Okay, clearly I didn't realize how busy I am when I started this blog. It has now become one more thing I don't feel like I have time to do well. This entry below is one I started in March and never completed. I plan on writing another entry this weekend so please bear (or is it "bare?") with me until then. I actually DID have some free time when I got home from work tonight (Diablo was already asleep) but instead of typing I took the opportunity to fuck my dear husband's brains out. He is now lieing (or is it lying? Laying?) in bed with the sweetest, dazed expression on his face. Every once in awhile I like to surprise him with sex when he least expects it. And he's always so appreciative. :)
So...for now you'll have to accept an older entry.
I know this sounds strange, but I get giddy about frugality. Not at all the time, not when I'm browsing through Martha Stewart or Better Homes and Gardens, but on a day to day basis, I get this little thrill in my tummy when I think, my God, we have committed to living on less than $30,000! We have a child! How are we going to do this? It's scary, but in a fun way, if that makes sense, because I believe that if someone has to do this, by God, we are the perfect couple for the job!
For starters, my husband and I are both very creative people. My hubby, who shall be called Bassem, loves challenges. He was raised by people with lots of money but this hasn't affected his ability to be down to earth. Sometimes I'm amazed that he will go shopping with me in a thrift store when he grew up wearing Banana Republic underwear. (Don't get me started on this. Do you have any idea what they charge for underwear? We are talking cotton underwear. With the words Banana Republic on them. I'm like, Please! If you've gotten far enough with a girl that she is seeing you in your underwear, you're gonna score regardless of the label on your undies. And hello, if you DON'T score at this point....mph...the problem is not the brand label on your cock cozy.) Anyway, he is supportive and totally on board with this moneyless existence I am advocating. He is amazing. Another reason I feel like we can do this is because we have an enormous safety net in case we fall flat on our faces....which we won't. Both of our parents have enough money that they could help us out if we get desperate. I'm not saying that's my first choice, but we have a son now, and I am not goign to turn help away if we need it. The point though is that we won't need it, because we are going to do a great job.
So back to the the bills...
I know I'll never say this again in my life, but: Hallelujah! It's tax time!
We are getting a refund for $2,996 from federal and $260 from state. That's a total of $3,256.00, which isn't peanuts when you're living on my salary. We decided to take $1500 to wiping out the hospital bill we are still paying on. That will give us $121.00 a month that we won't be paying on any longer. I did some more investigating today and this is what I found:
As of 3.27.07 we have $615.00 in the checking account and $2008.00 in savings. Our credit card bill currently stands at $605.85, which is higher than I had estimated previously. (All the other bills were taken directly from averaging a number of months, so I don't anticipate this will be a problem with the other calculations I made.) I told Bassem that I would like to pay the credit card off as well, which he agreed to. That leaves $1,150.00. What should we do with the extra cash? I'm got some ideas, but not enough time to type them out right now.
My love to you always,
your chiquita
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Reality Check
As you all know, we are currently a one income family. This is because I can't stand the thought of Diablo going to daycare. The only thing that is scarier than putting him in daycare would be if I chose to stay at home with him. I have lots and lots of mental health issues and staying at home with someone who is actually NEEDIER than I am is not a very good choice for me. I am a much happier, healthier individual when I can be with people who understand sarcasm and a threatening tone of voice. I have also noticed that adults tend to be less sticky than my offspring, which is another factor that makes working out of the home attractive. My husband likes to work, but knows that it would be terrible to come home to me and Diablo if I stayed home. I tend to spiral into depression pretty darn face and let's face it, it's not pretty when I get into those phases. I have only been suicidal once but it got kind of scary and I don't want Diablo to see that. One of my best friends in the world (you know who you are) gently pointed out to me recently that when I huddle on the couch, sobbing for days on end, I "am teaching Diablo how to deal with grief and sadness." Ouch! I said, thanks, Girl with no Codename, for making me feel worse than I already do.
She did have a point though and her comment has lingered in my mind ever since. So, I have committed myself to providing the income for our litte family, and my husband has agreed to stay home and raise Diablo. What this meant, however, was that we needed to take a hard look at our spending and debt. I made a list of all our current bills.
Monthly Bills
House payment=$745
Sprint Cells: $70
Qwest phone & Internet: $78.69
Energy=$105.00
Trash=$21.00
Hospital bill=$121.00
Student loan=$100.00
Water=$90.00
Auto insurance=$81.00
Credit card=$42.00/mos. (The total is about $500.It never actually goes down because I always use the credit card to pay for gas.)
My medication=$20
Total=$1,452.69
My income? Well, I make $14.05 per hour, so I bring home $757.83 every two weeks. I have health, vision and dental taken out, as well as 4% of my pay to 401K. In addition, I have 10% of my pay going directly into our saving account. Thus the $757 of remaining cash to play with.
Basically, I bring home $1,515.66 every month (every four weeks.)
That leaves us under $50 to pay for groceries, diapers and baby food.
Ouch.
So how will we do this? Stay tuned to find out!
your chiquita
She did have a point though and her comment has lingered in my mind ever since. So, I have committed myself to providing the income for our litte family, and my husband has agreed to stay home and raise Diablo. What this meant, however, was that we needed to take a hard look at our spending and debt. I made a list of all our current bills.
Monthly Bills
House payment=$745
Sprint Cells: $70
Qwest phone & Internet: $78.69
Energy=$105.00
Trash=$21.00
Hospital bill=$121.00
Student loan=$100.00
Water=$90.00
Auto insurance=$81.00
Credit card=$42.00/mos. (The total is about $500.It never actually goes down because I always use the credit card to pay for gas.)
My medication=$20
Total=$1,452.69
My income? Well, I make $14.05 per hour, so I bring home $757.83 every two weeks. I have health, vision and dental taken out, as well as 4% of my pay to 401K. In addition, I have 10% of my pay going directly into our saving account. Thus the $757 of remaining cash to play with.
Basically, I bring home $1,515.66 every month (every four weeks.)
That leaves us under $50 to pay for groceries, diapers and baby food.
Ouch.
So how will we do this? Stay tuned to find out!
your chiquita
Monday, March 19, 2007
In the Beginning
Wow.
I'm so glad you're here.
Well. I'm pretty sure I'm glad...because you wouldn't be here at my blog if I didn't know already that you absolutely adore me. I'm fairly insecure and needs lots of reassurance, so having a blog is the perfect way to a) massage my tender ego; or b) determine that in fact I am as stinky as used kitty litter. Purging my soul on the Internet is kind of scary because I vacillate between fearing total rejection and worrying about the "star pressure" that will be thrust upon me when millions of people (okay, women) flock to my blog because I "get it." No, seriously. That's the other scary thing about having a blog: I'm being HONEST.
Which brings me to my next point. You know that feeling you get when you are so sick that you have to shit and puke at the same time but you don't know what to aim where? That's the feeling I get trying to start this. I've spent hours mulling this over in my head, what I should write in my introduction. I thought I should be really profound or witty. And the pressure really increased when my sister recenlty began her blog. She's GOOD. See her site: I can't remember the name of it for the life of me, but it's also on Blogger and her name is fruitfemme. In any case, it made me all the more concerned about setting the right tone for mine. But at this point I've decided to just write what flows and be thankful that my readers already love and adore me. (Thanks again to both of you, by the way.)
Kisses,
your chiquita
I'm so glad you're here.
Well. I'm pretty sure I'm glad...because you wouldn't be here at my blog if I didn't know already that you absolutely adore me. I'm fairly insecure and needs lots of reassurance, so having a blog is the perfect way to a) massage my tender ego; or b) determine that in fact I am as stinky as used kitty litter. Purging my soul on the Internet is kind of scary because I vacillate between fearing total rejection and worrying about the "star pressure" that will be thrust upon me when millions of people (okay, women) flock to my blog because I "get it." No, seriously. That's the other scary thing about having a blog: I'm being HONEST.
Which brings me to my next point. You know that feeling you get when you are so sick that you have to shit and puke at the same time but you don't know what to aim where? That's the feeling I get trying to start this. I've spent hours mulling this over in my head, what I should write in my introduction. I thought I should be really profound or witty. And the pressure really increased when my sister recenlty began her blog. She's GOOD. See her site: I can't remember the name of it for the life of me, but it's also on Blogger and her name is fruitfemme. In any case, it made me all the more concerned about setting the right tone for mine. But at this point I've decided to just write what flows and be thankful that my readers already love and adore me. (Thanks again to both of you, by the way.)
Kisses,
your chiquita
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