Compromise

I finished a second Christmas present:



This is a tam for my niece. It's a little more purple than the picture shows. It was a short knit...I cast on last night and finished a little while ago. It got a brief bath and now is blocking on a plate. I don't want to stretch it out much so I'm hoping the ribbing isn't stretched out of shape.

Now, hopefully, I can knit for myself for a while without guilt.

Living within my means

The prospect of moving which would require much more money in rent has caused me to evaluate my spending. I'll admit to being a little careless this month because it's my birth month and I wanted a little prezzie. I bought 3 books from amazon and a kindle case that I'm going to return because it doesn't fit my kindle. I also bought some yarn and a couple of notions from knitpicks...probably amounting to about $145 between the two orders. I've eaten a couple of meals out but that will have to stop as will any other "prezzie" buying.

My rent is currently $500 and I pay my parents another $400 on a debt I owe them. I paid extra on my credit cards- paid off one and put $100 on the other so that next month there will only be a little over $30 to pay off- which will be good because I'll have this month's medical bills to pay then.

I also had to get my prescriptions- which for three months for three meds is only $25. Thank goodness for insurance!!

My cable internet bill was only $9.02 this month because bad wiring in the complex meant I was out of service more than not in the last month. They have it fixed now but they were gracious enough to credit my account.

The cell phone bill was a little over $85 for both phones. I paid that and will be reimbursed for Robert and Carrie's portion.

I just got back from the grocery store. I bought cat litter and cat food for the month $65.95 and then spent $69.69 on a few groceries and household essentials. (deodorant, soap, ziplock bags, garbage bags etc) I'll have to buy my soy milk weekly and any other perishables that don't last from week to week.

My plan for meals, since I've given up on the whole planning thing with Robert and Carrie, is to make one crockpot meal on Sunday night for lunches and another crockpot meal later in the week for dinners. I have the leftover meat pie from Egils as my lunches this week and I will make a pot of baked beans for my dinners. I bought some potatoes so if I get tired of either I can have a baked potato. Doesn't that sound depressingly boring? Oh well, I can and will eat those things.

Since my bank account will have $178.10 after all the bills clear, and I still have to buy gas once a week, at least, at $50/tank, eating frugally will be important. Somehow I'll have to make it work.