March Budget Complete – April Next.
Well, it’s basically April. Which means my March budget is complete.
Did I reach my goals? Kind of. Sort of. Yes. No.
I wanted to save another $1K to end at a total of $5K but had thought getting to $6K would be a bonus. Sadly, no $6K – But I hit my original (and rational) $5K goal. So, reasonably I did reach my goal. However, I really wanted to overreach and get the bigger amount.
The restaurant changed management this month and ended up being closed for like 3 weeks. So basically I missed out on 7 shifts – Which probably would have been the difference in that $1K in just tips alone. I also haven’t gotten my last check from the last manager – Because she was “nice” enough to take it with her and we could get together sometime to give it to me. She’s missing the fact that I don’t have that much time to get together and I don’t really want to. I’ll get it eventually. It’s probably not worth much anyways – Maybe $100? I have no idea . However, with new management we are CRAZY busy. I’ve made double in tips the last two shifts I’ve worked there (and the only 2 shifts I’ve worked for her). It’s crazy. We will see if it slows down when the newness wears off – But I’m slightly anticipating it may not. This new manager is known for her homemade foods. Our soups are now 100% from scratch – no premade base at all. Pies are 100% homemade. Specials are 100% homemade. Hell, even the salad is better. People are thrilled. Raving about the food. I’m definitely tracking to see the tip difference but that should help to save better.
However, still debt free minus the house and car. And I saved a thousand. I should just be thrilled I guess.
This month I’m shooting for another $1,000. Though the more the better. I’ve basically got April and May to get the amount of money I need for that late May/early July retrieval. I need about $3K more – BUT, I’d like more than that as I like to have an emergency fund available too. Essentially if I could manage to save $1,500 this month and $1,500 next month I’d be there. I guess I also know that it’ll take a bit to get the monitoring bills so I’ll have a couple extra months to pay that part. I just like knowing I have all the money available when I go in and not knowing that I’ll be in debt. I hate debt.
April’s goal is basically – Continue to leave cheaply. Reviewing last month – Cut down on groceries a little. Cut down on household expenses a little. Buy less cool stuff for M. Make the adult kids spend less. That alone should save about $600 – $1,000. Though, it’s Easter. M has a dentist appointment 200 miles away. I have an eye appointment 100 miles away. So, basically I’ll be driving an extra 600 miles this month. Will have to pay for some food out of town (because we need good food if we aren’t here), maybe a hotel if we stay after the dentist appointment. Plus I’ll have to spend money on the eye stuff. Sooooo, basically – the money I’ll save in those areas will cover these areas. Ha. At least I won’t be going in the hole in this long process.
Supposedly, M may begin transitioning home at some point. I’m not really sure when/where. I can’t seem to get a straight answer with that. His next court date is in early May. They’ll obviously extend it another 6 months for the state to have custody as they keep it open for 6 months after transitioning home and we’re literally still at 2 hours of supervised visits a week only. So, there is a way to go.
Mom hadn’t met with her casework in ages. Like – November? She finally scheduled and went in this week – It seems pretty clear that he should be going home. She said she’ll work on it but they’re now requiring mom to work in DV Services. Which makes sense. So, she’s still got work to do. Mom told me that the worker asked her what she wanted and to write it down. I said – Ummm, did you tell her you want your son to go home? No, not really. She’d like to “babysit” for me alone when I need a babysitter and maybe be able to pick him up from daycare on the days she has her visits and have her 1 hour alone. No request just to get him back. I continue to believe if I’d agree to an open adoption she’d be okay with the current situation and just getting to be the fun person a few hours a week. It’s somewhat frustrating. I can’t imagine not fighting to have my kids back in my home ASAP. But whatever.
He’s doing freaking fabulous. He eats. Literally. After 6 long months it’s like he woke up one day and realized he actually liked food and it was okay to eat it. In September he’d literally eat gold fish crackers, gatorade and milk. That’s it. We eventually expanded that to PBJ and pancakes. Once in a great while chicken nuggets. He’d refuse everything. He’d starve over eating something else. Then last week it clicked – I made food, he ate every last bite. Literally. All week. Shredded Beef. Taco Soup. Spaghetti. Noodles. Hamburger Helper. Cheeseburger. Chicken Nuggets. It’s crazy. And amazing. I’m curious to see his growth now that he’s full of healthy things. I still need to work in more fruits and vegetables but protein alone is huge. (The spaghetti had olives, mushrooms and onions and he ate that too.) This weekend I’m making Borscht. I don’t know if he’ll go that far, but I WILL. And I’ll happily try to get it into him. He may be up for it if there’s not sauce and just the chunky stuff.
So, that’s about it. Just continuing with life and seeing what happens next. 🙂