At Times Like This I Love My E-Fund

The reduction in hours for my full time job means a reduction in my paycheck. Somewhere in the past couple weeks, I've had a mis communication with our payroll processor. Let me tell you I was UNHAPPY to open my pay stub this AM and see I got less than half of my usual pay. I was only paid for one week of work instead of two. SURPRISE SURPRISE-of the unhappy sort. I was expecting to get paid for the last two weeks in November on the check that was deposited to my account yesterday. I only got paid for one week. I was expecting almost twice as much money as I got. I was not expecting to be a week behind on pay. Not only did my hours get cut, but I got moved from salary to hourly (same rate, but I think that may have something to do with the mix up).

I'm not sure where the mix up is, or how it happened, but it did. I have money in my checking account, I have money in my E-fund that can be used in case of an emergency, I have money coming in next week for the yet another part time job, but boy, was I glad that I did not have any large bills to pay today. I have the checks written out, the bills stamped, but they are staying on my desk until I get this sorted. I would have been SOL as they say, if I posted them today. I wrote bills for exactly the missing amount I was expecting in my check.

I have a call and an e-mail into the person who processes our payroll. I need to figure out where and how we mis communicated. I know they won't cut me a check if it was an error, I'll have to wait until the next paydate, which is the 15th. This just adds to my work frustrations, it really does. Grr.

Friday Can't Come Soon Enough

I logged on to my bank account and due to the car repair, the rental car, the bills not yet reimbursed for the trade show, I have a whopping $16.42 in my checking account.

I get paid on Friday and can't wait for my direct deposit to hit.

At least I have gas in my now newly repaired car, I have submitted my bills for reimbursement for the trade show (I'll get back about $250 which should cover most of the unexpected car rental).

Lesson learned, an emergency fund is a good thing. And it's become a priority for the upcoming months.

Where Does $100 Go?

On Friday I got out $100 to have as my spending money for the weekend and upcoming week. This is how it broke down

$9.85-drug store

$10.30-take out food (ate left overs for Saturday lunch)

$6.30-alcohol

$2.00-lotto (hope springs eternal!)

$13.50-plant

$3.00-fresh corn

$5.50-laundry

$17.50-odd lots store

$5.30-DIY store odds and ends

$6.50-grocery store

$5.00 Braclet

Total: 84.75

I was too tired on Friday to cook (and this seems to be a recurring theme on Fridays), so I ordered in some food from the local pizza place. There was enough to have the leftovers for lunch on Saturday. I also got a 6 pack of beer that has lasted the weekend (A cold beer with my picnic supper on Sunday was part of the perfect meal). I'm finding that my Friday routine is stopping off for a bottle of wine or some beer and ordering a takeaway meal when I have a fridge full of food.

I had a day out with the girls on Saturday to the local garden center and I bought a plant for my garden. I had weeded my gardens and had a gaping hole in the flower bed by the front gate. I read some where that you should always grow lavender by your garden gate and I saw this great big healthy plant and treated myself to this. Could I have passed on this plant, probably, but the garden looks better and I feel better and the lavender has a heavenly smell.

I'm looking over the receipt from the odd lots store and as I look over it, it's is the one purchase I should have just not made. I decided to try out this particular odd lots store (the one closer to me is very small and sometimes does not have great inventory) to see if this one was better stocked. It really was not. I wasted my time, gas and money. I wandered the isles and bought things for the sake that I did not want to walk out of the store empty handed. There were only two things I really needed to get (a disposable pan for a pot luck picnic I'm going to next weekend 89 cents and a new pair of gardening gloves $5). I had also been looking for a citronella candle (still a bit buggy at night and I sit on my patio), but none to be had, too late in the season. I ended up spending $12 on items I really did not need and did not want. And I'm down $12 of my mad money cash.