I need to get a birthday gift for a friend of DD's - party is Saturday. We're also going to a going away dinner tomorrow night for a friend and her daughter. It's at a restaurant, and we're paying for our own meals, so I don't think a gift is expected in addition to that. I could be wrong, but I think a couple of nice cards will suffice. Actually, I think I'll have DD make a card for the daughter, and I'll buy one for the mother.

I talked myself out of going out for coffee this morning, so that's a bit of savings for the day.

Neither DH nor I has to be anywhere tonight, so aside from work that needs to be done in the freelance department, we'll all be home together this evening. Don't know yet what we'll do for dinner, but our pantry, frig and freezer are all far from bare, so we'll get something figured out.

Today I wore one of the bracelets that I made and received a compliment on it. It was from a friend, so I didn't try to sell it to her.

7/1 - 7/27:
Groceries: $226.49
Dining: $147.31
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $395.10 (about $14.63/day)

I was just taking a look at how many points DH and I have accrued on our reward card. We have enough to buy one airline ticket within our zone, almost enough to buy one ticket anywhere in the 48 contiguous states, and over half the amount needed for a ticket to Hawaii! The first points earned are good through 12/31/08, so we have time to accrue some more and then have some fun with them. It will feel so good to take a vacation and know that we got some of it for free. We would never do this if we didn't already pay off the cc each month, but since we do, it seemed like a good idea.

I listed a new

Bought DD a new Hello Kitty backpack and a pair of shoes today, to the tune of about $32. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I passed up a top for myself, thinking about needs and not wants.

Dinner tonight will be just me and DD, as DH is going out to dinner with a group of childhood friends. I don't know what we'll have for dinner, but it'll be something here at home.

I also picked up a bottle of melatonin, as a friend who also gets migraines swears by it. Says she hasn't had one in the three months she's been taking it. I looked it up for possible interactions with what I already take, and everything looks OK. I bought a bottle that will last me two months. That ought to be enough time to get a sense of whether or not it is going to help.

This month's credit card cycle ends today and the total is a good one. We had those big prescriptions go on it, but much of that gets reimbursed, so the net out of pocket isn't so bad.

7/1 - 7/25:
Groceries: $226.49
Dining: $129.21
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $377.00 (about $15.08/day)

I'm going to take DD to a nearby ocean museum/center today. We have a membership, so unless I have to pay for parking somewhere, the cost to us to day is nothing. (Well, it'll use some gas to get there, but that's already been paid for.) I'll bring along water and some sandwiches or snacks.

Other than, DD has dance later this afternoon, and we'll have dinner at home. Pretty mellow day.

--later--

Broke down and bought DD and I some ice cream while we were out.

Spent $3.26 mailing books to a couple of people. But the big spend for the day - $353.80 on prescriptions. $80 of that covers three months worth of two different prescriptions. Of the other $273.80, I should get back all but $40 (and they will hopefully last me at least two months - they're for meds I use as needed for my migraines). So it's money spent today, but ultimately I'm only out $120 altogether.

I also set up my ING account to pull over some money each month from my checking account. It's not much, but I figured if I took a small amount (a) I wouldn't even notice it being gone from my checking account, and (b) earning interest on even a small amount is better than earning no interest on it while it sits in checking. I figure I can use the money I accrue in the ING account for Christmas gifts.

I didn't go to the bead store yesterday...but I did go to the yarn store. I picked up a skein of super soft pink yarn for leg warmers for DD and started knitting them up last night. Hopefully I will do a good job on them. For something so seemingly simple, I know I can manage to mess them up.

I didn't work on my skirt at all yesterday, aside from getting it all cut out. Maybe I'll work on it some today.

I was looking over my credit card statement and saw that DH and I have already had 8 no spend days for July. Given that we use it for the vast majority of our spending, that's a good sign.

This month has been the best month so far for sales in my store. Things had really been slowing down during the spring, so July has been a welcome change. I've been running some targeted Adwords ads, and I think that is helping.

Not much else to say. Dealing with a brewing headache this morning.

7/1 - 7/20:
Groceries: $226.49 (inlcudes household stuff too if I get it at the grocery store)
Dining: $72.03
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $319.82 (about $15.99/day)

--later--

I got much of that skirt done today. I need to tack down the facing, sew on a hook and eye, and put in a hem and it will be done. The zipper looks decent - not perfect, but better than the last one I tried to put in.

I'm about halfway done with one of the leg warmers. It looks like I'll need to buy another skein of yarn but will have some leftover (probably). I love this yarn - it's

I ended up spending some money last night after all. I subscribed last night to 6 months worth of vegetarian menus from savingdinner.com. It cost me about $13.50, but if the vegetarian meals are good and the planning is already done, it will be worth every penny. I subscribed once before to the regular menus, but trying to adjust everything to vegetarian wasn't working out as well as I hoped. Some recipes adapt well; others just aren't designed to be meatless or cooked with some sort of meat substitute.

No big plans today. I'll probably go price head pins at the bead store while DD is at ballet. I can't remember what silver head pins cost, but they look so much nicer.

I started cutting out a skirt for myself out of some fabric that I have had for almost two years now. It's a faux ultrasuede in chocolate brown. I have some in a light tan color as well. It's gorgeous fabric and feels nice - it's high time I did something with it instead of letting it just sit on a shelf in my sewing room. Hurts my hand to cut the fabric, however. And I'm still not very proficient at putting in zippers. I dread it every time I have to do it.

DD and I are listening to the Swan Lake CD right now. Between watching it on video at least five times and listening to the CD too many times to count, she is humming along with the music while she works on a puzzle on the floor next to me. Won't be long before the Nutcracker looms on our horizon once again, and this year I believe she'll get to dance in it in some small way. I could be wrong about that, but I think the level she is in participates in the performance. We'll find out, I guess.

No spending today. Our current credit card cycle ends in about a week, and if we can really mind our spending between now and then, we'll have done well for the past cycle. Barring unforeseen expenses, we should be able to do just that.

I had some time today to myself while DD was at a friend's house. I considered going to the bead store for some head pins to rework a bracelet I made about a year ago. I was looking at it yesterday and realized that my skills have improved and that I could do a much better job with it. Instead, however, I came home and got some things done around here that needed to be done.

7/1 - 7/18:
Groceries: $184.44
Dining: $72.03
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $277.77 (about $15.43/day)

A nice dinner out the other night and a $100+ trip to Trader Joe's today brings my food spending totals up quite a bit.

7/1 - 7/17:
Groceries: $184.44
Dining: $72.03
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $277.77 (about $16.34/day)

Still working out my book review idea, trying to think about how I want to structure it and what kind of budget I have for it. I know what kind of budget I have for it - not much at all. Sigh.

All this talk about AdSense has been bringing me down. I can't believe there are new'ish blogs and sites bringing in $3-$4 a day and more. It depresses me. I need to adjust my attitude.

I'm contemplating a way to pay people for their book reviews and/or share in the profits that come from amazon sales for books they review. At this point, I don't have it figured out (I was thinking about it around midnight last night, trying to fall asleep). If anyone here likes to write, has a good command of the English language (though I would be available for editing as needed) and would like to be kept informed of this if/when I develop my plan, email me: jen(at)divatribe.com

In other news, I added a Google search to DivaTribe's homepage. We'll see if it brings in any extra revenue.

DH landed that new job, and the client asked to be invoiced for the first $1500. Two more small jobs have come our way in the past day or two as well - couple hundred dollars each. We will be BUSY, but the universe has heard our call for ways to earn back our savings. My online tutoring client has used 25 of his 60 minutes. It's been intersting working with him, and his communication has been great, which makes the whole process of tutoring at a distance that much easier.

I spent $12.60 at Starbucks today - $2.60 on a latte and $10 to load up my debit card there.

I made coffee cake yesterday, with help from DD, and it turned out great. Easy to make, and tasty too. We had scrambled eggs for dinner, just as an excuse to have some of the coffee cake.

7/1 - 7/15:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $23.27
Starbucks: $21.30

Total: $125.59 (about $8.37/day)

Dh didn't tutor last night, but he did submit a statement of work to a potential new client this morning. It looks like a $2500-$3000 job, so it would be great if he lands it. That's more than half the tuition we paid right there.

I continue to work on necklace #2 for the $20/$5000 challenge. I hope I can sell them. They're fun to work on.

...later...
I bought printer ink online, trying to save money, and it didn't work. I mailed it back today for a refund. What a hassle.

We went out to dinner last night, so I'm updating yesterday's food totals.

7/1 - 7/13:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $23.27
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $112.99 (about $8.69/day)

So far today has been a day of only planned spending - paid the bottled water bill and sent a gift to my cousin who recently graduated from high school. I got a new advertiser at DivaTribe today, and DH is tutoring tonight, so we've had some money coming in today as well.


7/1 - 7/13:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $89.72 (about $6.90/day)

Dh and I both have quite a few inquiries lately that have or may lead to extra income. It's funny - we pay for DD's tuition and wonder about ways to build those savings back up, and business starts to increase. I had my first person ever pay for a half hour of distance tutoring. I've been helping someone in Illinois this morning do inductive proofs. Fun And I get paid for it. I've had two or three advertising inquiries over the past few days for DivaTribe, and several new designers to add to the store, plus new items from current designers. I am feeling optimisitc today about our finances and our ability - with many hours of working overtime - to earn back the money we spent for tuition.

Make that an hour of tutoring - I got another PayPal payment while I was gone. And I get to exercise my brain a little bit in the process, which makes me happy.


7/1 - 7/12:
Groceries: $81.02
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $89.72 (about $7.68/day)

Yesterday we bought new glasses for DH, so we have another receipt to turn in for medical reimbursement. I have a couple of copays to go with it, and another one coming up this week. After that, I'll gather them together for DH to take to work.

I need to go to the grocery store, and also to the library. I'm going to aim to keep the grocery bill down to $85 or less. Tomorrow, Wednesday and Friday are going to be fairly busy days, so today is the day to take care of these kinds of tasks.

Sales in the store have been pretty good the past couple of weeks. It's not paying the mortgage yet though. It would be nice to have DivaTribe bring in enough money to pay for its costs, pay for its own promotions/ads and still leave enough for a draw for me. Someday, someday....

later...

Didn't get to the grocery store or the library today. Oh well. I also didn't spend any money, and I finished a necklace as part of my $20/$5000 challenge plan.


7/1 - 7/11:
Groceries: $44.18
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70

Total: $52.88 (about $4.80/day)

We're going to a potluck this evening, and I have a peach cobbler in the oven. My mom brought me a big bag of fresh peaches she picked herself, so I figured that would be a good use of them. Of course, it hardly made a dent in the bag, but that's OK. I hope the cobbler is good. It's nice to go out without having to spend money to do so.

Thought maybe I had more to say, but I guess I don't. If anyone has any good peach recipes to share, I'd love to hear them.


7/1 - 7/9:
Groceries: $44.18
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70 (including treating a friend today)

Total: $52.88 (about $5.88/day)

I got a latte, a kid's cocoa for DD, two rice krispy treats and an iced latte for a friend today at Starbucks. $8.70 right there. I know their treats are waaaaayyyyyyyyyy overpriced and yet I still buy them sometimes. I do much better when I make treats at home - they don't look nearly as appealing when we're out if we've already had some at home, or if I know we have some waiting for us.

We had dinner with some friends this evening and contributed bread and a salad to the meal. It was a good evening, though both of our kids stayed up a little too late. They had a good time together, and we adults enjoyed the chance to talk and linger over dinner and dessert.

My parents will be here tomorrow and I have nothing planned as far as dinner goes. I'll be going to the store again - I was just there this evening, picking up salad fixings and bread for tonight's dinner. Actually, I need to plan something for them for Saturday night and something for DH and I to take to a potluck coed baby shower we're going to. I think I'll use time tomorrow morning while DD is in her drawing class to make a list and do some planning. Either that, or use the time to go walking and make the list in my head (and write it down afterwards). I haven't done any exercise other than yoga in way too long.

7/1 - 7/7:
Groceries: $44.18
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $8.70 (including treating a friend today)

Total: $52.88 (about $7.56/day)

I am so tired tonight. I've been staying up way too late for too many nights in a row. Despite being really tired and wanting to order a pizza, I made a pizza at home instead. So yea for me. It helped that I had pre-made dough and all the fixings on hand - it really is a pretty simple meal to prepare.

We have a big change in our budget, in that we signed on the dotted line and enrolled DD in the private school. We paid the year's tuition already to avoid finance charges, so now we need to work into our budget a way to refill those coffers. That is going to have to come from both increased frugality and increased income, as we don't have that kind of money to cut from our spending month in and month out. We'll figure it out. I have mixed feelings about the coming year but am hoping that whatever is meant to be will be.

Edited to add a couple of goals I wrote out in the beginning of the year, and commentary (inspired by kashi!)...

One of my goals for the new year is to limit my trips to starbucks to no more than twice a week.
This is going pretty well, although I haven't been tracking my visits. Still, I think on average I'd say I'm meeting the twice a week goal.

I've decided to give Quicken a try this year.
This is going fine - I have been keeping up with it and am learning more about the ins and outs of the program.


Food totals 7/1 - 7/6:
Groceries: $35.91
Dining: $0
Starbucks: $0

Total: $35.91 (about $5.99/day)

More sewing - I cut out a messenger bag to sew up for myself. I got the fabric on sale for $2 a yard, and it is gorgeous. Hopefully I'll find some time to work on that today. It's all cut out, and cutting pieces out is one of my least favorite parts of the sewing process.

I need to get to the grocery store, as we are running low on dinner choices. We have breakfast and lunch covered (with the exception of fresh fruit - could use more of that too).

I need to check and see if our library books are due today or next week. I am pretty sure they're due next week, but I'll double-check, just in case.

Watching the fireworks last night was fun. We met up with some friends and watched from a hilltop parking lot. The kids had a great time, though they all seemed pretty tired as we were getting into our cars to head home. DD went to bed a good hour later than usual.

--later--

After messing up the bag the first time through, I got it finished earlier this afternoon. Luckily I had enough extra fabric to cut out two new pieces and compensate for my error. It turned out OK. I'm not as thrilled with it as I'd hoped to be, but it will be a good bag for hauling more than a little purse can hold. I may use it the next time we go somewhere like Disneyland, or when I know I'll be away from the house all day and want to bring along some extra things like sunscreen, wipes, etc.

I like parts of the pattern and learned a couple of new sewing tricks, which is always nice.

I've been using up remnants of fabric sewing Barbie clothes for DD this weekend. I've made two dresses, two tops, a skirt and a pair of pants so far, with another pair pf pants, a jacket, a skirt and another top to go that are already cut out. Sewing those little arm and neck holes is a pain, and I'm sick of sewing on tiny snaps. But DD loves them, and it's a creative outlet for me. I find that I need that sort of outlet when I'm bothered about something. It gives my mind a chance to wander while the rest of me creates something tangible. I made DD a skirt earlier this weekend, too.

Dinner on Saturday night was excellent, and very reasonably priced. We went to a restaurant that serves South American food, and we were happy with the experience. DH had been there before, only in the old location. I've never been. We had a nice table right by the window, so we could people watch while we ate. I took a draw from DivaTribe and let the biz pay for dinner.

I think we'll be going out to watch fireworks tonight. DD really wants to. It's been so cloudy for a week now - I don't know what kind of visibility we'll have this evening.

DD got moved up to ballet lessons twice a week, and I've got her in swim lessons twice a week as well for the month of July.

Groceries: $369.35
Dining: $55.58
Starbucks: $35.55

Total: $460.48

That is pretty good, compared to other months (I think). I'll have to go back and take a look. The analytical side of me can't wait to create all sorts of custom reports and graphs in Quicken to compare spending throughout the year. But I only have 6 months worth of data right now, so I'm holding off on that little project.

Edited to add other totals:

Jan = $486.55 (326 + 131 + 29.55)
Feb = $495.51 (351.33 + 100.28 + 43.90)
Mar = $713.33 (415.81 + 292.02 + 5.50)
Apr = $516.21 (310.72 + 151.05 + 54.44)
May = $493.98 (277.11 + 182.32 + 34.55)

I did something different in June - I went to the grocery store more often, as opposed to less often, and I think it helped. Isn't that funny? I think the advice is to limit your trips, but for us, it meant choosing more fresh food that suited our mood that evening, thereby reducing our meals out. We also got taken out to dinner once by my parents, so we had a couple of nice meals out but only paid for one of them. Our anniversary celebration got postponed, so that will show up in July's totals.

The contract arrived for DD's new school, so I'll be writing a hefty check today. They have payment plans, but those have fees associated with them, so we're going to pay all at once and then work to rebuild that account. The interest we would have earned in now way would exceed the fees we'd have to pay. Even just breaking the payment up into two payments would cost an extra $100, IIRC.

I have a lunch meeting today, and happily people agreed to brown bag it. I really didn't want to go out if we could just bring our own lunches.

I also have a potential tutoring student. I'll be directing her studies in Algebra II over the summer, and it looks like we'll meet once or twice a week. From her mother's description of her work habits and level of self-startingness, I'm going to suggest we start out at twice a week and go from there. I'm trying to figure out how to deal with prep time. I will be putting in some time behind the scenes with planning (and possibly correcting work), but I don't know how much yet.

I was just thinking about appointments that need to be made - dog and one of the cats to the vet, plus DD to the doctor for a well child check-up. I have my annual exam in a couple of weeks. I need to make some phone calls today and get those scheduled.

I need to stop by the post office today and mail another book. Things have been going pretty well at half.com the past month or so. I've made about $50, give or take, and my bag of books is about half full now. I hope the rest of them sell sooner than later.

I think DH and I are going to start tackling the kitchen floor this weekend. Hopefully the original subfloor is in good shape so that we can plan on refinishing it instead of having to put down some sort of brand new flooring.

We've been doing well at eating dinner at home this week. It truly does help to buy a nice variety of food and make a quick list of possible meals so that I don't have to think about it all so much on any given night.

Things have been rather status quo around here. DH and I were supposed to go out for dinner and to see ap lay on Saturday, but I had a bad migraine, so we had to postpone those plans. we're going to try again this weekend. I was looking forward to it.

Food spending has been pretty good this month. I'll look at totals once July gets here, but so far I think we've been doing a good job of keeping the dining total low and the grocery total at an acceptable level.

Dh got paid somewhat unexpextedly for some work he did for a friend a while ago, and a sizeable amount of money at that (though it still doesn't cover his hourly rate for all of the hours he put into the project). It was a nice check to get in the mail, and it is on its way to our savings account. His regular tutoring clients are back in town now, and tutoring will start up again with them next month. It's a bummer to have him gone an evening a week after a rushed dinner, but it's not forever, and it is easy money that helps keep our reserves up.

I have no tutoring right now. I think it may be the first summer that goes by in a while that I haven't taken on a student. A friend of mine in an affluent area is making $60/hour for her writing workshop/tutoring. That is apparently the going rate there. Pretty incredible. I will probably raise my rates this fall, particularly if I start tutoring more of the college students.

A spendy day...not too bad, but it felt like we were buying things right and left today.

It started out on a good note - exchanged a book (gift for DD) for four Magic Treehouse books, and it only cost one cent. Very cool Next we went across the street to the bank and deposited change into DD's savings account - put $23.50 in and brought her total up over $300. This account is the account we set up for her that is at a local bank, so that she can physically deposit money into her acount and get the thrill of seeing her account grow. That's the idea, anyway. (Worked for me.)

Next was lunch with DH - $15. After that was a gift for DH for our anniversary ($80+), and a birthday gift for one of DD's friends ($30+). Then it was a stop at the fabric store for a skirt pattern, $2 for two ice cream cones, $16 at the grocery store, $4 at the 99 cent store, and finally home. The finale - $50+ on printer ink online this evening.

Phew.

I've had some sort of sinus cold for days now. It isn't getting worse, but it isn't getting better either. Very annoying. I've blown my nose so often that it's really starting to hurt now. I hate that.

I started knitting a sweater back in February/March, but I haven't worked on it lately due to being intimidated by it. I'm not working from a pattern but trying to replicate (somewhat) a sweater I already own. I got it out again this evening and have started working on it again. I'm not trying to make an exact duplicate of the sweater, but it's helping me with measurements and whatnot.

Food/restaurant/starbucks total hasn't changed since my last entry. However, DH and I celebrate our anniversary this month, and we usually go out for a nice dinner to celebrate, so in addition to some grocery shopping that needs to be done, there will be that expense. Since it's for our anniversary, though, I don't feel bad about it at all.

The one gallon of paint may be enough for our cabinets, but I'll need to go more so that we can paint the walls. Not sure if we'll do the same color or something that's different but coordinates. We need to look into concrete counters and price those options.

My yoga class starts up again this evening, and I'm looking forward to going. I feel like my body's been run down for several weeks, and I can't help but wonder if there's any connection between that and not having gone to yoga in about the same amount of time.

DD starts swimming lessons again tomorrow. We have a $25 credit there right now, due to a scheduling foul up. I'm going to see how she does the next couple of weeks before deciding what to do next there.

Today was a good day - play date at the beach, bath for DD once we got home, and now she's playing in her little tent while I update Quicken and get my financial house in order.

As much as I didn't want to, I reheated leftovers last night for dinner. So while dinner wasn't exactly amazing, it was easy and cheap.

I was able to take a couple of things back to Lowe's today and get store credit (didn't have a receipt). With the store credit, I bought a gallon of paint for the kitchen cabinets. We may need another gallon, but we also have enough store credit to pay for it.

I'm not sure what dinner tonight will be. We're going to see one of DD's friend's dance recitals this evening, so dinner needs to be earlier than usual.

DD got bumped up to the next level at ballet, with the option of going to lessons either once or twice a week. We'll do once a week for the remainder of this session (two more classes) and then figure out what to do next. Twice a week comes out to an extra $32 every four weeks.

Today's playdate for DD was a no-go due to illness on her friend's part, so we hung out at home. I worked in the garden out front while DD played with sidewalk chalk, swept and pushed a stuffed animal around in her doll stroller. She had fun, I got some work done that was sorely overdue.

Tomorrow we're meeting some friends at the beach, and then Monday we're supposed to see the friends we were supposed to see today. All of this is free and fun, so long as we remember to pack snacks and drinks.

Stopped at the grocery store on the way home from ballet for milk. Picked up some butter too (we're out) and a couple of California Pizza Kitchen pizzas that were on sale. Easy dinner there!

$261.78 spent thus far this month on groceries, restaurants and Starbucks.

DD and I went to the zoo today (no spending there, thanks to season passes and bringing water and snacks). On the way home I was thinking about where to stop for lunch, but we ended up eating a late lunch at home and it was just as well. DH and a friend from work had lunch here today (while we were gone) and finished the leftover lasagna. I was glad to see that. Dinner will be at home, which makes today a no spend day.

DH turned in our medical receipts, to the tune of $600+. That will be a nice check to get back.

Tomorrow I have a playdate set up for DD with a friend whom we have not seen in months. I think we're going to go the beach. We have one beach with a playground, and there's a jetty we can go for a walk along as well. It's cloudy and dreary here these days, but warm enough to still make being outside fun. If we bring snacks/lunch and water, it will be a fun and free activity.

I've sold another 2-3 books in the past week, two of which went for $10 each. It's nice to clear out my shelves and get a little bit of money for it at the same time. I've got two or three bags of clothes that need to go to a thrift store. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow, while I'm out to mail the book. I think I might take DD to the zoo tomorrow. We have season passes, but it's been a few months since we've been.

Dinner tonight is premade green chile and cheese tamales, with some rice and beans. I found the tamales in the freezer - forgot I'd bought them and was pleasantly surprised to see them in there.

I splurged at Barnes and Noble yesterday - three books to read aloud with DD, plus a Usborne book comparing world religions, and a gift card for DD's ballet teacher. I think I spent about $70.

Did I mention that DD has been accepted at the private school? The contract is being sent to us this week. What a mental shift this will be for me, going from years of thinking about and planning for homeschooling, to gearing up for a school, and a private school at that. I hope it's a good thing for DD. I think that it will be (obviously, or else we wouldn't do it).