So the last few months I have just about given up on our budget...when I get sick or depressed it just stresses me out and I also spend way to much money...it's a bad habit and one I am breaking...usually happens once a year!!

So I sat down today and since our income doesn't really change..if it does it usually goes up so we don't add it in...and I have written up our budget for the next 2 years and if all goes well we should be able to buy a house in 2 years...sounds like forever and feels it...but we will get there. I have also printed out 12 months of our menu plan so we can start writing it up monthly again and shopping monthly like we use to, then just get fresh stuff once a week at the markets....when the insurances become due will search around and see if we can get a better deal and will after christmas see if we can get a better deal with our cell phones.

Any tax money etc we get will go straight into savings and I am hoping to hopefully get some answers about my health and go back to work at least part time...I miss working...I miss living a normal life...so these are my future financial goals...fingers crossed nothing big comes up

Finally got a hold of the IRS and got some answers as to what has been going on...let me try to explain where it makes sense...living in a different country we have to do a paper copy of our taxes..I do ours on the computer and then print them out and send. When the pandemic hit our taxes must have been there somewhere but they had closed etc so nothing was done and then they were so backlogged and had millions of stimulus payments etc to do as well...so we gave them plenty of time. So we didn't get stimulus checks (didn't think we would) and they went by our 2018 taxes. So this year when they finally did our 2019 taxes things had changed and my hubby was eligible for his part of the stimulus checks which we got about a month ago but things still didn't add up with the taxes we paid...so after talking with them today we are looking at the original and amended taxes (they asked me to do and helped me do over the phone earlier this year)...whoever put the information into their data base never added in the taxes that we actually paid so it looked like we didn't have any tax withheld....so the kind lady after an hr and half (god help my cell phone bill) finally figured it out and now is going to try and get the account moved to her as she knows what is going on...so basically for the last 7 plus months it was basic human error of putting in data into a computer that has taken so long to figure out...so hopefully it will be finalised in the next few months and next years won't take so long....fingers crossed!!

I hope that makes sense to people

So our state has  pretty much over the last 2 years been covid free in the community except for a few minor outbreaks...but tonight we are opening up our borders...none of us are happy there are states that will be allowed to travel here now without quarantening that consistently have over 1000 new cases a day...and have for a long time..obviously they don't know what they are doing there....so with my hubby having cancer and my health we are really limiting where we go and it will only be essential services...we will do contactless deliveries of groceries etc...even our businesses are going back to the old covid ways of wearing masks during all appointments...having to be vaccinated etc...can only imagie how many cases we will get here between now and new years...no-one will be allowed to visit at christmas unless double vaxxed and they have to sanitize hands etc when they come over....hate that we have to live this way...I know not many understand that since covid in the US has been such a big issue for so long but the govt we have has cut so much funding to our health services that they can't cope now...let alone with a bunch of covid cases....a lot of people are waiting up to 4 hours for an ambulance...and now many doc/nurses are quitting or being let go because they aren't vaccinated...so less workers as well...its just a wrong move...and we will also be opening up to international travellers as well...Australia will soon be like the rest of the world...covered in covid and not being able to cope....but I guess its a way for the govts to get rid of the elderly and people with health issues!!

Not a happy camper...but already preparing for the worst and hoping for the best...bad thing is with summer holidays and christmas...so many people will be travelling!!

As I sit here and look at the budget for december I am reminded that come Jan 1st it is tax time again (in the US anyways) and the crap starts all over again...yes I know I shouldn't call it that, but we are still waiting for them to do this years amended taxes....so its just a major headache as we can't do them online...and when we call they have no info and ask us to send them again...which we have decided ehen we send them they have to sign for them now so I know that they get them....that is a lot of personal information if they aren't getting them and we wouldn't know if people are using our info as we don't live over there....so we hope that isn't happening...I am just hoping this year the taxes will be done and dusted early and we don't have to worry about them.....and getting the refund that is owed to us would be nice to get as well.....rant over

Not all financial but I have decided to change how I do things and take the pressure of myself...I ended up in the ER twice last week and still no answers...they also think that my cortisol levels are not the issue...so we are still completely clueless to what is going on with me...they sent me to another clinic who will send some suggestions to my regular doc to have some more tests done...I have taken myself off all my natural meds and just seeing how I go...I am trying to walk everyday although our spring weather has almost been non existant...and I have to have someone go with me due to my dizziness...but we are struggling through. I see my integrated doctor early december and my hubby sees his urologist in dec to see how his cancer is going....so lets hope we get some good news and no more bad news...Our state borders open up this week and it worries me as we don't have covid in our community and haven't for months and the states that we are opening to are having 1200 plus new cases a day...and I know if my hubby or I get covid with our health we will most likely die!!....so we will be changing how we do things and will be doing mostly click and collect or deliveries of everything to limit our exposure.

I have redone our budget and instead of freaking out of what we don't have in our accounts I am putting some in each account each month and I will have to be happy with that...we will get where we need to be eventually and I have to be okay with that..and I think I will be...just have to be smart how we do things now. On the upside I have 2 more gift cards to buy for christmas which I will do today and then we are done...will only need to get christmas food which is in the budget..next year I have a monthly amount we will put into savings each month as we buy gifts all year on sale...my great nephew got his learners today so has asked my hubby and daughter to teach him how to drive over the next year (yes they have to have them a year) so that may add to the budget a bit but if we aren't going as many places then it might not...time will tell...he has a part time job so is saving for a car of his own..other than that we are trying to sort out all the stuff we have and get the house/shed/storage sorted a bit...it will take some time as we haven't been well.

So I know many on here are pretty well off and congrats to you and others are doing okay and others live paycheck to paycheck, we do okay we are pretty good at never having much debt except the CC that we use every one in awhile...but I do pressure myself to put more money into savings..more money into my ice account etc...then I fall off the wagon and then have to restart...it is frustrating me...I know i do it when I am having a bad day/week...and if I put money into one area and not another then I get frustrated that I don't put it into those other accounts....it's just how my brain works right now...

Our bills are always paid on time (usually early) and we always have plenty off food but I think because of my illness the last 8 long years, that it has put us so far behind where we want to be that my frustration stems from that...now that they think we have figured out what is wrong with me it is going to take another 1-2 years to hopfully get back on track and maybe get well enough to go back to work (hopefully)...so I have decided to take the pressure of myself and every payday put money into each account and just be happy where we are at that time and that we will get where we are suppose to be in life eventually and just focus on my health and happiness.

So now I am going to go rejig my budget for the next couple of years and just take things as they come up and just focus financially on saving in all areas and see how it will work out...wish me luck...hopefully the pressure feeling will disappear and I can relax when it comes to finances again. 

Well we finally gave in and went to costco...not a place we would go often but did get some new things to try and some good deals...we only have 1 costco in our state and it's about a 50 min drive from us...so haven't really wanted to go...so we spent a bit more of our grocery money but we will take it out of the rest of the months budget...but interested in trying some new things...

We are moving stuff from one storage unit to another today....but it got to hot and my illness doesn't like the heat so will go over around 5pm and work for another couple of hours....tomorrow is out as we have rain...so what we don't get done with hopefully finish thur/friday  and can hand back....we have done about half of it....then once done we will work on the stuff here that needs storage...then hopefully will be done till we buy a house...

I decided to do the 52 week challenge even though I didn't really have anything to save for...so have decided to do it for things we want to do for the house that we buy like painting...new floors etc...obviously will figure out when we buy it but it give me a goal to work on