I went over to the school today to check my mail and see what if anything was happening. To my surprise, I received a card from My English Castle. 
I guess I've given enough clues for someone to figure out the name of the school I'm at (not that there's many in this neck of the woods ...or should I say, desert?) Thank you MEC, that was very thoughtful.
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This morning I used my elliptical for the first time since moving here. 
I managed to make it 30 minutes - the little computer on it said I'd gone 4.3 miles, but ... I kind of find that hard to believe.
Kari was slightly scared of the machine, but was also very interested, so kept coming near it. Thankfully not near enough to get hit though!
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Last night I was really wanting to eat some ice cream I have in my freezer. Instead, I ate a banana!
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This morning I took my car over to the place my co-worker recommended. I asked them to go over it with a fine tooth comb and see if there was anything they thought was a possible problem (safety wise.) They spent a good two hours on it! The end result was that they told me that my car looks like it is in good shape - they didn't see any potential problems.
So ... that is now two mechanics/places that have told me the same thing. Neither of them mentioned anything about the things holding the engine in - so I'm not sure what to make of that.
I also asked for an estimate of how much to change out the timing belt/water pump. $300!!! Including labor!! (I really thought it would be closer to $8 or 900 - at the dealership they charged me $1100 back in 2003/4.) I also asked them how much it would cost to fix my cig lighter. $10 - changed the fuse. Now I just have to find my car charger (if I still even have it...)I also asked about fixing the windshield wiper - that would be $90, so I passed on it. (It only works on two speeds - medium and fast.)
They charged me $20 for the fuse and tightening my a/c belt plus the two-hours of looking over my car. I thought that was very reasonable. I'm going to take it back tomorrow to get the timing belt changed.
In case you haven't guessed already, I have decided to take a chance on getting another year out of my car.
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Tithing $135.00
Offering $15.00
Phone $75.00
Internet $30.00
Netflix $9.00
Food $160.00
Auto Fuel $90.00
Fun Money $40.00
Medical/Dental $100.00
Clothing $10.00
Household/Misc. $30.00
Car Ins. $12.00
Life Ins. $16.00
Renter's Ins. $14.00
Gifts/Christmas $15.00
Professional $15.00
Kari (CAT) $25.00
Car Savings
(Repair/Replace)$255.00
Vacation $50.00
ROTH $100.00
EF $20.00
Most of these categories will stay the same going forward, except:
Medical/Dental -- I have a Dentist appt. and a blood draw this month. Normally this would be $50/mo
Car Savings: Should be closer to $388/mo.
ROTH - This is what I have been doing, but starting next month I plan to increase it to $150/mo.
EF - I'm mostly concentrating on my car savings right now, but going forward this will be $50/mo.
Car/Life/Renter's are all paid either annually or 2x a year.
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Today's Spending:
Car Stuff: $20
Auto Fuel: $31.71 (will come out of August's budget - I was on fumes otherwise I would have waited til tomorrow.)
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I am seriously loving YNAB 4! I entered my transactions on my phone at the gas station and the auto place. When I got home, they were both already updated on my desktop version. Also, it is a lot simpler now to copy and paste my budget numbers now. So Yay! Great job Jesse!!
Thanks MEC! Interesting Day so far (Car). August Budget
July 31st, 2012 at 07:25 pm
July 31st, 2012 at 08:02 pm 1343764922
July 31st, 2012 at 08:33 pm 1343766829
That sounds like great car news!
August 1st, 2012 at 02:14 am 1343787289
August 1st, 2012 at 03:08 am 1343790489
August 1st, 2012 at 03:12 am 1343790740
Great news about the car too!
August 1st, 2012 at 04:02 am 1343793769
Littlegopher - I remember seeing something about that somewhere - possibly on one of the blogs here. I definitely don't need anymore kitchen appliances .. so my nifty Ninja blender will do the trick.