I need to update my side bars... I found out that I owe $4100 on Car 2... I went into detail about it before... my brother purchased the car for his then girlfriend - unloaded her and then needed to unload the car, so I stepped in. We've been paying on it for 4 years and we can finally see the light! =) I am thinking of putting an extra $400 towards it for the next few months to see if we can just get it paid. Then I have to deal with getting it transferred into my name.

The tags are due this month, but I just realized that I have to get an emissions test done, so $157 set aside for tags and the test.

I was able to put $700 towards debt today! And another $600 to savings.

We've also had some expenses come up... Two dogs bites and, subsequently, two ER trips. Same dog, one victim was the husband and the other was my 9 year old. Exactly a week a part. My husband required plastic surgery, but my son did not. The hospital bills so far are $1200 (that's just the ER visit portion)... waiting to get bills from doctors and then for my husband's three day stay. The husband and kiddo are doing well, considering.

Sadly, we had to turn our pup in (another fee)... We just can't take any more chances. I don't feel like he is aggressive...But I do think he was trying to show his dominance. Animal Control was certain a rescue would come take him since he's only 2 and not yet neutered (may be part of the reason for his actions)... He may still have a chance. We've had the guy since he was just 8 weeks old and loved him MUCHO. So sad. We all have heavy hearts. And our other dog is missing him.

I have big plans for the weekend! We are going tennis shoe shopping and I may try to find some side chairs for my living room. 

I love being under the $200K mark on our mortgage. I cannot believe we've lived in our house for FIVE years already. Still love it as much as the day we got it; some days I can't believe we are homeowners. It took us so long to get here...

Anyway, here is a quick look at what I paid today.
My HOA dues is only $130 a month, but I pay a little extra because it's on auto-pay, and if the dues ever goes up, I don't have to adjust my auto-pay. It was only $117 when we moved in (brand new development) and with every new house that goes up, we see an increase. I am thinking someone needs to take a math class. lol...

Mortgage $1,504.00
HOA $150.00
Savings1 $125.00
Savings2 $25.00
Savings3 $25.00
Safe $100.00

Savings 1 is our Emergency Fund - the balance should be about $700 right now (it was zero as of 9/1).
Savings 2 is my Wells Fargo savings account, which is connected to my mortgage. I am looking to save 3 house payments in that account and keep it there "just in case." I think I have $100 in there - ways to go. lol
Savings 3 is my USAA account; we don't use it for every day, but it's nice to have that money in there. It builds slowly, at $25 twice a month, but - hey, it builds. (I just found out my husband has his Starbucks account linked to this account - no wonder it's not climbing very fast. Going to nip that in the bud!!)
Safe Funds is just cash in the safe...

This last paycheck of the month isn't a real 'get at those bills' paycheck. But the awesome news is that the husband gets paid on Friday, so I will be able to get my bill payin' self going in just two days!

I like that we had two paydays this week.
We've stayed on budget, ate in, and spent zero dollars!

Today I paid:

Mazda $322.00
Escrow $205.00
Internet $100.00
Water $50.00
Dish $40.00
Savings $100.00
Essntls $300.00
Food $250.00
Debt $100.00

After the dental bills last week and adding in new deposits for Escrow and Essentials, we have over $1500 in savings/cash. I would say that's an awesome start... considering we had $100 on Sept. 1. If we keep going at this rate, we will be golden. Heck, I even paid some additional medical bills this week.

We went grocery shopping tonight... Me, my DH, and 2 out of 3 kids... It was chaotic, but we stayed on budget. And we bought all whole foods! Tons and tons of veggies!!

We are staying in tomorrow - I have a few DIY/decor and house stuff to finish. I've worked long hours this week, and haven't gotten around to finishing some items. I bought two new rugs from IKEA a few weeks back and they are still in their packaging. #oops

Sunday will be all about food prep and getting the kids ready for school. And laundry. How did I almost forget the darn laundry??

Also, the boyfriend and I will be jumping in the car to head to the high country (Flagstaff) on Thursday and Friday of this upcoming week! Just the two of us - to unplug and rest. Three days of hiking, eating, and resting! Can't beat that!!

Today is the second official payday for since climbing back on the wagon... these bad boys never seem to come fast enough. I want to pay all the bills.

Here is what today looks like:

Dodge.......$444.00
Geico 1.....$175.00
Geico 2.....$106.00
IRS.........$200.00
Sav 1.......$125.00
Sav 2.......$ 25.00
Sav 3.......$ 25.00
StuLoan.....$200.00
Electric....$200.00
Essentials..$400.00
Debt........$100.00

I currently pay my son's insurance payment... It's only $106 a month and he does a lot of the heavy driving for me, including waking up and taking his sister to school (no bus) each day. The moment his rates go up for any accidents or tickets, or he moves out, then he will take that bill over again.

I am paying two medical bills in full today, one for $10.55 and one for $35. I will see what else I need to take care of, I am sure there are small bills somewhere (remember, baby in March?).

DS8 did have to have a tooth extracted on Friday, so that’s $53 to the dentist and $4.10 to the pharmacy for antibiotics that came out of our medical Essentials fund.

Our Essentials this payday is $100 for groceries and then $300 to put into envelopes for things like gas, medical bills, entertainment, etc. I budget $600 a month for those things.

That reminds me, one of these days, I will post my budget... I definitely want to work on weeding out the extras (no matter how hard it will be).

The husband gets paid Friday, so I don't have long to wait to pay more bills!!