I'm back for a while

[ClingingToHope]

SFO, I choose to budget for things. I could take every dime I get and blow it. Instead, I put away money for summer, for a future house, for vacation, for my next car, for Christmas, for D14's birthday, for taxes and for emergencies.

If I'm going to accomplish any of those things it's going to be a little bit at a time. It's the Dave Ramsey way.

So yes some of this is self inflicted. I choose to put a lot of money away for future stuff so that I can enjoy my time in the summer with the girls, so I can enjoy vacations with them, so I can afford Christmas or their birthdays, so when my car needs replacing I don't have to take on a car payment.

I actually have a printout on my fridge with where I'm at every month. I see it every time I eat. It keeps me on my financial toes.

As far as college, if someone is criticizing saving for future college education costs -- well I question their fiscal knowledge.

Budgeting is what makes me keep my nose to the grindstone, to stay focused. So instead of on a Tuesday hitting the bars with friends I work on stuff.

GM, League of Denial is about the NFL's repeated attempts to bury concussion related research. It's an excellent book.

I got my phone bill today. I have an extra $40 on it for overages. Basically, when I got the XW pregnancy news I burned up all my minutes over three days.

I was off this site for I think 10 months because there was no need. Things were going well. All the part-time jobs were working together. I moved into a bigger, better house in April.

Summer went amazingly well. We did Disney, Chicago and lots of other stuff because I saved, saved, saved for them.

Then I got the XW pregnancy shock. And it was quite a shock and it reopened a lot of old wounds and I'm guessing it would have messed with the heads of 90 percent of the people on here.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe everyone on here is 100 percent healed. Life throws them a curveball and they just take it with a smile.

I doubt that's true, but that's how it appears to be.