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Archive for August, 2008

Struggling with Tithing Guilt

August 27th, 2008 at 01:28 am

Hello everyone. I have not tithed to my church for about 5 months. I feel very guilty about it. I keep telling myself I need the money. Every Sunday at church I feel badly and do nothing. I have tithed off my child support, spousal support and my own paycheck from working part time in the past. I am looking for advice. Should I go back and make up the difference...start fresh...only do my paycheck and spousal and not child support???? I am utterly confused. I feel guilty and very badly. I am not sure what to do. Any advice would be wonderful. Oh to clarify. I stopped tithing when money got tight and also we are at new church and I was nervous to give before I felt Ok about the church. I like the church and we are going to stay with this church.I keep wanting to ask the pastor but again I feel horrible and guilty. Maybe embarrased. HELP!

Walgreens $5 coupon

August 22nd, 2008 at 02:43 am

Hit the Walgreens' web site for a $5 coupon off a total sale of $20. It is for Friday and Saturday only. Be sure you read the fine print as there are some stipulations....but they are small.
Good shopping and good for stocking up on things.

My Dad is A lifesaver!

August 22nd, 2008 at 01:12 am

My dad lives about 2 1/2 hours away. He has come before to do some work around the house a few weeks ago and he is coming this weekend. He is going to powerwash my garage, take some branches down and screw up some curtain tie backs.
It is so nice to have some helpful hands!!! He sure is a lifesaver. As a single many of the house jobs get put aside or go undone...so it is so nice to have some great help available. My dad likes to feel needed and this is one way we can help each other.

Have been at WALMART a bit. Everyone needed some school supplies, my oldest needed a bunch tonight after her first day of school. It sure added up. I was amazed at the long list of fees I still have to pay even at a public school. Kinda of a bummer.

My pantry continues to help me stay organized and in great shape. I can easliy find what I need or need to get.

Saved $4 in coupons today at the grocery store.

Not too much else new or exciting. Have been reading some frugal carnivals...they always inspire me. Gas is around $3.47.
It is nice to see it going down a bit.
Have a good evening.

A Good Sunday

August 17th, 2008 at 08:00 pm

Saw my buddy at work today with a huge bag of garden tomatoes for me! YAHOO!
BLT's for dinner tonight. Although me and my dd are heading out to eat some Mexican food with some friends. YUMMY!
Worked 6.5 hours today. It was nice and quiet too. So more money in the ol' paycheck! I stopped at WALGREENS and used some coupons. I tried to buy only what we needed and that was on sale. So check that off the list. My son's car battery died while I was working. He called and just about had a melt down for some reason. He is such a type A!!!! I had to pay 41.00 for a jump....needs a new battery I guess so he is taking it to the shop on Monday. More car stuff to pay!!!! In a way I am so glad I did not have to get another car....I can barely keep things afloat in the car dept.!! So more money out the door. I am glad we are getting fixed since he is taking his car to school. I want to send him off in a car that is pretty fixed up and ready.
Hit the grocery store as well. Used my coupons!! I organized them and used them. Saved $4--not much but a good start.

Nothing else to new to report. Girls will be home from my ex's around 5. They always come back over tired and cranky. FUN! It seems like it is going to be a really nutty week. I splurged and bought some dark chocolate......I need a fix now and then to help me thru!

Have a nice eveing everyone and enjoy the Olympics. It has been so fun to watch!

A Good Saturday

August 17th, 2008 at 01:13 am

Hello. Today I worked 7.5 hours. It was a pretty good day. I had a few cleaning emergencies....but all in all I had a good day. I had to buy a BD gift for my neighbor today. I spent a bit but felt that I wanted to buy her a little something nicer. She is such a good help to me. My son and I went to a new Goodwill. New in one we have never been too. I found two tops and my son got about 7 items. We spent $35.00 We went to Dollar General and got his school stuff for the dorm room....just basics like soap and laundry stuff and what nots. He hates shopping. I would of rather of gone to WAL MART but was glad to get him to the store to complete this task. He leaves next Sunday.

Hey wanted to share....my daughter did not pass her driving test. This is her third try. I was partly angry with her and partly very sad and depressed. I was really banking on her driving and giving me a break in the driving all over town as a single mom syndrome. Yes I actually got very very depressed. I was in a funk for about 24 hours. The I decided there is nothing I can do and so move on and do what I need to do. My ex is not much help so I have to suck it up and make it work.
Maybe you single parents would understand what I am feeling. It just is very hard to do it all and having an extra driver was really going to help me. At this point she may be able to do it one more time....if she fails then she is back to waiting a year and I have to spend money to have her take driving school all over again. So we will see. Thankfully my ex has been taking her to the test because I have been too stressed.

I love my pantry as I feel I am spending way less money and can actually SEE what I HAVE ON HAND!! I feel very guilty for living like a slob in this area of my life for some time. To the frugal GODS...I repent! If you need to get a part of your life organized....please do it. Get things neat and tidy NOW. Don't be foolish like I was. Get organized. You will feel so good when you are done. Next on my list is getting my checkbook organized. I feel slobby in this area.

I hope this is a good week my dd goes back to school on Thursday...son leaves on Sunday....and the little ones go back next Thursday. My goal this week is to get to the pool and enjoy it! We shall see. Summer is almost gone! BOO HOO!

Enjoy your Sunday---I am back to working another 7-8 hours on Sunday. It feels good to make some extra money! I am thankful for the extra work.

Great Trip!

August 14th, 2008 at 03:48 am

Hello everyone! I had a great trip to VA to see my sister and her family. It was pretty packed with fun things to do. I really enjoyed just taking walks with her dog on her very hilly mountainous street!
It was wonderful to see so much majesty all around me! We went bowling, horse riding, swimming and creeking.....we tubed down a huge river. It really pushed me a bit on the comfort level and I was so glad I tried some new things! FUN! My sister is a very busy person. She leads a very different life since she is married and I am not. I had to walk in a small amount of grace. All in all I appreciated our differences.

My pantry is done!!! it is awesome! My friend used two bookcases to fill my pantry instead of building shelves. It has been a great way to get shelves for much cheaper! I am so organized!! My other jobs got done as well. So I was so glad to get things done while I was gone.
I feel like I won the lottery! Being organized and tidy really helps to be on top of things money wise. I love it!

We found a car for my daughter. We have not purchased it but may if she passes her test on Thursday. If she passes I will be literally shouting all over my blog!!!! Get ready for some noise if she gets her DL! The car we are looking at is a used Ford Escape. It is really a great price for a 2004. Hopefully it will last. They have it displayed on the lot way up front....so we will see. It is a nice SUV and I am so glad we found it. It is scary to know I will have another car in my driveway......that is three cars I will own. Very scary.

Money is tight but I knew it would be. Gas is terrible.I had a bigger electric bill which hurt. Hopefully once we get back to school things will get better. I am working on Sunday so I will get some extra money. The gal who works Sunday wanted off....I could not pass up the opportunity to work. So I will be working 6 days in a row. Tiring just thinking about it.

My son leaves for college in one week. I will miss him. I will miss him mowing! It is back to mowing my yard again. It is time consuming!! Oh well. We have to shop for some things for him to take to school.

My dad wants to come back to my house and do more odd jobs. He is not one to sit around bored. So I need to make a list for him. I think I will have him hose out the garage for me.

I need close out my MM savings account. I do not have enough money in it and I keep getting charges. I just don't have alot to save right now. I will re-open a plain old savings account to park money.
I just can not save alot right now. Sad but true.

Enjoy your week! Take care---

Hello August!

August 6th, 2008 at 08:35 pm

Just a quick HELLO to everyone! I am leaving for a trip to see my sister and her family in VA. tomorrow. We will be back on Monday. I have sorta been taking a blog break. Just enjoying summer and staying busy. Last week we were at the indoor waterpark for an overnite stay. It was very fun and we had a very nice time. I really really enjoyed my time. My goal was to be a kid! I enjoyed all the water park fun. My little one asked why I was laughing so much. I guess I have not been laughing enough! It was not cheap but it made a great memory!

Hopefully our trip will go well this week. My son is not going. I think he would be bored. So I am letting stay behind.

Work is going. It has been a little rough. The morale is really low among EVERYONE! I just plug along and not worry too much. Life is too short to get too uptight about much. My boss is a very nice lady but she seems to be very, very moody which makes her unpredicatable. That to me makes the workplace stressful.

I am done with most of the back to school shopping. Only a few small things left.
My daughter is going to public high school this year for 11th grade. She has been in a private school since kindergarten. Hopefully all goes well. We had it rough in 10th grade. I hope this new change works for her. My son leaves for school on August 24th. He is now on the golf team for his college. He seems excited.

Money seems ok for now. I had an emergency room bill for $400,that hurt.
But it is now paid. I am trying to save every way I can.

Well enjoy summer....I will blog more when I get back