An Aldi food store is coming to my neck of the woods. It is actually a neighboring town that I must go by on my way home from work. This is the first Aldi I've seen in northern NJ. Does anybody know if it their prices are reasonable?

On another note, June will be an exciting month for our family. My 17 year old is graduating from high school June 26 and my youngest is graduating from 8th grade. This also means that it will be quite an expensive month for us. Prom, yearbook, cap and gown and college tuition for the oldest and 2 day Boston school trip and semi-formal dance for my youngest. They are very excited about these upcoming events so its worth it to me.

Three more paychecks for my husband and I, but I think that with vigilance and careful planning, we'll be alright until September. I'm going to take the summer to catch up on reading a stack of books I have, revisit our budget (make changes) and I am also taking a graduate course for I decided to get my Master. When I complete 15 credits, I'll be able to move up in the salary scale because my employer allows a salary increase if you have a BA + 15 credits.

Oh... I am also getting excited about our trip to Puerto Rico this summer.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

The current state of the economy has me a bit worried. I'd been thinking a lot about our current real estate situation. We owe about $250k on our mortgage ($1483.00) but this monthly amount does not include property taxes ($8825) and insurance ($900). We are blessed to have decent incomes, savings and an investment property that is completely paid off. So, what's the problem? If either of us happen to lose our jobs, it would be very tight for us to keep up with the mortage and property taxes. I love my house, but I'm afraid we will have to start making a a lot of costly repairs (roof, bathrooms and kitchen) in a couple of years. We also have a son who will be going to college in the fall and we will be paying the first two years of college (he's going to a two year college at $2500 per semester). We are seriously considering selling our home and buying something smaller with less property taxes. Do you think I'm over thinking things and being a total pessimist or do you think my worries are legitimate?

I've noticed that I should be doing a little bit better budgeting our money. Although, we are pretty good saving money, I know that some our expenses can be curbed and used to maximize our savings and/or contributed to Roth IRA. I'd been thinking of buying Quicken to keep track of the money, but I get conflicting opinions about the software. Anyone using Quicken? How much should I pay for the software? Your input is greatly appreciated.

I needed five Mother's Day cards and one Communion card for my nephew. I figured I should stop at the dollar store first and see what they had. Guess what? I bought 6 cards for $3.00 and they're very nice and I even found one in Spanish for my Mom. I was absolutely thrill with my purchase and I saved a pretty penny. I may go back sometime next week because they have some graduation stuff I might want to buy. I didn't because my husband and I have not decided yet if we're going to throw my son a graduation party. We'll decide this week.