Well, still didn't make that great money today. Boo. I'm really glad for this second job thing. Also, I got a call today from the woman who had me babysit her 2 girls a couple weeks ago. As it turns out, her and her husband have season tickets to the football team out here, and they need a sitter for quite a few of the games. They're going to pay me $60 every time, so that's pretty exciting. She emailed me the dates, and it seems like it wont be a problem for any except a couple (work would interfere and all that). But we'll see. I'm not sure what my schedule is going to be like at the new place.

Other than that, I dont have much financial news. I've been thinking more about my school situation. It occured to me last night that it was ridiculous to finish my degree in sociology and then get a master's in accounting. I could finish my BA in accounting in 2 years, and it would take me a year to finish up my BA in sociology + 2-3 years for a master's program. So I may just go into the business college, finish up my BA in accounting, then take the CPA exam. I may eventually get an MA, but I really want to get a decent job sometime in the next few years. I really need to start paying down this debt.

BF will get home tonight about the time I get out of my exam. Not sure what we're doing tonight. I know he has some paperwork to do still, so it's looking like it will probably be a night in. I guess that's fine with me, I got 3 movies from the library today: Cinderella Man (a good one I haven't seen in a while), Casino Royale (a favorite of mine), and Ratatouille (which I have not seen, but am totally stoked to watch). So I suppose I have things to keep me busy, and I'm sure BF is going to want to relax a little. He's had a looooong week.

I've got saturday during the day to do whatever. That'll be nice. I still have a hideous to-do list. Sunday I have plans with friends and my co-worker to go out to lunch and have a couple drinks. My only entertainment money spent this week. Sunday night mom suggested going to the drive-in to see Wall*e. BF and I have already seen it, but loved it so much we'd be willing to pay the $2 each to see it again. So we'll see.

Well, have to get to my exam. It's the final, so after today I'm done til fall. I'm pretty relieved. I didn't really care for this class, afterall. And I get to sell the books back

Have a good night, everyone!

Well, today was a NSD. I ate leftovers for breakfast, packed my sandwich for work. I made okay money today, but not really all that great. I'm definitely going to need that extra money from job #2 this week. Did the dishes and all that. Went to class. Tomorrow is my final, and then classes are done til fall.

At mom's now helping her put together a budget. We've made some progress. Still a little more to put together, however.

I've got some movies and CDs on hold at the library now. Hopefully my movie will arrive at the branch here tomorrow. It would be nice to have something to watch with BF sometime this weekend. As it is, we wont have a whole lot of time to spend together, but I will see him tomorrow night and sunday night. He has drill saturday and sunday, and I work friday night. I am looking forward to seeing him. I haven't all week, so it'll be nice. And I'll be done with my class, which I'm also excited about.

Not much other news. I have a lot to do, and I'm dragging my feet, which I shouldn't. It's just that between school, finding a new apartment, and job hunting, I've got a lot on my plate and it's awfully overwhelming. The massive hunk of debt I'm trying to pay off, along with tuition, doesn't really help much either. One thing at a time, I guess.

There are some things I need to get selling. My textbooks, my various other books, that willow tree thing mom gave me to sell, more jewelry, etc. Still waiting on those articles on Associated Content. Another pinecone survey wouldn't hurt either. haha. I have a loooong to-do list, just not enough time to do. haha.

But at least my dishes are washed.

Babysteps... hehe. Everyone have a great night!

Well, it was a NSD. Brought my sandwich to work. Made okay money. Not really all that much. I sold a book on amazon, though. And one of my articles got a $3.91 offer on Associated Content. I also heard back from a woman who saw my craigslist post about paper editing. It seems she wants me to edit a children's book she's writing. She lives in the area, we'll be getting together in 2 weeks. So that should pull in a little bit of extra cash.

Also, a friend of my mom's BF said he was looking for an occasional sitter for his 2 girls, and I gave him my number. I guess him and the wife dont get out very often because they dont want to hire a sitter they dont really know. Totally understandable.

I got on the elliptical machine for an hour today, so my workouts have been kept constant. I'm pretty proud of myself, I must say.

At any rate, I should get going. I have cleaning and sleep to catch up on. Everyone have a great night!

Well, it's been a couple busy days... all is well on the financial front. Tips at work have been pretty solid thus far this week I'm also working saturday night this week, which should be lucrative. Also, my boss wants me to help cater a luau on friday evening, so that should be fun and make me some money.

Today was a no-spender. Took my sandwich to work again!

Some fantastic news... I sold my first item on etsy That was pretty exciting. I'm waiting for my paypal payment to go through, and then it's off to the post office to mail those earrings Also need to mail the book I sold on amazon still, I was waiting to do it in one trip.

Other than that, things are pretty low-key. Mom picked up my laundry yesterday and washed it, which was some pretty sweet laundry service I'm going over tonight to pick it up and hang out with lil sis, who I guess is a little lonely in the new apartment. Mom hanging out doesn't seem to help, but I guess that's what happens when kids hit the teenage years.

Really looking forward to BF coming home next weekend. Still not sure what I'm doing for his birthday-- aside from cleaning the apt top to bottom. his car, too. But I want to buy him a little something. We've been talking a lot lately about him leaving for overseas come December. I'm a bit exhausted from such emotional conversations, but it seems we're really coming to understand each other and how we feel, which is great.

Also, I made thee best salad last night, and figured I'd share:

Spinach
Chunk pineapple
cottage cheese
poppyseed dressing
tiny bit of shredded cheese.

Everything can be bought at ALDI for very little $, of course

Hope everyone has a great night!

Well, yesterday was a NSD. So that's $3 more to add to my challenge money (because I resisted buying food at work). That brings me to $152.36.

Last night mom had BF and me meet her out at the bar. She wanted to buy me a drink and hang out a bit. She had me stop at the house on the way home. I had more mail and she left me a surprise there! I've been talking about doing some gardening-- in containers, but gardening nonetheless. So while she was out shopping she found a little pail and these reusable plant markers that she left with some lipgloss on the table next to my mail. My mommy is so great

I made really decent money yesterday at work. $44.62-- not bad for a wednesday lunch shift. I did stay a little later than usual, though. The other girl wanted to go home. I wanted to make money. So it worked out. lol.

I stopped at the bank after work and made a deposit, then paid my cell bill online :/ It was a little more than I was expecting. I have to watch my minutes this month. Lucky for me, next month I'll be cancelling my service with sprint (my contract is up June 25) and getting a phone on my mom's verizon plan. Mom and BF are both verizon, so I'd be talking to the 2 people I talk to the most for free. I might just share my sister's plan for the moment because she doesn't really use hers. She just has a phone for emergencies and so my parents can get a hold of her, but they're on verizon too, so it doesn't use the minutes up. It would only run me $20/month with text messaging.

Today I have the day off, and it looks really nice outside. I need to go down to the university and change one of my classes, then pick up a summer loan app. My FAFSA was processed as of this morning, so they'll be getting thier info here soon.

I'm getting lunch with a friend I haven't really sat down and caught up with for a while. So I'm kind of excited about that. I also want to clean the apt up a little more. BF put pork in the crock pot, so it's looking like dinner at home

Not sure what is going on tonight. BF is staying in because he has a bunch of work to get done. There's a party I may go to, or I could just go down and dance at the bar down the street. There's also karaoke with my friends, if they're going. So I have options I generally dont drink much when I'm doing karaoke (cause I like to sing better, I drink water), so that may be the best of options. Especially if I'm driving there. We shall see, I suppose.

Hope everyone has a great day!

So I emailed my mom all the info I needed from her to file my FAFSA. By the time I got home from work, she had sent me everything I needed. So I got that checked off the list.

Work was decent. I made $27.71 and did NOT get a sandwich while I was there, which means I get to put $3 toward my challenge money today. Woo! That puts me at $149.36.

I rode my bike to mom's and got that check, as well as wrapped up the book I had sold on amazon. Then I rode to the post office. I rode back to the bank, but it was closed. I'll have to stop by tomorrow and make my deposit.

It's funny riding my bike around. I keep getting all these scrapes and scratches (mostly from trying to carry it up stairs), I feel like a kid again It's absolutely gorgeous out today, it was the perfect temperature to be riding around for a couple hours-- and it feels good, though my bum and knees and hands hurt. lol.

BF is on his way home. We're going to make dinner. Not sure what yet, but we'll be making something. We put out a pork loin to defrost for tomorrow. Think we're going to throw it in the crock pot.

Just have to stop at the university here in the next couple days and re-register for that class and fill in that summer loan app. Lucky for me the due date is June 2. That'll give me a little time for my FAFSA to process. I do need to price those books, though, and re-register for that class in the next couple days.

Either way, hope everyone has a great night!

Well, this week seems to be going very well thus far, though I haven't really gotten a whole lot done. We need to change that today. I've got a few things I need to do at the university-- namely registering for a class, because apparently the computer doesn't register that I meet the prereq. Ah well.

I have to [finally] file my FAFSA, which means I have to get mom's info too. I also have to put in a summer loan application.

It's my little brother's 20th birthday today, have to give him a call.

I also need to mail that book that I sold on amazon, after looking through it and copying a few recipes

Mom called yesterday and said what was left of my safety deposit came in the mail ($40ish). They use part of it to clean the carpet, and it was only $100 to begin with, so it's not that much, but the carpet really needed cleaned.

I should probably run by the bank at some point too

I've got work from 10:30am-2:30ish. I'll have to do all this after work, but it really works out because it's supposed to be beautiful today, and I'd love to ride my bike around for a good part of the day.

Last night was fun. BF and I went over to his twin brother's to make ribs and hang out. Got to visit with the baby (BF's neice, she's 6 months. ADORABLE). Ended up staying a little late, but I was so tired from the food and the couple beers that I had that I ended up falling asleep on the couch about 10pm. Good time though, and great food. I paid for the beer we brought over, only because BF paid for all the groceries he bought the other day. Tonight we'll probably make dinner here at home.

Speaking of being "home," things are starting to shape up here at the apartment. There still needs to be a considerable amount of unpacking, and some moving of stuff to my mom's, but aside from that, there's a lot more room in the apt.

Hoping today will be a NSD. Just have to resist those sandwiches at work! It's so hard having so little willpower. That's it. If I have a NSD today, I'm going to put $3, not $1 into my challenge money (that's how much I would spend on a sandwich at work anyway).

Anyhoo. I should get this day started. Everyone have 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!

It seems like the end of the semester is closing on me, it's coming up so fast! And yet it's so welcomed and feared in my book. I have so much to do! Papers to write, a presentation to plan, tests to take. Sigh. I got an A on both the tests I got back this week. We'll see how the paper I wrote was.

I managed to work out yesterday... for a measly 20 minutes. But still worked out. I had a terrible day, a sort of issue with one of my professor/friends. I was upset just about all day, but I think things will work out. We're going to get together on friday to talk about it some more.

BF is in PA this week for work, so I'm lucky to have someone to cuddle with every night That is undoubtedly making my week happier!

Today should be a no-spend day. It's my early day, so I'll be catching the bus after class at 2:40 and coming home to do homework, clean my apt, and make dinner with BF. Then more homework. I'm trying to finish up a couple papers this week.

Tomorrow night I'm going to have a few friends over. That should be fun, and relatively cheap. We'll be smoking the hookah, but I've got plenty of shisha here and there's nothing really that we have to go out and buy. Friends will bring thier own alcohol.

That's about it! I'm hoping it's a low-key and very productive day. Wish me luck!

Hello all!

BF made it home safely, and we had a very nice reunion at the airport when I picked him up

We ate lunch at home saturday (I made chicken salads), we did go out to dinner with his family saturday night, but he paid (sweetheart), so when we went out with friends to the bar I bought him a couple beers. I still only ended up spending about $20 at the bar (with tip).

Easter was fun. We went and did easter lunch with BF's family, and then swung by my grandma's for some (more) dessert and spent some time with the family.

Mom offered to drive me back to PA, so I bought her some gas, and paid the tolls on the way, so I spent about $30 there. Which is still $10 less than I would have spent on a greyhound ticket to get back. And BF didn't have to drive all the way back in the morning. Much appreciated

Yesterday was my long day at school, so I took my ritual once-a-week trip to subway and bought my kid's meal. I'm back to healthy eating after a rather unhealthy easter (way too much candy). Tonight I get back on my exercise routine as well.

I got my abnormal psychology test back last night... A! Woo! Guess I can pick the crazies now

I'm trying to make today a no-spend day. Shouldn't be too difficult. BF is supposed to be coming to PA tonight and spending the rest of the week here for work, so I'll have another to cook for this week! But I've got my meals all planned out. Well, gotta get going! Everyone have a good day!

This is the first NSD I've had in a few days. It feels great It seemed like the day drug on, but here it is 10pm and I'm not sure where all the time went! Had class, came home, did my dishes, not sure what else until my friend came over and we worked out for an hour and a half or so. And now I'm settling down to start a paper. Woo-wee!

It was a very dreary day, and I cant wait for the weather to improve. I'm looking forward to BF coming home saturday afternoon. He's indeed grabbing the earlier flight, and I'm going to pick him up at about noon. Very exciting! It's been 2 weeks... hehe.

I've been eating semi-well, though I know I've slacked a bit. They were giving out free pizza at my university... that didn't help. haha.

Spending has been tight still, though there were a couple things I bought I could have surely done without (Diet Arizona Green tea... cheap, but gave me a headache!). I only bought food once this week... monday, because I have class until 9pm. I grabbed a subway kids meal. Mmm. Still under $5, not bad.

The only other news I have is that I'm down to 132 pounds Keeping up with these workouts has given me so much more energy... but I find that it makes it harder to wake up in the morning. Still trying to keep it up though!

Everyone have a great night!

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!

Hmm. It seems every time I get on here there's some new dramatic change in process. Well, not too much this time.

That roommate never did move in, so I'll still be living alone til my lease is up. Lucky for me, though, its up May 1! So I've only got 2 more months in this apt.

I'll be moving back to Ohio that week. Living with BF for the time being. His lease is up in August, then I'll move into my own apt likely and he'll live with me until he's deployed in january. Then it's a year of BF in Iraq.

I'll either be graduating this summer or in the fall. I have to talk to my university about transfer credits, but if I can get all the classes I want transferred over, I'll be living in Ohio for the next year. Which is what I want to do. I cant go to grad school until next fall (not this coming), so I'll get a job or an internship, make some money. And apply to grad schools.

I have a couple of those in mind too, but I'm not done researching. I'm taking my GRE this may, so I'm studying for that on top of the work I'm already doing. It's going to be a loong next few months.

I'm also trying to get a head start on organizing/packing my things for the move. I dont want to put it off to the last minute, especially considering I'm supposed to be moving during finals week!

Regardless of all this, life is exciting. Unbearably busy, but exciting. Spending has been a little too loose, but that's something I'm used at this point (unfortunately) and need to really start cracking down on. I always forget how expensive being in a relationship is. lol. BF and I had a good talk this week about finances though, and we both agree we need to start spending less. It was actually the first time we talked about our bills/finances/etc. I mean, we've talked about money, but we didn't really know how eachother stood-- debt wise, etc. It's a good conversation to have, though, if we're going to be living together before long.

It seems like things are happening awfully fast. I'm so incredibly happy though. Actually, depsite the fact that I'm absolutely swamped with school work and graduation stuff, I'm the happiest I've ever been. Except BF could be here... I usually spend the weekends with him because he works and I have class during the week and we live 2 hours apart. He's got this military training thing until easter though. Bummer. At least I have a little more time to get work done!

Oh, and today is a no-spend day! yay!

It's been a while, but I've had a no-spend day I'd like to say tomorrow will be the same, but alas, I only went to a farmers market thursday and only bought a couple things. The staples need purchased still. So tomorrow I go to the grocery store. Tonight will be spent raiding my cupboards and cleaning things out of my fridge. I'll compile a list. We have friends visiting for a few days this week, and that's likely to get pricey. I suggested making dinner one night, and my friend loved the idea. I figured we could have one less expensive night considering we'll go out the night they get here. I'm really excited to see them, I'm just hoping it doesn't end up being *too* pricey. We'll see, I guess. At any rate, I'd better get cracking! Night, everyone!

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!

So with all of this talk of lowering my electric bill... it came out even higher this month. Of course this pro-active behavior came about pretty late in the billing month, but still. It was $97.81

I was surprised, to say the least. Granted, it's been hotter than it was last month, and the AC was on for a good portion of the month. It will NOT, however, be on for the majority of this month. Of course, we'll be gone for 2 weeks as well, and that should help it a bit.

Regardless, I'm limiting my computer time, trying to shut all lights off when possible, and leaving that AC off!

It was another slow night at work, despite it being Father's day. I'm trying to finish all things on my to-do list before we leave on wednesday. It seems being gone for 2 weeks takes a lot of preparation! Tomorrow brings a run to the bank, the paying of all bills, a bit of grocery shopping and picking up my perscription. Also a trip to KMart to look for a duffle bag. BF wants to buy a fan in lieu of our not using the air conditioning. I'm not sure if it's entirely necessary, though. I'll decide when I see the pricetag...

At any rate, I should get going. I need to turn this computer off! hehe. So much electricity... If only I could turn the fridge off when I wasn't looking through it... hehe.

I doubled today, though it seems it was scarcely worth it. We had 2 servers in today for lunch, and we both made about $10. I guess money is money, however. We were slow for dinner as well. I made about $65 for the day. erg.

The up-side of this equation is that it was a no-spend day. My boss also bought my coworker and I Starbucks and yummy tiramisu from the Italian restaurant nearby. Mmm. I spent most of the day learning more japanese from my coworkers.

Which brings me to my next topic... vacation NEXT year. I know it's silly to think about, with this year's coming up on wednesday (eek!). However, a trip overseas is nothing to do last-minute, so I think a year in advance is just fine to start planning. So here it is:

Japan.

It makes me excited just thinking about it, but I'm more than certain that we can do a fairly decent priced 2 week vacation in Japan next summer. I have quite a few connections, just working where I work. We wouldn't have to pay any money for lodging, as everyone I work with has family there, and they all assured me that thier relatives would be delighted to let me stay. One of my coworkers has even talked of going with us, which would be great. I wont get into TOO much detail now, however. Dont want to steal any thunder from my up-coming roadtrip

As for frugal acts of the day... 1. I finished off my leftover soup for breakfast. 2. I had a no-spend day. 3. I didn't buy a beer after work, tempted as I was. That saved me $4 in itself.

My boss said it wouldn't be necessary to work lunch tomorrow, so I get to sleep in. Woo! I go in at 4:00. I hope it gets busier! I'd like to make at least another $100 before I leave for vacation (if not more!).

At any rate, tsukareta desu. Atsukare sama deshita! (I'm tired, until tomorrow!)

Last night BF and I ended up going out to dinner after all. We went to a nice small Japanese place (similar to where I work). First we stopped at the Exchange, and sold a couple of things. We also picked up a copy of "Spanglish." Very cute, I would recommend it to anyone.

Dinner was good and I was left with a TON of leftovers, so I consider it a good deal. Besides, it was our anniversary, we wanted to go out to celebrate. Lucky for us, this place doesn't have a liquor license, so no booze to tempt us. I drank water with lemon The cash we got selling the couple things we had covered about $20 of dinner. That was nice.

After dinner we stopped at the beer distributor. BF is going back to Ohio this weekend and wanted to stock up. We ended up drinking a 4th of what we bought last night though (and we bought 48 bottles! Sheesh!). At any rate, that was another $15.

Now that the anniversary is over, however, it's back to minimal spending and max-saving. I've got enough leftovers to eat for weeks. hehe. I work tonight and double tomorrow and saturday. Let's hope I make some money!

With all this talk about electric bills lately, I've been thinking about mine quite a bit. Our bill was $74 last month. I live in a 1-bedroom apartment, this seems a bit much to me. So recently I've been shutting off the AC, opening the windows, and shutting off all the lights. It's been 2 days like this, and I have to say I enjoy it. BF is a tough nut to crack, but he hasn't tried to turn the AC on once. I'm so proud He's even been turning lights off when I tell him to instead of arguing. On top of all that, I've been shutting my computer off when I'm not using it. Cant say the same for BF, but when I'm done here, I'll shut it off for him (he's got my laptop out and about today).

My electric company has some really nice tips on how to save on my electricity, so I'm hoping some of them work. It just seems silly to pay so much for such a small place (though it is 800 sq.ft.). Wish me luck!

p.s. it's a no-spend day. Woo!

Work last night was busy and a bit of a letdown. Sometimes just being a waitress is enough. It's not even the money, but the drop in morale one gets when they work thier butt off, and still end up with the bare minimum in tips. Why does anyone ever tip 10% if they are completely satisfied with the service?? Especially if it's a table of 7 very demanding people who see to it to interrupt one another every chance they get while a poor girl is trying to write down who wants what sushi and hey that guy over there changed his mind six times! I usually dont complain about my tips, ever, but there are just times that you wonder if you did something wrong. At any rate, enough of that rant.

I expect the rest of the week to be just as crazy, if not more so.

I went to the asian grocery store and trader joe's yesterday, to pick up the last few things needed for recipes I have planned for the week. Ended up spending $45 (I'm so bad at keeping on grocery budget, but at least I'm not eating at restaurants this week). I shouldn't have to shop again before vacation, however.

I did make a frugal choice or two last night. I took snacks to work to avoid a trip to the vending machine. I also decided against going to the bar after work (something I seemed to desparately want to do), and opted for a beer at home, in front of my laptop. I made a menu list for the rest of the week, and if I stick to it, I dont think anything will go bad in my fridge before I leave for vacation on the 20th.

Today I'll be cooking stir-fry, as I have bean sprouts and snap peas that will go bad if I dont cook them soon. I figure it'll leave me leftovers at least for one meal, if not two. That's lunch, as I have work at 4:00. Here's hoping I dont lose my mind! Or my feet dont fall off...

So a couple of friends came over last night, we played the wii and drank a bit. Made sure to stay in. It ended up being much cheaper that way! This morning one of them was still here, so I made us breakfast to avoid heading out to get breakfast. Also a good choice. As for the rest of the day, I'm going to clean up the apartment a bit, then head outside and lay by the pool. It was a bit too chilly yesterday, unfortunately.

By the way, my artichoke came out pretty good yesterday, especially for a first-timer. I'm not sure if I'll make another anytime soon, as BF doesn't eat them, and eating an entire globe artichoke by myself constituted dinner. They're a bit of a pain to eat as well, it seems. But tasty! Tonight I think we'll grill, as BF will be home and we have brats and corn-on-the-cob.

Tomorrow it's back to work, which is both good and bad, I suppose. I enjoy my days off and tomorrow is my double, but the $$ coming in is always nice! I think it'll be a low-key night, perhaps I'll watch a movie later. At any rate, everyone have a good day!

p.s. On a final note, I canceled my world of warcraft subscription... $15 a month I'm saving. Yay! I dont think I'll miss it too much.

Ahh... my day off. What to do? I already slept in til noon The great abundence of odd, vivid dreams tells me I [finally] caught up on all that sleep I've been missing out on since the weekend. Either that, or I'm going crazy. Those dreams certainly were. At any rate, I'm planning the course of the day.

It's sunny, and supposed to remain that way, so I might go lay out by the pool for a while and read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I've started it, halfway through it, and love it. Cant wait til the 7th book comes out. I dont know what I'm going to do when the series ends, though. It'll be a shame. I'm always so sad when the books end.

Friends of ours may be coming over later, but we have enough alcohol leftover from the party to intoxicate an army, so there will be no need to buy more. We could easily barbecue using the food we have here. Come to think of it, we really should make that corn.

I was going to cook an artichoke, too. haha. I saw one in the store and realized that I haven't had one in YEARS. I honestly dont remember where I had one, either. It certainly wasn't with my parents. Either way, I intend on making one. Let's hope it comes out alright. We bought one at Trader joes, and it was quite big. I read in a cookbook that the medium-small size taste the best (after I bought them, of course), so I hope this one turns out okay. It's not huge by any means, but it is certainly on the larger side of medium. Cross your fingers!

After all that's been said, I think it's going to be another no-spend day. Yesterday was, save my bus fare. I finished off my pasta this afternoon as well, so I'm out of leftovers. Just the right time to get cooking again! I was thinking of baking cookies today as well. Mmm. Work last night ended up being better than expected. My focus is now on saving that money I've earned. I'm thinking of listing a couple things on amazon and taking a trip to the exchange. We'll see... Well, have a great day, everyone!

So I've for the most part gotten to the point that I'm okay with my friend and her aforementioned actions... I dont think I'm going to say anything. I've never been one to have the balls to fess up to being angry with good friends.

I do want to mention, however, that this is not the first time in recent history that she has brushed me off. And that is more why I was upset than anything. I've been blown off and for the most part ingnored for quite some time. It was a frustrating situation even before the wedding ordeal, it just really hit home, if you know what I mean.

Aside from that, it was a no-spend day. I played my game for a while, then went outside and read. Worked and made barely any money. It was a relaxing night, however, and my coworkers all seeemed to be in great moods, so I have no reason to complain. I'm hoping to get to the grocery store tomorrow. I made out a list today. I also need to stop by the post office and pick up 2-cent stamps (I forgot who confirmed my suspicions that postage rates increased, but thanks!) to mail off my bills. Other than that, I think more reading is in my future. And more work. hehe. Hopefully I'll make more than $22 tomorrow!

At any rate, everyone have a great day/night!

I had 2 no-spend days in a row, only to be broken by getting breakfast this morning wtih friends. Ended up spending $15, but it wasn't too bad considering I spent no money last night on booze. BF brought a bottle of wine from home with us to the party, and the hosts provided otherwise. We had a great time, and it's the most we've been social in a while. We ended up staying the night because everyone got a little too drunk to drive. Some just a little too drunk period. I was pleasantly so and dont feel too bad today, especially after such a yummy breakfast. I do, however, have to work in a couple hours. Hopefully it'll be a little busier than last night (I didn't make all that much money at all). I'll top my night off with perhaps more videogames!

I signed checks and whatnot today, but need to mail off my bills tomorrow. Did the postage rate change yet?? I forgot... I still have a bunch of stamps... perhaps I'll stop by the post office tomorrow while I'm downtown and buy some 1 cent-ers. I need to stop by the bank tomorrow as well. I think I might stop by the grocery store as well. Aldi's, here I come. Woo! Gotta make a list... either way, everyone have a wonderful day!

Well. Yesterday was my first no-spend day in a while. woo! I worked a double, which may seem to my benefit, but the evil empire of Starbucks tempts me both in the morning and on my break. I overcame the dark forces and drank iced green tea from work (better for me anyway). I made great money ($161) for the day, though my feet (and my legs, and my back...) hurt VERY badly when I left. Tonight I dont work such long hours (13, to be exact for yesterday...), so I'm hoping my feet wont be torn to shreds so brutally.

BF bought me my game!! woo! The birthday present has come early! Civilization IV. I'm cancelling my WoW subscription, as this game is quite involved. I did the tutorial last night, so I'm pumped to actually start a game today. That'll keep me busy until later when I go to work. I'm thinking today is going to be a no-spend day as well.

Got the electric bill the other day, and it is not what I expected, rather bad, actually I told BF we need to start turning our computers off at night, and not using the A/C as much. Actually, I wanted to just turn the thermostat off, but he refuses because he likes the airflow that it gives. He's unrelenting. I hate it. So I'm taking extra effort to make sure I unplug things like chargers that generate electricity even when they are off, and make sure that all of the lights are turned off before we go to bed. He has a habit of leaving all the lights on all the time. Drives me up a wall... how wasteful it is! urgh. Either way, I'm gonna get going. Talk to y'all later!

I cant believe it! There is only a month left in the semester!!! Ahhh!!! Too many papers to write and finals to study for, in my opinion

So I should probably update. It's been a while *blushing*. First thing's first. BF and I are doing wonderfully. We hit some rocks a couple weeks ago (something I would call my own personal existential crisis), but after communicating very effectively and sorting through what it was that we both want, we've become stronger and happier with eachother. After all that was sorted through, I felt comfortable moving into our SECOND APARTMENT together. Woo! Really, BF did all the moving considering I was out of commission. I had my wisdom teeth pulled 5 days before we moved, and I'm not one to take pain in any easy way. I was really out of commission for about a week and a half, missed a week of school and work because of it, and was quite irritated that I had to pay $400 to miss that much class.

The apartment is great though. Previously we were paying $650 + electric (with electric heat), now we pay $650 + gas+ electric, but at the same time, our heat WORKS (a nice plus!) and is far cheaper, not to mention we have a FITNESS CENTER, complete with treadmills and bike machines, and a little outdoor POOL for laying out in the summer reading. I feel much safer living in a complex anyways, and there are all of these sweet little old people. They're the friendliest neighbors I've ever had. AND I've been utilizing the fitness room every other day for the last week. So things are looking up!

I got my fed tax return a while ago, $810 like I said. I wish I could still be excited about it, but the fact of the matter is all of it is gone. $400 to the oral surgeon and $371 on an iPod for BF. He bought me a ring (more of a promise ring than an engagement ring, but it really is quite pretty!) and I bought him an iPod. The 80-gig. He transports files to and from school with it and overfilled his last one with song files, so he had been wanting one for a long while. I really wanted to get it for him, and I haven't bought him anything really expensive the entire time we've been dating, so I just did. And I got to keep his old iPod! Woo! haha.

I'm just kind of sad that all the money I got back is gone. That's a lot of money. And somehow I'm still trying to save for a car. Despite the trips to IKEA to fill our much larger apartment. BF has all these ideas... he wants a new bookcase, he wants a new bedframe, he wants he wants he wants. I want a new bookcase for sure. We have piles of books lying ALL OVER the living room because they have no home. At the same time, he wants to buy 2 $200 chairs (leather, of course) and I not only do not have the money, but dont see them as a neccesity. Same with the bedframe.

I keep reminding him that while yes, that IS a good price for what it is, I still dont have the money for it. I'm tryng to SAVE FOR A CAR. We live further outside the city now, and if he ever wants to stop carting my ass to school and work, he better give up on the furniture Not to say I dont have my own vices (ahem, food), but it's still a bit difficult...

For anyone who was wondering, the biscotti thing has kind of hit a brick wall for the moment. I've just been too busy to bake. Work and school are kicking my butt.

I cant WAIT for the summer. I have so much to look forward to. Like I said, next month is it. Finals, and then I'm free for the summer. But even better, next month is my BIRTHDAY. woo hoo! Tara will finally be 21! I have to say, I haven't been as excited about it as I have been this month. It's just getting so close! And not to say I'll be out every weekend once the magical day arrives, but it will be quite useful on VACATION at the end of June. That's right, road trip across the country! 2 weeks. We're hitting Missouri (BF has a friend there), Arizona (I have a friend there), then the Grand Canyon, and then onto San Diego (our friend moved there a few months back). I'm really excited. I've never been that far away from home, and I've never seen that side of the US. I think there are 3 of us going, so we'll drive in shifts. I'm thinking of packing coolers with food and whatnot for on the way. We'll have a place to crash everywhere we go, so there will be no need to stay in hotels. It works out BEAUTIFULLY. yay!

Aside from vacation, my summer will be spent working, exercising, and reading by the pool Oh, and cooking. When I have the time I will do so much cooking for me and BF... I cant wait!

p.s. Today is a no-spend day!

So I must make this quick...

I took my biscotti to the coffee shop today. 70 peices this time. He gave me $35. I'm taking half of it to the challenge. I also got my first check ever from a survey company. $4 for one survey aint bad...

Today thus far has been a no-spend day. I went to the bank to deposit my challenge money as well as some money I've made over the last couple days. I got the bank fees taken care of on my account. Things are finally getting back to normal... after I got home, I transferred my challenge money to my emigrant account... so that should go through tomorrow. I also paid $175 toward my student loan/interest.

So I'm back down to having no expendable money until tonight after work. Let's hope it's busy! I'm going to lunch/dinner with a friend tomorrow. That should be fun. I'm going to attempt to make it low-cost. We're both pretty tight on the budget as it is, so I'm sure it wont be a problem At any rate, everyone have a great night!

Challenge Total: $127.78