Going for Not Broke

This year has been tough on our pocketbook. My dad had major surgery , and because he was hospitalized three hours away, we spent a lot of money on fuel, fast food and motel rooms. Thankfully, he's finally home, and we're hopeful his health with continue to improve. Also, I got speeding ticket. I fully admit speeding, and I make no excuses, so I have no one to blame but myself, but that was still $150 we didn't really have. Plus, my daughter had hearing tests that are going to cost us a couple hundred (thankfully, though, her hearing is fine), our roof is leaking, and my husband has to have some costly dental work done. We've put a lot of things on our credit cards to accommodate, so, so far this year, we've made anti-progress. Here's hoping the rest of the year goes better.

This has been a challenging year for my family. My dad had a precancerous tumor on his pancreas and is recovering slowly from the surgery to remove it. He's had a couple of setbacks, one that lasted three weeks, but we're all hopeful he'll be back on track soon. Partly because of that, I want to host a family get-together. Mom and Dad will have their 45th anniversary this October so that seems like a perfect time to hold it. I think I have a lead on a FREE place big enough to accommodate my siblings, their kids and my parents. As for the rest -- the food, decorations and activities -- I'll have to plan according to what's on sale and when. Immediately after that, I'll be planning a baby shower for my kid sis. I hope to get the same venue for both parties. Again, though, I want to keep an eye out for deals for decorations. There is only so much I can do about the food in advance, but I figured I'd start setting aside money for both feasts now.

I found this article very enlightening. Time Magazine -- Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us I've often wondered why medical bills are so high. When I've contemplated starting my own business, my biggest reason for not taking the risk is the fear that without employer-sponsored health care, my family and I would not be able to afford it. A month's health insurance for my family would cost more than $400 a month, and that's with a $5,000 deductible. Who can afford to pay that when you don't know from month to month what your income will be? Perhaps if the doctor bills were a little more reasonable, health insurance would be more affordable for everyone.

Well, my break took a little longer than I expected. My dad's recovery took a short detour when he got an infection, but he's doing good now, my freelance project is mostly out of the way, and the consignment sale is behind me. I did MUCH better at the consignment sale this year. I got just a little more than $200, and my first act after depositing the check was to send an extra $100 to a creditor, and with how much time we've spent out of town lately and staying in hotels while my dad was hospitalized, I wish it could've been more.

Because of an illness in the family and pressing deadlines on a freelance project and on the consignment sale , I'm putting this blog on hold for the next couple of weeks. My next post will be March 6 (hopefully.)

Last year, I participated in a local consignment sale that sells all kids items . I made $37 for the work I put into it, which is more than I could've hoped for given how little I had to start off with. A few weeks ago, I signed up to participate again. I have a few weeks to go through everything, get it all tagged and ready to go. I can also take some items that got left behind last time. Hopefully, I do at least as well as last time. Speaking of Consignments ... Our local newspaper ran an article a couple of months ago about local consignment stores I found really interesting. One of the store owners featured in the story said she had a consigner who shops local garage sales for cheap finds, then sells the items at the consignment store, receiving a check from the consignment store that averages about $800 a month. Of course, that doesn't account for the money she spends at the garage sales buying the items to begin with, but even a net income of $400 a month on consignm...

Over the weekend, I saw a film via Netflix called " Hungry for Change ," which talks about the benefits of a raw food diet. Because my husband and I could both stand to lose weight, and because we don't want to pass along our unhealthy habits to our daughter, I decided to incorporate more raw foods into my menus. Therefore, I'll be buying a lot more fresh produce in the coming weeks. And, I need to be diligent about cutting up and preparing the veggies before they spoil so that the money spent doesn't go to waste. I hate tossing out uneaten vegetables and fruits, but yet I find myself doing it now even without buying as much as I plan to as my family tries eating more greens. To start off, though, I spent extra money. I bought a few kitchen gadgets I don't already have that can help me prepare veggies more quickly: a mandoline slicer, spiral slicer and a blender. Hopefully, I put them all to good use, otherwise, that's just even more money down the dra...