Budgetary Concerns

I'm frustrated, because it seems like we can never get a break financially. After a summer of scrimping, I was hoping we could have a little retail therapy, now that we have money. I want more yarn, especially so I can start on Christmas gifts. We kind of need a laptop, so I can do schoolwork more easily, and so Sam and I don't have to fight over the computer so much. I need new glasses, since I've had these for years and years, and I could really use a haircut. After going through our budget, though, all of those things will have to be second fiddle.

We do have extra money in the budget, which we planned on using to save a little here, and spend a little there. But with Powder's ambiguous health issues, it will give us a lot of peace of mind to have a good chunk of money set aside for any potential vet bills that may come our way. It's unfortunate that we can't use that money on other things, but a vet fund is something I really wanted for her anyway, even if she didn't have these potentially huge problems. I feel like we couldn't do any less for her, if we are to be responsible pet owners, especially on a fixed income. I'm hopeful that we won't have to use much of it over the next couple months. Right now, she's happy and energetic and just a joy.

We're hopeful that over the next couple months, we'll be able to spend less than what we've budgeted, so that even though we can't spend some money on fun things right away, we might have a little extra to spend next month or the month after. Things will be tricky once school starts up again, since I have 2 late classes that will have me home at around 8pm. I'll have to rearrange cooking dinner to cooking lunch on certain days, but it's absolutely necessary that we eat in as often as possible. It's really easy to get into the habit of eating out all the time, and eating at home saves us both money and gas. I'm trying to gather some simple, filling, and somewhat healthy recipes so cooking won't be such a chore when I'm back in school.

While I feel the budget for now is under control, I worry a little about when school ends. I'll have to find a job right away, and maybe work a little part-time next quarter. I also need to encourage Sam to take some tests to hopefully get a government job, so he can finally get some good work experience and we can have more funds at our disposal when summer rolls around again. I know summer is a long way away, but it's easy to put off essential things to the point where it causes you problems later down the line.

I really hope that we can stick to our budget this quarter, and even do better that what we've outlined for ourselves. Then we could actually treat ourselves for all our hard work. Won't that be nice?