December’s Gonna Be Rough

Okay, so a lot is going on in December, and it’s all very expensive.

1) Mare-Bear’s wedding, for which I have a dress, significant alterations, dyed shoes and gift to pay for – I’d say about $700 will be spent all total for that (and that’s the *low* estimate since I think dress alterations will run me more than a couple hundred bucks since the dress is so :censored: big).
2) White Elephant – usually runs is a couple hundred bucks for food and drink – we like to feed our people.
3) Christmas – don’t get me started. That’s more than a few hundred bucks without even blinking.
4) My sister’s wedding – dress, more alterations, dyed shoes, CootieGirl’s flower girl stuff, gift – easily another $700+ investment or more.
5) Gas bill – we signed up for a plan that has us pay equal payments throughout the year and then December is the bill in which we “pay the difference” for the extra electricity or gas that we used throughout the year. We’ll probably owe about $400-500 since we used the AC a lot during this hot summer and the price of gas/oil is going to be huge in winter.

So let’s see, that’s $700, $200, $400, $700 and $500 = $2500+ that will be spent in the month of December in addition to our regular bills like the mortgage, childcare, commuting, groceries and whatnot. It’s so shocking that I can only laugh – because if I don’t laugh I’ll start crying. We do NOT have $2500+ to spend on this stuff, much less $200. Every bit of our money goes towards bills, and even when we do buy something (like the cell phones) we try to get it cheap (i.e., free with rebates).

In years past it wouldn’t have been a big deal because at my old job the bonuses got paid in December, and they were quite healthy. However, at The Company the bonuses get paid in April. So :pray: that this week Denis lands a client that wants to sell a $1M home that finds a buyer in the first week so that it closes by the end of the year.

And I’m not posting this to make Mare-Bear or my sister feel guilty. That’s not my intent. I don’t know what my intent is, really. But I just thought I’d share it nonetheless. Especially since you’ll see me moaning about money problems come December.

Update at 4:22 p.m.: Jen brought up good points in the comments section. Yes, I paid for her b’maid dress in august when I ordered it. I sent off Mary’s check today for her dress. So yes, technically those are “taken care of” although one dressed being charged to a credit card isn’t helping. Yes I already bought the wedding gifts for both you and Mary, but again – CHARGED. I’ve been told by several people that my dress alterations will probably be $150 – $250 EACH – payable in late November/early December. Yes, I charged CootieGirl’s dress, which although “cheap” was still charged (and therefore the charge that keeps on charging since I can’t afford to pay off the balance and avoid interest). As for shoes, Mary has asked that we get dyed shoes, and I don’t have navy heels, so yes I have to buy some for your wedding – your ‘cheap’ website doesn’t have much to choose from in navy heels. As for Christmas, I’m going to propose to Denis that we not buy gifts for each other this year, and buy only ONE GIFT each for CootieBoy and CootieGirl. As to White Elephant – no way am I having people bring food. I’ll let them bring beverages and desserts, but no main food. So no, while I’m not spending the full $2500 in December, I WILL be spending at least $1000 in December (gas bill, two dress alterations, Christmas). Nope, still can’t afford it.