I just received my cc statement, my new minimum payment is $38.56 of which- were I to make only the minimum payment- $7.96 would go to the principal and the rest is all interest!! It's so ridiculous, I couldn't even get mad!!- I have scheduled to get rid of this particular cc for Dec 12th, when I get my Xmas bonus...70% of my bonus will go to pay off that cc IN FULL!

I found a stove for $160! (well, $159.99)...original price ws $215!...I paid CASH for it! (sooo liberating!- and you should havde seen the saleswoman's face when I said; "i'll take it" and she said: "I'll draw up the paperwork for the credit", and I said: "No, I'll pay cash for it!" LOL!)...it is sooo pretty! I'm happy with my stove, I'm happy with the deal I got and, I'm happy that I have no new debt on it - I paid with money that was supposed to go to the cc debt, but, I still have enough to pay all cc's on time and to pay a bit over the minimum payment...Plus, my sister owes me $60! - which she'll pay me on Dec 7th, so I'll pay that into a cc on the 8th!

We are selling the old one for parts!! - if anyone takes it!!

Ale wanted a Care Bear ($7.50 at Jugueton, which is the local version of Toys'R'us)...and I found them at Siman (dept store) at 25% off if bought with the store card....I bought her 2 for $10.53 (original price was slightly lower than Jugueton's!!)...Don't worry! I was good!...If I pay within the same payment period (9/11 -9/12 in this case), I don't get charged interest on those purchases...I marched to the next cashier and paid the card!
I already set aside the scooter and Barbie/Ken combo Ale wanted, and my cousin will get them for me with her 35% discount! I'm done with Ale!!...Now, I need to get the stuff for my niece, think of something for my nephew, find something for my best friend's son and I'm DONE!!! - oh, but I have to find my sister's B-day gift...have seen a couple of things that would be nice!

There's a "corridor sale" today to benefit the Home for Abandoned Handicapped children...I'll go see if they have a good deal on a new stove during my lunch hour...we have been browsing for weeks at other places, so I know that the lowest price we've found so far is $170....I'll take $170 with me, that way, if the price is the same, then at least it'll go to the children (our company is a huge sponsor of this home...it is one of the few charities for which you can set up an automatic payroll deduction with the company!...and, I have seen the work they do, it really is great!) www.fhp.org.sv/fhp/ if you want to visit their page!...
I hope I can find what I need!
*****************************
They only had electric stoves I want a gas one - they are cheaper, and the gas is cheaper than electricity, too!... back to the old quotes that we had!! - because I want this resolved THIS weekend!!

I bought it right away, because the moment I saw it I thought: GB!...It's one of those card/photo displayers that have a little clippy thing?? ...the base is in the shape of a flip-flop...striped, with bright pink, blue and green...she ADORES shoes, so I know it'll be perfect for her! (las year I gave her a mini-calendar that featured a different shoe for each month!)....the best part? It cost $1.80!!! (she knows my presents are more symbolic than anything else this year!...just a gesture to say: I love you and thik of you!...) AND, I found some (very) old Xmas cards (all the leftovers from the ones we bought with ex-hubby over the years...blank insides!!)...so I'll add a card to my presents this year!

Found a tub of Legos at $9.99...of course, those are "real" Legos...I can get construction bricks of unknown brand for about $6.00....they are good, they actually fit with Lego-brand bricks and, half of them'll end up lost and/or chewed up anyway, so....I also looked at stuff for the house (found a nice garlic-bread plate at $6.00...of course, given that we almost never make garlic bread....) and I found beautiful cloth placemats at $2.50 each (think I can get cheaper ones at the Indian market...and hand made!)...I found some of the project managers at the same dept store...looking into buying a ping-pong table ($209)...I tried to get the salesman to throw in a the racquets, but I don't know what happened after that, because I had to leave to go pay my store card ($30)...I would like to keep a store card, but I'm undecided on whether to keep this one (expensive if you have balance on it, but, the store is within walking distance to my office, it has several other stores at convenient locations and, there's no annual membership fee and, if your acct shows a $0 balance, there are no "handling fees" or charges...) ...I'd have to investigate the other stores and see what their store cards are like (of course, I also have to look into NOT keeping any store cards!)..

OH, and I didn't actually BUY anything at the store...just made a payment.

The bank exec delivered the cheques for the loan today...I already went to pay at one CC company
I have to go pay the loan at the other bank - unsure as to how we will handle the refund of $150, though, as, while the exec was processing the cheques, one payment came due and, since I have it on automatic discount from my salary account, it was paid....

I also need to notify payroll that they don't have to discount this money anymore...or, rather, that the discount should be $159.91 and should go to another bank! lol!

I feel much lighter...I know it's a looooong way off being debt-free, but, at least I know I can live with my salary, and not have to hand most of it to the credit card companies!!

First, thanks to Jorge for that last comment...I never thought of my life as interesting before, crazy, yes, but interesting??...

I have 1 of the 5 houses we rent almost sorted out now...I have 3 execs there, with their new maid, and I'm only pending with stuff from 1 person which is arriving tomorrow (finally!)...Let's call this Villa 1

House #2 is almost ready, too, I'm only pending sorting out the gardener payments....

House #3 is "messy" in that the landlady is disorganized, makes a fuss any time we want something fixed (and the house DOES need a lot of work!) and has a debt with the water company from before we rented, which she has arranged to pay for a period of 1 year...for which we are NOT paying, so all these receipts I have to pay in cash and then submitt for reimbursement, which is a lot more complicated than it sounds, and it's a lot more complicated than the system we have set up for the other houses, where I just have to fill out a form, get a signature and drop everything off at the mini-bank inside our offices...It is also messy in that the phone/internet/cable TV bill arrives at the company's main offices....where it gets lost until it reaches someone that recognizes the address and then forwards it to me, which results in payments being late at least 90% of the time!!

House #4 is "messy" in that the exec living there is constanly traveling and giving me the bills once they're overdue...this is a problem because, again, if the bills are overdue, I cannot pay them with "paper" but have to use cash and then submitt for reimbursement...

House #5 is messy in that the exec made the contract in his name (see previous posts) and am still trying to fix that so the company starts paying...I know he's getting mad - this has gone on for 5 months now!

Hopefully, by the end of the year everything will be in order....this really drains me - and takes a lot of my time, which could be used more productively in other things...

Well, I'm better now that the loan has been approved...but, now my sister is staying up all night wondering about what to do with her debts...of course, it doesn't help that her ex-husband keeps dumping the children's expenses on her (he just makes some lame excuse and doesn't give her any money....what is she supposed to do, just let my niece go without school?..no, of course she pays for it...then again, I've always said: sue the idiot! Even if you don't get much, at least you'll have the satisfaction of having done SOMETHING about it!)...It also doesn't help that he does give the children lots of stuff (shoes and clothes for my niece, for example, but, not school clothes or shoes....or $$$ to go to concerts and things like that!)...AND it definetely doesn't help (and this is one of the things that she COULD help!) that she constantly feels that she has to "match" him and not just be the one that provides necessities...so, she ALSO gives them a lot of stuff - wants, not needs! - my niece has about 40 pairs of shoes, of which she wears mostly 5 pairs....this is EXCLUDING school shoes!...consequently, my niece really doesn't believe that "there's no money" ...Point in case? my niece NEEDS to go to the orthodoncist for a follow up visit...there's no money for that, but, her dad just gave her a $25 ticket to see DJ Paul Van Dyk and my sister gave her a $25 ticket to go see Ricky Martin....YES, I understand that those things ARE more important to a 16-year-old than braces, but, shouldn't the grown ups act maturely and NOT just give in to the teenagers' view of the world??...my sister also acts like this because, growing up, her own teenage years were "the best of her life" because my parents had money back then and all she had to do was wish for something and it would "magically" appear....it's stupid, if you ask me!...she sort of uses the same "logic" on my daughter - another disadvantage to living with her! - but, I manage to curb it - I'm the mom, I have the last word!...I'm sure glad that alejandra has a better grip on the money situation (at age 5!) than my niece at age 16!...The sad thing is, of course, that my niece is being taught NOTHING about handling money (other than how to spend it, of course!)...the other day, my sis was crying because she was desperate and my niece just said: Chill out, mom, don't be overdramatic (this, from the Drama Queen herself!), it's not like you REALLY don't have money!....she lives in Fantasyland....Some days, I wish I could just slap some sense into (both of) them!...my sister is getting to the point where her credit cards are catching up with her (been there, done that!), which is the point where you are using the credit cards to stretch your salary from one payday to the next, but, then finding that you have to use almost all of the money you get to pay for the credit card, just so you have enough credit available for your next grocery bill!...OUCH!...Right now, I'm living paycheque to paycheque and, I know a lot of people think I'm stingy because I never have more than $5 in my wallet and because I don't even have a debit card...well, there is a very good reason for that: I CANNOT TRUST MYSELF WITH MONEY!!! - at least I recognize that....I used to charge everything on the debit card and then find myself one month behind with rent or, having to apologize to the maid until payday....which just sucks! I mean, I'd make this poor woman wait up to 3 days for her money, when she makes so little, just because I had overspent on WANTS...it's horrible!...so, now I'm counscious of that and work with cheques only - I cash a $45 cheque every week, $40 for the maid and $5 for my lunches...Every payday I withdraw $20 for gas and others...if I'm lucky, the car consumes less than $15 and that gives me $5+ for "fun" money...if not - like last time!- then bad luck!...((sigh)) I know my sis thinks this is a miserable life, but, I sure wish she would see the rewards...which of course, none of us will see in the short term...right now, the advantage is that I'm not creating any more debt, which is not such a "visible" advantage!!

WOO-HOO!!!...I got $7,800. I'll get the cheques on Monday (and will head straight to the other banks to pay!!)...this greatly reduces 1. the amount of money I need to pay for debts each month and 2. the amount of interest that I'll pay in the long run!...it is such a relief!!!!

I could dance!!! yipeeeeee!!!

(thanks to all who gave me support and were rooting for me on this one!!!))

She said still no news, but that we should definetely have an answer by tomorrow! ...I keep praying that this comes through...it's not like my Plan A is not working (the loan would be plan B) it's just that the loan would make things waaaaayyy easier!

OH, and I started with the English lessons, 2 this week and I go again today, so we'll be having 3 lessons per week, that makes $30/week! yipeeeee!!

Gotta go now, though, because we are getting trained on the new accounting/purchasing procedures....Finally!- the procedures have been implemented for 6 months already! and every time, whenever you want something paid/bought, you need to go to at least 5 different people to get a straight answer!!...my mantra has become: I HATE project Centra....Hopefully, with this training, my new mantra will be I LOVE project Centra....or, at the very least, I hope that it will stop being such an inconvenience as to merit notice!!

Will update again tomorrow, hopefully with wonderful news!!

gas prices are affecting everything! I had my weekly grocery shopping down to $40 and, yesterday, I spent $53...in a lot less food than usual! ...and rising!...I don't know what I'm going to do...the worse thing is, I predict not much long will pass before the nanny asks for a raise - which would be compeletely understandable and deserved....I just don't have the money to give her any more than I'm already paying her!...doing without her is really not an option, as I have a 4 year old daughter.... I'm a single mom and, so is my sister, so, basically, there's noone else to take care of the kid...and, leaving her in daycare is $10 more expensive than paying for the maid!....and it would mean I would HAVE to leave the office before 5 every day - not an option!... We have managed to bring the water bill down to $9 (used to be $20) and, are currently working on the electricity and phone bills...phone will be difficult, due my niece...electricity, the house is just SO DARK!...we have changed the lightbulbs that are used the most for energy saving ones - we hate the kind of light they give - and left "normal" lightbulbs only in our rooms and bathrooms - used from 7pm on...

Why a super-smiley face? The money is gone, and so is a substantial chunk of my debt! ..yippee!!! I could dance!!...that doesn't mean I'm in good financial condition, but, things are better....I already paid/cancelled 1 credit card. I get my letter stating it's closed on the 15th. I already paid - but still have to make the cancellation official - another cc - the one with the highest interest rate/larges balance!! yiiii-peeee -yay!!! I could dance, like Snoopy on top of his little house!!....I made large payments on the others and now everything is up-to-date!! no more late-payment fees!!...woo-hooo!!
I used part of the $$ to buy/pay for a couple of things that we needed: 1 pair of shoes for DD, 1 pair of shoes for myself, 1 white blouse and 1 black blouse for me - for work, my white is torn and my black is shiny - I also fixed the lock on my car's door...

Well, I've been working on my excel file to see what is the fastest that I can be debt free - without consolidating loans, because right now my credit score is just awful! The soonest is March 2008...not bad, but, not too good, either...however, this is a plan that I can actually live with - I'll have to find an alternate source of income, and I need about $250 extra a month, but, still, it's much better than the ~$750 that I'm using right now!!...true, I know there are many factors that I haven't taken into account - like inflation rate or the probability that the school I choose for Ale will raise their monthly fees - but, at least it's a plan and a plan means something to shoot for... Another thing is that I have kept my Xmas bonus and vacation bonus at the same rate as it is today, and I know those increase every year, according to seniority (also, thinking about things if I stay here, with the same salary...)...so, I guess that evens out the math a bit... The important thing is, I feel I can do this now, I don't feel overwhelmed anymore...Hopefully, that old feeling won't be back!
Thanks to all for your cheers and for sharing my happiness with me!

Yesterday, I called one of the cc companies that I hadn't paid in the longest time...As far as I knew, when I stopped paying I owed them ~$700, so I figured that if we added the interest, it was going to be about $1,200...I was mentally prepared for this....so, I called and asked the rep that answered to give me my balance...she told me it had been a long time since my last payment (didn't specify dates) and asked me if I wanted to pay in full or just make a partial payment...I told her I needed to know how much I owed them before deciding that...she checked her records and told me I owed the company $672.96....I'm like: what? are you sure? I thought I owed you $700...so, she said she would check to see if any fees would be added, and if she could call me back in 15 min...she did, and said there WOULD be additional costs, bringing my total to $678.99....
Isn't that great??? It's about 60% of what I had budgeted!!...which means I have ~$500 to apply towards ANOTHER cc!!!....I believe in miracles!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord!

We signed....I saw the cheque! I held it in my hands!! I signed it so we could deposit it...(it's from another bank! )...it should clear by Friday!!! ....I'm already doing my numbers and, if everything goes right, I will go around town on Saturday afternoon, bringing accounts up to date, and even cancelling 1 credit card! (the one with the highest interest rate!!)...

Of course, by Monday, I'll be "poor" again, but, just think....I won't owe ~$16K anymore!! ("only" about ~$11K!)

I'll be able to breathe that much more easily!!

Tonight, we'll open a bottle of wine at home!!

Tomorrow, I'm back to work figuring out how to make some more $$$ to pay off those debts!!

before they hatch...since we are supposed to sign the apt sale today at 10:00 am (will it happen?? I'll let you know!)...I took out my excel file and have been looking at the current debt level/APR's/overdue debt/overdrawn accts, etc, to try to calculate how to make the most "damage" - the latest "plan" I had for this money is at least 3 months old!....I think I can bring everything up to date and still pay in full the cc with the highest interest rate!!...yipee-yay!... I have also distributed the farm money for the next 4 months so that the cc's with the highest interest rates...
also, I discovered (or, rather, remembered! - how easy it is to forget when you prefer not to remember!!)that I cannot take into account the farm payment for January (the last one!) because I have been living off my account's authorized overdraft...(OUCH, I know!), so I would have to leave that $$ in there....because my salary does NOT cover the overdraft!! If I don't leave that money there, come March I would not have access to my salary!!....

So, it has been a good exercise...we'll see if this thing actually goes through!!...I'll keep you all posted on that, and also on the progress with debt repayment!! -woo-hoo!!

I can't believe it!! The real estate agent called day before last to say the buyer (yes, the same one from last OCTOBER) had finally received the loan from the bank....Obviously, I was ...but, today he brought me a copy of the bank letter of approval... :O (I need a fainting smiley!)... ex-hubby is not in the country, so we would have to wait until MOnday to sign the papers/get the money, but, still... I'm like
I won't believe it until I have the money in my account...Of course, I will see $0.00 of it, as it will all go towards debts....well, no, I'm lying, I told my (2) friends that I would take them out for sushi if this ever happened, so, let's be honest about it and say I'll probably blow about $50 in celebration...but, still...add this to my parents farm money and to my vacation and Xmas bonus money and, I might actually be able to bring my debts to a level where I'll be able to manage it next year (without the farm money)... ::yipeee::

I'll let you know once this becomes a reality (IF it does!)

Once again, T H A N K Y O U , G O D!!!!

We changed real estate agents...we've had 5 people come and look at the apt since Monday, and one of them will probably give us an offer on Monday and the other one on Thursday... They have looked at several options, so it's not 100% sure they will present an offer, but, still, I consider this progress!

I checked Hacienda's website today and my income tax return has been approved and is pending deposit into my account!! woo-hoo!!...it's $249, which will go to my landlady (I still owe her $440, - the $249= $191!!)...I'll be "on time" with her by the end of the year and can start Jan '06 "clean" with her!! woo-hoo!

OK, so I've been going over my numbers again and, while I WILL be in a tight financial situation, it is not going to be as awful as I thought...Yes, the sale of the apt will only take care of about a1/4 of the total debt, but, the $750 a month for the next 5 months will take care of another big chunk, add to that my Xmas bonus and vacation $$ + my income tax return (if it ever arrives!) and I'll have the debt down to about 1/2 of its present size...now, if you take into account that the current debt is made up of several small (yeah, right!) debts, and that, obviously, some of those will be paid in full with the sale money and the Xmas bonus, well....I think I might just make it...it won't be easy, and it won't be pretty, but, I KNOW I can make it...Now, if I can get myself from panicking, maybe I can keep myself from drowning (financially!)....

I am still waiting for the apartment to sell....and for my income-tax return...SO, in view of that, I have decided NOT to wait until Sept to take out a loan from the co-op, but re-finance the one I have right now (which I only have one more installment to pay, on June 15th, for $27), and ask for a new loan ($500)...with this, I will be able to bring 3 accts up to date (and, the total minimum payment on all 3 would be left at $250!)...barring any other "unexpected" expenses (car repairs, illness, etc), I should be able to bring other 2 accts up to date, and to start making payments on yet another again...not the best financial situation, but slightly better than being late with ALL...total minimum payment for those 2 would be about $200...I'm slowly getting to the point where I will be able to make ALL miminum payments each month...not the best, but certainly better...(yes, this has become my mantra! even the smallest step forward is progress!!)...Once the apartment sells...well, that will be another story...depending on how much is left (after paying for small repairs to the apt and for the Real Estate broker's fee, and other such things, including a loan from my ex!), then I will 1st bring EVERYTHING up to date and then, see what can be paid off with what is left over and will just CLOSE the accounts!! never, ever, ever again will I be in such a financial hole! I have promised myself this!!...I have made "happy numbers" as my cousin calls it (meaning you are optimistic and use the best possible scenario) and I could be free of debt as soon as end of 2007...Of course, "unhappy numbers" carry those debts well over 2009....so, to give myself hope, I will continue to think happy numbers and aim for 2007!!
I know I have probably posted about this before, probably even using the same numbers and same sing-song, so forgive me, but I hope this time is for real!

By the way: someone posted a message to me reminding me of airline safety: Put on your oxygen mask on first, else you won't be able to help others...I just want to say THANK YOU...it was an epiphany!!...you made me see 400% more clearly!! THANKS!!...I'm following your advice! Instead of using that $$ for my sis, I'll use it for myself, to improve my financial situation...if she needs help down the road, I will be in better position to supply it...in the eantime, since I'm doing the grocery shopping, I'm tightening our belts (I spent ~$40 this week - her money, it was supposed to be her turn to shop- instead of the ~$75 that she had budgeted!!...true, our pantry is not as stocked as we are used to, but it isn't empty by any standards!...we have what wee need, no surplus!!)

Wish me luck!

She asked yesterday why I hadn't included a tin of Nesquick for her milk (she likes plain milk, but loves it with Nesquick, either chocolate or strawberry)...so I said I hadn't been able to find it at the store...which is not true, I just forgot I had promised to buy a small one...so I went to the supermarket downstairs today and actually looked for it!...it took me a while to find it, they keep it in the lowest shelf (I'm guessing this is not one of their fastest-moving products here, being a "commercial" district...most people shop for small things, mostly for lunch...) ...Anyway, I found it, and brought my tin to the cashier and, after I paid for it, she gave me another one!! (I had bought a strawberry one, and she gave me a chocolate one! yipeee!!...) so, I saved $1.08 and DD has 2 tins instead of one!!
If it weren't for the stupid car breaking down (again!), this would have been a great week for savings!! ((sigh))

Money is going to be tight next month, too...Sis has to be operated on, and it has to be done this week....it's minor, to be done at the Dr's office, but, still, it will cost $800....and her insurance only covers 70% of it...and she has to pay in full first, and then process a reimbursement, so we need to get the money and then wait about 3 weeks to get it back...she's asked her company for a loan, they would get the insurance money in 3 weeks, and she would pay the rest out of her salary in installments...but they still haven't said anything, so we are trying to work on alternate solutions...

I finished my income tax declaration and, according to me, the government owes me $274!!...I will submit it right after the holidays, so I should be getting my money in 2 months or so!...the $274 will go towards paying my Kismet (local dept store) acct...while it won't cover the whole amount I owe, it will make a significant difference...and this is one of the highest interest rate cards!!

a friend of my niece's was selling caps at $20 each...we found them downtown at $7 each...my niece saw an opportunity...we managed to get 5 hats for $6 each, and, she sold them to her friend at $13 each, so he can still make a profit (she didn't tell him we got them downtown, she told them they had been sent to her as a gift from someone in the US and that she didn't quite like them....she bought 2 for herself, so she told him she only kept those 2...)My niece let my cousin and I keep the profit and, was content with saving on her hats and, with the promise that we can take her downtown any time she wants (where she can get a lot more value from her money, and still astonish her friends!...a lot of what's sold there is trash, but, you get the occasional treasure, and she has a great eye for fashion!)
So, my cousin and I both got $17.50 that we didn't anticipate!! woo-hoo!...It'll go to one of my credit cards (there's one where minimum payment is $50....)
I have also managed to reduce my cell phone usage to the point where I can make a $5 card last 2 weeks!...that means $10 a month, when before I was using $35-$39!!! the $25 "saved" will also go to this cc, so I now have $42 out of the $50!!!...I feel rich!!
Of course, there's always something to burst your bubble!...I just got a call from a cc company...(not the one with the $42...ANOTHER one!...) ((sigh))
Let's make a few phone calls and see who'll want tamales for this weekend! - hope I get a lot more orders than last week!!

this last week I did not really have the time on Wed to call people to remind them about the tamales, so we only had orders for 36!!..plus what we sold on the weekend, about 80 for the whole week!...tough!
this week, though, my cousin is meeting with the chef at a hotel, to see if they would consider buying from us...I have a good contact at another hotel and will try that...

The weekend turned out to be a 'no spend' weekend, but only because I forgot to go to the bank on Saturday, so we had no money....only $3, which, of course, I had to use for gas!!...I don't know whether to be happy or unhappy about that!

we'll see what this week brings!

well, we only made $11.50 each this month (January), but, we have the following things figured out:
1. our net profit per tamal is $0.08 (divided by 2 = $0.04 for each of us)
2. to pay for DD's psychologist, I need about $40-$50 per month
3. We need to sell 1,000/ month to make $40
4. We need to sell 250/week to reach the 1,000/month
5. 250/week is DOABLE (we sold 208 this last weekend!)
6. tamales sell really well at the flea market, but you have to be there very early (7:00am at the latest) as most of your customers will not be there to buy, but to sell (they arrive at 4:30, so they are hungry by 6:30 or so!)
7. chicken and corn tamales are the most popular with this segment of the population, the "offfice" people are pretty even between chicken and chipilin, with less going for the corn variety

So, all in all, it hasn't been a bad month! I need to call up 5 new people (that's my goal for this week) to tell them about the tamales...I can contact 2 people in purchasing and 2 at the Help Desk...who'll be my 5th victim??

I also have to figure out what else to do to get some more money coming in!!! I was already struggling before and, the tamales seem to be working only to keep things at the level they were before!!

well, this one was more encouraging...basically, if I pay $7 today, I'll be ok with them...to bring the account up to date would be $33...might as well be $300, I can't pinch $33 right now...but, $7.00 is doable...
The real estate guy showed up today and already took the documents he needs to put the house up for sale...says he'll be in touch (he'd better, or else I'll be in touch!!...)
sis is sick today, the Dr. says she's gotta stay home for 3 days...it's her lungs and throat...she asked me to go to the supermarket and buy her some lemons and honey...I wish I could say that I managed to go in and buy ONLY the lemons and honey...but I bought a can of dog food....((sigh))...good thing I had only brought a $5 bill ....

I'm not very good at keeping track of my money...mostly, it just "leaks" out...I can generally remember/account for the big purchases, but not the $0.75 or less ones...and I know there are plenty of those, and I know they add up...this journal will be my attempt to follow my "out of budget" expenses...maybe just thinking about posting them will keep me from making unnecessary purchases...we'll see...

so far, this month I have managed to bring food from home 9/11 days...so it has been good. I still buy myself a soda and/or fruit piece, so I have been spending about $1 per day (as opposed to the $2-$3 per day I was spending!)...every little step counts, right? (plus, if you see it as a $5/week saved, it isn't quite as small any more!)