Oops.

So yesterday my friend offered to swing past the grocery store on the way home from work in case I needed anything heavy. This was a generous offer, as I DID need to pick up some dog food. I had purchased my regular groceries just a couple of days ago, and didn't NEED anything other than a big bag of dog-food.

Somehow, I managed to come out of the store $80.54 poorer. Boggles the mind, considering that my REAL grocery shop was only $59!!! I was an idiot and bought quite a few things that I really didn't need-- Twizzlers (on sale, for lunches) and a humungous pack of store brand Fudgesicles. For the record, because I ALWAYS forget, Sobey's brand fudgesicles are AWFUL. The Superstore ones are are so delicious, and Sobey's ones are soooooo bad. Save your 5 bucks. Sheesh.

Anyway, today was a day off. I bought a cup of coffee for me, and a timbit for the dog. I did it with my gift card, so it's coming out of the budget amount.

I've decided that the only way for me to curb the coffee habit is to use a pre-paid gift card for the week. When it's empty, I'm out of caffeine. Maybe this way I can put a bit of a curb on my coffee addiction. We shall see. :)

Spending:
9/07 - $59.71 (groceries)
9/08 - $6.20 - flea collar for the dog
9/08 - $80.54 (MORE groceries)
9/09 - $2.52 - bananas (i went to buy peaches, but they were all icky)
- $1.76 - coffee & 1 timbit for the dog

Monday.

I went to breakfast with my boss this morning, and since he paid for my beer the other night, it was my turn to fork out the cash today. He tried, but that would have been creepy and date-like. In addition to that just being icky, I'm pretty sure the BF wouldn't like it too much. That, and it would just be unfairly taking advantage of someone just because they have a better job than me. And that's not nice.

Went to Cora's* and spent too much money. Breakfast for two, including tip, was slightly less than $35. Isn't breakfast supposed to be the least expensive meal to eat out? Yikes.

*Am I the only one on Earth that dislikes Cora's? I haven't eaten there in a few years, and now I remember why. I find that while their stuff is fresh, well-plated, and relatively abundant, it's also ridiculously over-priced. I did NOT enjoy my raspberry crepe, and resent paying $12 for something I couldn't even finish because it was icky. Oh well. Live and learn.

Things.

Things are rough. I'm more poor right now than I have been in a very long while. I've worked hard the last couple of months to dig myself out of a bit of a pit, and I'm almost there.

I'm trying hard to track my spending...even with not spending much of anything at all for a few weeks, I still seem to have a very difficult time tracking just exactly WHERE all the money goes.

I feel like I'm beginning to regain a bit of control over my finances, which is a good thing. I find that when one thing is out of control, the rest of your life spirals around it. And when everything is swirling around in chaos, gaining control over just one aspect helps to give a starting point for getting the other stuff settled down too.

I'll try to post my spending here as I do it, likely with the crackberry, then I'll be able to make sure it's documented and not feel like a loser if I can't find my piece of paper at that moment.

For the month of September so far:

1st - $600.oo (rent)
- $40.00 (NSF charge)
- $8.25 (lunch snacks)
2nd - $10.25 (4L milk & ice cream treats)
3rd - $3.76 (coffee & pastry @ bus stop)
- $4.06 (toy for the dog & choc bar)
4th - $2.00 (Tim's)
- $100.00 to savings
- $200.00 (Visa payment)
- $50.00 (LOC payment)
- $5.00 (Eastlink payment)
- $45.00 (cellphone payment)
5th - $2.25 (bus - forgot my bus tickets at home!)
- $6.00 (pizza for self and friend after night out)
- $1.75 (Tim's)
6th - $2.25 (Tim's for me and the dog)
- $2.48 (newspaper & choc bar)
- $59.71 (groceries - tons of fruit, no meat)


Well, not hard to see where all my cash is going. No wonder I'm also fatter right now than I've ever been in my life! :) (And no, I'm not FAT, just fatter than ever before. So far. Yet. Yikes.)

Starting out.

This blog is about trying to dig myself out of debt, and create a working budget that will allow me an enjoyable lifestyle, which includes saving for and buying a home.

Details to follow once I add some widgets and the like in the sidebar. Assuming I can figure out how. :)