Short, More Cheerful Update

Ok I am about to give up on blogging today.  I’ve been trying to write this post since THIS MORNING.  It’s been one of Those Days.  Very productive, but holy crap busy.  I was going to write something about dreams that I’ve forgotten, so I’ll just say that today feels much less sucky than yesterday.  I am wearing my kick ass new boots (the lovely tall riding kind I’ve been looking for for YEARS), I got Mexican for lunch, and last night hubby and I found a Dyson on Woot for $279 (this is our agreed upon mutual Christmas present).  And I’m halfway through Zombie Hordes Part B with Devil’s Eye, which I hope to finish tonight.  The scene, not the novella itself. So things are looking up, if not any less busy.

I’ve been on a serious Organize The Finances kick today.  Hubs and I are planning on selling our house and buying a larger one next summer in anticipation of having spawn, so I’m really kicking it into gear to get our ducks in a row and save as much as we can (on top of the norm) between now and then.  I am usually Very Organized when it comes to keeping up with finances.  I know, you’re so shocked to find this out about me 😀 .  For years I’ve kept track of stuff in Quicken or Microsoft Money or some other financial tracker.  And somewhere along the way I got out of the habit.  I think when I got my current laptop I never moved the software or couldn’t find the disk or something.  And then what little I was doing just kind of flew out the window when hubs broke his leg.  But today I checked out MoneyStrands, which I really like.  I actually had wanted to use Mint, but they don’t work with my bank and, really, I’m more comfortable with nobody else having my account numbers.  MoneyStrands allows you to take the CSV file your online bank generates and import it so you can track income and expenses by categories and such (with no need to provide account info).  Handy for budgeting.  So I’m setting myself a challenge to put the grocery budget on a diet, and curb the impulse spending that’s been kind of out of control since summer.  Making it a game: How much can I save?

What’s your favorite money saving trick?

5 thoughts on “Short, More Cheerful Update

  1. I drive a long distance to work and that means a fairly large gasoline tab as part of my monthly expenses. When things are really really tight and I have to make a sacrifice that’ll provide a big impact, I sleep overnight at work. It’s my least favorite way to save money but it makes a huge difference if I’m faced with using the credit card for gas vs. my distaste for staying at work. I keep a cot here just for such events.

    1. Thankfully if things ever got quite that tight, I could walk to work. We only live 2 miles away. Which feels like 50 miles when it’s July and over 100 degrees but if I had to….

      1. LOL, If I tried to do that I’d need a week just to get there. And some sort of skills to barter along the way for food and water, haha.

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