myself $2/day for coffee, something I haven't been able to give up yet!

I had to stay home today with DS due to daycare issues. We had a nice day staying cozy. We had a bit of an ice storm last night so I was glad to not have to deal with the traffic and bad road conditions. For having the day off I am now working in the evening. I have about 1 hour to go!

Today is a day to celebrate. I just paid off not 1, not 2, but 3 credit cards!!!! I have cut the cards up into a million pieces and don't plan on using them again. One is my Sam's club card that I will just have to make sure I pay cash when I go.
Anyways they were all store cards which are a waste but here is the break down:
Ann Taylor 65.24
Old Navy 260.20
Sam's Club 474.91

For a whopping total of 800.35. All my store credit cards are paid off and a thing of the past!!!!!!!

I still have about $400.00 left to apply to debt. I am going to wait until Friday when I get paid to see what needs to be next in my list of priorities.

Thanks to everyone for offering their support and encouragement!!

Oh yeah, went to the doctor today and the old weight is down to 148!!!! Could today possibly get any better?!

Federal tax refund is in and I am going to start paying off some debt tonight. If you remember DH said I can use about half of the refund for this purpose. It should put a very big dent into it.

I am fighting the urge to go shopping today. We are having after school care issues this week and I have to get home to get DD off the bus. I really want to go to the store and get some things like a new necklace and earring when I wear brown. Not anything that I really need so I am trying to fight it.

Tomorrow I am going to my favorite consignment store to drop off some spring/summer clothes to sell and to pick up a check from the fall/winter season. I am excited to see how many of my items they will take.

Accountable that is! I just got done running the numbers for the month of February. There was an increase of medical/dental due to my tooth issues and the medications I was on for that. Groceries are a bit high due to the fact that my sister and her family spent 4 days with us.

Still have to work on the miscellaneous items as I know I can do better.

So here it goes....

Car payment 304.42
Car insurance 62.48
Gas for car 142.74 (ugh)

Household utilities 464.13 (large portion was Gas and Electric-living in the North during the month of Feb can be expensive!)

Med/Dental 229.41 (which I expect to be reimbursed for)

Groceries 232.60
Coffee and/or lunch at work 23.63
1 Family dinner out 45.95

Gym Membership 64.95
Life Insurance 30.00

Cash allowance 62.00
Transfer to savings 35.00

Debt repayment 334.17
School loan 77.55

Gifts for 4 bdays 40.44
Clothes 15.75
Book for DD 5.83
New coffee maker 21.00

Other unaccounted for expenses 124.46

Yikes! It's hard to see it out there like that. I know there are many areas that need improvement and that will be my goal for March. I am going to pay extra attention to:
Groceries
Coffee/lunch at work
and all the miscellaneous spending that needs to be reigned in.

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In other news I am having my 12 year old neice spend the night tonight. She is going to religious ed with us in the morning and then off to an event for DD First Communion prep. We are re-enacting the Last Supper and have to wear our bathrobes and sandals and eat grapes, pitas, and hummus. Should be interesting. DH is refusing to go so I roped the neice in. We should have a good time if only laughing at each other!

DS got sick in his crib last night. He is only 3 and that is the first time that happened. Poor little guy was scared to death. He is feeling better today so I am thinking it was something he ate. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep last night so I may go take a nap.