Lucky Robin's Personal Finance Blog

They said it could take up to 8 weeks to fix my computer as there are three things wrong with it (and it might require the screen being replaced and parts being ordered from Japan, yikes). I'm not going to go that long without a computer or the internet. So, I've been putting money aside again in a laptop fund and we used it to buy a cheapie. It's a bit more than a Netbook, but it's an off brand so it was quite inexpensive. It has a great keyboard though, so I can keep up with my book writing and short stories, as well as this blog, my diet support group and online tracking software, and all the financial spreadsheets.

I downloaded Open Office. I'm not going to buy another MS Office program and the one I had can only be installed on one computer, and hopefully can actually be reinstalled on that one. But at least Open Office works for my writing and my financial spreadsheets, so yay.

The laptop cost $379 plus $33.35 in tax. It wiped out my laptop fund again, but I will start adding to it again next month. It came with a six month free trial run of Kaspersky anti-virus and I installed my free malware program as well.

DH and I are considering dropping the gym membership. With my knee the way it is, I have a hard time even swimming right now and he's in an off exercise phase. Maybe we can pick it up again after my knee heals from the next surgery, but for now it seems like a waste of money. We aren't on a contract anymore so no cancelling fee. Our other option is to opt out for three months. We'll figure it out.

Okay, this might be my last post for a while. I am taking my computer in to be fixed and I don't know how long it is going to take. Or how willing DH or DS will be to give up their laptop or netbook respectively to let me go online a bit. It's almost worth getting another netbook at this point, as one or the other machine is always a problem and it would be nice to have a cheap spare for backup.

Before I take it in though, I did all the payday financial stuff. I sent $2900 to ING. Of that money $1770.09 is to be set aside for first of December bills. $129.91 goes to the Emergency Fund. $1000 goes to January/HSA money fund.

January/HSA fund money is now at $4483. The goal I've set for that is $6000 so another $1517 to hit that goal. I should be able to do that by the end of the year with no problem.

I added the $129.91 to the EF and also took the coin jar money (added $3 more yesterday) which is $34 and deposited it into CU#2, the Safety Net.

$2134.31 EF at ING
$+671.53 Safety Net at CU#2
---------------
$2805.04 Total EF

I swept past my goal of hitting $2750 by the end of the month and am well on my way toward my goal of $3000 by year's end.

Next week's paycheck will be more than enough to get through the two following weeks with no pay and hopefully half of it will go into the January/HSA money, but I'm not relying on it. It is the small check so usually only between $800 and $1200 depending on if they are taking out medical that week or not. They shouldn't be, but sometimes they take out weird things.

DH said that bonuses will be mailed out after the 15 of December, so we could have it within a week of that. We still have no idea how much it will be, though. And I still kind of half believe it's a fairytale. Oh, well. If it comes it will be a nice surprise.

All right, I'm off to get the computer fixed and stop by the court house to get my temporary disabled parking pass renewed. I can't believe it has been six months already. The doctor has okayed it for another six months. Then maybe by the time it's up, my knee will have completely healed and I won't need it anymore.

Not too terribly much going on. Tomorrow is payday and it's pretty much planned for so not much to do then but figure it out to the penny and then do it. A good chunk goes into savings, so yay.

DH has decided he is finally going to go on a diet. Probably the same one as me. I don't honestly know how I will cope with that. I find that when I am dieting I need to be very protective over my food and my diet and making sure I get what I need when I need it. Which can be difficult if my food suddenly goes missing because someone else ate it, and DH is a big culprit for that or at least has been in the past. So we will likely have to get very, very organized about food or things won't be pretty.

Still he needs to be losing weight as well so hopefully it will all work out okay and we'll just slide into a good place with it all.

I got excused from jury duty, but again, not permanently. Until April 30th, though. Which might actually be a good time to do it. I don't want to do it in the summer, because we are hoping to send the kids to a camp in Arizona this summer and I don't want to spend all that money and then get called for the days we are supposed to fly down or come back. Because, "I spent a bunch of money and you are ruining my plans," is not a good excuse to get out of jury duty. I am hoping that by the end of April I'll have had the surgery and healed well from it.

I don't know why they don't just give up on me, though. I mean, it's been going on two years now and I keep having to have surgeries and they keep getting doctor's notes, and I keep telling them I will have to have more surgery in the future, and it's like they don't believe me or something even though I always do and I always have a note. Why do they not call healthy or non-injured people in? I swear I am the only person I know that has ever been called except DH who was called once. I've been summoned 15 times. They really liked to do it when I was pregnant on bed rest or nursing and then the years I was homeschooling.

Anyway, I hope I am good to go for the next date, because then they can't call me again for 3 years. I will have 3 years of peace without trying to schedule appointments and any future surgeries around some arbitrary court dates.

After a month of being in separate states, DH is finally home. And he grew a beard while he was gone, but didn't tell me! Not that I mind, I love DH in a beard, and he usually does grow one in the winter, but I was very surprised he'd done it so soon. He looks all distinguished now.

Today is going to be a no spend day, even though DS thinks we need to celebrate DH being home by going out to eat. I said no, but I am making my bacon cheddar cheeseburgers tonight and sweet potato fries so it'll be a bit like diner food. DS doesn't think that cuts it, but I don't care.

I read Jeffrey's article on not shopping at Costco with interest, even though I pretty much politely disagree with most of it. I've talked about my reasons for shopping at Costco before here:

http://luckyrobin.savingadvice.com/2011/02/26/why-i-buy-in-b.... I think his reasons are good for him and his mad couponing skills, but not for me and my need to avoid most manufactured foods (which is generally what coupons buy).

I can usually resist the shiny though and stay out of the areas where I don't need to go (electronics, jewelry, books, clothes, games, CD's, toys). When I go to Costco I have a plan and don't wander. Plus I live close. Makes a difference. Also makes a difference if you go Tuesday at 10:30 and not Saturday afternoon. Last time I went was a Saturday afternoon. BIG mistake. It could turn you off the place for life. Still I like to see the other opinion. It just goes to show that you have to evaluate these things based on your own circumstances. Once my kids are grown and have moved out, I doubt I will need a place like Costco anymore. For now it suits our needs.

I was able to reschedule my VM follow up appointment, so now I will be seeing the knee surgeon on 12/6 and the Virginia Mason doctor on 12/9. I am going to take my daughter out of school at 10 on 12/9 and she will come with me to Seattle and act as my navigator. We will then spend the night in the Inn at Virginia Mason and have a mother/daughter afternoon/evening. On the way back we will hit Fashion Bug and possibly The Avenue. Depends on whether or not I feel confident enough to drive through Ballard. Probably not. Their traffic scares me worse than downtown Seattle traffic, which at least seems to have more of a rhyme and reason than "you can't get there from here."

I really need to find a new parka. It has been far too cold already this fall. I was going to try to wait until winter 2012/13 to buy one as I am still losing weight, because I didn't want to buy one that would be too big next winter. But now I'm thinking a gently used 2X coat would probably resell pretty well on E-bay if I don't overprice it, maybe half of it's original value. So if I can find one, I will buy one. I am really tired of these cold mornings. I also need a couple new pairs of jeans since mine are literally falling down. I keep having to hitch them up they are so baggy now. DD wants a couple more pairs of jeans as well. I will set aside enough money for that out of the next paycheck.

I am pretty much basically on autopilot until Friday as far as finances are concerned. And even then, it'll just be setting some money aside for the first of the month bills and dumping the rest into savings. We have moved past living paycheck to paycheck. It is really weird. I know that we aren't that far away from it, maybe a month or so ahead, but having as much money in the bank as we do right now, I don't have that same unsettled feeling in my stomach that I've been living with since the first round of big surgeries started eight or nine years ago and brought with it the debt we have been struggling to get out of ever since.

DH has heard that bonuses will be paid out right around Christmas time, but not the set date. We still don't know how much, but all evidence points to a fairly substantial one, between 5 and 10% of his yearly income. It would be so nice. I know I shouldn't even be thinking about it yet, but I find it is on my mind a lot. I tend to worry about things I have no control over. And anticipate. A lot. I need to stop that, because there is no guarantee of anything in this life, especially end of year bonuses.

At least I know for sure that our tax return next year will be huge, because we maxed out our HSA and we will get all of that back. At least that money I can depend on and maybe dream about a little.

Didn't make it to the CU to deposit the coin jar scrapings. I totally forgot, which is easy enough to do. Maybe tomorrow after I pick up DH from the airport. It's been a month since he's been home. I will be so glad to see him.

...and it's not over yet. I had an appointment this morning with a deep tissue masseuse because my quad muscles are all locked up again and my hip is totally screwed up from all the limping. It helped quite a bit and I am walking a lot better. That was $90.

I also went to the doctor and had an ultrasound treatment done on my leg. Because I'm having an allergic reaction to the tape he's been using to wrap my knee, he suggested I get a regular Ace Bandage (the cloth type and not the rubbery self-adhesive type). I had to look a couple of places. Finally found it at Walgreen's. It was store brand. They didn't even have Ace brand.

And they didn't have it in the First Aid section which is where every other store in the entire universe, including the other Walgreen's in our town, puts it. They, for some unknown reason, put it in the feminine hygiene section. I told the cashier, when she asked if I found everything all right, that I did but it took some looking that it was a stupid place to have it. I can't find what I did with the receipt, but it was $6.31, I believe.

I added $3.50 to the coin jar today. One of those was a found penny. I also had enough quarters for a roll. I've hit $31 in the coin jar so I will try to deposit that in the CU tomorrow. Looks like I'm well on my way to hitting my November goal of $2750 in the EF by month's end.

I nearly wiped out an idiot on a bicycle today. When a van is slowing down to turn right onto a street and has their blinker on, you DO NOT come flying up behind them on your bicycle and try to pass them on the right. That is the height of stupidity and guess what? You will not win. You will also be at fault. More importantly, you will be squashed all across the pavement. Also, your idiocy does not give you the right to then flip off the driver who was obeying the traffic laws and call them a b*tch. You are very lucky you are not dead, Mr. Idiot, because I had no way of seeing you, so get over yourself and go get a book on bicycle safety because you are not smart enough to be operating anything with wheels without a little remedial training. /rant

I just finished doing the last of this month's bills and balancing the checkbook. Nothing else is due until the 1st of December. I have $85.29 in checking and $45 in cash. That should make it through until Friday just fine. I've already bought a gallon of milk for DH who comes home on Wednesday (he drinks 2%, everyone else drinks non-fat) and that should do him until Friday.

So bills paid today:

$300.00 to Mom for utilities
__49.65 Garbage
_757.82 Car payment (plus extra to principle)
__10.56 Medical DD
__10.56 Medical DS
_500.00 BoA CC
---------------
$1628.59

I also transferred $2800.58 to ING

$100.58 to Emergency Fund
$100.00 for Propane to Holding Tank
$100.00 for Property Tax to Holding Tank
+_17.00 for HoA dues to Holding Tank
____________
$317.58

So $2483 goes to the Holding Tank for January/possible HSA.

This brings the portion of the EF at ING to $2003.82 and the total EF to $2641.93. I need to come up with $108.07 to hit my November EF goal of $2750. I think that will be easy to accomplish.

This brings the total in the Holding Tank to $3923.70.

Items in Holding Tank:

$3483.00 Total January/HSA money
___51.00 HoA Dues
__100.00 Property Tax
__289.70 for Propane
------------
$3923.70 Total Holding Tank

Propane money is for the old house. I haven't had to fill the tank since the end of spring as the furnace has not been on and used any propane since then. We are starting to get frosty at night though, so when DH comes home I will have him go out to the old house and turn the furnace on to 55 so that the pipes don't freeze over the winter. I am hoping to get by with the full tank and possibly one more fill up around January or February.

We should be able to save a good portion of the next paycheck for January/HSA money. I think at least half, with the other one going to cover the first week of December bills. Then the next paycheck will be the little one and that one should get us through until the next paycheck in mid-December. We will go a couple weeks without a paycheck because of DH's screwy work schedule, but I don't foresee it being a problem as long as we don't go nuts over Christmas or eat out too much. And if he gets the bonus, then that'll just be gravy.

I added $7.30 to the coin jar today.

I also spent $19.20 at the grocery store.

Because I have been sort of avoiding a lot of stuff this month (not the bills, just the rest of the minutiae that goes along with recording things), I am finally getting around to listing what went out the payday before this one. I am trying to get back on the ball again.

$1180.00 to BoA CC
___14.08 Electricity Old House
___44.89 Phone Old House
___65.56 Internet
___39.37 Security System Old House
__500.00 Extra AMEX payment (to catch up)
__385.76 Mortgage Old House
__200.00 Laptop Fund
___55.00 Dance Class
__232.42 Medical Bills
__350.00 Grocery Staples Stock UP
--------------
$3067.08

We also spent about $250 on meals out that week and $61 for the stupid PTSA magazine drive for DS's middle school (I bought two kitchen gadgets and Fine Cooking magazine, which I buy anyway). The rest is still in checking.

I am slowly catching up on all the stuff I have been ignoring this week. I think mostly I've just been exhausted and pushing myself too hard on not enough sleep. I still don't quite feel like I've caught up on sleep even though I slept nine hours Thursday night and eight hours last night. I kept waking up and then going back to sleep. I'm not supposed to have this kind of night restlessness on the medication I'm taking. It's supposed to knock me out cold. Still, I got more sleep in the last two nights than in the rest of the week combined so there is a bit of a difference.

I'm still fighting some kind of ick. Or a new ick that ran across the end of the old ick. Feels like I've been sick with something or other since September and I am tired of it. I can't remember the last time I actually felt like myself.

I have to go grocery shopping today. I have no appetite so that should make it easier. No picking up impulse items just because they look good. I've done pretty well with meals the last couple of days and today is leftover clean up day.

I've got leftover taco meat, cheese, and lettuce for making taco salads. I've got leftover chicken and noodles. I've got half of a very large pork chop and some cooked broccoli. And I've got half a tray of homemade enchiladas, so we are pretty set for the day. It's nice to not have the pressure on there of what to come up with and not be inclined to hit some pizza place or drive-thru.

We actually got paid on Thursday this week because of the holiday and I didn't really notice. Just went on as usual on Friday than saw the date and went, "Oh." I have worked up the budget and just need to write out a couple of checks and mail them off. These are places that don't take online payment and it would waste more gas to drive to them to pay than it would use a stamp.

Once I figure out how much is left I will send it to ING. I think it's going to be right around $3000 or so. This is mostly January/Future HSA money.

We had a hail storm last night. Actually we had two, or at least we had hail a couple of hours apart. They were the size of peas. Really weird weather around here lately.

I need to finish up laundry. I have three full baskets to put away and another load to wash. Wonder if I can get the kids to clean the bathroom? And all the sheets need to be changed. It never ends.

I just do not want to cook right now. Oh, I don't mind cooking breakfast for the kids and assembling their lunches, but by the time I'm done with that I am no longer interested in cooking for me. Today after I dropped kiddo the second off at school I swung through the drive-thru and got food. This is so ridiculous. I suppose part of it, is that DD is on a pre-diabetic diet so she eats one way, and DS is on Feingold diet for his allergies, so he eats another way, and then I am doing controlled carb diet so I eat yet a third way (and that way does NOT involve the drive-thru of a fast food place, normally, there is nothing healthy there).

What I need to do is make up another batch of beef sausages ahead of time and then all I have to do is nuke one in the microwave, add some sliced cucumbers and call it breakfast. I need to get my head on straight about this, because I've frittered away money on lunch this week, too.

So dinner is going to be something very easy tonight to help me get my act together again. I'll roast a whole chicken (rubbed with olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper) and bake some potatoes with it. I've already got some pre-cut broccoli so my only effort with that will be boiling the water. I can get myself back on track if I can just straighten out my mindset.

After dinner, I'll pick all the meat off the carcass and throw the carcass in the crockpot with water, rough cut carrots, celery, onions and garlic and make stock overnight. Then we can have chicken and noodles tomorrow. And there should still be enough chicken left over to make enchiladas and quesadillas.

I'm just a bit frustrated because I could have fed the entire family a meal for the amount I paid at the drive-thru for just me. Maybe it's time for another no eating out challenge.

In the mail yesterday I got a Christmas catalog. No, that is not the shocking part. I get them every year at about this time, though I've never ordered from this one. It was a catalog for The Swiss Colony and I have been pre-approved for get this: $1000. Now I don't know about you, but to me a $1000 credit limit for chocolates, cheese, nuts, and meat type products means that there are people out there that actually spend that much money on this sort of thing. Ouch.

Even though consumable Christmas gifts kind of seems like a nice idea when you don't need any more stuff, my in-laws have made it clear they'd rather I make them a couple of my lasagnas for their freezer and some homemade fudge or cookies, then ever buy one of these types of packages, because my stuff tastes better to them.

The fact that they offer $1000 of credit to people who have a great credit score but that don't actually make an income of their own, well, that is kind of scary to me. It never comes in DH's name, who actually makes the income. This is probably part of why America is in such a mess right now. Anyway, I did look through the catalog, because it is very pretty and shiny, but then it ended up where it always does, the recycle bin. We don't need that kind of additive/preservative, nitrate/nitrite, fake foods in our lives.

One of my friends told me today that she is getting a divorce. It is sad and I feel really bad for her. I don't know her husband that well, I only ever see her, but they have been together for fifteen years (only married for the last few). It sounds like it's a bad situation and I just wish there was something I could do for her. They don't have kids, so at least there's that.

I went to the doctor this afternoon and he wrapped my knee and said he will write the paper excusing me from jury duty, so that's one less thing for me to stress over. He really did not like seeing how swollen it was. I go back on Friday so I can get it then.

I spent money on perscriptions today, $71.51. I also got lunch at DQ, spending $6.40. I just got a meal, though, no ice cream. My resistance was down because I was in pain. That is something I am really going to have to guard against since I will likely be in pain a lot for the next two months and I can't buy a dinner everytime I hurt or I will go broke.

I added $7.64 to the coin jar (.01 of which I found on the ground).

The chickens are going gangbusters on the egg laying front now that we've put a light in the coop overnight. They need so many hours of light a day to lay consistently and in the winter time they don't get it without assistance. We are getting 3 to 4 a day now. We have to check both morning and night though because temps are freezing and if we let them sit out all day or all night the eggs will freeze.

Mom says to go ahead and suspend payments to her for the next couple of months so we can save that money for the weirdness in DH's upcoming schedule, so yet another thing to not have to stress over. Won't have to make them again until February, though we will still be paying the gas/electric/garbage/internet bills.

I need to remember to call Virginia Mason and reschedule that surgical follow-up appointment, as that is the day I need to see the knee surgeon. I keep forgetting.

My son has his first crush and it is rather adorable. And the girl likes him, too. Aw.

I still need to do my entry on Friday's spending, but I'm definitely in the "I don't wanna," phase. I did enter it all on the spreadsheet, so I'm not slacking that much, but I do like to enter it here for accountability.

...but I'm done now, at least for the kids. DD and I went over to Target after school today and we picked up 2 heavy, lined sweatshirts, 3 long-sleeved flannel or thermal shirts, and 1 similar lined sweatshirt for DS. This should get them through the cold season.

The problem for my daughter is that her high school does not have lockers. So if they wear the big bulky coats that are appropriate for the winter here, they have to lug them around all day long, which is hard to do when you have twenty pound backpacks full of school books because, again, you have no locker. Stupidest thing I ever heard of for a school to not put lockers in. They should at least have a coat and boot room.

Anyway, the heavy sweatshirts should get her through most of the non-snowy days anyway. She has a very compact umbrella for rain.

I'm going to the doctor tomorrow afternoon and having him wrap my knee. It's been buckling badly all weekend and I need the extra support. Today I was almost in tears the pain was so bad, but I had to drive so I couldn't take anything stronger than Ibuprofen and can't until after DS's tae kwon do class, so I have to stick it out a couple more hours.

...but sometimes it really is necessary. We were finally able to find DS a new coat. He's in that horrible place between young boy and teenage boy that they just appear to think kids that age should go naked because they don't make clothes in their sizes! So aggravating. But we finally, looking in the men's section found a jacket that was just a little too big, where the wrist cuffs weren't too tight, that had a solid zipper. We got a medium. The small would have fit him but the wrist cuffs were too tight. Oh, well, he should be able to wear this coat for a couple of years even if he grows several inches taller.

The original price on the coat was $120, but it was marked down to $70 and then when we got to the cash register it was $54.34. Not bad. It also printed out about a tree's worth of coupons. Of course for stuff I would never buy, particularly at Sears.

I also finally found a pair of shoes at Fred Meyer. Boy was I happy as I have been looking to replace my shoes for a couple of years now. They were marked at $44.99 but were 15% off, so $38.24 (plus tax). I also got a new deep skillet with lid. It's only 12 inch but is should hold as much as my old 14 inch because of the high sides. I've been looking for a while and I just don't think they make them bigger than 12 inch anymore unless you go to the specialty stores. It's not lined with ceramic, but I couldn't find any of those. It was 10% off so $21.49 (plus tax). Not too bad.

DD still needs a couple of warm sweaters but we are having a hard time finding anything she likes. She really doesn't like the winter colors in the stores. We will probably take a trip down to Fashion Bug when her father gets home. Meanwhile I am loaning her some of my stuff that is warmer.

...but here I am awake anyway. Woke up at 7, just like every morning. Fortunately the kids did not and are sound asleep and I just might be able to snooze for a little while anyway. Last night I was so tired I basically just waited up for Fringe (not that much emotional satisfaction after waiting 2 weeks without it for some resolution that should have happened in this episode, but didn't) and then fell face first into the pillow and zonked out.

I only got halfway through paying the bills yesterday, just stuff that either needed to be mailed off or electronically paid to hit due dates. Today I will be doing the ones that aren't due until mid-month and hopefully squeezing out at least $1000 to send to the January/future medical fund.

Next week I hope to bank almost 2/3 of the entire paycheck. I've got to make the car payment and send an additional bit to the credit card, but that should still leave me around $2500 to $3000 to put in the bank at ING.

Mom paid me back the $2 she owed me for picking up bread and I had .57 in the bottom of my purse so I put that in the coin jar.

I also got gas yesterday and forgot to mention it. It was $57.59 to fill it. It has dropped to $3.59 a gallon, which was nice to see. Last time I filled up it was $63 something for the same amount of fuel.

Going shopping today at Costco (I wish they would open early so I could go now while the kids are asleep) to do some stocking up. I need the organic mashed potato flakes like yesterday. Been out for a month and am getting really tired of peeling potatoes almost every night. I also want to pick up some more of their black pepper chicken kits. The ingredients list is safe for my son's dietary issues, it is so fast to make (15 minutes start to finish) and is delicious and way cheaper than grabbing takeaway. I also need some fresh fruit and veg and some flour and sugar.

Mom wants help today expanding the chicken yard. They keep getting out so she wants to give them more space so maybe they won't be so tempted. I hope it doesn't take long because I have a lot of stuff on my to do list today that requires not being at home. It does need to be done though as I am getting sick of chasing down escaped chickens. All four of them are laying now. The banty started on Wednesday. Her eggs are about 2/3 the size of the regular chicken eggs and will probably take two to make up for the difference in size when eating.

I will try to be back later with an accounting of all bills paid from this paycheck.

I think I forgot to mention it, but I added $1.57 to the coin jar yesterday and $3.95 today. Because I was going right by CU#2 today I grabbed the bills out, which was $10 and I had another $10 left from last payday's money, so I added that for an even $20.

This brings the Safety Net to $637.53 and the total EF to $2,541.35.

So DH said there are rumblings going on about end of the year bonuses. What he's hearing is anywhere from 5% to 10% of the yearly salary depending on what your job is. He's not sure where he falls. And me? I'm not counting on anything. It just seems off to me because before when DH got a yearly bonus in a similar company, it was around $800 after taxes. A bonus of 5-10% of his gross seems like a fairytale to me. And rumors are always just that, rumors, until I have the money in my hands.

It would be nice. And I can dream about it. But I don't believe it just yet. I sort of wish I could stop thinking about it entirely, because in my head I can already see how fast it would bring down the credit card debt. And I want that so much.

I called my doctor's office this morning to see if they'd make the appointment with the surgeon. They hadn't. The doctor hadn't even remembered to tell anyone to make it. *sighs* Anyway, now I'm waiting to hear back as to when it will be. If I haven't heard by 3:00 I will call again. I want this to move forward.

I finally heard from the doctor about the results of my MRI. I have a partial tear in the patellar tendon. He is trying to get me in to see a surgeon right away, but you know how that sort of thing goes, could be weeks. Fortunately I am available virtually anytime. This usually does require surgery, so hopefully I can get it done this year, so we won't have to come up with the $2500 deductible all over again. Even if it's the last week of December that would be helpful. The follow up visit money is a drop in the bucket in comparison.

And I highly doubt they'll make me do jury duty now. This will require quite a bit of physical therapy afterwards, much more intense than what I do now, which is basically a few exercises followed by deep tissue massage. But from what I've managed to read about it so far, the knee has to remain immobilized for 6 weeks after the surgery in either a walking cast or a locking brace. That will be limiting.

So hopefully I will hear from the doctor today with a date and time to see the surgeon. My doctor normally doesn't work on Wednesday's though (he's semi-retired), so I probably won't hear until Thursday. I really need to get a new primary care doctor soon. I just like my doctor so much, the idea of leaving him is hard. He's been my doctor all my life, he even delivered me, but I really do need someone available the full range of doctor's hours.

I earned $2.87 interest on my ING account so added that to my emergency fund.

$1900.95 Beginning ING Balance
+___2.87 Interest Added
______________
$1903.82 Ending ING Balance

I deposited the $16.50 from the coin jar into the Safety Net.

$601.03 Beginning Safety Net
+_16.50 Amount Added
________________
$617.53 Total Safety Net

$1903.82 ING Portion of EF
+_617.53 Safety Net Portion of EF
_________________
$2521.35 Total Emergency Fund

So last time I got excused from jury duty because of my upcoming surgery they said they would reschedule me for 11/9 though 11/23. Well, time was going by and going by and no official summons had appeared for the new time. Well, it finally came in the mail yesterday. Do you think it was for the days they said it would be for? Of course not. I set up my life around the dates they gave me and now I have to go and change at least 3 different appointments, including a surgical follow up, because they couldn't actually stick to the dates they had given me. I am more than a little annoyed by this.

They have also scheduled it during a time where I don't have optional child care to get my kids to and from school in the dark if I have to serve the new dates. And I am not having them walk a mile in the dark on such ridiculous busy streets. We are considered too close to have bus service where we live even though the people three blocks away from us have it.

I still haven't been able to get a hold of my doctor. I have been calling all morning and getting a busy signal, which may or may not be better than an answering machine (since it doesn't take messages). When I go pick up my daughter after school today I will swing by there and see if I kind find anything out. It's been a week and a half since my MRI. I should not have to wait so long to find out the results. They should have called me.

Maybe if it's bad enough I can get excused again or at least postponed again until summer when I don't have to worry about getting my kids to school. I hate having my life up in the air.

Last night I added $4.16 to the coin jar after buying milk and some bread (just not up to the effort of making bread lately). I also found a roll of dimes and pennies that had gotten shoved to the back of the sock drawer (where I keep them after they've been rolled), so right now I have $16.50 ready to deposit to the Safety Net portion of the Emergency Fund. I usually wait until I have over $30 to make a deposit, but since I will be going over that way today I will just make the deposit today.

DH called me from work a few minutes ago to tell me his schdeule has changed yet again and that we know now what he will be working in January. It's not pretty and it won't be easy, but I think we will have enough money to cover it without touching the EF, thank goodness because of how it all lines up. But now I will have to redo the calander yet again and the budget yet again. I only did this last night. I wish I'd waited now. Ah, well, hindsight is 20/20.

So instead of coming home on Wednesday like he was supposed to he will work an additional 2 weeks for a total of 4. He will come home on the 16th of November and be home for 3 weeks, so he will be home for Thanksgiving after all. Then he goes back on December 6th and works until the 21st (2 weeks) and then he will come home for four weeks, so we will get him home for Christmas after all. Then he'll go back up to work on January 16th after no work for four weeks straight. After that he will supposedly work 2 and 2's, but I am not holding my breath. It'll end up being whatever work needs it to be.

I guess I should consider us lucky. They let some people go (but DH was assured he would not be one of them, supposedly he's good for another four years). They will probably hire the others back by February when they ramp up again, but it's got to be hard for those other families. I've asked DH to ask his boss about maybe getting unemployment for those four weeks since this is unpaid time off that he'd work if he could. It wouldn't be much, Alaska comepensation is worse than Washington. But it'd be maybe $1000 for 4 weeks. He's certainly paid enough into it. Then again, I'd only want him to claim it if we can't make it without it.

I should be able to bank two full paychecks if all goes well. I hope all goes well. I'm probably going to be stressed the entire time. I know we will be very careful about our spending for the next few months.

So I sat down with my calendar and my budget and figured things out for the rest of the year. Now that we are on a four week cycle (3 weeks of pay, 1 week of no pay) it should make it easier to pay things without having to make a tremendous stretch of two weeks with no pay. It was doable, but always took a lot of planning. Less planning now, more ease when making payments. I don't know how people who get paid only once a month do it. Well, yes, I do. Planning.

DH said last night that they are getting caught up on stuff so he won't have to work that extra week, which means he will be home on Wednesday. Boy, 2 and 2's go so much faster than 3 and 3's. He still doesn't know about that extra week off in January, though. Ugh. I don't like being in limbo. So far I've got $1000 saved just in case. I am hoping to add at least $2000 to that by year's end. Then if we don't need it, to extra debt repayment and to HSA it goes.

Everything is so tangled up right now. It may be June before we are out of credit card debt. I just don't know. At the beginning of the year I was so hopeful we'd be out by year's end. Oh, well, stuff happens. I wish we hadn't had so much new medical on top of everything else this year. Still, we have made more progress than I ever dreamed, so I have to stick with the positive mindset that it's coming and we'll be out of that debt soon enough.

The tax return should be huge because we can deduct the full amount of a maxed out HSA. That will at least put a big dent in it.

Hmm...I wonder if I can stretch $2000 over that extra week period instead of $3000? I am going to have to juggle some more numbers, but if I can free up that $1000 for debt I would feel a whole lot better.

First off I paid the property tax today of $518.07 for the half year. That's not part of the payday spending, but I don't need to make 3 posts today, just to say that.

Now for the regular payments:

$1000.00 to Mom (loan payback)
___37.61 DH Life Insurance
___32.70 Me Life Insurance
___86.30 Car Insurance
___41.25 Old House Insurance
__142.00 Storage
__180.00 Tae kwon do (2 months)
___65.21 Virginia Mason
__144.00 Water/Sewer Old House (2 months)
__261.60 Dental
___82.57 Clothes Shopping
__106.00 Kids' Allowances (6 weeks)
__217.62 Grocery

I will also be paying the AMEX and the Mortgage on the 1st, but will post that when I do it. I will also pay for physical therapy and dance class for DD next week.

We went to Kmart today and I got each kid a fleece-lined sweatshirt for the colder weather. I also got them each an umbrella. I got myself 4 pairs of the super fuzzy warm slipper socks. I looked for pants but didn't see anything I liked. I've lost so much weight I am constantly tugging my jeans up and it is annoying.

DS needs a winter jacket, but I couldn't find any boys' coats, just women's and grown men's. I may have to order him something from Land's End, but we will check Penney's first. I was hoping he could wear his sister's old coat (it was a boy's coat from Land's End because she had such a long torso she couldn't wear girl's coats then) but his shoulders are too broad. Otherwise it would fit him perfectly, but he finds it really uncomfortable. He was bummed because he always liked the coat. DD wore it for three years though, so I guess that's okay.

I really need a new parka but I am hoping to limp along with my ski jacket because by winter of 2012/2013 I hope to be down to the weight I will stay at and don't want to buy an expensive coat I will only be able to wear for one year. I will probably keep a lap blanket in the car though. At least our fancy shmancy Sienna has seat warmers (which seem like such a luxury, but I love them) and that makes a big difference because they warm up before the heater does.

I deposited my coin jar savings to my Safety Net at CU#2.

$559.53 Beginning Safety Net
+_41.50 Amount Added
____________
$601.03 Total Safety Net

I also sent $100 to the less accessible portion of my Emergency Fund.

$1800.95 Beginning EF at ING
+_100.00 Amount Added
_____________
$1900.95 Ending EF at ING

$1900.95 at ING
+_601.03 SN at CU#2
______________
$2501.98 Total EF

So I've met my goal of getting the EF to $2500 by the end of the month. My next goal for the EF is to hit $3000 by the end of the year.

After all of my shopping today I also added $10.27 to the coin jar, so already started on that next goal.

Today was a bad day. Just a really bad day, the sort where you just keep coming across people that are downright mean for no reason that a sane person can see. It's nice to know when days like this happen, I can come here and find like-minded people who have kind hearts and good intentions. Not financially related at all, but I am definitely grateful for this site.

I go into my ING account every week or so just to check on things and I was very disappointed to see that the savings account is no longer at 1%. It's dropped to .9% from the last time I checked. I had heard the money market one had dropped, but not the savings account. And they didn't even notify me. Usually they notify of an interest change. Pretty soon it's not going to be worth keeping money in an online bank. I wonder if this has to do with them being bought out? I really miss the days when ING was at 4% interest.

I have to pay half year property tax by Monday. It's $518 and some change and I have it in my ING account where it's been gathering interest while I saved up for it. I am going to be sad to see it drop that account down, but that money was saved for taxes, so it needs to be used for taxes. I will transfer it tomorrow so that I can get the last piddly bit of interest on it that I can.

This is the first time I've successfully put money aside for property taxes each month. Normally I just come up with the amount when I have to and don't make as big a debt payment on the credit card. But this year I was able to take that small step away from living paycheck to paycheck. I had tried in the past but always ended up using the money for something else along the way. That was when I had no EF to speak of.

I was able to reschedule my physical therapy appointment for Wednesday so that money is still set aside for that.

The PTSA called and said that not enough kids signed up for the Japanese class so she'd be sending my check back and did I want it mailed or sent home with my son. I didn't see the point in wasting a stamp and my son is responsible enough to bring it home with him. I am glad they asked though. Some kids are not. They are still trying to get something together, but probably 8 sessions instead of 13 so it won't cost as much.

I could have told them asking parents to come up with $75 bucks for an after school enrichment class with only 4 days notice was a bad idea. When most people live paycheck to paycheck, they need a couple weeks' notice to scrabble money together for something like that. I'll put the money back where it came from when I get it.

Or I should say stomach bug, or maybe something I ate, or possibly the new antibiotic disagreeing with me? But whatever, I feel yucky today. I cancelled my physical therapy appointment and left a message about rescheduling, but may not be able to, as she is sometimes heavily booked. If I just have to wait until next Monday than I can use that $60 for something else. I'll probably just dump it into the EF (although I still really want to buy season 3 of Fringe, that really can wait until Christmas).

His work just asked him if it was possible for him to work an extra week. That doesn't necessarily mean he will be asked to do it, but he wanted to know if it was okay with me. *sighs* I told him to go ahead and take it, even though it means working 3 weeks on, one week off. It's a whole extra paycheck and we can bank it for that extra week in January he might have to take off. I was trying to scrape up enough to save an extra week's pay between now and the end of the year anyway without having to wipe out our EF, so that just makes things easier financially.

It is a little frustrating though. He already is going to be missing Thanksgiving and Christmas when originally he was scheduled to have them off and now he won't be coming home when he was supposed to or for as long as he was supposed to. I seriously hope they have the rumored huge bonuses (that I am not counting on for anything at all) because he has gone so far above and beyond the call of duty it would be nice to be rewarded for that fact.