Husband got his bonus. $750 which is down from $800 last year. Bummer since the company made 20 MILLION more this year. Oh well, we are thankful for any extra money!

I sent $350 to the Roth IRA. First time I've been able to add to that in a long time. The other $400 husband wants to save for vacation. We will be going to Disney world in in the spring, and are estimating needing $1,500. I'm really hoping to get some taxes back this year and we can use part of our return for this. The rest will most likely go towards the IRAs.

Still working on paying off Christmas and other miscellaneous expenses. With the Christmas season and lots of sales, I've done really bad at splurging on multiple smaller expenses. Oh $20 here, $15 there, $20 here... It adds up!

Mortgage is down to $46,010.56! Every little bit that comes off is less we will owe when we refinance.

Remodel contract has been signed and $2,500 deposit has been paid!! This is really happening, guys!! We are expecting to start in two months, so that will give us a little time to work on saving/paying down debt.

I need to come up with $200 more to finish off the animal expenses until spring. First kids will arrive in a week. I'm so excited.

Husband should be getting his yearly bonus soon. We haven't decided what we are going to use it for yet, but most likely will put some in the IRA and the car fund. Husband's car is still chugging along right now, but we'd like to have enough money put back that he could purchase a decent car without needing to take out a loan in the future.

Had a really nice guy come out to take a look at our house Saturday. He is suppose to give us an estimate within the week. Had pretty good feelings about him. Super nice, and he is working on a friend's house with good reviews.

I also have another company coming out this evening to take a look. I couldn't get a hold of anyone all year, and suddenly they finally started agreeing to come. Both companies would not be able to start on the project until November. So that would give us some time to put things in order, figure out a budget, etc.

Trying not to get my hopes up until we get a real figure. Who knows, it might be way out of our league.

Paid a small amount on the LOC and saved for the truck. This weekend we are going to just go window shop for a washer. If we see a deal we can't pass up we will get one, otherwise we will wait a while longer.

Besides that I've been trying to get my house in order. Cleaning, organizing, etc. I am not materialistic, and I hate junk and clutter.Most of my belongings are:
1. Animal medicine/items
2. Tools
3. Paperwork for work

Of course I can't get rid of any of that, so I'm trying to find ways to make things tidier. Our tools are nice and organized thanks to the Christmas toolbox and the workbench I built. But everything else is a disaster. I am a messy worker so my beautiful desk is in a constant state a disarray. Been looking for a paper organizer for a while but I am picky and have not found one I like yet. Might have to be a new building project...

Today I managed to pay all my bills and completely pay off the balances on my credit cards. No more playing catch up! It's been months since I was able to see the entire balance at $0 and not just the statement balance.

I have an extra $26.23 left over which I sent to the LOC.

Sadly I'm having some animal issues which I expect will cost around $150 on the safe side, in the next couple weeks.

Horrible weather we are having here. Nonstop rain for days, with the entire 10 day forecast 100% rain. This stinks since I am going to a goat show this weekend, and this weather will really put my poor goaties in bad condition. They eat a lot less when it's raining. My yard is a flood. I stepped in a water filled hole up to my knee yesterday. Oh well. It's out of my control.

Now for the really bad news.

I received a bill from the hospital yesterday. 10 pages of itemized costs. It says I owe $2,000 more for my hospital stay back in early January. How is this even legal? My family already paid $2,000 and I hadn't heard anything in months so I assumed that it was the end of it. How can they just send a huge bill 8 months later!? I swear I've already paid for most of the stuff on the itemized receipt. Are they double dipping? Going to talk with them today or tomorrow and try to find out what the heck is going on. I can't afford $2,000. I HATE the entire medical system. How can they take advantage of sick dying people? They charged me $7 for one Tylenol...

Really furious and upset. This is like the 4th bill from the hospital. Why was it not all at once?

Things are a little less crazy now. The trip went well. The party is over, and shopping is done.

The hay got rained on and ruined, so I'll have to wait until the next cut to get some. Which is good for me, not so good for them.

Mortgage is down to $46,759.80!

I got all my major deadlines completed except one, which I still have about a week to do.

Lots of running around, and craziness here. Making a 15 hour trip tomorrow, some needed clothes shopping on Sunday, party Monday. Vet trips are still kicking my butt. Poor dogs were getting eaten up by flies, so I had to buy some more flea/fly medicine. It's buy 3 get 1 free, which is enough to do both dogs for two months. Which should get us through the worst of fly season... $55, ouch.

I have vet checks for the goats next week. The goat I purchased on the other side of the country, might be falling through. Transport cancelled last minute. Oh well, I'm kind of relived. I was having 2nd thoughts. So if I can't find a way to get him here I'll be okay. That $500 would cover the cost of hay. Which surprisingly got baled early and is ready to go now. Sigh. Don't have money for it at the moment. I wasn't expecting it until later this fall.

Lots of big expenses hitting all at once. I'm scrambling to cash flow everything. Vet bills, hay, chaffhaye, license renewal, party, vacation, etc. Okay so far, just need to be tight this month until life calms down again.

Sent $150 to the animal fund completing my $1,000 goal for the year! Hurray!

I will actually need to keep saving more though, because I still need to pay for testing which is around $400. Yikes. But I should be able to just cash flow it.

Got the mama cat's spay appointment set up. In July I'm making an all day trip to pick up a goat, the next day taking the cat to the vet and working, and then the next day we will leave on vacation. The day we get back from vacation bible school will start for a week. That is going to be a BUSY couple weeks.

Have several important deadlines that need to be done before July 1st and I'm feeling the crunch. To combat stress and take a step back husband and I are taking off work early today and going camping for one night. While the time would probably be wiser spent working on deadlines, I think my health and sanity need a short break. Hopefully it doesn't rain on us!

Finally got our propane budget renewal. With the new furnace this winter we used drastically less than we had been paying in every month. So for the next year our propane budget billing will only be $40, instead of our previous $115!

$75 a month in savings, that's a pretty decent jump. I'm sure the bill will go down even more when we someday replace all the old leaky duct work. That money will just get rolled into savings or debt repayment.

I've decided to use all my regular job income for our bills, and all my design income I'm sending straight to goals.

Mom talked me into keeping the buck that was supposed to go home this week, and they got one of hers instead. I'm happy to keep the goat because it was one of my favorite babies this year, but now my animal fund won't be finished quite yet. Darn.

We really have to get cracking on planning our vacation. It's coming up quick!

I was very productive this week. Got the goat house cleaned out, and sold 2 more kids. The animal fund is up to $847! The next goat is going home next week, and I will be able to finish that goal out!

Saved $100 for vacation, truck fund went up it's normal amount, and I paid $200 on the LOC. Very nice to see that balance finally going down. I'm torn between if I should be finishing out the Roth before starting on the LOC, or should I be doing both at the same time, or just sticking with the LOC? I plan on putting $1,500 more into the Roth this year and part of me thinks I should just knock that out first.

It's been 94 degrees in the house this week, and it really makes me want AC. It's nearly unbearable combined with our super high humidity.

Roof is all done, onto the next project. Which will probably be more trim, and continuing to clean out the upstairs and declutter.

Broke into the 46ks on the mortgage. Balance remaining is $46,880.41!

Also paid a piddly amount on the LOC, and husband's truck fund is up to $1,460.

Web design has really picked up and I'm struggling to get it all done, keep up with housework, and still have time to relax. Yikes. But it's a good thing, we can use the extra money.

Still figuring out the details for vacation but it looks like it should only cost us a few hundred dollars or less. Gas will be paid for by goats, and we are staying at a friend's house. So only expenses would be eating out, shopping, activities, etc. Not bad.

Planning on cleaning all the big junk out of the barn such as ruined furniture, old insulation rolls, lumber scraps, etc, this weekend if it ever stops raining. Also need to roof the small front porch which somehow never got done when we put the new roof on 4 years ago... We have a trailer parked and waiting to fill up, which will be taken to the dump. I love getting rid of stuff. I am not very materialist or sentimental, which is the opposite of my husband who wants to keep every single thing.

Today when I went to make a payment on the computer I realized it would only leave a balance of less than $90... So I just went ahead and paid it off out of my checking account cushion!!!

Woot! All done!

Glad to be back down to one (large) debt. So much easier to focus when I'm not getting pulled so many ways. Now that the computer is gone, focus will be on keeping credit cards down, saving for vacation, and buying supplies for some house projects we have been slacking on. Once I breathe a bit, the LOC should start going down.

Goal 1 out of 5 complete.

Realistically I don't think there is anyway the LOC will actually be paid off this year. But a girl can dream.

Computer fund is down to $242.11! Hoping that next check I'll be able to knock it out!

Unfortunately husband's laptop that was purchased with cash at the same time is continuously acting up. It's been sent back twice, and it just seems to get worse and worse. Right now I am in a battle against Dell to get them to refund our money and take it back. It's a piece of junk, and in a couple months the warranty will run out and we'll be stuck with it. If they take it back we will purchase a new, slightly better one for about $200 more. Husband has cash for this.

"Scrump" the cat, named changed from Zazzles. Had her kittens. Unfortunately she had them in the ceiling space above our sun porch. There was less than 18" height and not much more width, and she had them 20' back. Yikes! My dear, brave, claustrophobic husband wiggled up there and managed to get them out. Then had to wiggled back out, while avoiding puncturing through the drywall. I can't believe he fit and didn't have a panic attack. He is not a small guy.

4 kittens, one dead. We've got them moved into the sun porch and they seem to be doing well except one is pretty tiny. I'm not sure how well it is eating, so I'll have to keep an eye on it.

FINALLY added some money to the animal fund. First goat was picked up, and I sent all of it in. Most of the rest of the goats are old enough to go home, but I am dragging my feet a little calling the owners because I don't want them to leave yet. lol. I'll miss them terribly. Plus I haven't received their paperwork back yet, so it's just easier to wait.

Animal fund will see a lot of progress soon. I did purchase a goat from across the country, and will have to pay two transporters, health checks, etc. So that will cut a large chunk back out. I'm estimating around $450. I've sold one of the babies I had planned on keeping to help offset this cost, so it shouldn't deter the goal.

I was not able to send any to the computer, but I am still figuring on paying it off this month if no large expenses pop up.

Just returned from the vet.

My female dog went into heat last week, and I did not think it was safe to bring her to a crowded vet, and travel in the car with my intact male dog. So unfortunately I had to leave her at home, and I will miss the discounted rates. Arg.

But I did take the outdoor cat, and the other dog. I got 1 year rabies and distemper for the cat, and 3 year rabies and distemper for the dog, plus a heart worm test. I also picked up flea meds for all the cats.

My total was about $160 which I don't think is too bad. Of course it's pouring rain, so both animals were wet and stinky. Poor dog HATES going indoors or in the car, so we had to drag him everywhere. Until we got home and he jumped out and ran right back to his goats. Funny how he can be so tough at home, but take him to the vet and the over 100 pound dog is trying to hide under chairs. lol.

Piddly changes on the truck fund and LOC.

I did get one of the credit cards completely paid off. Only about $130 on the other one, and it's not even due for another month but I just want them to be $0 for a while. I always pay them in full before the statements, but it's annoying having something on them at all times.

I also got all the goat kid registrations sent in and paid for. That is something big that is done and over with. I hate paperwork, so I'm happy that I got it completed so soon.

With finally getting caught up on the credit cards, this should put me in a good position to work on the goals, as long as the vet bills don't deter me too much and I keep spending in check.

Husbands computer is still acting up, after it's already been sent in twice. We hate it and want them to take it back and let us get a better one, but they keep insisting on fixing it over and over, which has a several week turn around. Arg. I think they are just stalling until the warranty runs out. I'll have to call them tomorrow, which means a several hour hold, and lots of arguing. I think I need to make a bigger stink.

**Gah, I wrote a huge post and didn't copy it for once and of course it got erased**

So much cat drama at my house. The cats all hate each other. The outdoor cat ran away for two days and we thought he was gone, but he finally came back.

Momo is still being a very slow eater. He is starting to act more hungry, but when you pour his food it's like he doesn't want it anymore. He'll eat canned food, and his teeth look fine. So I may pick up a new bag of food, maybe something is wrong with his one, or he is tired of it. Who knows.

Computer balance is finally below $500! Still hoping to knock it out by the end of May but that is going to be a stretch with the upcoming vet bills.

May is vaccine discount month. Both dogs need to go for their yearly vaccines and heart worm test. Rango the outdoor cat is due, and the kitten will need all her shots and the spay. In addition I just wormed all the cats for $50, and everyone needs flea meds. Yikes. It's going to be a very expensive month for vet bills.

Not sure if I should take everyone on the same day, or if I should break it up over several trips. Wrangling two 100 pound dogs who hate riding in the car, and two cats who hate each other does not sound very fun.

Credit card is $635 right now. Ouch! I haven't been shopping or spending like crazy, so I'm shocked it's that high. It's mostly our regular bills, bridesmaid dress, animal food, the wood for the garden boxes, and several $5 lunches.

Thankfully next week I have $320 coming from my paycheck and a goat deposit. So that will bring it down to a more manageable number.


I paid the mortgage today to bring it down to $47,209.82!

We did finish building and installing our garden boxes, and purchased the dirt and plants. Tonight we are going to fill them in, but it's supposed to get below freezing so we will wait until tomorrow to plant.

Not much progress financially. Actually I'm a ANOTHER wedding and had to put the deposit down on the bridesmaid dress, so I lost progress. Gah. (Am I allowed to say I'm sick of weddings, and how expensive they are?)

But, we've been working hard on home projects. We cut, and sanded our closet door trim. Yesterday we cut assembled and installed another raised garden bed. Just have to fill it. We only have one more bed to do, and we've already got it built, still need to bury and level it. Every year we've built a couple more, and kept increasing our garden size. But we will be finally be done making garden boxes, at least until our family grows.

Besides that I've got all the goat kids tattooed and vaccinated. Just need to fill out and send in all their paperwork.