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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So. I went and talked to financial aid this morning. I must admit I was a bit nervous, as my aid had not gone through yet. I've been on the payment plan, and I would have been quite short of the $1000 due this month...

I was waiting for paperwork to be processed. I had an audit put on my FAFSA, and it took about a month for them to sort things through. When I got an email from the gov, my expected family contribution was $20. heh. Mom getting a divorce was beneficial in more ways than one

Still, my aid had not showed up. We pinpointed the problem-- a processing error having to do with being a guest student over the summer. The problem was (thankfully) resolved, and my aid was indeed pushed through.

Here's the best news: I GOT GRANTS. Yes, for the first time in my college career, I got grants. I'll get more when I'm full time next semester, but it's great to know that there is $1500 I dont have to pay back... Also, I got subsidized loans for the first time. I feel like I'm in hog heaven. When everything is said and done, between the pell grant, the subsidized stafford, and unsubsidized stafford, I'll be getting a little over $2000 in the mail. That money will be promptly put to pay off the majority of my credit card limit. A 25% interest rate will no longer be what keeps me up at night.

I couldn't be happier

See, I've been thinking really seriously lately about starting to save for retirement, as well as saving for a house, a trip, and little by little, the startup costs for my first entrepeneurial endevour. Needless to say, I want to do a lot of saving. With a (relatively) high cc balance, that seemed rather far off, but I have no doubt I can pay off my cc in a couple months if I get this money. I'll trade 25% interest for 6% interest any day. My credit score is also going to likely improve dramatically. Especially considering I'm not going to have to pay these obscene fees for going over my credit limit (note, it was my interest that put me over the limit, not charging... faulty system).

I feel so secure. Up until now I've been so worried I wasn't going to be able to come up with the extra funding. I'm so used to not being able to cover my tuition with stafford loans solely. It feels great to know that I can do it. I dont have to fret. I can just go to school and feel safe that I can finish out the semester.

Yay for me!

So please, look forward to big plans and savings I'll keep you all updated!

Hello again, friends!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a wonderful night!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone have a wonderful day!

BF and I had quite a breakthrough yesterday. We're trying to get everything set to start moving next weekend (seems so close!), so we have to get all the paperwork sent in, etc. We were filling out the rental application yesterday, and there was a section where you fill in your liabilities, and how much you pay on them every month.

Up to this point, BF wouldn't tell me how much debt he had. It really bothered me, as we may potentially be getting married in the next year, and working together on money-related issues is a big deal when your married (if you're going to have a successful marriage, anyway). I want to start working together *before* we get married, so that when we eventually are, it wont be some huge change.

That being said, I got to see. I even offered to not look at it if he was uncomfortable with it, but he said it was okay. He's really embarrased about his debt, so it's not something he ever shares. With anyone. But he shared it with me, and even acknowledged that he needs a little help dealing with it. He doesn't have as much debt as I do when you talk straight numbers, but most of his is CC debt, and he has to pay the car off still.

He's convinced that once he get's back from Iraq that it wont be a problem anymore, because he'll get a check enough to pay off all his debt and then some leftover. I stressed the importance of paying them off as soon as possible, however, so he doesn't end up losing a bunch in interest in the mean time. He's trying really hard. He never uses his CC anymore, and we've been working together to save on the little things.

I feel like we're really working as a team now. It's fantastic. I think a lot of it has to do with moving-- into "our" place. In BF's eyes, I've been more or less "squatting" at his place. But he told me yesterday that he was looking forward to moving into "our" place. I can say the same, and it made me so happy to hear it from him We'll be splitting bills and really mingling finances now. haha.

It's a big step to move in with someone, I think. I've done it in the past, and it's tricky. I think it's really the closest thing to being married without actually being married. Technically BF and I have been "living together" for 3 months now, but this will be different. It's a little peice of home we're building together. I love it! But I also acknowledge that it's going to take a little bit of work and organization to get us on the same page.

I've been reading those personal finance books, and it got me thinking about financial goals. I have the basic ones: pay off debt, eventually buy a house, travel the world, retire by 60ish, have enough money to really raise a kid, put him/her through college (or at least help). I asked BF about his, and really the answers were similar. He wants to retire young (50-55), he wants to travel, he wants to have kids.

We want to raise our children in a foreign country, at least through thier teens. We definitely want to live in a foreign country. That's a huge step, and one we're going to have to think through very carefully (for obvious reasons). I want my kids to be bilingual and go to a school better than the ones you find in my area. haha. I want them to have cultural exposure, as so little people, even adults, do in the US. We've talked about how many kids we would eventually want, but he caught me off guard yesterday when he told me he wants to have as many as we can afford and raise well. He thinks we would both make great parents I hope he's right. I guess we both come from relatively big families, but I dont know about popping out more than 3! If we could split the labor maybe it would be different, but unfortunately, he doesn't have the equipment But of course, this is all a really long way off.

I just feel really good about things. School will hopefully work out. I'm putting all my savings on my CC so I can lower my interest payment on the 2nd of the month. Then I'll put basically all my tuition payment on my CC. Then we're back to square 1. I'll spend the rest of the summer trying to pay it off. Sigh. I have to admit I'm a little worried that I'm not going to be able to pay the difference. I had my can-do attitude the last time, and it got me really far (about $1500 far), but not far enough.

Falling short never feels good, so perhaps that's affecting my attitude. But this time I dont want to be caught by suprise. If I cant pay it, I'm going to take the semester off. I really dont want to do that, because I want to get this degree asap. But on the positive side, that will give me some time to get my finances in order, perhaps pay off my CC.

On another positive note, Associated Content Published 2 of my articles:

The Best Sushi in Akron, Ohio

Friends with Benefits: A Healthy Alternative

The first is a review of Sushi places in my area, the second is an unorthodox relationship piece. Total of $7.55 for both. Half of it is already in my paypal account.

In other little tidbits, I've successfully taken leftovers and not ordered food from work all week. That is to be continued today and tomorrow, saving me approx. $10 for the week. And I've been eating much healthier!

A little team victory last night: Went to mom's to cook dinner and do laundry. Mom and sis were heading to the drive-in, and we were invited to go at a really good price ($10 for both of us). However, we opted to watch movies we got from the library at home instead. Also, on the way home from mom's, we passed Taco Bell, and even at the mention of possibly getting something by BF, we opted to just go home and eat some homemade hummus and smoke the hookah

BF's foot is doing a little better, but he's still off work til tomorrow. I'm enjoying having him home!

Alright, enough rambling. I'm sorry if you read all the way through it. Must have been painful

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, I made better money at work today than yesterday, thankfully. It still seems to be not nearly enough. I sent a couple resumes out yesterday for receptionist positions. We'll see if anyone bites. I did find my second job, working at a bar a few nights a week. I start friday evenint, which I'm very excited about. I was hoping I would be able to start this weekend. I definitely need the money. Besides, BF is out of town this weekend anyway, so I'll need something to do (my friends are obviously not part of the equation. haha).

Did my laundry at mom's last night. Still waiting to see if my articles get published. Trying to keep busy and make some money. Today is my last week of class til the fall. Final is on thursday. I'm not really looking forward to that. It's been a rather lazy day. I haven't really wanted to do anything. I'm trying to motivate myself to go to the gym, as I really should. I'm paying all this tuition for essentially 2 classes, so I may as well take advantage of the perks.

I have an endless to-do list, and it's so overwhelming. I wish I could snap my fingers and all that debt would erase itself... ugh. At any rate, better get on those billion things I have to do.

Hope everyone has a great night!

The last couple days have been absolutely horrendous. It seems that even though lending club approved me for funding a week ago, that the same credit information wasn't good enough a week later. I lost my $1000.

That being said, things have to change. First of all, I had to drop a couple of my classes. Had I not they would have dropped them anyway, and I would have paid full price. As it stands, they're only reimbursing me for 30% of the one because it had already started. Total BS. I have to talk to someone higher up. But that's neither here nor there at this point.

I have to transfer schools again to avoid moving back to Pittsburgh, where I would face tuition that is way too much. I'm starting to kick myself in the butt for ever having moved there and enrolling in a private university... but it was my decision, and I have no one else to blame.

I'm switching majors, as the psych program at this university is drastically different from the one in PA. I'm going sociology, it'll be much less painful than going through a cognitive-behavioral psych program, and I can specialize in social psycology. I'm actually a little excited about the program itself.

I talked to a transfer counselor, and I would only have to take 1 or 2 gen ed courses, so the bulk of what I would have to take would be major courses. It would potentially only put me back a semester. It'll be a little more money, obviously, but not much considering the price difference between the universities. My tuition in PA is $20k a year, here, it's $10k. So an extra semester will be about the same, if not less.

So it's bad news, but I'm trying to make the best of it and remain optimistic. I always knew there was a chance that I wouldn't be able to pull the money together, and I did my best, but no cookie.

Class ends next week, and then I [hopefully] start my second job. I'm pretty sure I'll be hired. I met with the manager the other day. I'll be bartending, hopefully 3 nights a week. So let's hope I make some cash! I made a nice amount at work yesterday. I'm hoping the trend continues.

BF is back to work and stressed again. It really sucks sometimes, because I feel awful. He works terribly long days quite often, and in times when I really need him (like over the last couple days), he's been unable to really be there for me. But I understand. I think it's great that I'm mature enough to realize that I have to deal with things on my own, that everyone has thier own problems and not everyone is able to support another when they're dealing with themselves. We got into a bit of a spat yesterday, but we're okay again. We're both stressed, but lucky that we are both willing to work things out and be understanding.

My last article I submitted, Eating Healthy on a Budget, didn't make the grade for an upfront payment. I guess they have too many articles like it. But they did publish it, and I'm still getting pay per clicks. So give it a read if you could please haha. I wrote another this morning, so we'll see how that goes.

I like writing articles. BF made a comment last night when I asked him to throw out a topic idea, "You trying to make your next $3?" haha. I can proudly say that $3 is worth quite a bit to me. Because it all adds up I've gotta get this boy on track! haha.

I'm supposed to get together with a woman next week to go over the children's book she's writing. She saw my ad on craigslist for editing/proofreading and sent me an email. So I have an editing job! I've never edited a children's book before, but I'm pretty excited. I guess the illustrator is doing his job now, and we're going to sit down and go over the text with the illustrations, and I'll be checking the text as well. I'm afraid I'm probably not charging her enough, but I want to be reasonable (I am a bit inexperienced afterall, and a children's book is minimal page count). But still, I find it rather exciting, and it could open up opportunities in the future.

I think that's really all the news I have now. I'm supposed to go see mom soon and help her get her finances in order. I sent her the link to SA, and I think she might join haha. Guess I should stop talking about her all the time now. haha.

I hope everyone has a great day!

...to get a $3000 loan?? Bah. Went to the bank after work today. Needless to say, things didn't pan out as well as I had hoped they would. I cant say I was entirely suprised. Sallie Mae wouldn't give me a $3707 student loan, why would National City give me a $3700 personal line of credit? However, we discussed my options. The only thing we came up with was a possible interest back CC. This is, of course, my last resort. I'll find out tomorrow if I was approved. Aside from that, I really have no plan. The no-credit-no-cosigner loans I found online had even worse interest rates than the CC, and I dont mind paying now. Actually, I prefer it. Until then, however, I am making/saving as much $ as possible.

I took a look at my credit report today. 9 accounts in good standing, no negatives at all. So that's not it. The bank manager said it was my income:debt ratio that's killing me. Understandable. But really, how can these people expect me to pay for my college if I dont have the time to work (due to classes). That being said, I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get another job. If not to pay for my classes by July 11, to pay off this newly acquired CC as soon as possible.

I think I'm going to try bartending. I've done a bit at the restaurant I work at currently, and I have a pseudo-in at a local place that seems pretty laid-back, but fun. I'm going there tonight with mom to put in an application (her and her BF go there all the time. Said BF golfs on thier league and such). Even working 3 nights a week or so will pull me in some much needed cash. It'll be difficult, for sure, with classes and all, but I'm a tough cookie. I'll figure it out. It'll be much easier come mid-august when classes end.

Other than that, I have little financial news. Made decent money at work. Mailed that book finally. Funds should be transferred soon, though I hardly made any money on it. I did another pinecone survey, so hopefully I'll be seeing that check at some point. I never did get the first one. Does anyone know how long it takes them to mail them generally?

Also, having issues with etsy and paypal. I want to mail my earrings, but I want to wait til the payment goes through. It's been about 5 days since the purchase, so I would imagine it should be there by now, but nothing is showing up. grr.

Alrighty. Enough rambling. Everyone have a good night!

Well, I'm trying to get caught up with things. My Sprint contract is up the 25th, so I need to get on mom's plan to be with Verizon-- aka talking free to both mom and BF. I had to give her a copy of my bill so she could take it to them and get another phone added to her account.

Also, July 11 is quickly approaching, which means I need to buckle down and figure out how I'm paying for these classes. I did a little more research online, as I know there are places out there that will give me "bad or no-credit loans." But when I looked at the interest rates on those puppies with added "loan fee," also a percentage of what you borrow, I'll end up paying a ridiculous amount.

So I went to National City's page and looked at getting a personal loan. If I get a personal line of credit, I'll still be paying 9.5%, but that's a lot lower than a CC, and even lower than the outrageous student loans I would be paying for. So I'm going to stop at the bank tomorrow and see if I can get hooked up with one. I calculated it out, and if I pay $150/month, it'll take me about 2.3 years to pay off. Of course, after my CC is paid off, all extra money would go to that loan, as I would have to pay it while still in school.

When I think about it, it's an even better idea than getting a student loan, which would just continue to accumulate interest until I graduate. I'd be much more focused on paying it back now if I had to. haha. Of course, I also have a whole heap of debt with a much worse interest rate than 9.5% now... bah. I'm just going to hope that I can pay it off the $3707 loan quick, which doesn't seem to be a problem considering I pulled together $1315 in just a few months...

Let's just hope I get approved :/

In other financial news, brought my sandwich to work yet again. Would have been a NSD, but I bought some shisha online for BF's b-day. Of course, I used the visa gift card dad got me for *my* b-day, so I cant consider it a complete spend. haha. Lucky for me, BF and I will both enjoy that shisha, so I wont feel guilty spending my own gift on his

9 more days until BF comes back from training We're going to celebrate his b-day then. We're thinking sushi and a movie, then going back to the apartment to smoke the hookah and have a couple drinks, and enjoy eachother's company after 3 weeks of being apart. Sounds like a fantastic evening to me!

Guess that's enough rambling for now. I should probably continue cleaning, or do my paper, or something

So today I went to class, then work. I made $45, which is pretty good for a lunch shift. I'm happy to report this After work I went to the craft store to use one of my gift cards. I ended up buying some beading stuff. I got a set that came with 2 kinds of pliers and wire-cutters, as well as these fancy tweezers. Also I bought some beads, wire, and this 3-clasp thingy. I know no technical names for anything, I just bought what looked good together. I wanted to make myself a bracelet.

After my night class, I did it. It didn't take me very long, which is nice. I'm used to having to spend days crocheting something. This was a bit trying for my first time, but I think it turned out great. It's so very "me." And I have plenty of beads and wire left for other projects as well. I have to say it was money well-spent. Here's a picture, let me know what you think!:



So now I'll have to add jewelry to my repetoire of things I can make to sell. Woo hoo!

So I've been doing a LOT of thinking about my future and what I want to do with it. I've come to the conclusion that I'm pretty stressed about the level of debt I've already accumulated. And the closer I get to graduating, the more I dread spending 6+ more years in school pursuing my PhD. I've thought about my options, and what I've been feeling lately, and I think I may change courses again in life.

From the 3rd grade on, I've been starting "businesses." In 3rd grade, a friend of mine and I made paper bookmarks and sold them to classmates for dimes. In the 6th grade, friends of mine and I started a "beadie baby" business.. making bead animals and turning them into jewelry. We made a decent amount for 6th graders. haha. Toward the end of middle school I picked up babysitting and networked my way into quite a few summer jobs. At the end of highschool, I started playing music and marketing myself to coffee shops, on the internet, etc. So I think it's safe to say that I'm a business minded person.

Now I'm attempting to do crafty things and sell them again (though it's been a slow start). But I think later in life I'd like to start my own *real* business. I've always loved the thought of owning my own restaurant, or lately, hookah bar. haha. But this is a long-term goal. I think it sprung from an idea I had a few weeks ago.

I love this site. I love working with money. I love keeping track of every penny I earn/spend, and I love researching new ways to make money on my money, save the money I have, and find new ways to make more. When I was a business major initially, I loved my accounting course. It was easy for me, and incredibly practical.

So I'm thinking about getting my master's in accounting after I graduate in the fall. It's a funny idea, considering I'd be going full-circle (I switched majors umpteen times, and yet started out as a business major). I dont need to have a BA in accounting to get in the program, it's about 2 years to get the degree, there is a scholarship that would grant me full tuition plus stipends. And I would be certain to get a job.

I think I'd like to start my own consulting business. I'd like to do what I do for me, but for other people. Businesses or personal instances. I think it sounds like something I would be great at, and it's something that wont take me a decade to achieve.

Actually, the program I'm looking at has the possibility of starting in the spring, so if I started it next spring (the semester after graduating), I'd be almost done with the program by the time BF gets home from Iraq. Not only that, but I'd stay in my hometown, something I'm keen on doing because my family/friends are all here.

Also, I figure if I go the PhD route, the interest on my already ridiculous loans will double my debt by the time I get a job. Not to mention, if I go ahead and get my master's in psych, I wont find a program with tuition waiving, and jobs wont be quite as available.

I'm becoming really reluctant to stay in school that long. I want to start my life. I want to be a grownup (finally). I want to start a family. I never expected to hear those things come out of my mouth, but I underestimated how important these things are to me.

Well, that's enough rambling. I'm still reviewing my options. I just needed to get it down. Let me know if you guys think I'm crazy (which I am, but some encouragement wouldn't hurt! haha).

Hope everyone has a great night!

So my 3-day weekend was alright... until yesterday, when a nasty little sore throat popped up. That little sore throat turned into a bigger sore throat today, and I feel not so great. I think I can sit through my classes, but I sound awful when I talk, and I'm sure my employer doesn't want me coughing all over peoples' food. The sad truth really is that I cant afford to not work. So I have no idea what I'm going to do.

I'm hoping that it gets a little better over the next few hours. Sickness always seems to be worse when you just wake up. Who knows, in the next few hours it could get a little better. I'm going to hold out until my morning class is over, maybe take a hot shower, drink more tea, gargle salt water, probably take some cold medicine.

This really is a letdown. I hope it ends soon. If it ends up spanning through the week I could be in big trouble. ugh. Not only may I have to take a couple days off work, but it's my birthday on thursday. While I dont have any plans made yet, I was intending to, and that could be ruined by this nasty cold. I guess we'll see.

The weekend was rather inexpensive. Aside from spending $10 at the grocery store, I didn't spend a dime. It's looking like it's going to be a similar situation this week. I just hope I'll be making money as well as saving it... sigh.

Hope everyone has a great day. I'm going to try and get through mine.

Well, first and foremost I want to thank everyone for the kind and encouraging words. I can definitely use any spirit anyone wants to throw at me Some responses to some of the questions, though:

I did talk to the financial aid office. The problem is that my home school in PA doesn't do any type of student aid during the summers, so that's a no-go. I would take a lesser courseload this semester, but if I did I would have to move back to PA and it would end up being much more costly, because the tuition at the university I'm attending now is half the cost of my home instiution (which is a private university). Not to mention, the cost of living out there is far more expensive than here.

As far as the CC is concerned, it will absolutely be last resort. I hope to apply for a couple more loans before my July 11 deadline, but in the case that I dont get approved for these either, I want to have as much money saved up as possible. If I do get approved? I'm putting all the saved money toward my CC to pay it off, because the interest is likely higher than any loan I would be approved for.

If I couldn't get approved for a loan with my mom as a co-signer, I'm fairly certain they wouldn't approve her for a PLUS loan, so unfortunately that idea is out. Besides, my mom doesn't want another loan. She has plenty of her own! haha.

Yes, yes it is a lot of money to come up with in a short amount of time. But I cant think in "what if I dont come up with the money" terms. I need to make/get the money. Period. If I cant it means really crappy consequences. Such as moving back to PA, and possibly not being able to get the financing in the fall for the remainder of my classes, which would be catastrophic. I'm only taking one class in the fall, which means my tuition, even though it will be through my home institution, will be a fraction of what I would spend on an entire semester. I'll have stafford loans in the fall that I'll get from the government, so I should have no problem paying for it. It's this semester that is the problem. If I cant take these classes this semester, I'll have to take them in the fall, and I certainly wont be able to $10k in the fall if I cant come up with $4k this summer.

debtfreeme-- I was thinking about continuing the editing. How did you get notice? Did you advertise? Post on craigslist? Etc? Just curious.

frugaltexan--I could do a market research group, but considering my aversion to needles, plasma donating is not in the cards. lol. Even though there's a center right down the street... I'm definitely cutting back on groceries (and everything else) for the time being.

Now, that all being said...

I sold a book on amazon. Yay! I made $14.40, which will be more like $11 after shipping costs. Every little bit helps!

I also finished proofreading and editing that paper last night. 58 pages, but my $100 check will be in the mail today according to my friend, so I should be getting that fairly soon.

Yesterday was a no-spend. I'm not going to track money associated with these anymore because basically all my money is going into my savings for the time being.

I also spent some time last night in adobe photoshop and indesign coming up with an identity for this crafting/selling I want to do. I opened up an etsy shop and made a myspace page that both (I think) look pretty good. Now I just need to make some stuff and list it. I'll be stopping by mom's tonight to pick up some yarn, and possibly the sewing machine. If nothing else, some sewing supplies. I have an idea for the first peice I want to make. Time to get started on it.

If anyone wants to check the myspace page and let me know what you think of how it looks, that would be great. I designed the logo and the banner. Blood, sweat, and tears!

www.myspace.com/reducereuserestyle

Everyone have a great day!

So I went over to mom's yesterday and we added her as a cosigner on my student loan. Still no approval. Sigh. It's really strange to me that Sallie Mae has approved me for $30k in loans over the past few years on a standalone basis, but when I try to get a loan for only $4k, I cant even get approved with a cosigner. So I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to pay for classes this summer.

What worries me more is that the same thing might happen in the fall. The only good thing is that I'm only taking one class at my university, rather than a whole semester- which means a fraction of the cost of my private school education. With my stafford loans I should be able to cover most of it. That bridge will be crossed when I come to it, however. I need to start worrying about now.

So what to do? The only thing I can really do right now is go on the payment plan. That means a downpayment of $200, which isn't so bad, but then only 2 payments of the rest- which means 2 payments of $1754... over the next 3 months... I haven't sat down to figure out the numbers yet, but it's pretty clear that there's no way I'm going to be able to come up with almost $2k each month.

I can max out my CC for the first payment, and it'll cover most of it. The downpayment I can do out of pocket. It's just getting to the second payment that is going to be tricky, but I still have some numbers to work through, and mom and BF both said they would help as much as they can.

Either way, I have to go attend this class. I better appreciate it this time. It's going to be a royal pain in the butt to get it paid for, and it's not going to be just signed off on a loan I dont have to think about until graduation. Bah.

Today is my day off. School starts tomorrow, so it's going to be a hectic schedule all week. I have class 8:00-9:30am, then work from 10:30-2:30pm, then school again from 6:00-8:00pm. Bah. At least I live close to campus.

BF and I rode our bikes to his parent's house, then went to breakfast with his sister. We're going over to his brother's house this evening for dinner. I was hoping to do some laundry at some point, might take it over there. Or I could just suck it up and do it here later. I've only got about one load I need to get done by tomorrow. Maybe if we get done with dinner early enough I can swing by mom's and do it there, and get the loan stuff all taken care of. That may be something to think about.

Work last night was long. I really dont care for working dinner shifts. I make more money, but really not that much more that I believe it's worth being out that late. I was exhausted last night, and I still only made $50. That's really not that great for a saturday night dinner shift. I made almost $40 the other day at lunch. The good news is that this week I'm working all lunch shifts, mon-fri. So I have my saturday off That'll be nice. 2 days in a row off. Mmmm. I may have to make a visit out to PA. Maybe.

I need to go to the bank tomorrow. And to the library. I have to return some books. I have to pick up the one that mom borrowed, though. It'll be no problem.

I have to buy some of my books tomorrow for the classes that start. I can pick up the rest later in the summer when they start. I think I'm going to put them on my CC for now. Until mom and dad give me some money. It's really great that they're paying for my books. I think this is only the second time, but it's so nice of them.

At any rate, I think I'm going to go take a nap before we head over to BF's brother's. Everyone have a great sunday!

Well, yesterday I called mom and she said she would co-sign. She got approved to buy a car last week, so I imagine her credit will be good enough to make me eligible for the loan. So this weekend or monday we're going to take care of that.

I worked the patio bar last night (bartending). It went well. I'm a novice bartender, but the selections we had were far lesser than the ones in the main bar downstairs, so I did okay. It wasn't very busy, but the regular that was there kept giving me $5 tips on his drinks and buying everyone at the bar (the whole 5 of them) drinks, so I ended up making about $51 for the night. Not bad for how dead it was. I expect it to get much better.

After work I didn't go out. BF and our friends met me there and we had a drink before I went home and crashed. I was quite sleepy.

Today is my little sister's 14th birthday party out at the campsite. That's at 2, and should be fun. I have work again at 6:30 tonight. I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I feel like I've been working my butt off this week.

My friend sent me her friend's paper to proofread, so I'll probably spend the better part of tomorrow doing that. Not sure how she's going to pay me, but I'm sure we can figure something out. I started skimming it, and it's not nearly as bad as she played it up to be. When she said that she made lots of mistakes because she was foreign, I expected a really intense job. But from what I've seen, she writes very intelligently, and very well. I dont imagine it to be very difficult. Seems it's going to be an easy $100

Well, I better get going. I've got to get ready for this party!

Well, I went and got that class changed yesterday, so my schedule is all set. But I had to call Sallie Mae today to see about getting a loan for my summer classes. Here I thought there would be no problem. But apparently I'm unable to get a loan without a cosigner now. I dont really understand why. I have up until this point (though I'm paying for it dearly with ridiculous interest rates). This really sucks, because I dont have a cosigner. Mom would do it, but I know her credit is terrible, so I dont understand how that would help me. So I need to figure out a cosigner, or I need to put the first half of the cost on my CC and come up with another $1753.45 by mid July. Not going to be an easy task... I'll just have to talk to mom and see what we can do.

I also priced my books today. Depending on whether or not I can get them used, they'll run me anywhere from $327-$436. Mom and dad both offered to buy the books, so I'm going to have to take them up on that offer.

I worked the lunch shift today. I'm supposed to go in again later at 7:30 to do the dinner shift. I hope I make more tonight than I did this morning...

Seems I should be a little tighter on the budget even more than expected. This money stuff really bugs me sometimes. Sigh.

On the upside, BF came home last night and was totally surprised and super happy because I cleaned and reorganized the apartment. I got a lot done, and I was really excited to have more counterspace and be able to see both the bedroom AND living room floors

Welp, gonna go take a nap before my next shift. Hope everyone has a great night!

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!

I have love/hate relationship with mondays. On one hand, I love the concept of having a fresh start, a new week. At the same time, however, mondays are my long days. I'm on campus 11:00am-9:00pm. Sigh. Today has been relatively okay, however.

I packed my lunch this morning, and hopped the bus to go downtown. I had to stop at the bank to get cash because I'm not able to use my debit card to buy my bus pass. I sat down yesterday and calculated out the least expensive way to handle my transportation this month, and it seems that buying a bus pass was the cheapest route. So I bought one this morning.

Other than that, I have to buy dinner tonight, which will come out of my "food on campus" budget-- something I decided to reintroduce because I'm on campus so late on mondays. I figured it was better than taking that $5 or so a week out of my entertainment budget (part of the reason I went over budget in that category for march). I know it's technically still March, but I wanted to start fresh this week entirely, so here were are, pseudo-April

I thought I was going to boycott using my CC for the moment, but unfortunately I have to pay a registration fee for a conference I'm presenting at in August-- it's super important, and is going to look fabulous on my resume, but it's still $250 out of pocket, just for registration. Boo. That'll be going on my CC, but other than that, the boycott continues.

I'm sending a job application in soon for a home-care position for mentally handicapped children. I'm pretty excited about it, and think it will be invaluable experience for me as a future psychologist (possibly child psychologist). So cross your fingers, everyone!

At any rate, I have tons to do, and never enough time, so everyone have a great day!

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!

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!

The last few days have been real downers. I'm not sure if it's just being burnt out at school or BF being away with so very little contact, but it's been rough regardless.

Today started the same way, though I had a little break last night (I made popcorn and watched "The Big Lebowski"-- which I got from the library, for free, as a side note!). I was tired, grumpy, etc. I decided before my psych club meeting to get some chunky monkey to cheer me up-- you gotta love $5 pints of icecream :/ I felt it necessary to get *something* special. And thankfully, it worked! lol. I dont think it was only that (by the way, I only ate about 1/4 the pint... I donated the rest to a friend!). I also talked to my mama, and it happened to be both daylight AND sunny when I caught the bus for home. That most certainly brightened my day

So not a no-spend day, but a low-spend day nonetheless. Tonight a friend is coming over to work out with me. I figured that with less than 2 months before my beach vacation getting in shape isn't going to hurt... then we're going to spend the rest of the night studying... something I need to do. I have a big test on thursday. Seems like it's going to be a good night!

I've been sticking to my meal plan as well. So that freezer is slowly but surely getting a dent! And at this rate, the grocery bill is going to be relatively low for the next couple weeks. woo!

The only other financial news I have is that the ticket eating machine on the bus today was broken, so I got my ride home for free I guess port authority came through for me once afterall! Night guys!

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!

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!

I dont get it. Still no reimbursement check. And now the student government screws things up and the bus subsidies are no longer quite as substantial... I'm going to have to pay $60 instead of $45 each month for a bus pass... ugh. What else can go wrong?

Who knows.

Other than that, I've been doing really well not doing any uneccesary spending. Well, except yesterday I got dinner with friends. I only spent $9, but that was still money I shouldn't have spent. I guess you have to live a little though. I didn't put it on the credit card either. I get to send off my internet bill tomorrow because I picked up my paycheck and it just covers it. Thankfully I get my last paycheck here on friday, so I may have cash to buy groceries too. Yippie! haha.

I have been good with tracking how much I'm spending as well. The weekend got a bit shaky. I guess there was some uneccesary spending there too. I spent $20 at the hookah bar. I of course have my own hookah at home... but it was fun nonetheless to go out with my friend. We dont do it nearly enough. BF paid for just about everything else this past weekend, which of course made me feel awful. But I really cant afford anything right now, and he knows that.

This weekend hopefully will be a bit less expensive. Thursday night BF and I are going out with a group of friends to a tiny comedy club downtown that I didn't know existed and apparently only costs $3 to get in. That's pretty sweet. Friday night there are people coming over to my apt to smoke the hookah and eat and drink. That should be pretty low-cost. We have to buy some shisha, but aside from that, we're set. It's the remainder of the weekend that will be tricky. We tend to go out to eat way too much when BF is in town. I'm going to have to cap down on that.

Good news, though. I think I've found a roommate. I may have already mentioned it, but it looks like it's going to be a for sure thing.

Oh, and I think I'm moving to Ohio for the summer! This is going to be substantially cheaper than living here in PA. I'll probably stay with BF for the few months. And possibly go to school as well, I worked some numbers today and it seems that I can save a couple thousand dollars in educational costs by going a semester in Ohio, if my university will let me. I have some people to talk to tomorrow.

Oh, and BF got the job he applied for!

Oh, and I got a 100% on an exam I took last week!

So I guess there's some happy stuff hidden in here too

So I finally sat down today and worked out my budget for the next few months. It's going to be incredibly tight, but I think I can pull off stretching my loan money until I get a new job. Why? Because I quit today. Something about soliciting people for money over the phone just doesn't jive with me. And dreading work on your 5th day just doesn't seem right. Call me crazy...

So that's good news. The bad news is that I'm still waiting on that check, though it should be here soon. Hopefully REALLY soon. I have my internet bill to pay...

I sold a game yesterday and rolled some change. I also get my paycheck (one of two) tomorrow. I need to get that into my account, because I need to buy a bus pass and groceries! I've been shopping at Giant Eagle for the last couple weeks because I haven't been able to touch my checking account and Aldi doesn't accept credit cards. I'll have enough cash to shop at Aldi this week, which will help quite a bit.

I've got my grocery list all planned out and my dinners planned for the week. Should be a light grocery bill.

Me and a couple friends are having a girl's night tomorrow, which I'm pretty excited about It's been a while, and I'm stoked. I just need to watch the spending a bit. BF is coming down on Saturday to stay for a couple nights too. It gets a bit pricey when he's in town... we tend to dine out a lot. I'm gonna have to let him know that we'll be cooking at home for the most part, well, unless he wants to cover dinner

I'm looking forward to not wanting to rip the hair out of my head. I've been so exhausted for the last couple weeks. I really dont have 12 hours a week to put into something not my studies. And my studies have suffered. Because I haven't had as much time, because I get stressed and can do less work, because when I'm tired I get cranky and my relationship suffers, which stresses me out more. lol. It's just not worth it. I'll find a job sometime later in the semester. As long as I have one by may I'll be fine. And by May 1 I'll be living in an area with much more to offer in the way of job options. I'll find something at least for the summer.

For now I'm just happy things are back to normal and I can continue focusing on school

Well then... It's been a while. I think September was my last entry, and I can definitely say a lot has changed. So... here goes.

In October I quit my job at the restaurant. I decided that investing more time in school was worth the lack of paycheck, and I began living on student loans. I still think it was the best decision I could have made. The rest of my semester went wonderfully, and there are exciting things going on in the educational world of Tara.

I never did get a car. The BF continued pressuring, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was a terrible idea. After quitting my job, there was no way to do it anyhow, so I still remain without car.

The biggest news yet: BF and I broke up. Thanksgivingtime. It was long in coming, and the best thing I could have done. Cant say it wasn't messy, but we're finally at a point where we can talk and be civil, so I'm a bit happier about it all.

He moved out that week, so I've been living alone since. I've been having a terrible time finding a roomie because I live so far outside of the city. The problem is, however, that I cant pay my bills without getting a job because not even my student loans will cover the cost *sigh*. Lease is up May 1. Counting down the days...

I spent the entirety of my winter break at home with family and old friends. I mooched off my parents, which was cool, and also kindled sparks with a very old friend, who is now the new BF as of Christmas[dont waste any time, do I??]. Things are going very well at the moment, though I'm busier than ever. Not only do I have mounds of schoolwork to do, but now I try and get it all done during the week, because new BF lives in Ohio.

I move to PA to be with boyfriend, break up with boyfriend, then get new boyfriend in OH. Sweet irony.

People ask me if I'm going to move back to Ohio. Likely not, because I love my education here way too much (despite the fact that I could get one far cheaper in Ohio). The fact of the matter is that I'm in a terrific program that is everything I could ever want. And I've only got til the fall and I'm finished. If only I could decide what I want to do after I graduate... haha.

So I mentioned the roomie problem. Yeah, well that's still going on. I got a few interested parties, all of whom were male and strangers. Needless to say I'm still rather apprehensive, and no one has offered to move in. Thus, as of last week, I started at a new job.

I'm a phone-canvasser for a political non-profit/advocacy group trying to push through environmental legistlature. It's $11/hr, with potential bonus after 3 months, and I like it so far. Not my preference above all, but it's good money and it's a good cause. I get to work anywhere from 3-5 nights a week, and it works with my schedule.

The only downside is I dont get home til 10:30 every night. Last week was fairly tiring, but you'll have that. Gotta pay the bills! I'm hoping things work out with the job, and I dont completely lose my sanity. I really didn't have 12 hours a week to sacrifice, but it could be worse, I'm sure. And I dont really have a choice in the matter.

Still super involved at school, and I'm having a fantastic semester thus far.

The only trouble I'm running into now is financial (obviously). I'm still waiting on my loan check and W-2. I need to get my tax refund soon because I need to pay off some of my credit card (which I've been living on due to the delay on my loan check... ugh). Not to mention, I had to practically re-furnish my apt, so a trip to IKEA got me a futon, a coffee table and seating cushions, a small dining room table and 2 chairs, a lamp, and about $500 more debt. That tax refund is going toward all that. Yay fun.

I am happy to report, however, that I'm still on my parent's insurance and have managed to get new glasses for relatively cheap, and went to the dentist for the first time in 2 years now, for free, and had no cavities! woo!

So yeah, as soon as this loan check comes in I'll be listing some goals and refiguring my spreadsheets. I just need to know what I'm working with in order to budget. So wish me luck. I'm a busy, busy girl! haha.

Hope all is well with everyone, and I look forward to getting back into the groove of things!