I Need to Make a Vision Board

I really need to make a vision board. I'm already thinking, in my mind, of things I want to make my life better, things in my house prettier, or my heart fuller. Some of these things are happening, and I'm so thankful for them. I think making a vision board will help me bring the others to fruition.

My last post talked about scrapping the spice rack project. I have the spice rack on my mind, and I of course check Craigslist "Free" section for my city, on a daily basis. I came across this free standing cabinet last Sunday. Yahoooie! I think it goes pretty well with my existing cabinets, and I'm super happy the stock pot (which holds my large utensils) fits perfectly underneath. I am looking for a working VCR so I can check some recordings I have on VHS tapes and see if they are worth keeping. If I can get a VCR (mine ate tapes, and I got rid of it late last year) that works, and there's anything I'd like to keep, I will purchase a transfer cable/software off of eBay and convert whatever tapes are appropriate to DVDs. I found an ad for a free VCR on Craigslist this morning, and am waiting to hear back from the person on whether it's still available, and hopefully when I can pick it up today.

Of course, some of these things aren't so good :( I was sitting at my dining room table playing cards with friends on Wednesday, looking out my large picture window, thinking...man it's hot in this room. The living room has much better ventilation. I would really like to have a window that opened instead of this picture window. Fast forward to Fridays torrential rain, and the a window that hasn't leaked in the 9 years I've lived in this house is suddenly leaking. Just great! (sarcasm). While I really would like to switch out the window for something else, I don't want to spend the money on a want rather than a need at the moment. My intention is to spend as little as possible on 'wants' in 2012. This window issue 'needs' to be addressed, but I've been told it's a $7 fix with a tube of caulk.

May's financial challenge was very good for me. I ended the month with $4 left, of my $100 cash. I charged $221.41 on the credit card. I think only $20 over on such a low limit was pretty darn good on my part!

June's financial challenge will have a larger charge allowance as I have a few vehicle expenses to include for the month. A battery and emissions on one car, and an oil change on the other car. I think $400 will be an adequate amount to pay for my normal charges, plus the car expenses. I will start the month with the normal $100 cash, plus the $4 excess from last month, and $12 I made at yesterdays yard sale ( I didn't have any big ticket items to sell, I'm happy with what I got rid of) for a total of $116. I still have a Visa debit card to use with $4.46 on it.

eBay sales weren't so hot last month. I made $48.95, with only 5 sales. This month is starting off strong. I've made $24.97 so far this month, and that's with sales that were actually listed using May's free insertion listings, so I still have all 50 to use for this month. This morning I transferred $100 from my PayPal account to my checking account in anticipation of using it to finance the car charges I'm going to incur. I'm contemplating getting a PayPal debit card. It may be easier to do this instead of transferring money between accounts. I could just charge my 'extras'  on it. But then again, I get nice cash back on my Discover, and I never pay interest on that account, so it is truly bonus money. Decisions, decisions...

Ughh, just remembered I have even more extras to pay for this month. My Mothers birthday and Fathers Day are this month. I'll still try to keep it under $400. Oh yeah! I haven't taken any gift cards on my MyPoints account yet this year. Quick check tells me I have a few more points before I can get a $25 gift card to Target or Walmart. Boo! But, I do have $50 in bonus dollars on my Discover account. That will come in handy.

Ok, so I knew everyone was getting a $100 credit from the local Gas and Electric company, but I thought mine would be spread out over the next 6 months, as I'm on budget billing. To my surprise, the credit was given all at once, so this months bill is only $30. Huzzah! The money saved, will be spent on the cars, but that's plenty fine with me. Things are shaping up to find a financial homeostasis this month, and I'm thankful for it.

Thinking I should take care of all the project items on my to do list each weekend, is kind of keeping me from doing any of them, so I'm amending my thoughts here. In June, I only have 3 items I'd like to complete. #1: Re-hanging the ceiling tiles in my basement, #2: Tidying up the yard. The weather is perfect for this today. Since I got some sun at yesterdays yard sale, I'm going to tackle this one when the sun isn't going to be blazing down on me. #3 will be the easiest to achieve, as I can do it while I'm being lazy! I have a crochet blanket I'm working on, and need to finish it and make another one. I'm pretty fast with my stitches, and these projects aren't large to begin with. That's it. If I complete all three of these items, I will feel as though I accomplished something.

I also think it's time to fast from TV again. A week should be sufficient.

'maters are finally starting to produce fruit. Yay! Since I messed up when I should have harvested my broccoli, I have already consulted with my garden guru. She tells me to pick them when they first turn orange, and then let them ripen on a window sill. I have additional pics of the garden, but I don't really feel like posting them. Everything is coming along nicely, I think the next thing to start producing will be the squash. I'm happy for that, as it will save me a bit on my grocery bill, and I happen to LOVE squash!