If it's not one thing, it's something else....

Although I do not have my full "baby emergency fund," it has been growing and at this time I'm thankful it's there. Who knew my poor dog was going to have to have surgery on Tuesday??

I have 2 dogs (a Boxer named Damien age 11 & a Rott/Shepherd mix named Snoop who is 13) 3 cats (Tinkerbelle & Mystic who are between 10-12 years old and Smokey, my 5 1/2 month old kitten) and a 1 year old no-name turtle.

Pets are great companions. They quickly become part of the family and I really can't picture us not having pets. However, pets can be verrrryyy expensive!! You not only have the expected cost of food, food dishes, litterboxes, litter, toys, treats, annual shots, etc... But then there are those times when you're broke til next payday & your cat is favoring his front paw or you see blood in your dogs stool. Those expenses aren't planned and they always come at the worst time! (Right before Christmas your Boxer scratches his eye & has to have surgery twice totaling $900. Yeah, it happens!!!) The only thing to do is [ expect the unexpected ]! As Dave Ramsey says, have a rainy day fund because its gonna rain!!

Yesterday I took my Damien to the vet with a ruptured tumor on the inside of his thigh. It has been there for several years but we were always told to just watch it. If it started to bother him we would need to have it removed. Sooo... After bloodwork an EKG, a weeks worth of antibiotics and $65 later, he checked out okay and is now scheduled for surgery next week. Surgery will include anesthesia, the tumor removal & pathology, pain meds & additional antibiotics and will cost us $250ish. Yeah, I definitely didn't pencil that in the budget this month, but lucky for us, we've got it covered. No need for "American Distress" or "Master-Card."

Get your emergency fund, people!! You can't afford not to!

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It's tax season!!

We're among the many Americans that do not "break even." We get an income tax refund each year. We have thought of it as a savings account in the past ...we let the government take our money & "save" it all year, then give it back in one lump sum. I now know the ridiculousness in that way of thinking, & I know my money would be better invested & earning ME interest, rather than THEM. We may change our exemptions at a later time in order to cut down on the possibility of a refund & to collect more of our money throughout the year like we should be, but for now, this is working for us. I think that until we complete baby steps #1 & 2, we need that tax refund.

Soooo... What will we be doing with our money?? PAYING OFF DEBT!!

With our tax refund we paid off a loan that held a lien against my husbands motorcycle (he's now going to sell it to make even more money), paid off my braces, and a small line of credit. With eliminating those 3 things, and canceling insurance on the bike, we have reduced our monthly payments by $342!!! WOOOO! HOOOO!!

Then--- when we sell the bike we will have another $3K-$4K to put toward something else!! No, it won't be one of those fancy C purses or a new tv, but we will be smart with our money & do something that's going to make a difference in our future!

What will you spend your tax refund on?

The numbers are in!

January has come & gone & what I'm left with is a pile of receipts and what appears to be a deficit in my budget. Are we spending more than we make? How can that be???
After a second look at the numbers, I see that in December we had money left over that carried us into January, so that is why it doesn't seem to balance. This is also why they say creating a budget takes at least 3 months. Dave Ramsey, you are right again!

Weird.

I had a friend send me a text message yesterday asking if I was busy this Friday or Sunday, did my hubby & I want to get together with her & her bf to go out to dinner. My reply was, sure I'd like to get together but we can't go out to eat, as we are on a budget. I got NO RESPONSE! Did I piss her off? Now that's weird!!

"Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else." -Dave Ramsey