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, 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!

Well, this weekend has been pretty fun thus far. Last night I went to work, but it was so slow that I sat for an hour with nothing to do, and they sent me home. I work again tonight, hopefully with much better luck.

This morning I sent another resume out for an executive/office assistant position. It's 30 hours/week and it only pays $8.50/hr, but it's still far better than what I'm making currently.

I went grocery shopping with a friend of mine. I introduced her to the glory of ALDI. Then we stopped at Giant Eagle because there were a few things that I needed that ALDI didn't have.

The damage:
ALDI
12 pack of Toilet Paper $5.29
1 Grapefruit $0.59
3-pack cucumber $1.19
1 Red onion $0.49
1 Bag of spring mix salad $1.99
1 quart soymilk $1.39
5 tomatoes $3.95
1 bag radishes $0.89
1 can chunk pineapple $0.89
1 box granola cereal $1.59
1 tub yogurt $1.59
1 tub cottage cheese $2.29
1 thing peanutbutter $1.39
1 can black olives $0.99
1 bag baby carrots $1.19
Total with tax: $26.05

Giant Eagle:
Feta Cheese $2.00
Soy Sauce $3.09
Can Chickpeas $0.60
Sesame oil $2.99
Firm tofu $2.99
Green onion $0.79
Total: $12.46

Complete total: $38.51

It seems really high, but BF will be reimbursing me part of it. Also, shopping today convinced me to cook lunch with my friend as opposed to going out to chipotle where we each would have spent $10. He bought the avocados, I bought the tomatoes we needed to make our shish kabobs and our tomato-avocado salad.

Also, I have to confess... I've been cheating a little. I bring my sandwich to work every day, but that's never enough food for me. And I know this, of course. So every day I've been splitting a meal with my coworker. I only usually spend a max of $2.25 every day, but if you take an average of $2x5 days of work, that's $10/week. $40/month. I bought extra groceries so I cook more, and I'll be taking my leftovers to work.

Speaking of work, as I was getting back from grocery shopping, I got a call from the place I sent my resume to this morning. We talked a bit, and set up an interview date-- monday at 3pm. Yippee! I need to figure out what I'm going to wear now...

Monday morning BF and I are looking at an apartment. We really need to figure out where it is we're moving to. The lease is up the first week in august.

So my friend and I went to my mom's and we cooked lunch. It was nothing short of amazing, and we both had leftovers to take home. And mom got a nice meal for free. All she had to do was the dishes It was a really nice time.

Tonight I have work, tomorrow I have some cleaning to do around this apartment, and I'm getting together for lunch with my coworker. Then it's off to the drive in to see Wall*e again after BF gets home.

Got a pinecone check in the mail today

This coming week is going to be a very busy one. Still chugging away at that to-do list, it's been a slow process, but I see things looking up. Anyhoo, time to finish getting ready for work!

Everyone have a nice evening

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

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

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

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

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

INCOME:

Work Total: $1085.57

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

Total Income: $1543.52

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

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

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

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

As for my June goals:

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

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

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

Well, yesterday I went grocery shopping and was *just* over budget. My budget for the week was $12.50 (which is pretty tight to begin with). I ended up spending $13.55. Not bad. So what did I buy?

Tub of yogurt $1.59
Frozen Berries $2.79
Fresh Mushrooms $1.19
Bag of Flatleaf Spinach $1.49
Cucumber $0.69
Pack of Hotdogs $0.59
Can of Olives $0.99
Flour Tortillas $0.99
Hot dog Buns $0.75
Granola Cereal $1.59
Cheesy Alfredo Mac & Cheese $0.79
Plastic Bag (I forgot mine at home) $0.10

I feel like I got a lot for a little bit of money, and none of it was anything I didn't need. This, my friends, is why I love ALDI so much. So what will I be eating this week?

Pasta Salad
Kraut Dogs
Veggie Wraps
Turkey Meatball sandwiches
Salad
Veggie Mac (I like to put veggies in my mac & cheese)
Spaghetti

I'll have leftovers for a couple of these days, so I may save the veggie mac for next week. I had a couple of kraut dogs yesterday, I'll probably have the leftovers today for lunch or dinner. I have to make the pasta salad, but we have so much pasta it's ridiculous. lol.

Added $50 to my savings account, which brings my total up to $1035. Which means I'm doing fabulous. I responded to another ad on craigslist for a woman looking for a babysitter saturday morning. Let's hope this one works out. I'd love to make a few extra bucks.

Still need to make it to the craft store. Today I'm supposed to go and meet these guys that want me to sing in their band. I think it'll be cool. I listened to examples of their music, they seem my style. Of course, I'm really versatile, so that's not difficult. haha. The one guy plays decent acoustic music, the other one does heavier stuff, so I'm interested to see how the mix sounds.

Either way, I should get going. Have to get ready for work!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope everyone has a great day!

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

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

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

If anyone has any ideas, let me know!

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

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

Ideas are still in the works.

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

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

Every little bit helps. Wish me luck.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I should probably run by the bank at some point too

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

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

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

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

Anyhoo. I should get this day started. Everyone have a good one!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I've been thinking about buying a bike for a long time now (that's a bicycle, not a motorcycle). I wanted an easier way to get around and be friendly to the environment (and my body!). I've been driving BF's car, but I'd rather not, if not just for the cost of gas. Every little bit saved helps, you know.

So I was talking to one of the girls I work with about it because she rides her bike to work everyday. Then she said she had an extra one laying around that she would sell to me really cheap. So I took a look at it. It's a mountain bike. It had a pedal missing and was in dire need of some air. It had been sitting in her dusty basement for a while and was covered in cobwebs, but it seemed like a nice bike for $30. So I took her up on it.

I loaded it into the car and drove it to the bike shop by my apt. They put the pedal on-- which ended up being a pain for them because the threads weren't doing so good. I may have to get a new crank shaft eventually-- and aired it up. That cost me about $16 (for 2 pedals and labor). So overall the cost of the bike was $46. Really not all that bad, I think. And I'm sure I'll save a lot on gas and bus tickets-- and perhaps lose some weight! I just need a good bike lock. BF says he's got one he has to pick up at his parents' (where his bike is). He wont be using his to commute, so until we both go on a bike trip and both need to lock our bikes up, I'm going to hold off on buying one.

So the bike put me further over budget, but I'm really not too worried about it. It was a planned purchase, I just forgot to put it into my budget!

Last night I hopped over to the bar for a bit (it's right down the street) with $5 in my pocket. When I came home, that $5 was still there. I decided I was thirsty for water while dancing Saw the ex and a bunch of his friends there. It's odd. Me and the ex can talk no problems, it's not hostile, but some of his friends in his presence will act so strange with me. It's quite awkward, and I dont really get it. If he's not there they act entirely normal. Eh. Silly people.

My stimulus payment was supposed to go through today, but I'm not sure if it's going to. It's not showing up in my online banking. I filed pretty late. Not quite to the 15th, but late nonetheless. So I'm guessing that's why I dont have it.

Next on the list? FAFSA. Yeah, that seems to get filed late every year... Have to dig out my tax info and get mom's for last year. Then I have to put in an application for a summer loan, or I'm not going to be able to take my classes. That would not be good.

Yesterday I listed 5 cookbooks on amazon. Let's see if anyone bites. Also, I got a message from a friend who has a foreign friend that needs someone to proofread a 60 page paper for her and make corrections. She's going to pay someone and $100 to do it, and I volunteered to be that person. Her paper is due the day I start classes, so it'll be perfect.

Other than that, I have no news. Today is day 4 of work. And I'm hoping to make some big $$. I'd have to make $51 in order to reach my goal tips for the week, but we'll see. I'm really hoping next week will be a little more lucrative.

Well, my 3rd day of work has come to a close. I didn't make very much yesterday, but I only got 2 of my own tables. Today I got the amount I was supposed to, but there were 3 of us working today (as opposed to 2 yesterday). So I'm remaining optimistic and thinking that it can only go up from here.

As for other financial news, I went and picked up my perscription today. I've had samples for the last 3 months or so, so this is the first time I've had to pay for it. $52! For one month of pills! I mean come on now. My last brand was only $25/month. I'm thinking I'm going to have to call my doctor and discuss my other options... or go to planned parenthood. lol.

So I'm a bit bummed because due to my gas bill and perscription cost both being higher than anticipated I'm already over budget $40 for May (in both categories, that is). Which means I'm going to have to cut back in other areas. Especially considering I'm likely not going to make the amount of money I needed to make this week to cover it. grr.

I think I'm going to list a couple more things on amazon. Finally going to get to my cookbooks. I've got 5 I'm going to list. I'll write the recipes I know I want to try down before I ship them out.

I'm on my way now to look at a bike. This girl I work with said she has an extra, and she'll sell it to me for really cheap. I want one to ride around for commuting purposes. I'd rather do that than use the gas in the car. Besides, it's better for the environment, and my body! So hopefully that'll work out.

Tonight BF is getting back a little late, and I'm going to try and have dinner ready when he gets home. He's been super stressed, but it seems like things are going to be different after talking to his boss-- which is a relief. We're going to try and get more done with the apt. Mom came by today and picked up one of my tables and 2 chairs. I'm hoping she'll give me a few bucks for them later on.

Right-o. Well, off to look at that bike!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

At any rate, everyone have a great day!

I just finished up my grocery shopping. I stuck to the list I brought with me (with the exception of a .49 can of beets I thought would spice up my salads). I actually spent less than I had anticipated. I had expected to spend something to the tune of $16, and spent $14.40. Incredibly cheap, eh? Well, I'm surely cutting corners and trying to use up the food I have stocked up at home. So really I'm only buying things to pack in my lunch, and a few odd produce items. I was a bit disappointed they didn't have my hummus this time around, but I can put light mayo on my sandwiches, it'll be fine. And the best part? I'm $5.60 under my budget for groceries this month. It's just me, so I shouldn't be spending very much on groceries anyway.

In other spending, it's laundry day, so that'll be $2.50 for one load. I like to prioritize and save my towels for when I get to go back to my mom's. I have plenty to hold me over. lol. And I'll be there this weekend, so I'll get free laundry services

Other than that, the plans for the day are to finish up some homework, and work out... though I'm taking it light today. My calves are still a bit sore from yesterday. I spent a whole hour on the treadmill! I did put my bathing suit on for the first time since this summer. It was a bit motivating, though not too bad! lol.

Better get working! Have a great saturday, guys!

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

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

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

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

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

Have a great day, guys!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who knows.

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

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

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

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

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

Oh, and BF got the job he applied for!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I had a really fun weekend. I gained and lost financially. Recap:

Yesterday, BF and I went shopping. I managed to spend about $160 on clothes. However, I bought a pair of jeans I love (I've really been needing new pants), and a couple bras (which I was in desperate need of). I got 2 new shirts- one of which I wore with a pair of dress pants to dinner last night, the other which is a nice plain teeshirt (versatile). I managed to only spend $7 at the bar... very nice.

Today, BF's Gram took us to Sam's Club unexpectedly. This was fantastic. The amount of money we'll save in food will more than compensate for the money I spent on clothes. Just trust me on that one For brunch, Gram cooked popovers and other breakfasty goodies (delicious, by the way). For dinner, BF and I went to my parents' for a cookout (also delicious). So the only money spent today was on flowers for mom (just because, and just because they were on sale for about $2- very pretty), tolls and gas money, and the tomatoes and lettuce mom asked me to pick up for the BBQ.

I feel quite spoiled between the dinner and Sam's Club run BF's grandparents provided for us. They're incredibly wealthy people, but I'm still trying to figure out why I deserve such treatment. BF and I talked with them about money over brunch, which was an interesting experience, if not a bit entertaining. They are a true testament, however, that if you scrimp, save, and then work the stock market, you can be very financially comfortable later in life Still practically kids in thier 80's, I love them to death.

So overall it was a great weekend. BF and I have been having a bit of fun before this semester really kicks into gear. I have a few more snags to work out as far as registration and my loans go. I have some calls to make in the morning before class. At any rate, I should get going. I need to pack my lunch for tomorrow. It's back to the 'ole routine! And we're looking at cars tomorrow, I believe. woo!

Have a great night, everyone!

Well, I survived the first week of school, rather painfully in a financial sense. I was adjusting to my new schedule, and of course bought a bunch of crap food on campus. I'll have to fix this next week.

I'm down to 3 nights a week, due to school. It seems this week, however, I have more entertainment activities. Thursday night we went back to Ohio to see Rush (which was a great show, by the way, that some of you more "seasoned" listeners would have appreciated). My mom met up with us, which was really nice.

Today I'm off to Ohio yet again to hang out with BF's grandparents. They're taking us to Hyde Park tonight (I know... fancy). I was formerly considering going to buy something to wear, but then after going through my closet, I'm going to tell myself to shut up because I have more than enough clothes as it is. Should be a nice dinner, though

Tonight we're off to the bars to dance with friends. I'm quite excited about this one, but not planning to drink quite as much as BF says he's going to, so I'm hoping my bar tab isn't too awful.

In other financial news, we're taking our laundry to Ohio to do it at either Gram and Gramps' or at my parents' Tomorrow we're going to a labor day cookout at my parents', and I'm pretty excited. I get to see mom twice this week!

I reorganized my spreadsheets today and in them updated my puny savings account figures and such. I spent way too much money this month, but it was still a bit better than usual. I need to get to the bank to deposit this money... BF gave me his half of the rent and utilities in cash, mom gave me that check for books, and I have all the money I made at work in cash right now as well. I'll have to do that on tuesday. At any rate, sorry for the rambling, and everyone have a wonderful holiday weekend!

p.s. BF and I are doing much better.,, so far.

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

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

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

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

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

So for the second night in a row BF is not in town, which means I get a ride home from a coworker. Also, for the second night in a row I've had an hour or two to kill waiting for my coworker to get finished up. I'm not complaining about my coworker, I've just been flat out bored. Not only that, but very tempted to go get drinks/food at nearby restaurants in the mean time. Quite a testament of willpower, if I say so myself. I've even refrained from buying drinks at my own restaurant.

Tonight's plan? Saving Advice. hehe. Still waiting, deciding what I want to do when I get home. Unlike yesterday, I am not dog-tired. I dont, however, want to go out. I spent $1.75 for the bus, and $2.69 for subway before work (though honestly, that's the cheapest subway I've ever gotten. Thank goodness for grand openings!). I would have just eaten at home, but my bus left at 2:30 and I had to be at work at 4:00. I have to eat before I work, or my blood sugar gets low, but 2:30 is just too early for me to eat anything resembling dinner. I went to Subway, and they had a special: if I bought the largest drink, I get my 6-in. sub for $0.99. Not bad, and I even got them to switch the drink for a cookie (I get pop free at work). Woo!

I think perhaps I'll go home and play videogames. I've been avoiding anything that uses electricity lately, trying to shrink my bill, but I can budge for the night Besides, there's no daylight to keep me outside. Have a good night, everyone!

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

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

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

Japan.

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

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

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

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

I'm going to at least partially blame BF for it though. Yesterday he had his car in the detail shop to get the windows tinted (something about making the airconditioner work less while we're driving across the country). He had nothing to do, so asked me to meet him downtown. I figured, okay, I needed to get my hair cut anyway. We ate subway, I got my hair cut, took the trolley to the area where he was getting his car done, went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to pick up a bottle opener (ours vanished sometime during the move). I ended up getting loaf pan and somehow we managed to NOT buy trash bags, though we can only buy them there and have been out for about a week. Ugh.

Regardless, I spent $17 on food I shouldn't have. I should have just stayed at home all day and eaten here. We certainly have enough food. On top of it all we ate out the night before. I spent enough at restaurants/food courts in two days to get me groceries for two weeks! BF tells me not to beat myself up over it, but if I dont, who will? I didn't mind going out for our anniversary, but spending that much on mall food and subway seems silly when I have all that food at home. Perhaps this beating up of myself will keep me from doing it again anytime soon.

Erg, well, I have a double to day. Wish me luck!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So I'm still attempting to eat all in my fridge without wasting or throwing anything out. I'm eating my stirfry for breakfast (yes, as BF would agree with you, anything very not-breakfasty for breakfast may not be orthodox, and to some slightly gross. It's all food to me, though, so I'll do it anyways. hehe). I still have enough for one meal, though.

I got a call yesterday from a classmate of mine I havent seen, well, since the semester ended. I was so excited to have heard from someone from school (once summer came about, it seems we all lose touch), and I'll be doing an early dinner with her pre-work at Primanti's (bar and grill, fantastic sandwiches). I'm alotting $15 including tip, for a sandwich and a beer. On second thought, I might just get a basket of fries. That'll knock the price down a couple bucks, I'll just eat something small before I go. I know I said I wasn't going to go out to eat until vacation, but I consider this more of an entertainment expense than a restaurant expense because I'm spending time with a friend.

Sooo. I'll be making White Bean and Sausage Soup with Peppers for lunch and saving the leftovers. This is another silver palate recipe, though I'll be doing some substitutes. I have a bag of mixed beans that I've had since before we moved. For some reason, I haven't found a recipe to try with them, so I figured to substitute the mixed beans for the white beans. It wont be the prettiest of colors, I'm sure (you puree the soup before adding the sausage and peppers), but I'm sure it will taste just fine.

Well, that's about it for today. I'll cook, I'll go to the bank downtown, and get dinner with my friend before work. Then work. We have a party of 35 coming in tonight, so it's going to be a busy night. Yay US open. Cross your fingers I earn some moo-lah!

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

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

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

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

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