What a boring day. There is hardly any work to be done. I can't imagine what Friday will be like, when so many people will be out of the office. I've been listening to NPR podcasts all morning, but there's only so much of that I can listen to in one sitting.

Wish I could go home! I'm planning to make a sweet potato pie for tomorrow's feast. I have never made (or even tasted) one before, but I saw a delicious looking recipe on the Food Network last weekend, and I'm going to try it. I need to clean up the house a bit before my sister arrives tonight. I could be so much more productive at home.

Took the bus in this morning, and brought my lunch and breakfast again. I could use some caffeine, though. I may run to the lounge and get a beverage. Walking around a bit might perk me up as well....

I've been revamping my budget in my down time. I'm striving for a 65% needs, 10% wants, 25% savings goal.

SO is now on my health insurance, yay! He's been without for two years - not good. I'm really glad that the option is available to us. We'll work something out with the rent so we come out even.

I'm going to play with my budget and my 2006 goals some more, just to keep busy (and awake!).

Apparently Friday was a blur.

November 18
$34.66 cell phone bill
$100 emergency fund
$100 family savings fund
$100 Roth IRA

Since my sister is coming this week, I expect my expenses to be a little higher than I anticipated. I'm going to try to eat at home as much as possible to keep costs down. Maybe we'll go to a movie at the cheap theater or something.

I just found out that I may get to see a friend of mine this weekend, someone I haven't seen in over four years. I hope we get a chance to get together while she is in town. I have a feeling we have both changed considerably. She was always a blast to hang out with in college! Maybe we'll just go out for coffee, or she can come over to our house (again, the cheap route).

I really don't want to have to spend a lot this week! *sigh* Luckily, I'm working three days of overtime again.

November 19
No Spend Day!
I did three loads of laundry, fixed a lot of little things around the house, cleaned the fish tank, and installed seven handles on the drawers of our kitchen island. SO was gone for most of the day, so it was just me and the kitties. I caught up on a few favorite tv shows in the evening and started reading a library book, "Unmarried to Each Other." Interesting read. Makes me feel a little less like a pariah for never having had the desire to get married. Kind of nice.

November 20
$85.09 Target (put on joint card, which we'll pay off when it's due, split down the middle)
$33.07 credit card payment (in full)

$50 of that was groceries. We have only spent a total of $93 on groceries this month! Today I made beer cheese hamburger buns, potato empanada filling, butterscotch pudding, and guacamole. I did a couple more loads of laundry, ironed a bunch of work clothes, and prepped the guest room for my sister's arrival later this week. SO is making crock pot applesauce with what's left of our apples.

It's nice to feel productive! I feel so tired and so uninspired during the week. If I didn't have to work, the house would be so much cleaner, I'd learn how to cook a lot more things...and I'd probably shop more, too.

Tonight I'm planning to make chile relleno casserole to go with the guacamole. I'm looking forward to reading more of that book, too!

Last night we made a run to Sam's Club, which hasn't happened since July. We got 50 pounds of cat litter for $7, not bad. Also laundry detergent (which I always buy there because it lasts forever), toilet paper, butter, eggs, cheese (another thing I always buy there), and some snacks (which I don't normally buy there). However, buying a large container of chocolate is cheaper than buying it out of the vending machine every day. We stopped by the liquor portion of the store as well and bought beer and wine.

By the time we got home (after a quick stop at Taco Bell for dinner), I was exhausted. I cleaned the bathroom and basically collapsed on the bed. I fell asleep before SO's sister came over and stayed in bed all night. I'll do laundry this weekend. This working overtime business is apparently catching up with me.

November 17
$2.82 breakfast
$88.99 Sam's Club
$.22 Taco Bell (SO paid for the rest)

I may have to pick that book up at the library that everyone is talking about...the 50/30/20 plan. Sounds interesting.

November 10
forgot to add: $120 Christmas gifts, including one for myself. Clothing with our work logo on it, so nothing too exciting, but it will be a cozy sweatshirt.

November 11
$27.42 Walmart
$17.04 birthday gift
SO bought pizza for dinner.

November 12
$16 Christmas gift
$11 bar food
SO paid for my dinner. Friends bought our movie tickets.

November 13
No spend day! Free delicious dinner at in-laws.

Busy day today!

My cat is driving me nuts (the first one, not the new one). He has this thing now where he starts yelling, jumping on my head, throwing everything on the counter onto the floor, gnawing loudly on magazines by my bed, etc at 4:00am. I keep telling him to wait two hours until my alarm goes off, but he won't. I haven't slept well in months (and not just because of him...SO starts snoring right around then too). Last night I was so frustrated, I told SO I was going to get my own apartment. Not really, but it's a nice thought, having a studio with just a bed in it, all to myself. *sigh* The new cat spends her days and nights in the spare bedroom, until she adjusts to her new living environment. I can't wait until there are two cats jumping on my head. There are moments when I think fondly of how nice it was to live completely alone.

November 7
No spend day.
Cat testing at the vet was about $65, and SO paid for it, so now he only owes me $50. Good news, the new kitty is leukemia and FIV-free.

Today I have to buy lunch. Fitful sleep from 4:00am on kept me in bed too long. I managed to catch the bus, but getting ready in 20 minutes meant no shower, no breakfast, and no lunch. The new cat escaped from her room, so I was dashing around the house, mascara wand in hand, trying to catch her with the other cat hot on her trail (or is that tail? to be more literal). I need a nap.

I don't know what it is, but I've been feeling ill since last evening. I'm thinking maybe I ate something funny (my stomach is so sensitive) or maybe my flu shot from a few days ago is affecting me now. In any case, I am at home today.

November 3
No spend day! Yay!
I made the lasagna and it turned out great. I also made rolls from scratch and a salad. Easy peasy.

November 4
No spend day presumably, since I'm still in my pajamas and have no interest in leaving the house.

Tomorrow morning I may run to the grocery store for a few things, and I'm teaching a friend of mine how to crochet in the afternoon. It should be a low-cost weekend...emphasis on should.

I fully paid off both of my credit cards yesterday, which totaled about $1350. Not a big deal, because I was expecting it. I was solely using the cards for the last month because I wasn't sure when I would get paid or how much my checks would be. It sucks paying out that much in one fell swoop, though...a bit startling. It's amazing how much more a paycheck is without health insurance! Too bad I can't just not have insurance (well, I probably could, but with my luck I would break my leg or something).

November 2
Credit cards $1350
ATM $40
Way overpriced lunch for two $14.07 (cash) (won't be dining at Brueggers again)
Michaels $6.37 (cash)

I talked to an old friend last night for an hour and a half. It was good to catch up. Tonight a friend of mine is coming by to bead. I have been making a lot of bracelets and such lately, and so has she. I am debating between ordering pizza or making lasagna. I guess it will depend on how tired I am later today. If I go with lasagna, it will be a no-spend day.

I also picked up five books at the library last night instead of perusing the shelves at Barnes and Noble. Just as good!

My first paycheck was twice what I thought it was going to be (I thought I'd only get paid for one week, but they paid me for two). Awesome! My aunt also sent a "congrats on your new job" gift. This extra cash means my Christmas gift fund is still full, and I'll be able to buy a plane ticket home for the holidays. The latter would be easier if I could get an answer out of my employer about time off, but at least I'll be able to pay for a ticket if I ever get an answer. I'm starting to feel like a pest, but ticket prices are rising as we speak, people! Chop chop!

I've been bad about sleeping too late the past few days and missing the bus, which means I have to drive to work. I don't mind driving, but it sucks up cash to pay for parking, and it's dumb when I have a bus pass. I need to figure out a way to make myself get up earlier. This morning I even had everything ready (lunch, clothes, etc) and still missed the bus!

Over the weekend we visited an apple orchard and picked thirty pounds of apples for $19! It was fun, and the weather was beautiful. We gave away five pounds of apples, but we are still swimming in them! I'll have to look up apple recipes. I made dinner from scratch on Sunday night, too. I also went to the gym last night and worked out! How do you like that? Hopefully I'm getting back into the swing of things.

I've left my old job in the past and started fresh. My coworkers threw me a nice going-away party. I am enjoying my new position, but there are a lot of things I miss. I miss knowing people at work and having comradarie most.

I bought a bunch of new clothes and don't regret it one bit. I feel more confident and I know that comes across in working with all of these new people. I have more clothes I'd like to buy, but it won't be right away, only because I am between sizes right now.

I haven't been particularly frugal this month. Not really surprising!

I've been taking the bus, and it's not so bad. I get a nice discount of 50 cents per trip. It's cheaper than driving, and I don't have to worry about traffic! It may not be quite so fun once the snow flies (which should be any day now), only because I have to walk about a mile in total.

I completely forgot that I had automatically programmed my savings account to pull money out last Friday. Whoops! Good thing I had a little cushion! I'm happy about it, though...that means I have more money in savings than I would have had. I'm a little paranoid about not having enough money to get through October (that's why I wasn't going to put money in savings), but I think it's unfounded. I have vacation reiumbursement coming with my last paycheck, and though it's not a lot, it will help. Especially since I am going clothes shopping with a friend tomorrow night. I desperately need new work clothes before next week.

So many people aren't feeling well around here! What a bummer! Funny, considering we have no actual contact with each other. Maybe our journals are contagious?

Thanks everyone!! I am really excited about my new job. Only nine days left of my current one...and my boss was at my desk for roughly half of the day today. I see that happening every day for the next 9 days. Oh well, it's almost over.

I think I'll have great benefits at my new job. Medical will be half the cost it is now, and I will have a 401k. They will match 80% of what I put in, up to 6%. I will find out more when I start, I suppose. I'll shell out less for gasoline every month because I'll take the bus to work, but I'll have to pay for bus passes. It should be interesting to see how this works out. If I'm contributing to a 401k, I won't have as much to contribute to my Roth IRA, my savings accounts, or my smaller college loan. The thought of a part-time job after work has never thrilled me...normally during the week, all I want to do is come home after work and chill. It may be a necessity, though, if I'm going to achieve my savings goals.

I asked if my car insurance premium would be lower since I'd be taking to bus to work, and they said that I'd have to drive 7500 miles per year or less. Yikes! It would only be a $63 per year discount anyway - not worth it to have them checking my mileage.

I do need to revamp my budget...thanks for the ideas. It will be an ongoing project.

August 26 Spending
$21 gasoline
$11 lunch for two
$500 credit card payments
$25 emergency fund
$25 family savings fund
$50 Roth IRA

TOTAL: $632

August 27 Spending
$0

August 28 Spending
$0

August 29 Spending
$7 beads

August 30 Spending
$10 lunch for two

August 31 Spending
$0

What a nice visit to my parents' house. We came back with the kitty so now we have a furry buddy to play with! He is the sweetest little thing, and hardly made a peep all the way home. My mom gave us all the necessary items for him, so we are set for a while. She also gave me a bunch of stuff for my new cake decorating hobby, and I'm really excited about that. I bought more beading supplies at half off the regular price, so I'm going to start fiddling with that again. Band starts up next week. Looks like hobby season has arrived! My mom gave me $60, completely unnecessary, but I have to pick up a bunch of things for my sister's dorm room this week, so it will be helpful.

Goals for August:
$150 to emergency fund: not quite - only $50
$50 to family fund: CHECK
$100 to Roth IRA: CHECK
$100 to Christmas gift fund: Put $125 in!
$100 to smaller college loan (twice the payment due): CHECK
get my car fixed (the main part, anyway): CHECK

GOALS FOR SEPTEMBER:
Pay off current American Express=$138, charge no more.
$100 to smaller college loan.
$50 each to Roth IRA, family savings, and emergency savings.
$75 to Christmas fund.
Keep spending at less than income. (sounds so easy, wish it was!)

August 24 Spending
$23 Michaels

I brought my 40% off coupon and got some good advertised deals. I am going to make a bracelet for a friend's Christmas gift, so I spent $10 on supplies (MUCH better than the $35 a similar bracelet would cost online). I got some sticky alphabet letter sheets on sale, $.88 rather than $1.50. I bought a small trinket to add to my sister's birthday card, $1.50. A color wheel jumped into my hands, as did two bags of river rocks for $.99 each. I put the rocks around a candle in our living room, and it looks great! Overall I got 13 items, so I was pretty pleased.

My new goal is to have a new job by October. I don't want just any job - I'd prefer one that was a little less secretarial (ok, not at all secretarial) - and I hope I can find one. I just can't take it anymore.

Looking forward to getting out of here for a few days....

I don't know what my problem is lately, but I have been dreaming about going on a trip. Oregon or NYC. Anywhere, really, that requires me to get on a plane and fly away from here. Tickets to Portland are $199 right now. I can't afford it...just have to repeat that mantra to myself. *sigh* I AM getting out of town this weekend again, through Tuesday, to see my family. That qualifies as a trip, but not the kind I'm itching to take.

August 22 Spending:
$0
Washed two loads of clothes, made dinner at home, resisted a take-out coffee. Oh and I went to work too, but that doesn't mean I did anything.

I'm going shopping with a friend tonight and I'm planning to pick up some birthday/Christmas presents. Will probably have dinner with her, too.

What beautiful weekend weather! We got poured on on Friday night, but we stayed mostly dry, and the rest of the weekend was gorgeous. It's funny how tired you can be after a weekend of camping, though!

August 19 Spending:
$25 camping groceries & supplies at Walmart
$10 more camping groceries
$11 beer
$25 year-long state park parking sticker
$3 firewood
TOTAL: $74

August 20 Spending:
$0

August 21 Spending:
$6 chocolate shakes at a fair

August 15 Spending
$54 car insurance (automatic)
$3 ice cream
$15 copay
TOTAL: $72

Tonight I'm going to the library via bike. I resisted going out to lunch with a coworker and ate what I brought to work instead.

I just canceled an order I placed for a hemp messenger bag back in July. They had it backordered until mid-August. Ok, it's mid-August, and they haven't returned my email from last week asking what the status was. I wrote to them today and canceled the order. $91 saved. I really want a messenger bag, though. It would be nice to consolidate my lunch, purse, and exercise clothes into one bag rather than several plastic bags. Maybe I will go out into the frightening world of pre-school sales and see what they are offering.

This might turn out to be a no-spend day!

August 11 Spending
$11 restaurant dinner with my girlfriends (kind of spur of the moment)
$64 credit card payoff
TOTAL: $75

August 12 Spending (payday)
$25 to family savings fund
$25 to emergency savings fund
$50 to Roth IRA
$125 to Christmas gift savings fund
$135 college loan payment
$100 college loan payment
TOTAL: $460

August 13 Spending
$100 ATM (but only about $20 spent - didn't go to the Irish Festival as we had planned)
$64 Target
$11 Petsmart
$150 Ikea (two more barstools, two DVD racks, and a birthday gift for my sister)
TOTAL: $325
Got my rental return in the mail, $291 to deposit.
SO paid for groceries, $62. We went out to a movie with his parents, and they paid. Very sweet.

August 14 Spending
No spend day!

I have decided not to go with the first Lasik place I went to. The doctor didn't bother to call me back until today. I'm pretty irritated about their lack of customer service, especially about something so important - MY EYES. I went to a new optometrist today and had a bunch of testing done. He referred me to a retinal specialist to have a look at something odd in the back of my right eye, just to determine if I really can have Lasik done. Apparently I have a scar in the back of my eye, which could be adversely affected if I have Lasik. As in, I could end up with a blank spot in the center of my vision. Not cool. I can't believe that other Lasik clinic was so hellbent on getting my money that they didn't want to explore this issue further! I'd much rather play this safe than sorry. The doctor today said something rather disturbing - after seeing that scar in the back of my eye, he is surprised that I can see as well as I can. YIKES. So, we'll see what the specialist says next week.

SO and I were both feeling rather crappy all weekend. We couldn't pinpoint anything bad that we had eaten..maybe it was just viral. Feeling better today!

August 9 Spending
$0
earned $3.21 from half.com

August 10 Spending
$30 Indian restaurant lunch buffet for three

I'm waiting for a doctor at the Lasik clinic to call me back so I can ask some questions. I'm going to make my decision after I talk to her. I am getting so sick of wearing my glasses!! Today I put my contacts in. I will take them out tonight and leave them out if I decide to do the surgery next week. I'm meeting some friends for dinner tonight, and wearing my glasses is giving me a major headache, so I put the contacts in.

Today feels like Friday. All day yesterday I thought it was Thursday! Payday can't come soon enough, I guess.

I just read about Peter Jennings in the paper. How sad. It scares the crap out of me too, because I know the smoker in my life will never quit (my father). Everyone has tried talking sense into him for years, but he'll never quit...he's too stubborn. *sigh*

August 5 Spending:
$0!!!
SO and I went to the art fair, where everything is beautiful but way too expensive. He bought dinner for us both, ~$8.

August 6 Spending:
$35 Super Target (saved approx $3 with coupons)
$27 Walgreens (prescription was finally filled)
TOTAL: $62
SO bought groceries, ~$50.
Saturday was the most productive day I've had in quite a while. I baked four loaves of bread and a peach pie and made hummus, and we washed three loads of laundry and one load of dishes. We also bought groceries, some things at Target, and picked up both of our prescriptions. In the evening, we watched a movie that we had checked out from the library, and had a frozen pizza for dinner.

August 7 Spending:
$21 Gasoline
I took a drive to have lunch with friends. It was a nice, mellow (and low-cost) day. I paid my half of the electric bill too, but I'm not going to track regular bills like that here.

Today I got up early and went to the Farmers Market. I was reading an article this morning in my latest Organic Style magazine about how it makes more sense to buy locally grown produce when you have the chance rather than organic produce at the market, simply because it's much fresher (duh). So, I headed out, and $13.25 bought:

Two green bell peppers
Two white bell peppers
Two purple bell peppers
Five zucchinis
Three eggplants
Six ears of corn
A bunch of greens (Indian Spinach, I think)
Several tomatoes

I stopped by the grocery store and picked up three avocados, a head of romaine lettuce, three gigantic peaches, and a package of organic eggs ($15). I also bought the Sunday paper ($1.75). I walked into Michaels to pick up their August class list and did not buy thing.

Later, I realized that the toilet had broken, so I paid $5 for a new flapper, and fixed it myself.

I'm pretty happy with the day. My August savings goals may be in jeopardy because I may take a few cake decorating courses with a friend (they are half price this month). I'd have to buy decorating tips too, so it would end up being approx $58. However, I have bought almost all of the groceries this month (almost $200) so BF can take care of that next month.

I just realized that I didn't spend much at all on eating out this month (maybe $10 max). BF and I didn't eat out together much either. That's why that grocery bill is so darn high *sigh* but better groceries than restaurants, I guess.

Off to figure out the tastiest way to prepare eggplant...

I'm on my own this weekend, and I had two goals for today: 1) have a rare no-spend day 2)try to eat better than I normally do. I successfully completed number one, but not without difficulty. All day I caught myself thinking about things I wanted to buy..."oh I should go to the grocery store and pick up some avocados"..."I could really use another cute skirt"...."I could buy that cookbook, it looks wonderful"..."I wonder if that infomercial teeth-whitening product really works"... etc etc etc. I have not left the house all day (other than to get the mail) and that is the only reason I have not spent anything today. Unfortunately, goal #2 failed miserably. I filled my desire to shop with an excessive amount of chocolate. I succeeded in doing a little cleaning, a load of laundry, and a load of dishes today. Otherwise, the rest of my time has been consumed with eating chocolate, thinking about shopping, watching tv, and finishing my book. The peace and quiet and lack of planned activities is a welcome relief, though.

We shall see how tomorrow will fare....

What did I just say about needing to stay out of the stores? I stopped by JcPenney last night because they were having a big sale (as always) and I knew they had lots of curtains. I bought some for our bedroom. I'm still not sure if they are perfect or not; I'll have to live with them for a few days to see. They were half price, though. I also bought a skirt at half price, which I'm wearing today, and I've already received one compliment on it.

In any case, I spent about $70 yesterday. I made a dessert last night for a dinner party we're going to tonight. BF is going out of town for the weekend, so assuming I stay out of the stores and keep myself busy at home, it should be a no-spend weekend. Today is payday, so I put $75 in savings and $25 to my Roth. The prescription still isn't ready and probably won't be until next week, so that goes into August's budget, along with my car repair. All I have left to spend on this month is rent.

I put 17% of my salary into savings & retirement this month. I think I've been calculating my "percent of income spent" wrong, because I'm counting things twice on my spreadsheet (once in the category, and again in the credit card part if it was charged). If I'm looking at it right now, in July I spent 81% of my income and put 17% toward savings, so that makes for a total of 98% used. Not bad. I had a lot of cash flow this month, though, with an extra paycheck and my rent deposit returned (and no rent paid in July). Next month will be tighter. Time to batten down the hatches!

Goals for August:
$150 to emergency fund
$50 to family fund
$100 to Roth IRA
$100 to Christmas gift fund
$100 to smaller college loan (twice the payment due)
get my car fixed (the main part, anyway)

I'm still irritated with my job. I stayed home from work yesterday and tried to get over a stress-induced headache. In the afternoon, I stopped by the post office to mail out a few things to my family and my requisit half.com book. A few more groceries and home needs at Target found their way into my car. I stopped by Michaels and bought decorative candle holders for my apartment and a Christmas gift for my mother that was $20 off (I'm already done with her Christmas gift! yeah!). I wandered through Barnes and Noble and nearly came out with nothing, until I saw a magazine about businesses in my area. It had a big section on good and bad car repair shops with consumer reviews. Given my current track record of having a car shop tell me every year that I need to replace my serpentine belt, I bought it. After getting gasoline, I went home, put away the groceries, hung up my new decorations and some that had been waiting to be hung, did two loads of dishes, and oiled our new kitchen island top again. Dinner was in the crockpot and turned out ok (not enough spices, I need to get better at that). BF and I decided to ride our bikes to the library instead of vegging out in front of the tv. I really needed that! It was so refreshing! I want to go bike riding again tonight.

Post Office: $9
Target: $50
Michaels: $80
Barnes and Noble: $11
Gas: $18

Total Spent: $168

All I have left budgeted to spend on this month is one prescription, rent, my car repair, $50 to savings and $25 to Roth IRA. I'm way over budget again. I don't even want to think about it. Our pantry is completely stocked, so I need to stay out of the stores!

Just a few things:

1 - I just found out that I'm not gong to get comp time at work anymore. Before, if I had to come in early or stay late for a meeting, I got that amount of time to use as I wished (like personal time or vacation time). I'm salaried, so I don't get paid time and half for that time. Now, I'm not going to get it at all. I'm just going to be expected to do whatever these people ask me to do. Did I mention that I'll never get an increase in vacation time, either? That even if I'm here for 30 years, I'll leave with the same two weeks I started with? I'm putting my job search into overdrive. This place is NUTS.

2 - I sold another book on half.com - only $3 total, but it's better than nothing.

3 - I really am proud of paying off all my credit cards in full. My current debt (college loans) now stands at just under $15,000 (if I paid it off today). I really wanted to get under that amount, and I'm under it now! Yay!

My car is going to cost about $700 to fix...and that's only to replace the things that I can actually hear going wrong (i.e. catalytic converter rumbling and a belt squealing). I suspect I need my brakes looked at and my tie rods replaced. I can barely afford to replace the catalytic converter, so the other things are just going to have to wait. My car is probably not worth much more than $700. It's tempting to buy a newer car (and everyone is saying DO IT), but the cost of these car repairs is nothing compared to what a monthly car payment would be. If I spend $1000 a year on repairs, that's still only $83 a month. I'm not going to find a car payment for that, and even if I could, it would likely be a piece of crap car that would need additional repairs anyway. *sigh* I wish I made a lot of money so I could buy a brand new car and not have to worry about this for a while. At least the repair estimate was only $20.

After hearing that painful estimate, I went to the grocery store and blew $100. I know, silly. It's funny how I feel that repairing my car is not worth it but sugar free pudding is. We are stocked for a while now, especially in fruit.

I paid off my other credit card in full ($380). I sold a book on half.com and was paid for it today ($4).

I applied for a few jobs last week...we'll see if I hear from anyone. I need to make more money if I am ever going to get out of this state, buy a new car, buy a house, etc etc etc.

Saturday and Sunday were no spend days. I don't think I've ever said that. How refreshing!

It's always Monday.

I didn't bring my car in this weekend. I did a little shopping on Saturday (just some necessities and a couple of small gifts). Ate lunch at Taco Bell but ate dinner in. Wasn't feeling too well in the evening, so I mostly read my book. On Sunday I ran to the Farmers Market and bought the most beautiful petunia plant. It's about three times the size of a normal hanging plant. I can't wait to hang it up on the deck! It's been in the 90s for almost two weeks though, and close to 100 all weekend, so I haven't hung it up yet. Today we've gotten a bit of relief, finally, with 77 degrees. The weather here is nuts, and that's one of my primary reasons for wanting to get the hell out of dodge. My sort-of-not-really-in-laws bought us lunch on Sunday, and I made dinner for all of us.

I got my rental deposit back from my previous landlord today - YEAH! I'm so happy it came. I'm going to pay off my other credit card with it, and this month's bigger college loan payment. Not the most exciting to most people, but I know savingadvicers will appreciate how good it feels to pay off a credit card. Of course, it will be a temporary happiness if my car repair is exorbitant.

Hoping to get back into my frugal ways this week...

Also, I'm wondering how Laura (FrugalTexan75) is doing. Haven't seen her around lately....hope things are ok!

Today is payday. I put $100 to my college loan, $100 to Roth, $100 to emergency savings, and $25 to family savings. I'm pretty proud of myself! Yesterday I went to the doctor (finally) and got three months worth of allergy med refills. It was a big outlay of money at once, but at least I don't have to worry about it for a while. AND I had the nicest doctor I think I've ever met. Bonus!

I have been completely stressed out lately. The apartment is so overwhelming, because it's all in boxes, and we are merging our stuff. "do we keep this one? or this one that looks exactly like it?" It's hard. My sweetie has been really great though, doing most of the cleaning while I do most of the freaking out. I'm at the point where I want to throw all of my stuff out the window just to make it less cluttered. I've also been feeling down about my ever-increasing weight (hello? what is my problem??) and my job. My car sounds like a lawnmower with high pitched squeal (belts and muffler, no doubt). People honestly stare as I drive by.

So, I'm a little stressed.

Luckily, my girlfriends are coming over tonight to hang out. I really need some relax and let-loose time. I also really need some alone time. Maybe I will try to get out of the house on my own this weekend.

My finances this month are equally out of whack. I've already spent over $1500 this month (that includes savings) and I have about another $1500 budgeted to spend. It's a three paycheck month, though, and I'm expecting my rent deposit back any day now. The thing that is going to throw me way off course is my car. I talked to a repair shop last night but they charge $80 labor just to diagnose the problem, and the guy was soooo condescending (I WAS a woman walking into a repair shop alone, after all). I'm going to look around more tomorrow for a place with people who don't make me feel like a stupid 12-year old girl.

Looking forward to the weekend! Hoping to keep spending at a minimum (other than the car problem). I think I need a vacation, so I'm thinking about visiting my parents later this month. We'll see if that's feasible.

So, after all of my complaining yesterday about my former landlord...he called yesterday and said he has my old place rented for June! I already sent in my July rent check, but he will tear it up. I'll meet with him this weekend to go over the checklist and get my deposit back! Yeah!!

I told BF that since I didn't have to pay rent on the other place, I could give him half of our current rent now (he already paid it in full himself, knowing that I had to pay rent on the other place). He refused to let me pay, saying that I let him stay with me for a year rent-free (which is true), and we can start splitting the cost in August. He really is a fabulous guy.

That freed up $600! I paid off my 0% interest credit card, put $50 to my Roth, $50 to savings, and $150 to holiday gift savings. That only leaves $34, but I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY to have that stupid credit card bill over and done with. I have another credit card bill to pay off later this month, but that will be easy, and I'm so glad I don't have that debt hanging over my head anymore. Really, I'm dancing around the living room.

This is also a three-paycheck month for me. I have things budgeted out, but I'm really going to try to spend less than what I've got written down. Plus, I'll have that extra deposit money coming back to me, so I'll be able to put $300 more in savings and $200 more in my Roth.

What a great day! I guess that money tree really is working. I bought one at Home Depot a couple of months ago, and it is flourishing, even at the new apartment. According to principles of feng shui, you're supposed to put a money tree in the southeast corner of your house to bring in good money vibes...that's where mine is! (or, I have a great boyfriend and have been lucky...but I like the money tree too!)

Moving is so expensive. I'm lucky to be getting a break on rent soon, and my deposit back, to compensate for it.

I have a cold that just will not go away. I can't believe how much it is NOT reacting to cold medication, or vitamin c, or zinc, or orange juice, or massive amounts of sleep. I don't think my system is so run down that I can't fight it. Everyone around me seems to have it as well, and they can't get rid of it either. ugh.

Friday: payday. paid some to credit card. was home alone, so I ate frozen pizza and watched tv.

Saturday: packing, packing, packing. moved stuff. returned something to target, bought more stuff for the new place, but boyfriend paid. dinner at home.

Sunday: moved stuff. visited with friends, who took us out to dinner. free day.

Monday: ordered pizza, boyfriend paid. gasoline, $16. fell asleep as soon as I got home.

Tuesday: stayed home from work, sick, slept most of the day. groceries and cold medication: $50. haircut and color, $90. I would have canceled the hair appt had it not been for my interview the next day.

Wednesday: interview went pretty well until I started choking and coughing. if I don't get the job, I will blame it on that, because I am completely qualified for the position. paid cable bill, $57. paid more to credit card. I need to get an anniversary gift for my sweetie, but I am so tired. I don't feel like shopping tonight. I feel like going back home and crawling into bed.