Grand Total                  2594

One of those months when things happened I couldn't help.  The home repair was a plumbing bill. The medical needs no explanation. This will go on for while. Fees & services -- that would be the agreement I have with Best Buy.  Furniture/Equipment/Decor -- most of that is the cost of two heavy-duty brackets to hold up my window air conditioners.  Groceries -- higher than usual, but since I can't drive, I'm shopping in a spotty, catch-as-catch-can fashion.  Gifts-- two birthdays. Eating Out/Takeout was much lower this month -- that's a relief. And of course I'm paying nothing for gas, but I did pay $20 for bus/train fares.

It's not as bad as I thought it might be. We'll see what the next month brings.

Have one thing to add here. My membership fee for AAA was automatically withdrawn on the 30th. It was $105. Of course, I don't need it now, since I'm not driving, but I'm hoping I will be driving again soon, so I think I'll just leave it be. Probably can't suspend it after it's already been withdrawn, anyway.

I am waiting to hear from the Secretary of State's office as to whether they think I can drive again. Meanwhile, I am getting around on the bus and the train and on shoe leather express. Lately, though, it's been too hot to go anywhere.

I am struggling along with only one AC unit. I need a bracket for the other unit, but it won't arrive from Amazon till the end of the week. So I stay in the living room area. It's tolerable. 

Murphy has attacked; I had to call a plumber to fix my toilet, which wasn't flushing adequately. While he was here, I had him clean out my bathtub drain. He said it wasn't too bad. It's just that the pipes are old and small, and likely rust has made them even smaller. Can't really do anything about that -- that's an issue for the building. Plumbers are expensive -- $524!

I've spent most of my grocery budget. I can probably make do, but I am down to one egg and two sticks of butter -- two things I don't like to run out of. My neighbor owes me a stick of butter, but I know I'll never see it. She's good at borrowing, not so much at returning.

One piece of good news -- I think. I called my auto insurer because the semi-annual payment was looming again. I didn't really want to pay it in case it turns out I can't drive anymore. He advised that I temporarily suspend coverage -- all except comprehensive, in case a tree falls on the car. That drastically reduces the payment; however, nobody can drive it. That will be a concern when street sweeping comes around -- which I think will be next week! I don't really mind getting a parking ticket, all things considered, but sometimes they tow cars, and that would be a big problem. The agent said I can temporarily reinstate coverage and then suspend it again -- not sure what that would cost; I didn't ask. And I still can't be the one to drive it, because if I got caught, I would never get my license back.

What a mess this has turned out to be.

Grand Total                  2233

Variables                     104%

It was certainly a different kind of a month for me. Not having a car makes big impact. I spent more than usual eating out -- mostly stops for coffee and a light snack while I was walking. A bit more for medical, even though the bills haven't really started to roll in yet. These were co-pays and medication, etc. My personal spending was mostly for skin care items which needed to be replaced. The biggie, of course, is the $500 for the car repair. That was my deductible.

This morning I got a medical bill for a test -- $120 -- which I have already paid. I also spent $15 for snacks from Walgreens, where I stopped on my morning walk.