get my finances in order

1. Actually opening the mail.
2. Looking at my checking account online and writing down allllll the checks I have not written down in my checkbook
3. Subtracting said checks from the balance in my checkbook (remember subtraction?) so I will know how much I have.
4. Paying the bills as they come in, not stacking them somewhere unopened.

Despite my haphazard habits, I have not bounced a check or failed to pay a bill at least semi-on-time. But the former bank teller in me recoils at such laxity in financial matters. Must do better.

I am pretty sanguine when it comes to economic fluctuations. Gas is $3.50 a gallon? Okay, no choice here, I have to buy it.

Milk is going up? Okay, I can handle it. If it goes too high, I’ll just stop buying organic.

My retirement account has lost that much? Yikes. Oh well, the stock market goes down periodically. Stay the course.

But yesterday, when I was grocery shopping, I thought I’d check for coffee on sale and WHAT???? The big 36-oz canister is almost TEN BUCKS!!!! This is an OUTRAGE!

So I went home without coffee. I have enough to last until it goes on sale. But economic reality has hit home!

means spending less and saving more.

Last year, when hubby came home from the hospital, I simply did not care. Money was the least of my worries and I did not try to save or curb my spending. That is understandable, and I am not worried about what is past.

This year, I need to start being more careful. I do need to make one big expenditure—a wheelchair van. The one I was looking at did not check out mechanically, so I am back to Square One on that.

Wheelchair vans are horrifically expensive. I have often said that no matter what, I would never spend more than 20K (in today’s dollars) on a vehicle. The Fates have a way of pulling the rug out from under you, though, so I guess I will be spending some big bucks. I am thinking that buying a van and having it converted rather than buying an already-converted van might be the way to go. That way, I don’t get expensive stuff in the conversion that I do not need at all.