A Quiet Weekend at Home

Spending an entire day at home does wonders for the budget. I get the relaxed feeling of a day well spent, and if I avoid online shopping, I won’t spend any money. That’s a win-win situation. I didn’t leave the boundaries of my property line at all on Sunday and I nearly spent the whole 48 hours at home, with just a few unexpected errands to run.
My honey has an old Jeep that was traded to him for a stove and dishwasher he was getting rid of. It’s an ’89 Wagoner that he’ll be posting on Craig’s List to take care of a few money crises of his own—including repaying me the $1,100 I loaned him to repair his work truck. So when I heard that the Jeep was repaired and the bill was only $76.14, I ran over there to take care of it for him. This was on my credit-building card that I call my “spending card.” This way, he could drive it home that night; then, we could take pictures and post the ad. Since it was Saturday at noon, and my honey was working, I knew there would be no chance to get it before Monday. And now, he owes me $1,175.
On my way home from the repair shop, I stopped and gave into temptation. I purchased a Slurpee at the 7-Eleven. Man, I’m a total sucker for a Cherry Coke Slurpee—another $1.38 on the spending card. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan and my honey ended up lollygagging with one of his cronies until 11 o’clock that night. Our dinner plans were foiled (jerk!) and I spent my dinner at Subway, with a tuna sandwich and Coke—which was $5.59. The Jeep still sits at the shop, and nothing is posted for sale.

The Breakdown
$ 76.14 Loans to Others
$ 5.59 Dining
$ 1.38 Junk Food/ Drinks

Total for the weekend $83.11

On the up-and-up, Honey made it up to me by buying and cooking lunch and dinner on Sunday. He must have known how mad I was, because it was scrumptious! He also sprung for my Cherry Coke Slurpee that day, as well. I love that he knows how to make them just the way I like them. Cherry Coke Slurpees don’t come pre-made, you know. You start off the bottom with a layer of Cherry, then a layer of Pina Colada (That is, if they have it. If not, substitute that with coconut rum.), fill to the top with Coke, then a splash on top of Cherry again for a garnish. Nothing cools you off on a hot day like that!
Tonight, however, dinner is on me. My honey has 3 children, and two of them are with us tonight. So whatever I do, it will have to be kid-friendly (ergo, packed with sodium, preservatives and refined sugar). I want to make a salad for myself and bake a little something sweet for my man. He did buy bananas yesterday. So maybe just a butter and brown sugar to glaze them and buy a pint of ice cream. Since the girls will not touch a brown banana (even if the brown is sugar) I will get some chocolate sauce for them. The meal portion, I’m thinking chicken nuggets. A safe side for them would be macaroni and cheese. They don’t eat vegetables—not even corn! I always say that when I have my own child, he will eat what I eat. I have very little tolerance for picky eating.
So there’s my shopping list:
Pint Vanilla Ice Cream
Chocolate Sauce
Brown Sugar
Chicken Nuggets
Lettuce
Avocado
Cucumber
Tomato

And I have to use money directly from my bank account (aah!) because my sandwich on Saturday left me with $12 remaining on my spending card. I am expecting a check coming in from my federal grant for school. With this, I plan to pay my spending card to zero ($500), add money to my emergency credit card ($500), stash about $500 for savings, make sure my August bills are paid for, then take what’s left (about $150) and buy some work clothes. I currently have 4 work shirts that I wear Monday through Thursday and a work t-shirt for casual Friday. I rarely spend money on clothes, so don’t get the wrong impression that I’m some shopaholic with a massive wardrobe. In fact, my honey (a casual carpenter) has more closet fillers than I do. And I haven’t bought a pair of shoes in about 2 years.
My weakness, when it comes to spending, is mostly house goods. I buy groceries, cleaning products, garden goods, Wii games. Although, I do have a penchant for cosmetics and toiletries. My back bathroom is my sanctuary. Sometimes I just drag a little chair in there, play some music, light some candles, have a smoke and write. Seeing as it’s a half-bath, it’s a place where no one will even approach unless it were a dire emergency—and dire emergencies are usually solved by daddy. It’s my alone time place. It’s also very under-furnished. There is no storage, so my things are kept in plastic bins on the cramped floor space, and the sink doesn’t even work. But I will be done with it some day—and it won’t cost much to do.