I get paid every 2 weeks, which sometimes means I have 3 paydays in one month. I still only have 1 month's worth of expenses, so I have decided to make a plan on how to spend it wisely. Here is what I am planning for my August paydays:

1) $00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month)
$200 set aside for mortgage
$240 for groceries
$30 gas for car
$57 gas bill
$7 cigarettes (not mine, hubby's)
$45 chiropractor visit
$40 lawn mowing
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1069.00

2) $00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month)
$200 set aside for mortgage
$240 for groceries
$30 gas for car
$152 electric bill
$40 lawn mowing
$37 trash bill (billed bi-monthly)
$7 cigarettes
$45 chiropractor visit
$40 lawn mowing
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1241.00


3) $00 to regular savings
$100 to house savings
$100 to car savings
$150 set aside for cc #2 (not paid til later in month)
$200 set aside for mortgage
$240 for groceries
$30 gas for car
$50 water bill
$7 cigarettes
$40 lawn mowing
$80 internet and landline phone bill
$100 Miscellaneous
TOTAL $1097.00

Hello, everyone. I got paid on Friday. I also got official notification that I got a raise of about $1100 per year. Not spectacular, but it is definitely something. I put more money into savings. I have paid the credit card #1. Credit Card #2 does not have a payment due until next month. I bought groceries. Hubby and I have to make a day trip out of town on Wednesday. I will send more to the credit card on Wednesday.

I also took my spare change for the last couple of weeks and cashed it in. I divided it up and deposited it into the car and house savings.

My meals for the week include:

1) Oatmeal with stevia, almond milk, flaxseeds, and cinnamon. Orange. (4 meals)

2) Eggs and ham. Side of oatmeal. Grapefruit. (3 meals)

3) Goulash. Side of steamed veggies. (3 meals)

4) Chuck patties. Side of steamed veggies. (1 meal)

5) Green salad with chicken pieces and greek dressing. (1 meal) This is a dinner meal for me and dh.

6) Green sald with garbanzo beans or canned chicken. Added tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. Vinegar and oil for dressing. (3 meals - lunches)

7) Baked breast of chicken. Side of steamed veggies. (1 meal)

8) Chili with beans. (2 meals)

9) Egg salad with crackers and veggie pieces. (2 meals)

Hello, everyone. It is one week until payday and I have $35.93 left in my checking account. I have already accounted for Netflix, 1/2 of the mortgage (due 8/1/12), and biweekly mowing. I filled up the gas tank and paid a little extra to credit card #1. Well, the biggest news is that the hubby and I applied for a different credit card with a 5% lower rate. We are going to keep the old one, though, and only charge our Netflix to it. We had already asked for the balance transfer to the new card when I had to take the hubby to the ER in the middle of the night and were a little short on cash. So, the majority of the balance is on the new card with a much lower rate. It should not take long to pay it down to a much more reasonable level.

Here are the meals I have planned for the week:

1) Oatmeal with cinnamon, flaxseeds, almond milk, stevia. Orange. Side of ham. 4 meals

2) Eggs and ham. Side of oatmeal. 3 meals

3) Green salad with tuna or garbanzo beans. Side of orange or apple. Side of raw snack nuts. 3 meals

4) Chicken salad with mayo and raw veggies. Side of orange or apple. Side of raw snack nuts. 2 meals

5) Chicken breast. Side of steamed veggies. 2 meals

6) Angus chuck patties. Side of steamed veggies. 1 meal

7) Stir fry with chicken and veggies. 1 meal

8) Lunch out!

Yesterday was my first payday of my employer's new fiscal year. I guess my pay raise must have gone through because my check was $29.75 higher than before. Woo-hoo. I will start putting even more into savings that I have already been. I will also increase what I am paying to the credit card.

My regular savings account is up, as are my car, savings accounts, and retirement.

I bought some angus chuck patties on sale and with a $1.00 coupon at the store. That in itself was very good, but it gets weirder. The patties were 2 pounds of frozen meat patties packaged in a box. The original price was $8.99. There was a sign that said they are on sale for $7.99 and I had a $1.00 coupon. I am thinking this is a pretty good deal, because I had wanted to buy some hamburger and these were chuck patties, not regular ground beef, so I bought them. Then, I noticed my receipt said I was charged for $8.99 minus the $1.00 coupon. I approached Customer Service to make them aware of the problem. Apparently, the patties had been on sale, but someone forgot to remove the sign. I thought they might give me the $1.00 back, but I didn't expect anything else. Then, the lady told me they have a policy where if a customer catches a mistake, the customer gets the item free. Yes free! I said that's terrific, because I wasn't expecting anything more than $1.00 back. I told the dh and he thought it was great, too. With $3.00 out of the $6.99, I bought some fresh spinach, oregano, and parsley at a different store.

I also cashed in a lottery ticket for $4.00. I added that to $3.00 more dollars I had just laying around. Along with my normal $20.00 each deposits to the house and car accounts, I divided up the extra $7.00 between the two accounts.

Here are my meals for the coming week:

1) Stir Fry made from leftover rice, squash, and tomatoes. 2 meals. This stuff would have gone bad soon if I had not done something with it, so this is a real boon to my budget!

2) Meatloaf. Side of steamed veggies. 2 meals

3) Spaghetti with rice. 2 meals

4) Baked chicken breast and steamed veggies. 2 meals

5) Green salad with tuna or garbanzo beans. Side of apple or orange. Side of raw nuts. Iced tea. 3 meals

6) Angus chuck patties. Side of steamed veggies. 2 meal

7) Eggs and ham. Oatmeal. 3 meals

8) Oatmeal with side of ham. Side of grapefruit. 4 meals

9) Tuna salad with raw veggies. Side of apple or orange. Side of raw nuts. Iced tea. 2 meals