It was a no-spend day yesterday. No bills, no treats, no shopping.

But I have to get started on Christmas shopping. I have a few items, but not the big stuff. I'm going to depend a lot on Amazon gift lists this year. I have several hundred dollars in Amazon credits, from Discover and Swagbucks, so that will be a good start.

I made an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow. I have pain in my hips, which I've had for a long time, but now I have pain in one knee - particularly the back of the knee -- which is a lot worse and keeping me awake at night. And Advil is not cutting it.

Luckily my doctor offers evening appointments on Thursdays, so I was able to get in at 7.

I suspect that my knee pain is from repetitive movements -- I think I am compensating for the leg with the broken ankle -- and I am aware that when I step down from the train onto the platform, I often twist my knee in a way that isn't good. So I'm hoping that being mindful of correct movements will go a long way toward relief. I don't want cortisone shots, and I don't want surgery, though I will go there if absolutely necessary.

And I need to lose weight, which is always a battle of mine, never easily accomplished.

Back to financial talk, I picked up on the idea of others here to work out an annual budget. When I looked back at my spending logs over the last year, I realized that there were a lot of surprises and unknowns that I can't plan for. But I did make a simple outline of regular events, like insurance payments, taxes, and birthdays, and stuck in a few next-year-only plans like my niece's graduation and a possible trip to Las Vegas in July. And it certainly made me realize why the end of the year is always stressful, with multiple birthdays, Christmas, and an annual girls' weekend to pay for. So obviously, the key is to continually set aside $$ for November/December and then not stress about it when it comes! Not sure I will try to create a formal budget, as I think there would be many changes for things I can't anticipate.