I seem to have developed an addiction to personal finance blogs. I have a list of about 20 that I cruise through on my lunch hour, and then there are all the ones here. I first began reading them for the money-saving tips, but I found that the personal tidbits kept me coming back. Thanks to all of you for sharing!

Meanwhile, I've been spending too much money. I've bought lunch all this week so far. Then there was the $15 spent at Penzey's, the $29 to renew my subscription to Everyday Food for 2 years, stamps and gas here, an appraisal fee there (we're trying to get rid of our PMI); compact fluorescent bulbs here, a dog toy there...bah. Also, last week I bought myself a cashmere sweater. I've been wanting one for years. My swimming lessons, which had been my birthday gift to myself, got cancelled, so I spent the money I got back on the sweater. I found them priced for as low as $40 (Issac Mizrahi brand, at Target), but I can't imagine the quality could be very good at that price. I went with an $88 long-sleeved t-shirt styled sweater at Land's End.

Oh, Chase Bank called me last night to see if I wanted to take advantage of one of their "benefits" (for a fee, of course). With this "benefit," I could skip one payment a year, and if I became hospitalized I could skip payments for a full year. I interrupted the salesman and said I wasn't interested. Ugh. Who actually thinks this sort of thing is a good deal?

This weekend will be low-key. My husband will be on a business trip, so I'll have lots of quality time with the dog. I have three ridiculously cheesy movies coming from Netflix to enjoy.

IKEA has opened a store here--it opens today, in fact--I'm avoiding it like the plague. I don't need to spend any more money!