Battle of the budget

New London Alleyway

*281*
 Sometimes lately I feel like this is my life. A narrow steep hill. Not exactly my life but everyone`s life really. It all comes down to money, honey. I had to run out to the cable company this morning and pay the bill...cause we were shut off..yet again.  I am going to be 42 years old in 16 days and I cannot keep the bills paid on time. I am not spending on anything frivolous or going to the casino. I am just buying food, gas, coffee, newspaper, and the bills are just higher then they have ever been. The mortgage is paid, the electricity is paid, and the water is paid..always! I have to scrape money together to buy oil when it is time and the rest of the bills wait until I get a shut off notice and then I pay them. I am basically robbing Peter to pay Paul.
  And I know that I am not the only one. I have always been frugal. I think that I am not frugal enough now. I have been thinking of the idea of either getting rid of cable all together or downgrading to the basic package. We have the internet and Netflix (so worth the $10 a month!).  I dont know anymore.
So I am going to do the old budget dance but this time I am going to be serious. This is how much we have, this is how much the bills are, this is what is leftover. That is it!
Chelsea does not give us a penny of her money to help out, and that has to change. She either has to start giving us money every paycheck or she has to find another place to live. Wow, I said it out loud..for others to read.  When Natalie finishes school, she will have to find work and either go or stay and pay.  You see, I get social security disability. For the past 8 years, I have been getting money for the girls also. Well, 2011 will be the last year that I will get money for Natalie. She turns 18 in October and the last check will probably be in September. It will be a loss of almost $500 a month. Big chunk. Scary sort of. I know we will manage but it will be hard. So this year is the year of change in terms of money and how we spend it.
I may document (kinda sorta) what I am doing, what I am learning, and how I am saving. Losing weight and gaining money!

First on the agenda is food. I was going to get something simple and easy for dinner tonite but then I decided as I was leaving the cable company parking lot that I am NOT going to do that. I am going to cook dammit!  So tonight is going to be my famous egg rolls. I have the hamburger and spring rolls skins defrosting. I also took out a steak that I bought last month for the carne asada for Un-Thanksgiving...It was an extra and I think I am going to make it again for dinner tomorrow.
So for now, that is what I am dealing with...money and how to spend and not to spend it.

Wish me luck!

My Mac is dying..waaaaa! waaaaa!

*282*

  This is a picture of an Apple IIe circa 1977 maybe..All I know is my Dad brought one of these babies home when I was in elementary school. How cool was that? I was probably one of the only kids in my class that had a home computer. I knew how to program in DOS. I would not know a DOS file if I tripped over it now.  Fred and I bought our first PC and set up internet when we bought our house in 1998. We have had 3 PCs and then the girls talked me into getting this Mac right here. I have loved it. I made a big mistake though. The economy shit the bed around the same time that I was supposed to renew my warranty contract with Apple. I just did not have the $200 and change to pay for it. And here I sit..with a computer that has been acting up for a year. First I had to have the hard drive replaced. But now we have other issues I do not want to get into. This morning I woke up to the bottom part of the screen is significantly darker then the top of the screen. I looked it up..That is not a good thing..at all. So let us hope that Heidi comes up with the funds to purchase a new Mac (no PCs in this house..LOL) before this one dies.
  My dream would be to have this computer fixed or just get a new one all together AND have a Macbook for myself. No touchies for the kiddies. It would be in lockdown. Only Fred or I could use it. That would be pure bliss for me.  I hate not having money. This is going to turn into a short economy rant now..hehehe I can feel it. We are doing okay...I guess. We are basically living paycheck to paycheck but I have been able to start putting money away. But then shit like this happens and there goes the money! If I could just not have cable tv or buy food..OMG the money I could save. LOL
I had quit smoking so I figured I would have that cushion of money to save. I should be saving almost $3000 a year from not smoking. That is an extra $250 a month. Oh hell no. Because then that money was to pay for the rising cost of electricity, oil for the tank, and cable. You cannot win for losing.  In my perfect house/world right now I will tell you what I would do. I would buy two new Mac desktops and a laptop. I would either get rid of cable tv all together or just have the basic package (hubs has to have football and basketball). We could use the computers for the internet and for watching Hulu and Netflix. One car and the kids would use bicycles. Hell, my ass could use one too. Fred cannot. He has an issue with one of his knees. No  junk food, no soda, no juice, no commercial crap that costs extra. Generic all the way baby. I could go on and on. I have a clothes line but we do not use it!
 I already do so many things that help us but I could do so more. Okay, I know I am whining and some people would say that I need to do something about it to make it better. I just have not figured out what that something is...
When I do, I will let you know.