Just Keep Swimming.

It's only tuesday, and it's already a productive week I love it! Wrote a few articles yesterday. I also conducted a couple interviews via phone for an article I'll be writing here in the next few days. This freelancing gig is treating me relatively well these days. Let's hope it keeps up!

Published a few articles within the last couple days:

Inexpensive Ways to Spend Time with Your Kids
Guide to Cleaning Grout: Make your life less stressful
Daily Haiku: An Ode to the Writer

I also put together the budget for April, and I'm well on the way to a good month, I think. I have good feelings about it...

It's certainly going to be an even busier week than it already has been, with all the writing on my plate, school stuff, and a holiday weekend (not only Easter, but my roomie's cousin from England coming to town-- it's going to be a regular drinkfest).

I'm trying to keep the spending down this week considering what a pricey weekend it was. I think I'll be able to manage, however. It seems I tend to get into the bit spending when it comes to restaurants... go figure

Well, it's back to work for me. I hope everyone has a fabulous Tuesday!

Alrighty. Well, my "April" started today, so I figured I would do the breakdown of the month... as I said in previous posts, I went to Columbus this weekend. I ended up having a wonderful time, though I spent a bit more money than I had anticipated. Regardless, I have no regrets... my March was pretty excellent financially. Here is the breakdown:

March Goals:

[ ] Stay under budget
[x] Dont spend any money on clothes
[x] Pay off laptop 3/1
[x] Pay off tuition
[x] Don't use CC at all
[x] Write at least 12 articles this month
[ ] $50 max spending w/ BF per week
[x] Keep track of finances all month
[x] Put at least $500 in savings

March Budget:



As you can see, I was $34.79 over budget. What you don't see here, however, is that I put $764.77 into my savings account this month So I really cant beat myself up too bad...

I made $50 more this month than I thought I would writing, so that's excellent. I'm hoping it to be even higher in these coming months.

In bad news, my hours got cut at work. The good news is, however, that I'll still be making about the same as I had anticipated, due to cutting my hours back for army training starting the 18th. So my budget is more or less unaffected for the next 2 months. I may start looking for another job once I get a car this summer, however.

Other than all that, there really is nothing new. Just busy with writing and getting everything set for later this month. It seems through networking and a bit of internet research that I'm getting some really great leads for freelancing. All very exciting stuff. I hope everyone had an equally wonderful weekend! Take care everyone!

Here it is! The weekend is upon us! Very exciting, as I have quite a bit planned. Tonight going swimming at the rec with the BF. We're staying the night at his place, and driving to Columbus tomorrow afternoon to go see the Crew game (woo!). Hopefully the weather will be nicer there than it is here... snow?? Bleh...

I published a couple more on AC:

Daily Haiku Poem: Ohio Spring
Games that Strengthen Mental Acuity

Got another lead for a freelance job... so that's again good news I'm calling him today.

Other than that, no real news. Just a packed schedule! I did put more $ into my savings account yesterday-- more revenue from writing. I'm now up to $74 in articles this month, and $796.77 in my savings! I feel I'm making excellent progress

Mom got into quite a predicament changing jobs, and now has none... so that sucks, and I'm sure will be a big stress on her. I'm hoping things will pan out and I'm keeping an eye out for her. Said she has an interview tuesday, so I'm crossing my fingers.

Not sure what I'm going to do as far as the budget goes this week... it's one of those funky months where the last week half falls in the next month. So I'm not sure if I'm going to just stick it out through the 31st, or if I'm just going to start April's budget this week. I have about $2 left in the grocery budget, so there's no way I would stick to it this way.

At any rate, I hope everyone has a wonderful day and weekend

Well, thinks are coming along just nicely. It's been a terribly busy week, but very productive nonetheless. Thanks to some great networking I've done, I've found a couple other places to submit my work (better paying too) and all sorts of great stuff

Articles Published today:

Top 5 Family Movies that Send Good Messages to Our Kids
Daily Haiku Poem: Colorblind

As soon as I get paid for my last 2 articles, I'm going to transfer that money from my paypal into my savings account. I love progress

I'm very much looking forward to this weekend... taking a trip to Columbus to see the opening Crew game. I'm really hoping that the weather isn't too crappy. I want to get some nice photos and not sit in rain. bleh.

Hit the rec yesterday with a friend, and worked out: 10 min on the elliptical machine (which usually doesn't kick my butt so hard), and ran a mile on the track outside. I definitely need to get in shape... lol

Regardless, time to get back to work! Hope you all have a great day.

Well, all sorts of news abounds in the Freelance writing world! I managed to network with another freelancer in my area, and she gave me some insight to other places to publish and find work. I found one gig that pays significantly more, and is more of a one time thing It seems this can be even more lucrative than it already is!

So next month I'll dabble even more into this whole freelance writing gig. I did publish a couple articles on AC today:

Daily Haiku Poem: Ping Pong
Top 10 Songs by Radiohead

Things are coming along nicely! Other than working, writing, and all that jazz, I'm hitting up the Rec with a friend of mine after work today, which will be a good time and get me some exercise in for the day

Packed lunch for BF and myself today, so I wont be spending any money on that. Yay for cheap!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and enjoying the sunshine if they have it (we do-- so exciting)! Later guys!

So yesterday I managed to hit a yoga class AND swim laps at the pool after work-- which was much harder than expected. Who knew swimming laps would be so much harder than floating around the lazy river?

Consequently, I'm feeling pretty sore today! It's a good feeling... makes me feel like I actually did something. lol.

Today has been pretty ho-hum. Woke up entirely too early to get my day started. Wrote an article and submitted. By the time I finished, it was about time to work! So that's what I've been doing!

Only published a couple articles as of yesterday:

Daily Haiku Poem: Love in Spring
How to find a tree service you can trust

Hopefully I'll publish a couple more in the next few days

I did get an offer to submit a much higher value article... about Cleveland. I wish I had a bit more experience with the city (I'm in Akron), but I'm certainly willing to take a trip up there to do some research! The article is $50... which is much higher than my usual $2-4. lol. We'll see if I have time...

It's such a nice feeling... every time I publish an article I get a bit closer to my goals. I do so love achieving those goals!

Alrighty, back to work. Hope everyone has a great day!

I work on the internet-- mostly through social networking sites, and my internet has been running like crap. Consequently, most of the work I did today is for naught. So frustrating!

In other news, I published a couple more articles today... so things are moving along nicely.

Daily Haiku: Spring Break is Over
Neverland (also a poem)
Conversion and Other Somatoform Disorders

In other news, I was getting frustrated about this army training next month due to transportation, and having to pay everything out of pocket to begin with (I would be reimbursed, but still). BF mentioned a really awesome option: buying a bike while I'm out there to use for transportation. Not only would it be far less expensive than renting a car for a month, but I'm thinking the army may pay for it. Mind you, I mean a bicycle, not motorcycle. lol.

I love riding. A lot. And the idea of getting to ride around on bike trails in AZ and use it as my main form of transportation is really exciting. Hell, I'll ship it back to Ohio in the end... I've wanted a new one anyway

So that's certainly an exciting prospect.

Going to the rec after work on campus today. Going to swim some laps... I really need to get in shape. Then class. Joy of joys, so much to do til the end of the semester!

Speaking of which, I better get back to work Hope everyone has a great night!

Well, I'm done playing army for the weekend! Whew! Now back to the grind. Got a bit of homework done, but there is much more to go... it's going to be a long night, and an even longer week.

In good news, however, I hit $50 income in article writing for the month And still more yet to come... very exciting! Here are the 2 articles that put me over the top:

Hook, Line, and Drinkers: Excellent Bar and Restaurant in Ak...
Welcome to the Music Industry- A beginners Guide to Independ...

I went grocery shopping, and I'm still under budget for the month. I only spent $23.51- because I have so much left over from last week. I basically bought stuff for lunches over the week. And stuff for dinner last night. Very nice.

Hopefully we'll keep up the low-spending trend. If I do through this week, I will be under budget for the first time really EVER. lol. Crossing my fingers...

Hope everyone had a good weekend, and has an equally good week! Later, all

Well, it is yet again another beautiful day... and it's FRIDAY-- which happens to be the topic of today's daily haiku:

Friday Haiku

Today is also payday, so I did a little money managing... namely to put another $100 in my savings account. That makes $756.43 total, and only $443.60 to go to make my goal of $1200! This is going to be used to pay first month's rent/safety deposit when I move out either June or July. I cant believe I'm so close already! I absolutely love reaching goals.

This weekend is drill, so I will likely not be spending too much money... though it's my roomie's b-day today, so I'll be going out to dinner with friends tonight. Sushi... Mmmm...

Regardless, I cant believe spring break is almost over I feel like I got a lot accomplished as far as writing goes, but not nearly enough school work done... ah well. That just means I have to work harder over the next month.

Here are some articles I published yesterday. Hope you enjoy

Gender Roles in Disney's New Alice in Wonderland
Is Music Mastering Important?

I've been funneling the revenue I recieve from my articles right into that savings account, so reading is for a good cause lol. I dont really make much on page views, as I dont get nearly enough to make anything substantial. But I appreciate anyone who takes the time to read anything I post. You guys are great!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Well, it's another gorgeous day here in Ohio, and I'm getting a whole lot done! A bunch of writing... published a few more articles yesterday-- and I'm one article away from hitting $40 for the month! That's double what I budgeted for. Very exciting! Here are a few of the articles posted yesterday:

Building Relationships by Managing Money as a Couple
Tips and Advice for Paying off Student Loans while still in ...
The International Baccalaureate Program: Is it worth it?

And today's daily haiku is about ZOMBIES lol.

Zombie Haiku

Today it's lookin like BF and I are going to be going for a hike. We've been taking the soccer ball to the park for the last 2 days, as it's been incredibly warm. Gotta love those *free* activities!

Hope everyone is having as good a week as I am!

Not sure the 2 are related, but ya know lol. It is indeed St. Patrick's day. What are my plans? Nada. Going to the park to kick around a soccer ball with BF after work (it's absolutely gorgeous outside). We're also going to the Rec center on campus. And very likely making dinner at my house. Because I spent quite a bit on groceries yesterday... $46.72, which I guess isn't terrible, though I got a few unecessaries (a bag of reese's cups and Starbucks Java Chip icecream. Mmm). This is why you should never go grocery shopping hungry! lol.

Regardless, working and writing today. I did my daily Haiku poem on St. Patty's Day Take a look if you'd like!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Everyone be safe and have fun!

So I'm plugging away at my goals. Wrote my 12th article this month yesterday I'm trying to surpass it by quite a bit. Published a few new articles within the last couple days:

Teen Love: Giving Healthy Relationship Advice to your Childr...
Best Bikini Swimsuits for 2010
New Super Mario Bros. Wii: In the Bubble and Out of the Time...

And my daily haiku for tuesday

Haiku: Inspiration

Other than that, I'm just enjoying a rather inexpensive spring break. I spent a lot of time last night writing-- working towards those goals of mine. I'm trying to funnel all of the income I get from writing into my savings account... which put me up another $16 yesterday. I'm hoping make a bit more before the close of the month.

That's about it! I'm going grocery shopping either tonight or tomorrow (likely tomorrow). Tonight there's a free yoga class I'm going to drag BF to. That should be a lot of fun

Either way, I hope you all have a great day and I'll post again soon!

I know, I'm the only one that likes mondays. I love the idea of a fresh start... and I've got some lofty goals for this week.

I wrote my daily haiku poem about mondays, actually. If you want, you can read it

here.

Financially, just trying to keep up with these articles, and promotion of them. I'm 2 articles away from my goal for the month. But it's looking like I'm going to surpass my goal and then some

I'm going to the rec center on campus after work. That's a free activity, and great for me I'm also going with a friend, so it's a social activity as well.

Sometime within the next couple days I have to hit the grocery store, though I have some stuff left over from last week, so it shouldn't be too hard a hit on the wallet.

That's about it for today. Things are going well. I hope that's the case for all of you as well

So the weekend was a bit spendy, but I think it could have been much worse.

BF and I had a date night friday, which was incredibly well worth the money. We did dinner and a movie, and it's been about a month since we went anywhere to get dinner (except fast food here and there). Saw the new Alice movie, and it was alright.

The remainder of the weekend we didn't do too bad. Went to lunch with friends that were visiting from out of town. Had to pick up my prescription, but thankfully I get it discounted, so it's only $36 for 3 months. Woo!

Cooked dinner at home saturday night, and it was just delicious... at our local grocery store, I can buy 4 frozen tilapia fillets for about $3. I marinated them in this hawaiian luau marinade... and used a bit of pineapple juice and coconut milk instead of the oil and vinegar it calls for. Broiled the fish (my new favorite cooking method). Then I made a sort of relish or salsa... whatever you want to call it. lol. It was basically diced mango, pineapple (canned), black beans (canned), corn (canned), and sauteed diced onion. Added a bit of salt and pepper and it was fantastic. All that with a side of sauteed asparagus with garlic... Mmm. Not too pricey either, and I like that most of the ingredients are either canned or frozen-- not because of the salt, obviously, but because I dont have to fear all of it going bad.

It's spring break, and I'm going to make a conscious effort not to spend too much. Thankfully, I have PLENTY of homework to keep me busy, and work. I've also got drill this coming weekend, so I'm sure that'll help.

Other than that, just published a couple more articles:

A Review: Dockside Sea Grille in West Palm Beach

And a couple poems:

About Love: A Haiku
Spring: A Haiku
Post-Modern Joe

Hope everyone has a great week!

So a few goals have been met...

Got my tax refund today and immediately paid my tuition, so that's one debt gone! From now on, it's saving up for moving and paying off the CC. It's going to be a strong campaign, so let's hope it goes well

In other goal-reaching news, I put added $20 to my budget for article-writing revenue this month, and I surpassed it yesterday. I'm not even halfway through the month, so that's great I've published a couple in the last few days. Here are some links if you wanna check them out:

Easy and Delicious Camping Recipes
The Best Beer is Microbrewed: America's Top Eleven Breweries

I haven't quite hit my goal for 12 articles, per se, but I'm getting there. I believe I'm at 9 currently. So just a few more I'm working on my networking and exposure as well-- as the more views I get, the more I make also.

Today I'm going to lunch with my boss, which will be nice. I haven't seen him in months. Then after work I've got a busy, yet enjoyable night ahead of me. Going to the rec center on campus first with BF, we're going to utilize the free swimming pool. Then we're going to make dinner together, and finally go see Alice I love date nights, and it shouldn't be too expensive given we're cooking at home. Love it!

What a fabulous day for achieving goals! Hope everyone is being equally as productive!

Well, it's been a busy publishing week! AC accepted another article:

Surviving a Long Distance Relationship

Other than that, just working today! I'm writing another article to submit. Trying to do one a day. I've already made $10 this month... hoping to meet my goal of $20, and I don't see it being a problem.

I went grocery shopping yesterday, and I'm still well within budget-- I was a few dollars over for this week, but I was about $15 under last week, so it's more than balanced out.

Today is wednesday, which means coffee with the BF after class tonight

Well, vacation came and went. I very much wish it would have been longer, but it's back to the real world now...

Great news about vacation (other than it being warm and very fun): I budgeted $75, and only spent $23 The family totally spoiled me. But that means $52 more towards savings. I'll be adding that as soon as I deposit the cash I've got on hand.

Three more of my articles got accepted:

*

Dr. Seuss gives us hope for racial equality: The Sneetches
*Surviving Bootcamp: What to Expect
*Top 10 Restaurants in Akron, Ohio

So all together it added up to be $9.65. Hopefully I'll get a decent number of page views! Regardless, every little bit helps. I need to keep writing, though!

I'm supposed to get my tax return friday. Let's cross our fingers! Then the tuition will be paid off. All bills except that one are paid for this month. Woot.

As for today's plans, I'm working, and I'll probably run for a bit on lunch. I need to start getting in shape again. Then after work I'm gonna walk down to the bank and make that deposit. Do homework, then class tonight. Busy busy. I cant believe it's already tuesday. I love 4-day weeks!

In other good news, the SUN IS SHINING. So happy to come home to warmer weather Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Well, I made it to Florida and I'm enjoying my vacation thus far

Dad gave me the money for the ticket-- more than I thought, actually. So this month is gonna be an even better month than I thought. I'm actually not spending a whole lot of money here at all. How fantastic

Today I'm going with my photographer cousin to do a photo shoot-- promo photos for my music! Good stuff. And for no cost. What a great weekend.

Paid $200 on my CC today, and put $200 in my savings. More to come. I have almost every bill paid for the month now. So from here on out it's really just groceries, entertainment spending, and anything else that isn't a fixed expense.

After I get my fed tax return next week, I'll pay the tuition off. Then the rest of my extra income goes to my savings account for my security deposit/moving costs. Then the CC will be paid off quicker.

Alright. Time to get on the move. So much to do today!

Alrighty, wrote another article today,which brings me up to 4 this month That goal is moving along nicely. At this rate, I'll have it covered in 3 weeks! Good stuff... though they did decline one of my articles I wrote last week. It was too specific, wouldn't get enough traffic. I have, however, been reading up on SEO a little more. Both for my article writing and for work (that's what I do at work as well, it's just more specialized and the sites I submit to don't pay). So either way, it's good research to do.

Oh! Here's a link to the article that they accepted earlier this week:

"Be Yourself": Sometimes the Oldest Relationship Advice is t...

As for today, going over to my boss' house to clean. So that'll be a little extra income... even though I'm going to have to cut my workday short :/ I wish he would have had the water turned on Sunday when I went over there... would have avoided this mess. Ah well.

Time constraints as is, I'm going to have to work quickly-- as I have a meeting to complete my intercollege transfer at 5:30, then class. Busy busy busy as usual.

I'm so excited for vacation this weekend. It's so close! I cant wait for the sunshine

Okay. Off to do more work. Everyone have a great night!

So my car is in fact SOLD! And gone, for that matter. lol. I ended up selling it for $500 cash, which is 100 less than I listed it, but 200 more than I would get for it scrap. Not only that, but he did pay cash, and he did come with a trailer to take it away, which basically lifts a weight off my shoulders. It's done.

I lost quite a bit of money on this car, but the fact of the matter is that I got probably the most I could get out of it, and I cant turn back time. One more thing to tick off the list.

In other news, went grocery shopping yesterday. Managed to spend only $25.25. I budgeted $150 for the entire month. That puts me $12.25 under my weekly budget. And I'm pretty sure I'm not going to use everything I bought this week, as I'm going on vacation friday. BUT I am going to eat the highly perishables first.

It's looking like today is going to be a no-spend day Love it. I'm keeping tally of all the days I eat at home and dont eat out (like Wild Blue Yonder's challenge last month). We'll see how many points I can get! Vacation this weekend is going to make it difficult, but we'll see what happens.

I only budgeted $75 for the weekend. I'm hoping I'll be able to make that. I'm only going to take a carry on and purse, so I shouldn't spend any money on baggage. Really, all I'm worried about is food, and dad will likely cover the majority of that. Should be okay.

It feels nice to be in a good place financially, I'm not gonna lie. But I have to keep in mind that even though I have more than enough money to cover my bills this month that I still have quite a bit of saving to do, and debt to pay off. I feel like I'm going to accomplish a lot of goals here in the next few months, though. It feels really nice

Regardless, I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Alright... so I paid off my laptop today And rent. And put up an ad on craigslist for my not-running car... very good. The highest offer I've gotten for scrap is $300. I posted up the ad asking $600, and I've already gotten 5 emails about it. So there's a good chance I'll be able to get what I originally wanted! Woo! I have one person coming to look at it in the morning.

In other news, signed my new card up for National City Points, AND an article got accepted. $3.21. It's been a good financial day

Going grocery shopping here in a few, and that should be really low-key. As I'm going on vacation friday morning, I'll only really need groceries for the next 3 days. So just a few of the basics. It's looking like it's going to be a lot of salads... lol. I'm also going to make sure to get some granola bars for the days I go to campus early. This way I'm not tempted by the vending machines. I'm sure I'll have some of those left over for next week as well.

So it's been a good financial day After grocery shopping it's off to campus for me. Homework, class, then BF is giving me a ride home

[x] Dont use my CC
[x] Pay off $200 on CC
[x] Keep track of finances all month
[ ] Write at least 3 articles per week ll
[x] Minimal entertainment spending.
[x] $50 max spending per week when BF and I are together.

So I accomplished every one of my Feb goals except writing at least 3 articles per week. That's one I can work on more in March. As for being under budget... I didn't have a formal Feb budget set out, but my spending was as follows:

Entertainment: $123.77 (but that includes both my mom's b-day and valentine's day)
Misc: $170.28 (It is only this high because I ended up paying $130 to replace the lens in my glasses)
Groceries: $126.30
Food On Campus: $6.80
Gas: $28.43

All the rest are fixed amounts. Not really too bad. I went through my accounts to see if there is anything I regretted spending the money on, and I came up with nothing. I guess breaking my glasses was incredibly dumb, but aside from that I have no regrets whatsoever.

I hope that March goes as well (actually, better) than Feb did. My goals for this month are as follows:

*Stay under budget
*Don’t spend any money on clothes
*Pay off laptop
*Pay off tuition
*Don’t use CC at all
*Write at least 3 articles per week
*$50 max spending w/ BF per week
*Keep track of finances all month
*Put at least $500 in savings

and my budget is as follows:

Rent $200.00
Car Insurance $0.00
Phone $55.00
Meds (3 months worth) $36.00
Groceries $150.00
Clothes $0.00
Transportation $30.00
Car Repairs $0.00
Entertainment $100.00
School Exp $0.00
Florida Trip $75.00
FOC $0.00
Yoga $10.00
Misc $20.00
CC Payments $200.00

I'll have quite a few sources of additional income this month, so I should in effect not only be able to put $500 in my savings account, but also make a hefty payment on my CC. I know this is a REALLY strict budget, but I think if I stick to my guns I'll be able to manage it alright. I just have to utilize the willpower. lol.

This weekend I didn't spend *too* much. Mostly food... which I guess could have been avoided, but oh well. Stopped at the grocery store to buy the remainder of the ingredients needed for my sweet potato soup, and that ran me about $6, but I also have leftovers... that I'm eating for dinner tonight

Talked to BF today a little bit about money, and he made the comment that he thinks I care about money more than he does.. but also acknowledged that I have a bit more to worry about as well.

It's kind of sad, really. I dont want to care this much about money because I'm not terribly materialistic, and I dont worry about money so much because I want to lead an extravagant life... really, my debt is the only thing that really makes me worry about it so much. The sad thing is that 97% of my debt is due to schooling costs... Not to say that I couldn't have made some smarter choices, but I have a lot of debt that is due to just wanting to go to school and living a pretty low key life.

I explained what really stresses me out is that the possibility of us getting married in the next 5 years or so is pretty high, and I certainly dont want to bring a boatload of debt into the equation, especially considering he really has none. So it's definitely something I think and worry about. I'm just happy that I've gotten to a point where I feel a bit more optimistic about things. I know that my goals for this year will be achieved, and that makes me feel really secure.

At any rate, it's time for me to get some homework done. No more spending today! And I think it's going to be minimal this week. Of course, friday I leave for FLORIDA I budgeted $75 for the weekend. I'm hoping dad is going to cover most of my expenses while I'm there, but I'd much rather over-prepare than under-prepare.

Either way, I'm off. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Alright, filed my taxes... I'll be getting $1185 back from the fed and $151 from the state. Woo! Not only that, but the money sitting in my paypal acct that I had on hand in case I had to pay taxes is available for me to use So it was more like getting a $1500 return.

Of course, all that money is going straight to the financial goals I've got goin on the sidebar. Specifically, it's going to pay off my tuition. Well, most of it anyway. I have money coming from my dad to cover the majority of my flight to Florida next week, and money a friend owes that will likely cover the rest of it.

So that's one debt out of the way. I'll then pay off the laptop and start agressively paying off the CC and putting money in savings. I just have to pay off my tuition before I sign up for summer classes, which I want to do here soon. So that's certainly high on the priority list. The savings are for moving costs and whatnot. I plan on moving out of my roomates' house at the end of may/beginning of June. The BF will be moving in at the end of June, and my cousin is supposed to live with me as well. So I've been scouring craigslist looking at apartments and houses, just to get an idea of what is available. It's looking like a 2 bedroom, I'm shooting for something in the $600 range. I would be okay with a bit more, but not too much more. Still, everything split 3 ways cant be beat.

After I've moved in it will be agressively pay off CC and save for vacation in december. I'm expecting the plane ticket to run me $2500... perhaps a bit less, but I'd rather plan for more. I'm going to get my bonus money after I complete this training, and that will cover the funds for a new car. I cant wait! After the CC is paid and the car is bought, all I have to worry about is those pesky student loans! Oh, student loans...

I'm gonna try and pump out a couple more articles today, because even though I dont get a large sum of money for them, every little bit counts. Cleaning my boss' house on sunday, so I'm expecting at least $40 for that. I do need to go grocery shopping at some point, probably tomorrow. That wont be too bad though. Still have some stuff left from this past week. BF is coming over tonight and we're making soup

So it's been a VERY productive week! I picked up my final w-2 yesterday, so I am finally able to file my taxes! Woo! I'll definitely do that within the next few days. Associated content accepted the article I submitted last week. Only $2.15, but every little bit helps, right? Submitted another yesterday, so I have 2 more to write this week to meet my goal.

In other news, I called Geico and canceled my insurance. I'm getting a refund that I was definitely not expecting, but is very pleasantly surprising So I'll get about $70 back. Also got another call about my car yesterday. I've called about 10 places that buy junk cars and the highest offer I've got so far is $300... but I know I can do better. I think I may post an ad on craigslist and see if I can get anything higher that way.

Other than that, just making a bunch of phonecalls to get my army stuff in order and coordinating with my professors to make sure that I'll get credit for my classes this semester though I'll be gone the last 3 weeks.

I'm going to work remotely while I'm in training, so I'll be banking quite a bit of money. Very exciting. As you can see, I posted up my long(er) term goals on my sidebar, and I have quite a bit to pay for... If I continue paying $200-300/month on my CC, it'll be paid off by the end of the year. That's good! The tuition is a bit more immediate, however, and needs taken care of ASAP. All my tax money will undoubtedly go there. But it looks like my return isn't going to be much more than $1000. Filing this week, so we'll find out for sure!

Alrighty, well, back to work. Everyone have a great day!

p.s. looks like it's gonna be another no-spend day

So nothing terribly exciting to discuss today. Didn't really spend anything yesterday. Scraped together a bunch of change to take the bus to class. Then went to see Colin Powell speak at my university, which was a really good time.

Made dinner at home with BF, and it turned out great.

Called about 10 places yesterday that buy junk cars. It's looking like $300 is going to be the most I'll get out of it. I really dont want to deal with the hassle of getting it fixed (whatever that would run me) and selling it. But perhaps I'll give my mechanic buddy a call and ask his opinion on the situation. I've put more than $300 in repairs over the last 4 months...

As for other financial news, there really isn't any. I'm hoping to make it to the bank this afternoon. I have checks I need to deposit. Should be a no-spend day. Very busy day, though. I have all this homework I have to catch up on because I had drill, and consequently no time to do homework, this past weekend.

Talked to my boss about my training dates getting switched, and I've decided to at least attempt to work 5-10 hours a week on top of my training and whatever extra schoolwork I'll have. I figure if I'm there, staying in a hotel, I'm not really going to go out. I'd rather save the money. I'm going to be busy as it is. Weekends I can spend doing massive amounts of school work and that'll leave me some time during the week to work as well. I work online, remotely, so I can do it from my hotel on the other side of the country as well. lol. Financially, this training is going to be great for me.

So that's it. Time for me to get back to work. Hope everyone is having a great day.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, it seems I've lost track a bit here, so it's time to jump back on the bandwagon. It's the middle of Feb (almost the end, it seems!) and I need to start getting serious about my finances. Given that I want to move out this summer and take a trip probably in december or january, I need to really be cognizant of my spending-- or lack thereof-- to achieve these goals.

BF and I addressed this issue last night. We decided we wanted to come up with some short term goals to work on together, and the only ones we could think of were financial... lol. I guess that's what happens when you're so great for each other We decided to set a cap at how much money we spend together each week-- we decided on $50/week between us. I think we'll be able to manage that easily, but we wanted to set out goals as easily attainable to start.

I got 5 hours back at work, so I'm up to 35. Still no raise, but I put in an application for a part time formal-setting tutoring gig. And I realized that I should utilize that other 5 hours I had lost for money-making purposes, namely writing articles. Sure, one more hour a sleep each night is great, but if I'm going to be dedicated to this, I need to use my time wisely.

So new goal: write at LEAST 3 articles a week. Try and spend as little as possible on entertainment spending.

Car is still not in working (or running) condition. I've been too lazy/disgruntled to do anything about it. Taxes are still not filed, as I'm waiting for my final W-2 (they initially mailed it to the wrong address).

In happy news, I'm taking a trip to Florida the first weekend in March to see my dad (who is also paying for the bulk of the ticket). So that should be a really nice weekend. I'll get to escape the cold for a few days, and see my dad (I haven't in over a year now).

Alrighty, enough yapping. Time to get to work

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

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

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

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

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

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

Either way, I hope everyone has a great day!

Well, the phonecalls are still going out, but there's still no word on what's going to happen. It's all contingent on me getting all sorts of forms, and meetings, and faxing things. Lord only knows...

I've beginning to think about what to do if I cant work it out and I have to drop all my classes. I guess I would just work. Perhaps work more. Pick up another tutoring client or start cleaning my boss' house again. I would focus on paying off that credit card and getting financially stable even more so. Continue trying to get in shape, continue with my music. So all would not be terrible. But I really just want to stay in school. If I end up skipping out on this semester, I'll definitely go during the summer.

Sigh. It just sucks, because even if I do get this scholarship, I still have to pay $2000, and I dont have it. I'm not going to max out my CC's again trying to pay for classes. I'm still paying for the last time I did that. This was what I was trying to avoid by joining the army. Jeez.

But moving on from all that depressing hooplah... car still hasn't broke down on me. That's positive. lol. Tutored last night. Made $20. They want to go an extra half hour, if the mom can pull together the money. I feel terrible that I cant just tutor for free. I really do care about the success of these kids, and I know everyone is hurting financially. If my time wasn't so valuable these days, and if I wasn't hurting so much myself, I would certainly tutor for much less. I still may give her a steep discount on the additional time if she cant manage it. The kid really does need the help.

Tutoring again tonight, and I have class. Not sure if I'm going out tonight or not. I really shouldn't spend the money. Even if it is just one drink. This weekend I have drill, though, so I probably wont be going out. We'll see, I guess. All this talk of money makes me so sad. I wish we weren't all so dependent on it. It's crazy how much influence the amount of money we have vs. the amount we need has on our daily lives, and our attitudes.

At any rate, I should get back to work Hope everyone is doing well.

Alright, so we're on week 2 of the new schedule, and it's already been a long week... but it's been productive. I'm really stressed out right now, not because of these time constraints, but because my classes are still not paid for.

Again the army has messed my finances up and I'm scrambling to McGuyver the situation before they drop my classes

It's frustrating, because the only mistake I made in this whole situation was expecting to do their jobs properly... I know better now. I have to constantly check and re-check to make sure things are getting done. So I've been running around and making phone calls and wanting to pull my hair out. Called and wrote an email to my congressman today, and now I'm just crossing my fingers that they wont drop my classes, and give me more time to work it out.

I cant get a student loan. I applied for one just in case, and without a cosigner, I've got nothing. I guess already having over $40k deters them... and I dont have a cosigner. Not that I'm sad about not being able to incur more debt, but that's my last resort gone. If I had known any of this was going to be an issue, I would have started working on it months ago.

Sigh... I guess all I can do is my best and hope things work out. It's really frustrating. All I want is to go to school. I joined the army so I could get school paid for. Is it so much to ask to get what they promised me?

On a happy note, I've been great about not spending money on frivolous things. I haven't really gone out, and I'm being responsible. I wish that meant I had all this extra money to put towards my classes. But really it means I have extra cash to put toward car repairs... it seems the car is headed right back where it was before. All the problems are not fixed...

Just keep truckin, right? Sigh...