Yesterday I did a restaurant mystery shop in Chicago. I took a train to the site, which worked out pretty well, except that I headed off in the wrong direction once I got off the train! Re-oriented myself, and all was well.

I also got a haircut ($16, using a $4 coupon).

I didn't get much else done, because I was very tired. Not taking meds is affecting my sleep, and the continual pain is stressful.

Today I'm going to the gym, and then I'm going to get all the laundry done. I'm also going to make a library run and stock up on books. Tomorrow I will take the car to the shop, and then spend the day at home cleaning up and getting things situated.

Variables are at 59%.

Wind chill values are in the low to mid-teens! We had a couple of beautiful days, but now this setback. I am trusting that when I come out of the hospital, Spring will truly be here!

My little bit of spending at the grocery store turned into $93. I asked my BFF what I needed to get for her at the grocery store and she texted, "Treats!" I said, okay, what else, she texted, "Chocolate!" I got the message and stocked up on goodies. I also got a bunch of paper plates and bowls. And quite a bit of real food -- apples, carrots, clementines, roast beef, meatballs, and bags of frozen veggies.

Obviously, this is going to be a weird month financially.

I picked up a raised toilet seat at a lending closet -- had to try three different places before I hit pay dirt. But that was free.

I mistakenly used a private parking garage instead of a city one and paid $5 for parking.

I got the estimate done ($1700, but I don't have to pay it!) The body shop agreed to take my car on Monday, and they will probably get it done by Friday or Saturday. One of my kids will pick it up.

Today I have one last mystery shop to do, and it's downtown. I plan to take the El rather than try to manage parking. Wish I hadn't signed up for this, but I wasn't really thinking ahead at the time.

I got my Breeze system litter pan set up yesterday. I was waiting to use up as much of the old litter as I could, but I couldn't wait any more. I love the neatness of it, and the total lack of dust. Iggy has used it, and hasn't commented. I have lots of pads on hand, but I probably need to buy a bag of pellets to have in reserve.

Which brings me to variables. I've already spent 56% this month, which has just begun! And I'm going to spend more, because I want to get a haircut before I go into the hospital. Hoping a few weeks at home will slow me down, but there will be meds to pay for -- they might come out of savings.

The claim was approved, and I will be taking the car in for an estimate today. I have to go to a different shop than before because State Farm has its preferred shops. I will probably arrange to have the repairs done while I am in the hospital and laid up. I have things to do this weekend and can't give up the car yet.

Yesterday turned out to be a bit of a spendy day. I had to order new checks - $15. I hardly ever use them any more but I can't be completely out of them. I decided to renew my AARP membership for $16. They tempted me with a free trunk organizer, which is something I can use. The surprise was lunch yesterday. I had a mystery shop scheduled at a restaurant, which paid for my order, but since I was babysitting the boys, I had to buy their lunches,too. They stepped up and ordered burgers, shakes and fries, and the cost above my reimbursement was $27! I could ask DIL to pay me back, but I won't unless she offers.

I got a cut in my payment from TIAA -- only about $16 a month, but any cut is disheartening. But I signed up for a service through my healthcare provider which will pay my gym fees, so that will help.

In addition to getting the repair estimate, I have to go to a lending closet today for some durable medical equipment, and I have a little grocery shopping to do. DIL is not working today, so I will have no childcare.

I had to go in and get CT Scan retakes yesterday, and I'm hoping that's all good now. It's getting awfully real!

I spent 20% of my variables yesterday -- $30 for pre-surgical cleanser and facial moisturizer, $1.50 for laundry, $5 for lunch, $14 for a board game, and $50 for printer cartridges.

I did not earn a lot of extra money last month, so this month my pot is small.

I stopped taking my meds yesterday. I am really feeling the loss of the Celebrex and I had a very hard time sleeping last night. Finally I managed the pain by sticking an ice pack on my hip.

I am also feeling stuffy without Zyrtec. The good news -- at least my acid reflux isn't kicking in yet!

Almost forgot -- I filed the auto insurance claim yesterday and it sounds like the other company will pay with no problem. But I haven't heard any follow-up yet. If the claim is approved when I'm in the hospital, DS & DIL will take my car to the shop.

I can't believe it. I had another crash yesterday. This time I was just waiting in line to make a turn. The truck in front of me backed up for some reason. I wasn't quick enough to go into reverse, and he smashed my headlight and scratched up the bumper.

I filed a police report and will call his insurance company today. Meanwhile, I'll be driving with one headlight. This I didn't need just one week before my surgery.

It's pay day, though! I just paid the mortgage and will pay the two credit cards when the deposit is no longer in the pending stage.

I ended up with 89% in variables. I took the boys to lunch yesterday and the total for all of us was $17.

Here is the monthly recap:

Housing: $733
Car Repair/Maintenance: $500
Fees/Services: $190
Utilities: $177
Groceries: $106
Clothing: $85
Medical/Health: $58
Household Supplies: $56
Phone: $52
Eating Out: $52
Vacation/Travel: $40
Entertainment: $36
Gas: $23
Personal: $20
Gifts/Charity: $15
Laundry: $11
Fares/Parking: $7
Grand Total: $2172

The fee was mostly the Ancestry.com subscription. Clothing -- expensive socks and some clothes from Goodwill. Everything else is pretty typical, except, of course, for the $500 deductible I paid to get the car fixed.

Certainly hoping the other guy's insurance will pay this time.

I took the boys to an indoor trampoline park yesterday. DIL had given me $40 for entertainment. The actual cost was $50, but for that $10 they were well-entertained for two hours and burned off a lot of energy. Afterwards we got milkshakes at Steak N Shake's 2-for-1 happy hour -- but it was even cheaper as the person in front of us in the line paid for our order, too! One of those random acts of kindness -- very nice. I did manage to wave my thanks as she drove away.

Oh, and we had lunch at their home -- mac & cheese from the pantry and some fresh fruit.

I'm going over at 10 today and I'll probably sit with them till 3 or 4.

Both my phone bill and my assessment fees hit right before pay day so I didn't get a break, but next month should be cheaper -- except for the medical costs, of course! I have done my monthly recap, but I'll post it tomorrow, as there is the possibility I'll spend something today. Right now variables are at 85%.

I spent $3 on cheese yesterday, and it was worth it -- it did make the onion soup so much better. Variables are at 84%. With 2 days to go, that's very good.

However, I'll be babysitting the boys this afternoon and some days this week -- not sure of the schedule, if there is one. They are on spring break, but mom & dad are working. DIL's schedule is very loose. I'll take it day by day and hope I can hold back on spending till Wednesday.

I have a mystery shop to complete this morning. It is 10 miles away -- a 30-minute trip at this time of day. And it should take about a half hour when I'm there.

I got my ballot for school board elections in the mail, so it's time to do a little research.

It has turned very cold and windy today. Will true Spring ever come?

I did some spring cleaning yesterday -- mostly floors and cleaning up around the baseboards, which have been neglected. Whew! Also, the closet where the litter pan is kept. What a mess. I'm using up the last of the clay litter before I install the new Breeze system. When I do that I'll clean again, more thoroughly. I'd like to put down some vinyl on the floor and paint the baseboards in there. But that will wait till I'm healed and I have more expendable cash.

Three days till payday and I'm trying not to spend anything. (Though I do have about $100 in the budget.) I don't know what my expenditures will be in the next cycle. I'm guessing not too much out of pocket -- not till later. Food is pretty much covered for the first week after surgery. There will be physical therapy, which is a $45 per session co-pay, but they usually don't charge till the end. I will have to pay $300 per day in the hospital, but again, that won't be charged right away. It may fall in the next pay cycle, however.

Today is a gym day, and I'm getting ready to go. I may break my spending rule and buy some cheese while I am out. The French onion soup would be so much better and heartier with bread and cheese on top. All I have is shredded cheddar, which isn't quite the right cheese.

Yesterday I made a pot of French onion soup -- in the Instant Pot! And it was great, though I used white wine vinegar instead of red wine, and so it is a little -- tart? Most of it is going in the freezer. But I left out enough to eat the next few days.

I also made some chicken/vegetable broth and put that in the freezer.

I got paid by one of my mystery shop companies -- $71, but about two-thirds of that was reimbursements.

I assigned myself to another mystery shop on Monday. There will be two others before I have my surgery, and then, of course, I will be done for a while.

Next week is spring break for our school district. I haven't been asked to babysit, so I'm not sure what is happening with DS & DIL. They might be staycationing.

Today I will continue my quest to spend nothing till pay day on Wednesday. I have one more cooking job -- pan-frying chicken medallions, which I will use for chicken sliders post-surgery. After pay day I'm going to buy some roast beef and I'll assemble French dip sandwiches for the freezer. I think I'll be done then.

I'm planning on making this a day at home. I woke up with a headache, so I want to take it easy as much as possible.

I do want to get some things done. I need to clean the fish tank. I want to do some more cooking for the freezer. The whole place needs to be vacuumed and mopped. And I have another load of laundry to do.

Yesterday I spent $6 on hot chocolate for GS2 and me. It was the day I take him to cooking class after school. There is not quite enough time to go home, but too much time to take him straight there. I killed a little time with a trip to the library, but we still got there way too early, so I pulled into Starbucks and we got the hot chocolate. Variables are up to 83% -- five days to go.

It appears the lending closet loans items out for three weeks, so I going to go there closer to my surgery date.

I am hoping not to spend anything between now and pay day on the 27th.

The boys and I stopped at Culver's last night after music lessons, and I spent $13 for three burgers. Music lessons now start a little later and go a little longer, so the boys are really hungry when they get done.

I spent $4 out of pocket above the $15 gift card for groceries at Aldi yesterday. Variables are now at 82%. Six days to go.

I am checking out lending closets for medical equipment. It looks like the nearest one is a little over nine miles away. I will be provided with a walker, but I will need a booster seat for the toilet. I think I'll skip the shower stool, etc. I plan to take what my mom called spit baths until I can lift my leg over the tub side. That has worked out well before.

Anyway, I will go check out the lending closet tomorrow.

BFF will have to leave five days after my surgery. I am hoping that I will be pretty good by then. I will have my DS & DIL who are VERY nearby on call, and if I feel a little shaky one of them can stay the night. (They don't know that yet.) When I had my ankle surgery I spent a lot of time alone, and the recovery from that was a lot more challenging than hip replacement is reported to be. I guess I'll find out.

I'm off to the gym....

I was doing a good job of keeping my net worth stable. It went down by $14K after I bought the car, but I was okay with that -- I had to have a car. Being in my gap year, I wasn't able to work at making it up, but I was keeping it on an even keel.

But now it has fallen again, because my condo was assessed at a lower value. In short, according to the assessor's office, it is worth about $8 less than I had it figured in my spreadsheet. Now, to be fair, I think I had personally assessed its value too high from sales of comparables in the area, and not from what the assessor said, because the actual change from last year is only $3K. But this assessment is supposed to be a fair market value, so I think I should adjust my spreadsheet. It is probably more realistic, as I do not see a lot of healthy sales in this area any more. It is probably what I would be able to get if I sold it.

Why did it go down? I am assuming that there are now more rentals in the building than there used to be, and that hurts property values.

At least I should see a drop in taxes. And I am not going to sell any time soon.

Yesterday was a no-spend day other than laundry. I did not make the Aldi trip, but I hope to get it done today. I'm going to use the $15 Visa gift card, and try to keep my purchases at that level.

I made some spaghetti sauce, but it cooked down to a pretty small batch, so I may just eat it rather than freeze it.

Today I'm going to make some granola.

After a lovely day yesterday, it's rainy and cold today. But it's spring!!!!

Lordy, the site is slow today!

After getting my documents signed and witnessed yesterday, I went to the library and got more books.
Other than that, I didn't get a whole lot done. I was very tired from my sleepless night. I did make the mac & cheese. Today I'm going to start work on spaghetti sauce with some tomatoes I took out of the freezer.

I'm doing laundry, and I need to get to Aldi later. I'm also on tap to pick up the boys from school.

I just watched a clip on the Today Show about food waste in the US. 40% of the food produced is thrown away! It's criminal. So that reminds me to do something with the celery that is going limp in my fridge. I also have a bunch of onions which I'm going to carmelize, but the celery is closer to the edge. My little efforts may not do much, but at least I know I am not throwing away food that I have paid for!

I didn't do any spending yesterday, and my variables are at 78% with 8 days to go.

I just got back from the gym. It was really hard waking up at 6 this morning, but I know they mean business around here when they tell you to move your car. And I thought I might as well get the gym visit out of the way since I had to get up anyway.

I found a legal place to park just around the corner. The tree-trimmers are not here yet, but my street is blocked for the whole day. Hoping it will just be the one day.

After I shower and dress, I'll head to DIL's work to get my living will and durable power of attorney witnessed. After that I'm free. Probably. Monday is one of those days when I am not expected to chauffeur the boys. However, I am on call.

I just applied for a mail-in ballot for the April 2 election. In my city, it is just for school board, but of course the makeup of the school board is important to me, with grandchildren in the school system. In Chicago proper, the election is for a new mayor. It is a pretty exciting race, with two African-American women running for it. As they keep saying, history-making! But as a suburbanite, I don't get to vote in that.

Of course, on April 2 I will be too busy to vote -- I'll be having surgery -- hence the mail-in ballot request.

I had a terrible night's sleep last night, so I may take a nap, if my schedule allows.

My only at-home goal today is to get the mac & cheese made. I'll have a serving and put the rest in the freezer.

I had a terrible dream last night in which I lost my laptop, with all its information -- it was stolen right out from under me, and I couldn't get anyone to listen to me about what happened. It was such a relief to wake up and realize that everything was safe.

Aside from the cooking I had a leisurely day yesterday, with no spending. Today I'm going to do some laundry and some cleaning. I'm going to finish a book today, so I may go to the library and stock up, even though I have one more.

Tomorrow they are tree-trimming on my block and I will have to move the car before 7 am. I'll set the alarm and go to the gym; then later in the morning I'll go to DIL's work to get my documents witnessed and then get the copies distributed.

BFF is going to bring some sweatpants for me to borrow during recovery. I have several pairs of loose workout pants, but I don't want to have to worry about running out and doing laundry. She bought a bunch when she had hip surgery herself, and I don't think she has used them since.

My menu during recovery is shaping up: chicken rice casserole, French dip sandwiches, spaghetti, mac & cheese, chicken sliders. I'll also have sausage rolls and sausage gravy with biscuits for breakfast. All this will be prepared ahead of time and in the freezer. I will also have fresh things on hand, but of course, they won't be purchased till the last minute. BFF doesn't cook, so I want to have the food as ready-to-go as possible.

I'm just hanging around home today. I've done some cooking and baking. I made blueberry pancake batter, sausage gravy, sausage rolls and banana bread. All for the freezer. And yes, I did dare to try banana bread again after my last fiasco. DIL gave me some overripe bananas so I decided to try again using an old tried-and-true recipe. The loaves are cooling now, and they certainly look a lot better than the last batch. I'm out of walnuts, so unfortunately was not able to make banana walnut bread, but I trust it will be good anyway.

I will take my living will and healthcare agent forms in to my DIL's workplace on Monday. Two of her colleagues agreed to be witnesses as I sign the forms. Then I'll make copies and get them to the doctor, hospital, and both my sons. And that will be done.

My grocery list is growing again, but at least this time I'll be able to use my Visa gift card and get $15 off.

Surgery is more than two weeks away, but it's starting to seem very close! I'll be so glad when it's all over and I'm on the mend.

I went to Sam's this morning after going to the gym. I was intending to buy only one thing, but ended up spending $62 -- $33 on groceries, $16 on household supplies, and $13 on personal care. Once I got there, I started thinking in terms of what I wanted to be sure I had on hand while recovering from surgery, and I thought I might as well do it now. That pushed my variables up to 78%! Yikes. With a week and a half to go, that's not great. But I do feel more prepared. Of course, I will have about a week between my next pay day and the surgery, so I will have more opportunity to stock up.

I put a chicken casserole in the freezer yesterday, and I am planning to make some mac & cheese for the freezer, too. With a little planning, I won't have to do takeout during recovery, and BFF won't have to cook. (She doesn't cook!)

I got a $15 Visa reward card for doing the wellness check. I tried to use that at Sam's, but it wasn't accepted at the self-checkout aisle. It asked for a pin. I was supposed to activate the card and choose a pin. Oh well, I will do it now.

It should be a nice, lazy day for me now. The only thing on tap is to pick up GS1 if the rain continues like it is.

Doctor visit went well yesterday. I had a bad moment when I thought I had waited too long to schedule my CT scan, meaning I would have to change the surgery date, but I got it done this morning and I'm still on schedule. I got an EKG yesterday, and blood work this morning. All this cost $5 copay and $4 for parking -- so far.

I took the boys to music lessons after school, and bought dinner for them at McDonald's for $6.

Filling the tank today cost $23.

I'm not near my computer right now but I think my variables are now at 60 percent.

The doctor had forms for a living will and durable power of attorney, so I can get those done at no cost. Just need to have a couple of witnesses when I sign.

Everything is looking good!

I've done my early-morning mystery shop, which meant a trip into the city, but it went okay I think. I spent $6 over the reimbursement for deodorant.

I also spent $4 for breakfast at McDonald's. Obviously, that was an impulse, but I was hungry and nervous about traffic.

In a few minutes I will leave for my doctor's appointment.

I called my lawyer in Indiana, and he advised me to get a living will drawn up by an Illinois lawyer. He said I could probably get forms from my doctor, so that's one of the things I'll address today.

I did learn that my two sons are both co-representatives in my will and both have power of attorney, so that was something I didn't even have to worry about. Believing that my older son was the single power of attorney was a false memory -- probably because at the time it was drawn up, my younger son (who is now nearby) was the distant one, living in Kansas. I do remember my older son sitting in the waiting room at the hospital with documents in hand while I was getting a hysterectomy. A long time ago.

Funny what the mind can do.

I'm off....

Just went to Planet Fitness and got my free bagel breakfast -- and a workout, of course. Then went to Food4Less and spent $12 on groceries. That puts variables up to 53%.

I signed up for a drug store mystery shop tomorrow morning, and I'm waiting to hear if I am assigned. If so, I will have to do it early tomorrow morning, and then I have a doctor's appointment, followed by picking up the boys, and possibly taking them to music lessons.

This doctor's visit will be my pre-surgery visit with my family doctor. I will ask him about what to do about switching durable power of attorney. I have a bunch of stuff to read before I go to the appointment.

Just heard that Honda's are being recalled for an airbag defect. I did a VIN# search on a recall website and it said that my vehicle had no open recalls. But I wonder if I should keep checking, as the news seems to be breaking now.

I went to the gym yesterday and then to Aldi's, where I spent $45. Variables are at 52%, with 16 days to go.

Even though the temperature was warmer than it has been, the wind was high, and it was freezing! I was quite miserable loading and unloading the car, and I was happy to spend the rest of the day at home.

I made a comfort-food casserole with chicken, rice, mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup. It turned out very dry after I baked it. I'm assuming the rice absorbed a lot of the liquid. I think I'm going to try to rescue it by adding more liquid, maybe a combination of milk and broth.

I need to call a lawyer and find out about switching my durable power of attorney. Right now my older son is the enforcer, but he lives in Florida now and it makes more sense for the son who lives nearby to be the one who makes the decisions. Older DS is going to be vacationing at the Grand Canyon when I am in surgery and may not even be reachable. I'm sure nothing is going to go wrong, but I want to be sure I have my ducks in a row when the time comes.

Does anyone know if this is a simple thing to do, and will I need to pay a legal fee to have it done? My lawyer has long since retired, and her office is three hours away from me, so I'm not even sure who is going to take care of this. Should I just find a new lawyer nearby? I'm never in need of legal services, so I don't know the protocol.

My car was ready yesterday, and DS took me to pick it up at around 11 am. It looks amazing! It looks better than the day I bought it. Of course, I had to pay $500 out of pocket, but I'm trying to let that go. That's what emergency funds are for.

I drove straight to the library and picked up some more books.

Today I'm going to go to the gym (after a week's break) and then to Aldi for a few groceries.

I babysat for the boys last night while DS & DIL went out to dinner with surprise visitors. It wasn't long, and I got a free dinner -- leftovers from Chinese takeout.

I made bread yesterday, but it was somehow cursed. Right from the beginning it was too dry, and I added water and oil after the fact. It turned out wrinkled and stunted. It tastes good, though! I may just call it artisan bread!

Well, the car was not ready yesterday. They painted late in the day and it has to cure. They did not exactly promise that it would be ready today at closing (1 pm) but that is what I'm hoping for.

It actually turned out well, since I had a headache all day yesterday and no ride. Today, DIL is available to take me there.

I did a load of laundry yesterday, and I should be caught up on that for a while. Otherwise, it was a no-spend day.

I'm not exactly getting low on food, but there are gaps in my larder. I am running low on reading material, too.

I'm out of bread, and I plan to make some today. When I get wheels again, I will be mindful to only buy essentials. Variables are at 43%, with two and a half weeks to go.

No spending yesterday. Hopefully, today is the day I will pick up my car.

I used the stovetop popcorn popper I bought at Goodwill. It was only $2.50, and I'm glad, because it wasn't worth much. I burned the popcorn and scorched the bottom of the pan (which is very hard to clean because only half of the top opens). I realized this was a user issue, but the noise of turning the spinner made it impossible to tell when the popping stopped. I don't know if I'll get it clean enough to use again. It was so thin and lightweight, the kernels burned very easily. What a disappointment.

I have another load of laundry to do today, but nothing else is on tap.

The temperature is rising, so that is happy news!

Yesterday the boys had a half-day of school, so DIL picked them up and brought them here. I had plenty of spaghetti sauce in the freezer, so that's what we had for lunch. Afterwards we had a rousing game of Monopoly. They went home around 4.

My only spending was $1.50 for laundry.

With any luck, this will be the last day I am without a car. I am toying with the idea of walking to the body shop tomorrow when it's ready. It is 2.7 miles. The weather is supposed to be above freezing tomorrow. If I don't do that, I may take the bus, which will get me pretty close, though I will have to make a transfer. It would be the first time I used my ride-free permit.

That is trusting, of course, that the car will actually be ready tomorrow.

Today I really don't have to do much of anything, and that's all right with me!

I spent the day inside yesterday, and I did not spend anything.

The banana bread I made is a disappointment. It was too brown on the outside and not quite cooked in the center. I did alter the recipe a little, because I mistakenly added an extra egg and tried to make up for it by adding extra flour and sugar. Oh well. I sliced it up and put it in the freezer. Later on it may seem more appealing.

I also did one of my most dreaded tasks -- cleaning the aquarium.

No plans for today. It is still cold, and I still have no car!

I bought a Google album yesterday. It was an impulsive buy. I just had an urge to save some favorite pictures that have been living on my phone. I know that people can make these albums themselves, but I am just not adept at that kind of stuff. Anyway, it was $17.

Along with the vacation and Goodwill spending this weekend, my variables have risen to 42%. It's way too early in the month for it to be this high, so I need to cut back to essentials. Now that I'm more than halfway through my gap year, I am feeling less tension about money, but I need to keep a little tension going!

I took my car to the body shop yesterday afternoon, because DIL was available to give me a ride home. It is supposed to be ready on Friday, when it will cost me $500. I'll take that out of savings.

After the passing of their cat, DS & DIL gave me all the leftover food and their Breeze litter box system. I'm going to use up my regular litter first, but I'm looking forward to the new system, which is very clean -- it uses pellets rather than clay litter, and the urine is collected in a disposable pad underneath the louvered pan. It will be more expensive to use, but I have a good head start with all the supplies they gave me.

Now I have four days at home without a car. I don't have any plans to go anywhere, because the temperature is still hovering around zero. I've got a lot of little things to get done around the house. Today I'm going to use up bananas and make banana bread.

I got back from my short trip to Indiana yesterday, heading home a little early because the weather started to look threatening. I drove out of the snow within about a half hour and the weather in my area was clear and beautiful. Today, however, the temperature has fallen below zero, so even though it looks good, it's bad weather!

My vacation cost me $39 for gas and food. BFF and I went to her Goodwill, which was having a half-price sale on everything. I spent $20 on clothing (two pairs of capris, two sweaters, three tops, one belt), and I spent $14 on stuff (large baking dish, stovetop popcorn popper, water bottle, vegetable keeper, pumice stone, nail brush, glass container with plastic lid, salt cellars, gift wrap & ribbon).

Variables are now at 39%. But I am taking in my car for repair tomorrow, and I will be housebound for five days, so that should be a low-spend period. I will buy a few necessities today, but it shouldn't be much.

My one regret is that I didn't get my car washed before the temperature dipped. It's too cold to do it now, so I have to take a dirty car to the body shop tomorrow.

I tried to perform a mystery shop yesterday in Indiana, but I went to the wrong location of a fast-food chain, so it was a wasted effort. Don't know why I didn't double-check the address! I was a little freaked out about the sudden heavy snowfall, so I will blame that!

Yesterday I noticed that my Celebrex bottle was getting low. Since I am travelling this weekend, and will be turning my car over to the shop when I get back, I decided I'd better get the prescription refilled immediately. I found a GoodRx coupon for only $17. I only needed 30 days' worth this time, since my surgery is taking place on April 2.

So I went and got it, and while I was waiting for it to be filled, I shopped and picked up $8 worth of groceries and $11 worth of greeting cards. My variables are now at 26%, and only a few days into the pay cycle!

I redeemed $20 from my BOA credit card and put it in the bank.

I signed up for a fast food mystery shop while I am visiting in Indiana. This will not only earn me a little cash, but will take some of the burden off of BFF to feed me while I'm there.

And I found a dime!