Ayn's Multiple World

Pshwoo ... long day ... but at the end even a budget was made!

Good morning. This is us again. It’s late in the morning … already 8 am and we’re just checking in. Somebody’s been up, but think we’ve pretty much been in and out of sleep. We just called Sweetie Pie and he said to take our medicine … so we did that. We know we have a dentist appointment at 2 pm and in between that we’re going to be doing school. He said he was going to call back in an hour an we have to be doing what we’re supposed to be doing even if its school instead of work. Oh, and we’re eating left over pizza and got ourselves some hot coffee. We think that’s some important stuff.

Right before we figured we better call our friend we were watching video’s from U-tube … somehow we found a Pac-lady one and then there were some Madonna, but we thought we better not do that cuz it wasn’t like getting our work done.

Ahh did we mention hot coffee?

I think the only thing between last school work and the next was that we watched the Bears. They lost pretty bad. I mean they scored, but they did terrible … I saw something that said 72% of the people voting blamed the offence … That’s kinda what we thought too. Not just Rex … though for the record I think the bad Rex came to the game … I can always tell because he is throwing long balls to the other team. I think that’s a bad idea. But, we never made it much past the third down … kept having to kick the ball back to the other team … and they were advancing, but we weren’t. That’s another bad idea. But, for the record … I still love Chicago, and I even still love Rex. Just wish he’d even out his mood swings. Maybe he should take some medicine too. But, only if a doctor says so. I feel bad for him because I think he is going to have a terrible day and a terrible year. Not sure if this is the kind of stuff you get over or just hangs with you for a lifetime. Kid had a lot on his shoulders and you gotta really give him credit for that. But, we’re proud of him for trying. GO REX!!! GO BEARS!!! You’ll get them next time!

Soooo … we got to be moving on here … should be getting out some school stuff I think. We gotta get to that place where the writer parts can be writing. Two more bites of pizza. Deep dish crust – MMMmmm… Hmm, we’ll need another water next time up. Maybe we’ll finish this coffee and then worry about the teeth whitener. We still have two applications before the 2 o’clock appointment … should leave at 1:45 … maybe shower by 12:30 then. 8:30 am now … leaves four hours … like to think we could finish a paper in that much time … Ok, think now girls. What is it that we got to do. Hmm, probably look for our notes. I think we had some on the OneNote program and Word … let’s look there first. Ohhh and our article on the PDF, remember. Let’s do some gathering.

Ok … here’s what it looks like …

We’ve got notes – citations from Brehm, Kassin, & Fein (2005). That’s about 1 ½ pages from our text book. It lists some ideas on characteristics of male and females from the evolutionary perspective. And then we have citations from psychological perspectives that contradict that theory. That’s on our Word program. Then in OneNote … we have the assignment questions, and two short book reviews of the two materials referenced in the classroom. Both reviews are from work from Buss, who is the main author of the evolutionary perspective. The first one is by Symons (1994) and he reviews for the Journal of Marriage and the Family “The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating.” The second one is by Allgeier (1994) in the Journal of Sex Research, and he reviews the same material but from the perspective of “The emergence of a framework for the behavioral sciences.” Next, we have in the PDF file an article by the main author whose work we are discussing. It is by Buss (2000) in American Psychologist, and is called, “The evolution of happiness.”

Now … the trick seems to be in doing this …

Incorporate the article – Buss on evolution of happiness

Describe the controversial evolutionary perspective for the process of mate selection (as in the text)

Critically analyze the evolutionary perspective

As it relates to understanding human mate selection:

Evaluate the strengths of this theory

Evaluate the weaknesses of this theory

Ok … so … next. We might need to make a more specific outline. So far things are looking ok … just got to not get nervous. We can do this … just need to think clearly. It might mean comprehending some of the resources. This is the touch part, because it is so hard to bring thoughts to recall. We have to be very systematic so we don’t forget important elements. Ok, what should be then next.

Seems like we need to do some reading. Can we sketch in the outline without reading? Let’s look at that.

Maybe it would help if we reviewed the article? That is going to take some time. I don’t think there is any way out of it. I did copy over the material from PDF to Word so I could take notes and highlight. In reviewing the material, I figure that it is only 7 pages, but 7 pages I am going to need to concentrate on. Maybe I could focus more clearly if I did the two shorter resources first. AND, if I review the material from the text. Let’s do that.

Ok, for the record I’m adding my notes up here, but I’ve got about 5 pages of outline … I’m working on the notes from my last of 5 sources. Our sweetie pie called and said he could be here by 1 pm for lunch, but that he has to go and we have to go by 1:45 pm … so that’s nice, but not so much fun. It’s 10:45 now. SOOO … we are going to need pushing around that shower – maybe just by a half hour … we’ll shower by noon instead of 12:30 pm. That will leave lots of time toward drying. We also decided that we better get going with the last brightening treatment. I think we’re doing a very good job of getting rid of 25 years of pack and a half day smoking. 6 months WOOHOOO!!! I’m not sure, but I think that last week they took a mold of my mouth for the dentures so today they are going to check that out and they are going to order it so will need to have set the color we are going to be going with. That is the significance of finishing up with the treatments. I’m pretty excited … the color my teeth are now is going to “be it.” I think the change is already substantial, particularly where they used to be more yellow near the gum lines … I still haven’t checked in good light, but in regular light … I have a sense of how they might have looked many many years ago. I’m very happy with the results. BUT, I can’t let that slow me down. I have to finish this paper today and hopefully if not finish … start the next paper. Sure would like to be reading the new chapter by tomorrow night or Wednesday morning. I think we’re going into attribution. Ok, let’s make this a good hour and then hit the shower!

Woohoo done with the general notes (outline) … unfortunately it’s like 8 pages. BUT, I can honestly say I have a pretty good idea what evolutionary psychology is all about. I’m going to wait about 3 minutes and then jump in the shower. I’m only about 3 minutes behind schedule and I allowed for a liberal amount amount of time. Holed up on waiting for my kitty to finish her business … it always startles her if I walk her space when she’s umm in transition.
I’m just minutes away from completing the 10 session treatment for the teeth too YOOOHOOOO!!! That’s a full 10 hours worth of holding gel over my teeth with the bleach composite. It tastes lightly minty, so is not too bad. You don’t want to be swalling gunks of it though. It’s got a light plastic sheath over it … so that’s ok, but will be nice to finish up. YAYYYY kitty is almost done! I can do this, I can do this. Ok, done deal. BRB
Skim the notes while I’m in the shower … we’ll talk in a bit.

START HERE!

1) Review text - Evolutionary psychology is the "subdiscipline that uses principles of evolution to understand human social behavior. According to this view, human beings all over the world exhibit patterns of attraction and mate selection that favor the conception, birth, and survival of their offspring" (p. 311, Symons, Allgieir).

a. Strategies to achieve mate-selection goals (men and women) in evolutionary standards continue to generate new and interesting ideas, such as:
i. Women searches for a mate who possesses economic resources - text.
ii. Older men - text.
1. Financially secure – look for wealth - text
a. Intelligent - text
b. Ambitious - text
c. Stable - text
d. Predictive traits future success - text
i. Social status - text
2. Emotional fidelity – needing the male to stay and provide resources - text
3. Worries if female rival more beautiful - text
iii. Men searches for a mate for successful reproduction - text
1. Unlimited number of children (many women) - text
2. Men look for beauty - text
a. Physical attractiveness - text
3. Sexual fidelity – raising his own children - text
4. Worries of male rival being dominant - text
b. Both men and women - text
i. Pleasant disposition - text
ii. Funny - text
iii. Dependable - text
iv. Kind - text
v. Lively - text
vi. Creative - text
c. Psychological - text
i. Women trade youth and beauty for money to economic power (not reproductive purposes - text
ii. If women had economic resources she would look for beauty - text
iii. Male not fearful of raising own children – more losing woman’s intimate feelings to the other (threat to relationship) - text
1. In actual circumstances this proves out - text
iv. Differences between sexes are found to be smaller than similarities - text
v. Attributes higher for - text
1. Kindness - text
2. Dependability - text
3. Good sense of humor - text
4. Pleasant disposition - text
5. Physical attraction and financial (after the above) - text
a. (more orientated toward short-term relationships) - text
vi. Neither predictable or universal (people flexible as to adapting to environment) - text
vii. Results - text
1. Weak - text
2. Limited - text
3. Or explainable by non-evolutionary means – text
2) Symons – well written and thought provoking - Symons
a. Much of human mating is unpleasant – pursuit of sexual goals - Symons
i. Derogate their rivals - Symons
ii. Deceive members of the opposite sex - Symons
iii. Subvert their own mates - Symons
b. Relevant toward behavioral change because of balance of ontogeny as well as phylogeny - Symons
i. Both male and female critical to evolutionary equation - Symons
ii. Males do not compete for passive women – both contribute to social milieu - Symons
iii. Depend on other for passing of genes to future generations - Symons
1. Family structure and parenting incorporated (past sexuality) into parenting (with both sexes) - Symons
c. Understanding of evolution not necessary, because based in social psychology, anthropology, and life-span developmental psychology - Symons
i. Combines research from - Symons
1. Human species - Symons
2. Animal analogues - Symons
3. Popular media - Symons
4. Illustrations of behavioral strategies - Symons
ii. Includes insight to understanding – functions designed to serve as powerful fulcrum for changing behavior - Symons
1. domestic violence - Symons
2. Sexual jealousy - Symons
3. Relationship difficulties - Symons
4. Adultery – Symons
3) Allgeier – evidence that current human mating strategies are profoundly affected by ingrained psychological mechanisms that are universal and rooted in the adaptive responses of our ancestors over millennia of human evolution - Allgeier
a. Good for library orientated to - Allgeier
i. Sex - Allgeier
ii. Gender - Allgeier
iii. Violence - Allgeier
b. Strong argument for conflict in sexual interaction (norm and not exception) - Allgeier
i. Commitment and investment - Allgeier
ii. Sexual harassment in the workplace - Allgeier
iii. Date rape - Allgeier
iv. Rape on the streets - Allgeier
c. Strategies of men and women conflict – depressing, but not to be ignored - Allgeier
d. Commitment of female to - Allgeier
i. Not abort - Allgeier
ii. Carry 9 months - Allgeier
iii. Raise - “steady march toward survival of offspring” - Allgeier
e. Evolutionary viewpoint of the unconscious thought - Allgeier
i. Do not require conscious planning or awareness - Allgeier
1. Prior to language - Allgeier
2. Prior to analysis - Allgeier
a. Humans “evolved in a manner tht replaced instinct with a cognitive system that could efficiently organize experience and direct behavior on the basis of learning from past experience” (Epstein, 1994, p. 714 as cited in Allgeier) - Allgeier
b. Cognitive system solves abstract problems by the use of symbols and logical inference - Allgeier
ii. Ties into feminist theory – inequality - Allgeier
1. Male control of resources - Allgeier
2. Subordination of woman’s sexuality - Allgeier
3. Men compete for limited resources and women compete for high status men - Allgeier
f. Offers a framework to unite and bring coherence to behavioral sciences - Allgeier
i. Is not reductionist like sociobiology - Allgeier
ii. Emphasizes environmental triggers - Allgeier
iii. Hope for guiding our sexual impulses to enhance our well-being and that of others
4) Kurdek
a. “Marriage not as a single life event but as a set of stages in which spouses attempt to achieve a balance between dependence and autonomy as they negotiate issues of control, power, and authority” p 127 - Kurdek
b. 90% men and women married by age 45, but major differences in happiness and overall well-being that are needed to sustain durable marriages p. 127 - Kurdek
i. Affected by risk factors of - Kurdek
1. Psychological distress (neuroticism) - Kurdek
2. Problematic conflict resolution styles - Kurdek
ii. Factors toward marriage quality - Kurdek
1. Initial status - Kurdek
a. Divorce history - Kurdek
b. Residential stepchildren - Kurdek
c. Biological children - Kurdek
iii. Spouses dependability - Kurdek
1. Strong dysfunctional beliefs about relationships - Kurdek
2. Low expressiveness - Kurdek
3. High levels of psychological distress - Kurdek
4. Females displaying high levels of masculinity - Kurdek
iv. Discussion - Kurdek
1. Lowered trajectory after the 4th and 8th years - Kurdek
a. Honeymoon is over - Kurdek
b. 7-year itch - Kurdek
2. People married more than twice - Kurdek
a. Dysfunctional personality characteristics - Kurdek
b. Unrealistic expectations of marriage - Kurdek
c. Poorly developed negotiation and compromise skills - Kurdek
d. Cumulative negative stresses associated with living in a society in which serial marries are regarded negatively – Kurdek
3. People with children - Kurdek
a. Less motivated to maintain positive illusions about their relationships - Kurdek
b. Increase of stressors – Kurdek
i. Lower time and energy to spend on marriage - Kurdek
c. With older children questions of - Kurdek
i. discipline and control - Kurdek
ii. relative autonomous - Kurdek
5) Buss – novel insights as to obstacles to achieving happiness - Buss
a. Large discrepancies between modern and ancestral environment – lowered quality of life - Buss
i. Medical technology (low infant mortality) - Buss
ii. Tools to prevent disease or lesson suffering - Buss
iii. Lessen hostile forces of nature – comfort - Buss
iv. Over-consume animal fat and processed sugar - diseases - Buss
v. Depletion of the ozone layer - Buss
vi. Addiction - Buss
vii. Massive urban struggles - Buss
1. Number of potential mates - Buss
2. Media - Buss
a. Lowered our expectations of partners - Buss
b. Lowered self-concepts and self-esteem - Buss
3. Isolated families (opposed to nuclear) - Buss
4. Handling of violence (family opposed to police) - Buss
b. Existence of evolved mechanisms “designed” to produce subjective distress - Buss
i. More depression in modern life particularly in economically developed cultures - Buss
ii. Distress - Buss
1. Psychological pain (sexual coercion - Buss
2. Varieties of anxiety - Buss
3. Depression (inhabiting a subordinate position in the social hierarchy - Buss
1. Specific fears and phobias - Buss
2. Jealousy (spousal infidelity - Buss
a. Create sleepless nights
b. Cause a person to question self-worth (as a mate)
c. Create anxiety about losing partner
d. Play havoc with social reputation
e. Lead to an obsessive vigilance (crowds out all other thoughts)
f. Terrifying violence that threat3ens the safety and well-being of partner
3. Specific forms of anger and upset (strategic interference - Buss
g. Draw attention to interfering event - Buss
h. Alert a person to source of strategic interference - Buss
i. Mark the interfering events for storage in and retrieval from memory - Buss
j. Motivate action designed to eliminate the interference or to avoid subsequent interfering events - Buss
k. Specific anger - Buss
i. Women -Sexual harassment - Buss
ii. Women -Horror of rape - Buss
iii. Men – withhold sex - Buss
iv. Non-sexual - Buss
1. Blocks ascension in the social hierarchy
2. Suffer a slide in status
3. Friend betrays them
4. Coalition is weakened
5. When team loses
6. When health is impaired
7. Threatened with violence
8. When a sibling is favored
9. Victimized by malicious gossip
10. Partner rejects them
11. Tragedy befalls a loved one

c. Fact that evolution by selection has produced competitive mechanisms that function to benefit one person at the expense of others - Buss
i. Mass communication – one big competitive group – destroy intimate social networks – desire to be best in world - Buss
ii. Envy (new phone) and fantasy - Buss
iii. Self-perceived failure - Buss
iv. Anonymity and isolated nuclear families deprive people of the intimate social support - Buss
v. Lack of critical incidents by which people might establish true friendships - Buss
vi. Powerlessness small fish in big pond (large organization) - Buss
vii. Casual sex leading to emptiness - Buss
viii. Pleasure at another’s misfortunes - Buss
ix. Hedonistic treadmill – having more of everything - Buss
x. Mechanisms evolved to function well on average – will necessarily fail in some instances (instance failure) - Buss
xi. Asymmetry in affective experience following comparable tains and losses - Buss
d. On the happiness side – fulfillment of marriage - Buss
i. Mating bonds - Buss
1. Peronsality characteristics - Buss
a. Aggreableness
b. Conscientiousness
c. Emotional stability
d. Openness to experience
2. Find similar on dimensions such as values, interests, politics, personality and overall “mate value” - Buss
a. Reduce - Buss
i. Infidelity
ii. Instability of the relationship
iii. Higher likelihood of eventual breakup
b. Avoid jealousy – combine threats to relationships - Buss
c. Avoid divorce and anquish - Buss
d. Avoid creating stepchildren - Buss
i. More physical abuse
ii. Homicide rates 40 to 100 times greater
3. Isolation of nuclear families - Buss
a. Incest
b. Child abuse
c. Wife battering
ii. Deep friendship - Buss
1. Develop stormy-weather friends as well as fair weather - Buss
2. Those that will give help in time of deepest need - Buss
3. Reliance on police and laws deterring crime more than friends - Buss
4. Promote reputations that highlight unique or exceptional attributes - Buss
5. Motivated to recognize personal attributes that other values (sensitivity of valuing others) - Buss
6. Develop special skills that make you less irreplaceable - Buss
7. Find groups where your assets cherished - Buss
8. Avoid groups where assets easily found in others (big fish in small pond) - Buss
9. Test the bonds of friendship and strength of bond - Buss
iii. Close kinship - Buss
1. Choose to remain closer and maintain emotional closeness - Buss
a. Email
b. Telephone
c. Video conferencing
d. Strengthen network with older and youngest family members
iv. Cooperative coalitions - Buss
1. Promote cooperation by - Buss
a. Recognizing shared fate
b. Share success enhance affect
c. Improved quality of life
2. Less blood feuds between families - Buss
3. Better jobs and promotions due to social mobility - Buss
4. Several ways - Buss
a. Enlarge the shadow of the future (iinceptive to interact
b. Don’t place down a “last move” – people defect
c. Reach reciprocity
d. Insist on no more than equity (no greed)
e. Promote a personal reputation as a reciprocator – reputation for being a good guy
v. Understanding psychological mechanisms – deeper understanding of the human mind - Buss
1. Selective processes that designed them - Buss
2. Their evolved functions – selective processes (sieve)features passed because they contributed either directly or indirectly to reproductive success - Buss
a. Evolved desired whose fulfillment brings deep joy - Buss
i. Health
ii. Professional success
iii. Helping friends and relatives
iv. Achieving intimacy
v. Feeling the confidence to succeed
vi. Satisfying the taste to high-quality food
vii. Securing personal safety
viii. Having resources to attain all you would like
ix. Aesthetic pleasure
x. Habitat - Buss
1. Savanna terrain
2. Natural over human-made environments
3. Place where they can see without being seen (womb with a view
4. Provide resources and safety
5. Prospect and refuge
6. Lush vegetation and fresh fruit
7. Beauty of a blossom

END HERE!

Ok, BACK!!! Feeling good … how bout you? Almost all dressed … we’ve got everything taken care of but socks and shoes and even filled water bottles. Very good. Our sweetie called a few moments ago though and said … umm running late. He wouldn’t be our sweetie if he was able to tell time! Not so crabby this time because I can still have the pizza lunch. I know 4 meals in a row. Probably 5 before it’s over. He suggested meeting somewhere, but I don’t like having sandwiches out and I wouldn’t have access to my tooth brush between eating and going to the dentist. Told him he could grab something and we’d just talk here. I think we get him for like half hour maybe. If I finish in the next 15 minutes (lunch) I will be able to get teeth brushed before he gets here. I like the idea of kissing when we meet. Almost as good as a good old fashioned snuggle.

Just 2 or 3 dentist trips left. Shoot this has been along time … we started it back in October.

The next thing will be to somehow take care of the sleep apnea appointment and to get back into our regular doctor. I’m not sure if I have an appointment this week or if it was last week for the sleep apnea people … can never remember. AHA I know hold on I can find their number
Ok, ok … me again. This is turning out to be a very long day. But, it’s only 6 pm. We did have a nice half hour with our friend. We just nuzzled him J Then we spent about an hour at the dentists. Not quite that long, but about. They are always real nice over there. Mostly, they just wanted to know that everything was ok and they took another impression of my teeth. They were going to get the color down, but we decided to hold off on that. Although we were happier with our teeth than we have been, we asked if there would have been more difference if we’d done it there. We knew there was a faster more expensive service. The assistant said that too bad the time was off because they were offering a special for that service in March so instead of paying $550, it was only going to be $350. Yah, yah … you can here me start to whimper on that one. So, I asked to wait until the dentist came in. We had a nice chatty talk and she said because of my teeth being where they were she thought it would be a good decision. She said they wouldn’t be white white, but I’d improve the yellowish hue so they’d be more white. She said the treatment would be worthwhile. Hmm, well of course our friend said, what did you expect her to say … but, I KNOW my dentist wouldn’t tell me something that wasn’t true. She showed me about what she figured that we could get, but said she could be wrong and it might be whiter yet, but I told her that I would be satisfied with what we got. After you whiten your teeth at the office it is a process of waiting another couple of weeks, because the teeth are brighter at first, and then resettle to the proper color, because of the process takes some kind of nutrients out of the teeth. We better do something about getting some milk in the house just in case. THOOOOOOUGH we take our vitamins. Speaking of had the last of the pizza better get some medicine, brb.

Hmm, ok 6:15 pm medicine taken. Anyway with the dentist I’ll go in on Friday after work at 5:30 pm. I guess they are open until 8:30 pm and it is a two hour process. She said that they have to cover up the gum part … and the reception person said something about this guy that fell asleep so it took a long time to get him through. We DON’T want to do that. But, she said to plan at least 2 hours. Then on the 19th we are going to do something with framing and 26th or so I think we’ll be able to try them out. Partials I mean. Then were done with that! I can hardly wait. I’m having mixed feelings about having more teeth in my mouth, but we’ve come this far … might as well finish up the work.

We made some other calls too. We went through what it took to reorder some diabetes supplies and we got the secretary from the sleep apnea doctor to fax in information to Walgreen’s Home Care. They are supposed to then call us to make a date for the sleep apnea machine. Not so sure about that. A month after we get it in, we’re supposed to go back to the sleep doctor to make sure it’s adjusted. I also tried to make an appointment with my regular doctor, but they said they didn’t have the March schedule up yet. What kind of silly business are they into now that you can’t make an appointment 3 weeks in advance? Ugh!

I think we mentioned we talked to our friend after the dentist … thought we better explain an additional $350. He wanted to know where that money was coming from, because he would like us to pay him back. We explained again that we’d pay everything off with the tax money and should have extra for him to hold for the next emergency. So, then it became like how long for that. So, we made a deal that we would check the mail. That took up quite a bit of our afternoon, because nobodies checked on mail since the end of November. There were two very heavy bags. First thing ya gotta do is get rid of the magazines. Pshwoo. That’s the majority of it … that and credit card offers. There was one catalogue we got into that had specialty stuff for the people we work with … more at the severe level. I found too many things though and I though better hold off to see if sister has any budget for that and then we’d make an official plan and include the DSP if possible. Lot’s of stuff in there and the prices weren’t too bad. This group really needs new manipulatives and a plan. There was some stuff I should have paid attention too, but it wasn’t too bad. The Walgreen’s people I owed $12 to since December and I was kind of embarrassed about that, but we paid it. Most my bills are pretty good … the car insurance is on time, I owe $18 for electric, and $125 on the cable. I owe though $100 for the government. AT & T wants to collect $144 from me and they’ve started charging interest … I don’t know how that happened, but at one point I had paid up. So better check that out as soon as we get a few dollars ahead – 5% interest is like $13 a month, yikes! We have a couple of bills from the Univ. I never understand them … One is $64 so I’ll pay that. My membership in the ARC is going to expire end of next month and that’s only $25, so we’ll pay that. My psychiatry bill is supposed to be $2110 for the 4 months between May and September, 2005. That’s a terrible bill. That’s when they had started charging us $528 a month, instead of $160 … didn’t catch what they were doing … Oh, and it turns out the dental insurance didn’t pay so much for the extraction. We put $100 down on it, insurance paid $108, so I still owe $450. That’s another one I hadn’t realized come in.

So, where does that put us?

Ok, let’s try this again … It’s now 7:30 pm and I think I got it. To pay off the extra stuff and my current bills, I would need 18-electric, 125-cable, 100-government, 144-ATT, 64-UIC, 25-ARC, 50-MRSI, 447-ORALsurgeon, 500-dentist, and 465-friend = $1938 – so $2,000 maybe for tax money – appointment Wednesday at 4 pm … money gone.

Maybe more important is that the 15th check we use to pay off our friend … so we need to have the friends balance for the dentist. I know he paid $900 for rent back in Nov/Dec, so I could pay the dentist, and then I know he paid $100 more, well I don’t know, but I think he put down $100 on the oral surgeon. So, that means … instead of getting ahead on paying rent … we pay our friend a balance of $1000 for past dental on the 15th check. I don’t know if there is more … we are asking him specifically for the bill. Total. For now, that will leave us a couple hundred to get by. Now … for the other bills. We owe on a regular monthly basis from the check deposited after the rent – AND if we don’t spend too much like eating out …

25-parking (6.25 per week), 120-gas (30 per week), 57-car insurance (5th), 23-gym (5th), 63-school loan (9th), 175- doctors (9th & 23rd), 5-audioblog (18th), 100-medicine (20th), 15-music (26th), 19-netflix (30th), = $602 auto payments …. Regular payments opposite rent check – 200-groceries, 110-cable, 60-electric, and 50-SSI = $420 flexible payments

So … 1200 1rst of month = 870-rent, 13 parking, 60 gas, 57 car insurance, 23 gym, 63 school loan, 25 medical 5 audioblog OR 1200-1120 = $80. That leaves the 15th for balance of auto payments $350 AND flexible $420 = 770 from 1200 = $430.

$430 cash? SEE that’s where we get ourselves in trouble. Why don’t we say cash $80 and $350 to our friend to hold. AHA! Because that my dear friend is how we’re going to manage to pay for a new car. That way every three months we put $1000 away toward deposit, and we regulate ourselves to be saving $350, which might be about the money we’ll try keep car payments to (but don’t forget about more insurance).

The only thing is that we’re going to want to spend on frivolous stuff. Such as eating out … HEY … it’s basically now written that our spare money is $40 a week. We can save that up for bigger frivolous stuff – like clothes or waste it eating … seems like someone should be getting back to the gym and eating fruit?? MAYBE save up some bucks to take kids out more often??

OK OK … Let’s make this a done deal. We’re now on a budget … WHICH includes friend being paid up … out of dental bills, making regular payments to medical, doing all the good stuff, and having an entertainment budget of $23 gym, $19 netflix, 15 music, and 5 autoblog. That’s our fun stuff ($62 per month) – PLUS $40 a week do do with what we may! Sounds reasonable for both Dr. Marvin AND OUR FRIEND!!!

Woo HOOO Bed time!

posted by Ann Marie @ 2/05/2007 09:10:00 PM Comments: 2