Frugal In Florida

Isn't it amazing how many bills are really generated a month for household expenses? First off, we do have cable, satellite radio, internet, landline, cell phones, exterminators (it's south Florida, folks), pool service and lawn service and the list goes on. And I know, all these items right there do NOT need to be part of the household budget, but here, they are. Some bills stay the same, like the exterminator, pool and lawn guy. Others fluctuate, like the electric. Which, thankfully, is finally $270 for the month (after peaking out at $450 a few months ago), and the land line, which really, should stay the same, but once in a while someone (ahem) calls their mommy on that instead of the cellphone on a Saturday morning (which by the way, the cell is FREE long distance AND FREE time, especially on a Saturday morning). The cable bill SHOULD be the same each month too. Except when you change your service, like we just did. AND that is when you need to scrutinize it. Ver...

You know what I mean. Crap. Stuff. Shit. It happens. And seems to never be an opportune time, you know? 1. Truck battery crapped out. We just had it in the shop for a week and over $1000 in repairs (with a good friend working on it). Guess it's because it sat for almost 3 weeks. 2. Hubby ran into a bit of an issue on his trip. Nothing to blog about and everything will be fine in the end, just going to cost a little more cash than I'd like AND a little time. Hopefully this can be turned around to his favor and be a learning experience. 3. Sonny Boy leaves in 4 days. It's been a LONG time since I've shop shopped for household stuff. Dang, stuff is expensive. I've resorted to parting out my own personal kitchen belongings for his new digs. 4. Fortunately there have been some decent sales on laptops and printers for Sonny Boy.  Of course, all sold out on the cheaper ones and the one that I really liked, only have them "geeked" out for another $...

No, I'm not talking about the nicotine habit. Thankfully, we kicked that habit right out the door about 3 1/2 years ago or so (October 31st, whatever year it was that Hubby flew to Kentucky to the hand specialist for reconstructive surgery).  It's no longer such a big deal (either thing) that I don't remember just how many years it's been. What I AM talking about is the Spending Habit.  And the need to constantly be aware of the Habit. I consider myself to be a fairly frugal gal for the most part. Seriously. Yes, I have certain things that I feel are necessary that others would certainly feel are frivolous ... I say the same about others, but really, each family, each budget, is totally UNIQUE in that regard. Recently, I rediscovered how EASY it is to fall off the wagon and hop right back in bed with that SPENDING HABIT. Vegas. Indiana. Woe Me. First there was that sense of 'entitlement' I felt. I'm going to VEGAS baby! It's my BIRTHDAY! IN V...

I am real bad at budgeting. I mean, yeah, I set aside x amount for this and that and then have a goal of this for that ... but seriously? Not so much in the end! For instance, I have $300 in my checking account and $70 cash in my wallet AND a "few" dollars here and there scattered around the house and a couple of bucks in the 2 savings accounts. I have a "free money" jar that is for the Animals, hubby and/or me when we need something, be it gas in the car or a pizza or a quick drive to McD's (Animals and friends, not ME!). The free money jar is just singles and whatever is left over from the grocery shopping of the week. And I try, on the last day of the month, to take the free money and move it to the backup stash container. The backup stash container is a plastic shoebox. Seriously, it weighs probably 20 lbs. The amount of change in there is NOT even funny. But there are also paper bills in there and I try, try, TRY not to touch it. This would be the In ...