What a month this was. Not only did I have the vacation in Oregon, but I just got back from a long weekend at my brother's house. I went up to attend a memorial service for my sister's ex-husband. In addition to that, we did some eating out, and of course there was gas to buy. 

And then there was the semi-annual auto insurance payment.

Here is how it all broke down:

Insurance - $1180

Housing - $769

Vacation/Travel - $631

Utilities - $201

Fees/Services - $190 (Traffic ticket and legal fee)

Medical/Health - $81

Entertainment - $64

Gifts/Charity - $44

Groceries - $38

Phone - $38

Gas - $29

Personal - $27

Household Supplies - $22

Laundry - $16

Eating Out/Takeout - $9

Car Washes - $6

Grand Total - $3345

My variables this month ended up at 110% spent.

The bright spot was that with all the traveling I didn't buy much in the way of groceries.

Yesterday I got out and did my walking at the community center, strength training at the gym, and did a little shopping, too. I spent $14 at Mariano's for groceries and $22 at Sam's Club for paper towels. Variables are at 79%.

Apparently I overstressed my knee while I was at the gym, and today I am in pain and hobbling around. The only solution is rest, so I will just have to lay low for a while. That's too bad because I really wanted to get back into walking every day, but I know that's not going to be a good idea.

I am back from my visit with my Oregon son. It was a wonderful time. I was so glad to see him getting around, improving every day. He is still experiencing pain, but his doctor tells him this is normal, especially with two major surgeries in such a short time frame.

This vacation was more expensive than my usual. In addition to the airfare and hotel costs, which I already shared, I spent $35 on ground transportation, $112 on eating out, $32 on activities, and $70 on baggage fees. But it was worth it.

I returned home yesterday night, very tired and jet-lagged, and I'm still getting over it today.

One of the best pieces of news was that even though his position at work has been eliminated, he has a new position at the same level, and he started on Monday, on a shortened schedule.

Not so great news was learning that the spot on my cheek was skin cancer, but it is the "not scary" kind. Basal cell carcinoma. I have an appointment to have to removed on August 9.

Yep, I did. And I was caught by a red light camera, so I have to fork out $100. I wouldn't have believed it, but they have video proof. In my defense, it happened during the time I was so worried about my son, so I really wasn't in my right mind. I had no idea on that day what I had done.

On the same day I got the notice, I got my payout from the Google class action lawsuit. It was $95, so that almost pays for the ticket.

I just noticed that my July statement shows no change in my mortgage balance. I assume that's because of the July 4 holiday. But I printed out the two statements and I'm watching.

I've been very frugal with daily expenses but I did treat myself to lunch through a drive-through today - $5. Variables are at 20%.

I looked at my airline ticket for next week's trip to visit my son -- I realized that the plane leaves at 6 am, which I apparently didn't think was a bad time when I booked the ticket, but I forgot I would have to be there two hours earlier, plus the airport is about 40 minutes away. WHAT WAS I THINKING? I am not at all comfortable with taking an Uber in the wee hours, not to mention I'm not sure I would be able to function at that time. So I decided to book a room at the airport hotel the night before. It's way more expensive than I thought it would be -- with the fees tacked on it's $303, which I think is outrageous, but maybe it's typical these days. Anyway, I'm going to do it, it will make for a much better start to the day, which is going to be a long one.

I won't make that mistake again! I'm sure I went for this ticket because the price was better, but I will have to remember that I'm an old lady now, and a mid-day flight is a much better option, whatever the price.

I grocery shopped yesterday at Mariano's (a rather upscale store owned by Kroger). Aldi is my go-to store, but I go to Mariano's when I need popcorn. I spent $23. Then I picked up a prescription from Walgreens for $15. 

I hardly ever grocery shop on Saturday because it's so busy, but I was out of some key items and didn't want to wait any longer.

After days of no rain and smoky skies, we had non-stop rain today, and then a flash flood alert. It has expired, so there's no danger. I'm glad for the rain; we needed it so badly, maybe not all at once, though.