Tuesday, sometimes he is so right!

     Hubs and I went to our friends funeral yesterday and hub's spoke.  It was absolutely beautiful.  It was short and it was a very spiritual experience.  Who knew?  He said exactly what needed to be said everyone was awestruck.  Hub's is a social boob of the worst kind.  But sometimes he gets it right.  People were very impressed, even me.  We had a good laugh over it and then went a bought him a new toilet seat.  No use getting a big head right?

     D#2 helped me make a trifle and shrimp salad for the funeral, then she helped me make two cracker,meat and cheese trays, and a small 2 tier lemon cake for Hub's annual work heart's game.  All of the old State retirees get together at the office and duke it out, it is the highlight of the year and just for fun.  Sis and I thought cheese and crackers with hard Salomi was best as it could be put in the fridge and eaten after the New Year.  The trifle only takes 1/3 of a cake mix so I made a two layer 6 inch lemon cake with the left overs.  We are all going on diets after the New Year so no leftovers here.

    D#2 and I deep cleaned the downstairs bedroom and bath.  She is going to vacuum and shampoo the carpets today. It will be nice to have this room back.

     I updated my goals/no goals and debts on my side tables.  I wish I had kept what I owed at the beginning of the year to see how much progress I have made and I am sure I could research it but I am too lazy.  So I decided to just keep December 31st debt #'s up the whole year to compare.  This does not include all of our debts as I am too ashamed to list the CC's.  But I must say we are basically back to where we were last year before I fell off the wagon.  Or I should say I was thrown off.

     Everyone has their strategies and I love them all, I just can't seem to make most of them work, undisciplined as I am.  I also like to blame others and circumstance for my failures.  It is so much easier not to take the blame oneself.

Here is a list of things that came up this year that were very expensive and I have talked about this with my family and we will not let it happen again.  Short of needing a kidney D#2 is cut off.  D#3 will be much smarter.

1. Mom's Birthday was expensive, her 80th Jubilee cost me about $2000.00 much less than it cost my sisters.  Would I do it again?  You bet.

2. We chose to replace D#3's piece of crap dangerous turbo propped car.  With what it cost to keep it running and the fact that she was afraid to drive, it was a joke.  I put $1500.00 down on a safer car and she makes the same payment she made on the old one.  We bought peace of mind.  Would I do it again?  You betcha!

3.  We moved D#2 twice within 3 months.  Both moves were very expensive.  We did not feel good about what she was doing or who she was going to move in with ( a witch of a girl) but we let her make her own mistakes.  Lots of tears were shed and she owes us a at least $2000.00.  Will I do it again NO.  She will pay it back, but we will not front money for stupidity any more.

4.  D#3 just had to go live in a Sorority last year.  We were dubious, but she was afraid to live alone, we felt this would keep her away from her awful boyfriend (and it did to a degree) but we warned her about the hidden costs.  Gifts, t-shirts, fund raisers, fines, fines, fines.  B did not have the money to make 45 gift bags every weekend for her sisters.  So after she refused a gig they made bags for her out of their expensive gift catalog.  You played by the rules or were forced to through fines.  We warned her, but she did not listen.  At the end of the semester she had a bill of about $1700.00 in fines and things that she was forced to buy to make sure she was complying with the nonsense, this bill was growing every week by a $135.00 late fee.  Every WEEK.  We paid it off.  She still feels terribly guilty, but guilt don't pay the bills.

     So you see we could have put this money toward debt, but we did not, we will not have these expenses this year, however I am sure we will have others equally unexpected.  I wonder what they will be?


     I will keep you posted on what my first goal of the New Year will be financially, in a later post.

Even though I feel really down about my finances, most of the bills are under $10,000 and going down, just paying the minimum will pay off a couple in the coming year.  But I have plans.  (plans within plans,  gotta love DUNE)  What are your plans?

Have a great and productive day!

Kim