Deeper and Deeper

Wednesday,  May 18, 2011

I feel like we're just digging ourselves deeper and deeper in the hole this month.  Even though I’ve known it was coming and have been saving for it, May has still hit pretty hard, and the worst is still to come.  We just finished celebrating Mother’s Day, a college graduation and a family birthday, and now we have another birthday and another graduation coming next week. And this graduation is several states away, so we will be flying and staying several nights in a hotel.  Even though I have stashed away some money to pay for this trip, I still feel like we’re totally blowing the budget.  Still, even if we have to use credit, I know these are once-in-a-lifetime events, the kind of thing that you will regret if you don’t do.  So yes, we will buy gifts, take relatives out to dinner, and spend extra time touring the city where our daughter now lives, and which we haven’t yet visited. What is the point of life, if you don’t take some time out of the rat-race and actually enjoy living?  By the end of the month, I will be surprised if we have any of the $1800 left from our savings.  And I wouldn’t even be worrying about it, if only I knew how much the fall tuition bill is going to be for our son………aghhh! 

So, here is the spending tally for the past several days:

Income:   $139.26*

Expenses: $49.83 gasoline

                      8.31 cholesterol test

                      2.29 annuals for yard

                    23.07 groceries

                      3.23 fast food

Remaining balance: $107.55

* this income includes some online earnings from my writing, a reimbursement check for some travel expenses my husband incurred, and a rebate check for a case of paper we bought a few months ago.