We think we know how much we spend but does what we think actually match the reality of what we are spending?  Sometimes you need to stop and do a reality check.  Keeping close track of your actual spending habits for a period of time not only verifies your spending habits but also makes you acutely aware of just how much we spend each month. 

Just how often do I stop for takeout during the week?  How much does that walk around the mall with friends actually cost me?  Do I actually know how much all my utility bills add up to each month or do I seem to forget about the cell phone bill or the extra Netflix when calculating these monthly charges in my head? 

Lake-Cook Road, Flat Tire, Rush Hour, Go-Bag—guess what was missing.

At some point in the last six months, I lost my go-bag with my emergency car supplies. I keep one in the back of my car. There were several times when I was hauling things for our perpetual remodel, and my guess is that I left it sitting somewhere–just not in my car–which kind of defeats the purpose of a go-bag.

The holidays will be here sooner than you think.  Just look at the local stores already selling holiday decorations.  Personally, I just love the gift giving holidays, but my budget would say some years I have loved it a little too much.  And when January credit card bills roll in you definitely know you loved the gift giving too much.  But if you start now, you can make the holiday heartburn disappear.

Make a list of all the people you would like to honor with a gift this holiday.  Think of the decorations you might want to add, and the wrapping paper and tape it will take for all those presents.  Are you going to splurge on a large holiday meal with prime rib for everyone?

If you are divorced, the recent changes to the Social Security law may mean that you will not be able to collect as much from Social Security as you had thought.  That is because the Budget Act of 2015 eliminated the option for anyone born after 1953 to file what is called a restricted application.

A restricted application allowed you to begin collecting a Social Security retirement benefit from your ex-husband at your full retirement age and then switch to receiving benefits based on your work history at age 70.  This made sense for many divorced women because for every month you delay starting your Social Security benefits, the amount of your monthly benefits increases.  A restricted application would allow you to get paid based on your ex-husband’s Social Security benefits while waiting for your benefits to grow larger.

Not too long ago, a friend of ours gave us a bottle of pure maple syrup from Vermont.  It was delicious.

It got me thinking about the process of how maple syrup was made.  I wasn’t sure how they got syrup from a tree, so I did a little bit of online research.  Apparently, they put what they call a spile into a tree and the tree sap comes out through the spile and into a container below.