Just Keep Swimming.

So I snagged a babysitting job last night, which is great. Only watched the girls for a few hours, but made $27. Not bad for last minute, out of nowhere!

Went grocery shopping during the day, and spent about $45. Could have done better, but BFF wanted to go to Marc's, so we ended up there instead of Aldi... next time for sure. Not only that, but I have to get back into the swing of things... cooking, planning meals is something I haven't done in almost 7 months. I'm so used to the military making my meals for me... and not having to pay for them. haha.

After the kids went to bed last night I hammered out my october budget. I'll post it here closer to October. Still working on my goals for october, but I think I've more or less finished my financial goals for the remainder of September:

*Dont use CC-- AT ALL.
*Get a job.
*Make at least $75 in extra income ($27 of which I already have covered).
*Minimal spending on entertainment.

I opted out of going to the bar last night, so I likely saved at least $10. Probably more... heh. I'm going on saturday to this Indian Festival in Columbus, so I've given myself $50 to work with, including meals. We'll eat breakfast before heading out. I'll probably pack a granola bar or two in my purse, and hope they have some cheap(er) food around the festival. It'll probably be better if we avoid sit-downs. And I'm sure I'll want to buy something while I'm there, so that gives me a little money to work with.

Going job hunting in a few hours with a friend of mine who is also unemployed. He has wheels, so it helps a bit. About to go on a nice 6 mile run here in a few. As my first sgt used to remind us all the time, "PT is free!" I should be keeping in shape anyway.

Not sure what the plans are for tonight. I may be going to watch my little sis play in the highschool band at the football game. Or I may just stay in. I haven't been feeling terribly social since I've been home. Not sure what that's all about, but hopefully it will pass.

Either way, time to get running! I've got quite the full schedule today. Hope everyone has a good one!

So I wrote out a list of things I needed to get done, and I've completed quite a few of them...

Had a job interview this morning, which went pretty well. It's an assistant teaching position at a childcare facility, which is fabulous. But they dont really have all that much time available. So I'll likely end up working there on a substitute basis. They're going to call me back with the hours they can guarantee. The good news about this is I'll still get the training for free, which I can use elsewhere. Not only that, but it's through the YMCA, so I'll get member benefits as well. So it's not all bad. And if they do end up needing a more permanent person, I'll already be around.

So there's that... I'm leaving here in another hour or so to go fill out job applications elsewhere. I've been searching craigslist, and emailed my resume to a couple other places. Checked my credit score for the first time in a while... 696 Not TERRIBLE, but not good either. No bad accounts, just a lot of debt, and a CC very near its limit.

I started car shopping online. I found a couple that look promising. The one is a great deal... 2007 Corolla with only 50k miles for $8k. The only problem is that it's a private seller (I'm sure the reason the price is so good), but I only really wanted to put $4-5k down.

See, I'm getting my bonus, which will be around $8500 after taxes are taken out. I wanted to use about $2k to pay off my CC, the other $1500 to throw into a short-term CD to use to go to Kenya next summer. I mean, paying for a car in cash means I wont have a car payment, but it also means I'll still be paying on my CC... which has an outrageous interest rate. So I really need to find either a cheaper car, or one that I can put less down on and make monthly payments for a couple years. Even so, I'm not looking to spend more than around $8k on a vehicle.

Bah... this is all so much. Also called the University, and left a message for the military student office... hopefully they'll call me back so I can get the ball rolling on all that. Left a couple voicemails pertaining to other things as well. So the day has seen some progress.

At any rate, time to go put some laundry away and do more of it! I'm going to attempt to seek employment, and everyone have a great day!

So... called the bank today. That was a total mess... As it turns out, the branch I opened my account at in PA was taken over by an entirely different bank, so my account is through a bank that is nowhere near Ohio... Fabulous. The only good news is that they had already mailed a debit card to my mom's, and I have checks. So at least I have access to my money.

I just have to open a new account locally and transfer everything and it's all a big mess. Sigh...

Went to my armory to get my paperwork all in order, which went well until my readiness NCO mentioned me being a 15V. I told her I was trained as a 15S, and she said, "oh. we may have some problems." Both jobs are "small helicopter mechanic," but they're different models. My unit doesn't carry the model I'm trained on. So it's looking like I'm going to be reclassed here in the near future... joy of joys.

Someone messed up and put me in the wrong school. It's bad because I'll have to go BACK to school, which means however many weeks more. The good news is that I'll be trained for 2 different jobs, which means more promotion points. And versatility. But it's another big pain... hopefully I'll know within the next month or so what's going to happen. They told me to still enroll in school, that they wouldn't pull me out in the middle of a semester for something like that. So we'll see what happens.

Other than that, the day has been pretty low-key. Phonecalls made, paid my student loan bill, rescheduled my job interview, and just continued trying to sort everything out. I'm going to my yoga class this evening, after having dinner at my mom's. Then back home to continue unpacking and hang out with the BFF.

I wanted to get a jump on the job application process, but my time spent at the armory was much longer than anticipated. I'll have to work on it tomorrow. I'll also have to go on a run tomorrow. I was bummed about not having time this morning, but my yoga class will be plenty of physical activity for today. And I certainly need it.

I've been awfully stressed out these last days home... it's hard to be back, with everything around me reminding me of the ex. Things with us are still sketchy and messy and all over the place. It's a really stressful situation. I think it's just going to take some getting used to. And time. And keeping busy.

Either way, hope everyone has a great night! I'm off to eat some ravioli!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So... it's been a while... over a year, as I look at my previous entries. What the hell happened, you ask? Well. It would be silly to sum it all up in a few paragraphs, but this is what I'm going to do anyway

My last entry was October of 2008. The BF was preparing for his deployment, and things were getting hectic on the job front. I was wanting to rip my eyes out every day studying accounting. Things were monotonous and frustrating and I realized I was far from happy.

In November I decided to enlist in the Army National Guard. Big step, right? haha. I did it for a few reasons: Mostly money. A $20k bonus, $18k in student loan repayment, and unlimited options for future employment in a rather unhealthy job market seemed like a good combination of rationality to up and do it. There was also the notion that I would have something to do for the year the BF would be away in the big sandbox.

That's probably the best decision I've made in a long time. I spent a few months working at my original job at the poultry place because I quit that bartending job I had. My boss made me miserable.

The cons to joining the military: Gave up puppy... that was probably the hardest and most depressing thing I've ever done. I still miss the crap out of that dog, despite the fact that she chewed up my favorite cookbook, and peed all over the carpet... There will always be a special place in my heart for Madi.

I also broke the lease at my apartment, as no one would be living in it. All of my things are now sitting in a storage unit, and I'll be living with my bestest friend in the whole world when I get back.

Basic Training was one hell of an experience. I left on St. Patrick's Day of 2009. I finished up on my birthday at the end of May. Since, I've been in fabulous Ft. Eustis, VA. My job is probably the best part about being in the military. I work on these tiny little helicopters. I'm a mechanic, and I love every minute of it. Like, a lot. It's definitely not psychology or accounting or any of that fluff. Just straightforward wrench turning and pulling out and putting back in.

BF and I split about a month and a half ago. It's a looooooong complicated situation and I'm still incredibly bummed about the whole thing. It's been a rough time. Really rough. Long story short, he wanted the freedom to do what he pleased when he finally comes back to the states, and neither of us wanted me to be the one to hold him back from that. A relationship with such distance in the way is hard enough to maintain without one person not really having their heart in it. I miss him terribly.

I go back to Ohio in a little over 2 weeks, and I'm not ready in any way, shape, or form. I never thought I would dread returning home, but the fact of the matter is that I've had all my decisions made for me for the last 6 months, and it kind of works for me. For anyone who has been on this site since 2004, you've seen me live my life, seen me change my mind and make decisions that have totally reorganized my world time and again. It's hard to tell if the decisions I'm making these days will really be all that good for me. It's hard to trust a 5 year crazy streak...

Not only that, but I do love what I do in the Army, and I dont have a steady job waiting for me when I get home. I do have a rent-free place to stay, which takes much of the burden off, but I dont want to be a total mooch.

I will be purchasing a new car when I make my return. Haven't had one in the last 4 years. I'm pretty sure it's going to be essential to the job-getting process. That, and I get the first half of my bonus... so I'll put about $9k down and pay off the remaining balance over the course of the next 2 years. Have a warranty and a car that shouldn't break. I'm buying a Yaris. Drove BF's back before I left, loved it. It'll be a manual. Much more fun, and much cheaper. I'm pretty excited about it.

I need to find a job ASAP. I'll be attempting to find a full time tech position at my unit. Pays great and I'll be doing something I really love. I'll return to school either full or part time in January, depending on what job I find. If the tech thing doesn't work out, I'll probably go back to waitressing, and do school full time-- reaping the benefits of my GI Bill.

Other than that, things are just kind of suspended til I get home. The last month has been really crappy, and I'm hoping that getting back will get me in gear rather than make me feel more hopeless, which is what I'm dreading.

Regardless, I apologize for the depressing nature of this entry. I'm hoping that getting back in control of my finances will help me feel some amount of control over the rest of my life. I'm a single gal now, with endless possibilities. That should be exciting. Really, it's overwhelming because I have no idea what in the world I want to do.

Sigh.

At any rate, I want to say hello again to all the old friends hanging around still, and I hope to find some positive support here in my financial endevours. As always, what I intended to do didn't really end up happening, and the amount of money I saved/paid off my CC with wasn't nearly as much as I had hoped for through all this.

Time for change.

At this time, I'll let y'all move on to other entries or the activities of your everyday life, but I look forward to blogging with you all again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In lieu of the start to my job hunt, I've been going over my options. I thought about my interests and what kind of job I would want to do. I've sent resumes out for numerous administrative and secretarial positions. I'm just not sure if that's what I want to do or not. I dont have enough experience to find anything in the accounting feild, though I've sent resumes out for positions there too.

One option I came up with was being a Pampered Chef consultant. I love thier products, which means I would be willing to do sales, but there's a real entertaining aspect of it that I think I would really enjoy. Also, I think it would give me a good glimpse into what it's like to run my own business. I would have to do all of my own advertising, booking, planning, etc. I think it could be a really great experience, and I would be working on my own schedule.

Does anyone have any experience with Pampered Chef, or with any other home-party based businesses? What is the commission like? How much can you expect to make? I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Well, this week will be interesting indeed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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!

Finally, the moment of glory has come. My summer classes are all paid off. Thus, I can go into the university and put in a form, pay a fee, and register for my classes. Things are finally coming together.

In other news, BF and I opened that joint checking account today. So we're on our way to having a system down. I'm quite thrilled. I made some stellar money this week at work, so hopefully I'll have a little to contribute to it.

I've been going a little off-budget in the last week or so. All in food and dining out. Always the culprit... However, other than that I've been really good. I just need to cook more. For someone who loves to cook as much as I do you'd think that wouldn't be a problem, but I've been spending too much on food at work again. And everywhere else.

A new week is starting soon, however, so things will get a fresh new start. I'm excited to register for my classes. I feel a bit accomplished that I've almost got everything set. It brings me closer to graduation and a job, so I'm doubly pleased

Good and bad news: BF may not be going to Iraq afterall. Good news is that he likely will not be going (at least not this year). The bad news is that he really wanted to go, so I feel bad in some respect. It would have been great for him financially, and he wanted to experience it. There is opportunity for him to go with his own unit in 2010, however. So things still may end up going down that road. In the mean time, he's got some stuff to think about in terms of what he wants to do with his future and all that.

So anyhoo. I'm going to cut this here. Too much rambling and all. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Well, it's been a little while. I cant say that there is much news outside of my boss driving me absolutely crazy at work. Last week was quite hellish. I really dont get employers who give no training and expect their new employees to be perfect at their job after only 2 weeks. It's beyond me. But, for this week, I have a job. And my boss has not threatened it yet this week (of course, it is only tuesday. haha). Let's hope he removes whatever object is stuck in his rear-end.

It's getting close to tuition time, and I have almost what I need. BF owes me a bit of money (I paid the security deposit, the stuff we got at IKEA over the weekend, groceries for the last 2 weeks, etc). He only gets paid 2 times a month, and I'd rather it all be in one lump sum. That way I cant spend it.

I'm a little concerned about how tuition will work for the fall, but I'm going to cross that bridge when I come to it. Hopefully I'll be able to get on a payment plan.

Other than that, just settling in the new place, trying not to lose my mind. You know. I made my goal of making $150 in extra income already this month. I made $106 selling books on amazon in the last couple weeks, and I babysat the other day which netted me $60. So perhaps I'll shoot for $200?

I think that's it for now. Everyone have a wonderful day!

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

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

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

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

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

Well, my fiscal July is over, thus fiscal august is here. I made over $100 last night at work, so the month went out with a bang

I met all of my July goals save one: I only made $108 in additional income, so I didn't hit my $150 mark, but it still wasn't too shabby.

The same goal in August will be very easily obtained, as I have a babysitting gig, an editing gig, and sold 2 books on amazon this week. That alone will bring me up to over $100. It looks like it could be a good month

As for today, it's been somewhat of a lazy day, though I need to start stepping things up. I slept in, but also didn't get home from work until a little after 3am. Bars... bleh. Still, I have to do my grocery shopping, and then BF and I are going to go to the old apartment, get the rest of our stuff out of it, and then clean. Yippie. haha.

Still have yet to tackle that desk... I may just have to do it on my own. We'll see.

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone that commented on my last post about how BF and I are working out our finances. It makes me feel a little better about things. And to reply to BA briefly: Yes, it probably is easier to just split the bills and not bother with a joint account, but it's the act of doing it together that I think is going to really strengthen our relationship financially. Considering the rate of divorce and some of the popular rifts (financial problems being one of them), I'd like to make sure we can work together when it comes to money *before* we get married. So I'm thinking of this as a sort of beginning step to marital bliss in the future

Other than that, I have no ground-breaking news. It's going to be a very busy week, but it'll hopefully be a profitable one. I need to really step things up in the next couple weeks so I can be assured that I'll be going to class in the fall.

Wish me luck!

Everyone have a great day, I'm off to grocery shop!

Well, BF and I have had the chance to sit down and talk about some things concerning our finances. We've decided to open a joint bank account for our living expenses, and split the bills 30/70, as he makes substantially more than I do. I was really uncomfortable with this at first, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. Besides, it will fluctuate, and who knows... there may be a time when I make more than he does, and the percentages will change accordingly.

I'm fairly excited to see how things will pan out with the joint expenses. I think it will be a good experience for both of us. I think it will help work more compromise into our relationship (not that we do poorly in that area, but still), and I also think some of my frugal budgeting hooplah will rub off on BF, and do him some good.

We got set up with renter's insurance. It's going to run us about $17/month. Not bad at all. I still need to talk through my life insurance policy with ma and see what my options are, and perhaps cancel my policy for the time being. $321/year really isn't THAT much money, but part of me would rather be investing it. But we'll see...

We're almost set in the new place, but we still need to get the desk organized. That's going to be a big project... ah well, a little at a time, I guess.

I sold 2 books on amazon, totalling about $80. Very nice. It will do wonders for the tuition payment I have to make here in a bit.

I'm not going to write out my total august budget here, but I am going to put down my goals. My fiscal august starts on monday, so here it is:

*Pay off summer classes by the 15th.
*Register for fall.
*Save up at least $100 for Kenya trip in may 09.
*Make at least $150 in additional income.
*Dont touch CC (except for paying off classes).
*Stay under budget.
*Pay off at least $150 on CC.
*No buying: Fast food, clothes, CD's, movies, or books for pleasure.

We'll see how it goes. Alrighty. Time to get ready for work. Everyone have a great day!

Wow. There are so many numbers I have to work with right now. It's rather overwhelming. I'm trying to figure my living expenses per month, with a rough estimate of income monthly, then determine how much I have to spend a month on tuition, how much I should ideally pay on my CC, how much I should be putting into an EF, and how much I should be saving per month to fund a trip to Kenya in May (as well as a plane ticket to see BF in Oaklahoma in March before he ships off to the sandy cities).

Phew.

I need to cut costs where I can. Here is my August challenge: No fast food. No buying food at work. No buying clothes, CD's, movies, or books for pleasure. No spending more than $20 for the entire month on eating at restaurants (which means one or two outings depending on the restaurant).

I've decided to go without, at least for August, internet service at the new apartment. I get internet at the library, at work, at my mom's, etc. BF has a wireless card on his work laptop, so whenever he is home, we have internet. Anywhere. So it seems kind of pointless to spend the money to get it just for convenience's sake. This is a big step for me. haha.

BF and I are going to sit down and decide how we want to handle our joint expenses. This will determine too what my monthly expenses will be.

I've set my trip to Kenya date to May of 2009. This gives me 8 months or so to save up money for the trip. I'm budgeting about $1600. Most of it will be for the plane ticket. I have an organization to stay with (for essentially free) once I get there. I think setting the date and coming up with a dollar amount to save every month will keep me focused. Besides, "Saving for my Kenya trip" sounds much more glamorous when deciding on a reason to not spend money on something else rather than "paying down my CC debt."

I'm trying to decide what I really want to do with my time and money and not get stuck in the "deprivation mode" that most financial fasts bring on. What is important to me? Spending time with my loved ones, my friends, my family, learning, going to school, travelling, and many other things. I'm trying to embrace my passions a little more rather than just getting bogged down with making money.

For instance, I'm trying to embrace my job a little more. Really do the best I can. That means helping with promotion and marketing for my restaurant, doing the best job I can while I'm there, really interacting with the customers and giving them the best experience they could have to make them come back. I want more responsibility so I can take pride in the things I do, rather than just being there to make money (though that obviously helps). Eventually, I hope the time and effort I put into helping the restaurant will lead me to have more business, then ultimately more money (and job satisfaction).

I'm embracing my love for cooking and entertaining to save money. Moving into the new place has really opened up options as far as entertainment and spending time with friends. I love to cook, and I love to cook for others. Even if I end up spending a little more on groceries, it will far outsmart the grotesque amounts of money I would ultimately end up spending at restaurants and bars. For instance, tomorrow night friends are coming over to eat, drink, and likely play board games. Everyone is bringing something (food or drinkstuffs). I have everything I need at home for my pleasant evening. No dollars will be moving out of this wallet, oh no!

As far as other entertainment goes, the library has been a godsent for me this past week. I've been doing so much financial reading and enjoying my season 3 disc 2 of Scrubs (that I need to finish watching because I need to return it tomorrow). Not to mention, all this life planning has been burning some serious hours.

I have, however, been enjoying the freed up time I've had due to not having internet at home I realize that I have so many things around me I could do... play guitar, learn a foreign language, start exercising again... so many things that I could do for essentially free. Right now I'm doing laundry at mom's and working numbers instead of accepting the invite to go to the movies and see the new Batman. I have to say that I did want to see that movie, but the $8 is much better kept in my wallet.

One other thing, I've been trying to re-think the time I spend with my friends. Sure, going to the bar is a good time. But really, some of my best times were spent camping, or playing board games. We may have simultaneously been consuming beverages of the alcoholic persuasion, but they weren't upcharged 300%. And we could hear the conversation

Well, that's enough rambling for one night. I'm gonna go watch some scrubs! Everyone have a great night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Everyone have a wonderful day!

I do so love the library... yesterday I picked up 2 movies and a CD I had on hold, then I went and looked through the rather extensive personal finance section

I always feel like such a nerd doing so much financial reading, but the books I picked up this time seem to be really good. I've never read any of Suze Orman's stuff, though it's talked about on SA rather religiously. I got her Financial Guidebook, and "The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous, and Broke." I also picked up a copy of "Conscious Spending for Couples," by Deborah Knuckey.

I started doing the guidebook yesterday, and I've gotten pretty far. By far, I mean to part 5. I've found in many of the Personal Finance books I've read that I feel that some of it doesn't apply to me. Especially in the case of wills, living trusts, things of that nature. Why draw up pricey documents when you really dont have anything?

I have no estate, no real property worth more than a few thousand, so I dont see the point. I do have a life insurance policy, which is a variable policy (kind of like a mutual fund). I dont know too much about it, except that if I let it sit for a long time, it has a pretty sizeable cash value, and I get stuff in the mail about it all the time that I dont really understand. lol. I pay my premiums 4 times a year, and that's that.

So I skipped the will/living trust/power of attorney for health insurance and all that. I know, I know. I could die at any time, but at this point, if I die, my mom can take care of things how she sees fit and she can keep my clothes (you're welcome).

However, I did like the point in the book where it talks about earliest money memories, and fears, and all that. It's interesting to look at things from a psychological point of view. I definitely saw connections between some of my memories and my fears. And I came up with my "new truth." I even repeated it several times today, as the book told me to do.

The other thing that this book made me realize is that I kind of push off some of the things that are really important to me, like travelling. I've been wanting to get out of this country and see something more since I was 17, and have never had the money. So I'm making it a point to take a trip to Kenya in the next year. Come hell or high water. I'll save up the money, and take that trip. I'll do it when BF is away in the sandy cities. It'll give me something to look forward to. A trip like that is very important to me, just as important as paying off my CC. So whereas I wont charge the trip to my card, I will be saving an additional amount of money each month to go toward this trip. Perhaps I'll start using my extra income each month. That'll give me more incentive to make it

In other financial news, I sold a book on amazon, which I plan on shipping here in about an hour. I need to stop at the bank on the way to work to make a deposit, as today we sign the lease, and I need that money in my account to give the woman the check for first months' rent/security deposit.

It's going to be a very busy day, as I work both the restuarant and the bar. So it'll be a late night as well. I need to get a move on, then. So much to do!

Everyone have a wonderful day!

Well, we sign the lease tomorrow. Then we start moving into our new apartment. Very exciting

It's amazing to me just how busy I am this week. I've definitely been feeling it... I told the couple I work for yesterday that I was leaving them to work a better shift at my restaurant. They were very understanding, which made me feel much better about the decision. They did seem quite disappointed, however. They said that I'm a hard worker and do such a good job, and make excellent food I told them to keep my number on hand in case they needed extra help, their new person needs to take a week off, etc.

So today is my last day with them. I'm going to miss it. It's only been a week, and I've never much cared for cleaning, but they are very nice people, and they were incredibly nice to work for. I start my new schedule at work next week. So let's hope I make the big bucks.

Went to mom's and did laundry last night. That saved me about $5.

I sold a book on amazon last night, so that'll be somewhere around $22 after shipping costs. I need to take that to the post office. I also need to go to the library, as I have a couple movies and a CD waiting for me there.

I'll be packing my lunch again today. If I keep it up through tomorrow, that would be 2 whole weeks that I've gone without spending money at work. Which means I've saved about $22.50. I want to keep it up through the rest of the month.

I cant believe how fast July has gone by. I need to apply to the university by August 1, so I need to get on that. I also need to pay my tuition ASAP. I cant register for classes in the fall til I pay the balance off. That could be problematic in that I have to pay this safety deposit and first months' rent... but we'll see. It'll be tough, but I want to go back to school in the fall, even if it's just part time.

I looked back at some of my entries in April and found the challenge I forgot about... I said I didn't want to buy any books for pleasure, movies, or CD's for 3 months. If I get through July, I'll reach this goal. Exciting Thank you public library! haha.

I should probably get this day rolling. My slump passed once I got to work, I've just been really tired. It will likely continue through today as I got to bed late (up doing laundry til 12:30). I'm going to have to get used to these longer hours. Next week will be a little less stressful, however. I dont have to leave one job to go to the next. That kind of messes things up a bit. I always feel rushed.

Either way, everyone have a great day!

It's only wednesday and I'm getting tired already... this busy schedule is something I'm going to need to get used to.

I've thought the whole job situation through some more, and come to the decision that I will take the job my boss offered me. It would pay more overall and cut out travel time during the day. I will be finishing the week out, however.

Yesterday was a no-spend day. I brought my lunch to work, and was gone all day, so there's no way I could have bought anything. I did, however, make a total of $76 yesterday between both jobs. That's about half of what I've been making in a total week lately... Not bad. Hopefully it'll be the same today. I'm definitely taking my lunch with me, dont have any plans for tonight. I'll probably just relax. I'm going to need to. BF and I have both been pretty exhausted this week overall.

Went to BF's nephew's birthday cookout after work. BF came home early and didn't tell me. It was a nice surpise BF's sister also sent us home with the rest of the fruit salad, half a watermelon, and 7 or so cans of diet mt. dew. That was pretty sweet. I love fruit

We're signing the lease on friday. I need to have about $1150 in my account by then so we can write a check. I'm working on that now. I'm transferring all the money in my savings except $50 to my checking account. That'll be the start of my emergency fund. BF needs to get me some cash. But he may just end up paying me back his part of it. I need to go to the bank today and make a deposit.

We get the keys then on friday. We're going to start moving then, though I wont be doing any moving until saturday, as I work all day friday. We'll continue moving on sunday. So I anticipate it being a rather inexpensive weekend, save maybe gas.

Well, I need to get this day started. I hope everyone has a good one!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Well, it's going to be a VERY busy week. I responded to a craigslist ad on friday for an "Alice" position. Alice as in the woman who took care of the Brady Family. As it seems, this couple needs someone to clean for them and make them dinner (almost) every night. They have no kids, only 2 dogs. I met with them on saturday morning, and I am absolutely excited about this job. It's going to be hard work. They have a fairly large house. But I really like these people, and I'm incredibly excited to get paid for cooking.

I start today after my shift at the restaurant. They're paying me $10/hr to start with, until we see how the hours work out. They'll probably bump me up if I end up working less than 20 hours/week. I'm just trying to be affordable. They both have good jobs, but they are certainly not rich.

So, that being said, I now have 3 jobs. 3 JOBS! wow... This may be my last week at the restaurant, I'm not sure. I'm still waiting to hear back from the bank. If I get the teller position, I'll be leaving the restaurant for sure. I'm going to give the HR woman a call this afternoon if I dont hear back. I really hope I get this job.

So here's what my schedule looks like: Restaurant Monday-friday from 10:30-2:00ish, then Mon-Thurs I do my "Alice" job from 3:00-whenever (we're playing it by ear this week), and then I work at the bar Friday and saturday at 5:30-whenever.

Saturday we start moving.

By sunday night I think I'm going to just collapse and never wake up. lol. It's a lot. I know it's a lot. But the more I work, the more money I make, and the better chances I can get these summer classes paid off and I can register and take classes in the fall.

I'm trying to take a can-do attitude. BF works 15, 16 hour days sometimes and he manages it. I can do this. it's really not all that bad. Work hard, and pay off the classes, the debt.

So it's monday of this hellish week, and my attitude is going to remain positive.

I did 2 surveys this morning, a pinecone survey and a lightspeed panel survey. So I should have a check coming soon. woo!

Well guys, wish me luck! I need to get this week started!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trying to keep up the good work in July

Hope everyone has a great night!

Well, it's been a fairly productive day. I washed my dishes, straightened up the apartment, and put my laundry away. Then I listed 7 books on amazon. Eventually I met my coworker out at this place for a drink and an appetizer. He insisted to pay the bill, which was nice. I paid the tip. So $7 out of pocket (much better than $18).

Just got home not too long ago, checked my email to find that one of my books sold for $17 Let's hope I have just as much luck with the other 6. Some of them were really pricey, mostly textbooks. 2 were around $30 and one was $75, so we'll hope!

I'm pretty excited for my interview tomorrow. I have to admit, I love job interviews. As narcassistic as it sounds, I love spending an hour talking about myself. Something aobut the idea of selling myself is really fun. I've also never went on a job interview and not gotten hired. Let's hope I dont break my stride. I decided what to wear today, and I think I'm ready. Wish me luck!

It's going to be a busy week. I work mon-fri lunches, friday and saturday night at the bar. I'm going to look at an apartment in the morning, and have my interview after my work shift. I need to get some stuff taken care of for school this week. I have some phone calls to make, applications to put in, etc. I think I'm going to go for the BA in accounting. It seems the most logical thing to do. I may eventually get a master's degree, but for now I need to focus on getting a job and paying down all of this debt.

Last night I got sent home again at the bar. We were supposed to have a big party of 100 people (the reason I was scheduled to come in), and they never showed up. I sat around for 3 hours doing nothing. I have to admit, it was quite the bummer. I'm really trying to make some money, and it seems like it doesn't matter what I do sometimes, I just have terrible luck. Mom and her BF took me to dinner, though, which was very nice. I ate my leftovers for breakfast

I have some really good meals planned for this week. I'm going to be bringing my leftovers to work for lunches, so I needed some real motivation. haha. Here are the tentative meals:

*Tofu Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing
*Greek Chicken Salad (though I may make it with tofu)
*Chicken Salad Sandwiches (or on top of greens)
*Grilled Chicken (or tofu) and mashed sweet potatoes
*Salad with cottage cheese, pineapple chunks, and poppyseed dressing.

I figure at least 2 of the nights will be throw-together nights, but regardless it's going to be a real salad week. I'm trying to get my eating habits back in order. I'm going to make some hummus here soon. Actually, I may make some before BF gets home in a couple hours. Suprise him

I also came across a recipe for home made energy bars. It may have been in the SA forums. I dont remember, but I might try them this week. They would be good to take to work on nights.

Because I dont have evening classes anymore, I'm also going to be going to the gym at least mon-thurs. I was doing really good when BF was gone, but for some reason dropped the ball. Really busy, I guess.