I thought I'd really been making progress in the budget lately.

Stayed in budget at the grocery store.
Taking the bus occasionally to work(when I could wake up the 30 minutes earlier to catch it).
Set up an auto transfer of $25/week to savings that's actually not in budget, so it'll come out of the "fun money" we have each month.
At the end of this month, all of our CC debt will be on 0% int rates (no BT fees), that will be paid off by October (was earlier, but see below).
Also will have $1000 saved up by the end of the year, not including the above $25/week.
Taking my breakfast and lunch to work instead of eating out.
Disputed appraisal, really hoping for a decrease on our $7,000 tax bill due in December (which is already budgeted for, no debt increase).

Then, BAM!

Cat gets into a fight with a tomcat outside and loses. $675 vet bill.
New boss ends our once-weekly work from home 4 weeks after saying she would allow it to continue (this is a company benefit for flex schedules, wasn't just a department thing). There's $50-$60/month added in gas, still $40/month increase if I take the bus.
Mom's b-day is tomorrow. Mother's Day is Sunday. Still haven't gotten her anything yet.

Back to the drawing board. I think I can find some more money, I just need to convince DH that we really don't need to pay $15/month for Netflix when the last movies we got have been sitting in a drawer for 2 months.

Can you get a bus pass? I'm not sure that's possible in your area, but many do have them and they're pretty cheap (comparatively).

Cook mom her favorite dinner (if you can).

Life isn't always going to be exactly as we planned, it's fluid and requires adjustments. Just be ready to make adjustments along the way and stick with it. Don't give up, that's the key.

You were doing really well here....don't allow these set-backs to make you stop your budgeting!!!



I know the feeling. Come Xmas, that's when I stress. My Mom's is on the 22nd, Xmas on 25th, Dad on 27th. So, I feel ya. How about some flowers from Costco for her b-day and small gift? I'm going to get a $10 bouquet there for Sunday, and my gift is a $20 digital photo keychain I got off of Ebay that retails for about $60.

Definitely cancel Netflix. Our movies sat in the drawer too. We kept our HBO and Starz on cable, because it comes with On Demand, which means, find a movie and click, you can watch it. We figure, worst case, if we're desperate for a specific movie (which is rare), we can go to Blockbuster. We also have a drawer full of movies.

Good luck. And remind yourself how good you were doing and continue that. Setbacks will always happen.

don't let this derail your progress.... just realize things happen and move forward.


(also as a side note.... keep in mind in your budget that xmas happens every year on Dec 25th... NOW is always a good time to plan for it )

Oh, I have Christmas in there. DH seems to think we need to spend a fortune on his family every year, and no amount of convincing can change his mind.

They did away with bus passes here. The only discount they provide is 5 free rides after 50 paid rides if you use their reloadable card. I live in the most expensive zone, being so far out of town, so the bus is $7/day. Park n ride location is only a 5 minute drive away, though.

Just applied to a local CU in the hopes of getting our vehicles refi'd. If we could get the int rate down to 5.5%, it'd shave our two car payments down $100/month.

I'm so sick of stressing over money!

Have you considered Penfed, they have an auto loan for 4.25% right now?

I have found the BEST way for me to save for emergencies (or vacation) is the spare change method. I have a bucket that I drop all my change in at the end of the day. We cashed in the bucket in January when we had to move DD back home - over $200. The bucket is FULL right now, and I getting ready to cash it in to pay a few bills - am hoping for at least $250. That is ALOT of change in just 3 months - and it is only from ME. DH keeps his change separate.