The Odd, Tangled and Organized Life

It is 9:00 pm on Friday night and this is the first chance I had today to post. I even took today off. But, I had the furniture delivered and then spent most of the day working on all my sales outlets. I've even added a couple - eBay and Mercari. Trying to figure out someway to move the Precious Moments figurines I have. I also had a customer come over and buy a bunch of stamp stuff that my mom had given to me to sell. Whew! $24.00 later....Good thing I had my Square and was able to take the debit card. So I spent a majority of the evening updating all my craft supplies posts. And then, while I was posting new things, I sold one of them. So, 23.41 + $5.72. That will cover gas for this week. Tomorrow I have a huge list of things to do. Beginning of the month and all that jazz. Sunday I'm going to Mom's to learn to make scones. Stash Your Cash squirreled away $1.48 for me. Yay! Starting from scratch with the savings account again. That's pretty much all I have for t...

Oh, my friends, it has been a difficult week so far. That lovely little nest egg I was building? Well, that is gone. Why? Well, I was behind on a few bills, and in looking at my finances for next month, I was looking at being about $450 short of paying all my bills. Now, the $193 I had saved wouldn't cover all of the shortage, but it covered some. After all, it makes no sense to save money when I was behind in bills. Right? So, we have a new plan of attack. Still want to save $5000.  But, that savings is going to grow only by A) my $25 every 2 weeks, B) the Stash Your Cash I get from my checking and grocery accounts, and then, after all bills are paid for the month, C) extra money from the account and money I get from selling stuff. Yeah, it is going to grow very slowly indeed. But, I have to keep up with my bills, right? So, that $193 went towards the overdue payments owed on Electric and Gas companies, and I paid my Torrid account early. So, my debt total went down a little, ...

I love seeing my savings account blossom with new money. Today, I sold a stamp set of my mom's and I cashed in money from the Get Upside app. So, a total of $10.61 went into my savings, as well as $.91 from getting gas and a car wash yesterday. And I will have more money tomorrow, because I will be depositing $20.00 from selling an old kitchen table. I was going to use it as a work bench in my garage, but so far it has just been a catchall for junk. So my son and I cleaned it off, I took a picture, and it sold within an hour. The GetUpside App has positives and negatives. First, it's not only for gas. You can also get cash back for eating out, which of course I'm trying to cut down on. It will send money to a gift card or to your Paypal account, but you have to pay $1.00. Now, they say that if you recruit a couple friends to the app, you don't have to pay for the fees. They get an extra $.15/gallon back the first time they use the app, and you get $.15/gallon. Plus, e...

Have you ever been told it isn't polite to talk about money? Money is a taboo subject. You aren't supposed to say how much you make, what you paid for your car or your suit, what you get for your tax refund. All because you don't want to hurt someone else's feelings. But how are you supposed to know how much something is worth? Like a car. Like rent or a house. The only people I see talking about how much they spend on something are the rich people. What about those of us who are not so rich? At work, whenever we get a raise, we are told not to talk about it to our co-workers. Partly because it doesn't want to seem like we are bragging, but also so employees can't compare notes on what they are making. Like someone who isn't making as much is going to feel less than appreciated? But yet, they are always talking about competitive wages in their compensation packets. How are we to know if we are making a competitive wage? Remove the stigma of money. I...

I have been wanting to buy new living room furniture for awhile. My current couch and recliner are over 10 years old. My recliner is no longer safe for someone of my girth to sit in. Probably isn’t safe for my skinny son to sit in either, but he does. It is permanently in the recline position. It has lost so many screws and I think the springs are all shot. So, it’s time to replace it, at the very least.  My couch is too big for the space I have it in, and it doesn’t recline, meaning if I want my feet up, I have to put them on the ottoman or sit sideways. Neither way is very comfortable. I made the decision this past year that when I get my stocks from my employer, I’m going to sell them right away. I don’t have any business being in the stock market – I don’t understand it and knowing me, I’ll forget about the stocks. So I’m going to sell them and use the money to buy a new love seat that will fit in my living room and recliner. Now, before you buy something...

Yesterday’s dentist visit proved to be an expensive visit. It was for a routine cleaning, but the dentist recommended a crown and 3 fillings. The total damage – about $1300. That’s about twice what I’ve paid down already. Oh, that sucks! Unfortunately for me, I am susceptible to cavities. I brush every day . Okay, I don’t floss unless I feel something between my teeth. Nevertheless, I have cavities that need to be fixed. I haven’t paid the total amount yet – only 60%. I pay the rest when I go in for the appointments. So, what am I going to do? Nothing different. I might try to hurry up and get more things listed, but for now, I’m going to stick with the path I have chosen. The plan I have will work. Got another credit card bill in the mail, so I also added the interest from that account.  I made some money this weekend. A friend of mine wanted me to design her a planner, create a custom bill spreadsheet and make some stickers for her new planner. I have her on...

Good morning from snowy Minnesota! We had a snowstorm yesterday and now we have blowing wind and snow. Things have been up and down this week. My total debt is up a little because I got some credit card statements in and had to add interest charges. So I am up to $17,796.73 for total debt owed. Not bad. I have paid off $674.22 so far since Christmas. Which I am ecstatic about! My savings total is $75.65. I did sell an item yesterday (a stencil for Stampin' Up from my mom's collection). I also sold a pattern, but I'm not going to see that money until Tuesday at the earliest. And who knows, I may be able to list more items on my Etsy shop which will decrease the amount I got for the sale. Oh well. All a part of business. Got my student loan interest statement, so I was able to plug that number into my taxes. Still waiting for a couple of documents, but I should be able to file the first week of February. I have a lovely 3 day weekend this week. Means more time I can s...

Happy Wednesday! One more day closer to the weekend. One more day closer to getting my company shares that I'm going to sell the minute I get. One day closer to a lot of things. I added some money to the debt total. I got my bill from Capital One and saw the interest that they were charging me this month. Ouch! I also added some medical bills in the form of a therapy bill, but I also paid that off with money in my HSA. So that Township game I had blogged about earlier? Discovered I wasn’t making any money playing it. It immediately got uninstalled from my phone. It was way too addicting to begin with, and like I said, I was wasting a lot of time with it. I haven’t been completely idle the past couple days. Sure, I’ve been working at my day job, earning the paycheck, but I’ve also been creating a bill spreadsheet for a friend of mine. Okay – I was hired by a friend of mine to create her a spreadsheet to track spending. Not a problem – I use one every day. But I wanted this...

I've updated my debt total. It went up by $17.39, but I'm okay with that. That's the interest I have to pay on a credit card. It sucks, but if I'm being realistic, that's all part of the debt game we play. Our debts go down as we make payments, but go up again when we either use the credit card or interest is accrued on purchases. Just means I've lowered my debt by $839.33, instead of $856.72. Again, I can't get frustrated by this or I'll give up. It is what it is. So Friday I was going over bills I could pay and I had a little left over. Well, not really. I paid the bills that would affect my credit score - credit cards and loans. I didn't pay utilities or my homeowners association due. And, if I'm completely honest, I'm not sure how much of those I can pay with the next paycheck. Living paycheck to paycheck sucks. You try to plan and budget, but life takes unexpected turns. Like, this month I had the additional costs of paying my Adobe ...

I spent most of the weekend working on a box of inventory to send to a little shop who is interested in doing consignment with me. They have a gift shop on Lake Michigan and want some of my soap savers to sell with their artisan soaps. I also had a few orders come in, so I was shipping those out. As you can see, my savings has gone up! I'm now sitting at $70.79 in savings. I love watching football. Last night the Vikings lost spectacularly to the 49ers. And since I refuse to root for the Packers until they get rid of crybaby Rodgers, I no longer have a football team to watch until August. So I cancelled Hulu Live until next season. That's going to save me roughly $50 a month. Sweet! So, you know those blog posts that show you amazing ways to make money? Well, one of them is an app that will pay you to play certain video games. The longer you stay logged into the game, the more money you make. All well and good if you have nothing better to do and you like playing video ga...

Payday! I do love this day. I don't like spending all my money, but I like seeing my bills go down. First, I had $1.07 left in my account before payday. That amount goes into savings. Paycheck this week was $1032.90. Right away $25.00 goes into savings and $250.00 goes into groceries. Next, I got my nails done and my hair cut, so $60.00 total. Next, I have to take out State Farm Insurance ($65.84), my student loans ($36.00), Netflix ($9.63) and Adobe subscription (192.70). I use my Adobe every month, if not every week for my planner pages. Totally worth it. Next, I start paying bills. $132.16 goes towards my unsecured loan (and pays off $87.55 from my total debt). $15.00 goes towards my Line of Credit (and pays off $13.07 from my total debt). $35.00 goes towards my Torrid Credit Card. $30.00 goes towards my Credit One credit card. I have $181.57 left in my checking account. I received $500 in my HSA account today for my employer contribution and my health and wellness dolla...

Vending machines are a convenience we often use, especially when we are at work. My office has a couple vending machines in my area, plus in another suite, there is a small market with more selections. But everything is so expensive compared to the grocery store. Take for example a Dr. Pepper. The vending machine at work charges $1.50 for a bottle. Whereas, I can get a 6 pack of bottles for less than $3.00 at the grocery store. And a lot of the time, especially when my concentration is fading or I’m really tired that day, I find myself finishing my bottle of Dr. Pepper I bring from home long before it is time to leave for the day. So I’d go to the vending machine and get another one. What if I simply brought in 2 bottles every morning? I usually don’t drink the 2 nd bottle, but if I needed it, I have it. Another big expense is beef jerky. A little bit of protein goes a long way to help wake me up. But at $1.50  a bag? One of the things I want to do is start making my own...

Happy Tuesday! I'm still blogging! Woohoo! Nothing has changed on the financial route - same savings and debt. My life insurance payment came out of my checking account today, so that's everything that was scheduled for this paycheck. My online banking total matches what I have on my spreadsheet. Let's talk about the M word - Money. For some people, it is a bad word. It has so many bad connotations. I read a book last year - a Jen Sincero book that pretty much says what all the wealth management, money making books say - change your mindset about money and let it all flow in. I currently make $17.99 an hour and work 40 hours a week. After taxes, medical insurance and 401k, I take home about $1035 every 2 weeks. My bosses have always said “Don’t talk about your pay with your coworkers.” Well, if any of my co-workers find this blog and read it – this is what I make and I’m talking about it. Now, they say this not only because the subject of money is taboo, but because ...

Finally got my bill from my therapist's office - I'm adding $173.04 to my total. The new total is $18,223.51. I also added $.82 to my savings with Stash Your Cash. I had to go to the grocery store last night because we needed milk, pumpkin and Pringles were on sale and Mom needs more empty Pringles cans. Sold a Longaberger piece today and sent $20.35 to savings. New savings total is $22.15. I don't let the rises in my total debt to get me down. I know this amount is going to go up and go down. My goal is to have it go down each month. But on a daily basis, if it goes up because of interest owing on a credit card, or my therapist bills adding to my debt, so be it. I can't get discouraged, no matter what. I mean, look at it this way - my total is still less than when I started. And that's encouraging. Even with my recent draining of my savings - I know that number is going to go up. I am constantly learning how to be better with my money. How to improve my bil...

It's been a few days, so I thought I'd first catch you up on things that have been going on. The two patterns I sold on Etsy made me $6.09. Unfortunately, as you can see, my savings is currently at $.98. That's because I made a mistake on my bill spreadsheet. I forgot that Hulu and my life insurance payment will come out before my paycheck on the 10th. So, I had to take out $75.46 from my savings to cover those. Then I had to transfer out $21.74 from savings to groceries to cover this week's food bill. I did add $1.00 Stash your Cash from the grocery account - so that leaves me with $.98. Unfortunately, I haven't paid down anything other than my mortgage, so we are stuck with the same amount on the loan paydown. I'm still waiting for my bill from my therapist's office, so I'm sure that amount will go up in the next few days. Yeah - not feeling the greatest about my situation. I have $17.87 left in my grocery account. Really hoping nothing comes up ...

I actually made it to midnight last night. Only because I was watching stuff online about cute puppies adopted by pro football players. And looking at old meme's of Game of Thrones. I'm a geek. Great news! Yesterday I was able to post on all my venues - Longaberger, Precious Moments, craft supplies, finished knit and crochet items, and general things I want to sell and get rid of. I made a couple sales, too. I sold 2 Longaberger items, sending $9.71 to my savings account. I also sold a couple crochet patterns, but I won't have a total on money I made from those until tomorrow. I sold them on Etsy, and they have to take all their fees out. So far, it looks like I'll be sending $6.09 to my savings account. I also made $.04 on interest for my savings account and saved $.52 on a stash your cash. Bringing the savings total to $90.28. I was able to pay my mortgage today and I purchased cat food from Chewy.com. I even signed up for autoship to hopefully save some money. ...