Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

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HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

Post by HappyDaze »

Yesterday was spendy - all necessities - pets, groceries, household. Oh and a birthday gift for my brother's granddaughter, whose birthday party DD and I were invited to. The party is April 3 - we are not attending (if I attend any gathering of 10 or more people, I have to work from home for 2 weeks and I'm not willing to take the risk even if that were not the case). I told my niece we would come over next Saturday, bring the little one (turning 4) her gifts and play outside for a little while.

I wish they would stop inviting me - between my brother and sister then have a dozen grandchildren and I can't afford, and have no desire to gift them all at birthdays and holidays. My grandchildren have paws and I like it that way, lol.

After this year I will be RSVP-ing "no" and not sending a gift. I don't get invited to things for the others - or buy them anything - so it's only fair. I'm not trying to be a scrooge here - it's just my personal belief that getting into buying gifts for one's great nieces and nephews is unnecessary and over the top. I don't exchange gifts with anyone but my own children and their significant others - and my parents - so...yeah.

Today I will have a look at the budget so I stay on top of what's what. I like telling my money where to go and what to do - not the other way around as it was in the past.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

Post by HappyDaze »

I have no plan for Easter dinner but am challenging myself to make something nice for my daughter and myself without going to the store. I have sweet potatoes, white potatoes, cabbage, carrots, an assortment of frozen vegetables, frozen and canned fruits, all sorts of baking supplies, every type of dried beans, lentils, pastas, rice, etc. No doubt I can come up with some nice things to make.

I have been rather lazy about cooking lately - that needs to change. Have also been slacking on completing surveys - that needs to change.

Spent $50 on new windshield wipers last weekend - but that needed to happen and I asked for the best ones they had - installation was free.

Happy to report that I have paid off another debt and am rolling that payment onto the next one and should have that paid off before summer. Was discussing with DD the other day - the debt that I allowed my ex to get me into. She was furious with him (as am I) but I reminded her that, at the end of the day, that is on ME - MY FAULT - I allowed it to happen. Yes, I was too old to learn that lesson - and I have to live with how dumb I feel to have allowed it, to have trusted that he would make those payments. But - my focus is on moving FORWARD and being successful - not at wallowing in the regrets.

DD gave me her rent check last night, with her share of last month's utility bill. The total bill was DOWN almost $40 from the one before - I think she was shocked at how much her share was and turned her heat down. I am VERY careful to not use more heat, water than I would if she wasn't here - I don't want her paying for anything that could actually be MY use - so I use the utilities the same as I always have - very conservatively.

That's about all I have to report - the pennies continue to become dimes and the dimes become dollars and I'm doing good.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
User avatar
Jackielou
Posts: 13423
Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:51 pm

Re: Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

Post by Jackielou »

Doing great there girl. Keep up the good work.
Jackie
http://inthelandofthelivingskiesii.blogspot.ca/
alliesmama4
Posts: 8591
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 10:10 pm
Location: Southern IL

Re: Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

Post by alliesmama4 »

HappyDaze wrote: Sat Apr 03, 2021 8:50 am I have no plan for Easter dinner but am challenging myself to make something nice for my daughter and myself without going to the store. I have sweet potatoes, white potatoes, cabbage, carrots, an assortment of frozen vegetables, frozen and canned fruits, all sorts of baking supplies, every type of dried beans, lentils, pastas, rice, etc. No doubt I can come up with some nice things to make.

I have been rather lazy about cooking lately - that needs to change. Have also been slacking on completing surveys - that needs to change.

Spent $50 on new windshield wipers last weekend - but that needed to happen and I asked for the best ones they had - installation was free.

Happy to report that I have paid off another debt and am rolling that payment onto the next one and should have that paid off before summer. Was discussing with DD the other day - the debt that I allowed my ex to get me into. She was furious with him (as am I) but I reminded her that, at the end of the day, that is on ME - MY FAULT - I allowed it to happen. Yes, I was too old to learn that lesson - and I have to live with how dumb I feel to have allowed it, to have trusted that he would make those payments. But - my focus is on moving FORWARD and being successful - not at wallowing in the regrets.

DD gave me her rent check last night, with her share of last month's utility bill. The total bill was DOWN almost $40 from the one before - I think she was shocked at how much her share was and turned her heat down. I am VERY careful to not use more heat, water than I would if she wasn't here - I don't want her paying for anything that could actually be MY use - so I use the utilities the same as I always have - very conservatively.

That's about all I have to report - the pennies continue to become dimes and the dimes become dollars and I'm doing good.
Sheila good to hear how well you are doing. It is a long journey sometimes but keep rolling along and it will happen and you will feel so much better.

Wishing you and your DD a Happy Easter.
Janet Alliesmama
ChristmasTrees
Posts: 3982
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:53 am

Re: Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

Post by ChristmasTrees »

Sheila...you are doing great! I am so sorry your ex messed you up financially too. You should have been able to trust him to do the right thing!
My niece that we raised was financially ruined by her ex. He got into drugs..ended up in jail..but not before he cleaned out their account. She SHOULD have been able to trust him!
She is back on her feet...but such an unnecessary struggle.
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: Small Goals - Pennies to Dollars

Post by HappyDaze »

ChristmasTrees wrote: Sun Apr 04, 2021 9:50 pm Sheila...you are doing great! I am so sorry your ex messed you up financially too. You should have been able to trust him to do the right thing!
My niece that we raised was financially ruined by her ex. He got into drugs..ended up in jail..but not before he cleaned out their account. She SHOULD have been able to trust him!
She is back on her feet...but such an unnecessary struggle.
Oh wow, Trees, I am so sorry about your niece, that is terrible. I hope she is doing better.

Here is the kicker - when we started dating in 2013, he had a "low paying" job and an old beater vehicle (nothing wrong with that, just saying). He was getting food assistance, heating assistance, etc. (again, nothing wrong with people who qualify for help taking help). He couldn't afford school clothes for the kids - I bought them. I paid for us to go camping, I bought him a laptop that he needed for work. When his mother passed, (she is a whole other story) I paid for plane tickets so he and his brother could go to where she was. His brother DID pay me back. I paid the babysitter - more than once - and he didn't pay me back. When the babysitter would call off last minute - as she often did, I was the one who had to call off work - because he was already at work.

I helped him study for tests, watched his kids while he traveled to training, bought him the right clothes so he could try to move up through the ranks. And move up he did - and started traveling a lot for work - and not behaving himself on his travels. 3 promotions all total and now he is a "regional vice president", making 2 and a half times what I earn.

He would throw me some money every now and then - but not on a regular basis - to pay on what he owed but I think he thought I should have been paying more household expenses (NO - him and his kids were THREE people, I was ONE person and he did nothing to try to conserve on the utilities, etc). He was getting THOUSANDS in tax refunds every year and could have paid me - but I don't know where the money went.

I helped him build his credit score (it was horrible) by getting a card in his name for his travel expenses. Thankfully, he did keep that completely paid off every time he got his reimbursement checks.

I got so tired of my paycheck being GONE in one day, just trying to keep up. Thankfully, those days are over. As I said, I have myself to blame - "No, we can't afford that" is a complete sentence - and I should have used it. But again - I trusted him. This is really on ME at the end of the day. A lesson I was too old to learn - but it is what it is.

All total - over $14,000 debt he left me with and nothing to show for it - except new fixtures and flooring in my bathroom - but those were necessary, the old ones were leaking and the floor was sinking into the cellar - and all that was only $1,200.

What really gets me is how "easy" it is to tighten one's belt and buckle down and do what needs doing - but he doesn't have that mindset. I'm willing to bet the farm that, even with his high paying job, he is still living paycheck to paycheck - and with my lesser income - I am not.

Whew!!
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
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