Going: Shopping

blood money 

–noun
3. money obtained ruthlessly and at a cost of suffering to others.

We have a plan in place for my blood money.

We have a plan in place for my blood money that does not involve replacing our mattress, or organizing our bedroom (or any other room of the house).  It does not include replacing our couch, ripping out that crappy tub, or replacing the toilet that did not survive the last round of toilet training as well as one would hope.  It doesn't allow for the purchase of a bicycle for me, to replace the one that was kindly refurbished for me but is unfortunately too small--I never ride it because it's not worth the discomfort.

We have a plan in place for my blood money that is pretty smart, all things considered.  Vehicle pay-off, a designated amount towards some long-running house projects (with an eye towards re-fi), a designated amount towards pantry restocking to get us back up to snuff so our grocery budget will actually work, a credit card pay-off, and the remaining in a 3-month CD.  We've already sat down with one of those card payment calculators to determine what served us best--paying off or having a larger CD.  Ultimately we're saving loads more on interest than we would ever make off that same amount in a CD, and it frees up more paycheck funds.

We have more breathing room. 

But I don't get to fix up my bedroom.  Or rip out my tub.  Or redo the shower stall.  Or go in for a boob job.  Or do the other garden beds.  The important thing is that we can breathe.