Weekends and Credit Cards, Part 02

History may not exactly repeat, but future behavior certainly mimics past behavior.

Just like we did a few weeks ago, today we went on a "spending spree" with our Ameican Express credit card.  Now I admit that today was special: Lola is coming back to live with us!  But still, it would be nice if we could find a way to celebrate, to enrich our experience of being alive, without necessarily spending money.

We easily spent over $450.00, $400 of which went on the credit card.  This is bit of a bummer, because after the balance had creeped above $2,000.00, I had scrimped and saved to knock it down to under $1,400.00.  Now it's headed back to two grand, and what concerns me is that I know we are in the midst of a roof repair which will pile on another $700.00 or so.

Grrr!!!

But you have to keep these things in perspective.

1. I still have my job, which even though it has run me absolutely ragged the last few weeks, (sporadically working weekends and into the wee hours of the night), is a very nice source of income for our family.  (And I was even given a teeny-weeny raise recently!)

2. I've been able to increase my 401K contributions at work to 5%, and in six months, (God willing!), I'll be 60% vested in the employer 401K "match", which fantastically is 10% of my salary.

3. We are all in good health, and my job provides us with excellent health insurance.  A bit diminished due to Obama Care, I must confess, but still a very, very good plan, and one that I could never afford on my own.

4. Our condo is still rented out, and the tennent pays on time every month!

5. LOLA IS BACK!!  This should help our finances, (we've been eating out a lot recently  -  besides our extravagant lunch today, we ate dinner out last night), and nerves!  With the recent crazy demands of my job, poor Sweetie has been on her own with the two boys all too often.


I want to end this with some links to a few personal finances websites I think are worth reading:

1. http://www.becomingminimalist.com/   -  I found out about this website thru http://rockstarfinance.com/, (more on that later!), specifically this entry: http://www.becomingminimalist.com/financial-freedom/ .  While I enjoy reading the various "financial independence / quit work early" blogs, I have to admit that I believe this guy has a more constructive attitude towards money and work.

2. http://jlcollinsnh.com/  -  I like this blog because the author is an old fart like me!  Too many of the personal finance, (particularly the "retire early"), blogs are written by young 'uns who, quite frankly, are at a difference place in life than me, and may have different wants and needs.

3. http://rockstarfinance.com/  -  how else are you going to find out about cool sites like http://www.becomingminimalist.com/ without checking this site?  I check this site, along with another of J's sites, http://www.budgetsaresexy.com/ , at least every other day or so.  Lots and lots of good links here.