Just a quick plug. One of my articles got published on Associated content:

5 Pieces of Financial Advice for the Young Adult, by a Young...

Well, BF is back. Big smiles there We started celebrating his birthday last night. We went to dinner with a few friends (I bought), and then went back to the apartment and smoked the hookah. The sweet melon shisha I bought for him was amazing, per usual. And it'll last a good long while.

The rest of the weekend we'll be celebrating as well. Tonight we're supposed to go out to the bars. I think I may be DD, and only have a couple. My wallet would appreciate it. Tomorrow we're going to the Mongolian BBQ for lunch, and I joined thier email list, so they sent me a coupon for a free stir fry. Thus I'll be eating for free I think we're going over to mom's for dinner tomorrow night, which will be free as well.

So that sums up expenses for the rest of June. My financial July starts as of monday. I did some totalling for June, and the results were a bit more than expected, but overall not bad:

INCOME:

Work Total: $1085.57

Additional Income:
Consignment: $32.50
Free groceries for helping mom move: $12.50
Stimulus Check: $300
Sold book on amazon (after shipping costs): $3.67
B-day present: $50
Babysitting job: $40
Pinecone Check: $3
Sold book on amazon (after shipping costs): $13.09
Sold article on Associated Content: $3.19
Total: $457.95

Total Income: $1543.52

Granted, it wouldn't have been as much without the stimulus payment, but still, I met my goal of $150.

Expenses: budgeted/spent
Rent $0/0
Electric $0/0
Gas $0/0
Internet $0/0
Sprint $67/62.86
Perscription $30/0.00
Groceries tba
Travel $10/43.81
Food on campus/at work $0/20.77
Clothes $0/0
Entertainment tba
Insurance $80.25/80.25
Misc $40/58.33

Entertainment is going to be way above. But BF was also out of town, thus I didn't have someone here paying parts of my bills. haha. I did spend a little too much a couple nights I went out. That hopefully wont happen in July. Travel was more than expected because I went out of town a couple weekends, and BF was gone, thus no free gas from his work :/ I probably wont spend too much in July. The misc was over budget because of B-day gifts for BF. The tin of shisha was $26 on the internet, and the book I bought him at Barnes and Noble was about $30. I spent too much on food at work, but I'll cap that this coming month hopefully.

I've got my budget set for July, and I think I'll do a little bit better than I did in June. Though I'm still pretty happy with my results. There really were no purchases that I look back on and want to kick myself in the butt for. That's a good sign, I think

As for my June goals:

*Keep track of all $ spent. check
*Stay under budget. nope
*Dont touch savings. check
*Dont use CC. nope
*Make/save as much as humanly possible by July 11. check
*Make at least $150 in additional income. check

I only used my CC for textbooks. Though they were terribly expensive. It's hard to stay under budget when you set the standards as high as I do. I should work on that And I'm up to $1510.00 in my savings. I still have a bit to go before the 11th, but we'll see. I did get $1000 funded on lending club, and my listing is open til the 4th. I hope I get at least another $1000...

Well, I'll post my July stuff here in the next few days, after the weekend. Hope everyone his having a great day!

I feel a little better than I did yesterday, but I was still so sick I couldn't work. My boss doesn't particularly like his servers sneezing/coughing all over people's food (can you blame him?) The downside is that I'm out 2 days' of tips, which stinks.

I didn't have any projects to work on today, though i've thought about a few I may start soon. I really need to get a sewing machine...

A few things I did do today, however, included:

*Signing up for pinecone.
*Signing up for mysurvey.
*Listing my microwave on craigslist.
*Listing a few more books on amazon.
*Updating my myspace music page and listing an ad looking for a guitarist to work with.
*Setting up a paypal account.
*Figuring out my may expenditures.
*Doing my June Budget and goals.

So the day wasn't a complete waste, it just feels like a big heap of bad news. I figured out how much debt I have as of today, and the numbers are not pretty. Granted, they're about the same as they were last month, but still, that's not good news.

I've decided that this month I need to find a different lender to get my student loan for classes this summer. I would have to figure out part of the balance anyway, but if the interest rate is lower than that of my CC (which it will likely be), it's smarter for me to use the money I'm saving to pay off my CC rather than using it to pay part of my school costs.

So here is the rundown for May. The first number is how much I budgeted, the second was how much I actually spent:

Rent: 0.00/0.00
Electric: 20.00/8.56
Gas: 50.00/67.14
Internet: 65.00/32.82
Sprint: 67.00/100.18
BC: 30.00/52.26
Bus: 20.00/0.00
Groceries: 60.00/62.28
Travel: 20.00/10.67
Food on Campus/at work: 15.00/13.25
Clothes: 10.00/3.40
Entertainment: 40.00/44.50
Misc: 25.00/78.17

Overall I was only $51.23 over budget, which really isn't all that bad considering the areas where I mostly "went over budget" were things like my gas bill and phone bill. I just need to watch my minutes this month and get a different (cheaper) perscription. I went high in the misc category because I bought my bike this month ($30) and had to get it fixed a couple times.

June is going to be even less spendy. BF will be out of town for most of the month doing silly military stuff. so I'll have less pressure to want to go out and do stuff. I'm just fine with staying at home and crafting, reading, or other fun, cheap/free activities. Also, I dont have any utilities or rent to pay this month or next, because BF doesn't let me pay anything.

I do want to have a yardsale at some point this month, and I see a great opportunity coming up soon, so I need to start rounding my stuff up. I think a lot of the books that wouldn't really sell for anything on amazon I'll put out for a couple bucks each. At least then I'll get more than a few pennies out of them.

I need to go to the bank here at some point. I have that $100 check to deposit, as well as a little bit of cash. I wish I had worked the last couple days. I'd have a little more to put in my account. sigh. I need to mail my last check to verizon and transfer some of the money into my emigrant account. My stimulus check is supposed to be deposited by saturday, so let's hope it gets there!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Well, I've had quite the stressful week. As mentioned previously, Sallie Mae would not approve me for the loan to take summer classes. Not even with mom as cosigner. So then we come to the first day of classes. The university dropped all of them. So I had to go re-enroll in all of them. Sigh.

The good news is that I'm enrolled in classes. The bad news is that I need to come up with $3707 by July 11. Some can go on the CC, but I max out with another $1000 or so. BF and mom both said they would help as much as they can. BF mentioned he had an empty CC we could put some of the balance on, but that would be a last resort measure.

I'm going to do it somehow, it's just a big bummer that I have to put more on the CC. I really wanted to pay it down, not rack more up. And I'm a little worried about the interest payments once it is up there. I'm already paying a little over $50 in interest a month as is. Seems as if I need to start fundraising asap.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

I'm not making nearly enough at work to put any considerable dent in it, so I really need to focus on saving as much as I can and finding more sources of income. As it is, I really dont have time to work a second job and go to school. In the fall I'll have time to get a second job, but right now there's no possible way. I'm thinking now is the time to start listing as many books as I'm willing to part with on amazon, get rid of anything in the house I dont really need that could bring me in some cash, and start crocheting/crafting up a storm and start attempting to sell things online.

I picked up some books at the library yesterday. I got a crocheting book, a candlemaking book, a beading book, and a book on making chinese knots. I wanted to get some inspiration. I have a whole huge box of yarn and such that my grandma gave me at my mom's. My mom also said that I could have my other grandma's sewing machine. So I've got some stuff to start with. I was thinking of starting an etsy shop, I'd really like to sell with a theme of recycling. I think I can make it work pretty well. I'm fairly creative. Besides, it gives me a reason to reuse some of the things people would ordinarily throw away, and get cheap supplies (thrift stores, garage sales, etc) as well as crafting supplies that may be a bit pricier.

Ideas are still in the works.

But all that being said, my financial world has more or less been turned upside-down, and the goals are a bit different now. My challenge money is really my college money at this point, my goal is a bit different, and focus is now away from paying off the CC, and now to paying my summer classes off. The good news is that the more I save the less I have to put on my CC, so I have quite the incentive.

As a start, I'm proofreading a paper of a friend of a friend that is paying me $100 to go through and correct her 55 page master's thesis. It's a start. Also, I didn't buy any food from work today. I ate my pb&j and thought, "wow, this sandwich tastes like my education. definitely a hint of western civ in here..." haha.

Every little bit helps. Wish me luck.

Well, this weekend was a little spendy. Yesterday for mother's day me and the sibs went to lunch with mom and grandma. Me and big bro paid for the meal-- though my $14 was puny compared to the rest of it! Then me, mom, and grandma went paint shopping and house shopping. Mom signed a lease on an apt, so she'll start moving in next month. While we were at bed, bath, and beyond, I found a bathroom carrier thing that I bought for my stuff in the tiny little bathroom I've got now. None of my stuff has a place :/

Saturday night was pretty crappy at work. I got there at 5:00pm. I didn't have one table for 3 hours, and ended up being one of the last people cut. Just kind of worked out like that. I didn't complain really, which was good because the girl that was complaining got sent home (thus why I was cut after her), and the owner and the manager were not too impressed with her attitude. I did what I could to help and keep busy. The worst part about it though was that I only made $43 for the whole shift, which was 7 hours long :/ I guess you win some, you lose some. It just wasn't busy at the restaurant. I'm counting on this week to be better.

Total made at work this week: $157.72. This is something that I can survive on, but I'm still counting on it getting better.

As far as spending, I'm only over budget on my "Misc" category-- mostly due to my bike and the 2 repairs. I also put the restaurant cost on mother's day and the bathroom carrier in this category. So I'm $50 over budget in that category. But I haven't spent a dime in my grocery or "bus" category. BF went grocery shopping the other day without me. I'm going to ask if he wants a few bucks, but odds are he wont accept any money from me.

I sold another book on amazon yesterday. I made $10.15 on it. That will get split between my challenge money and CC. Which reminds me, I have to pay off what I put on my CC for my most recent bike repair ($7.43). That's not going to count toward my CC payments for the month, because I really didn't want to use it.

Did laundry yesterday at mom's. And cooked dinner for the family. All no-cost. Love it

So This week's goal evaluation:
[x] Keep track of all $ spent.
[x] Stay under budget (I am overall under budget still).
[x] Dont touch savings.
[ ] Dont use CC (though I'm going to pay it off this week).
[ ] Save $75 (not yet).
[ ] Pay off $150 on CC (not yet).
[ ] 3 NSD/week (I only had 1 this week).
[ ] 12 NSD in May (still only at 1).

So I've got work today at 10:30am. I'll ride my bike there, so I wont have to worry about parking meters, or gas for that matter (not that it's really all that much, but I'm looking forward to riding my bike).

When I get home I need to start filing my FAFSA. I should have had it in a while ago... I also need to print off an application for a summer loan, and go switch one of my classes. Finally, I need to price my books. Class starts next week! Eek! It's gonna get busy!

In other news, Mom is giving me her sewing machine. Very cool. I need to go get it, and take a look through the crocheting box.

Well, time to get this day started! Hope everyone has a good one!

Well. I've come up with my May goals:

*Keep track of all money spent.
*Stay under budget.
*Dont touch my savings (challenge money).
*Dont use credit card.
*Put at least $75 into challenge money.
*Pay at least $150 on my CC.
*Have 3 No-Spend days per week.
*Have 12 no-spend days in May.
*Look for new ways to bring in extra income.

Also, I set out a challenge for myself-- no buying books, movies, or CD's. For 3 months. So this is month #1.

I've been thinking about the extra cashflow... I started thinking about my cookbooks. I have a few really nice ones. The problem is that I never use them. And generally, if I find a recipe I really like, I just write it down in a notebook I keep specifically for this purpose. Now, there are a couple that I wouldn't part with because they are not just cookbooks (like the joy of cooking). But for all intents and purposes, I can check cookbooks out at the library. I can also take them into the cafe at barnes and noble and copy recipes out of them while I sip on tea (which I've done in the past). So I'm going to look into selling a few of the really nice ones I have (Paula Deen, Williams-Sonoma ones, Jamie Oliver, etc).

I plan to list my microwave on craigslist. We dont need 2. Mom is taking one of my tables and 2 chairs, and I think she's going to give me a little money for them. That will also clear up some space in our apt.

Also, I had mentioned the idea of doing more crocheting and crafting and possibly opening up an etsy shop. I picked up a few books from the library today on crafting to sell, being a "weekend entrepreneur," so we'll see if I get any other ideas.

Because I put half of extra income into my CC and half into my challenge money, I would need to make $150 in extra income to meet my goal. Or $126 if I meet my goal for No-spend days. I think this is do-able. So we'll see. Oh, and today was a NSD, so I'm on my way!

Either way, it's my bedtime! I have a busy day tomorrow. Going to do some cleaning and unpacking, and then I start my first day at the new job in the evening! Wish me luck!

So March is coming to a close, and that hellish month April is upon me. It's going to be a BUSY month. Now, busy usually means less spending for me, but we'll see how things play out. I'll be in the apt less often on the weekends because I need to be downtown a lot, and BF isn't going to be around as much on the weekends (both a blessing and a curse). He's got silly military stuff to attend to a couple weekends, and I have mucho tests and homework to get done. I'll be happy if I make it out of the month alive.

I finally filed my taxes, and I'll be getting about $600 back from the fed. Assuming I filed my PA taxes properly (questionable), I should be getting about $300 back. And then there's my stimulus check coming at some point-- most of which will be put into my credit card payments. I'm going to keep at least some of the fed return just in case I dont find a job in Ohio right after moving.

March totals went well. There were categories in which I was over (entertainment spending this weekend got a little bad, though it could have been much, much worse). Overall, however, I was $12.35 UNDER budget-- which I am happy to report, I put toward my CC payment. Woo! Every little bit helps!

I may have a couple big expenses coming up this month though. I'm setting aside $300 for vacation, though it should be less than that (we'll see). And I might have to take this test to get out of a class at my university, though it seems I may be able to get credit from my highschool spanish classes (cross your fingers!).

This weekend was alright spending-wise. BF paid for a LOT (including the few items that made up my groceries for the week!). I of course really appreciate all the help he gives, especially considering he's got some hefty debt himself. We never did get around to going over his finances, but he'll be back to PA on tuesday for work, so perhaps we'll have time this week. I did take a trip to the mall to use my $50 American Eagle gift card. I got the bathing suit I've been looking at, and also a cute shirt. I spent a little over the $50 (about $20 when everything's said and done), but I'm not fretting. I need some more summer/spring clothes.

I wrote out (a much more detailed) budget for April. I think some of my expectations for last month were a bit silly. Maybe not, considering I was under budget, but I was a little more specific this time around. My goals for the month are the same as last month, though I'm not seeing as many no-spend days.

I need to contact verizon, my gas co. and electric co. to let them know I'm moving at the end of the month. Hopefully that'll go smoothly. I should stop at my mom's house and make all those calls though. I dont want to use up all my minutes on my cell plan. We'll see.

Other than that, I'm just babbling and tired, and I really wanted to clean my apt tonight, but I got so wrapped up in taxes and budgeting that I seem to have run out of time. It's already getting late and I have class in the morning. ugh. I feel like I didn't get a break all weekend. I did homework constantly, even while visiting in Ohio. Sigh.

And I'm going to have to start packing soon! I move in less than a month! Gaa! Someone help me, I'm going to drown in all of these things to do!

I'm really gonna need that vacation at the end of the month

Well. It seems like it's going to be another NSD. I've got an event at the university tonight, but it is after dinner time, so I'll eat before I go. I'm going to drive BF's car (gulp). I've been doing well for the last couple days driving it, but this'll be the first time I take it on the highway. No matter, it's usually the getting-going that gets me, not the actual driving part. hehe. Silly manuals... I just need to get decent at it so I can drive to the airport to pick BF up on saturday. I'm so excited to see him! Less than a week now!

I'm going to work out here in a bit. I need to keep up on that. Especially since I baked chocolate chip cookies last night to cure my lonely. They were free, but not healthy in the slightest Baking cookies makes me think of home, though, and it definitely helped!

I planned out my meals, but want to come up again with goals for this week:

1. Keep track of all spending (did good last week!).
2. 3 No-Spend Days again.
3. Stick to my meal plan (as to eat as much of the food I already have).
4. Keep to the Budget (I was under this week, exciting!).
5. Avoid dining out with BF. We're really bad about this, and it eats up our money so easily! I think this'll be easy considering we're both very strapped for cash and we'll be eating Easter dinner with our families on Sunday!

I want to write out a list of free/cheap things that BF and I could do together. Or even do with friends There are so many things, afterall!

At any rate, everyone have a great day!

It's been a fairly productive day... I planned out my meals for next week, as I'm going grocery shopping either tomorrow or sunday morning. Also was on the treadmill for an hour and I'm down to 133 lbs, which is exciting news!

Yesterday was my test, and it was better than I had expected it to be. I stopped by the bookstore yesterday and bought something that I could use for one of my papers, and something that I just wanted anyway. That was $13.86. I also took a trip to taco bell last night with friends... yes, unhealthy AND an extra expense. But as that's really the only entertainment (hanging out with my friends last night) expense I've had all week, I didn't feel bad. And I definitely worked it off today. lol.

Today is a no-spend day. Which makes 4 for the week. Tomorrow I'll likely be doing my grocery shopping and laundry, so I'll spend a little. Hopefully only around $20. I made up my grocery list today. So my weekly goals have thus far been achieved

I kept track of my spending, kept to the budget (actually, thus far I'm under), for the most part kept to my meal plan (with the exception of that taco bell last night), and I had 4, not 3 no-spend days this week. Overall I'm pretty proud of myself!

I'm going to celebrate by spending the next day doing homework. lol. Perhaps I'll watch a movie tonight or something as well...

Have a great day, guys!

It is a beautiful day The temperature is getting up there (41 degrees!) and the sun is shining. I cant express how drastically this improves my mood.

I've already reached my weekly goal of 3 no-spend days! And I'm 1/4 of the way to my monthly goal. I've been keeping track of the spending still (though that may have more to do with the fact I haven't been doing much of it! haha). And I'm sticking to my meal plan. Tonight is whole wheat spaghetti with turkey meatballs.

I'm going to work out again later as well. I need to get in shape! I've set a goal to lose 11 pounds. I've gotten down 1 in the last few days, just improving my eating habits a little (haven't been going to restaurants... that helps substantially). Let's hope I can reach at least some of my goal in the next couple months!

In other news, I must have gotten on the same bus today because my ride downtown was again free! Another $1.60 saved. And at my university they had "Stress free day" and were giving out free cereal and energy bars, as well as some other little things. I found that exciting

Well, time to study and work out. I've got a big test tomorrow! Wish me luck!

Well, I've got no-spend day #2 My march goal is coming along, even though I didn't actually start counting til the 8th. I happened to get dinner for free (a friend of mine put me on as a guest on her meal plan at the school cafeteria. woo!), so I didn't spend a penny.

I avoided buying a caffeinated beverage, even though I left my travel mug at home (but brought my tea. ugh). Probably better that way.

Turned in my paper, took a test tonight. Hope I did well. I have one more on thursday, so it's going to be a looong week. I'm just beat. I'm feeling awfully burnt out and missing BF quite a bit. Sure, it's been only 4 days since I've seen him, but when you're used to multiple text messages and at least a couple phone calls through the day, going a whole day with nothing is kind of rough. I haven't heard from him yet... he should be getting out of his silly military class any time now. He's off at some training thing til easter. I'ts gonna be a long couple weeks...

Guess I should get used to it. He's leaving for Oaklahoma for training in January, then off to Iraq in March. No BF for a year... It's going to be a rough year.

I'm looking forward to seeing him though. Easter should be fun! We're both going back to Ohio to spend time with both families. I absolutely love his family. They're so down to earth, so much like my family (though we're awfully crazy. haha). Lucky for us, his parents live a whopping 3 blocks or so from mine, so travelling between wont be an issue!

I've decided I need to color easter eggs at some point. That'll be a fun activity for me and my friend (cheap too!) yay for holidays involving large amounts of chocolate!

Well, not really lazy, as I have a paper to write and a test to study for. But a sunday inside nonetheless. In my pajamas

I made out my list of dinners for the week yesterday, so I'm going to try to stick to it the best I can. I move in less than 2 months now. I have to start using up the food I have as much as possible so I dont have to transport it. Not only that, but BF doesn't really have a whole lot of room in his apt for anything more. It's going to be a squeeze... I'm likely going to have to put my stuff in storage for a few months until we move into a bigger place.

I decided to write down my goals, as I haven't re-evaluated them for a while. Looking at the ones I've had posted, I think they're too long term, which is why I stray so easily. So I put down some goals for this week, and then a few that are a little longer-term:

This week:
-Keep track of my spending. Every penny. For the whole week.
-Stick to the budget (that kind of goes for the month too).
-Stick to my meal plan.
-Dine out at most once this week.
-Have at least 3 no-spend days (not including bus fare).

Longer Term:
-Use up as much food I already have as possible before the move.
-Do more cheap/free things w/ BF-- especially dining out less.
-Find a job/internship to start in May.
-Sort out debt, and come up with a plan come May to start tackling it.

I'll be out of school for a year, so my grace period will be over next Feb if I graduate in August. I have a bit of CC debt accumulated because of the frozenness of my checking account in January (I couldn't touch it because I was waiting for my school loan check and had to pay my bills). Not to mention, I had to buy new furniture (Ex-BF took all his when he moved out).

I need to file my taxes- my entire return is going to the CC. It's kind of sad, but it was the plan from the minute I put a $500 IKEA charge on it. haha. Still, $500 to furnish an apartment aint bad. I want to eliminate the bulk of my CC debt by the end of the summer. I've got about $2700 on it now. After the CC is paid off, it's on to the student loans. I'm not even sure what those numbers look like now, but pretty soon here I'm going to have to look.

In the meantime I'll be looking at grad schools, etc. So much excitement! And living in Ohio with BF/friends/Mom (who is now in the middle of the divorce proccess).

In good news, I used my national city points to get a $50 American Eagle giftcard. I thought about using it for something practical, but I know me... not only are spring and summer coming up, but a beach vacation and my birthday in May as well. I'm going to want to buy clothes. Better than putting them on my CC! haha.

And it's going to be a no-spend day I was going to buy a book on amazon, but I decided instead to get it from the library. Yay for free!

Well, off to do homework. Everyone have a great day!

I keep finding myself taking long breaks from SA. Why? Short attention span? Too busy? Not sure, but I'm back again. hehe. Many changes have occured in the life of Tara. Well, changes in attitude and/or life plans. Class starts back up again at the end of this month, and I'm looking forward to it, the nerd that I am. It's going to be a VERY busy semester, as I decided recently that I want to graduate next summer (read that?? In a YEAR!). In order to do this, I need to:

1. Test out of a spanish class (studying as I type...).
2. Either talk my way out of 2 general sciences courses or test out of those as well (quite possible).
3. Take 21 credit hours this semester (insane, but do-able, I believe).
4. Take 18 credit hours in the spring and 12-ish in the summer, while writing my senior thesis.

...unless of course I can test out of more classes... I'm still researching that one. Now. The reason I want to graduate in June is because I'm going to be applying for the JET Program (the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program). If I'm accepted, I leave for Japan at the end of next July/beginning of next August. Let's cross our fingers.

The other thing I need to do is survive all this. haha. It's going to take some incredible time-managing and most likely a ton of redbull, but a friend of mine just did all this (minus the Japan part), and seemed to live to tell the tale. Also, the less time I'm in undergrad, the less time I have to pay for.

I plan on being in Japan for a year, perhaps two before grad school, and then I plan on applying to the University of Colorado. I'll worry about that after I graduate though

BF and I are still together, graduating about the same time ideally, and he plans on applying for the program as well! So wish us both luck!

And the financial breakdown of Tara as of right now: Savings have been for the most part depleted, and I'm working on putting more back in. My vacation at the beginning of the summer ended up being pricier than expected and work has been a bit slow. Other than that, I'm doing A-okay. Just trying to keep myself from going out and spending too much (so difficult during the summer, I've noticed). Once school arrives, though, I wont have much time to go out anyhoo Well, I think that's enough for one day. Glad to see everyone's doing well still! Later!

1. Go to Macy's and exchange the gifts Gram bought me (She gave me very serious permission in case I dont care for the jewelry she bought).

2. Make up a shopping list for vacation (about done).

3. Pick up perscription.

4. Buy stamps and mail bills.

5. Go to the bank (this is a biggie!)

6. Go to KMart/Walmart for a duffle bag and/or picnic basket.

7. Go to the grocery store.

8. Clean out fridge.

9. Clean the apartment.

I'm going to save taking the trash out for tomorrow, in case something sneaks its way in. So much to do!!! I cant believe we're leaving on wednesday! Well, better get crackin!

I doubled today, and in between shifts, a coworker of mine and myself went to the Tokyo Store (i.e. Japanese grocery store). I had never been there, and it's probably good I dont go back for a long time. haha. I ended up spending $34 total. $13 of it was spent on a greeting card for BF. Read: Beautiful. I didn't even write on it, I wrote my message on a scrap peice of paper and taped it to the plastic the card was in. haha. BF and I love Japanese decoration of all kinds, dishes, etc. He liked it quite a bit. It was set with a fan that had sumo wrestlers painted on it. I'll have to post a pic here soon. I also picked him up some Pockey (a favorite japanese snack) and some other little odds and ends. For me, I picked up an Ogura Mocchi cake (a small rice cake filled with sweet beans, for those who are unfamiliar) and a kid's magazine. I'm trying to learn a bit more Japanese, and not only was it adorable, but it was educational as well. And imported, so it was $10. Totally worth it, though, in my opinion.

So I spent $34, but part of it was gift-purchases. I've been doing good, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. As for tomorrow, I'll be making dinner and perhaps surprising BF with oatmeal cookies. I haven't decided on that one, as I got him sweets already and he's trying to lose some weight Nonetheless, I plan on celebrating in some way! I'll figure it out between now and tomorrow evening. He goes to school for a bit tomorrow, I'll have time to plan!

At any rate, I can hardly believe it's been 2 years already! It seems so much shorter and so much longer than that all at the same time. I guess that's a good thing? hehe. Nonetheless, I think he's sticking around! Not that he has any choice in the matter... Have a good night, everyone!

p.s. Vacation savings up to $442 already! Not bad...

I've been posting so frequently in the last few days! Hope you all arent getting sick of me!

So I sat down and did a breakdown of my numbers currently, something I've been meaning to do for a while. I added up all the student debt I have right now. $14,964.81. AHHHHH!!!! Looking at that number makes me queasy, especially considering that's not where it ends! I still have more schooling! My measley EF right now is at $225, which is a dangerous low. My vacation savings, after you take away the rent check I'll have to pay and expenses that will be due either while I'm away or when I get back is at $95. hahaha. I'm sure this isn't funny, but the upside is that I still think I'll be okay. I've got this next week ahead of me, and I'm more than sure I'll have the alotted $500 or so I was planning on spending for the trip.

Now, some more number crunching. My estimated income for every month is around $1390. This is assuming I average $60 every night and $20 every lunch shift. Obviously, these averages are not always on the dot. Usually, I make more than this average. I added up my expenses: rent, electric, gas, cell, perscription, transportation, internet, life insurance, and groceries. That was $617 altogether. I added an extry $83 to round it off to $700 and account for things like eating at restaurants, entertainment, and clothes.

This $700 in expenses should make up approx. 50% of what I make in a month, leaving me with an extra $700 to distribute. So why is it that I dont have $700 in my checking account at the end of every month? Well, I spend it. Erg. The goal? To live on that $700 a month. I'll dip into $50 more if necessary (our utilities aren't always on the dot either), but I think that should be more than enough.

I figure the remaining $700 can be alotted to both my EF and my debt, which though I am still in school and not REQUIRED to pay off now, scares the living something out of me, and needs to be taken care of while the interest is still piling high.

So, here are my financial goals:

1. Get my EF up to $1000 by the first of the new year. I dont think this should be difficult. Eventually I want it to reach $2100 (that's 3 months' expenses).

2. Keep track CONTINUALLY of my finances, to the penny, for the next year. I have a bad habit of trailing off every once in a while... that seems to be the periods when my spending gets a little out of hand.

3. Live on $750 a month. This of course means that my "pleasure spending" needs to be capped pretty tightly. It needs to remain in that $83 range.

4. Take all money that is not spent on my expenses (within the $750) or put into the EF and send it all to my debt.

Some shorter-term goals:

1. No eating at restaurants until I go on vacation (the 20th of this month).

2. No Starbucks for the rest of this month.

3. No buying clothes for the rest of this month.

4. Save up $500 by vacation.

So after a short hiatus to work things out with BF, I feel back to normal. My finances were on the fritz for a while because I happened to not record things :P

At any rate, there have been some new happenings in the world of Tara! For one, I've had quite the social week... despite all of the homework that I *should* have been doing. But I'm relieved that things are picking up a bit in that department!

In other exciting news, I'm taking a trip for spring break! And if you're thinking Cancun, you're wrong I'm going to New Orleans with a group from my university to help rebuild houses devastated by hurricane Katrina. Hard work to come, for sure. I think it's going to be a great experience though and I'm really looking forward to it. I just have to hit the gym quite a few times beforehand. I'm going to be hurting. That's without a doubt!

Other than that, I'm just doing the same old same old... work, school. I've got a lot of schoolwork to do tomorrow, including a paper that I put off way too long. I better get sleeping! I have a long day ahead of me!

So... I talked with BF about a bunch of things that I see going wrong with the relationship, and we're going to change/work on a few things... like becoming better friends. We dont talk as much as I'd like to.

But nonetheless, I feel much better about things. We're still planning on moving--together-- in April. But our plans for marraige are going to be pushed back a bit. I want to start, and perhaps even finish grad school before then. But we'll see what happens.

Oh, and luckyrobin, my friend is gay I dont think he's too interested in stealing me away. hehe.

As for today, I'm going to campus early to work on some stuff for class. There's a poetry reading/workshop at 1:00, which I'm really excited about. I love poetry and it'll be nice to go do something on campus that isn't going to class. I just wish I had someone to go with.

After that ends, I have nothing to do until class at 6:00. Which means working on more homework/readings.

It seems as though I may have to pack lunch AND dinner today... But perhaps not. Maybe I'll stop and get Wendy's or something. I've had a good week, and I've only used 20 cents of my Food on Campus budget, which is $20. A junior bacon cheeseburger and a baked potato... or maybe chili. It's so cold! At any rate, $2.23 for a meal aint bad at all.

I need to figure out what I'm going to get/make for BF for Valentine's day. He has just about everything he wants. That makes it pretty hard. I'm not big on buying things for people for the sake of buying them. I try to put a lot of thought into my gifts. So that will be one of the day's ponderings. What to get the boy who doesn't really care for chocolate or candy, and wants nothing? Sigh. This could be hard...

CHALLENGE TOTALS:
February total: $12.72
Year total: $142.29

Some other bloggers here commented earlier this week about laziness and its pros/cons in the financial field. I'm not so happy to say that today I learned a valuable lesson:

Never go to HR Block.

The fact that I paid $60 to do what I could have done just drives me up a wall. I thought my taxes were complicated, but really all I had to do was put in one additional peice of information that I didn't have last year, and I get everything back. That information was nothing more than my tuition statement. Ugh. I could have done it myself.

Not only that, but they didn't do my state taxes... it would have been extra. So I have to file those myself. Ridiculous.

On the upside, my federal is filed and I'm getting $810 back. Not too shabby at all! Of course, the majority of it will be put back into student loans. Perhaps a hundred of it or so will go to my challenge. Just because And another hundred will go toward my emergency fund.

I packed my dinner tonight and had lunch at home. So all money spent today was on groceries, perscriptions, and tax preparation. Boo.

My grocery budget is coming along fabulously. I managed under $10 for the week, and I'm fairly confidnent that I'm going to reach my goal of spending under $50 for the month. I haven't really spent any money on campus either. 5 cents for a cup with hot water in it, but I've been reusing the cup for the last 2 days. Bringing my tea to campus with me...

I'm meeting a new friend for coffee tomorrow on campus. It should be nice. We've been talking over Facebook [for those who dont know, it's a university-based networking community type of thing]. He goes to my university and seems pretty cool. Let's hope I make a lasting friendship! I've been feeling rather social lately. I keep telling myself that I dont know anyone here, but really I've made quite a few aquaintences. I wish a few of them were closer friends, but I guess that comes with time.

At any rate, I better get going. I've got class in the morning! Everyone have a great night!

So me and BF went out of town for the weekend. We just got home, and even though we set the thermostat at 60 because we were gone, it's only 53! We've increased the temperature, but our little furnace that unfortunately couldn't is working its tail to no avail...

My trip was GREAT. I got to visit with family, and me and my mom went out with our cousin last night. I got to spend time with loved ones, and it was very inexpensive on my end. The only thing I paid for was Wendy's for mom and me because she had no cash on her. AND I ended up coming home with more than I went with for FREE. Yay!

2 pairs of jeans. Mom gave me one of hers that didn't fit her right, and we went shopping. Hit a great sale at JC Penny.
1 shirt.
1 pair of great boots.
1 can of spray to waterproof them (thanks again mom!)
1 bottle of Pinot Gregio
Half a family package of string cheese (mom wont eat the non low-fat kind anymore)
A whole container of Ferrero Rocher chocolates (Thanks to my Aunt and Uncle!)
Small package of granola.

Not too shabby! And I hit Ulta on our way to Ohio and took advantage of a freebie that was posted... a smashbox lip palette. Woo. I also had a 20% off coupon I recieved for being on their email list. AND my coworker gave me a $25 gift card there that she said she wouldn't use. So I spent $3 total and got the lip palette, moisturizer, a really cute shade of urban decay eyeshadow, and a 4 color combination eyeshadow from Covergirl. Not bad at all!!

But now I'm home and things are good. I've got class tomorrow, despite the single-digit weather. BF said he'd give me a ride to class, though. Whew!

I've decided on my own challenge for the month. In January, I spent $175 on groceries... just for me!! This month I budgeted $50, and I'm stickin to it. I'm gonna aim as low as I can. The money I save will go toward my student loans, but if I get under $50, I'm putting the money toward the challenge. Only food grocery items apply. I budgeted a separate amount for non-food grocery items. So here we go! I haven't grocery shopped at all in February. Yet. I think I'll be set for the week. I bought enough yogurt and apples to last me 2 weeks. So that covers lunch both days I'm on campus. But we'll see. At any rate, I'm gonna get going. I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Alright... here it is!

$ Earned at work: $1019.70 [not so great at all...]

Expenses:
Groceries: $172.79 [$100 budgeted] $72.79
Dining Out: $98.00 [$45 budgeted] $53.00
Food on Campus: $7.92 [$15 budgeted] $7.08
Clothes: $9.40 [$15 budgeted] $5.60
Entertainment: $55 [$55 budgeted] $0
Gifts: $3.00 [$10 budgeted] $7.00

So about $106.11 over budget...

On the upside...
$20 Challenge total for January: $129.57
$ paid on student loan: $175
Total No-Spend days: 10 [my goal was 7]

Considering the fact that $140 was stolen along with $150 in gift cards I was going to use to buy my books, I can honestly say I did well. I made very little money this month compared to normal, which sucks. But I was able to pay my bills AND buy the World of Warcraft expansion, so I really have no room to complain. And I can only see positively into February. Life is getting back to normal.

I got my final W-2 in the mail today, so I will be taking a trip to HR Block to get my taxes taken care of. I'm not sure what thier rates are, but I'm sure it's going to save me a lot of confusion, as well as money, in the long run.

At any rate, I'll be getting off here now. I have to get ready to go to court. Everyone wish me luck!

Yesterday was a no-spend day, which not only means that I'm adding $1 to my challenge money, but that I've reached 7 no-spend days for the month.

I've hit my goal!!!

I think that's pretty exciting! Today is a planned no-spend day as well. I'm off school, and work at 6:00. I'll be eating in and doing homework in the mean time. I'm sure I have plenty I could make for dinner. I'm incredibly proud of myself as I look over my budget and the money I've spent this month. Most of it was on groceries... but that was more or less because of this biscotti endeavour I've started. I haven't spent any money on clothes or food on campus. Granted, I've only had 3 days of class, but still! I went out to eat the other night, and that was unplanned, but other than that, I've stayed on budget with my dining out. And we only ate out 3 times this month as well. Not too shabby.

I'm going to come up short on my "pay myself" bill, but only because I had to buy all those books that gift cards would have otherwise paid for... if they hadn't been stolen. Overall I've done really well this month. I'm starting out 2007 right!

Challenge total $92.51
+ No-spend day $1.00
+ Change from work $0.30
New Challenge total $93.81

My challenge money is growing!!! I've almost got enough for that plane ticket to Orlando that I'll need to be buying here in the next couple of months. I've got a lot in the way of vacations planned this year (which is great because I haven't gone on vacation in years). I'm visiting my friend who lives in Orlando... I met him the last time I went on vacation many a year ago and we've been great friends since. And me and BF are taking a trip across the country. So there will be much expenses in the way of gas and such.

The tenative plan is to stop in Missouri and stay with a friend of his. Then, his friend will be coming with us to the Grand Canyon. Then we'll be driving to stay with my friend who moved to Arizona just after I moved to Pittsburgh, then we'll be driving to San Diego to visit our friend that just moved there for work. There has been talk of stopping in Denver because I've never been there and I'd love to see it. My brother lives out there, but we cant stay with him because I'm not on speaking terms with my father (we haven't been for years). It's tempting though, a free place to stay and all...

I'm taking 2 weeks off of work during the summer for the road trip. Florida will only be for a few days during the week, so it shouldn't be a big deal. I'm totally psyched, though. The furthest west I've ever been was Indiana, and that was only for 2 hours! I'm looking forward to seeing what the other side of the country has to offer! Just a lot of money to save up. I've decided that part of my tax return (assuming I'll be getting money back) is going to be put into my challenge money, and consequently will be used for my vacation(s). I cant wait until summer! Eeek!

So I spent some time baking up my first couple batches of biscotti for the coffee shop today. I got paid $20 for 40 peices. That's about twice the cost of making them, so I'm content with it. They'll be selling them for $1 each, so I'm profiting the same as the coffee shop. Fair deal. I'm much more excited about the fact that something I MADE is being SOLD. hehe. That $10 profit went to my challenge money.

Work was incredibly busy today. I have to say, I haven't seen a saturday that busy in a looong time. I guess spring and fall are the busy times at my restaurant. So winter has been a bit slow. At any rate, I walked out with $155 after tipping out 20%. That's awesome. And I had plenty of change to contribute to my challenge.

In other frugal news, I got a freebie in the mail today. Samples of dove shampoo and conditioner. A friend also sent me a Paul Mitchell set that he picked up at a hair show he was working a while back (he does lighting and camera work at these big hair conventions). So I dont have to buy more conditioner afterall! Or my favorite hair product... and it takes me close to a year to get through a bottle anyways. Also, last night when I was at Eat n Park I snagged a few little thingies of that sugar free welch's blackberry jam. It was so good I decided to snag a few. Muahahaha. Also, my coworker decided to move to Este Lauder makeup and skincare, so the Ulta gift certificate that she got for Christmas she decided to give to me. Along with 2 tubes of Victoria Secret lip gloss. I'd have to say I made out pretty well.

So things are working out well on the financial front, despite all of the setbacks due to the mugging and whatnot. Though I still have to go to the bank and have them take care of those overdraft fees. Oh, and the coffee shop owner told me that he heard that my mugger was caught. Let's hope! If so, I'll be getting a call here soon to appear in court.

Still waiting for 2 of my W-2 forms from Ohio from early 2006. Hopefully they'll come soon. I need to go to HR Block and get my taxes done. I got my form from the restaurant, and as a previous post said on here, I totally had that "I made THAT much this year?? Where did it all go???" reaction. Of course, then I take a look through all of my reciepts, and it makes sense. Food. haha. And clothes.

At any rate, I'd better get going here. I should get to bed. I've noticed my challenge money is growing substantially. I've gathered quite a bit of change... and with that book I sold on amazon and the profit I made from the biscotti, I'm not doing too bad.

Challenge total $78.63
+ Change from work $1.53
+ Biscotti profit $10.00
New Challenge total $90.16

So I've been pondering this idea for a couple weeks now... There's this new coffee shop that just opened up near my apartment. It's a really small, quaint place. I went to check it out yesterday and I inquired the owner about who does thier baking, mentioning that I do some myself. The guy gave me a free cup of coffee and said he'd try some of my baked goods. So last night, I made some Chocolate-dipped almond biscotti and one of my chocolate chip coffee cakes and brought it to the coffee shop this morning on my way to class. He gave me another free cup of coffee this morning and told me to come back later and he'd tell me how he liked it. So on my way back from class I stopped in and it turns out that he really liked the biscotti! He told me to make another batch, and told me to cut him a deal on it and he'd sell it in the shop!

I'm totally excited. For a couple reasons... I've always wanted to bake, whether I owned my own bakery or made baked goods for a restaurant etc. And even though I wont be able to make a huge profit on this biscotti, it's something! I dont mind putting in the extra time if it's baking. I love to bake!

It costs about $6 a batch for supplies. I figured if I charged him $15 per batch I'd make $9... not bad for 2 hours of work and made from scratch. If he sold them for $1.50 each, or even $1.25 each he'd still make a profit of $15-$10 per batch. He said he didn't get around to trying the cake yet. That would probably be a bit more profitable because you can cut it into more peices. At any rate, the idea of making a little extra cash while doing something I enjoy is enough for me!

I'm just proud of myself for asking. They say you never know until you ask, and I went for it! And I got 3 free cups of coffee and a cinnamon roll in the process! Doesn't quite make up for the supplies necessary to make the first batches I gave to him, but regardless I think it was worth it to make the connection.

In other news, I used my coupons and did some grocery shopping.

Campbells healthy select soup... on sale .90 off, coupon doubled makes an additional $1 off 2
Total price: 2 for $1.50 or 0.75 a can
Total saved: $2.80

Coupon for 1 free Pria Energy Bar
Total price: $0
Total saved: $1.35

Prego Sauce $2 each. Coupon doubled makes an additional $1 off 2. And I'll be mailing in to get one of them free. After rebate...
Total price: 2 for $1.50 or 0.75 a jar
Total saved: $3.00

Cottage cheese doubles 1.12 each. Coupon doubled makes 1.00 off 2.
Total price: 2 for 1.24 or 0.62 each
Total saved: $1.00

Glade air freshening spray on sale for 0.88. Coupon buy one get one free.
Total price: 2 for 0.88 or 0.44 each
Total saved: $1.00

Pure Protein bars on sale 1.00 each. Coupon buy one get one free.
Total price: 2 for $1 or 0.50 each
Total saved: $1.50

Total saved: $10.65

Yay!!! More to add to the challenge... totals to be posted later

Another no-spend day. Cha-ching! And I added $5 instead of $1 today for a few reasons...

1. BF suggested going to one of our favorite restaurants and I declined (not an easy task).
2. I had decided to make that Steak Au Poivre that I meant to make before instead.
3. After assessing the pantry, all I would have needed was butter and brandy, but I decided to make a recipe using things I already had in stock.
4. I ended up eating for free at work instead of coming home to cook for me and BF. I'll be making that teriyaki steak for dinner tomorrow on my day off

I've continued using my semi-envelope system. And I've continued staying at home during the day. My grocery budget has hit the $30 mark... but I'm going to try and not buy too much for the rest of the month. And I started planning my meals for the week. I've definitely got some leftovers to get rid of over the next couple of days.

We ran out of dish liquid... I'm looking for a recipe to make my own. We only really use it for pans anyway. We put all regular dishes in the dish washer. I know you can use baking soda to clean many things, so I'll be looking into that.

Tomorrow, like I said, is my day off. I plan to lounge. Not much different than what I've been doing for the last few days Which would explain why I haven't really spent any money... hehe. I might get a head start on some of my reading for class... or continue a crocheting project. Who knows. I'm definitely cooking dinner, though, that's for sure!

I'm feeling really good about cracking down on myself. I read a few articles online and decided that I dont really go to enough measures, and it's ridiculous that I'm so in debt when I make 20k a year. Granted, I do live on my own and pay bills, but seriously. How can I be almost $15k in debt already? I need to start spending less on silly stuff and pay off my loans already. The longer they sit, the more interest they'll accumulate. I dont want to be totally screwed when I start my grad work.

I'm a smart enough girl to make this work. I'm not anticipating being completely free of debt when I graduate, but I'd like to be much less in debt and save a bunch on interest

Time to start REALLY acting like an adult! Later, y'all!

Challenge Total $31.71
+ no-spend bonus! $5.00
+ change from work $0.91
New Challenge Total $37.62

Alright, so I've been thinking about these for a few days now. I'm going to make some changes with how I do my finances once the new year rolls around-- or next month!

I've put together a tentative monthly budget. Of course, it will vary from month to month slightly depending on certain variable expenses (needing new work shoes, medical expenses, etc.) The good news is that my budget is based on an expected income, and I usually make more than I budget for. I just try and plan for the worst-case scenario.

So here are my goals based on that tentative budget/income:

1. Pay myself first. I've heard other people say this, and I didn't quite get it until now. At any rate, I've subtracted my monthly budget from my estimated income, and it comes out to $173 per month, or $2076 per year saved. I think once I hit the $1000 mark I may look into getting a 6 month CD or researching investments, something to that effect. $2076 isn't a lot, but I'm *hoping* it ends up more than that.

2. My vacation money. I purposefully did not incorporate vacation savings into my budget. I'm going to take extra money-- after paying myself, and my bills, and my expenses-- and put it into its own account, or maybe even my piggy. And speaking of my piggy, my change will be a part of that savings. Basically, it gives me more incentive to save money on my variable expenses because that money will be used toward my vacation.

3. Extra little things I want will fall into the vacation expense as well... There's nothing I would hate worse than taking money from my vacation expense. I really need a vacation I budget a great deal of entertainment and clothing into my expenses, so this shouldn't be TOO hard to do...

4. I want to pick up a second job over the summer, or get into a tutoring program of sorts. When I'm not in school, there's no reason not to pick up another job. Extra income goes toward that vacation expense, or savings, depending on my mood that day

5. Keep up with my blog. I dont imagine adsense as a prime source of revenue in the world of Tara, but hey, every little penny counts.

6. Continue finding frugal alternatives. Every day I read a little tip or trick that saves me money. If I continue incorporating these little tricks, I'll be saving a bunch in no time.

7. Hire someone to do my taxes in april. This could be counter productive in the cost sense, but I think there are plenty of places out there that do taxes at a reasonable rate. I'm going to look into it this year, because not only am I in a tax bracket that does have to pay, but considering my change of residence, and pennsylvania vs ohio taxes, it would probably be less confusing.

8. Sell every possible thing I own that I can stand to part with. This includes CD's, DVD's, books, etc. BF has a DVD burner on his new comp, so we're in the process of burning all of our movies, and then selling them. Same with the CD's and iTunes. Books are listed on amazon... waiting for the fishies to bite.

9. Spend more time on savingadvice. Haha. Well, not too much time... I'm here pretty often and sometimes I dont get other things done, but ya know. I've learned so much from people on here, and I've never (met) such a fun and interesting bunch of people! I really enjoy the site and the blogs... It's much appreciated.

So here's to a new year, guys! Cheers!

I'm afraid eating healthy is going to have to win this one. I took a look in the mirror the other day after putting on a pair of pants that are quite a bit too snug... got the "sausage" effect my mother so loves to remind herself of (ugh). But besides the fact that I've gained a little extra padding, I'm a bit uncomfortable with it, and my sedentary lifestyle is by no means healthy. The only excercise I get is at work, which dont get me wrong, can be a workout some times. The term "exercise" hasn't graced my vocabulary, however, since before the start of the semester.

As for food, I've been eating whatever, and as much as I want. Now, people tell me I'm young, and yes I know that, but my metabolism has slowed down a great deal in the last couple of years, and I'm struggling with it. I've always eaten a lot. Since I started eating I've eaten a lot, and up til the point where I graduated high school, I was incredibly thin as well. Not anorexically thin, but a nice athletic build. Thunder thighs or none, I looked good. Now, the idea of kicking a 20 year long eating habit, ha! I need a little help there.

I signed up for the self.com reach your goal plan for a few reasons. A) It's a place online to input all workouts and meals I do/consume. B) It's got meal plans all set up for me that I can loosely work with. C) I find it fun that I can follow a set of rules, and it keeps me from straying from them. D) The recipes they give you look really good, and I love to cook.

Now, I'm not going on the food exactly because it will, in fact, break my budget. However, I will be going to the store today to purchase some healthier alternatives to the crap I'm eating right now, and I'll also be heading off to the gym today for the first time in 3 months.

It always kills me that it takes about 3 months of constant exercise and eating well to lose the same number of pounds it takes you 1 to gain. Ugh. At any rate, I'm going to enjoy my shopping trip and my trip to the gym. I've got the week off, so I'll have some time to hit the gym, and next semester I've got no early early classes, allowing me plenty of time to keep up the good work come the spring semester. Later guys!

hehe. Just a tad, anyway. Coworkers buying me drinks after work is a dangerous business. At any rate, it's my day off anyhow, and we had a good time. Slept half the day away, though, and I always feel guilty about that, like I've wasted time. Oh well!

Yesterday's spending at Burlington was great. I ended up spending about $56, but for all the stuff I got, it was pretty good, and everything was greatly needed. I bought:
1 work shirt from the little boy's dept (hehe)
2 ties, both incredibly cute
1 winter hat, greatly needed
1 pair of gloves, desparately needed
1 sweater, also needed... I dont have a whole lot of "winterwear" for some reason.

Really, I made out like a bandit. BF found a suit he liked, which is miraculous. He's a really small guy and it's hard for him to find suitjackets that fit him right. We also picked out some nice dresshirts and ties. Fun! We did end up eating out... wendy's. I always forget how cheap it is to eat fast food. I dont eat it but maybe once a month. I do enjoy it a lot that once a month, though. Mmm. Junior Bacon Cheeseburger... for only a dollar! It's amazing.

Last night I did buy 2 of my own overpriced drinks where I work, total of $10, and then I paid for me, BF, and my coworker to eat at the 24 hour place circa 4am. It ended up being about 15 for the 3 of us. Not bad... My coworker paid for the cab up the mountain, so it was definitely cool. At any rate, today is a no-spend day. I'm relaxing. I've got no school this week because of thanksgiving, but I wont be going back home until wednesday night. I cant wait to see everyone!

So I've went over the budget in the clothes area becauuse of yesterday, but no remorse. They were all practical and cheap things. No frivilously expensive mall clothes... though I've been tempted. The good news, though, is that I've managed to not go to the grocery store for a long time! ha! I think I'm gonna need to take a small trip at some point, but perhaps not. We really need milk, but that's about it. My boss brought up an excellent point to me the other day: why dont I spice up my ramen? Honestly, the thought had never really occured to me to eat it any way other than plain with a flavor packet in it. haha. But today I experimented with putting veggies in it. Tasty! I'm thoroughly pleased. Found a site dedicated to ramen and recipes including it. I'll have to try a couple of them because we have so much ramen! And frozen veggies are pretty cheap and healthy (though ramen isn't really healthy).

Speaking of healthy, I really need to get to the gym again now that I have time. I think I've gained a good 5 pounds since the beginning of the semester. I'm not positive of that, but my sides have definitely experienced an increase of plushiness, as well as my hips and thighs. grr. Luckily my schedule will allow me to get on a decent excercise plan next semester, but for now I'll have a lot of time off anyway.

At any rate, that's enough rambling for today!

So I had class this morning... rather I was incredibly late for class this morning. Ergh. I cant wait until next semester... but at any rate, it's a no-spend day. Yay! I've got my free easy mac in the microwave cooking for lunch. By free, I mean BF's Gram purchased a boatload at Sam's Club for us.

My Emigrant account is now all set up! Woo! I've only got $25 in there right now, but every little bit helps! My total debt is down to $8491.09, which is a step from the $8698.50 it was originally. I'm making progress! Still trying to make my groceries last until the 28th... not looking so hot, but I'm still going. All I can say is thank goodness I get free food at work. Thursday I get lunch with my friend at the cafeteria... buffet. I was thinking about sneaking in a tupperware container... hehehe. The thought of it makes me giggle. No reason to buy sweets if I can load up at the cafeteria and take them home with me. ha! I'm beating the system! Maybe snag a banana or something too... hmm. We'll see. I've seen people fill up water bottles with milk and juice, or grab and icecream cone and walk out with it. I've gotten coffee "to go" before. I pay way too much for a school cafeteria. I need to get my money's worth!

So I went to the same site all the cool kids have been going to and calculated my net worth. *cry* My current net worth as of today is -$6002. I'm sure that has a lot to do with the fact that I'm still in school, but it'll go down even further after next semester. grr. I guess it motivates me to save more? hehe. I also dont have any vehicles or property. The only real "personal property" included was in my guitars. I'd say that's about $550 in itself. I added on an extra couple hundred for textbooks I have a variable life insurance policy, which is more or less a mutual fund, but really I couldn't say how much I have on that. I just pay a bill 4 times a year. They send me stuff, but it's really hard to understand, even after an accounting course :/ Maybe I'll look for a website to go to that may have the value of it listed... hmm. There's an idea!

At any rate, work tonight. Last night wasn't too great, but I made the most- $67. I wont complain. It was slow. I'm not putting any more money into my savings until I've got my $450 for rent/elec/phone sitting in the checking account. Gotta cover all my bases! Hopefully I'll still have a little leftover to add to my newly acquired savings account... hmm.

Alright. So it's the midpoint of my financial month (which always starts the 28th, as far as I'm concerned). I sat down and tracked my progress in spending/savings. I have to say, I'm doing pretty good! Last month at my midpoint I was $47.55 OVER the budget. This month, I'm $141.51 UNDER the budget, so happy dance! The only area where I'm over budget is groceries... big surprise. hehe. The good news is I'm only over by 2 cents. woohoo! Let's just hope I can keep myself from buying groceries for the rest of the month. heh. We really have plenty of food. And that shopping trip to the market district was a bit pricey, but always is But the good news is that we only ate out once this month, twice if you count the money I spent at the coffee shop with my french buddies. Dining out is my one big flaw, but I did really good this month. Yay for me! Aside from that, I've put $175 toward my loan this month, and put $146.75 into savings. That totals $321.75 towards my $20 challenge thus far, which is more money than I've spent! Of course, I haven't paid rent or anything so it's a little skewed... At any rate, being a hermit is paying off! hehe.

So last night me and BF actually went out. My neighbor is a comic, and he took us to the club he plays. We got in for free-saving each of us $30. I did end up spending $16 on food and drinks, but I took it out of my entertainment allowance. Next time I'm just going to buy drinks. $6 for 2 cokes isn't cheap, but when you get into the club for free, I think it's worth it.

Today I went to class, and then scheduled for next semester. A big fiasco, but I'm happy to say that I have NO 8am classes. Yay! Not sure how my boss is going to like the schedule, but he's good at working around it. Which reminds me, I've decided to stay in Ohio for black friday. I need a little more time with my friends and family this month. Now is homework time, and then work at 5:30. Let's hope I make some money! I didn't do too well on saturday. I want tonight to turn it around!

I did have to stop at the store on the way home to buy some needed *feminine supplies*, but aside from that I'm not spending any money today. I'm still in the process of getting my emigrant account set up, but I did finally take care of setting up my online banking as well yesterday. That'll be convenient from now on. Either way, this is getting long... I better go!

p.s. That comedian last night had all sorts of jokes about shopping at costco and sam's club. It was pretty funny! I thought of you all...

So after reading the posts on my last blog, I've decided to keep some money in my national city account, and transfer the rest to an Emigrant Direct account. 5.05% sounds so nice! After thinking about how much to deposit, I've decided to not put too much in now. Tuition payment is coming up, and I need that money to be VERY readily available. After tuition is taken out, I'm going to leave the minimum in my savings, $300. Then I'm going to put $200 in the ED account. Combined, they will be my emergency funds. $500 covers my bills and leaves some room for groceries: a month's worth of expenses. I was going to leave that $500 in my National City, but I figured that if I could make higher interest on 40% of the total, why not?

Sometimes I wish I could just forget about those silly student loans. Many kids do while they're in college. I know I could be living life quite comfortably that way, but when I think about all the money I'd rack up in the meantime, and the weight it puts on me just having that 4, soon to be 5-figure dollar amount sitting there for me to pay back, I know I cant. It would be too irresponsible anyway, and that's not my style

In the meantime... I applied for an ED account, my initial deposit $25. That goes towards my $20 challenge.
ED initial deposit: $25
November total: $256.75
Running total: $467.26

This means that I reached my goal of putting $250 towards the challenge! Woo! I'm reaching all of my goals way ahead of time this month. It feels great! I really feel in control of things. Last month I only put $210.51, so things are looking up! And for all of you who dont know, my $20 consists of all money put into savings or towards loans. It includes my piggy bank, which I deposit into my savings every month. Not sure if that's how the challenge is supposed to work, but I have totals for little bits of money I save here and there as well.

As for other news, it's going to be a no-spend day today (I'm up to 7 this month, I think there's a miracle happening). I believe I'll be making those pumpkin cookies and relaxing until I have to go to work. The thermostat is set on 66 and I'm in comfy clothes. I said yesterday while hugging BF: "this is how I'm going to save money this winter." and he says, "how? by hugging me?" and I said yeah, and he replied, "I'm gonna start charging you for stealing my heat." hahahaha. He is too funny. Silly boy :P