I had a GREAT weekend. It was so nice!! I spent time with two of my girlfriends on Friday whom I rarely see, and it was great to catch up. I spent a little on groceries that day to have drink mixers on hand. We went out to dinner but they would not let me pay. I made them take a few dollars for the tip.

Saturday I cleaned up the apartment and did my taxes (finally! a refund!). I spent a little at Walmart, mainly on frivolous things like makeup and workout equipment. I had a delicious Italian dinner with my boyfriend; he wouldn't let me pay either, but let me leave the tip.

Sunday I was the happy recipient of a delicious breakfast, two creamy birthday cakes, a host of wonderful gifts, and an amazing Indian dinner. Several of my friends came over in the afternoon to play games, and we went to dinner later. The best gift I received was a charcoal drawing of my precious cat drawn by my best friend. My cat passed away one year ago today at the age of 17. I miss her desperately. Luckily the waterproof mascara I had bought the night before did what it was supposed to do when I opened that gift.

Today I may have a bit of an extended birthday...my boyfriend had a hard time finding the gift he wanted to give me, and he says he will be able to get it tonight. I could use some relaxation today. I had a number of nightmares last night and am sad today, anyway.

I had a couple of friends completely disregard my birthday this year. One may have forgotten (although that is somewhat unusual for him). The other was deliberate, I know. She has been treating me really poorly ever since she got a boyfriend (and, actually, for sometime before) and I'm done with the drama. I don't need that in my life! and luckily for me, I have many close friends and family who truly love me.

working on my budget today, trying to figure out where I can cut and how I can get a handle on it.

I'd like to join a gym at the end of this month, when they have their annual sale, a very good one.

I have a wedding to attend at the end of this month. I'm debating whether or not to buy an outfit. I will go through my closet to see if anything I already have will suffice.

I bought lunch today. I brought it on Monday and didn't eat lunch yesterday.

I can always find reasons to spend money...I'd like to always find reasons to save money instead. If I'm ever going to move out of this godforsaken climate, I'm going to have to have a safety net, so I better start building one now.

Today I saved myself $15.42 per pay period by reducing my medical coverage. I had the top-of-the-line, but after some research and calling I discovered that I could keep my own doctor with lesser coverage. I'll have to get referrals to see specialists now, but oh well. It will save me $400 a year. Unfortunately it won't start until March, but that's better than nothing.

Tonight we're heading to the library for some free educational entertainment.

today I bought lunch. not frugal, I know. I only purchased a sandwich, though - no chips or drink, if that makes it better.

I brought lunch from home yesterday and made dinner last night. I brought lunch today but just didn't feel like eating it!

I bought a upcoming wedding gift on smartbargains.com today. nice and inexpensive, perfect!

the sun is shining, thank goodness. it's up to 35 degrees, too. it's very quiet at work because most of the bosses have gone home.

turns out I didn't have to go into work yesterday. we had a major snowstorm on Friday (it took me 2.5 hours to drive home from work - normally it takes 1/2 hour), so the meeting was canceled. mind you, I didn't get the call until I was already out the door and on my way to work, but at least I didn't get too far down the road.

yesterday was a major spending day for my sweetie. he didn't want to shovel his car out on the street (it had been blocked in by plows overnight), even though I was prodding him and told him I'd help, and it got towed. it looks like he'll also get a fine. days like yesterday make me glad we haven't merged finances, but I still felt bad for him. I was pretty pist though, because what if it HAD been our money? while we were sitting in the towing office, all I could think was, wow, this a lucrative business, there will always be people who leave their cars lying around.

we went to a friend's birthday at a local bar last night. saved gasoline by carpooling with another couple. dinner was expensive but not as much as it could have been...since I don't eat meat, and 99% of the menu was meat, I ate beforehand and just split an appetizer and dessert (though I had a couple of drinks, too).

today my sweetie went to visit some friends so I am home alone! maybe I'll work on his valentine gift. I'll try hard not to spend $$!

forgot to add that I am making another batch of yogurt in my yogurt maker today. the last batch was good but a little runny. I added some powdered milk this time...we'll see if that helps! I love making my own yogurt!!

yesterday I brought lunch from home and met a friend at the mall after work. I was looking for an outfit for a wedding I'll be going to in late February, but I found nothing. I switched to trying to find work clothes...nothing. I ended up buying my dinner ($16) and a drastically reduced makeup set ($8). I am a makeup fiend...I was proud of myself for walking past the MAC counter with eyes averted and purchasing a much cheaper set with a bunch of colors to try. We are going to meet up sometime at a different mall to look for outfits again.

Tonight I am going to make coffee cake (mixed in my NEW MIXER!! it came on Wednesday!!!! happy dance happy dance) for work tomorrow. We have a big meeting and I thought I might contribute. Unfortunately I don't get paid for working on Saturday though; just comp time. However, we are supposed get hit with five inches of snow today and 3 more tonight, with wind gusts of 40mph tonight, so maaaayyyybbeee if I am extremely lucky, it will be blizzarding and I will get to stay home. I'll be keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Tomorrow night I am supposed to go a friend's birthday party (barring a blizzard). I picked up her gift in November, and I am really glad I did.

Sunday, sleep! and maybe some baking, because I bet I'll be snowed in.

last night we prepared dinner at home and made a tasty vegetable pie. the recipe was on the back of a potato soup can and was basically frozen veggies, bisquick, potato soup, and seasonings. it was great. we also baked the few tiny potatoes we had left over from our previous bag, so we made good use of a whole bag! that's a first for me.

I brought lunch today...boca spicy chick'n patty with the fixings.

I have a birthday party to attend this weekend at a local bar/club. I've budgeted the money for it and I really need to stick to that. birthday parties and gifts really drain my budget.

I can't seem to get rid of my headaches. they dull slightly but seldom really go away. I had a bad one last night and woke up with it still this morning. I've tried acupucture, massage, over the counter meds...these things dull them but never get rid of them. I drink a ton of water every day, so I know it's not dehydration. my mom gets terrible headaches too...I think maybe they are hereditary.

I did fairly well on the diet yesterday! even resisted several temptations.

I paid little attention to my budget OR my diet this weekend. back on track today.

we ate out on Friday night at a crazy fun tiki bar. greasy food, good beer - it was great, and actually fairly cheap for all the stuff we consumed.

Saturday was cleaning day. the house looks a lot better.

Sunday we didn't do much, and then headed out to our bed and breakfast. it was absolutely AMAZING. I wanted to move in. it was a giant old Victorian home, and there was a hot tub for two and fireplace in our room. we could feel the tension leave as soon as we walked in. what a great place. Sunday night we had a romantic dinner at an Italian place down the street. that was a bit too pricy but we had a nice time. that night we drank champagne that we had bought for New Years but hadn't drunk (so I guess that was frugal), and all in all we really enjoyed ourselves.

Monday we stopped by a couple of stores on the way home, the grocery store being one of them. spent too much money there for sure. we ate lunch and dinner at home and got some reading/tv watching in.

In all honesty, the only thing I paid for all weekend (now that I look back on it) was the bed and breakfast. my sweetie paid for everything else. it was pricy, yes, but less than some others, and all I could think on the way home was "worth every penny." we definitely needed that break. I even had a dream last night that I quit my job!

The other day I drank 100 fl oz of water. Yesterday, only about 64. So far today I have drank about 16 fl oz but I am determined to fill up my water bottle twice today at work, which will be another 64 fl oz. Water is cheap! and good for you!

I brought an egg salad sandwich and carrots for lunch today. last night we had dinner at home. tonight we are hosting some friends but we are making dinner ourselves, not getting takeout. tastier and cheaper (I hope).

Today I reserved a bed and breakfast for Sunday night. Not the most frugal, I know, but we were debating taking a last minute trip to a warm climate this weekend, and this will be cheaper. The room I reserved is $50 less than the other bed and breakfast we were considering, and we are only staying one night, not two like we wanted. It's not too far but will feel like an escape, especially with a whirlpool and fireplace in the room!

I am planning a "vacation at home" sort of thing for the rest of the weekend, visiting touristy places in our own city for free instead of spending way too much money on a vacation. There are plenty of places we haven't been around here, and we can have dinner at a nice, new-to-us restaurant on Saturday night since we saved $50 on the room. Plus we can make breakfast crepes in our own kitchen, pack snacks for big days, etc, and if we just want to lounge around, we can do that in our own home. I'm excited! I think it will be fun!

I hate working. I really really hate working. I wonder if I would enjoy working if I liked my job, or if I would still hate it. All I want to do is travel the world and explore new places, see new things, and write. Preferably after winning the lottery.

I looked for a new job yesterday and found a couple of leads, but completely forgot about them last night when I could have sent out my resume. I'll have to write it on my hand or something as a reminder.

I brought lunch to work yesterday and again today. I got up this morning and fired up the crockpot, so vegetarian chili will be ready when I walk in the door tonight. I'm going to look around the web for a quick cornbread recipe to go with it. Tuesday nights are busy so dinner has to be quick!

I can't believe I forgot! yesterday I listed my very first eBay item! I will be surprised if it sells, but it was worth a shot! I'd like to get going with eBay but we'll see...need to clean out the closets first!

Friday night we stayed in, watched tv, and made homemade pizza and cake. My sweetie asked if he should pick something up for dinner on his way home, but I told him no, we'll make dinner. I was proud of myself for not just saying yes!

Saturday we went shopping in the afternoon. I bought some Crabtree & Evelyn lotion on sale that I've been wanting for a while (buy 2, get 1 free), some greeting card-making supplies that were half off (!!), fake flowers that were half off, and a pair of brown boots for $30. I have more than one outfit that I haven't worn yet because I needed brown boots...I was so happy to find them, and for that price! Every other pair that I saw was at least $80, even in the discount stores. Then we went to dinner at Taco Bell (cheap!) and to a movie with free tickets. I bought one popcorn and one pop for us to share.

Today we stayed in, relaxed, and cleaned up the place. My sweetie's parents stopped by and gave us a bunch of foodstuffs and pop! They are the best. I made dinner and froze the leftovers for the future. yeah! I did spend a little money today...I ordered a yogurt maker from amazon.com. I hate spending money on yogurt (why is it so expensive??) and I'd rather know exactly what goes into it. I think eating yogurt really helps my health...I'm really excited about making my own!!

updating to say that my willpower crumbled at lunch. however...I suggested we go to Subway because I had two free coupon cards, so I bought lunch for two for only $1.27.

my coworker and I also stopped by the dollar store so she could pick up some things, and I only bought two gift bags for a birthday coming up. I put back two things I did not need to buy. I kept saying "I do not need frivolous things" and it worked!

I WILL NOT BUY FRIVOLOUS THINGS.

I WILL NOT BUY FRIVOLOUS THINGS.

I WILL NOT BUY FRIVOLOUS THINGS.


I am going to pay off my credit card next Friday. period. I am going to restrain myself from purchasing anything on any of my credit cards, even if it means putting them in a bowl of water in the freezer. "needs" and "wants" have yet to be fully established in my heart and head, but this is the year it is going to happen.

last night I spent quite a while working on my budget. I figured out a way to put the maximum toward my personal saving goal and the maximum to my Roth IRA. I just have to STICK TO IT. I can do this!

(dinner at home last night, lunch from home again today! yay!)

for some reason (I'll blame it on boredom, since every day I am paid to be bored silly), I decided to research kitchenaid stand mixers on the internet this morning. now ordinarily I can research something, find the best price, and tuck it away in my memory banks for later. today I had the HARDEST time not ordering that damn mixer. I don't know what came over me. I think knowing that it was on sale and that I could get an extra bowl with it and that I couldn't get it in the color that I want at the stores around here and that it had FREE SHIPPING (free! oh those evil words) made it harder. however, I prevailed. I am going to pay off my credit card before I buy it. my credit card will be paid off next week, and then I will reconsider the mixer. maybe by then the excitement will have worn off! I desperately want one of those mixers, and they last forever, but I don't NEED one right this minute.

brought lunch from home again and ate too many butterfinger crisps. candy in desk drawer=bad idea.

I successfully did not eat out again today. the pull has been great for the past couple of days because I know I have a little bit of cash and it is burning a hole in my wallet. I really should take it and deposit it where it has a better chance of sticking around.

anyway, I ate the lunch I brought today and it was quite satisfying, so I'm glad I did. I prepared a really good black bean soup last month and froze it, and it was was great warmed up again.

tonight I am going to battle the eating-out urge and force myself to eat vegetables and rice. I need more vegetables in my life!

my boyfriend's parents gave me an electric heating blanket and a ceramic heater for Christmas. they are both WONDERFUL. I am so excited to have both of them. I have the ceramic heater running now, as it is 60 degrees in my apartment. I don't have to pay for heat but I also have no control over it, so I am at the mercy of my landlord and his settings. unfortunately this may mean a bigger electric bill for me, but I only pay $30 a month on average anyway, so a little heat shouldn't break the bank.

I've been gone for a while, celebrating the holidays with family in the land of dial-up internet and one phone line. so no logging in to read up on discussion posts or journal entries.

however, the last couple of weeks have been quite inexpensive..I paid for gasoline to get there and back and about $40 in books and games on the day we went into town. everything else was free!

I went to the grocery store last night and spent only $26 and paid cash. I went to target and used the gift card I received and spent that. my companion covered the rest (about $20), but he has basically been living with me for a while now so I let him.

I haven't paid off my credit card fully yet but I am manipulating my budget to determine what would be best. it will be paid off by mid February at the very latest.

work potluck today. I made all my contributions from scratch so it was much cheaper than buying something pre-made from the grocery store at the last minute...and the added benefit is that my food got rave reviews.

I am so exhausted. my dreams have been much too vivid and emotionally charged for the past few nights. they are keeping me from feeling rested. I hope I can get some calm sleep tonight before my long drive tomorrow!

my coworkers really seemed to like their holiday gifts, too....I'm glad. one more stressor I can check off the list.

frugal things I did today:

- I brought lunch from home. again. just like yesterday. and it was leftovers from dinner last night and Monday night, both things I made at home!

- I used my free oil change tonight. I have a punch card and after five oil changes, you get one free. unnnnfortunatelllly....they found a ton of stuff wrong with my car. I do not have the money to fix this thing. luckily I am going to my parents' for the holidays and they offered to set up an appointment with their mechanic. I'm thinking that means it will be free for me...but I absolutely hate the guilt that comes along with it. I am a grown woman with a decent paying job. I should be able to pay for my own car repairs, even if it does amount to hundreds of dollars at a time. *sigh*

- I've been trying to stick to no more than 60mph on the freeway. it's tough with the crazies threatening to ram you even in the slow lane, but I am trying.

- I am going to package up some homemade treats to give to my coworkers tomorrow.

- I'm going to try really hard to get a good night's sleep. well rested = thinking clearly = less frivolous spending.

I really think that if I could get my budget under control, I could do the same with my diet, and vice versa. Right now I can't control either one. I record every bit of food I eat and every penny I spend, but I still go over on both. I don't know how to get there. All I want for Christmas is WILLPOWER.

I ate lunch from home today. Maybe that cancels out the fact that I purchased Christmas stockings for my parents last night and now will have to go out and buy things to put IN the stockings. ok, so maybe it won't. At least the stockings were 50% off, and candy will be on sale too. I always feel bad because the grown kids still have stockings (even the cats have stockings!) but mom and dad don't.

Tomorrow I will finish up my shopping. I was planning on doing it tonight, but with the ice storm and all, I think I'll stay in, do some laundry, and finish up my holiday baking.

I made a second batch of snickers fudge today to give out as holiday gifts. it is decadent and time consuming, but worth it.

I brought lunch to work every day last week. today I splurged a bit and got an egg nog shake at mcdonalds, some gorgeous blue gift bows, and the latest john grisham novel, but little things make me happy. unfortunately they also add up.

I am still going to make my goals...but January is going to suck. there will be no "fun money" next month!

...I left my homestay of six months and stepped onto the first of several flights that would bring me back home. Relieved to be heading back to familiar people and things, but a little wistful at the same time, I cried in the cab and mixed my languages. I was not looking forward to below zero temps at home, but I at least I was tan in December.

unfortunately, I am still paying off that experience, but I learned a lot from it. hopefully I will finally pay it off in February.

frugal things I've done lately:
- brought lunch from home yesterday and today.
- prepared a healthy dinner from scratch last night. (except for those stupid oreos...thankfully they are almost gone)
- didn't spend anything when I went shopping with a friend the other night. I didn't even feel all that tempted to spend.

a trip to walmart or target is in my near future. I will make a list and stick to it.

frugal thing I did today: brought lunch from home.

non-frugal thing I did today: spent more on my sweetie's christmas gift than I intended. but it was something he REALLY needs for his health, and even with that expediture, my total for everyone's holiday gifts is under $300.

my goals for 2005:

-pay off credit card in January. like, after the first payday in January.
-start a Roth IRA in January and contribute to it every month.
- sock at least $5 per pay period away in my emergency fund. ($5 is for really bad months...otherwise I want it to be much, much higher than that)
- pay off my car insurance in February. try to be frugal about the wedding I will be going to.
- pay off one college loan in March.
- increase payments on the other two loans starting in April.
- fully pay car insurance premium in June, without going so broke that I have to put groceries on the credit card.
- keep spending to 100% of what I make each month...not more.

*whew!*

Frugal Things I Did Today:
- made crockpot soup and homemade bread, thus keeping myself out of the restaurants or the delivery menus
- finished some homemade holiday gifts
- did not go shopping
- wore glasses instead of contacts (hey, this is stretching it, but not only do my eyes appreciate the break, I saved a few drops of saline)