Looked at my finances

Last night I went over my money situation. I always seem to know how much I have and where, but when it comes down to adding it all up and figuring where it is supposed to be, I have to stop and write it down. By doing this, I also figure out how much money I have over and above my budget which can be applied to debt.

For example, in my pocket I have cash and checks to deposit, then I have money in checking and savings, but from that I have to pay AMEX for a few things I have purchased with it to bring it down to my current owed balance, replenish money I loaned to someone (very short term) back to the emergency fund savings account and pay my ebay fees. I found that I will have approximately $600 extra after I get paid Monday which amount can be applied to my car loan.

However, I do have a dentist appointment coming up in about a week and a half which is going to cost me at least $125.00 for a filling. Once the dentist goes to work he may discover that my tooth needs more than a filling and the price will go up. I am just hoping I don't need a root canal or anything extensive like this. It's not the pain that bothers me, it's the money.

For the record, the dentist told me that he would not have seen the problem (a shady spot in my molar) during a routine checkup. It's a good thing to keep up on your oral health and point things like this out to your dentist, they may not always catch them!

Back to the finances. It is best for me to put the extra money into my emergency fund savings account until after the appointment. This way I will know if it I can use it to pay my car, or if I have to pay the dentist more than the estimate. I sure hope I can pay my car!

If I do get to pay my car, I figured I can have it paid off by the end of this year and not April or May of next year as I had projected!

Love getting rebates back and more groceries

I was excited today to get a rebate back in the mail I sent out for. It was for a $20 Master Card! No...not a credit card that I can "charge" stuff on with a credit limit and all that, but just a card with my name on it in place of the company sending me a rebate check. It makes things easier for me because I can use it instantly unlike a check that I have to deposit at the bank.

So, I did end up going grocery shopping again and spent $58.72. This got me just about everything I need for a while and my BF spent about $100! He likes to eat lots of junk like potato chips, crackers, frozen meals, soda, etc. so the bill really adds up for him.

For "ingredients" to cook with, we split the cost. It works out for us and me especially since I don't like to eat all that overpriced crap. Can you imagine how much more I would be spending if we were to share the bill and just split it down the middle!? No thanks.

I'll try to not go to the grocery store except to buy milk, bananas and cereal if I run out, everything else should last me a while...I hope!!

So far since I've started this blog I've spent $77.13 at the grocery store. Of that, about $12 went to "personal" items (soap, loofah and lotion...which I DO need).

On the other hand, while at the store, I found a great deal on some items for ebay! Yeah, I charged them...a whole $131.65 worth!! But, I can make about $70 from them. If they don't sell within a month, I'll return them to the store and get my money back.

I've got to figure out how to do this buying stuff to sell on ebay and still get out of debt and manage to keep things in line. I would think that a budgeted amount of money or separate card I could use specifically for ebay purchases would work. When the items sell, I pay the card. I just don't know what is going to work for me. Any ideas?