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I stayed out of thrift stores today to avoid temptation. I nickle and dime myself to death in those places {but it's such fun finding bargains). I did go to the supermarket ans bought 5 reduced price bananas for $1.06 and a loaf of bread for $1. Also I found a dime.
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Well our house savings has jumped from $7.80 to $560.25 in a matter of days...so happy to see how it is growing...we have 3 pays to add to it this month. I am hoping to save between $2000 - $3000 this month, but I do have specialist appointments this month and we will have to use some of our savings just not sure of the amounts just yet...so we are 1/4 way to our savings and feeling pretty good.
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Grocery - an even $95.00. This is what happens when I don’t put a limit on spending, end up spending twice as much than necessary. About $40 was spent on some unusual stuff, things that we rarely get. The main thing was the sashimi grade salmon, tuna and king fish. We made some of them into sushi and the rest just ate it as sashimi.


Train Fare - $50


Eating out - we went to the shopping centre to mainly get out if the house. Had lunch and had our monthly ‘meeting’...
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I didn't mention it before, as it has been a crazy week, but we rehomed our little flock of ducks. I had been thinking about it for a while and with all that has been going on, it has been hard to maintain the farm. It is quiet without them. I miss hearing their little noises and the occasional loud quack. So now there are no more birds on the farm. We are down to just rabbits and the garden.

I have quite a few ripening tomatoes I need to look at and I have got to pick...
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I have completed my No Spend Challenge #2 for the month of August. It wasn't a complete win. Last night I ordered something from Walmart. It didn't even dawn on me until just a few minutes ago that that broke the challenge. It proves to me how reckless I have been with my spending habits. I spent it without even thinking about the no spend challenge. The items I ordered are to complete a project I am working on. I was just in the "lets get this done" zone. I have got down...
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Was a quiet weekend as I am house sitting for a long time client. She paid for the last sit (she forgot to send it) and the current sit before she left but miss counted and missed one night. I’ll follow up with her when she returns.

I did go home yesterday for most of the day so that I could get chores done – laundry mostly but also some outside work while still cool and less smoky. I did clean out three drawers in the kitchen and moved silverware, towels, and miscellaneous...
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While waiting on the plumber, who by the way was early, I decided to work on some correspondence. Seven cards and letters made it to the mailbox today. Two were sympathy cards. One was a get well card for a friend who has been receiving treatment for liver cancer. And the rest were for the shut ins I write about every week.

I've gotten so used to email, I forget how much it costs to mail cards and letters.

Most of my cards and stationary are purchased at thrift shops, but...
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***Extra money in***
We sold jewelry at the pawn shop, broken gold and silver online, sold my motorcycle, and changed our cell phone plan.


***Debt Progress***
We ended up paying off three small cards (Lowe's, Venus, Lenscrafters), putting us about two months ahead in our debt payoff plan.


***August Extra Money Plans***
-found a few more pieces of jewelry for the pawn shop
-gathering tons of items for a big yard sale with several other family members
-old mechanic...
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Lots of good sales this week with old and new items!! Sales were $102.00!!

Sale #928 (KT) $24.00
Finding Dory Creativity Sets (2) - We paid $5.81 each
Sold for $12.00 each
Profit = $12.38

Sale #929 (LC) $8.00
OGX Shampoo/Conditioner (2) - We paid $1.79 each
Sold for $4.00 each
Profit = $4.42

Sale #930 (AH) $14.00
OGX Shampoo/Conditioner (2) - We paid $1.79 each
Sold for $4.00 each
Profit = $4.42

Black Cherry Candle Set - We paid $2.00
Sold for $5.00
Profit...
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DH left this morning. I'm a big emotional eater, so skipping fast food breakfast was a big deal. I had made a batch of blueberry overnight oats, but those didn't look appetizing. Instead, I just grabbed a yogurt, nutrigrain bar, and bigger lunch.

I was debating adding money to the animal fund to get our dog groomed, but I decided to just try it myself. She's a GSD/Husky mix, so her fur is getting out of control. I'd bought a cheap grooming kit when I was considering cutting...
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When I checked in last night, I forgot to report that variables are now at 32%, with 16 days to go. I am supposed to go back to Michigan this weekend, which means more gas. And I will be going back to Indiana soon for a funeral. (Not sure if I will be able to do both.) Other than that, I don't think there are any unusual expenses to worry about.

I left my AC on while I was gone this past weekend, because it was so very hot, and I didn't want my cat to suffer. The AC is still...
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I was having a conversation with my niece about finances over the weekend. She and her boyfriend are trying to save more, so I gave her a few tips that work for me. One was to find frugal ways to have fun. On Friday night after work, I joined a few friends at a local park where a free music festival was being held. There were also vendors selling various crafts and art items, and food and drinks. It was a nice evening weather wise and we had so much fun strolling around and listening...
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I spent $14.30 on supplies for church morning tea and communion this Sunday. I used one of my mta vouchers and got cookies at the service station.

And I spent a dollar - yes, a whole dollar - on yarn at the thrift store. That was silly, I have loads already. I'm supposed to be cold sheeping this year i.e. not buying any yarn. Darn sheep bucked me off. Ah well, get back on and try again for the rest of the year.
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This summer, like many previous summers, has been very smoky in So Oregon. This weekend has been really bad. In addition to thousands of acres of forest burning, hundreds of firefighters are risking their lives to battle the blazes.

I am so tired of choking every summer. I love living here, but this smoke is wreaking havoc on my asthmatic lungs. I told the hub I am ready to start summering somewhere else...I am sure by early fall, this will become another distant memory,...
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As per usual, I have come down with something a few days after our visit to the ER, a nasty stomach bug. I am on the way back up, though, so fortunately it isn't going to be some long, drawn out thing. My food is staying down today and my head feels better, and I finally woke up feeling well-rested. My tummy is still a little tender, but I think by tomorrow I will be okay. I am supposed to be beta testing a finance thing for someone, but haven't been quite up to it yet. Maybe...
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I got back from my trip to Indiana about an hour ago. BFF's mom is "actively passing," as they put it in the health center, but she may hang on for a week or even two. The first time I went to see her, she was very uncomfortable and struggling in her bed. They have since shortened the interval between morphine doses and she is now much more peaceful. But she does not connect with anyone, she is in her own zone.

BFF is all over the place emotionally, which is not surprising....
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Last week seemed like a spendy week and this one, well more of the same. We did find out where our leak came from and fortunately it wasn't the roof, but a PVC pipe in the attic. It has been fixed, but we now have to repair the ceiling. We have that popcorn ceiling all over the house and there are a few areas where the nails have come through in other rooms so we figured we might as well have the person give us a bid on fixing the family room ceiling and those little areas. We...
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I did this complicated excel spreadsheet to figure out if we can pay for 9th grade in two installments rather than monthly (which saves the cost of the installment plan). I've only been putting 230 a month rather than 500 into the school savings fund. According to my spreadsheet, this will actually work; I can even stop putting the extra $230 aside and save that in another way. I'm pretty excited. When F graduates, we'll have $20k to add to the college fund approximately (depending...
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There has been a lot of uncertainty surrounding my budget with my job ending, so I haven’t been posting much. I’ve just started a new job and should be able to start working on my financial goals again soon. Moving to a new state and renting a new apartment definitely requires cash up front, so I’m glad I had a large savings cushion for this kind of thing!

The new budget is starting to come together. My old rent had gone up to $1195, and the new place is $1225/month for...
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Have not blogged in a few months. Have not had anything to say. Keeping up with bills. Debt is coming down very slowly.
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