It was a good weekend, financially. I really didn't spend anything! Well, I guess friday night I did go to Borders and buy a few books. The one in our area is going out of business, so they were having a sale. The good news is, however, that I only spent $13.66 Not bad for 3 books...

I went grocery shopping friday as well. My goal was to spend $30. I spent $44.38, but because my goal was $60 for the rest of the month I'll just try to stay under $15 next week. I'm making sure I eat the perishables I bought this week first, that way if I end up not eating something from this week I can carry it over to next week. So staying in my budget should be no problem.

Other than that, didn't spend a dime all weekend. I had drill, so I didn't really go out. And even though they didn't really make anything for lunch both days, I opted to eat MRE's and not spend money going out like everyone else did.

As for this week, I'm going to try and not spend too much again. Of course I have my coffee date with BF on wednesday. But it's his week to pay Yoga saturday morning, but it's only $5. Other than that, I'm going to try and not go out. I have a lot of homework to get done this week. Shouldn't be an issue. Besides, BF and I both agree that it's oftentimes much nicer to just stay in than it is to go out anyway.

So the army changed the dates on my schooling, so I'm leaving in April instead of June. Consequently, I have to miss 2 weeks of school and finals... that's going to be a joy to fix. The upside is, however, that I'm going to get my money faster, and only go without a car for about a month and a half. I'm going to junk my car. It's not worth it to put the money into it. Even if I could get it running I have to get it to pass emissions testing, and I dont forsee that happening without spending quite a bit. I'm just going to buy another car when I get my bonus money anyway. So it's going. I'll save the money I would pay for repairs, plates, testing, gas, and insurance.

Other than that, not a whole lot of news. Just busy! So I better get back to work. Hope everyone has a great day

Alrighty. So my federal tuition assistance went through and I'm fairly certain they're going to let me go on a payment plan. So my classes are not going to be dropped and I'm going through with the semester. Win!

In bad news, however, the company I work for isn't doing so well, so I'm losing hours. That means making 25% less... sigh. I'm going to have to pick up more tutoring or something. I'm not going to be able to make all of my bills... I'm sure there are some places I could cut back. Groceries. As it stands, if I actually have every tutoring appointment I'm supposed to have, I'm $118 short for February. And that's if my student loans get deferred and my payment plan covers 4 months.

Sigh... I wasn't expecting to pay that extra $1000 for my school this semester, so that's hurting me quite a bit.

So that kind of sucks, but if I can pick up some side jobs I'll be okay. And I'll have more time for schoolwork, so that's nice. But I have to pay my bills. I'm sure my roomates aren't going to freak out if I cant pay the full $200 every month, and I could cut back my entertainment budget. I'll make it work somehow...

For this month I'm still under budget. I would be very much under budget except I had a (yes, I'm serious) $150 library fine... That's what I get for procrastinating and whatnot. Lesson learned.

So I have to pull some fancy footwork, but I'll get in a position where I'll be paying my bills and making extra. I just have to cut back and figure out ways to make more. There are answers out there, I just have to find them. Perhaps more writing. And I could sell a few books, I'm sure. I'll get it taken care of.

Either way, I hope everyone has a great day!

Well, found the leak on the car. It was the radiator, and it was bad. Lucky for me, though, my mechanic is a good friend. He got me a new radiator for $90, and didn't charge me a dime for labor. It was a quick fix, and in return I agreed to go to dinner with him. heh.

So last night was nice, got mexican, then went back to his friends' and jammed. We all play music, so it was a good time. Got home and went to sleep.

I have to get my bank card situated. The ATM wouldn't let me withdraw any cash... ugh. Applied for my parking pass at school. It should be here in the next few weeks. Hopefully sooner. I have a whole mess to figure out at the university tomorrow. Happy day... Getting the army to pay for things and not mess it up is an impossibility.

Other than that, tomorrow starts the first week of hell... that is, by incredibly busy schedule. I work 7-3 mon thru friday, tutor 3 nights a week (thursdays I have 2 clients, however), and classes in the evening. It's going to be rough... This sunday I'm going to see Chicago with my roomates. That should be fun. I think next monday I'm driving to Pittsburgh for a lecture. My classes are cancelled due to a holiday, and I haven't been in so long!

So busy busy busy. I'm going to try and made this a relaxing day. It's the last one I'll have before this mess begins.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Well, it's January 2 and I have yet to spend a dime this year lol. I guess part of that is due to the fact that the BF has been paying for a lot. I helped out in the beginning, grabbed a couple meals... but he wants to go out almost every night, and I just cant afford that right now. Have to get my footing before I can go hog-wild with the spending... especially considering I have a lot of goals to accomplish.

In good news for 2010, I'm getting a raise... and I'm getting paid salary So my hours will be much more flexible, and I wont be working nearly as much. I'll more or less have a set quota I need to accomplish every day, and when the work's done, I'm done. Hence more time for studying

Today is going to be another relaxing day. I got a paid day off yesterday (woot). I'm going to take the time to do some reading, work out (I've been eating way too much junk for the last couple days), set out my goals for january and this coming week, and start getting to work on them! I may even write an article... every little bit helps, and I have nothing of great importance to accomplish today.

I hope everyone is having a great start to their new year. I certainly am

So here it is, the list of my 2010 goals. They're not all related to finances (most of them are not), but here they are nonetheless:

*Pay off Credit Card
*Eat healthy
*Work out at least 3 times a week
*Write at least 1 poem/story per month
*Continue volunteering with Hospice-2 hours per month min.
*Push through the mentoring program for my independent study
*Get a tattoo
*Write at least 3 new songs
*Visit a foreign country (Kenya in August)
*Play out at my own show
*Complete 3 sewing projects
*Re-do the couch
*Get back into the CIQR program
*Score really well on the GRE
*Find/visit at least 2 grad schools
*Get down to 135 pounds
*See a play or the symphony
*Find an internship for the fall, or a job closer to my career choice
*Go to Boston for the CCFC conference in April
*Move into my own place
*Start riding my bike frequently when the weather gets nicer
*Improve my Credit score
*Start reading the news

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll add more. Just have to keep holding myself accountable

In financial news, I finally opened up a local bank branch, and paid my CC bill yesterday. I haven't used it in over a month. I'm going to keep going with that trend. I'm trying to pay it off quicker than the end of 2010... lol.

For right now I just have to focus on fixing my car and getting things in order for school, work. My schedule is going to be incredibly challenging. I may have to cut back some hours at work to fit in my tutoring. I cant loose that gig, it just pays too well.

On the health front, I have worked out twice this week And I've been eating relatively well. No soda, though I've had a few beers. I need to cut back on those if I'm going to make any progress on my weight... heh.

Either way, time to get going. Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

So I'm very much looking forward to the start of the new year. I'm putting together goals today. I've been losing focus lately, with everything that's been going on in my life. Now that things are starting to work themselves out and calm down, it's time to get back on track!

I'm finishing up the January budget right now, and prepping for the goal-setting. Something about new beginnings gets me incredibly motivated. The week just started, a new month is about to start, and we're at the edge of 2010. So very exciting!

So stay posted for the almighty lists It'll be pretty intense... lol.

Today has been quite productive. Working, from home thankfully given all the snow we just got. Doing my laundry today, getting my finances in order. I bought my textbooks on amazon today. Pretty decent prices. I got everything it says I'm supposed to need for about $100.

After work I'm going to jump on the treadmill for a bit, and later going to yoga with the boy I started eating healthy again starting today. I've gained a lot of the weight I lost in basic training, and I told myself I wouldn't let that happen... Not that I'm terribly overweight, but I haven't worked out in over 3 months... I was working out 5 mornings a week when I was in training. There really is no excuse for it. So here we go again...

That's it for now, then. Happy beginning of the week, everyone!

Unfortunately yesterday was another rough one. But I'm determined to not let this one get me down. I'm pretty sure my new medication is messing with me. Hormones will do that to you. But I'm not going to sit around mopey all week long. Thank goodness I have things like LOLcats and sweet boyfriends for times like these.

Yesterday was a no-spend day. I went to get my car e-checked, and they broke it even further... my car is not doing so hot right now. My mechanic buddy is going on vacation here tomorrow as well... so it's gonna be a minute before I get the thing fixed. Pooey.

The good news is that the manual to my car is on its way, so I'll be more aptly equipped to start fixing it on my own. I'm a helicopter mechanic with the army. I'm pretty sure I can handle a car. No problemo.

So that's that. Time to get to work here in a few minutes, and BF's last exam is this evening, so we're going out tonight and he is getting pretty wasted. I'll be the DD and nursing him in the morning... it's also been a long week for him. It's a shame we're both in rough spots at the same time. I feel like a jerk for not being as understanding as I should be, and he's just so busy it's hard for him to be around for me while I'm in this state. Bah.

Ah well, off to work. Hope everyone has a great day! I'm going to try and maintain some positivity!

So it finally happened... my car broke. Well, it broke to the point where it's essential I fix it before I drive it more, anyway. Terrible timing, really. I was supposed to trade cars with mom to make a trip to Pittsburgh, and it happened the day before. Needless to say, it was an angry night. I mean, I knew I was going to have to put some money into it. You cant buy a $1200 car without something breaking. It just doesn't happen. lol.

I was freaking out because I didn't really have any money for repairs, but something amazing happened. I looked at my bank account and became alarmed because the army paid me an unexpected $570. They have a habit of overpaying me it seems... A quick look at my mypay showed that it was actually money I was supposed to be paid. Just in time!!!

My mechanic buddy came over yesterday and took a look at it, and it's the power steering pump. I think there may be other problems as well, but this is where we're going to start.

I go buy the plates today. lol. My temp tags expire tomorrow.

I had a very inexpensive weekend. BF and I haven't really gone out. He's busy with projects and finals and I'm getting over this cold, and feeling rather refreshed that we spent a couple weeks out of the bars.

The roomies and I had a boardgame night saturday which was very successful, and yesterday was certainly a lazy sunday. I read and drank tea most of the day. School starts next month, and I will have zero time for pleasure reading. I'm trying to get in all I can for the time being.

So yes, just need to fix the car and figure out how I'm going to swing tutoring this week. I'm sure I'll be able to work some magic. Drill this weekend. Woot. It's going to be a long week...

Hope everyone has a good one! Later.

Well, things are busy as usual. Still working, though it's nice to start working at home this week... I'm quite enjoying it. Whereas a lot of people think there are a lot of distractions, I find very little. It's nice Best part? I get to hang out in my PJ's aaaalll day. There is a reason they call me PJmama

Paid my one student loan bill yesterday. My CC bill is a couple days late now, but I'm going tomorrow morning not only to make a payment, but to open a new checking acct. My bank situation is, and has been, a mess for the last few months. It's time I finally fixed it. It'll be nice to have a local bank branch again. It'll be much easier, anyway.

I haven't really done any writing in the last 3 weeks. I haven't really had the time, and I've been sick for the last week or so. Thus I've been relaxing, and thankfully, too. I'm starting to feel better now.

I've been doing a lot of reading. It's incredibly stress-free, and I've managed to buy about 15-20 books in the past couple months, all for under 50 cents each. Yay for booksales and the thrift store! As winter weather finally sets in, I'll be well stocked with cheap entertainment.

I'm a bit stressed about xmas coming up. Thankfully I dont have too many people to buy for. I bought my best friend something already, and mom and I decided not to exchange gifts... both of us are hurting financially this year. I'm getting BF hockey tickets, and we're making a weekend out of going to PA and seeing the game, at some point in January. I still have to purchase the tickets. It'll be about $100 for both.

I'm a bit worried that this coming semester is going to be chocked full and frantic. I'm only taking 12 credit hours, but I'll also be working full time. I know I'll pull through it and everything will be okay, but I anticipate it being very stressful. I'm not going to have very much time for anything at all.

I've started my list of 2010 goals, and it's coming along. I'll post them, along with my list of what got accomplished (and didn't) in 2009.

Either way, it's back to work for me. I hope everyone is having a great day!

I'm having a serious struggle with time. It feels that now I've started working I dont really have time to do all the things I need to do... bah. It's got me worried about how the semester is going to go... But I guess I'm just going to have to work something out. I've definitely worked 25 hours a week and went to school full time simultaneously. I may just have to knock down my class load to 12 credits and go closer to full time with work for a semester.

I really just need to get financially situated, and by the summer time I want to be living in my own apt. BF and I are already talking about moving in with eachother. That will cut costs in half and definitely lighten the blow.

The new car hasn't blown up yet, though it's already giving me some minor problems. It looks like there's a leak somewhere. It's also stalled out on me a few times, and the oil light comes on when I'm idling after I've driven it on the highway... sigh... I'm still trying to finagle a way to pay my student loan payments this month. I dont have the extra cash to make car repairs... :/

I haven't done any writing in almost 2 weeks, mostly because I just dont have the time. Between work and tutoring 3 nights a week, then cleaning my boss' house for cash on the weekends... it's a bit overwhelming.

The good news is that this is the last week I go into the office. I start working from home next week I'm going to save money on gas, and free up some time with driving. Not only that, but I dont ever have to leave my pj's

I think that's about it in news. Just trying to get through these first few weeks at work, get through the kinks, get into my routine. It'll be smooth sailing from there.

Hope everyone enjoys thier day!

Well, it's tuesday. Yesterday was relatively low-expense. I worked, then went to yoga. Honestly, it's the best $5 I've ever spent every time I go. Thank goodness for student pricing

In good news, the fair trade place I went to the other day was having a drawing, and I got pulled out of the hat. How's that for good karma? I get a $10 gift certificate! Woot.

Worked today, and tutored for an hour, so that's an extra $30. I hit the grocery store on my way home and spent $22.22. That's the first time I've bought groceries this month. I dont starve by any means, but I hate eating food at home that I didn't even pitch in on. So I picked up a few things we needed for the hosue, and some food for me to make dinners, breakfasts, and the like.

I'm doing some work from home tonight, so a couple more hours will be added. I may have to put off some of it til the morning, though. I'm getting really tired. Stayed up a bit too late last night. It's catching up with me.

Tomorrow I'm not sure what's going on other than working and tutoring. May or may not be hangning out with BF. It's strange that we're both so busy now. My schedule is almost as bad as his now. lol. Come the next semester it'll be even worse... sigh.

I already miss seeing him. haha. Hopefully things will ease up closer to the holidays.

Either way, I should get some work done! Hope everyone has a good night.

So my first week of work came to a close. Everything went entirely well, and I'm looking forward to another productive week. There is some good news on the financial front:

I apparently misheard my tutoring client when we agreed on $15/hour. Apparently she said $15/half hour. So I'm actually making $30 more every week than I thought I was... Nice So in total, I'm making $80/week in tutoring alone. 3 hours of work for that much! You cant beat that.

I wrote a review of a local business that sells fair trade goods and postHaed the link on thier facebook. The woman that runs the business is fabulous, and she was incredibly happy with the article. In turn, she posted it for all to read, and said that she owed me and would return the favor somehow soon. I'm going to be in there tomorrow evening for thier 2 year anniversary celebration, so that could mean good things for me I really do love her business and the products she carries. They're pretty fabulous, and really well priced.

Had a doctor's appt today, and perscription I'm going to have every month. Luckily, the perscription is only $18 every month. 2 months of pills and the visit today cost me $74. Big ouch. Had to throw it on my CC, which was a bummer But I'll get that paid off in no time if work is going as well as it has been. I went from relatively no income to making quite a bit. It's a bit overwhelming, but also fabulous

When it works out, I'll be making $9/hr (I'm getting a raise as of next week. Go figure, right?). If we're talking a 15% tax rate (I'm going to have to save to pay taxes next year), I'll be making more like $7.65/hr. If I work 30 hours every week, that's about $230/week.

$230 Weekly salary
$80 Tutoring
$30 House Cleaning
$7 for Writing
$347 Total per week

$347x4=$1388 per month.

There's even talk of having another raise if business goes well, so I could be up to $10/hr in no time. Things are looking good over here.

If I stay with my roomates for another few months, I'll have the money for my car and laptop taken care of, and then my CC paid off in no time. Then I'll fly the nest and look for my own apt. Good stuff, for sure

So other than my medical stuff, the only spending I did today was on gas. I went through $10 in gas so quickly! Granted, my appt today was a bit far. And I've driven quite a bit in the last week. I'll have to keep track of that so I'm not spending quite so much on gas. I forgot what a big expense that could be... Ah well.

I'm playing army this weekend, and BF is going to be out of town, so it should be a super cheap few days. Very low key. As it is, I need to get going to get ready for tomorrow. Gotta love being a weekend warrior! lol. Hope everyone has a good evening!

Well, my tutoring session went well yesterday. I'm actually tutoring this girl 2 times a week, at $15/hr. So that, plus tonight's session will make an extra $50/week

So that's going well. In other income news, AC accepted 2 more of my articles, so that's another $7.02 to add to my challenge money. I published 2 articles on Examiner, and I get pay per views. I'm at $0.30, but that's not too bad given they've been up for less than 48 hours. I've got more posting to do up on social networking sites and whatnot. I'll get those up

Also working the rest of this week. It's amazing how things just kind of exploded for me. In the course of 3 days I've got a job and a car... and all these side projects!!

Goals are coming along well, but I have a lot to do today. Better get back to work!

well, I put down the money to hold my car til tomorrow, and I head to the bank in the morning. By 10:00 tomorrow morning, I will have my set of wheels Very exciting. This will be the first time in almost 4 years that I have a car to drive, and the first time ever that I have a car in my name. I'm very happy with my decision, and I think it's a sound financial decision as well. I'm throwing the insurance on it tonight, so I'll be out and about come tomorrow

That's one more goal I've reached this month as of tomorrow. I evaluated my goals for last week, and I've managed to hit every single one:

*Write and submit 5 articles.
*Keep track of all my finances.
*Have 2 no-spend days.
*Pick up tutoring gig.

I'm very content with that. Hopefully I'll do as well with my goals for this coming week:

*Write and submit 6 articles.
*Keep track of all money spent/made.
*Buy a car (obviously going to happen).
*3 no-spend days.

Ideally, I should have more than 3 no-spend days, as I really shouldn't be spending ANY money for a while after I buy this car. As it is, I'm going to be struggling to pay all my bills. I have faith that I'll meet them, I just have to make some sacrifices through the rest of the month. BF and I are both working on spending less money, so having someone in it with me is great I think we'll both have a positive influence on eachother.

I start work this week, so that's pretty exciting. I'm not really going to make any money over the course of the week, as my boss fronted me $400, but I'm still excited. I feel like things are finally falling into place and I'm getting back on my feet. It's taken a few months, but I'm getting there. It's a nice feeling.

Tonight BF is taking me out to dinner at a restaurant that just opened up and my roomies say is excellent. It's a kind of celebratory thing, and will be our last hurrah before cutting out the spending really for the rest of the month. It's absolutely GORGEOUS outside, and I'm definitely going to put on a cute dress for the occasion

So wish me luck for the rest of the week! It's going to be a very busy one...

So in good news... I got the job! I'll be working part-time hours this coming week, then moving to full time. Very exciting! I'm definitely going to be a busy girl.

Now that I've got the job, this weekend I'm getting a car. I know, I know. I've already gotten the "you cant buy a car in one weekend!" speech. And I know it's haphazard, but it's what I've got to do. I dont really have a choice in the matter. Transportation has become a must. It's now or never, kids! So I'm going to go out over the next 2 days and see what I can get. I'd ideally like to finance an older toyota or honda. Spend between $3-5k. But that's wholly dependent on whether or not I can get financing. My credit score isn't terrible... close to 700, but my debt-income ratio isn't all that great. So we'll see what I can get.

If worse comes to worse and I cant get financing, my employer is going to help me out and front me some money to buy something cheaper... closer to $1200. So we'll see what I can come up with over the next 2 days!

In other news, my application for examiner was accepted, so I'll be writing for them as well as associated content. Exciting I'm almost positive they pay better than AC, and they're much more selective, so we'll see how it pans out!

Yesterday was also a no-spend day. I wrote 2 articles. I only have one more to make 5 for the week. Excellent!

So it's time to be off! Wish me luck!

So yesterday was a *No-Spend Day* Woot! I did in fact paint grandma a b-day card, and had dinner at mom's. In other successes, I lined up a tutoring job for next week. $20/hr. Only an hour a week, but still. That's an extra $80/month! Hopefully I'll pick up more of those.

Today I clean. I have a weekly gig doing that. It pulls me in about $50/week, which is nice to have. So for being unemployed, I'm still making a bit of cash. Listening to my music and cleaning isn't a terrible time, either!

So I'm off to start my day. I hope everyone has a great one.

Well, it's already november. Again, I haven't been keeping up with my blog here, and consequently my wallet has been suffering. I need to be more conscious of my spending or I'm never going to meet the goals I've put out for myself.

I'm still in the process of looking for a job. I had 2 interviews about a week and a half ago, and no word yet. The one place said, however, they weren't doing any hiring for another 2 weeks. I'll have to give them a call here soon.

The army has managed to really mess up my pay. I'm still being paid active duty pay... good I guess because I'm getting a lot of money. Bad because they are in fact going to take it back... through my pay for the next year or so. I guess I can treat it like a loan. They also managed to mess up my job training scheduling so poorly that my enlistment bonus is up in the air...

So very frustrating.

So, I have no car still. And no job. These are kind of top on my priority list at the moment. The good news is that I'm getting unemployment, and I'm enrolled in classes for the spring. A shining glimmer of hope indeed

Also, my student loan payments once again get deferred as of January, so I wont be shelling out over $500/month on those... I'll focus more on paying down the CC then.

With my finances being so screwed up it's relly difficult to budget and predict what my income is going to be for this month. I guess all I can really do is attempt to spend as little as possible. The good news? There's a new boy And staying in to cuddle and watch movies costs nothing at all!

I'm going to start tracking my spending again. It seems to be the only way I curb my spending. With xmas coming up, I'm going to need the extra cash for sure. Not only that, but it looks like I'm going to have to fund my own trip out of the country this summer if I cant get that bonus money. I'm not going to depend on it. I cant, or I know I'm just going to let myself down in the end.

Xmas is going to be a rough one. I'm definitely planning on buying the new BF hockey tickets. Because he loooves the Penguins. And so do I. Therefore it's really like a present for both of us! Mom's present isn't going to cost me a dime. But she's going to love it I'm making the BFF a scarf. There'll be a few more $ on that, but nothing crazy. We'll see what happens for everyone else.

This week is a busy one. Going to do karaoke tonight with a friend who is in town. I'll probably have a couple drinks. I'm limiting myself to about $10. Tomorrow night is my grandma's b-day celebration. FREE Wednesday night is a going away celebration at an open mic. I'll have a couple drinks there as well. Thursday night is going out night. Sigh. More drinks. The good news I suppose is that I've been DD the last few times we've went out, so I drink substantially less. Much cheaper. haha.

No plans for the weekend, but I see it being rather low-key. I like that. The halloween hubbub has passed, and it's kind of a relief, though it was a great one

So enough of this blabbing. Time to go do something productive! Hope you all have a wonderful day.

So I made it safely home, thank goodness-- after almost missing my flight due to a bank error. Bleh. Words to the wise: if your platoon sgt tells you to wait to the last minute to get money out of the ATM to pay the cab driver to get you to the airport, do yourself a favor and just kick him in the face.

My checking account is frozen, zeroed out online for some strange reason. It says something about transfer balance for conversion, and I know they're switching systems here soon, but I have to pay my bills, and I cant if my money is locked in limbo. So I have to call them or go to the bank tomorrow. Yippie.

Other than that, my travel home was really quite painless. No terrible delays, spent a good portion of my layover chillin on a couch in the USO (those are pretty fabulous, by the way). And it was free! Didn't have to pay for a cab in the end, the flight, or my baggage (and there was a LOT of it).

Went to my storage unit to get my clothes out and pay my bill... mom was slacking. Told them I'd be out by the end of the month, so I'll get the rest of my stuff moved and I wont be paying for storage anymore woo! Thankfully the BFF has plenty of space in her house for all my crap.

We went out to dinner last night with a couple friends, which was *amazing*. And went out dancing til the wee hours of the morning, which is always a good time. It was a pretty excellent day. Well, except for the ex driving me crazy... but that's a whole different story. Sigh... I'm fairly certain men will be the death of me.

As for today? Art in the Park. The BFF is in the shower, and I'll be following, then we're off! And making dinner for her father in law tonight. His wife died a few months ago... everyone we know was really close to thier family, and it was pretty devastating to him. BFF goes over there every sunday to have dinner with him, and now I get to be part of the tradition

Other than that, no plans for today. Finish unpacking my clothes... try not to go insane... haha. We have to go get keys made for me. Party... haha.

Tomorrow I go to my unit to get all my paperwork copied and in order. Get my bonus paperwork in so it can get processed and I get *PAID*. Get my scholarship paperwork in and my GI bill rollin for the winter. I have to go to the university here soon as well, and get everything straight for school in January.

And job hunt... I need to do a whole lot of that too. There are a whole list of places I need to grab applications from. I did see my LES, and I will be getting paid on tuesday. Woo! So I'm not totally screwed for the month. It's a total relief. I just have to watch the spending. As soon as I get my bank situation under control, I'll get my budget in order and really buckle down on things.

So I'm going to go get my day started. Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

So it's come to my attention that I'll be back home in Ohio in less than a week. Holy crap. heh.

I've been trying to prepare for this for a while now, and each day it gets a little easier and I get a little more excited. I was dreading my return not a month ago, but I feel I'm finally ready. It's time.

Money is going to be INCREDIBLY tight until January. My grace period ended on the student loans, and I'm paying out about $400 a month until I'm enrolled back in school. The good news is once I am enrolled, my loans will be deferred again and I'll be getting my GI Bill-- with kicker. Which means the army will be giving me more or less $500/month. That's on top of paying for my school. So I'll still hold at least a part time job, and be good to go.

Until then, however, I have work to do. I'm lucky in that I'm going to be living with my best friend in her house, and she wants no rent from me. I'll secretly hide money in her pockets come November, but for the next couple months, I'll likely take advantage of that while I get back on my feet.

I'll get my bonus money within the next 2 months. After taxes that should net me somewhere around $8000. A chunk of that is going into a savings account for emergencies and my travel savings. The rest will be used to put a down payment on a car. I'll definitely need one come the wintertime. For job and school purposes. Until then, I'll be pedalling it on my bike and bumming rides.

I was looking at the local YMCA website, seeing if they had military discounts, and I went out on a whim and looked at job postings. They had a few, and I filled out the online application for the hell of it. Got a call a couple days ago from the director of the childcare department. I have a job interview the week I get back. I'm rather excited about that. I love kids, and I think I would like it a lot. I do need to discuss what I would be getting paid/hours I'd be working. At this point, however, it's nice to know I have the job hunt started. And with the way the job market is looking in Ohio these days, even if I'm getting close to minimum wage, something is better than nothing. I've got bills to pay.

Even if I dont get a very high paying job, the good news is that I get $150/month in drill pay. Not much, but it's something. And I do my fair share of babysitting. And I'll be getting back into my music once I get home, with a friend who is an exceptional guitarist. We're hoping to start playing out in the next few months. It would be great if that generated some income as well. Every little bit helps.

I'm going to post my financial goals here in the next week. I'll be posting much more often once I get home. My internet access out here is limited, so it's rather inconsistent. I also have to establish said goals, so look forward to them!

I've started doing some lightweight budgeting, but it's hard when I have no clue what my income is going to be. So it's a rough draft thus far. It's going to be pretty tight for the next couple months for sure. But I'm okay with that. Lucky for me, my friends and I do many cheap(er) things for fun... like playing board games and drinking haha. I'm definitely looking forward to spending time with my friends. Particularly my best friend. We'll call her DW, because on facebook we are technically married. haha. Her husband is actually returning from his deployment next month as well. It's going to be quite the party.

The only clear goal I have is going to Kenya next summer. I'm budgeting $2k for plane ticket and spending while I'm there (which will be minimal). If I use a chunk of my bonus money, monthly saving wont be too bad. But we'll see. I've been trying to get out of the country and see the world for a while now. I think this is my chance. I'm rather excited about it

So I think that's enough for now. Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll post again soon

So it's come to my attention that I'll be back home in Ohio in less than a week. Holy crap. heh.

I've been trying to prepare for this for a while now, and each day it gets a little easier and I get a little more excited. I was dreading my return not a month ago, but I feel I'm finally ready. It's time.

Money is going to be INCREDIBLY tight until January. My grace period ended on the student loans, and I'm paying out about $400 a month until I'm enrolled back in school. The good news is once I am enrolled, my loans will be deferred again and I'll be getting my GI Bill-- with kicker. Which means the army will be giving me more or less $500/month. That's on top of paying for my school. So I'll still hold at least a part time job, and be good to go.

Until then, however, I have work to do. I'm lucky in that I'm going to be living with my best friend in her house, and she wants no rent from me. I'll secretly hide money in her pockets come November, but for the next couple months, I'll likely take advantage of that while I get back on my feet.

I'll get my bonus money within the next 2 months. After taxes that should net me somewhere around $8000. A chunk of that is going into a savings account for emergencies and my travel savings. The rest will be used to put a down payment on a car. I'll definitely need one come the wintertime. For job and school purposes. Until then, I'll be pedalling it on my bike and bumming rides.

I was looking at the local YMCA website, seeing if they had military discounts, and I went out on a whim and looked at job postings. They had a few, and I filled out the online application for the hell of it. Got a call a couple days ago from the director of the childcare department. I have a job interview the week I get back. I'm rather excited about that. I love kids, and I think I would like it a lot. I do need to discuss what I would be getting paid/hours I'd be working. At this point, however, it's nice to know I have the job hunt started. And with the way the job market is looking in Ohio these days, even if I'm getting close to minimum wage, something is better than nothing. I've got bills to pay.

Even if I dont get a very high paying job, the good news is that I get $150/month in drill pay. Not much, but it's something. And I do my fair share of babysitting. And I'll be getting back into my music once I get home, with a friend who is an exceptional guitarist. We're hoping to start playing out in the next few months. It would be great if that generated some income as well. Every little bit helps.

I'm going to post my financial goals here in the next week. I'll be posting much more often once I get home. My internet access out here is limited, so it's rather inconsistent. I also have to establish said goals, so look forward to them!

I've started doing some lightweight budgeting, but it's hard when I have no clue what my income is going to be. So it's a rough draft thus far. It's going to be pretty tight for the next couple months for sure. But I'm okay with that. Lucky for me, my friends and I do many cheap(er) things for fun... like playing board games and drinking haha. I'm definitely looking forward to spending time with my friends. Particularly my best friend. We'll call her DW, because on facebook we are technically married. haha. Her husband is actually returning from his deployment next month as well. It's going to be quite the party.

The only clear goal I have is going to Kenya next summer. I'm budgeting $2k for plane ticket and spending while I'm there (which will be minimal). If I use a chunk of my bonus money, monthly saving wont be too bad. But we'll see. I've been trying to get out of the country and see the world for a while now. I think this is my chance. I'm rather excited about it

So I think that's enough for now. Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll post again soon

Well, I had my interview this morning. It wasn't quite as much an interview as it was a meeting with a person at a staffing agency, though. They started me a profile in thier database, and asked me some questions about my strengths, skills, etc. They sent me a couple tests for accounting, and I did okay on them.

I actually scored better on the cost accounting test than the accounting terminology test. lol. At least where percentiles are concerned. Just goes to show that when you take principles of accounting I and then wait 3 years to decide to take on business as a major that you forget a lot of that information...

They wanted me to do 2 typing tests as well, but for some reason my computer wouldn't run them... so we'll see how that goes.

I revised my resume, and have another meeting at the center for career management on monday, then a workshop on career fairs. Then a career fair on thursday to go to, so I have (hopefully) some good prospects. Those few days will give me some time to tweak my resume and research some of the companies that will be there. I dont feel terribly rushed to find anything in the next week, so it's nice to explore my options rather than settling for something.

Either way, let's hope things go well. I'm thining I may have to go buy a new top to wear to this career fair. I have one nice one, but I managed to get food on it in a couple places, so there are 2 small stains. I just need a plain white button up top. I'm sure I can find one somewhere for not too much money. I got 2 pairs of nice closed-toed dress shoes at payless last night. One pair black, the other brown. I looove the brown ones, and they're not too terribly dressy, so they look cute with jeans as well. Money well spent, I believe.

Well, gonna get going here. I think it's about time to head home and take the pup out, then get to bed. I'm pretty sleepy. Everyone have a great night!

Well, still thinking over the Pampered Chef thing, but I did have an appointment with the center for career management at my university. We went over my resume, and a bunch of other stuff. I have some homework to do with all that. I also made a call about an ad that I saw on craigslist for an "inventory administrator with accounts recievable." I have an interview tomorrow, so all I'm thinking about now is getting my resume in order, and figuring out what to wear. lol. My interview is at 11, and I get out of class at 9, so I'll have a little bit of time to do some homework and still get there early.

I'm also going to a career fair next week, so I'll have (hopefully) some other opportunities to find a job. We'll see, I guess. Wish me luck!

Puppy is doing okay. Her crate and potty training has been going alright. She had more accidents today than she has over the last week, though we were at my mom's for a lot of the day. Lucky for me, a couple of the big accidents were on linoleum. I think she gets a little too excited when she's around my mom's dog...

Either way, I should get working on this resume. Everyone have a great night!

Well, this week will be interesting indeed.

I got a "notice" from my boss yesterday, more or less telling me that my job was in jeapordy. I wont go into details about how or why this is ridiculous, I'll only mention that I do nothing differently than any other employee at my restaurant, and for some reason get treated differently than anyone else.

I've been considering quitting for the last few months. My boss is a total a**hole, and treats me like I'm an idiot on a daily basis. I've always been told that if you dont know the answer to a question, you ask. It's terribly simple. My questions are answered with rude and demeaning comments. I've been given absolutely no training and have no experience bartending, yet I get yelled at for doing things incorrectly. I think doing things incorrectly is pretty par for the course when you're learning as you go along.

I think my boss had much higher expectations of me than what I was capable of when I took the position he asked me to take. He's used to dealing with people who have been bartending for years, and got frustrated when I didn't do everything to his liking (despite the fact he never told me how he wanted things done in the first place).

I think this frustration lead me to be the one he dumps all of his problems on. I'm pretty tired of being his punching bag. There have been a couple times he's really went off on me, swore at me, and embarrased me in front of customers. My coworkers all have told me that if he treated them like he treats me that they wouldn't be able to work for him.

I decided yesterday that I couldn't either. If he is going to threaten my job for such petty reasons as he did, he must not really want me there in the first place. It makes no sense for us to be wasting our time. I've been miserable for a few months now. It's time to go.

So now I'm on the job hunt. BF is helping me out financially until I can find something. I've been in contact with the university's career management center, so I'll be updating and improving my resume in the next few days. I plan on sending them out to quite a few places. I've been looking on craigslist and in the paper to find office and accounting related part-time jobs. I'm also going to look at the job postings board in the college of business.

I'm going to attempt to find something along these lines before settling for a non business-related job, but if I cant find anything in a few weeks, that's what it will come to.

I usually stick by the rule of having something else lined up before quitting my current job, but things just didn't work out that way this time. I tried to make it work for a while, it's just that no amount of money is really worth being verbally abused everyday.

Thankfully I have that refund check for the excess portion of my student loans coming. I'm still going to put over $1000 of it into my CC, but it will also serve as just in case money. Regardless, I'm going to be super tight on the spending. No eating out at restaurants for me. Just the bare essentials.

On the lighter side of things (not that I dont consider quitting my job a good thing. I'm actually quite relieved), BF and I got a puppy She's a rescue from a puppy mill, and a gorgeous little thing. They said she's a husky mix, though I dont think she looks much like a husky. She's 2 months old, and we named her Madi. Here's a picture of the pretty girl:



She's doing okay on the potty training. We've had a few accidents for sure, but she does wait to go outside unless she really has to go, in which case it's really our fault for not realizing it. What we're really working on is the cage training. She hates being in the cage, so it's been a noisy last couple nights. Our neighbors probably hate us by now...

She's darling, though, and I can tell she's going to be a great comfort when BF goes to Iraq in December. I wanted to get her a couple months before so that BF could help me train her. So far it's been a tough, but rewarding experience. It's really like having a kid, from what I can tell. haha. She really is just a baby.

Okay, that's enough for now. I hope everyone has a great night. Wish me luck on the job hunt!

Hello again, friends!

It's been quite a while since I've posted a blog... I've been incredibly busy with school and work. No big suprise, I'm sure

I'm not 100% on what my last post said, but things are going alright. I still have yet to get my financial aid pushed through... have to talk to the office tomorrow. Class itself is going well, but it's tough while working full time. I've been slipping financially because of my constant motion. I grocery shopped on sunday, however, so I can stop dumping so much money at restaurants Things are getting back on track progressively as I get accustomed to this new schedule.

BF and I are doing fabulously. It's 9 months now. It's scary that he's going to be leaving for his pre-deployment training here in just a couple weeks. It's coming up so soon! That being said, the new puppy will likely be bought next month. I cant say I'm not excited. I've wanted a puppy for many years now.

Work is going alright. I'm making good money, though I'm a bit miserable working for my boss. He's turned into quite the monster over the last couple months. I need to talk to the university career center and work on getting an internship or part time job for the spring semester. It's in the works.

I put together my october budget, and I'm determined to stay on track. I never put one together for september, which would explain the casual spending left and right :/ That's what happens when I stop tracking my expenses...

At any rate, I'm going to get going. There is homework to be done! (always).

I hope everyone is doing well, and I'm happy I could pop in and give you all an update!

Have a wonderful night!

Well, I'm registered for my classes. The trick now is paying for them. This is not my favorite game, let me tell you. I'm one of the lucky random students being audited for my fafsa, so it's a mess of paperwork before I can even get evaluated for my financial aid. It'll take another 5 weeks. Because of this, I have to sign up for a payment plan, which includes a $30 fee and a $500 deposit. Argh. I'd have the money if I didn't just spend it all on my summer classes...

Soooo. I have until this coming monday to come up with the money, or I'll be slapped with a $50 late fee. Then, I have until next friday to come up with the amount plus the late fee or I get my classes dropped.

Why does it always seem like I'm racing against the clock? Or the calender, as it were.

The good news is that I think I may be able to wing it by monday. Assuming that I make semi-decent money at work in the next couple days. But then again, it is nearing the end of the week, so that may not be a possibility. We have more people on staff at the end of the week, thus more people to split tables between. Let's hope there are a lot of people out there who wanna drink at my restaurant!

In a guilty fuss I'm going to admit that I *gasp!* spent money on clothes in the last week. I was at walmart and saw plain tanks for $4 each, so I bought 2 (mine are getting kind of gross because I wear them like crazy). I was also at the consignment shop picking up the last of the profit my clothes generated (a whole $9) when I spotted a pair of american eagle jeans in my size for only $14.38. I reeeeeeaally needed another pair of jeans. Mine are all full of holes, and it's getting quite ridiculous. Thus, spending the money was well worth it. There you have it. My back to school shopping. $23-ish.

It's been a stressful week, and it seems that it's not going to get any better. I've got quite a bit of pressure on me to make some money. I have tuition and books (to the tune of $200) to cover in the next week. My credit card will be maxed out, and my EF is gone. It's times like these that make me happy that I opted to do school part-time this semester. I want to get some stuff caught up and whittled down. I hope business picks up a bit.

I was hoping to go out this weekend to celebrate the new semester, or at least mourn the last weekend I'll have free. My schedule is going to be quite hectic come next week. Here's how it stands:

Monday: Work 11-6pm. School 6:40-7:55pm.
Tuesday: School 7:45-9:00am. Work 11-6pm.
Wednesday: Work 11-6pm. School 6:40-7:55pm.
Tuesday: School 7:45-9:00am. Work 11-6pm.
Friday: Work 11-6pm.
Saturday: Class 12:00-2:40pm.
Sunday: Sweet sweet relief.

Saturday class wouldn't be so bad except it's 35 minutes away, so it's more like class from 11:15-3:30pm, which pretty much kills my saturdays. Ah well. Guess it's time to put those time managment skills to work.

It's looking like I wont meet all my goals for this month afterall, but I'm hoping I will have my classes all situated before long. That's definitely top priority.

At any rate, enough rambling. I hope everyone is doing well, and good luck to the rest of you students out there. I hope we all have a great semester!

Well, not that much on the financial front. I made really decent money yesterday, which was great. Ate dinner in last night: zuchinni and shells in chunky marinara. Mmm. BF and I were both terribly tired and ended up going to bed fairly early.

I have a couple of errands to run this morning. I need to go to the bank to make a deposit, then I have to go to the post office to send out the books I sold on amazon.

Then work til 6. Bleh. Work has been going good except my boss has been a raging jerk for the last few days. We need to call in a doctor to surgically remove the stick that's been up his *ahem*. Enough griping, however.

Tonight BF and I are going to mom's for dinner. My little brother is in town (he's been doing basic and training with the Airforce for quite a while now). I'm pretty excited to see him and hang with the fam

Well, I've got to get this day rolling. Everyone have a good one!

Well, we're getting moved into the apartment just fine. I'm loving the extra space and all the natural light. I never noticed just how dungeon-like the old place was until I had windows in every room!

I've resolved to not move again for at least another 2 years. This whole moving every year thing has gotten quite old...

There is no internet in the new place yet, so I've been doing a lot more reading at home. It's probably a blessing in disguise, considering the hours I waste away on the computer usually. I finished Suze Orman's YF&B, and it has definitely given me some things to think about. I'm going to start really planning out for my financial goals. Not just the small, short-term things, but also the longer-term things, such as retirement, buying a house, eventually owning my own business, etc.

I'm going to talk to my mom (my insurance agent) about different options on my life insurance policy. It's a variable policy, which means it does have an investment element to it, but I realize it's probably too expensive. All of the mail I recieve about the financial advisors and such makes me think I'm probably paying too much. So I'll get quotes on term life, and I'm going to look into opening a Roth IRA sometime in the next year or so. I'm going to do some shopping around for a while first. I'm assuming that a term life plan for someone as young as me isn't going to be very pricey, and I can put the difference into a Roth and probably fare better.

I'm also going to sit down and go over joint financial hooplah with BF. I like Suze's idea of having a joint bank account for living expenses. I think it'll be good for sorting through things together. Besides, I want to get out of that "his money, her money" mindset. We go out and I "let him pay" quite a bit, knowing full-well that his and my money will one day be the same, and he shouldn't be "paying for me," he should be sticking that money to something a little more useful (and we should just not go out to eat at all out of convenience).

Started my new shift at work yesterday, and I think it's going to be very successful. I'm pretty excited. I'm definitely ready to start making the big bucks.

I'm trying to get things in order for school this week. I have to call my university in PA and have them mail this university my transcript. I'm going to do the part-time thing in the fall, try and pay down my CC (that will be racked up to pay off these summer classes), and make up for it next summer by taking a few classes (that I will save up the money to pay for so I dont get stuck like I did this year).

It's almost time to do my July totals and budget for August! I cant believe how fast this summer is going by! Less than a month before school starts again... jeez. I'm looking forward to it, though I'm not going to get all hyped for fall until these summer classes are paid for. With my luck things will go awry and I'll have to put it all off. I'm hoping this is not the case, but in the event that it is, I dont want to let myself down.

Other than that, I dont think I have any real news. I'm just trying to get my mind-set in order to make the most money and get the most out of my job I can, while at the same time get my life in order and come up with a plan. It's strange to me trying to be a grown-up now. I'm trying to balance the things I love with paying off my debt, and planning for the future. It's a lot of work and most certainly a huge thing to tackle. But I'm enjoying tackling it, which is the nice part. I feel so much more responsible.

Either way, I should get going. I have more fun to have at the library before walking over to work.

Everyone have a wonderful day!

I got a call from the bank yesterday. It seems they decided to hire the position internally, and there are no other slots in my area, so I'm out of luck. That kind of stinks.

On my first day of my new job (job #3), my boss at the restaurant (job #1) gives me an offer. My coworker quit for much the same reason I was looking for a new job. He was our day bartender, and was used to managing restaurants, not working for someone else, and thus wasn't making much money. My boss, now, wants to hire me as the daytame bartender (as we are training new day servers). He offered me $240/week + tips. I would end up working about 35 hours, which totals up to $6ish/hr. This sounds bad, but that's pretty darn good for a service position. I know for a fact that my coworker could come home with as much as $80ish in a shift in tips. When I averaged it at $45/day in tips, I would make roughly $400/week. Some weeks I could make more. That's pret-ty good.

The problem is, I would more or less have to leave job #3. They dont want me cleaning at the crack of dawn, and my boss really needs me on that schedule. I was trying to figure out a way to work it that everybody wins, but it's not looking like that's going to happen. This new job is really nice. Yesterday I cleaned for a few hours, then made dinner for the 3 of us. Aside from my back hurting from bending over so much, it went really well.

I dont want to bail out on these people my first week. It feels really unprofessional to me, even despite the fact that she keeps asking me if it's too much, and if I'm sure I still want to do the job. It's not too difficult, and I enjoy it. At the same time, however, my boss is pretty desperate for a day bartender. All the night people want to stay on nights. And my boss would be doing me a pretty big favor giving me the position. He really didn't want me to leave to begin with, and neither did I. I just wasn't making enough money. This way I would, and I'd get to stay.

I thought about what would happen when school starts. Because the cleaning job is much more flexible. But I've also been considering taking a semester off to save up some money, or just go part-time and pay off some of my debt, save up for my next full-time semester.

When I talked to the woman I clean for, we discussed options for my schedule, but nothing seemed to work out. She did say to me that from a totally non-selfish standpoint that I should pick whatever would make me more money. I'm just not sure. The way my schedule works out this week, I'm working the same number of hours between the 2 jobs (about 35, but this doesn't include my weekend job, which puts me at about 45 for the week).

I'll make about $350 this week between the 2 jobs. That's if I clean/cook about 4.5 hours mon-thurs. I dont know how many hours it's going to be once I get past the big initial cleaning, though. It could only be 2 hours or so every day after that.

Bah. I'm thinking too much (if there is such a thing). I think it would be nice to jump back down to only 2 jobs. 3 just feels a little overwhelming. But I dont know... I do know that if I do end up taking this job and dropping the cleaning gig that the woman does have other responses, so she wouldn't be totally stranded. Besides, I'd still work through the rest of the week, so she'd still have a much cleaner house! At least for now haha.

I'm going to try and decide by the end of the day... Wish me luck!

Well, the week continues being good. Things seem to be turning around a bit for me

I woke up and saw that I sold yet another book. So I packaged it up and stopped at the post office. Between the 2 books, after shipping, I made $20.38. After going to the post office, I stopped at the library to pick up some stuff I had on hold. I got a CD, and 2 movies (well, one was Scrubs season 3 disc 1), and picked up 3 financial books: The Everything Personal Finance in your 20's and 30's Book, 50 Simple things you can do to improve your personal finances, and The complete personal finance handbook. We'll see how they are.

Work was okay. I didn't make fabulous money, but I didn't make bad money either. I brought my leftovers again. That's about $4 so far saved this week!!

After work I walked home and stopped to get coals for the hookah.

BF went to the hospital today because he fractured his foot somehow and it's been bothering him really bad for a couple days now. Lucky for us, he has pretty good insurance. Looks like he's probably going to be home for the rest of the week. Poor guy.

I had my second job interview today. Well, it was a phone interview with the bank. They're setting me up with a face-to-face interview. It's been quite the process. haha. I had to take an online questionarre, a math test, and do a phone interview before I get to see anyone. I feel like Indiana Jones. haha.

I'm pretty excited about this position if I get it. It's $9.75/hr, which is more than the record company would pay me. At the same time, I would be limited to $20 hrs/week, but if I can schedule them for 3 days rather than 4 hrs/day, I can still work a couple days a week at the restaurant. The branch I'd be working at will also be about 2 minutes from the apartment we're likely moving into as well. haha. When I asked her I found it so funny. Also, I'd get some benefits. They'd start me with a 401k and I'd get some vacation time. I'd have health insurance, though the woman said it would obviously be more expensive than if I was working full time. But also, there would be room to move up, and it is more directly related to accounting than office work is.

Tonight I guess BF and I are going to his brother's house for dinner. He's making lasagne. He needs to call his brother and ask if he wants us to bring anything. Regardless, it'll be nice to spend some time with them. I also have all those movies that we could bring over and watch with them.

I still need to head over to the university and sell my books back, but they aren't going anywhere. I feel pretty productive today regardless

Well, I need to get going. Need to do the dishes and start reading all these books! I feel like a nerd getting so excited about personal finance books. lol.

So this has been the best day I've had in a while. It was a great start to what will hopefully be a great week.

BF and I went and looked at an apartment today that is perfect. It's much bigger than we thought it would be, less than $500 a month, has 2 big closets, plenty of counter space, a little storage closet that would be great for BF's gas-soaked work clothes, on site laundry services, a little yard. It's a 2nd floor apartment, so I wouldn't have to worry about leaving my windows open at night, it feels really secure.

It's also within walking distance of a bar we frequent, the restaurant where BF's family goes all the time, the grocery store, and closer to my mom, BF's family, and good friends of ours. It's $20 extra per month for pets, but that puts it at still cheaper than any of the other apartments we were considering. So when I finally get my puppy, we'll be set.

Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about it. I was really not all that thrilled to be moving again, until I saw this apartment, and now I'm totally stoked. We were going to look at a few more places, and we still may, but I'm pretty sure my heart is set on this one. It's the best price we've found yet, and in the perfect location.

Adding to all that, when we got home from looking at the apartment, I got a call from a woman about my application at the bank. I have a phone interview tomorrow at 3pm. That's 2 job interviews this week

I made decent money at work today-- about $45. Much better than any day last week. Told my boss today that I was looking around for another job. He understood. No one at the restaurant is making any money, which is quite the bummer. It's a really fun place to work, and the food is really quality. It's just a really bad location, especially in the summer months when there aren't as many people downtown.

I had my first job interview of the week this afternoon, and it went well. After talking to the owner of the record company for a while, he gave me an application so they could do the background check and all that fun stuff. It seems like it would be a fun place to work, but there would be some running around to do. I think working for a bank may be a little nicer. It's more stationary (for days that BF has to drop me off, etc). But it's really going to depend on what branch I would be working at, what hours I would be working, how much I would be paid, etc. Those are the kinds of questions I'll be asking tomorrow, of course. BF's sister used to be a bank teller, and she said she made around $9/hr. Which is about the same as what I would make as an office assistant for the record company.

So we'll see... Regardless, it seems like August is going to be an exciting month, between a new apartment and a new job.

Last night I picked BF up from his unit and made dinner. The greek salad turned out amazing. Tonight after my interview I picked BF up from his grandma's. He was cutting her grass. We stopped at Dairy Queen and picked up a couple blizzards. Definitely an uneccesary expense, but it was such a nice warm day and it had been way too long since I had icecream.

I didn't buy any food at work. I packed my sandwich, and some leftovers. That $2 I saved was spent on icecream. lol.

I made dinner again tonight. I made a lemon-dill chicken salad, which turned out really good. We ate it with the leftover salad. In addition, we have enough for at least 2 or 3 more sandwiches. I'm out of chicken now, so I'll have to figure something out for the rest of the week :/ maybe we'll go all-vegetarian for the rest of the week. We have stuff for salads, so we should be fine. I've been quite the chef lately. I'm looking forward to moving into a bigger place. I miss inviting people over. I want to have people over for dinner more often

BF and I seem to be getting on the same page with not spending money. I like that a lot. For instance, he was talking about a bedroom set he wants to get for the new apartment. He said it's "only" $700-some dollars, and it's really nice. But I explained that I think it's uneccesary to get anything like that. We have everything we need, and the closets in the new place are huge, so we dont really need another dresser. I told him I'd prefer it if he put the $700 on his CC. He agreed Sometimes you just have to talk some sense into these boys! haha.

He went off to work, and I made him a sandwich to take with him while he was packing. He also took a few cans of the diet mountain dew we bought on sale in cases, rather than blowing way too much money on it at gas stations.

This week shouldn't be terribly pricey, until sunday. It's BF's sister and nephew's b-day, so we're going to a water park. I think they sell discounted tickets at the grocery store, but I'm not sure how much it's going to cost, or if you are allowed to bring food into the park, etc. Guess we'll see. I work friday and saturday nights. Hopefully this week I wont get sent home early both nights, and I'll actually make some money. That would be nice :P

I have a couple more things to list on craigslist/amazon. I'm going to make a couple more peices of jewelry, too. I need to work on generating that extra income. Last month I did pretty good.

A couple little victories I noticed today:
*I haven't bought a book for non-school reasons since April.
*I haven't spent any money on clothes since may, and the month's total then was $3.40

Trying to keep up the good work in July

Hope everyone has a great night!