Well, I thought I'd at least get to a swimming start for a few weeks before I hit some setbacks but that was not to be.

I had to travel for work and I had some unexpected expenses pop up and so I overspent my budget. Because of the travel, my cooking suffered and so I had some microwaved meals which were quite pricey (it was expensive microwaved meals or an expensive meal at a restaurant and microwavable meal is cheaper). I also have overshot my grocery budget by $65 and it is only half way through the month! Plus we've got the biggie holidays coming up next week.

I signed up for online pay with the IRS and my state government to pay down those tax bills. But I am having trouble logging in to pay, but I have set the money aside (and a reminder so I do not forget!).

But with today's paycheck I paid over $1,000 to all the debts. I'll update the figure on the side when they all get posted.

One of the reasons my tax bills are so high is because I filed my taxes late. And then since I owed some money the interest was tacked on. Next time, I am planning on filing on time. Because seriously...this is ridiculous.

Looking at my schedule for the next two weeks (before next payday and for month end), I am not anticipating big surprises...but we'll see how that pans out. I do have a wedding to attend, there is a holiday coming up, a few business meetings that could result in me having to make some snap judgments. This could mean trouble on the financial front since that's apparently how these things turn out.

Thank you for all the positive comments. Really love it.