[singinjeannie]

The auto expenses are NOT past due. That's an estimated guess of what we end up paying a year in auto repair expenses. Just in the past week I've had an auto inspection with putting tires on the car ($93.00) and I needed new shock absorbers and new front breaks to pass inspection ($141.00). We use a really cheep auto repair person who was able to do the work for us for a fraction of what the regular auto shop wanted. (The auto shop wanted $328.00 to do the same work our friend did for $141.00.) My hubby really didn't have the expertise or the proper tools to take care of these fixes. In addition, we'll need to spend about $70 in November to get the snow tires put on the car and probably another $140 to put used tires on my hubby's truck.

My hubby's truck is old and it always needs some kind of repair. Right now it needs a new gas tank and some break repair work. He just finished rebuilding the front end and he did this himself (took him 2.5 months) because we couldn't afford to have an auto body place do it. Amazing how much money cars eat up. No, I don't think we can get by with only one. We tried that for nearly 3 months and it was extremely difficult.


We are in a contract with the cell phones. While I'm really used to having them and I think they are a major convenience, I realize we don't HAVE to have them. It's nice to be able to be in touch with each other when we're out of the house. I'm looking at whether we can get out of the contract or reduce the monthly payment.

Now, how in the heck I'll find any money to put into savings is another matter entirely. I don't have anything left after the regular bills are paid. Because of the current car repairs, I have a negative (once again this month) if I look at the paycheck and all the stuff that's due or needs to happen. Joy, joy, joy. I'm so tired of this.

-Jean

I'm willing to look at anything, believe me. Here's hoping we can get this all under control.