Yes, it does; and at a bad time of the year.

I went to the doctor last week because I had a sore that just wouldn't heal. I thought it was still a part of the shingles that just wouldn't go away.

No, no, my doctor looked at it and put me in his outpatient surgery room and removed it that same morning and sent it to Pathology. Well, it came back as a Squamas Cell Carcinoma or "skin cancer". He believes he got it all, but would like me to see a specialist. Okay, but I don't have insurance and this is going to cost me, but I realize it needs to be done.

Also, the filling over my root canal is gone. Now, when did that fall out. I will have to call the dentist and have it replaced with a new filling. He wants to put a crown on it, but I just can't afford to do that right now. And, it is in the back, so you can't see it.

Plus, my marriage is struggling. I just don't know how much more mental and emotional abuse I can take. So, I really need to see a divorce attorney.

Oh, where do I begin, cause it is that time of year when Christmas is lurking and two of my children have birthdays in December.

I just need to get on the phone and make some phone calls to get an idea how much those big ticket items are going to cost me, so I can get them in the budget.

On a positive note, my Christmas shopping is going great and my Birthday children already got their presents for their birthdays. Just need to cook their favorite dinner, bake them a cake and celebrate on their birthdays.

Starting my "Passive Income" category.

$6.99 - Rebate check

I will keep a tally on my sidebar.

So, I found this ad:

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/1450409108.html

I actually think this would be a great room to have around my home. I have a spot for it. I could re-decorate it and put the PS2, Guitar Hero and other games in it, along with snacks and have a great place for my kids to hang out. My home is kind of small 1600 square feet, so it needs to be kept cleaned up so it doesn't look clustered. I mean it is only $700. This would be a great family Christmas gift. I already have a trailer plate for it. In my state, if it doesn't drive, you don't need to insure it, just put a trailer plate on it.

Just think, with a little landscaping, like evergreens in pots, strategically placed, it would be kind of cool. Am I crazy or what.

Another blog brought up how much food costs these days, so I thought I would do a post similar to hers in response.

Last year (2008) I spent 6,240 in the "food" category or roughly $520/month. I thought that maybe I could give myself a challenge this year (2009) and cut that amount in half, or $260/month. It seemed simple enough, but after looking at my totals, I apparently didn't do very well. I looks to be about the same both years. We buy mostly all organic items (which costs more) and my food category includes all household items, like toiletries, batteries, lightbulbs, water softener salt, etc.

I have kept all my receipts and figured it would be a January project going through all those receipts to see just how much is spent on food, how much on household and how much spent on water softener salt.

I have stockpiled more this year and had a garden so that I could can, freeze or dry some of our own food. We also cut out pop and bottled water. I have been learning and doing things like making our own bread, sauces and cooking more from scratch.

I am hoping that all my efforts in the past few years will help get my food bill down in 2010. I really would like to be very self-sufficient in this area. And, I would also like to know how much water softener salt, shampoo, toilet paper, laundry soap, etc., we are using.

Can't wait to dig into those receipts.

I have created a new category. I am going to see how much passive income I can make in the next 12 - 14 months, starting with now (November 09).

I will be opening a new checking/savings account somewhere where I can get a sign-up bonus.

It is kind of like the $20 challenge, except this will not be from using coupons to save money on everyday expenses like groceries and such, but any actual monies that come into my hands that I can actually deposit into a seperate account. (i.e., rebates, sign-up bonuses, cashbaq.com money, ebay and craigslist sales, etc.)

Oooh, I wonder how much I can make. This will be a fun challenge.

November is here, I can feel the crunch of loosing half my income. I was a little grumpy yesterday. Probably because I paid the bills, but money also went to my long-term savings goal.

Anyways, I paid another $600 on my debt.

I listed quite a few items on ebay and craigslist. Hoping to generate a little extra cash in the Pay Pal account for X-mas and birthday shopping.

Bought my husband a black suit for his brother's wedding. Cost $90.00. I think that is a awesome deal and he looks great in it.

Went through my coupons this morning for today's grocery shopping excursion.

My youngest child - baby boy (soon to be 15 in December) started driver's training yesterday. Ugg. He was so scarred, he was shaking. First he said, come in with me until he seen all the kids standing around, then he was like, umm, nevermind. It would probably be embarrassing if his mom walked him in.

Also went through baby boy's clothes yesterday with him so I can get an idea what he needed. He grew up so fast.

Washed and changed over all the bedding to the heavier stuff - flannel sheets, down comforters and extra blankets.

Off to shower and then grocery shopping. Hope I find some good deals.