Penny Pinching Mom

Sometimes You’ve Gotta Think About the Short Term

Today, Hubby and I went to the finance company and took out a loan to pay off his truck and get some extra money to help with the bills. We were so happy that it worked out that we thought about handing out cigars. But we managed to contain ourselves.

Seeing how we’re paying a higher interest rate now, most financial advisors would say that we made a very poor decision. And yes, in the long run, we’ll pay out quite a bit more money by going this route. But when you’re having trouble making ends meet in the short run, sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do.

You see, the finance company we went with is quite flexible when it comes to debt to income ratio and credit history. And right now, both of those factors are not very good for us. There’s no way the bank where we had the truck financed would have given us a loan, even if we were just refinancing the amount we owed them. So we went where we had to go to get the money we needed.

By the time the first loan payment (which is much lower than the truck payment was) comes due, our finances should be in better shape. And hopefully we’ll be able to pay the loan off early, and as a result pay less out in interest. So as far as I’m concerned, we made a good decision. Would you have done the same thing?

Discretionary Income

It has been a very long time since we have had any money that didn’t have to go directly toward the bills to keep us afloat. Really I should have paid more on the bills and gotten them caught up, but circumstances beyond our control (our housing situation) kept me from doing that. But I did spend a little on non-bill stuff this weekend.

Before you start thinking that I’ve gone crazy with the modest tax refund we received and am not considering the consequences, it’s nothing like that. As much as I would love to have that option, I didn’t go on an auto accessories spending spree. I bought Pumpkin some new clothes. She needed them desperately. She was rapidly running out of socks that would fit, and many of her pants were getting too small around the waist. I also got her a couple of short-sleeved shirts for the transition into warmer weather.

I’ll be glad when things like clothes that fit my daughter will no longer be a luxury. We would be fast approaching that now if it weren’t for having to move. But once we get that all straightened out, maybe we can get on with our lives.

Oopsie

We got our taxes back yesterday, and I had to pay almost every bill we have in order to keep stuff from being canceled or cut off by the end of the day. I thought I had everything taken care of, but I was wrong. This morning, the satellite was off. Uh-oh.

I paid a little more than what was past due online, waited about 15 minutes, and tried the TV. Nothing. So I ended up having to call the DirecTV and argue with their automated voice recognition system before finally getting a real person to talk to. Once I spoke with a human being, it was back on in no time flat.

I would have it cut off if it were up to me, so that we could save the money we spend on it to help with the move. But Hubby won’t hear of it, and if I let it go he would just pay it himself. Sometimes it sucks being in charge of the finances. Maybe I should start pricing Branson rentals, because I really need a vacation from all this.

Next Week

We are pretty much broke right now. I’m counting on some money I transferred to get into my bank account by the time I have to have my dental work next week- if it doesn’t I’m not going to have enough. Not unless I can pull together the yard sale I’m thinking about having tomorrow and get some money from it.

Sometime next week I should get paid for most of my writing for this month. That will help. I’m not going to be able to run out and buy a whole new set of Century furniture or anything, but at least maybe I’ll be able to pay some of the bills.

A Treat

Hubby, Pumpkin, and I have all been dying to see Mr. Bean’s Holiday. And I’ve come to the conclusion that if we have to scrape the money out from under the couch cushions, we are all going to go see it. It’s not often that a film comes out that we are all interested in, and we need a nice, fun family night out pretty badly right now.

Hubby and I have been stressed out lately, and Pumpkin hasn’t gotten to do anything special in a while now. I don’t think a silly movie is too much to ask. I mean, it’s not like I’m asking for an Orlando vacation rental or anything.

Near Broke

Hubby had to go to the doctor again today. They told him to double up on his stomach medicine and call back if he wasn’t better in a few weeks. If he’s not, they want to run a light down into his stomach.

All of these doctor and dentist visits have left us with few funds. I’m glad I paid up most of the bills for the month. The only one that hasn’t been paid is the cell phone bill, and it can be late if it has to. We have bigger fish to fry right now.

I’m considering either pawning some stuff or asking a friend of ours if we can borrow some money until the beginning of the month. I hate to do either, but something’s gotta give. The only income that is guaranteed to us between now and then is my final check from my day job, and I don’t expect it to be much more than $100.

I’ll be glad when Hubby gets some money coming in and we can get back on our feet. But I don’t know how soon that will be.

On Hold

Pretty much everything we’ve been considering spending any money on is on hold for now. That includes real estate, tickets to Tweetsie Railroad, and Pumpkin’s birthday present.

I haven’t gotten much work done this week due to a toothache. I went to the dentist today and was given two options, one of which is far more expensive than I could afford and the other of which isn’t cheap. I’ve got a week to think about it, but I know I will have to go the cheaper route. And it’s going to be hard to come up with the money for that considering the lack of work I’ve been able to do and Hubby not working for 3 weeks.

It could always be worse. I could still be at my day job, which would limit my income further. And I didn’t have dental insurance when I was there either, so I don’t have that to regret. I’ll just be glad when things get back to normal around here.

Hard Times

I can’t say our family has never had times as hard as this. We’ve been through a lot. At one point we had to move in with our in-laws. One winter we had to buy fuel by the five gallon can to stay warm. And there have been times that we had to sign up for public assistance. Hopefully those days are behind us for good. But money is tight right now.

First of all, Hubby was out of work for three weeks. One week his boss just didn’t want to work, then the next he was in too much pain to work. Luckily the doctor said it was nothing terribly serious, that he just needed some rest and over the counter meds to straighten him out. But his boss didn’t want him to work the next week either because he was afraid he would reinjure himself, so he was out that week too.

He’s finally back to work, but now my aching tooth is screaming for attention. I made a dentist’s appointment for tomorrow, and I hope they can put a filling in it or something instead of having to do anything really expensive.

Add to that Pumpkin just starting back to school and a traffic ticket for Hubby, and we are somewhat screwed. I paid up most of the bills so we won’t have that to worry about, but that only leaves us with a few hundred dollars. I will get one more small check from my old job, but other than that I won’t get paid again until the first of next month. I hope Hubby makes plenty of money the next couple of weeks.

We’ll dig ourselves out, it just might take some time. At least I am writing full-time now, and that will bring in more money than writing part-time and working at my day job part-time was. If I can get caught back up, that is. All that has been going on has put me behind a bit. But hopefully now that Hubby is back at work and Pumpkin is in school, my tooth will give me enough peace to get some work done.

Scraping By

Hubby and I have gone slightly crazy with the finances this month. A few too many cookouts, a used lawnmower, and other little things have made money a little tighter than it should be. Oops.

We’re not in danger of anything being cut off or being out on the streets or anything. I’m just slightly outside of my financial comfort zone. Everything will straighten out eventually. Then I can get my laptop, and a new patio set, and a new house…

You’ve probably figured out that I’m not any kind of financial guru. I do know how to save money, and I enjoy doing so when possible. But I started this blog as much for myself as for my dear readers. It gives me an incentive to take a look at how my finances are going, and look for ways to improve them. And isn’t that what pinching pennies is all about?

Self-Control

I have cut back to four days a week at my day job. I’m ecstatic about that, and hopeful that I will be able to cut back more or even quit within a few months. My writing is going pretty well, and I’m now looking for more projects to keep me perpetually busy. I’ve had to exercise a lot of self-control not to just give my two week notice and hope for the best, but I know that I need to stay with it for at least a little longer so we can get ahead of the game.

Now that we actually have a little extra money, I’m also having to tap into my self-control to keep from spending it all. I need to sit down and make a list of what we need and what we want but can do without. For example, I’m dying for some new blinds, and we actually need a set for my office pretty badly. But I could easily go out and get a cheap $5 set to use until we get some more important things squared away and I can afford to get the nice ones I really want for the whole house.

Sometimes being practical isn’t much fun. But it pays off in the end.