I think healthwise things are a bit better. I just got back from an extended weekend visiting my sister in San Francisco — which sounds expensive, but I stayed at her place and she used her miles to fly me out, so it was pretty inexpensive and has hopefully helped me rest and get out of this funk I’ve been in. I also found out that she has the same foot problem I do and hers is due to a genetic defect — a bone in her foot that never fused properly and acts up after 35+ years. So, I’ll check it out some more and if I have to get orthotics, so be it. They aren’t cheap but I’d like to be able to walk distances again.

So, onto the real reason for this blog — my finances.

I’m now paying $350 a month to my student loan and plan to start paying more on a monthly basis after I get my smaller accounts paid off. My immediate goal is getting more money into savings so I have my $1k in the bank. My utility bills are up to date and I give about $50 a month to charity and sometimes add a little more. What I’m paying comes out of my paycheck and goes back into the nonprofit where I work, plus I sometimes donate a little money to various preservation and animal charities. It’s not a lot because I really need to be paying off my own stuff, but I feel good giving just a little bit to causes in which I believe. I’m looking forward to the day when I am debt free and all my investment ducks are in a row and I can give more to my favorite charities.

I’m also doing better with the groceries. I admit it — I really don’t like cooking after working all day and we order out more than we should. I’m getting better, though. I find it helps if I cook a bunch of stuff on Sunday and put some in the freezer and some in the fridge for the week. Then I only have to heat up and add vegetables and other quickly-cooked items. I may get back into that habit this weekend. I’m going to my friend’s house Sunday afternoon for the Oscars and Saturday I’m out for most of the day, but I think I can squeeze it in. Also, almost everything I bought last time I shopped (I go every two weeks) was on the Acme flyer as a special, which helped me quite a bit. I buy most of my produce at a little produce place near work and the prices are great and the food is much better than what I get at Acme. I budget a little each paycheck for the produce store.

That’s it. Nothing exciting, but I figure I need to get back in the habit of posting here as I think it helps me keep going.