The Recession

I knew the recession was real when I received a letter explaining that my student loan company would no longer be giving bonus payments. I'm not sure how the bonus payments work, but I was getting extra money each month toward both my principal and interest. I realized the recession was real and affecting me personally. I started to worry. I tried to spend less. I shopped at Wally World instead of Target.

Lately I've been hearing that the recession is over. Like a lot of things I hear on the radio, I didn't give it much thought. Totally on a whim I decided to check my student loan balance today. It's still overwhelming, but I did notice that I received TWO bonus payments in June!

Ross and I both have jobs. We both have cars. We do more than make ends meet. Really, I want for nothing. I still shop at Wally World, but we don't have a Super Target here. Hummingbirds visit my feeder. My plants are thriving. Bailey peed and pooped in her potty this morning. The sun is shining. And my personal marker says the recession is over.

Coupons

My coworker Buffy has gotten me back into coupon clipping. She actually paid me to clip and organize a huge pile of coupons she had. Now I'm hooked. I even bought myself a little organizer (just like the one I bought her). I fall out of the habit of using coupons because most of the things I buy don't have coupons. In the last week I have used some $1, $2, and $3 dollar coupons on things that I actually would have bought without the coupon. I need some vitamins and yesterday I noticed that Rite-aid has them on sale buy one get one free and I have a one dollar off coupon. Not bad. Saving money is a good thing. Right after I interviewed for my job I started spending money like a mad woman. Well, it is time to get back on track. I'm limiting my spending for the next two months and saving money when I buy things that we need makes me feel good.