Double Budget

Here I go getting behind things again.  Work has been incredibly busy lately with extra briefings and lots of helping with resumes, cover letters, and interview preparations.  I have some regular clients now and I've had a couple mini-successes with clients which also makes me appreciate my job even more.  It's so nice to help people gain life skills and to help them as they transition into the next stage of their life.

However with my job has also come double the income for our family.  The way we had split up finances and accounts before never really made sense to me, so now we're focusing on going back to just our two separate accounts.  The hub takes care of the regular bills that we have to pay (internet, cell phones, most the gas for the vehicles) and now a truck payment.  We both will cover groceries now.  My paycheck however covers my student loan and paying off the other bills we're working toward.  Once I've paid off a few larger ticket items (the couch, bed, and his loan) then I'll start adding on to the truck payment.

Additionally having two incomes has enabled us to take care of a few of the things that we've been waiting on and that is part of what we're doing this weekend.  Today we had Roxi fixed at the vet and tomorrow we're taking my car in for a long due maintenance.  I used to take my vehicle in every 10,000 miles for the recommended servicing, but on a limited budget the last few months we've gone 30,000 miles with just the regular oil changes and tire rotations.  Luckily the hub has  the ability to do the oil and tire rotation himself, which is saving us almost $100 on the total amount for tomorrow.  In addition to the maintenance, it's also time to replace the spark plugs and timing belt, so we'll just get it all done at once since it's a 1.5 hour drive to the dealership.  (Thank God they were open on a Saturday!)  A hefty little amount, but something that is worth it to keep the vehicle running for many more miles to come!

I will admit that the double budget has also led me to do a little more free spending here at first however.  It's nice to finally be able to invest in a new skirt for work and eye shadows when they're on sale (which they are at Alima--the Portland mineral make-up company that I love--until May 7th!!), or to be able to take the husband out to dinner for his birthday.  BUT I also know that is something I need to watch since every extra purchase is an amount that could go toward saving for our transition or for paying toward my massive student loan.

However I also might be using some of the extra funds to take a trip back home---but if anyone spills the beans to Granny I'll be slightly annoyed (so shhhhh family!).  I'd like to be able to surprise my Granny somewhere near her 99th birthday.  We were able to webcam the other evening as she was down visiting my parents, but I also know how much she misses our regular once a month visits we used to be able to do.  And truthfully I miss being able to spend a relaxing weekend with her!  It'd be so great to see her and to be able to visit some of my other regulars as well.

In other news, the truck is wonderful.  I sort of miss commuting home with the hub, but he's enjoying having his own freedom and mode of transportation.  The two trips we had to take to Houston were lengthy but it was nice to see something new (even if city traffic was incredible!).  We definitely feel we got a really good deal on the vehicle we purchased and its much nicer than we even knew we were getting.  The dogs already love it and the hub developed a way to tether them in the bed so that they can walk around but can't get themselves over the edge at all.  Anna's pretty much eager every time she gets near the truck!

My container garden has taken off.  My green beans are all out of the ground and the tomatoes are just starting to form.  The peppers still have some growing to do but the jalapeno is large and in charge!  And the grass in the back yard continues to slowly grow and spread too. Hopefully by the end of summer, it'll almost be complete! :)

And I suppose that's most the update.  Except two of my coworkers and I got in a 6-7 mile walk on Wednesday after work and we're hoping to make it a regular go at least once a week.  Anna made her first solo run today in which she actually ran the whole thing---before we got Roxi she never quite wanted to do it.  So for the next week I can at least get one dog to run with me until Roxi's healed enough to be able to go again.

I've been horrible at checking on other blogs but hope to get to it this weekend!  Hope everyone is doing well though!  Huge hugs all around!