life costs $40

Lately, I've been hit with a series of random and unexpected expenses—water filters for the coffee maker, water filter for the refrigerator, arthritis meds for Reilly, an impromptu dinner with the family, the Christmas tree, a batch of random necessities from Target, membership dues in the Ad Club. To a one, these expenses keep hovering in the forty dollar range. Individually, none of them are budget busters, but taken together and with other random expenses that have popped up lately (vet check-ups for old dogs can be expensive!), I'm suddenly in that uncomfortable position of realizing that Christmas is coming and I'm going to have to be a little more budget-conscious than I was expecting. Then again, it's probably time to sit down and take a close look at the budget line-items again.