$ Money makes me happy $

I am in a fantastic mood today. I wish I could feel like this every day. I wish EVERYONE could feel like this every day! I must confess that it is my shallow self that has me beaming.

It's bonus month at The Company this month. We get 4 a year. Yes. One every three months. Don't hate. We work hard! I also managed to wrack up quite a few hours of overtime which was all approved at once and voila!

$$$

No doubt that I will be broke halfway through next month...but I will be broke with no debt, a lot more savings, a new tattoo and just general happiness! I've done some calculations and I'll even be able to pay off my half of the TV that we bought last month!

Our payslips were only put online yesterday...and I already went and bought two pairs of shoes after work. Pffft. Money burns holes in my pocketses! I think it would be an awesome idea to save on my credit card, but my credit card is WAY too easily whipped out and swiped. That's what I did yesterday. Swiped the card in anticipation of getting paid tonight. I'll stick to my 32 day account where I have to give an entire month notice. Much safer.

I've also promised my grandfather anything he wants for his birthday (it may be his last, after all) and invited them to a dinner at a restaurant of his choice after we come back from George.

I love being able to do this! I hope that everyone finds themselves in this position at some time in their lives. Even if it's only one time. Pity money can't buy a pregnancy.

Next week will be exciting!

I’m feeling slightly better today. I managed to get in another good night’s rest last night after taking my last sleeping tablet. I just called the doctor and the receptionist has said she will ask him to call me back. He’s only in until 11AM today and I only called him around 10:30, so I hope he gets around to calling me back and will write a prescription for me. I’m also really hungry all the time, which is something the doctor did warn me about, but I’m doing my best to keep that under control with sheer will power. As if I have a lot of that. I am just trying to keep my 9kg loss in mind and hoping I don’t mess it up! I’ve brought my water with to work and already finished more than half of it. I can’t exercise as yet…my cough is still lingering and I become tired and short of breath very easily, so I’ll keep that on the back burner for a while.

I finished my antibiotics and no longer seem to need any pain medication as my muscle aches have subsided to an acceptable level. I still reach for the cough mixture or inhaler every now and then, but I’m using these less and less. Now if my appetite would subside, I could sleep like I need to and I could have my energy back I would once again be a happy camper.

Yesterday I intended to make a few lists. A shopping list, a list of things to be packed when we go to George next weekend…eventually I decided to make a list of lists I need to make, but as you may have noticed yesterday was a write off for me. I need to make a list of things to pack for George because I always end up forgetting *something* important. When I told Rudi I want to make a shopping list he said ‘We need everything’. No we don’t! I want to make a list of everything we specifically need plus a few items like a new electric toothbrush I want for myself.

Two more things have me excited. On Monday when I get paid I will be paying off the pathologist bill that I would only have finished paying in November had I stuck to the scheduled payments. After paying almost R2500.00 in the last two months the outstanding balance is less than R900.00. I will also be paying off everything *I* owe on my second credit card. I will be DEBT FREE save my car and our new TV (of which I am only paying half – around R2500.00.

What will I do to celebrate? I’m going to get my new tattoo. I’m pretty sure I’ll have enough money left over once I’ve paid everything. I’ve decided to have the following one done below the butterfly I already have on my right shoulder (it will be between 5 and 6 centimetres across):



I know the starting price for tatoos where I will have it done is R350.00. I think they will most likely charge around R500.00 to do it for me as it's not huge and not very intricate. I'm not sure if they will ask an extra fee because the design is not their own, but they shouldn't. I'll most likely only have it done when we return from George after next weekend.

I can't wait! Pay day, freedom from debt, a trip to George and then my tattoo!

Getting worse

Ugh. The morning sickness seems to be getting worse. I've gotten some medication for it, but the relief is minimal. I'm struggling to eat and have no appetite. I'm probably eating about 1/4 of what I was eating before I was pregnant. That said, I was probably eating too much to begin with.

Sarah sent me this today:

Duration of condition
Morning sickness can occur at any time of the day, though it occurs most often upon waking, because blood sugar levels are typically the lowest after a night without food.

Morning sickness usually starts in the first month of the pregnancy, peaking in the fifth to seventh weeks, and continuing until the 14th to 16th week. For half of the sufferers, it ends by the 16th week of pregnancy. It may take the others up to another month to get relief, and some women suffer intermittent episodes throughout their pregnancy

I'm between 7 and 9 weeks now so it could be that it's 'peaking in the fifth to seventh weeks'. I just hope to God that it goes away soon and that I don't have it throughout.

My Evil Mother was crying on the phone yesterday. I told her that I don't want any gifts from her while she's still leeching staying with my aunt and uncle. I told her that I wanted her to stand on her own two feet and I didn't want to contribute towards her spending money irresponsibly. She then started crying and saying in disbelief 'Buying things for my grandchild, irresponsible?'. Why, if you can't afford it, YES!

It's a concept she doesn't seem to understand. She'll need to pull up her socks big time if she wants to be a part of the baby's life. She has told me for years that I was the cause of her starting her bad spending habits. She said she made debt to make sure I was always outfitted in the best clothes and shoes when I was a baby/little girl. I don't see how she can necessarily blame me. Since she had me about a month after she turned 18 - she had access to credit for the very first time and then went completely ballistic. I was just a convenient excuse. I'm not saying that I didn't have nice things when I was a child, but I definitely didn't expect them and started working and earning my keep when I turned 16.

I really hope that I will be able to instill good moral values and ethics in my child. I'm confused about the whole nature vs. nurture thing. I know my grandparents didn't raise My Evil Mother the way she turned out. It's like she was just rotten from the beginning. My aunt turned out the exact opposite. My Evil Mother raised me and I'm the opposite of her. So how do you control how your children turn out? I suppose you can only do the best you can.

Married to My Evil Mother

Anyone who has read about My Evil Mother (mostly in my old blog) would think that it would be an absolute nightmare to be married to her, right? I'm starting to have my doubts...

My stepfather was married to my mother since I was about 4 years old. He came from an abusive background and had drinking problems, didn't finish school, etc. My Evil Mother somehow managed to get him sober for over 10 years. She also managed to get him a good job wherever she was working at the time and had him attending church.

After My Evil Mother lost her job at a large furniture store (under questionable circumstances) her life has gone to shit. My stepfather and My Evil Mother got divorced a few short weeks after Rudi and I were married. I was happy for my stepfather as she was just putting him further and further into debt and had cheated on him time and again. Whether he cheated on her is something that remains to be seen, but I doubt it.

Since they have been divorced both of them have had many personal problems. My Evil Mother is unable to hold down a job, is involved with a leech and is sponging off family. My stepfather has started using drugs and drinking again. He has lost two jobs because of his addiction issues and is living in a back room in someone else's house.

Somehow these two people were much better when they were together. They kept each other in check to a certain extent. I've found myself wishing for their own sake that they would work things out.

I don't wish being married to My Evil Mother on my worst enemy, but I do wonder if he wouldn't be better off with her. How does the saying go? Better the devil you know...

Happiness is...

I am so happy I could jump up and down, sing and twirl around!

A colleague just gave me a lift to my bank branch and I FINALLY paid off my overdraft! R4 000 less debt in one big chop! I took out the overdraft originally to assist with my trip overseas (which I should never have taken in the first place). That was almost 5 years ago. I was meant to pay it back as soon as I got back, but that never happened. I've been living on revolving credit for AGES. Today I did it. Today I paid it off and closed it. I spoke about this liberating feeling before...I feel almost physically lighter (I wish THAT was the case!)

It all starts with baby steps. I made a decision this morning that I would be saving towards having lasic eye surgery. Discovery Health (my medical aid) deems lasic eye surgery as 'cosmetic' and doesn't cover it. I'm not quite sure how they equate being able to see to being vain...but who am I to judge? They would rather fork out thousands a year on contact lenses or new glasses. Idiots.

The second thing I am stoked about is my new camera:



It's a Fuji Finepix F480 8.2MP camera. It has all sorts of features that I still needs to figure out. I'm especially enjoying the macro feature on it right now. My photography skills are seriously lacking, but maybe having a decent camera will help. Something else I love about it is that it does not work with normal AA batteries, but has a lithium ion battery.

I'm also a bit excited about the move happening at work. Our department (and a few others) is moving to a new building which has been revamped for us. Right now I'm sitting in a windowless office and the new building apparently has wonderful big windows that let in lots of light. Colleagues that have seen the new building have said it is very smart, but that our desks are considerably smaller than they currently are. We're not currently sitting at full sized desks...it's hard to imagine them being any smaller. I'll take pictures (with my new camera) of the old office and the new and then I'll decide. I should be going to see the new building some time today.

There are some issues with the new building, it's only a block away but in a considerably more dangerous area. Currently we enjoy completely secure parking, whereas the new building has no secure parking. This is a big concern for the employees because of the risk the new area poses. The company has offered a shuttle service every 15 minutes, but as some of the people going there are shift workers and work over weekends this might not cater for everybody at all times.

I'm sure everything will work out in the end. I'm just going to chill on Cloud 9 here for a while.

*Happy Dance*

I'm in a considerably better mood today. I'm having a pretty good hair day and it's already one day closer to the weekend. Other news has considerably cheered me too. A loan company decided to call me today and try to palm off some accident cover on me. The sales person was really persistent and I was really glad that I could say "No, thank you".

I used to have serious issues with saying "No" to people. I used to feel guilty and say yes to make the person feel better. How stupid was I? I can't tell you the number of policies and club memberships I've signed up for, despite not wanting to.

This bloke inspired me to call the call centre and find out how many more excruciating months I would have to pay the loan I took out for My Evil Mother. One. Yes, one! May will be the last month that R355.87 will be deducted from my bank account for this loan. I nearly jumped out of my chair! That's enough money to have my hair done once a month! That will cover water and electricity for a month. That payment has been like a lead weight in my pocket for three years now and I am ecstatic to see it go!

The more debt I pay off, the more empowered and wealthy I feel. As we receive a bonus from The Company this month I've been thinking about paying off my overdraft as well. I would love to take that little - away in front of my bank balance for good!

After that my credit cards need to be paid and I am officially debt free! Of course I'll still be paying my car off, but that is 'acceptable' debt because cars are WAY too expensive to pay cash.

It looks like I can start planning my debt free celebration!

I've also started saving slowly. I've never saved in my life. I was never taught to save and I have taught myself little by little. I've saved enough money for our trip to Knysna and I will still have money to spare.

There was a time in my life where I had no savings, was depressed by so much debt I couldn't see myself digging my way out and feeling like I have no hope. There is light!