I've allocated the $1303 tax return as follows:
$125 - new desk chair
$300 - extra payment to Mom on car loan
$30 - new pillowcases (I still can't believe they cost that much!)
$700 - savings
$128 - DD's tennis costs. $60 school fee and estimated $68 for team t-shirts and sweatshirt
$20 - new pair of jeans for me for work. Hopefully I can find a pair at Ross for this amount or less.
My savings is sitting at $1550 right now. Of course I wish it were much higher, but it's going to have to be a gradual increase, as usual. February, with the very short paydays and 3 car tabs due, just didn't allow for anything extra to be put in savings out of my regular paychecks. By the end of this month, my goal is to have it at $2000. If nothing else major comes up, it should be do-able.
The weather is warming up and the grass is starting to grow again. It's getting close to where DH can start mowing it again. Soon, I hope. It will get him out of the house and sitting on the riding mower for an hour or two relaxes him. This isn't even our lawn mower! We had a Sears riding mower for over 15 years and it finally died. DH has a good friend who had moved (due to divorce) into a smaller home with a small yard and didn't need his riding mower, but wanted to keep it. He didn't really have the space to store it so he brought it over for us to use and store. Gosh, that had to be 5 years ago - LOL. He knows DH will maintain it and take care of it and when he gets it out to start using it again, DH starts to feel guilty that we are still using his mower, but friend just laughs and says I know where it is if I need it!
Did you try a Marshall's or TJMaxx for pillow cases? That IS high for them! I love finding bedding at these 2 places - my favorites for home stuff! As for jeans for you - if you know the label and size you like - you really should try thrift or consignment - I cannot tell you the great things I find there....it's amazing to me! I love Eddie Bauer/J.Crew/Land's End/Levi's jeans - and I find them regularly for $5 or less! Some are like new - others have been "broken in" perfectly! I just take them home, throw them in hot water with a capful of Tide and turn the washing machine on! My husband says my thrift finds are my "cheap thrills!" What can I say........I don't have to shop this way, but I love to! :-)
ReplyDeleteWell, I wanted the pillow cases to match the same color (brown) of the sheet set I had bought at Target. It came with King Size, but I wanted some standard size, too.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to look at CraigsList or local garage sales for an office chair...$125 is a lot of money--nearly 10% of what you currently have in savings right now. I second Susie Q's suggestion on the jeans alternative. Good for you for making an extra payment to your mother!
ReplyDeleteHi Anon- DH did look at Craigslist for quite some time for a nice used chair. The only one he found was sold right away. I ended up buying a chair that was on sale for $99, plus I purchased Staples Furniture protection plan for $15, so according to the salesperson and the paperwork that came with it I will be able to replace the chair within 3 years at no charge. Sounds like a win-win to me!
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