Monday Money (week 2)

Happy Monday Y’all!

Last week we figured out how much money we have. I hope you kept up with it so that this Monday you already know how much money you have available to you. (you have kept up with it, right?)

This week we are going to add to the routine of keeping track of how much money we have with figuring out how much money we spend.

We are going to write down every penny we spend. Keep a piece of paper or an index card in your pocket or purse and every time you spend money I want you to write it down. Even if it’s just a cup of coffee, or a news paper… write it down. All week.

It doesn’t matter if it’s cash, debit card, check, or credit card, write it down.

Even if it’s something you do routinely like putting gas in the car, write it down.

The first time I did this it was very eye opening. It didn’t occur to me that those little daily purchases were actually costing me big money when added up. If you stop at the drive through dollar menu a few times a week for breakfast, then stop for a nice coffee a few times a week, believe me it’s adding up.

One of the main reasons I wanted to quit smoking is because of the money it was costing me. My smokes were costing me almost $5 a day, $35 a week, $140 a month all the way up to almost $1,700.00 a year! That’s huge!

The thing was, I knew I was wasting this money. I knew it because it was a stupid habit. It wasn’t like eating. I mean, we have to eat to fuel our body, to live. So stopping at the drive through for breakfast might seem ordinary because we are feeding our body, and our body needs food.

Those are the expenses that slip by us and we don’t realize how much they are adding up.

What we want to figure out this week is where our money is going. We aren’t going to alter our routines this week. The only goal here is to get a picture of where our money is going.

I hope you have a great day!

Y’all take care!

Lori

The Last Bag!!!!

Zman and I are doing very good with our mission of stopping smoking, which is a very good thing, because I started my workout program on Tuesday and thought I might die! It was 25 minutes of cardio and I really thought I was going to cough up a lung after the workout. I can’t imagine what it would feel like if I had still been smoking. The burning in my chest, the coughing…. did not feel good.

But, I will push through, I will triumph!!! See me now, pumping my fist in the air in victory.

Ok, actually it’s more like seeing me trying to pick myself up off the floor, crawling to the sofa, gasping for air, wondering if I should call 911, can I even make it to the phone…. (note to Lori, keep phone close by when exercising)

VICTORIOUS!!!!

We are doing good… Sure the urges still come and go, but they aren’t as strong and there are fewer of them. This is a very good thing, it means that we are getting over the habit part of smoking.

Honestly, for me, the habit is the hardest part to get over. I’ve used dum dum suckers (ironic don’t you think?) to help me get over the hand to mouth sensation. The other day I pulled up to the stop sign at the end of the road where before I always lit a cigarette. I put a dum dum sucker in my mouth, then cracked the car window so the smoke could go out! Habit. I did get a good laugh at myself.

Zman on the other hand finds the nicotine and taste equally as hard as the habit part of stopping. But, he smoked full flavor menthol, and chewed the nicotine gum at work where he can’t smoke. So I get that he is having a harder time than me. Poor thing, I’m so proud of him!

While I still get urges of wanting a cigarette, honestly, the actual thought of the cigarette taste in my mouth turns my stomach. YUK! This is NOT the case for the Zman. He still misses the taste.

Back during Christmas time I bought several large bags of mini candy bars for the kids stocking stuffers. Now, our kids are older and do not live at home any more. But, our kids will always be our “kids” so I bought lots of candy for them. However, they politely let me know that “they really don’t eat that stuff anymore” Who knew????

So I was left with 3 very full, gallon bags of mini candy bars.

I stuck them into the freezer, Uh, because I wasn’t going to waste them!

This is what I found last night when I was doing the freezer inventory for the week.

Um, Hello! This is what’s left of the LAST bag!!! OMG Right??? The LAST bag!!!

Now, I understand two things…

1. I understand why I need the fitness program now.

2. I understand that now I have another habit I’ve got to quit! DANG IT!

Go figure… my kids are too old for candy, yet I’ve plowed through 3 GALLON bags full. I blame them. I blame the kids!!! What???

Y’all take care!

Lori

It’s A Process…

It’s Friday, It’s Friday!!! Yea Yea, Yea Yea!! Yes, I am actually sitting here typing into words exactly the song that is coming out of my mouth. OK, so it’s a song only in my head, but still, it’s fun. I know you know it’s Friday, but go ahead and sing it with me. It’s Friday, It’s Friday!! Yea Yea, Yea Yea!! OK, I’ll stop.

I was thinking this morning about the process of quitting something, something like cigarettes, or cola, or biting your nails. (Notice I didn’t mention wine. Ha, Never!) The process of quitting isn’t actually ever really quitting. What we do is stop for today and hope that we are able to continue that into tomorrow, and the next day, and the next… We never really quit, because it’s a constant choice of what we choose to do. So, while I joke about Zman and me stopping smoking, believe me I know it is a big deal. It isn’t easy by any means. Cigarettes have been our friends for many years. They were always there for us, during the fun times, during the hard times, when ever we needed them they were right there just waiting for us. Always there, always loyal. It is very much like losing a friend, and it’s hard. Actually It sucks! (pardon the pun)

Zman has stopped cold turkey, and I have used the Nicoderm patch. We have growled at each other, dodged the threat of croutons being thrown at each other, and for about 2 weeks almost every meal I cooked ended up in the garbage and we ate sandwiches, salads and cereal. While I didn’t smoke in the house, I timed my cooking by my smoking. Pop something in the oven, go outside and have a smoke. So, yes it’s been hard and we are still keenly aware that we are in the early stages of stopping. But, that’s my point… we have stopped today, and pray to continue that tomorrow.

I am not a Doctor and I don’t play one on tv, but If you have any questions about stopping smoking, leave a comment and I’ll share my experiences with you. And, if you want to stop too, I’ll cheer you on and support you all the way, just like many of my dear friends have done for me.

I hope you have a Fun Friday and a lovely weekend!

P.S. Tonight is homemade pizza and beer night for me and Zman! 🙂

Y’all take care!

Lori

Easing Into It…

I told you yesterday that Zman and I were going to begin our in home workout program. Now, I can’t yet share with you the name of the program, but I will tell you that it is an intense 25 minute workout. The great news is that Zman and I made it through the entire 25 minutes…. watching it while we had dinner! However, I also need to share with you that even Zman said he felt a little tight afterwards and probably should have stretched a bit before watching the full 25 minute video. We all know you have to be careful starting any work out program. E-A-S-E into it… Sretch, breathe, chew, sip of wine, and e-a-s-e into it. We’ll see how tomorrow’s work out goes.

On another note, we got some pretty nice responses from our first blog post, and I can’t tell you how precious that is for us. Thank you for your support and kindness. You are loved!

And, this just in… the laptop that I planned to do my post on is a P.O.S. So it will be going to the Dr. tomorrow in hopes it can pull through, if not we may be shopping soon. (Keep it between me and you, Zman doesn’t know that yet…. ) Should the P.O.S. not make it, I would be interested in your thoughts of new laptops or tablets. What do you use and love?

Oh, and yes Zman and I made it through another day of being smoke free without bodily harm. We are doing good. No it is not without the occasional surge of emotional outburst of four letter words, but we have learned to laugh at each other over it. Realizing that it is some kind of out of body experience that you have little control over, as his head spins around and you’re fully expecting the Man you love to spew pea soup all over you! Just sayin. And then we laugh… Easing into day 30 today!

Y’all take care!

Lori