Saving Money 101

So this whole thing where I work so that we have a few extra dollars per month to buy groceries with? Turns out it's working. In ways I just didn't see coming.

I'm finding a routine, I think, to my new days, and it pretty much looks like GET UP, WORK, GO TO BED.  Thankfully I'm actually enjoying the whole thing (it's still new - give it time to wear off) so it's not quite as horrible as it sounds. I mean, I do give myself potty breaks every so often, and take time out for lunch. At 3:00. And just last night I had time to set aside to play a rousing game of Apples to Apples with the kids. I do have my priorities in order, lest you worry. My housework has fallen to ThreatCon Level 9 (don't be shocked when you hear the place has been condemned) but we're managing to keep the dirt to a level just under Overtake Us In Our Sleep, so it's all good. For now.

Can I just take a minute and beg for help? It's the dogs, man. The dogs dirty this house like 6.5 people cannot. The hair is understandable, and Dyson is a great help in that department. But the footprints drive me nuts. NuTs. I'm going to have to stop this twitchy eye now that I've given real thought to the dog prints on the floor problem. But here's the thing. When I mop, they walk behind me, making prints in the wet before the floor is even dry. If I lock them in crates while I mop so that the floors at least have time to dry, they're out for 3.5 minutes before they have to to outside, and then their feet get wet and they come in on my floor and GAAAAHHHH. It's a lose-lose-BIG FAT LOSE no matter what I attempt. So here's the thing. Will doggie boots work? Should I make a little corral inside the door and contain the dogs there until their feet are dry? Should I litter train them like cats so that they never go outside to get wet feet to track up my floor with? And I don't think I'm just being whiny for little reason. We've got 4 dogs in the house. That's 16 feet tracking up the floor All.Day.Long.

And back to our regularly scheduled program, now that I've successfully made both my eyes twitch.

So I'm kinda busy through my day, and that's not a bad thing. What is bad, however, is that I don't have time to shop. I'm in town for doctor appointments (we have 4 kids. The doctors love us.) and then beat it home to get kids back to school and start work before I miss a deadline. I had to send Becky to the store the other day to get us groceries. Bread, milk, eggs.... You know, staples.

So here's the thing. Well, two things. The first of the things is that if I'm not in a store, I'm not spending money. At all. On anything. The bank account is growing stale. It's pretty awesome, really. If I'd have figured this out a while back, I may not have had to get a job in the first place. The second of the things is that when Becky moves out someday, our family will most likely starve. Who the heck will do our grocery shopping then?


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