A Productive Weekend
January 5-7, 2008
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
I feel good about the weekend that we had. My paycheck went just as quickly as I thought it would, but we got quite a bit done anyways.
My paycheck was $530, less than a full paycheck because one day last pay period the daycare called after I had only been here for one hour and told me the baby had a fever and I needed to pick him up. I paid back $180 on my cash advance, which leaves one more payment of the same amount with my next paycheck before it is paid off. Then I went to the day care and paid $150 toward the co-pay for Title XX, which is $176. I would have paid the entire amount, but I didn’t have change and neither did they. With some luck I should be able to come up with the other $26 sometime this week. I spent $12 on my husband’s prescriptions.
On Saturday we spent $20 on gas to go into town. I gave a gas station $65 to pay them back for the day last week when I filled up and my debit card was declined. I left my ID when that happened as a sign of good faith that I was planning on coming back, and I needed it back to start filing for our tax return. We were planning on getting that done while we were in town because H&R Block does a program where they will estimate your tax return off of the last paycheck of the year and give you an advance RAL of $500 to be paid back when you file with the W-2 in February. This would make it worth the extra expense of driving into town because we needed the cash to give to the landlord so we wouldn’t be completely screwed on rent this month. Unfortunately, UDF couldn’t find my ID, which sent me into a bout of depression at the wasted resources. I should have known to call first. I should have left all the info off of my ID without giving them the actual ID. I should have just gone and had another one made, which would have cost considerably less. We got fast food on the way home for $10. My husband went to the store for charcoal after we got home while I cleaned in anticipation of my father bringing steaks for dinner. He came back with beer, cigarettes, chips, and a bottle of my favorite Irish Cream (to try to cheer me up) in addition to the charcoal I sent him for, reminding me that I really do need to treat him like a child when it comes to shopping and do it my damn self. I don’t know how much he spent specifically for that or whether he got gas, but when I got back to the $100 he took for the trip, it was $25. I’m pretty sure he also used some of that for our contribution to the collection plate on Sunday.
We had a good dinner. It’s nice to be getting along with my father again. I also got to lay it on thick without actually asking for his help when he looked in the fridge and saw a tub of butter and a gallon of milk and a bowl of leftover mac and cheese and condiments and NOTHING ELSE, then in the freezer and saw ice and NOTHING ELSE. I said, “Well, you know the food pantries aren’t really good for stuff that needs refrigerated so we really have to pick that stuff up where we can. Things have just been pretty tight lately.” The next day he called to let me know he was bringing over a bag of groceries.
After he left, my husband’s late best friend’s widow came over with her boyfriend, and since my husband informed them that I was in a really bad mood, they brought a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Select Rum and a bottle of coke and a plate of fudge and the bottle of Riesling they bought just for me for the New Year’s eve party we couldn’t go to since we didn’t have the gas. That lightened my mood considerably! They also brought the movie The Goonies which I had never seen before. They were all blown away that I didn’t recognize Cindy Lauper. I was like, “you know, I was only 6 when the ‘80s ended!”
On Sunday my husband and I agreed to go our separate ways for church. He was raised Catholic, and while he and I both accepted Christ and were born again at an evangelical, non-denominational church, he still feels drawn to go to Catholic mass. I don’t understand it, I don’t enjoy it, and I leave feeling frustrated and unfulfilled when I accompany him, so once a month or so he will drop me off at our regular church and go across the street to the Catholic church. It works well for us. The worship was really good, with a song based on that psalm about the valley of the shadow of death really speaking to my situation. The most important thing I brought away from the sermon is that God has never let go of me, no matter how good or bad things have been, and that he will relentlessly and passionately pursue my devotion for the rest of my life.
Then we went back into town, this time taking the truck which has much better gas mileage. We got $20 worth of gas on the way, and also bought lunch for $6. UDF called before church to tell us that they found my ID, so we stopped by there then went to the tax place and picked up our $500 tax loan, which of course is only $470 due to fees. Then we *finally* got a bite on the washer and dryer that we have been trying to sell for months, and made $275 from that. Then we went grocery shopping and spent $50 on necessities like meat, milk, bread, diapers, and laundry detergent (stuff we won't get from the food pantry) and got a money order for $172 for the past dues on the truck payment. This morning I also spent another $25 on gas to get to work and back today. My husband is planning on giving $400 to the landlord, bringing our total due down to $600, which should be taken care of with his next paycheck and he should finally be getting cash again in two weeks. If we don't have any bad weather, he may even get a small paycheck this week. Things are going well, and God has provided a few unexpected bonuses this week, which have made it possible for my husband to use his prescriptions for his back aches. Tonight we are going to the food pantry at our church to supplement our groceries and have dinner.
My paycheck was $530, less than a full paycheck because one day last pay period the daycare called after I had only been here for one hour and told me the baby had a fever and I needed to pick him up. I paid back $180 on my cash advance, which leaves one more payment of the same amount with my next paycheck before it is paid off. Then I went to the day care and paid $150 toward the co-pay for Title XX, which is $176. I would have paid the entire amount, but I didn’t have change and neither did they. With some luck I should be able to come up with the other $26 sometime this week. I spent $12 on my husband’s prescriptions.
On Saturday we spent $20 on gas to go into town. I gave a gas station $65 to pay them back for the day last week when I filled up and my debit card was declined. I left my ID when that happened as a sign of good faith that I was planning on coming back, and I needed it back to start filing for our tax return. We were planning on getting that done while we were in town because H&R Block does a program where they will estimate your tax return off of the last paycheck of the year and give you an advance RAL of $500 to be paid back when you file with the W-2 in February. This would make it worth the extra expense of driving into town because we needed the cash to give to the landlord so we wouldn’t be completely screwed on rent this month. Unfortunately, UDF couldn’t find my ID, which sent me into a bout of depression at the wasted resources. I should have known to call first. I should have left all the info off of my ID without giving them the actual ID. I should have just gone and had another one made, which would have cost considerably less. We got fast food on the way home for $10. My husband went to the store for charcoal after we got home while I cleaned in anticipation of my father bringing steaks for dinner. He came back with beer, cigarettes, chips, and a bottle of my favorite Irish Cream (to try to cheer me up) in addition to the charcoal I sent him for, reminding me that I really do need to treat him like a child when it comes to shopping and do it my damn self. I don’t know how much he spent specifically for that or whether he got gas, but when I got back to the $100 he took for the trip, it was $25. I’m pretty sure he also used some of that for our contribution to the collection plate on Sunday.
We had a good dinner. It’s nice to be getting along with my father again. I also got to lay it on thick without actually asking for his help when he looked in the fridge and saw a tub of butter and a gallon of milk and a bowl of leftover mac and cheese and condiments and NOTHING ELSE, then in the freezer and saw ice and NOTHING ELSE. I said, “Well, you know the food pantries aren’t really good for stuff that needs refrigerated so we really have to pick that stuff up where we can. Things have just been pretty tight lately.” The next day he called to let me know he was bringing over a bag of groceries.
After he left, my husband’s late best friend’s widow came over with her boyfriend, and since my husband informed them that I was in a really bad mood, they brought a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Select Rum and a bottle of coke and a plate of fudge and the bottle of Riesling they bought just for me for the New Year’s eve party we couldn’t go to since we didn’t have the gas. That lightened my mood considerably! They also brought the movie The Goonies which I had never seen before. They were all blown away that I didn’t recognize Cindy Lauper. I was like, “you know, I was only 6 when the ‘80s ended!”
On Sunday my husband and I agreed to go our separate ways for church. He was raised Catholic, and while he and I both accepted Christ and were born again at an evangelical, non-denominational church, he still feels drawn to go to Catholic mass. I don’t understand it, I don’t enjoy it, and I leave feeling frustrated and unfulfilled when I accompany him, so once a month or so he will drop me off at our regular church and go across the street to the Catholic church. It works well for us. The worship was really good, with a song based on that psalm about the valley of the shadow of death really speaking to my situation. The most important thing I brought away from the sermon is that God has never let go of me, no matter how good or bad things have been, and that he will relentlessly and passionately pursue my devotion for the rest of my life.
Then we went back into town, this time taking the truck which has much better gas mileage. We got $20 worth of gas on the way, and also bought lunch for $6. UDF called before church to tell us that they found my ID, so we stopped by there then went to the tax place and picked up our $500 tax loan, which of course is only $470 due to fees. Then we *finally* got a bite on the washer and dryer that we have been trying to sell for months, and made $275 from that. Then we went grocery shopping and spent $50 on necessities like meat, milk, bread, diapers, and laundry detergent (stuff we won't get from the food pantry) and got a money order for $172 for the past dues on the truck payment. This morning I also spent another $25 on gas to get to work and back today. My husband is planning on giving $400 to the landlord, bringing our total due down to $600, which should be taken care of with his next paycheck and he should finally be getting cash again in two weeks. If we don't have any bad weather, he may even get a small paycheck this week. Things are going well, and God has provided a few unexpected bonuses this week, which have made it possible for my husband to use his prescriptions for his back aches. Tonight we are going to the food pantry at our church to supplement our groceries and have dinner.