Quick update - just checked my statement online and missed a few things...
groceries 66.42, Christmas presents 46.55
December expenses: $2907.52
Just tallied up my Keep the Change contributions..$7.90 since 12/13! It adds up fast, especially when I make sure to get one $.01 on the end of my gas bill...then it's like the bank is paying me $.99 to fill up! (for another two months, at least!)

when I try to write these entries. For the second time in a week, I have lost an entry before being able to submit it. The first time I hit the wrong button and my entire entry was gone...yesterday the computer froze up as I was submitting my entry. Both times I was too frustrated to write it all over. So here is yesterday's entry and todays...
I spent yesterday at home all day, except for a trip to the post office to mail two packages and my Christmas cards. However, I did spend a substantial amount of money on my annual real estate dues ($384 for dues and $436 for multiple listing service access - saved $20 by paying all four quarters at once). I put this on my new BOA cc with 0% for 6 months, so I can pay that one after the holidays. I checked my credit cards last night too - found out that I had somehow missed a payment. ARGH! I am usually fanatical about that. I have slipped a few times in the past - the first time, they waived the fee for me, but the second time they didn't. I really don't know how this happened - I check my balances about once a week and usually catch these well before they are due. I spent last night mad at myself for wasting $39. I'm still debating whether to call them to ask if they will waive it - I know there is no harm in trying, but I feel like a dunce. I did pay another $500 to my Discover - another $400 due by the first week of January. I will make that payment in a week - that will mean our upcoming vacation will be paid off
I spent a little money today at the outlet mall - $3.74 on some sugar free candy, $2 on plates and thank you notes for ds2's first birthday (tomorrow!), two shirts for me ($14), and a few gifts (about $11 total). Then DH and I played cards with my aunt and went grocery shopping for a few things after - another $27.
I did save a little more money today by checking over my last cell phone bill from my prior carrier. I switched my service in mid-November, but they charged me until the first week of December. I spent about a half hour on the phone, but it should net me about $40. They were supposed to call me back today with the total, but they never did. Which means I have to call them again tomorrow...why can't these companies follow through when they say they will?
December expenses: $1908.33 + 8.48 (post office) + 384 + 436 + 3.74 + 2 + 14 + 11 + 27 = $2794.55
December income: $1563.61 + 1296.75 (comission check) + 802.16 (paycheck with exra time) = 3662.52

Wow, I have been so busy lately that I have not had time to get on. I have a lot of catching up to do. This past weekend we played cards and went bowling, then last night I went out with some girlfriends to Red Lobster. We decided to have a nice dinner instead of exchanging gifts - and since I had a gift certificate, it didn't cost me a thing! We went shopping after and I got a few things for the boys' stockings. I have a lot of spending to record since DH and I both finished up our shopping over the weekend, so I will just record it as one lump sum (total: 386.77 on Christmas gifts and a closing gift for the buyers I have been working with). We also had some miscellaneous expenditures along the way for gas, groceries, etc.
A few positives: I already received my $25 rebate from my booking on Expedia.com for trying out Entertainment.com for a month. I received it in less than 2 weeks - great service. I also shaved about $50 off my cell phone bill after an hour long conversation with customer service today. They never gave me my discount (10%) for being a state employee that I was promised when I signed up - they tried to tell me I was ineligible because I received the phones at a discounted price, but I asked the service rep who sold me the phone and he called to verify my discount in front of me - so I was NOT a happy camper during this phone call. And they tacked on a $1.99 charge to my bill without telling me or explaining why (it is a charge to put more towers in my calling area since they have no towers here - would have been fine with this if they had told me when I signed up!). So I received a $25 credit off the bat, then had to speak to a supervisor, who credited me my 10% discount as well as another $10 off for my troubles. I ended up happy with the outcome, but miffed that it took me an hour to get there. In one phone call, I received two credits to my account - yet in my previous dealings with this company (about 8 phone calls over a 2 week period for failing to port my cell number over from my previous carrier), I was never offered a thing for my inconvenience. Not even after I wrote a letter to the head of the company (which I have still have not heard a word from).
I am looking forward to the next two days off...then to work of Friday and off again for three days! Tomorrow my priority is to get to the post office first thing to mail Christmas cards and two packages. I have been trying to get these cards out since last week, but I am sending a family picture with them. When I went to print them out, my cartridge ran out. So I bought a new photo cartridge, but apparently I have no clue how this works because when I put the photo cartridge in without the color cartridge, the pictures came out gray. Since the color cartridge was also out, I had to go buy a new one of those. Finally got them both in the printer together tonight and all the pictures printed. Next time I'll just send them to Wal-Mart!
The photo collages came out very, very nice on Kodakgallery.com and cost less than $2 in shipping. However, they did not ship the entire order. I am missing one collage. I was going to wait a day and see if it came separately...when I got ready to check out, I did a quick search for coupon codes and found one for 20% orders of $10 or more. My order was $9.98, so I ordered another $2 collage for my MIL. So basically, I got it for free except that it didn't arrive!
I need to get to bed...yawn. Better tally up.
December expenses: $1173.17 + $386.77 (gifts) + $99 (fingerprinting fee for DH - has to get it to substitute teach) + $165 (to mom for expenses) + 27.01 (gas) + 25.16 (groceries) + 30.22 (printer cartridge) + $2 (donation at work) + 1908.33 (yikes!)
December income: $1221.61 + 317 + 25 = 1563.61

What a productive day...but I'm beat so I will keep this short. I got some things done around the house that I have not had time to do, then went to a holiday party for my real estate office - very nice. I have been trying to do some photo collages for my parents half the night on KodakGallery.com...not the easiest site to use, and I am paranoid that shipping is going to be huge. We'll see. I'm uploading pics right now, so I have to put the last collage together, then go to checkout to see what the damage is.
Spent a lot these past few days - more Christmas shopping. DH and I spent last night wrapping everything. The good thing is that we are almost done - just a few more gifts to get. YEAH!
December expenses: $1011.44 + 12.13 (thrift store - 4 shirts for me and 5 books for the kids - some for Christmas gifts!) + 22.66 (On Cue - cd and book for gifts) + 72.94 (Marshalls - gifts) + 54 (gift certficates) =1173.17
December income: $1221.61

Just a note for my own records...just made a payment on my Discover - $500 on a $1468 balance...ouch. That added up fast, between the Vegas and Long Island trips, eye appointment and year's worth of contacts, etc. etc. But I am not going to count this toward my monthly expenses as I counted all the expenditures as they were being made. I have until January 1 to pay it off, so I will make another payment in about two weeks.
I do have a few adjustments to make to my totals, though. In going over my cc statement, I came across a few transactions that DH did not remember to tell me.
December expenses: $962.38 + 5.67 (groceries) + 26.05 (gas) + 25.01 (gas) - 7.67 (overestimate of DH's expenditures) = 1011.44

Thanks Kashi for the info on savings bonds - I did buy one today for my niece, but I had her SSN with me. I guess I could have gotten it all done in one trip, but I'm sure I will be at the bank again soon. I have to get my banking straightened out. What a mess. I have been with a credit union forever, but since we moved back home there are no local ATMs. It never used to be a problem with DH commuting to Syracuse, but now that he is not going out there...it got to be a pain. So I have switched to BOA (so far, so good), but haven't closed the other account out yet until I can sit down with the checkbook to make sure all the checks have cleared. Plus I opened ING accounts for me, DH, and my two boys. DH opened us up a HSBC savings account because they were paying 4% interest - a much better place to stash the emergency fund than our piddly little 1% savings account. So we just have too many things to keep track of. So far I have closed my and DH's ING accounts, but kept the boys open until I can take their money to get some bonds. Hopefully I will be organized enough soon to close the credit union account, so we would only have two left. Two is manageable. I have been trying to do the same with my credit cards. Somehow we ended up with 2 Discovers, 1 Mastercard, and an Amazon Visa. I closed one Discover and the Visa, but managed to get talked into a BOA credit card (hey, they wanted to give me free money and 0% interest), so I can live with 3 cards for now. I use them frequently, but always pay them off (unless it's 0%), but it's still one more thing to keep track of. And if I were to miss a payment...I shudder at the thought of paying those late fees.
Not a bad day today - to work at 8, brunch at 10 prepared by my supervisor. She must have spent all day yesterday in the kitchen - ham, egg, and cheese casserole, sausages and apples, cinnamon rolls, fruit tray with granola and yogurt, muffins...it was yummy. Out of work at 1 (my short day) and spent the afternoon running errands before coming home. I stopped at the bank to deposit some checks (I got a surprise $5 check from my MD's office for an overpayment!?!?) and get the savings bond ($25) - then to the Salvation Army to look for a pair of jeans that fit. My two good pair are now too big for me it's not a bad problem to have! So I found a pair of size 10 jeans that are pretty much what I was looking for - a little tight in the...uh...posterior regions, but it will be good motivation to stay on track and lose 5-10 more pounds. Then to Wally World (AKA Wal-Mart) for diapers, wipes, a few Christmas gifts, and groceries. I spent $111.65 there - about $30 on diapers/wipes, $30 on gifts, and that would leave about $51.65 for groceries. Then tonight we went to my aunt's house for spaghetti and meatballs...homemade...it was wonderful. DH stayed to play a card match with my aunt & parents and I brought the boys home. Now...a little catch-up on my finances, then I am going to wrap some presents.
Tomorrow I have to stop in to work for a meeting, but then might try to get some more shopping in. Christmas is getting so close so fast...
December expenses: $766.03 + 25 + 111.65 + 9.70 (TSA) + 50 (gas) = 962.38
December income: $1216.61 + 5 = 1221.61
Saved money today by: Getting free brunch and dinner, drinking water at work, shopping secondhand for jeans and clothes for ds2.

Whew, what a weekend. What a great weekend. I got to snuggle an adorable new baby, relax at a salon, and visit with relatives I only get to see a few times a year. Fun, fun, fun. It didn't start out so well - delay at the airport, de-icing the plane, rough flight. This is the first time I have flown Jet Blue - excellent service, leg room, tvs for every seat. However, the down side...I am flipping through the tv stations just after we took off and caught a news story about a plane crash...so I kept flipping and caught another news story about a drunk pilot...not the best thing to watch when you are in the air! Then I was able to catch some true crime story to take my mind off the snow and turbulence! We had a safe landing and I was glad to be off the flight, no matter how short it was (about 45 minutes). My cousin was waiting for me at JFK and ushered me out of that maze. You just can't put a hick into the big city
I bought lunch for my cousin and her husband that day ($19.00), but her parents treated us to dinner after winning in Atlantic City, where they were staying with my parents. The next day we took our salon trip (already paid for on E-bay) - an hour massage ($20 tip), a hair cut and makeover ($15 tip) and ice cream after! ($7). We were so dolled up we decided to go out to dinner - this time on my parents, who also won in AC (they wouldn't let us pay). So the trip didn't break the bank completely. I love my boys, but it was nice to have some time alone with no diapers, runny noses, or whining...of course that also meant no hugs, kisses, or giggles, but I got plenty when I returned
Last night, after surviving the long drive home (made longer by bad weather), DH and I made a quick dinner and went bowling ($100 - prepaid 5 weeks of bowling, and $15 babysitter). Today I managed to avoid spending any money thankfully. We put up the Christmas tree and decorations finally. I can't believe Christmas is less than two weeks away - it really snuck up on us this year. We're only about half way done with our shopping. oh boy...
another collection at work...$5 for a gift for the maintainence guy. This much I don't mind because he always goes above and beyond to meet our office needs. My supervisor is making us a brunch tomorrow, and she always puts on a good spread, so I'm looking forward to that. Then I may have to sneak away to do some shopping after work. I think I may stop at my bank to pick up some savings bonds for nieces and nephews - although I think this requires their SSNs, which I don't have. I guess I will have to do a little research.
December expenses: $587.78 + 19 + 20 + 15 + 7 + 100 + 15 + 2.25 (bagel at airport) = 766.03
December income: $537.61 + 634 misc. income + $45 from cousin for salon visit = 1216.61
Saved money today by: bringing lunch and snacks to work, drinking water at work, renewing library books online as I won't be able to get there (ok, they were already late, but I saved money by not making them later)

DH just got his bill from the bursar for this semester of school. It's not paid yet because his Stafford loans have not come through. Well, I was a little shocked when I looked at it. He signed up for both the subsidized and unsubsidized loans to the tune of over $8k! He thought we could use the extra money (since he thought it was interest free) to pay for other things that are not interest free. I agreed with the plan at the time, but I thought it was only going to be $5k. He insists he told me, I don't remember...it's not important who's right though. The fact is that I don't want this! So I looked up some info on the unsubsidized loan and found out that the interest starts accruing immediately, whereas the subsidized loans do not accrue interest until he is out of school. Luckily, since his loans did not come in yet, he was able to go to the Bursar today to say he did not want the unsub. loan. Whew. So now we will have to pay a little out of pocket to cover the balance that the sub. loan does not cover, but that's okay. It will be a lot less money to pay back down the road.
Dh went shopping last night and picked up a few Christmas presents for his brothers, who are pretty tough to shop for. He stumbled upon a slew of Stars Wars collectibles (ok, toys, but calling them collectibles make them sound a little more appropriate for 30 year old men) at K-Mart reduced, plus buy one get one half off. So now there are two more people completely shopped for. Yeah! He also spent some money for school project supplies, but I don't know the exact amount. I'll guess it at $60.
I managed to dodge the gift for a coworker - the luncheon is tomorrow, but I will be out of the office. A lot of times, baselle, they just ask you to give whatever - then I can slip a few bucks into the envelope and pass it along. However, in this case, they had a specific gift in mind and asked for a $10 contribution. Despite being in a state job (where I had always assumed there was a lot of stability), we do have a lot of turnover - mostly people leaving for other positions internally in other counties or other state departments.
The nicest thing done for me today: a co-worker, who has a daughter a few years older than ds1, brought in a bag of books for me! There are some in great condition that I already know my son loves, as we got them out of the library a while back. Guess what will be in his stocking this year for Christmas!
The kids are doing a little better - although ds1 was a little bit of a monster today. My niece was over again. They either get along wonderfully, or are at each other's throats all day. Today was the latter. Ds1 was completely exhausted too, which did not help. And yet ds2, the sicky, was laughing and smiling. I didn't know his eye drops stung! Ds2 doesn't seem to be in pain, but maybe that's because I have yet to get them in his eye! He's a wiggler
December expenses: $527.78 + 60 = 587.78
December income: $537.61
Saved money today by: bringing lunch and snacks to work, drinking water at work, eating dinner from the freezer (okay, it was a t.v. dinner, but we are trying to get the freezer cleaned out!), saved interest by not getting the unsubsidized loan to pay for DH's school

Tomorrow I will be on my way to Long Island to see a new baby girl and get pampered at a salon. Have a great weekend all - I'll check in on Monday!

Another trip to the doctors for ds2, another round of antibiotics for an ear infection, this time with the bonus of pinkeye thrown in - so a round if antibiotic eyedrops as well. Poor little guy. As always though, he's happy as anything most of the time. Wish I was such a good patient!
Day off from work - actually got quite a bit of picking up done and several loads of laundry despite the trip to the doctors, pharmacy, and watching my 3 year old niece for the better part of the day. Spent $25.78 at the grocery store, mostly toiletries but also a few food items that we were out of - and another $23.35 at the pharmacy, not to mention the $15 copay at the pediatricians.
I was thinking over my big grocery bill from last month and realized that it included all of the diapers ($10/kid, 2-3 times per month) and toiletries, since I get them while I do my grocery shopping. So I feel a little bit better about the amount, although there still is room for improvement.
December expenses: $463.65 + 64.13 = 527.78
December income: $537.61 (paycheck today)
Saved money today by: eating at home (leftovers for lunch, dinner made from scratch from pantry/freezer - made enough for lunches tomorrow), combining errands (MD, grocery, pharmacy - all are a fifteen minute drive from home)
I did NOT save money today while shopping. Anyone who has been in the grocery store with an overtired baby will understand me when I say that I was not going to read labels and compare prices! I felt terrible walking through the store with a whimpering baby, but I had to get the script filled before I left. He perked right up again after his nap
Now I am off to snuggle in my down comforter on this cold, snowy night, and finish Mary Higgins Clark's latest!

I had two parties to go to today - our office party, which was lunch at a nearby restaurant, and a holiday party at one of the group homes I provide service coordination services for. Yeah! I love parties. I took my youngest son to the second party. He had a ball, running all over the place. Almost a year old now, and he just completely skipped over the "stranger anxiety" phase. He took off in a crowded house, not knowing anyone but me, without a backward glance. He's going to keep me on my toes for sure.
I spent some money today on lunch ($9), an oil change ($14.03), and a donation to sponsoring several families for Christmas through my office ($20). I don't mind giving at all to causes like these - so don't get me wrong - but it seems like every time I turn around, there are requests for another donation. At the grocery store, they want you to donate $1 for this or that...I got asked at a craft fair over the weekend...I get at least 1 or 2 requests in the mail EVERY WEEK for a different cause. It seems like they waste so much money in the asking than they would receive when someone does donate. Personally, I have my two or three causes that I donate money to every year through payroll deduction or outright donation, and then I consider myself done. But I still feel like a jerk when someone asks me if I want to give to such-and-such a cause and I say no.
And then on a different, but similar, note, it seems like every week or two there is a collection around the office for someone who is leaving, or getting married, or whatever. It really adds up. I have been dodging the sign-up sheet for a luncheon for a co-worker that I barely know who is leaving. It has everyone's names and then you check "yes" or "no" to whether you want to donate. I don't want to be the only person checking no, but I also don't want to shell out $10 to send a co-worker to a spa for a day. I know this sounds really scrooge-ish, and I don't mean it to be because I am the first one to donate for a cause or to a friend, but it seems that there is always SOMETHING.
Anyway...
December expenses: $420.62 + 43.03 = 463.65
December income: nothing yet! should get paid Thursday
Saved money today by: taking snacks to work, drinking water, going to the place that does oil changes for $12.99 (cheapest around), using SIL as a babysitter (she owes me tons of babysitting hours!)

Yeah! I had a closing today, which means I'll be getting another commission check soon. This one will be about $1300. Since we don't need the money right now, I'll probably throw it toward my student loans again. No money spent today, although I was very tempted when I met my clients at a coffee shop after our walk-through of their house in 30 degree weather. Then I looked at the prices - since I am not a regular coffee drinker, I only get the fancy-schmancy chocolate-cappucino drinks. They were over $3! So I grabbed my bottle of tap water instead. Not quite as good at warming me up, but it did quench my thirst. I went from that job to my regular job for a few hours, then came home to a crockpot of chili courtesy of DH, who typically does not cook dinner, so it was nice to see that I wouldn't have to do a thing tonight except play with the boys.
I was without my voice for the better part of the day, which in itself, was not that bad of a thing. I had an excuse to not return phone calls and got some paperwork done instead. But I have this terrible cough that kept me up for the better part of the night last night (until about 1:30am), and then my soon-to-be one year old decided that 4:30am was an excellent time to wake up for the day. NOT typical for him, so I hope he's not sick too. So DH and I should really be in bed by now, but he's still at school...and here I am. Oh well.
Expenses and income same as yesterday. I can't count my commission check until it's in my hands.
Saved money today by: bringing lunch and snacks to work, drinking water all day, taking DH's car b/c I had a lot of driving to do (more fuel-efficient, and more fun to drive than the minivan!)

Feeling a little better today, but still losing my voice a bit. Ds1 has a runny nose, but so far, that seems to be the extent of it. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I took ds1 to a craft fair today to get out of the house for a bit. He had a good time, but we didn't buy anything. I just kept walking around thinking, "I don't really WANT anything here." I was hoping to pick up a few Christmas gifts, but nothing really struck a chord with me. It's funny that I am reading "Your Money or Your Life" right now and I am just at the part where the authors talk about how you really redefine your wants when you put it into perspective how much you worked for an item versus how much pleasure you derive from it. I think I had that "A-ha!" moment about 5 years ago, but it still gets stronger all the time. Back then I was content to not buy more, but now I am at the point where I am ready to get rid of what I have accumulated. Too much stuff that serves no purpose. I have been doing it very slowly, with a post on Freeecycle or a bag to the Salvation Army, but I do feel like I am getting somewhere. Ahhh......
Expenses today: $26.08 in gas (was that really all it took to fill DH's car?), $20 bowling, $15 babysitter, $10 locker rental at the bowling alley (DH was tired of having a cold bowling ball and shoes b/c we were leaving them in the trunk), $1 for a snack at the alleys (DH). I also forgot to record some expenses I incurred for my upcoming trip to Long Island - $94 flight, $89 spa getaway on E-Bay (half to be paid back to me). I am so incredibly psyched about this deal. I won two packages for $52 each, then used a PayPal coupon code that I found on this freebie site (a big thanks to whoever posted that!!!! I didn't even know they existed!) to save an additional $15. So for my $44.50, I will be getting an hour long massage, a hair cut and style, and a cosmetic makeover. I cannot even believe that deal. Of course it will cost a bit more in tips, but it is still a phenomonal package. I can't wait - we are booked to go on Saturday.
December expenses: $165.54 + 255.08 = 420.62
December income: still waiting for a paycheck...
Saved money today by: Eating leftovers for lunch and dinner (and they are almost gone...where did all these leftovers come from???), eating dinner before bowling so as not to be tempted while there, drinking free water at the bowling alley, coming home for lunch instead of eating at the craft fair as planned (nothing looked good), using a BJ's membership for gas ($2.29 compared to $2.39).

We had my birthday party last night nice time. We had a houseful of people - we were celebrating my birthday, my brother's, and my great aunt's. We always celebrated with my grandmother and her twin, but since my grandmother passed away almost two years ago, we definitely make it a point to still include my great aunt. I can't imagine what it must be like to celebrate your birthday without your twin. But we manage to make it a fun time. We ate some pizza, had some cake, and played a lot of cards. I think we had about 16 people in all, some playing pitch and others playing poker. The kids got to stay up late and trashed the toy room, but isn't that what parties are for?
I am still sick, sore throat and cough. Although the sore throat is easing up, which means I am heading toward recovery. Ds1 has a runny nose too, but I hope that's the extent of it. Tomorrow is my day to sleep in and get some much needed rest. Today I got up with the kids, but took a two hour nap when DH got up. The kids are usually sound sleepers, but they were up a lot last night. I felt like I would just get to sleep and then they would wake up again. ZZZzzzz....
I have some spending to record, but no income yet! I bought another magazine subscription for a gift ($15), a gift on E-bay ($3.29), some movie tickets (4 for my brother's birthday, 2 for DH and I) through my Entertainment trial (total $38.25), and reserved our car for Vegas ($90 for 4 days), although I don't think they charged my card yet, so I am not going to count it in my totals. I also submitted my $25 cash back through Entertainment for making a booking on Expedia. That will take about 4 weeks. Someone posted a neat BYGO offer on DeepdiscountDVD.com - buy one box set, get one free. I found two that I can buy for gifts (once I make sure my brother doesn't already have it). They both cost $32, so the total cost will only be $32 (free shipping). That's an awesome deal and it would cross two people off my list! I have bookmarked the site so I can go back once I determine my brother would need this. I think that's all my spending...although DH might have some of his own. I'll add more later if I remember anything.
December expenses: $56.54 + $109 = 165.54
No income yet.
Saved money by: Making soup out of leftovers (some beans & greens that were oversalted, beans out of the freezer, half a can of tomatoes that I needed to use up or throw out, etc.), ate leftovers for lunch, shopped around for the best deal on car rentals and got an extra $25 back. I noticed an extra charge on my credit card from Winkflash.com for my prints - I have e-mailed them and asked them to remove it. I realize that this is not "saving" money, but it would have cost me if I were less observant.

Oh boy. I could not believe how much I spent in November when I added everything up. I have this little sheet of paper that I thought would be enough, and I have numbers crammed all over it. I am going to total these up as I go...I hope it's not too painful. I haven't kept track of things this accurately for a while, so I might be in for a shock.
Let's see...groceries: 330.06 This is WAY more than I usually spend. However, we had to buy a lot of "staples" for our first month on the South Beach diet. For example, several boxes of whole wheat pasta, brown rice, healthier (read: more expensive) cereals, tons of fresh fruit and veggies. I expect this to go down because 1. we have a stockpile of healthier items to chose from now, and 2. we made a lot of quick dashes to the store this month to grab something quick when we found we did not have anything diet-compliant in the house. Now that we are more familiar with the diet, we can plan a little better (I hope).
Household expenses: $570 (elec, phone, Dish tv, Netflix - check written to my mom who pays all of these things). This was higher than usual as I was a little behind (sheepish grin). It's nothing intentional, I'm just an airhead when remembering to pay every month. And my mom NEVER will ask for it, so I keep track to make sure I am paying her all that is owed. This will definitely be much better next month (if I remember to pay...)
CLothing: $20.65 - A few new items for me and one shirt for ds2 (from a thrift store). This will maybe go up a little as I need some clothes that fit me better.
Car/gas: 280.05 ($15 oil change, the rest is gas). I expect this to decrease because the price of gas is falling steadily, and also because DH will be done with this semester after 12/9 (he drives 30 miles each way, 4 days per week). However, I do need to get my snow tires put on and DH still needs to get the dent in his car fixed, so we will have to budget a little for that.
Medical: 380.00 - will probably stay the same, as DH needs to order his expensive contacts this month. Hopefully it will go down in January though.
Gifts: 256.75 - mostly Christmas shopping, although we did have a few birthdays this month (about $60)
Loans: $4200 - definitely will decrease. I put my huge commission check onto my student loan ($3700) but there will be no huge checks next month! Other loans: $300 to DH's student loans, $200 to car.
Entertainment: 845.24 - Wow, I was most scared by this total, but when you take out the Vegas trip ($644), we only spent $200. However, $54.99 was to eat out. I thought we were doing really well in this area, but DH and/or I ate out a total of 7 times this month. Sometimes it was just a slice of pizza here or a taco there, but it was a lot more than I thought. However, it still was a lot less than we used to eat out before going on SB diet, so I guess that's a plus. It also helps to think about the money we are saving on eating out while I'm paying the grocery bills! We spent just over $100 on bowling night (counting paying the babysitter), so that will stay constant, although we won't be bowling on Christmas.
Miscellaneous: $238.79 - there are a lot of non-negotiables that fall into this category such as son's pre-school, vet bill, and chocolate covered espresso beans , but there is definite room for improvement. There are some expenses that will not be incurred regularly (new cell phones, magazine subscription renewal), but I'm sure there will be other expenses to take their place.
This is going to be a huge entry - more for my benefit than for anyone reading it - but I hope it will help to direct my spending next month.
Goals:
Grocery: $275.00
Household: $250
Clothing: $50
Car/gas: $200/gas, $200 car-related expenses
Medical: $375 (DH's contacts plus two co-pays for getting bloodwork done plus one prescription refill)
Gifts: $500 - we should be able to make this since we took ourselves out of the budget with our trip to Vegas
Loans: $1200 (I should be able to put about $1000 more toward my loan with my next commission check, then out standard $200 car payment. DH's loans are in deferment, so we can wait on his).
Entertainment: $150 - I'll try to cut this a little, although I am not going to feel bad if we go over.
Miscellaneous: $200
Total expenses: $3400, estimated income (with commission check): $3692.
Now back to my regularly scheduled entries...I have some catching up to do.

I had planned to review my November expenses to see where I spent the most money, but I'm short on time tonight so that will have to wait. Quick entry night. My pictures from WInkflash came yesterday ($.12 prints, $.99 flat shipping - I love this place!) so I have to get them into albums. Plus ds1 seems to be putting off bedtime...he just called me for a drink and he's calling me again.
Spent $109 at the grocery store today. No income. I guess that puts me in the hole right off the bat. More to follow later...

Well, that's that. I'm definitely sick. Had a sore throat all day and just felt like crap. Oh well. Hopefully this will be short-lived. At least the kids were in a better mood today. I had a nice surprise - a birthday present in the mail from one of my closest friends who now lives across the country in Phoenix. She sent me chocolate covered espresso beans That really made my night.
My parents are taking a week-long trip to Philly, Atlantic City, and Long Island (to see relatives). I have been dying to go see my new cousin, born in July, so they told me that if I could get myself there, I could ride back with them. I was on the fence about it, but DH looked up the airfare and told me I was going I love that guy. I think he has seen that I could use a weekend away. So I have written to make sure it's alright with my relatives (which it always is) and then I will book the flight. It's only $84 one way on Jet Blue. I have also been looking up spa packages on E-bay. I found a few on the Island, but I don't know how close they are to where I'll be staying. I thought it would be a fun thing to do with my cousin (the new mom). All in all, though, the weekend will still cost less than $200 and it will do me a world of good.
No money spent today - I never left the house. I dressed myself head to toe in fleece and hunkered down. I am a miserable sick person. I did spend some money last night, though, after I posted. $36.80 on magazine subscriptions (half for me, half for gifts). No income today.

November expenses: $7212.81
November income: $7087.93
Saved money today by: making turkey pasta for lunch and turkey soup for dinner with ingredients on hand (turkey is officially GONE!), not leaving the house
A little disappointed that I ended up in the red for the month, but not too bad. This month was highly unusual. If you take away my large commission check and large student loan payment, that would approximate more closely a typical month. So, my real income and expenses is more like $3500. I didn't sock any into savings, but then again, we have adequate savings at this time, so extra money is better spent to pay down loans.

A rather nice day today, aside from the kids being cranky. I really think they are getting sick. DH has been sick, and I just got a sore throat today, so I guess we are all going to be hit. Oh well. Nothing too exciting today - work, eye doctor, home. I spent a lot of money on my contacts. $330 total. $60 for the exam and $280 for the contacts, but I got $10 off. I will also get a $60 rebate on them since I ordered 4 boxes at a time. This is one of my extravagant expenses that I budget for. I could probably buy a years worth of contacts for less then half the price, but I splurge for the Night and Day contacts (the ones that you wear up to 30 days straight). Being blind as a bat and rather lazy when it comes to taking my lenses out, I will gladly pay extra for these. With the piddly amount my insurance will reimburse me though, and the rebate, the final bill won't be as bad as it sounds. The unfortunate thing is that DH has to order his too (the same kind).
However, the really good news of the day...I took my car to a repair shop and will not have to pay a dime! A few months ago a mechanic broke my ABS sensor while repairing my brakes. After initially being told that I would need to pay $120 for a new part (excuse me??? After he broke it???), they replaced it for me at their cost. Well, the sensor broke again. The mechanic said it had a hole worn right through it and apologized to me! They will be fixing it again for free when the part comes in. I was so petrified that it was going to be a problem with my brakes rather than just the sensor. Whew!
I have two good options to use for any payments this month, so I have to analyze this to see which is better. If I use my BOA debit card with the Keep the Change program, they will round up my debit and match it. But if I use my Discover card, they will pay me $1!!!! (up to $20 this month only). So it seems that I need to use my Discover card for everything until I reach 20 transactions, as that is a guaranteed cash-back dollar, whereas the BOA will always be less than $1. However, if it seems that I will be over 20 transactions, then I will need to start using my BOA card when I charge things that will earn me a lot of money when rounded up. I'm a little bummed that these deals didn't come at different times!
No income today.

November expenses: $7176.01
November income: $7087.93 (darn! in the red again!)
Saved money today by: taking lunch and snacks to work, drinking water, ordering all of my contacts at one time to get the rebate (basically amounts to one free box), using my Discover card to pay for my lenses (I will pay it off at the end of the month, so I am not paying interest to earn a buck!), made dinner from scratch using what I had on hand.

Not the best birthday in the world, but I still have a lot to be thankful for. We had to put our dear old dog down this morning. She was 13, had cancer, and was obviously in a lot of pain. It's kind of quiet here now...seems weird after so long.
Otherwise, normal day. We had a little party at work for myself and three other people with birthdays this week (a little rare, given that there are only about 20 people in my office). I have a real estate closing coming up in a week, so that will be another nice bonus check, although it will be the last one for a while as I have no more deals pending. I just got a call from a long-time investor client tonight who wants to get out of a contract for a lot he has listed to sell. However, it's not my decision, and my broker will not release him from the contract unless he pays half of the agreed on comission for time and expenses incurred. So I feel caught in the middle. I'm really not a great business person! I tend to identify too much with my clients and want to help them out, even if it's at my expense. If it was my call, I would let them out of the contract and I know they would return to me in the future (they do a lot of transactions and have referred several clients to me). However, now I get the feeling they are a little ticked off, so I am worried that they will take their business elsewhere. On the other hand, I did make it clear to them up front that my broker would try to collect a commission from them if they pulled out of the listing, because they already pulled out of a prior listing. Ugh.
No money spent today by me. DH spent $8 for school supplies and $25 on gas. Misc income of $317.

November expenses: $6846.01
November income: $7087.93
Saved money today by: taking lunch and snacks to work, free entertainment at night (pinochle match).

Yeah! I got some stars!!! Just as I was getting so jealous of everyone else. Thank you

Nice relaxing day. My turn to sleep in, so that always puts a good start to my Sundays. DH and I did some things around the house today, but mostly spent too much time on the computer while the kids were sleeping. Then we made jambalaya tonight for dinner (new recipe from recipezaar.com, very good - we made it with brown rice to be South Beach compliant and tasted no difference), then off to bowling. DH did not bowl so well, but I shot a 455, which is almost exactly my average (152).
Expenses today: $15.00 babysitter, $20 bowling, $3.50 beer for DH at the alleys, $18.08 at grocery store for juice, snacks, lunch and dinner tomorrow, few other things.
No income today.

November expenses: $6813.01
November income: $6770.93
Saved money today by: getting a free $5 g.c. to Petco (found on this Freebie site), eating dinner before bowling and waiting until I got home for a snack rather then buying food out, leftovers for lunch (turkey AGAIN!)

Wow, did I spend a lot of money today. I decided to surprise DH with a short trip to Vegas for Christmas, but after trying to wade through all the offers to book it, I decided to let him in on the surprise so he could help me I also had him agree that it would be our present to each other for Christmas (aside from a few small items), as it was such a big chunk of money. He has never been west of Buffalo, and I know he has always wanted to go, so he seems to be happy about it. We have been searching online for days now and finally settled on a package tonight. We were originally going to fly out of Buffalo (about a $100 savings for both tickets), but after looking at the additional mileage, gas, and parking, we decided to pay a little extra to fly out of Syracuse. That way, we can have someone drop us off and don't have to worry about parking. All together, the price was $644 for the flight and three nights hotel stay. I still have to book the car. Right after I booked the trip on Expedia, I got a pop-up ad to try Entertainment.com free for 30 days and receive $25 on my next Expedia booking. So I signed up for that - it will cover a day and a half of car rental, plus DH is already scoping out the Entertainment site for Vegas coupons. Now I just have to remember to cancel in a few weeks or pay $9 a month (I'll have to print out as many coupons as I can before I do that though!).
I also went shopping for a few hours today. I was hoping to get some new clothes, but didn't find anything at the thrift store. By the time I got to the mall, I was too tired to try on clothes anymore! I was hoping to get some Christmas shopping done as well, but didn't really find anything that looked appropriate for anyone. I have a lot of shopping left to do still.
Expenses today: $644 Vegas trip, $20 Sears (for me), $.65 shirt for ds2 at the thrift store, $27.27 ordered digital pics at Winkflash.com - $.12 a print
Income today: None today, but I just realized I missed a check about a week ago...$317 misc.

November expenses: $6756.43
November income: $6770.93 (still in the black after the trip - yeah!)
Saved money today by: Eating all meals at home, eating leftovers for lunch and dinner, taking DH's car shopping (better gas mileage)

What a lovely, lovely holiday. Second only to Christmas. We ate our first dinner next door at my brother and SIL's house, then drove to Binghamton in a snow storm for our second dinner. The roads were fine for the first 45 minutes of our trip, but they got very, very bad as we neared Binghamton. We were pretty much driving in white-out conditions for the last half hour - pretty scary, but we just went really slowly and kept in the tracks ahead of us. A trip that normally takes about an hour and twenty minutes took over two hours.
We had another wonderful dinner and got to see some relatives we don't see too often. DH's grandparents were there, who are usually in Florida for Thanksgiving, but are late in going this year due to some health problems. They will be leaving tomorrow, so it was nice to see them before they left. After dinner we had a friendly little game of Texas Hold 'Em poker, won by yours truely. I love getting the "sure, you know how to play poker" looks by the male relatives, then kicking their behinds So I walked away $20 richer, although I guess $5 doesn't really count since it came from DH!
Today we headed back home. The kids were exhausted and slept all the way home. They both went to bed early tonight too. We let them stay up WAY late last night with all the excitement. We got a little scare when we came home and my parents were gone with the dogs. Our one dog is terminally ill and probably will need to be put down soon so I was afraid they might have taken her in (the only place our dogs ever go is to the vets). But my dad had to run some errands in the truck and just took them along for the ride. So we have her for a little while longer. She does not seem to be in pain yet, only some discomfort, but we don't want her to suffer. So I think the end is near.
Aside from getting gas on our way home ($50.05), we haven't spent any money these past two days. Tomorrow, however, I plan to shop For some reason, I have just been itching to go "thrifting". Maybe it's because I need some smaller clothes!
November expenses: $6064.51
November income: $6453.93
Saved money today by: waiting to get gas until we were near a BJ's ($2.29/gal compared to $2.39), eating leftovers for dinner.

We took ds1 to see Santa today at the mall, but he did not get there until 3, so we missed him. Oh well. There is plenty of time to go back. We bought a few presents there so some money spent today. And I got some more dark chocolate covered espresso beans...my splurge while on the South Beach diet. Two or three of them will head off a sugar craving, and since dark chocolate is allowed (in moderation) on the diet, I don't feel bad.
Spent the rest of the day just hanging out and getting ready for tomorrow. I made some honey wheat bread dough for rolls and will make some butter rolls in the morning. I also made a rye dip. I LOVE Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we are having dinner at 12:30 at my SIL's next door, then driving to Binghamton for dinner at 4pm with my in-laws. We are going to be STUFFED.
Expenses today: $25 g.c. for my MIL's birthday, $5.61 for espresso beans, $10 for a Christmas gift (paid for with a gift card though, so I guess I won't count this as money spent), $34 at the grocery store for Thanksgiving supplies, $200 car payment
Income today: paycheck $834.21

November expenses: $6014.46
November income: $6438.93 (yeah! back in the black!)
Saved money today by: making homemade soup - lunch and dinner and some for the freezer, made homemade rolls and dip for tomorrow instead of buying them.

Oh yeah, I also wrote a letter to Nextel telling them how unhappy I was with their service. I asked for a credit to my account since I had to keep my other wireless account open for an extra week and a half during all this fiasco. I'll be anxious to see their response.

Less than a week until my birthday! The countdown has begun...this year I celebrate my champagne birthday - 28 on the 28th. My SIL just turned 30 on 10/30 and introduced us all to the concept of a "champagne" birthday, so now I get to make a big deal out of it Unfortunately DH's just passed (28 on 6/28) before we heard the term, so no champagne for him this year.
Today at work I got a free catered lunch for a staff meeting. We were supposed to chip in for it, but when I gave my money to my supervisor after the lunch, she told me she already had enough money and wouldn't take it. I told her I would be sure to get my money in early for the next luncheon.
They finally got our cell phones straightened out. One less thing to worry about.
Expenses today: $16 grocery store, $4.75 post office (DH mailed his E-bay sale), $30 vet for check-up, shots, and nail clipping (I was really surprised this was so cheap). I realize that I forgot to include DH's coffee purchase the other night - about $50. Should last him a long time though. Also $6 spent on E-bay by DH.
November expenses: $5749.85
November income: $5604.72 (added DH's E-bay sale)
Saved money today by: Getting a free lunch (who says there is no such thing??), cooked dinner from scratch using things on hand or out of the freezer, DH bought a car charger for $6 from E-bay rather than spend $20 at the store.

Quick entry, got things to do tonight...have to stop at Wal-Mart for diapers, coffee, fresh fruit...and stumbled upon a bunch of marked-down meat. I bought a few things of hamburger and stew beef to put in the freezer. DH gets nervous when I tell him I found "bargain meat", but all of it is still before the expiration date by a few days, so I don't worry. I love a good find But I did end up spending $50. That's it for money spent today.
I am still working with Nextel to try to get my prior phone number ported over. I finally got them to do it today, but then they ported it to DH's phone instead of mine!!! Now they are telling me that they can't get DH's old number back. GRRRR. I hope this is not indicative of their customer service or else I will have a very unhappy two year contract. I am going to write them a letter tonight telling them about all this.

November expenses: $5643.10
November income: $5576.71
Saved money today by: bringing lunch and snacks to work, drinking water and tea at work, bargain meat!

I got to sleep in again this morning, at least until 8:30. Hey, I'll take it. Then we piled in the car and went down to Binghamton for the day to see DH's parents and go to his nephew's birthday party. When we got there, the house was empty. DH called his mom and she was in the ER, getting her finger looked at because SHE SEWED THROUGH IT ON THE SEWING MACHINE! Luckily, she's fine - they glued her finger up and sent her home. Ouch. This is why I don't sew Anyway, we had a nice visit, and then we went to the birthday party and saw the rest of his family. My boys got to play with their cousins. It was just really, really nice.
We didn't get to bowl tonight because of the party - we still have to pay our $20, but at least we didn't have to pay the babysitter. Had to stop on the way down to for a drink and snack, and then got lunch after we arrived. We will definitely plan better next time.
I spent a while talking with my SIL at the party about her E-bay income. She has been buying things at thrift stores and clearance sales to resell on E-bay and says she is doing really, really well. She says the secret is to list things in big lots under the wholesale heading rather than just in the clothing sections. I might try again, I don't know. Her lots are at least 30 items or more...that would take quite a bit of upfront costs. Something to think about...we had a little debate about whether it was ethical to buy from thrift stores to resell - I thought it was okay, because the store is still getting your money for their cause, and it's not like they ever run out of clothes to sell, but my MIL wasn't too hot on the idea.

Today's expenses: $49.52 gas for the minivan, $1.50 convenience store, $10 lunch, $20 bowling
No income today.

November expenses: $5593.10
November income: $5576.71
Saved money today by: Buying gas at BJ's (few cents cheaper and it was on the way), not having to hire a babysitter.

I see I labeled yesterday's entry as the 19th...oops. Even though DH thinks I obsess too much about money...and that I am too anal about keeping track...he wants to make sure that I mention his superb money saving move last night here in this journal. He went on-line to place his next order for Gevalia. He usually gets four boxes every few months. Well, I read that even though the shipping increases with the size of the order, it was still cheaper to order more at once. So we decided on our order (12 boxes), which got the price of each box down to near $7 (it was well over $8 when we only ordered 4). Then, just when we were about to order, he noticed a box to enter a promotional code. So he did a Google search for "Gevalia promotional code" and found one on the first site for free shipping with 10% off. We ended up saving nearly $20, and it brought the price of each box down to a little over $5. Kudos to DH! Maybe I am rubbing of on him So, whenever you are about to buy anything online, a quick search for promotional codes can save you a bunch.
Had to show houses today again for four hours...and after it all, my buyer said she might just wait a little while longer till she figures out what she wants, as she can't find anything she likes in her price range. That's the downside of working on commission - no sale = no commission. Oh well. So I got home about 2 and spent a few hours with DH cleaning and organizing. I listed a few items on our local free yard sale site (rock records and Reader's Digests), but no bites. I think I might also list a vintage dress I have (that is so cool I can't bring myself to give it away, but a little money might make it easier!) and some other things I have around. If I get no bites, I'll just Freecycle it. We haven't seen that E-bay money yet, so I can't count it as income. I got a few notices for secret shops, but I won't be going in the area of the store in the next few days, so I can't cash in on those.
Expenses today: $.99 for a loaf of Italian bread, which I found out after the fact that my mother had already bought. So now we have two loaves...and it's not even on the South Beach diet
No income today.

November expenses: $5512.08
November income: $5576.71
Saved money today by: bringing my lunch and snacks while out working today (ate in the car), not doing anything!

Played cards with my mom tonight as a sub - another night of free entertainment. I also (finally) got to the BOA to open a Keep the Change account (mjrube, used your referral!). I was just a little miffed though...I asked when my three months started (the time period for which they would match my savings) and they said right away...but I won't get my card for 5-7 days - or even longer due to the holiday! Grrr....
Also a little ticked off at Nextel. I switched my cell over to them to get better reception where I live (and b/c I was just sick of Cingular). They were supposed to port my old cell phone number over to my new phone, but it's been five days and they still have not done it. DH's was ported over within a few hours. I called them yesterday and they told me to wait a little longer, that it was in the works. So now I am still paying for my Cingular line because it's my business phone, and I cannot be without my number. GRRRRRRRRR....
I might sound grumpy, but I actually had a very nice day (besides the large corporations conspiring to cheat me out of my hard-earned pennies). Went to work, the bank, grocery shopping, came home for dinner and a little playing with the boys, then off to play pinochle (kicked butt again).
Tomorrow I am hitting the road again with my buyer - another 7 or 8 houses. This will make well over 20 total. She is bringing her dad with her tomorrow for a second look at a few houses, so maybe we're getting close...
Expenses today: $3.00 bowl of soup for lunch to go with the salad I brought in, $30.00 Waldenbooks (b-day gifts for nephews), $14.00 K-B Toys (Christmas gifts for ds1), grocery shopping $60.58
November expenses: $5511.09
November income: $5576.71

Saved money today by: bringing part of lunch and snacks to work, using a referral to sign up for an account at BOA (earned $60 through this between checking, savings, and cc), free entertainment

DH sold a chess set (Yankees vs. Red Sox) on E-bay today for $16. Yeah! That was a nice little bonus. I have never had good luck with E-bay. I tried to sell some children's clothes - designer labels (that I got at the thrift store!), stuff that had tags on it still, but I only sold about half my stuff. By the time I paid my fees, I only made a few bucks for several hours work. So I generally I shy away from that.
Tomorrow I plan to get my new bank account (I know, I said that yesterday, but I mean it this time). I hope this Keep the Change program is at good as it sounds. I think I will close out my ING accounts too - I've made over $100 in referrals but I have no one left to refer. I opened an account for the boys with some birthday and holiday money, but I am thinking about looking into those I-bonds that I have heard about on the discussion boards. Have to talk to DH about this.
Expenses today: $24.28 gas in DH's car (WOW! I haven't spent this little in so long!), DH spent about $15 on a poster off E-bay that was not what he thought it was - he didn't read the description carefully before bidding...so he got a fair amount of chewing out over that one It will be a Christmas present for his brother.
Income today: $317 - misc., won't count the E-bay $ until we see it

November expenses: $5442.79
November income: $5576.71
Saved money today by: eating all meals at home, taking snacks to work, drinking tea at work (brought the teabag from home), listing things for sale on local "yard sale" site for free (offshoot of Freecycle that one of our members started)

A day to stay home and get caught up - it was nice. I finally made that large payment to my student loans. Sigh. It was a little sad letting go of that chunk of money after all the work I did to earn it, but it will be worth it when the student loans are paid off. I also paid up a credit card ($500) for the month. I only have another $100 - $200 left on other cards, but I don't have to pay them for a few more weeks.
I think if I have time tomorrow, I will go sign up for the account at BOA. Another poster was kind enough to send me a referral, so that's free money for both of us! Then I can close my my existing account after all my current debits have cleared.
Today I got about 6 things crossed off my To Do list - some bills, e-mails, set up some appts. It is nice to be able to cross them off. I have a few things more to do that will save some money - order DH's meds through our mail order service (90 day supply instead of 30 - will save $5-10 a month) and list my Reader's Digest collection for sale. I have several hundred, from 1918 to present - not sure of the best method for this. Right now I am leaning toward listing lots of 10-12 (for each year) on E-bay. There are a lot listed - some selling for $.50 to $1 for individual issues or $5-10 for a lot. I also could list them locally for sale to avoid the shipping hassle, but I doubt there's much of a market around here. I listed two books on Half.com today, but since there are already some of the same listed, I am not expecting great things.
I played cards with my aunt tonight, so I got another free night of entertainment.
Today's expenses: $3700 student loan payment, $500 cc payment (I am not counting this in my total expenses as I count the purchases as I make them), $55.50 on Entertainment books (discounted) for Christmas gifts
No income

November expenses: $5403.51
November income: $5259.71
Saved money today by: eating at home, free evening entertainment, picked up some free items from a Freecycler

Work, show houses, dinner, kids to bed. Pretty much the same as yesterday. I feel like I haven't seen much of my kids in the past few days. I agreed to work some extra hours at work when on of our Service Coordinators went out on leave. Well, he was supposed to be back in October, then November, and now he's not coming back until January. I am not obligated to work any extra hours, but I feel guilty dropping now since we are still short a person. I guess I'll stick it out a while longer. My sympathies to all the parents out there who need to work full-time. I miss my babies
I actually ate a fast food restuarant today - the first time since starting the South Beach diet. I had a bean burrito at Taco Bell with a side of beans and cheese. I think it was an okay meal - certainly a lot better than a cheeseburger and fries. I just could not motivate myself to make a lunch this morning. I guess we all have those lazy days
DH received a CC offer in the mail today that actually caught my eye - 0% on balance transfers for the life of the loan. I thought it was just for CC balances, which we don't carry, but I called anyway to check out if we could transfer our student loans - and we can! Here's the catch - it will be interest free until 7/06, at which point it will continue to be interest free IF we make two purchases per billing cycle. The problem is, any payments we make would go toward the original balance, meaning interest would accrue on the new purchases until the original balance is paid off. Granted, we could make $1 purchases and the interest would be minimal...I'm not sure if I want to get into this CC game, but it is SO tempting to have our student loans at 0% instead of 4.6%. If we transferred $5k (the card limit), we could save over $200 in interest charges in a year. Hopefully, we could have it paid off by July 2006 and cancel the card, but I'm not sure if that's a game I want to play. I'll think on it some more.
I made a small payment ($300) on DH's student loan. I planned to make a big payment on mine, but I had a problem registering with the Web site. I meant to send in a payment today, but I will do it tomorrow. Have the day off, so I plan to get a lot done.
I started a new system of carrying a small notebook in my purse at all times. That way, I can write down expenses as they occur instead of trying to recall everything at the end of the day. I also have a Christmas list and to-do list started so I can write down things as I think of them. We'll see if it helps.
Expenses today: $3.22 Taco Bell, $12 groceries (had to stop and get something for dinner, bought meat for tomorrow's dinner while I was there along with some low-fat cheese and whole wheat pasta), $300 student loan payment
No income today

November expenses: $1648.01
November income: $5259.71
Saved money today by: drinking water at work and during the day.