So I managed to stay within my $20 budget on Friday night at the ball game. I had to pay to park (which I forgot about) and bought the kids each an overpriced ice cream and a fried dough for me. I walked out with $3 left over...yeah me!

Saturday was another story...I did better than I usually do but not as well as I had hoped. DD and I went to Old Navy for their $1 Flip Flop sale. Although DD is only 10 she wears the same size shoe as me. We got 3 pairs to share and spent $3.21.

Saturday night was girls night at the Comedy Club. We went to dinner first and tried to use a coupon but they wouldn't accept it. Seems they are changing ownership and couldn't take the coupon unless it had the new name on it. Anyways, we drank water and and my portion of the bill was about $16. Tickets to the show were $9 and I got 2 drinks during for a total of $6. So, the night came to $31. I had budgeted $30 once I found out we were going to dinner so I did well. Still when you don't go out often, even $31 seems expensive!

Sunday I went grocery shopping to stock up on fruits and veggies. I spent $51 and that should get us through the week. I breaded about 6 chicken breast to have on hand for dinners and lunches this week. I had a delicious spinach salad with some of the chicken for lunch today...yum!

I have to pick up one of my medications today which will cost $10. That will leave me with $37.81 in my checking account until Thursday. If I transfer the $14 I had planned to transfer to my savings account I will have $23.81 to add to my Visa bill I am trying to snowball. Plus the $20 cash I have sitting on my desk at home. That's $43.81 which I think is a good first step.

I am going to try really hard this week to bring my lunch everyday and eat breakfast at home. I ate breakfast at home this morning and only spent $1.25 for coffee. Normally I send $3.51 for coffee and a muffin. One day of breaking my breakfast tradition down, lots more to go!!!

So, my challenge yesterday was to buy presents for DS's upcoming birthday parties and to get a few things at the store like milk, bread, etc. And I wanted to do all this for $40. I did better than I expected!

I started at Toys R Us and purchased 2 Transformer toys with a Buy One, Get One 50% off coupon. Total-$9.70.

I then went to Target (with both kids) and bought:
milk
bread
waffles
ant traps
2 books for DS's friends gifts
box of donuts
poster board of DD's science project
I had a $15 gift card which I had forgotton about so I only had to pay $8.41.

I took the kids to dinner at McDonalds since we were having such a busy evening and spent $11.20. I felt OK about that since I was under budget for the evening and they were hungry.

Total for the night=$29.31. I came out +10.69 and I feel pretty good about that

I had to stop at the gas station this morning or I would have ran out of gas on my way to work and spent $9.01. I am taking that out of my unexpected left over funds which I said I had $106.72 so now I have $97.71.

I spoke with DH and told him that I wanted us to eat at home before we head out to the ballgame so they kids aren't starving and we are contemplating $5 for a hotdog. He is in agreement. With my $20 allotted for tonight I plan to buy the kids one treat a piece.

Whatever I don't spend tonight I am going to put in my pile for tomorrow night. The girls are talking about dinner before the comedy club so that is going to be an extra expense. We plan to drink water and use a coupon so hopefully it won't be too bad. I might have to take an extra $10 from my checking account just to be sure I have enough to cover my share. We will see how tonight goes first and re-evaluate in the morning.

While I enjoy the thought of trying to save money and pay off this looming debt, sometimes it can be a real challenge. I am usually up for a challenge but finances are a difficult area in which to be creative.

Here is my challenge...After today I will have $186.72 in my checking account to last until next Thursday (5/28). All my payments have been made for this pay period...this is what I currently have to function with. So, with this sum I have to buy:

2 birthday presents for parties DS is going to(I received an email with coupons from Toys R Us today...buy one get one free...so I think I might check it out)

I also need to get ant traps, milk, poster board for DD science project, and something for breakfast.

I am hoping I can do all this for $40. That will leave me with $146.72.

This weekend has the potential to be expensive as well. The family is going to a local baseball game...it is a school event for DD. DH purchased the tickets through the school at a discounted rate. The challenge will be to not want to eat everything they have to eat there. I can hear my kids already, wanting everything they see. I am going to have to stuff them full at home so they aren't hungry Saturday night I may be going to a comedy club with some of my girlfriends. I rarely go out and do anything so if it happens it will be a treat. Most of my friends going are on strict budgets as well. $9 to get in, $6 drink minimum = $15 for the night.

I am setting aside $40 for both Friday and Saturday. So that brings me to $106.72. I believe we will have enough food in the house after I go shopping tonight. I would really like to transfer $14 to my savings account (hey, I gotta start somewhere) and then throw about $40 to my credit card. That will leave me with $52.72 for unexpected expenses.

I am eager to see how I do. It is a different feeling going into the weekend knowing what I can spend instead of spending whatever I want and then figuring out how to pay the bills later.