It's the end of the school year here and that brings a lot of expenses with it.

Signed my son up for basketball camp - $110. It's the only camp he does over the summer and we are trying to keep him from playing video games 24/7, plus the exercise is good for him and he really enjoys it. I know I am rationalizing why I am spending the money on camp but I am not ready to start depriving my kids.

Starting gathering ideas for my daughter's high school graduation party. I lot of things I will be able to do myself but some will require outside help and therefore, money. We are keeping it simple but even simple has a price.

Getting my haircut today - first time in 4 months and believe me when I say I need it! I did budget for it so that's a step in the right direction

Extended family went to a burger joint for Father's Day dinner yesterday. Mu husband has 2 sisters, both of which have their own families. Can you believe neither sibling offered to pay for their father's dinner? I couldn't believe it. I, of course, wasn't going to let them pay, it was Father's Day after all. $58 on dinner. I was half tempted to text the girls after and tell them they owe me half of what their parents had.

Getting burned out on mystery shopping. I did just get another $43.32 but it's so time consuming. I am still going to do it but I think I have to cut back a little until I get through grad party planning.

Still looking for a personal loan to consolidate my debt. Changed garbage companies last week which will save me $100/year. I also reviewed option for gas and electricity supply charges and am confident I am getting the best rate. Next up, ditching the land line and looking into options for decreasing our cable bill.

Got my cell phone reimbursement from work today. They don't reimburse much but it's something. Adding $38 to my Discover Loan.

Also got another mystery shopping payment. Another $20 to Discover.

I am busy trying to find a reasonable personal loan to pay off my credit cards. I haven't found anything lower than what Discover is offering so I might just go with them. And then cut up everything plastic!

I am getting antsy because it takes so long for these small amounts of extra cash to come in - I feel like I am fighting against the interest on my credit cards and every measly bit isn't helping much. Plus it's so hard when things always seem to come up at the last minute. I need to do some better planning.

My goals for this week are:
1) contact another garbage company to see if I can get a lower rate
2) contact the gas and electric company to get a lower supply charge
3) cancel my land line

Father's Day, the last day of school, my daughter's high school graduation, and my anniversary are all coming up in the next 2 weeks - it's a busy time and I am afraid it will be an expensive time.

Ugh, maybe updating my sidebar will make me feel better.

I forgot to add an item to my budget. I've been doing a lot of mystery shopping lately and totally forgot to account for the cash I must spend up front. It isn't a lot and I do get reimbursed but I think I should plan for it. Oh well, this is all a process, right?

I received my first check for mystery shops done in May $57.45 going straight to the Discover Loan. I am expecting at least one more payment from a different company next week.

The question I have is in regards to my Discover Loan. Do you think it would be wise for me to transfer my credit card debt to another Discover Personal Loan? I like the loan for it's low interest rate (8.49%), the ability to pay it off early, and the fact that I have the payments automatically deducted and I just forget about. My balance never goes up.

If I did transfer I would only have one loan to throw extra payments towards and hopefully never use my credit cards again.

What do you all think?

Busy day running errands today. I did some grocery shopping today as well as a Target run for a few household items that I needed. I tried to be very mindful of the new budget I've given myself and I think I did an OK job.

My first stop was at the supermarket. They had a few things on sale that I wanted to pick up and I was able to find coupons for the other things I needed. Before savings my bill as 110.26. I saved 38.91 by using my store bonus card and 4.50 using coupons bringing my total to 67.09. I got milk, bread, eggs, 5 sirloin steaks, cereal, apple sauce, cheese sticks, cottage cheese, veggies, baked beans, Gatorade and some chips for lunches.

This particular grocery store gives discounts on gas so I managed to get 10 cents off each gallon. I needed gas so I stopped on my way out and filled up my SUV for 51.12.

Next I went to Target and picked up some storage bags, garbage bags, some frozen chicken nuggets, chicken strips and frozen tilapia. I got $10 in gift cards for a future purchase and I used 2 gifts cards ($15) that I had previously earned towards this trip bringing my total to 31.62.

So I have 101.29 left in my grocery budget and 48.88 left in my gas budget. I think I can make it until the 15th with this

I completed 3 mystery shops between yesterday and today. Just finished submitting my reports. I have 3 lined up for tomorrow. It's good to be busy! My neighbor asked if my husband and son would weed her garden - they went over today to do it and I helped out too. She offered to pay us so I figured I would pitch in and help. She will be coming over with the money tomorrow.

I have more clothes to get together tomorrow to drop off at the consignment store as well as make homemade applesauce with apples I have before they go bad and complete my mystery shops. It's shaping up to be a very busy weekend!