Shoestring Budget

H. and I are on a shoestring budget this week. I have challenged him to play my game, and see if we can get through the week on $54. True, about $30 will be guzzled up in gas money, especially if I drive to see my Dad, and I want to. But beyond that, I want to see if we can do this.

It's not as bad as it sounds; We have ground turkey, lettuce, cheese and tortillas to make tacos one night [with canned refried beans for H., a vegetarian]; a gallon of milk; a loaf of bread; cans of tuna; a frozen chicken; crushed tomatoes, garlic, pasta and ricotta; and eggs. We also have a gift certificate to the diner in town, and a gift card for three tickets to the movies. We have our medicines, and he has his supplies for his insulin pump. And, although we're just about out of automatic dish detergent, I asked down at the concierge desk and they're going to send up a few free packets.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Since the tree fell on our house March 13, it's been stressful and hard to keep up with our work--with seeking assignments, meeting deadlines, paying bills on time. We live here in the condo and are monitoring a work site at our home. We have been uprooted. We have moved. But we keep trying. We lost track of our due dates for car insurance and life insurance; the first was cancelled and the second was about to be. But we paid both last week [pat on the back].

H. [who is party entertainer, the World's Only 60-Second Novelist, in addition to being a book author and medical reporter] is working at a party on Saturday. That's six days away. But only some agents pay him at the party; others mail the check later. The weekend after, he's doing at least two parties. We're both owed money for articles, but those checks likely won't come for a while--his sooner than mine, because magazines often take longer to pay than medical journals.

I see two red herrings, if that's the right phrase:
1. Our Oxford family monthly health insurance premium [$977, a bargain compared to the $1,420.49 COBRA payment we used to have]. They made us set up direct withdrawal from our checking account b/c we were late paying too often. But they dipped in to get the money on Friday and it wasn't there. H. is concerned they will cancel us, but I don't think they legally can until the end of the month. I have to call them again tomorrow and try to get someone on the phone.

2. Our cell phone bill. It's huge [we haven't been using the land line here at the condo, which is pricey; we're charged per call, as at a hotel] and is about to be late. So if our cell phones are cut off, we're likely going to have to borrow money. Again. And I really, really, really don't want to do that. We're trying hard to dig out of debt. We do not, cannot use credit cards, because even though we've paid off a mammoth one, we still owe on others. And I lost my regular freelance gig at a communications firm last March--I had previously been on staff for a couple of years, before cutbacks, but then my hours dwindled down and finally disappeared.

And one minor red herring: H. likes going out one night a week to Tierney's, a bar in town, to see his friends Michael and John and have a beer or two. It's good for him to see his friends; they also play music together. So we have to see about that. He might have to have a beer on their tab and pay them back, as he sometimes has before.

Thinking Twice
Now that I've challenged us to make it through on this money, certain things that I've been known to buy seem very extravagant. Such as:

*That small serving of pomegranate frozen yogurt with Oreo crumb topping that I bought at Red Mango on Thursday, for $4.01, plus a little change for the tip cup
*Tall iced mocha with whip at Starbucks [a few bucks]
*The silvery David Yurman lookalike bracelet I snagged at CVS on Friday and may now return for grocery money since the tag is still on it [$6.99 plus tax--that could get us some fresh veggies and cheese]
*The small portions of fancy cheeses that I have occasionally bought us at the cheese market in town
*Yoga classes [$18 each--but I have got to find a way to get back there]
*Organic milk [I love how it tastes and the idea that it's kinder to the cows and us, but ShopRite milk is so much cheaper]

Anyway, I have to go to sleep now. The better to face boot camp, a root canal, a meeting with our contractor [to discuss the fact that no, unfortunately we can't get a $10K short-term loan to get the demolition started on our house], and more deadlines.

I am grateful for my work.

I will keep you posted. I don't want any sympathy, or loans, just for you to listen.

And, I have good news: I just unearthed a $1.50 CVS "Extra Bucks" coupon from my Tory Burch totebag. Ima gonna get some groceries with that [CVS even has a dollar grocery section now].