Weekly Spending is back! (4/16-4/22/12)

I love doing these posts, because they always remind me how money trickles out of our accounts. Such a good reminder. I was on my own with the kids this weekend, so we spent more than usual on eating out.

• Monday
• $7 - lunch meeting got cancelled, so I had nothing from home.
• Tuesday
• $1.99 for a snack at work. Didn't pack a big enough lunch, like a forgetful fool.
• $11,035 in taxes. Hold me!
• $2.77 - a few running things on Amazon (energy gels, body glide, etc). This was the total after using gift cards. I'm counting this as "groceries"? :-)
• Wednesday
• $32.62 at Rite Aid for various household items.
• Thursday
• No spend day. Woo hoo! :-)
• Friday
• No spend day, again! :-)
• Saturday
• $1 - parking at the park where I went for my run
• childcare during my run, on a gift card
• Smoothie/lunch after my run, on a gift card
• $155.73 - Costco for groceries
• $7 - dinner for the kids after baseball
• Sunday
• $6.75 - frozen yogurt
• -$39.39 - returned a pair of pants at The Gap
• -$37.74 - returned a few things at Aeropostale
• $27.32 - undergarments/socks for the kids
• $25.54 - stocked up on hand soap at Bath & Body Works
• $42.53 - dinner out

Total spend = $233.12, with more than half of that on groceries at Costco. (I didn't count the taxes :-)). I'll take it! :-)

How did your spending go this week?

TGIF!

Who else is insanely grateful that it's Friday? :-) Count me in! I'm flying solo with the kids until Sunday night, so we have a low-key weekend plan. The weather is supposed to be good, but it's been raining so much lately, I feel like I should start building my own ark.

My right leg has been feeling very sore & tight after a huge running week last week, so I've been taking it fairly easy. That said, my half marathon in just 3 weeks away, so I need to buckle down & finish my training. Here's what's on our agenda for the weekend:

Friday:

• Workout - 4 mile run + some cross training, with arms & stretching after.
• Make a batch of muffins & granola bars to stock the freezer
• Potentially make another freezer meal
• Inventory my freezers
• Stay on track with my eating!
• Finish my summer trip plans, complete with approximate budget
• Budget for the boys summer camps. So far, I believe this will be $3120 for the summer.
• Memorial Day trip to San Diego. We've already paid for the flight & I think one night of the hotel. I'm expecting the remaining amount to be about $1000.
• Girls trip in July (my sister & BFF - our annual trip to Las Vegas for sunshine & fun)
• Family trip to the beach in August. Shouldn't be too much since we have our own place, but always adds up quickly.
• Long weekend getaway with M? I'd love to do this, but we'll see if he can take the time off with his new job, and/or if we have someone to watch the kids.
• This isn't exactly the summer, but my sister & I are taking my mom on a trip for her 60th birthday.

Saturday:

• 8 mile run
• The boys have a baseball game, if the weather improves
• Costco to stock up on groceries
• Make at least one freezer meal
• Hit the library to return our books & find some new ones.
• Family bike ride, weather-permitting

Sunday:

• 9 mile run
• I have a few things to return at the mall
• Take the kids to the park
• Make homemade spaghetti & meatballs
• Complete any remaining freezer cooking

What about you? Any fun plans for the weekend?

Goals for the day

Lately I feel like the days are just slipping away from me. Do you ever have that feeling? Like I spin, spin, spin all day but accomplish nothing? I'm having one of those weeks.

I did actually accomplish a few things yesterday (the life insurance, ate well, & straightened out M's health insurance.)

1. Make 4 freezer meals between now & the weekend.
2. Make muffins for the freezer.
3. Make granola bars for my son's school snack.
4. Fit in my runs for the week. (M's traveling - this is made infinitely more challenging when he's out of town).
5. Figure out our savings plan (with M's new salary - where is the money going, set it up so it's automatic, etc)
6. Plan our summer trips & budget accordingly.
7. Network! I'm not sure what my career plans are, but now that M's job is locked down, I've committed to doing two hours worth of networking per week. This is not something that comes naturally to me (at all), so I need to make a conscious effort to do this.

I think that's enough for now. . . what are you up to this week? Any big goals you need to focus on?

Wow - long time/no update!

Where have I been?! Things have been absolutely crazy at our house. I've been training for a half marathon, ran a 15K, running.all.the.time. M went through a fairly arduous job search that came down to the last minute, switched jobs, has been traveling a ton, & the kids are both playing spring baseball. My schedule at work was also adjusted, I get up early to run these days, & go to bed during what used to be "computer time". Phew. I'm exhausted just thinking of all that. :-)

All of that  said, we just got back from a fabulous spring break, & I'm ready to put the pieces back together. We've been doing relatively well with our finances, & I've still been tracking - which as been tremendously helpful. Things are still up in the air with regard to M's new salary, potential insurance changes, and we're still waiting to see if he will owe a sales advance back to his previous employer. Oh, & I paid $11K+ in taxes today. Fun times. ;-)

After M's salary is finalized & we know if he owes his previous employer, we will be making budget adjustments. His new job comes with a higher salary, but part of that may be offset by an increase in health care benefits. I hate waiting to find these things out, but c'est la vie.

Here's a down & dirty list of things we need to get done in the next month or so.

1. Figure out M's salary, & adjust budget accordingly.
2. If M doesn't get life insurance through his new job (he is at orientation now), then find a private policy. We're both covered via our previous employer, but he will likely need a private policy now.
3. Continue my training runs. My first half marathon is on Mother's Day - May 13th!
4. Focus on eating well. I've been snacking much more than usual, & despite all of the running, haven't lost any weight. I need to keep the snacking more under control.
5. Firm up our summer plans/expenses. We have a few trips coming up (M & I are taking a quick weekend visit to San Diego in May to visit friends, I have a girls trip to Las Vegas in July, & my sister & I are planning a 60th birthday trip for our mother).
6. Rebuild our emergency fund. With just paying the taxes, and the potential for paying back the advance, the emergency fund has taken a hit. I expect to have this back up to our comfortable amount by the end of June.
7. Plan a date night! We've both had a ton going on, & I miss our regular nights out.
8. Our long-term savings goal (outside of retirement) is now focused on a full remodel of our house. We have no idea how much this will cost, but are considering hiring an architect to draft plans for us. The first phase will be saving for the architect.
9. Get back to regular menu planning. I've been winging it a bit more than I'm comfortable with, & need to get the freezer restocked.
10. Blog regularly! I miss the accountability & reading all of your blogs for inspiration.

How are all of you? Is everyone still on track with their 2012 goals? Was today (tax day - in the US, anyway) a happy day, or more of a bummer? ;-)