Can't remember the last time I blogged. I don't really have much of an excuse at this point. I'm busy, always busy, but I think that I have gotten out of the habit and now it is even harder to fit it in. I have considered starting up my non-online journal again, but I haven't done that yet either. We are going through some trials right now and since Eric doesn't like for me to talk about certain things on the blog - I'm afraid that I might not be capturing the 'whole' picture. We are still struggling with our debt. I have a hard time seeing an end to this, he is very optimistic and I'm not. I'm starting to get this feeling that we are not going to get out for a LONG time. The goal on a weekly basis is still to NOT use the cards, and usually that works just fine, but some times it is hard. Juggling the bills and which one needs to be paid today and which one can wait until next paycheck is hard. It really isn't the routine bills that are problems, it is the ones that you aren't expecting - like a $259 dentist co-pay for a filling. Or the head MRI he had to get done about a month ago b/c of his severe sinus blockage...those are the ones we have troubles with.
I'm also still trying to figure out our budget. I know how to budget for the regular expenses, but like i said above, it isn't those things that are hurting us. And I know that you should look back over a year and figure out how much money you spent on the 'non-daily-essentials' to know exactly how much you are spending on certain things. Things that stand out the most for me are clothes, party presents (baby showers, wedding showers, birthday parties, etc), christmas gifts, etc. Those are the things that I think are hurting my budgetting the most. The $200 a month 'catch all' just isn't working. And I know where we have weaknesses - eating out/takeout being the biggest one of all. I think I'm going to start cooking grilled cheeses and soup a few nights a week (or something similar) to try and save some extra money in the food budget - and pretty soon Pey will be off of formula, so that will save us about $50 bucks a month.
Oh, I didn't intend for this post to become consumed with our budget issues. I think coming up with a budget that will work for us fully is going to take alot more time and effort for me to figure it all out. And then once we do, it is going to have to be re-evaluated often b/c things change over time.
I'm also stressing Christmas presents. We just don't have the money. I really need to get my butt in gear and start selling off some stuff on ebay. I have things waiting to be listed, i just haven't gotten around to it yet. And since our camera is in the shop - it will be a few more weeks before I can tackle that task. We do always have one fall back though - and that is that our parents both give us money for Christmas. If necessary, we could use that money to buy the gifts for everyone else.
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