Friday is OVER!!

I am so glad Friday is over.

Worked from 6am to 4:30pm trying to make up hours lost due to appointments and I am still down 15 hours for the week due to the lice fiasco on Monday.  Drove to DS2s Grandmother’s to pick him up and then drove two towns away for his therapist appointment.

Picked up DD1 on the way home and had a quick dinner.  Left DW to put the kids to bed and DD1 and I went grocery shopping.  Got home around 10pm and just finished up putting all the groceries away.  I am exhausted, but happy that I stayed within budget at the grocery store.

I was able to get all the bills paid on my lunch and even got DS1 & 2’s birthday presents ordered.  I am nervous about making it to the end of the month with how over budget we were for the first pay period.  I have some extra funds coming in but it annoys me that I might be using that to cover my financial stupidity instead of paying off debt. 

I just have to realize that I have made a lot of positive changes. I have to forgive myself for my mistakes and try to do better next time. 

Saturday is looking like a busy day.  I have to supervise a visit with a birth parent for one of my kiddos and then I am taking DS2’s grandmother (Grandma D) out for coffee.  Grandma D is a huge resource for us and I try to make time to take her out as a thank you.  She is literally the only person who is able to watch DS2 for more than an hour.  She is also a huge support for me as she has DS2’s older sister who has similar mental health issues so she ‘Gets it’.   DW isn’t too thrilled as she will be watching 7 kiddos on her own but at least DD1 will be there to help.

Sunday is less busy.  My dad is coming by to visit and drop off souvenirs for the kiddos from when he was in Hawaii.  He won’t stay long as he lives a quiet life and my house is anything but.  He loves the kids but can only deal the chaos in small doses.   

I will probably use Sunday to get caught up on laundry and to finish my appeal paperwork as the subsidy increase we requested for DS2 was denied.   I also have to do some research on residential treatment centers.  The mental health specialty school pretty much flat out refused to take him unless he had completed a stay at a residential treatment center for some of his extreme behaviors.  There is another school in the area we can try, but I am expecting the same response.  Sadly, this hasn’t been the first time residential treatment has been suggested and I am running out of excuses as to why we shouldn’t explore this avenue.  UGH!

Hope you all have a great weekend!!



Utilities

For the first time in FOREVER all my utility accounts are paid in full.  Next month, I will even pay them on time.  Feeling Giddy!!  :-)

OVERBUDGET, LICE AND IN A FUNK!

As of right now, I am about $250.00 over budget for the first part of the month.  On Friday we get paid and I also have some unexpected income coming in so I am praying we will be able to break even and end March in the black.

Why are we over budget?  Well most of it was stress spending.  I was just overwhelmed with the conversation I had to have with DD2 (plus the follow-up meeting with her social worker), ‘The talk’ with MIL, issues surrounding DS2 and then we had a lice outbreak.

Yes, lice.  It was awful! Both DW and I took the day off on Monday and spent the entire day cleaning heads, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals and everything else we could get our hands on.  The Lice accounted for about $75.00 of our overspending.  

I am just in a funk this month and it is really effecting my spending.  My insomnia is kicking my butt and it leaves me anxious and agitated throughout the day.  And then my mind whispers to me “One Starbucks isn’t going to hurt the budget.” And then “You are really stressed out, you family deserves a nice meal you didn’t budget for.”  

DW is super supportive and keeps asking me what she can do to help me snap out of this, but I don’t even know. She told me I should just spend a few days at my Little Sister’s house to get away from the stress but the guilt of leaving DW and the kids plus the amount of work that wouldn’t get done in my absence would negate any stress relief the break would give me. 

What do you do when you get into a funk?



I Have Readers!!!

I have readers!! I got my first follower (Hi JB!!) and my first commenter (You rock ND Chic).  And if I am reading my views correctly I am have about 3 silent readers as well.  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Seriously, it was getting a little awkward writing to myself. :-)

ANYWHO.....It has been a tough weekend...

On Friday I took DD2 our for hot chocolate (used gift card) and let her know what was going on.  There are so many unknowns on what will happen with her placement but I didn't want her blindsided.  It was tough as we had to talk about her parents incarceration, the existence of family members, and the potential of moving from our home.  She was more interested in her hot chocolate and cookie than the conversation and took the news fairly well.  She has been a little clingy all weekend, but other than that she is her normal cheerful self. 

I had a grocery store FAIL on Saturday.  I am a crazy insane grocery list maker.  This is the excel spread sheet I use to plan my trips:

I write the totals in while I shop and it gives me an idea if we can afford extras such as special treats or stocking up on sales items. When I check out I am usually within 2 dollars of my estimate grocery bill.

So here is how I messed up. At the bottom of this list it auto totals. I first make a list of all meals I am going to make and add all the ingredients to make these meals.  Once that is finished, I add the bare minimums for breakfast, lunch fixings, cleaning supplies, toiletries, and household staples.  Once those are added, if the total is low I add little extras. If I am to high I find cheaper meal solutions or cut down on household snacks.

When I completed my list, the total was just below $100.00 which is what I needed.  Imagine my surprise when my total was $133.32 dollars!!! I took my receipt and spent 20 minutes in the car trying to figure what I over spent on. Then I realized my formula to auto total was messed up.  When I fixed the formula is was at 134.00. So my list still works as long as the operator doesn't mess it up.

More stories to tell, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.  Goodnight my lovely 2-5 readers.

Forecasting Queen

 I love to forecast my budget.  It gives me the opportunity to know exactly how much we can accomplish if we stick to our current budget.  

Today I decided to forecast when we could foreseeably pay off all of our debt. Taking into consideration that we will almost definitely have to purchase a new vehicle in the next 12 months, I am guesstimating that we can be completely debt free by December of 2016.  There a many variables which can change but this is based on the following factors:

-          We receive no pay increases at our main jobs.

-          DW and I discussed me quitting one of my side jobs in October which is an income loss of $590.00 a month. (This extra job is causing a ton of stress)

-          We do not move. (we are debating either moving into my MIL’s house or finding another rental)

-          Our new car costs no more than $15,000.00

-          We have to dip into our emergency fund no more than $1,500.00

Things that may delay or move up this date:

-          Possibility of having to replace two cars in the next 21 months

-          We end up moving (moving costs between $2,000 - $6,000 dollars)

o   If conditions are right it would be better for our family over all to move into my MIL’s house

o   If the housing market gets better, our landlord may choose to sell the house and we will be forced to move (this has happened to us before)

-          Major emergencies occur

-          Family Vacation (we have been pushing back our family vacation for years and I am not sure if I can convince DW to hold back one more year)

-          We get nice raises

-          I continue with side job

-          We win the lottery

Even if several of the negative events occur, I could still see us debt free by December 2017. 

Since I am in a forecasting mood, here are the items I plan on saving for when we are debt free:

-          Save more for retirement.

-          Save to pay cash for next car

-          Save for down payment on house

o   If we move into MIL’s house save for repairs and remodels

-          Save for vacations

o   I am a first generation American on my mother’s side and all of my extended family is in France.  My dream has been to take my kids over to visit them instead of them always having to come visit us.

o   I also would like to be able to take my kids on vacation once a year.  Have them experience all the world has to offer them.

What do you want to save for when you are debt free?



Letting a Child Go and Financial News.

While at it has been hinted at for a few weeks, reality is hitting me that DD2 might be leaving us soon.  It breaks my heart as I have grown very attached to this little girl over the past 5 months.  She has gone thru so much and it has been a honor and joy to see her opening up and becoming a part of our family. 

The earliest she would leave would be March 31^st.  The best case scenario is they will allow her to finish out the school year. In reality I feel like it will be sometime in April.  This will be a HUGE transition for her and, while not part of my job description as a foster parent, I am going to be the one to break the news to her. 

They did not address in any of our trainings how to prepare a 6 year old girl mentally and emotionally for a move to another state with family she has never met and never knew existed.  How am I going to do this!?!?!?

Onto financial news:

 I contacted the IRS this week about our 2013 tax return.  We faxed the paperwork on 01/17/2015 but for some reason it doesn’t show received in their system until 03/02/2015. WTH!!  There is apparently a 12 week turn around on these (from the 3/2 date of course) so we are looking at end of May beginning of June.  I am getting really frustrated. 

For S&G I checked the ‘Where’s my refund’ website.  I wasn’t surprised when they said they didn’t have my refund information yet, but WAS surprised that they changed the wait time. It used to be that you waited 3 weeks for your paper refund to update in the system and then another 3 weeks (barring issues) until you get your refund. Now they are quoting 4 weeks for each.  SERIOUSLY!!! Luckily next year, since I don’t plan to adopt this year, I should be able to E-File. 

The original numbers we got from the daycare provider were different from the written contract she gave us so we will be saving even less than I had expected.  DW and I decided just to pay for daycare on holidays and summer and have her come straight home after Kindergarten.  It makes life more complicated but saves us $355.00 a month that we could really use.

I received approval to start working from home. This could start as early as mid-April.  Very excited as this will help lessen the number of hours I lose each week.  Including the subsidy for internet, I will be bringing home $140.00 or more a month.   

No word on the subsidy increase.  I am expecting to get more information next week. 



Updates

Good news on the subsidy front.  DW was able to connect with the rate assessor and he was surprised the increase was denied.  With the help of DS2’s social worker we were able to provide him more data and he is resubmitted for reprocessing.  We should find out by next week if it was approved.

After a 2.5 hour meeting with the school district yesterday, we all agreed to move DS2 to a school that is part of a mental health hospital.  During his last move I was pretty hands off but still missed a lot of work. This time I want to get it done right, so I will be a lot more involved in the transition process.  Financially this will hurt but it is what is best for DS2.

I have a meeting with my supervisor tomorrow and we will talk about me transitioning to become a telecommuter. This would be so good for us financially.  I miss a lot of work because I have to leave to deal with kid behaviors issues, appointments or visits.  Since I usually have kids with me afterwards I can’t head back to work.  As a telecommuter, I can get stuff set-up to amuse the kids downstairs while I work from the second floor. This should hopefully cut my missed hours in half.

DW had a discussion with our daycare provider about DD3 transitioning to all day kindergarten in September. Our rate will drop by $160.00 a month. I was hoping for more, but I know the provider is giving us a great deal already.  The head daycare assistant did tell DW that she was thinking about starting her own daycare soon and would charge us less.  That would be amazing!!

Roommate is thinking about selling her car and it currently bluebooks around $600.00.  We are thinking about buying it for DD1 as am early birthday/Christmas/family day present.  Since we already have an agreement to match what she saves for a car (up to $1500.00). We would only be coughing up $300.00 more than if DD1 bought it on her own. $300.00 is about what we spend on the holiday. We just need to find the money earlier than we had budgeted.  This REALLY only works if we get our tax return in a timely manner. 

So that is what is new at the House of Sense.