Keeping It Frugal

About 2:30 this afternoon I received a phone call from the person I was to have an interview with asking if I could come in earlier than I was scheduled for. I agreed - even though I hadn't done some things I'd wanted to do before the interview, but felt I wanted to show flexibility from the start if possible.

So, I got there just a few minutes before 4 p.m. I think it went pretty well. After the interview questions were over, we went over my test (I took the Reading and Writing portions of the SAT). She told me on my essay that one of the problems was the lack of a variety of examples - I needed an example from some study or such not.

I bit my tongue, but very badly wanted to ask her how many high-school students read Newsweek or whatever enough where they'd even KNOW supporting studies, let alone be able to remember it accurately to include in a 25 minute essay from start to finish??

Anyway, from going over my test results, I saw that I essentially needed to have omitted more questions than I did on the Reading part, and on the Writing part I needed to have answered more correctly.

She told me there were two possibilities going forward - 1) Go ahead and start my training while I continue to study to retake the test and make the 700 mark, or 2) Study to retake the test until making the 700 mark, then begin training.

So . . . neither of these two options made it sound like I won't get the job - just have to make the 700 mark. I wasn't far off in the Reading (missed by 30) but in the Writing I was 80 pts off.

Any English teachers out there know of a good resource to really get down pronoun agreement?? That was one of my weak areas - recognizing when pronouns didn't agree. i.e. "It is one's duty to read diligently, because you will learn more that way."

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My Grandma has been searching for the past few years for a divided skillet. Each time she came here to TX to visit, we would also check around to see if we could find what she was looking for. This time however, I got the bright idea to do a google search -- and found just what she was looking for on Ebay!

The starting bid was $10 + $9 shipping. I put in a max bid of $20, thinking there was no way it would go higher than that, because, really, how many people even know such a thing exists? To my dissapointment and amazement, I was outbid! I started raising my bid bit by bit until I hit $27. Then I called my dad to double check just how much she was willing to go. He told me she had been thinking $29 max (cost +sh) so I said I'd be willing to throw in $5, and my dad said he'd be willing to throw in $5 or $6. So, I put my max bid at $35.

I finally found the other person's max! I bought the pan for $31 + $9 sh = $40.

I was a bit annoyed though, because it just seemed a little too convenient that someone came along and bid up to $30 on something that is pretty obscure. It made me wonder if it wasn't a family member's account or something who saw that there was a bid on their item, so went to bid it up to the retail price.

Maybe not. It could have really been someone else wanting it.

Oh well, I'm just glad that my grandma now will have her pan. I asked her what she'd use it for and she told me she'd use it to be able to cook her meals all in one pan at the same time. Guess that makes sense.

Ok, not really.

This morning I was getting ready to go to church when I got a phone call from a friend of mine. She asked me if I had any plans for dinner, and I told her that I didn't. So she then tells me that her youngest son (5 y.o.) had informed her that she needed to invite me for dinner! So Cute!

So tonight, my friend, her oldest son, her youngest son, another friend of hers named Nora (who youngest son had also told his mom needed to be invited) and I all ate at the Blue Mesa. I hadn't met Nora before, so it was nice to meet one of my friend's coworkers.

Do you get why youngest son was so adamant about the two of us coming to dinner? Laura ... Nora He thinks it's so funny that his mom has two friends whose names sound so alike.

I really was NOT planning on doing any eating out this month - but how can a person resist a request from a 5 year old cutie patootie?

So, anyway, the kid made my day.

I got a spinach and cheese enchilada plate - was $9.69, plus $2 tip = $11.69

I only ate half of it, then took the rest home in to go box -- so lunch tomorrow!

When I got home I put my lb of pinto beans in my new crockpot to soak overnight.

Why am I up so late tonight? I've been working on updating my resume. Tomorrow afternoon I have my interview for the part time tutoring job. A little nervous - but it really wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't get the job. It would just be so nice to have a couple extra hundred each month - give me some breathing room.

Today I made two grocery stops - one at Walmart, and one at Walgreen's.

At Walmart I bought enough frozen fruit to use in my breakfast smoothies for the remainder of January. I also bought a 24 pk of string cheese which is my afternoon office snack - so, again, a month's supply. I bought a bag of split green peas -- my dad loves split green pea soup, and I want to see if I can find a recipe and make him some. I bought a bag of black beans - which I'll probably mix with my pinto beans to make soup or burritos or maybe patties -- again, for my lunches. I also bought a 4pk of toilet paper - more than a month's supply.

I bought four items which will be for this week only - a container of 8th Continent Chocolate Soymilk, a bag of green onions, a bag of Veggie Lover salad, and a butternut squash. I am going to have to google to find out how to cook the squash - I really want to learn how to use more veggies in my diet.

At Walgreens I bought 4 6pks of raisins and a small bag of unsalted almonds - both intended for morning work snacks.

At Walmart, my total came to $27.62, and at Walgreen's my total came to $5.74.

Next week I should only have to purchase soymilk, bananas, salad, and various veggies. Hopefully, my bill will be $10 or less.

This weekend I will be making my work lunches for the month. In December I had burritos (have 3 left actually) but haven't decided for sure what I'm going to do for the remainder of January.

I was a beehive of activity this morning. Put my laundry away, did a trash run and actually took it to the dumpster, picked up things that were out of place around the apartment, and cleaned out my car! Wooh! I'm exhausted. -- Just kidding.

I also decided to go check my mail - hadn't checked it since Friday.

I had two interesting pieces of mail. One was from my friend Karin who lives with her husband and two little ones in NM. Her hubby got a job here in Texas, near Houston and they'll be moving in the next few months!! Yahoo! I haven't seen her since her son was about 7 months old, and he's now 4 1/2!

The other piece of mail was from my lovely brother and his even lovlier wife. It was a belated birthday card -- and not just a card, but it also had a $25 Barnes and Nobles gift card! Woo Hoo! Does my bro know me or what?

Within 15 minutes of opening it, I got on mypoints.com and clicked on the Barnes and Nobles link - then preceded to go through all of the bargain priced books. In the end, I bought one regular priced book, and four heavily discounted books. My total purchase was over $25, so I had free shipping, but I did get charged tax.

So, for $4.79 by Saturday I should have 5 brand new books, courtesy of my brother and sil -- plus, I earned myself ~275 points! Woo Hoo!

#1 - Keep track of my money on a daily basis
using You Need a Budget.

#2 - Save an additional $4500 in Emergency Fund/Car Fund

#3 - Fully Fund Exercise Fund $1700 (Callanetic's and Personal Training expenses)

#4 - Fund Vacation/Fun Money $500
--- California Memorial Wknd trip, etc.

#5 - Find second source of additional income

---After #5 is accomplished ...
#6 - Increase Roth Contributions by $50/month.

#7 - Increase 401K Contributions by 1%.

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I have a possibility of a Sunday tutoring job - 6hrs/wk possible pay of $14+/hr (more than my regular job!). I have an interview this Sunday afternoon.

If this doesn't work out, I'm going to keep trying to find something else.

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One other thing I'm going to do this year (ok, going to attempt again) is to totally cut out soda and fast food consumption. That will save tons of money and be helpful in my health goals. I've really been sabotaging my health and financial goals by my soda and fast food/junk food habits.

My goal is to keep food spending to $20 - 25 per week -- with a total monthly budget of $115 - 130. That'll give me room to stock up if I find a good deal, but also money to put towards my other goals when I make my goal amounts.

My Christmas Eve Day was spent in two very different worlds.

Christmas Eve morning I woke up in time to eat a bite of food and get dressed. I had spent the night at a hotel with my dad and Grandma. I was over warm in the night - and had thrown most of the covers off. I had clean water to shower with, brush my teeth with, clean clothes to put on.

I headed to the below lobby level of the hotel to check in with the Soup Mobile organization. There were at least 150 or more people milling around in the lounge area, either waiting to check in, or reading through their instructions.

I got up to the table and found out that I was supposed to have a partner - since I didn't, I got sent to the 'corner' till someone came along without a partner. About 5 minutes later this nice lady named Veronica came over, and we partnered up. We were given a clipboard with a baggie. The baggie contained 6 slips of paper, a few sheets of post it's, a tape measure, two pens, safety pins, and two instruction sheets.

We sat with the others and read through our instruction sheet. It was the first time for both of us to volunteer for this duty, and I think we both were apprehensive about what was about to happen. At first, the instructions looked quite daunting, and I wondered how we were going to actually get through all of them -- especially since one of the pieces of info needed for each person was their inseam.

Essentially Veronica and I's job was to get in line with the other 50 pairs of volunteers, greet the two homeless people who were assigned to us, get their names, waist size, inseam size and shirt size. Then take them to the lounge and give them one of the sack lunches. While they ate, we dropped off their information forms, then got their room number, and then went back to pick up their clothing bags. Once we had their bags, we went back to pick up our pair of homeless people and take them to their rooms. In each of the hallways there was a pair of hall monitors (keeper of the keys) who would let us and the homeless people in their rooms. Then, after dropping them off, we would go back downstairs for our next pair.

A total of 300 homeless people were fed and housed at a *very* nice hotel for Christmas Eve.

The first two pairs we were assigned were men. Two of the four men were either on crutches, or used a cane heavily. I talked sports with one of them - he loves his Cowboys! These first four were all relatively clean and able to carry a conversation well.

The first two times we took our pair to their rooms, the path was lined by other volunteers helping to lead the way. All of them were saying "Merry Christmas" etc to our group as we passed. Just before getting on the escalator to go upstairs, each homeless person received a backpack with toiletries, etc.

Veronica and I were talking later, and both of us agreed that it felt a little weird walking all that way with them and having so many people saying greetings. We both wondered if the homeless people, while appreciative of what was being done for them, weren't also somewhat humiliated by the overabundance of greetings.

The last set of people we were assigned were two women. One was very quiet, and the other was *very* talkative! She was just completely overjoyed and overwhelmed at being in the hotel - getting new clothes -- and the backpack! She just about fell over in excitement about getting a backpack. As we dropped the ladies off in their room, she kept repeating over and over "This is just Heaven!"

So, for about 4 hours of my Christmas Eve, I had the chance to find out just how lucky and blessed I am. I felt sad that the idea of getting a brand new backpack doesn't excite me at all - in fact, my first thought if I was given a new backpack probably would be "What am I going to do with this? Ack - clutter!"

Here I am with my cellphone, a good apartment (even with the neighbors who don't understand what an appropriate volume level is for a complex, or the neighbors who think that just because they have an enclosed back porch - its a great place to leave their dog for umpteen hours) -- I have food galore -- not only that, but I have the CHOICE of eating the good for me stuff or the not so good for me stuff. I have plenty of clothes - and as much as I loathe the laundromat, I have enough clothes to last me three weeks between laundry runs - without running out of clean things!

Okay, so now it's Christmas Eve afternoon. I'm back with my Dad and Grandma. We decide to go out to eat at IHOP and end up eating way too much. Then we go over to Walmart where we spend a lot of time picking out Christmas cards to send to different family members, then continue on to the men's clothing area to pick out a new shirt for my dad (from Grandma). After we finish, we head over to the theater to watch "National Treasure 2". Then we head back to the hotel where we exchange gifts. I gave my grandma a shawl, and I gave my dad Season 2 of Home Improvement. I got cash from both of them (what I asked for.) Then we watched a National Geographic documentary on Killer Whales and the summer of 2004 where they were attacking the California Gray Whales.

My morning showed me just how little some people have, and how such little things, that many of us may take for granted, are greatly appreciated by them.

My afternoon/evening showed me how easy it is to take the ability to choose where you want to eat and what you want to eat, the ability to see a first run movie, the ability to be able to exchange gifts with your loved ones, etc., for granted.

From now on, whenever I get the case of "I wish I could afford that' or "My life stinks" I'm going to think back to Christmas Eve morning and remember that no matter how bad it may get, I still have it really good.

Saturday marked the end of my 31st year of life, as well as the beginning of my 32nd year of life.

It also was the end of my relationship with so called elevator guy and the beginning of a new period of being single yet again.

My birthday had many good elements to it - spent time with good friends, saw several of my former students be baptized, was able to listen to beautiful music, and saw "August Rush". I also got to speak with my brother for an unhurried conversation, as well as with my dad. My mom and stepdad both left messages for me.

As far as the ending of my relationship ... that was my decision. We'd had several discussion with regards to our ideas as to what our relationship was/how it should be with no real resolution other than around Thanksgiving we agreed to the idea of still dating each other, but not being exclusive. Well Saturday morning I received a phone call from him that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

It's a feeling of both relief and a bit of sadness. I'd much rather be single than be in a relationship that is causing me more frustration and disappointment than happiness.

On the financial side - I received a reimbursement check from my health insurance company for $92.00 from when I went to the endontologist. It was perfect timing - because it will pay for my two tickets to see Jim Brickman! on March 8.

I had quite the frustrating time getting my laundry done today. The first two places I went to didn't have any working change machines nor anyone visible who was working there. Luckily, the third time was the charm - plenty of open machines, a basket with a hanging bar, and a change machine.

In this picture I'm wearing my $20 dress from Ross, and $15 of jewlery from Claire's (including my hairpiece). I don't think anyone had any idea that I didn't spend anywhere close to what they spent on their outfits.



We had a lot of fun. I even got up and was part of a Conga line! I got Tye (my bf) up there on the dance floor for one song - which is more than he said he'd do.

There was an Austin Powers impersonator there - he was really good and really funny. I must have made an impression on him because he remembered my name enough to call me up by name to be part of the Conga line.

Yeah, baby, yeah! (Yes, I am a 31, almost 32 year old woman admitting that I actually liked -- no, enjoyed -- the Austin Powers movies.) It was so weird when I was talking with him, because I *knew* it was some guy playing a character, but he was doing such a good job of it, you felt like you were maybe really talking to Austin Powers.

Arghh!!! I check my financial accounts everyday - sometimes more than once a day. Yeah, I admidt it, I'm a bit anal about wanting to know exactly how much I have at any given moment.

So, yesterday I noticed on my credit card account that although my rent and a number of other things had gone through, they weren't showing up in the actual balance. I thought that was strange, but figured I'd give it a day to see what happened.

Tonight I attempt to log in - I get the message that Nope, You can't log in. Call *********** customer service.

So, I call. I get run through the id verification process. Then I'm asked if I had made the following charges: $2,349 at Home Depot; $1,569 at Williams Sonoma; $689.57 with Time Warner, plus some others I don't remember-- I reply with a Holy Sh**! Um, NO! those aren't my charges!

So, my current number is closed now, and they are sending me yet another new card with a new number. So now I get the fun job of remembering all the various things which I have coming off my card on a regular basis. Fun. NOT!

I have a dentist appointment tomorrow with a co-pay of at least $100. I was planning on using my card for it. Guess I'll have to use my debit card - thankfully ING is still running its 1% back promotion, so it won't be a total loss.

I should have my new card here by Friday when I get home.

It's amazing how something like this can sneak up and bite you even when you keep a tight eye on the accounts.

I'm very glad that Providian realized that these were WAY out of the ordinary charges for me -- I feel bad for the retailers who are now out whatever products the idjiuts bought with my card number.

Hopefully this will be the last time I have to change card numbers for a LONG LONG LONG time! PITB!

Well I went to the endontologist (sp?) on Tuesday for my root canal. It ended up though that she didn't think I actually needed one! She did say that my tooth has a crack in it and so it will need a crown. If it is still causing me pain after getting a crown, then we'll look into getting the root canal.

So, I'll be getting the temporary crown put on this coming Thursday (December 6.)

Our company's receptionist had her last day with us on Friday. If you may recall back in August how I was taken off the phones completely by our head honcho -- well she was experiencing the same treatment from our head honcho and got totally fed up with it. Can't say that I blame her at all, but I will really miss her. I put together a good-bye lunch for her because supposedly she hadn't worked here "long enough" to get a company sponsored farewell party (she'd been here since August 06). Someone else in our company took up a money collection for her - I'd thought about doing that, but wasn't sure how far to push the envelope with having put together the farewell lunch. So she left knowing that she was loved and cared for and would be missed greatly - even if the head honcho was still a pitb to her on her last day!

Our Christmas party is going to be this coming Saturday night. My bf will be going with me - it will be his first time meeting many of my co-workers. He'll know some of the brokers (other side of our company) from the old office building.

I stopped at Ross last night on the whim of maybe finding something appropriate for the semi-formal dress code in my size -- Wow! I found seven different dresses that actually fit me! The one I liked the most was purple, but I didn't get that one since it probably wouldn't have been the most appropriate for a Christmas party.

I also decided I wanted to get some clip on earrings and a necklace to go with my dress. I've never been one to really buy jewelery, nor really wear it much -- but I didn't think it would be so difficult to find a non-ugly pair of clip ons! I did actually find one pair that were nice - but they were nearly $30, which is more than I paid for my dress! So, that was a no go.

I'm going to go to Sam Moon's after work on Tuesday, and maybe Claire's as well to see if I can find something.

My mom is leaving today to go to NJ for two weeks for a training class for her new job. She won't be getting back until Dec 16, the day after my birthday. She's going to get to go see the Rockette's though - when we lived in NJ, we got to see them at the Radio City Music Hall a couple times, so it will bring back good memories.

Her new job is being the Director of one of those tutoring learning centers. She's told me that the lady in charge of working with SAT prep tutors needs people to tutor the Reading/Writing portion very badly - especially on Sundays. Hmmm . . . All you have to have is a teacher's certificate (check) and to have scored at least a 700 on the Reading portion of the SAT's. I took the SAT back in 92 I think, and do not remember what my reading score was - except I know it was a LOT higher than my math score (snicker.) The place I graduated from has closed its doors (two years ago) so I am working on figuring out how to get a copy of my score. I'm really hoping I don't have to take it again, because well, it's been at least 12 years since I've been in any kind of an English/writing class. I love writing, but mostly its for my own pleasure, so I don't worry too much about "correctness" or being too polished. I'm afraid I may have lost much of my "refined" writing skills from way back when. But maybe my score was high enough so I needn't worry.

It sure would help me out a lot to have a second job like that -- one which I could possibly turn into a full time job later on once I have my "Goodbye Head Honcho" Fund fully funded.

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Oh - the 20 week fitness challenge -- We are now three weeks in, and I have lost 4.5 lbs! Which translates into 1.85% loss. Next Sunday they are having the first seminar - a Holiday Cooking class. I'm going to see if my bf would like to go to it with me. Might be kind of fun to do together.

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I have my Christmas shopping all finished. Most of it was accomplished using my Mypoints credits for various gift cards. Other than gift cards, I bought my dad S2 of Home Improvement from Overstock, I bought my mom a handheld football game from Walgreen's (yes, this was something she said she actually wanted) and I'm getting my bf a gift cert for a massage. So, all in all Christmas is going to come in well under $100.

A couple weeks ago I got a disconnect notice from AT&T due to the past due payment of $175. That $175 charge was due to two 10-10 phone calls made to Cuba in May - minus a $15 credit from the 10-10 company.

A phone technician came out shortly after I received the original bill and confirmed that there was a problem with my phone wires - they had somehow become crossed with another persons phone line. I was credited for all the extra local distance phone calls made (97 over my alloted 25/month) - the next month I had to call again, and was credited for another 15 local calls over my alloted 25/month. (I use my landline ONLY for DSL and Tivo.)

At&T customer service is and was wonderful and has attempted to help me get this resolved however they can.

The 10-10 company on the other hand has been completely unhelpful and completely obtuse and obstinate and HORRIBLE! AT&T has of now taken the charge off my account so I won't see it anymore on my bills from them, and won't receive anymore disconnect notices. The charges are being reversed to the 3rd party 10-10 company.

If my dealing with this particular company today are any indication of what will happen once I get a direct bill from them . . I'm in for more headaches and hassles. BUT I AM NOT going to pay those charges!!

I spoke with a rep first today of the 10-10 company who kept repeating that their company had given me a $15 credit back in July and that is all they can do. So, I asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor said the same thing. I asked her if it mattered at all to her that the phone calls were NOT made by me nor anyone else that has ever been in my household. She just kept repeating that the phone calls were made from my number and all they could do was issue me a $15 credit.

I got so fed up because it was going nowhere, that I finally just hung up.

The lady I spoke with at At&t told me that once I'm direct billed by the 10-10 company I'll have to contact them directly once again and see if they'll budge any at that point. Most likely they won't, so then my next step will be to contact the Public Utility Commission or the FCC. Either of those agencies will be able to contact At&T for my account records and will easily see the validity of my story - and hopefully put an end to this saga once and for all.

So, that's how I spent the better part of an hour of one of my few vacation days this year.

Some of you may recall near the beginning of this year my bout with some terrible jaw pain, which was diagnosed finally as nueraliga. I was told that I may only have the one episode, and never have one again. But if it did come back, then I'd probably have problems with it the rest of my life.

Well, the last few weeks I've been getting pain in my upper left jaw/teeth area which I've summarily written off and ignored. Till this past weekend - it let me know that there was something wrong and it wasn't going to let me sleep till I got it figured out.

So when I got to work today I called and made an appt with a new dentist who was able to get me in on my lunch break. Long story short - she took an xray of my teeth , then did what she called a "cold test" on one of my teeth, and determined that it was dead (due to no reaction.)

So ... Root Canal $$$$$$$ here I come. It may sound crazy, but I was actually relieved that there was an actual reason for the pain - no worries of the nueralgia coming back.

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My church has kicked off a 20 week Fitness Challenge. It started on Sunday with an Initial Weigh In and will end in March. The participants are divided into teams of 5.

The team at the end of the 20 weeks with the most points gets $250, and the individual with the most points gets $200.

You earn points by:
Eating 5 servings of fruits/veggies per day.
Drinking 6 glasses of plain water per day.
Exercising 30 minutes per day (or more).
Attending the free seminars.
Bonus points for attending all 5 seminars.
3x your percentage of weight loss up to 20%.

Let's put it this way - I'll have no problem earning max points in all but the last area. I want that $200 so I'm going to work extra hard to lose weight in the next 20 weeks. If I actually lost 20% of my body weight, I'd be within 10 pounds of my ultimate goal.

My bf is being very supportive of me. We played basketball at his gym on Friday for 90 minutes. Later I told him how many calories that had burned. He told me we should play again this coming Thursday night so I could lose more calories for the challenge. (At first I thought he was going to say - so you can lose to me again - oops!)

I haven't been doing too well in the spending arena. Some of it has been going to the grocery store way too often to pick up "just one thing" and ending up spending upwards of $15+. Some of it has been bigger ticket items - like I guess what you could call a mini-vacation, next weekend I'm going on a Women's Ministry Retreat with one of my best friends and her mom - cost $190 (room, board, activities). I also bit the bullet and took $450 out of short term savings and paid for 4 months of 2x a week personal training sessions. I had my third session today.

The big ticket items I honestly feel are worthwhile items. I had been looking into personal training as an option since late last year, but never could find any inexpensive options until I checked into the gym at my new office building. Still . . . that is a lot of money out all at once (It was actually $600 for 3 months of training 3x a week - But I only wanted 2x a week - so he extended it a month -- then he gave me $150 discount for paying upfront in cash.)

The Retreat - Well if not anything else, it will be good to have a whole weekend to spend with my friend sans kids and hubby. It may have some spiritual benefit for me as well, which would be appreciated, and I may reconnect with some people I haven't seen in a long time.

In a short while I will be spending $160 on 10 weeks of 1x a week Calentic's classes. This coming week will be my 10th class and I have found it very helpful - although I haven't lost any weight nor inches. But I don't fault the class for that -- I fault all my ahem . . "extra" purchases at the grocery store.

One thing I've been realizing the past few months is that I've been getting a LOT more slack on my credit card spending. Don't get me wrong - the balance is still being paid off in full each month -- I'm just having to dip into next month's "salary" to do so. So, technically I'm NOT living one month ahead anymore.

I'm really not liking where I see myself headed.

So, here's my plan.

1. I'm going to go ahead and take the $160 out of short term savings -- but at the same time, I am going to start putting $64/mo into a sinking fund slated for that particular class. That way when the next renewal time comes up, I will not have to take money from anywhere except the account specific to it.

2. My credit card , starting Nov 1. will be used ONLY to pay rent, gas, toll tag, and car repair - or for the occasional reimbursable work expense. (It is a points credit card - my rent is an easy way of earning a lot of points each month.)

3. I am going to pay off all charges on my credit card as of Oct. 31 - so that it'll start with a fresh slate on Nov. 1. (I think I'll try and see if they'll change my end of billing cycle to the 30th of each month - it would make for a much cleaner budget.)

4. Groceries, entertainment, clothing, etc., will be paid for via cash or debit card. My budgeted amount for groceries, entertainment, clothing, etc is $50/week.
I am hoping that this will help cut down my buying the "extra" foods as well as help encourage me to use up the "good for me" foods instead of them sitting in the fridge for two weeks and growing mold. Ugh!

5. November is a 5 Friday/5 paycheck month for me. I am going to put the first paycheck into my Emergency Fund/Car Fund. The next paycheck will partially have to be used to fund November's spending, but by December I should be back on a one-month surplus in checking.

6. I am going to allocate the remainder of my short term savings towards Christmas gifts. I acutally have already taken care of a few people already, but I know that it'll cost me a minimum of $50 at work (my contribution to the head honcho's presents, plus we're doing a "grab bag" gift exchange - one gift up to a value of $25).

Then of course I have my bf and his family to consider -- Of course, I still haven't met his mom or his brother/family, so I'm not really sure if I need to worry about getting any of them something.

So, anyway, I'm going back and trying again - both financial fitness and health/fitness wise. I am also seriously considering going back to school and getting my Master's online - either in Library Sciences W/a School Librarian certification or something else related to Reading. If I do it, it will take probably three years because I plan on paying for it with cash all the way through - which means probably only one class per semester (about $1,100 for 3 credits at one place I checked out.) It also means that I'm going to have to take the GRE. Ugh. It also means that I will have to get really, really tight with my finances. So, I guess you could say I'm going to give it a practice run starting in November.

So, that's my book for October.

Hi all,

Just a quick update on life, love and happiness.

At work this past week one of the main people I do work for pulled me aside and said that he realized he wasn't the easiest person to work for (no kidding Sherlock!) but that he wanted to take the time to tell me how well I've been doing the past few months (with the various projects I do for him.) -- Hmm . .. that was nice of him. I wonder though if a little birdie mentioned that I have very real plans of turning in my resignation papers by August 08??

Oh something else work related ... Some of you may remember how I applied for an assistant's position to our Landman ... then found out the position had been offered to a coworker? Well I found out Friday (from the coworker) that she had decided that the position wasn't really for her. Great for her to have figured that out. As for me . . I had to go into my head and play the chorus of this little ditty "Get Over It!" There's little to no chance that they'll ask me if I want it, and even if they did I don't think I would take it -- ya know, second choice and all that!

Cool unexpected freebie! In today's mail I got a card from my cable company -- and in that card was a voucher for one free ticket for Six Flags!! Now I just have to find someone else to go with me -- and figure out when to go. It's only good through December -- I wonder how much longer it will be open? Mmmm mmm I LOVE amusement parks -- give me some rollercoasters - the higher and the faster and the more loop de loops the better!

Love life .. or should I say dating life? LOL! I'm still seeing Mr. Elevator guy. He's a real gentleman - opens car doors, carries my green bean casserole dish into church for potluck, stands up whenever a woman enters/leaves a room, etc. He sure was raised right -- I'm just having to get used to having my door opened for me -- I'm no feminist, but have been on my own so long that it feels almost unnatural sometimes to sit and wait that extra few seconds or stand to the side while the door is being opened. I think I'll get used to it though.

I can see though that if anything long term develops out of this that I will have to be super bug killing woman - he's very creeped out by creepy crawlies. I live in an apartment in a pretty old building with lots of places for the creepy crawlies to get into. This afternoon we were at my place chit chatting after getting back from church when his attention was diverted by some small creepy crawlie meandering across my ceiling. It kept going back and forth. I finally got up on top of a stand with a tissue and killed the little fella. Discussion then was able to resume. LOL!

Finances - Doing okay. Took my mom and stepdad out for mom's birthday on Friday. They had a coupon for the place she picked out, so that was good - still was a good bit of money, especially since the only thing I could eat there was a baked potato. I've spent a lot of money on gas the past few weeks. Between a little less than half a tank a week for commuting, plus a number of trips to my mom and stepdad's, plus a trip to my dad's, plus a trip to where Mr. Elevator lives -- gas has been guzzled at an alarming rate -- even though my car gets 300+ miles on one tank (~10 gallons).

Hi all,

It's been awhile since I last posted an update on my spending/budget. I've actually been doing okay with it. I ended up deciding to NOT get the fluidity bar, but instead I found a local Calanetic's class which I have been taking once a week for the past few weeks. It's really been quite enjoyable.

I'm finding my commute back and forth to work to not be too terrible. I guess it's all what you get used to, right? Work is going okay - although I am still actively working on a plan to be able to leave it by next August (possibly earlier).

Somewhat exciting news -- A few of you may remember the guy at my old office building who asked me if I wanted to get lunch with him about a year or so ago, and I put my foot in my mouth? Then a short while before my office moved, he asked me for my number. Well, I'm not quite sure just what to call our relationship yet . . . but we have been seeing quite a bit of each other the last few weeks. So . . I've broken my two-year non-dating streak. Yay!

So . . just wanted to drop by and let y'all know that I'm still alive and kicking. I'm really going to try to get back to writing here more regularly.

August 11



I met with a number of my friends from Pathways at Barnes & Noble -- one of them lives in Houston and was in town for the day with her new baby boy. It was so great seeing her (and the others too). They all bought drinks and treats at Starbucks - but I'd eaten before I went, so wasn't even tempted (well, maybe the chocolate brownie the one gals son was eating tempted me a little).

After I met with my friends, I went to the library to pick up a bunch of books on hold. Then I stopped at Target because I needed to find something for the head honcho's daughter who had a baby shower this weekend - I didn't go because of the meeting with my Pathway's friends.

So, I did end up spending:
$13.49 - 3 onesies (3mo,6mo,9mo) and gift bag
~$5 - 3 bean burritos, string cheese, coke, candy bar.

August 12

Spent $2 -- Treated my dad to seeing "Oceans 13" at the dollar theater.

We also stopped at Sam's Club and I got a box of Fiber One Oats & Chocolate bars -- they were at least $.13/bar cheaper than a box of 5 at Walmart - and Walmart is way cheaper than Target or Kroger. Dad bought them for me though, so it wasn't me spending any money.

I made a pot of beans tonight which I'll be eating for supper this week. I also made a pot of quinoa which will be part of my lunch.

I'm excited about Thursday after work. I'm going to be taking an introductory class for calanetics. If I like it, I will probably sign up for 10 more classes. It will cost a good bit of money ($160 for 10 classes) but if it actually helps me on my fitness quest, then I feel its worth it. I'll be taking measurements on Thursday morning so I'll have a baseline to compare to. The only problem is that I'll have to leave work at least 30 minutes early in order to make it in time -- so between the cost and the time factor, I'll have to *really* like the class!

After work today I managed to find one of the toll tag stores and got myself one. It will be nice on Monday to not dig for enough change for the the tolls.

I got a bit lost coming back from the toll tag place, but finally managed to make it to Preston - where I thought I found my usual Tom Thumb. After going inside though I realized quickly that it wasn't the same one - much older/much narrower aisles.

I've calmed down quite a bit on my upset from Wednesday - although I am still seriously considering my options.

I hadn't even mentioned to my mom about what happened, but I did tell her about head honcho guy saying that if he knew who had been the one smoking in the bathroom (which started the trash smoldering) that he would fire him. (men's bathroom). Luckily it wasn't the woman's bathroom, because there are only two women smokers between the two companies (there are maybe 5 male smokers - none on our side though.)
Mom called him an egomaniac. (He wasn't going to fire the person for the act of nearly starting a fire - but more because he'd made a HUGE deal about not wanting to walk through smoke to get to his car at the new building -- then one of HIS employees is smoking in the bathroom!)

I got a call from a friend of mine today telling me that a mutual friend of ours will be in town tomorrow with her new baby! So, we're all going to get together in the morning. Normally, I would be in church - but I feel this is a worthy reason to not go - I don't get to see this mutual friend very often, and haven't gotten to meet her new little family member yet.

My dad is coming up Sunday. He's going to change my license plates for me and also bring me some things my grandma and aunt sent for me. I'm really curious to see what they sent.

I haven't been keeping up with my spending log very well --- but here's what I spent today:

Sent $670 to HSBC (5th paycheck + regular savings amount)

Toll Tag: $40 prepaid

Groceries: ~$22

--- Oh, I also want to mention that I think it won't take much more than half a tank of gas each week for my commute - so maybe 2 1/2 tanks a month or about ~$65 - 70 in gas money. Not so bad - especially when split in half with my carpooler.

Definitely NOT worth moving.

I am seriously considering how long I could live without a monthly assured income. I am thinking that I could possibly survive on as low as 1250 per month -- so if I get my savings total over 10k that would give me 8 months to either something new (aka normal job) or find enough ways to make enough money to survive on.

This is day three of commuting. I actually don't mind the commute too much - other than the tolls ($1.75 each way!).

The new office space is ... nice I guess. There were some strange designs that went into outfitting it though.

If it wasn't for move related work details, I'd have very very very little to keep myself occupied.

The one thing that made the day bearable - giving the receptionist her 3 required breaks -- as of this morning -- I am no longer doing it. Not by my choice at all.

Apparently the head honcho of the company doesn't like the way I answer the phone (um . . I answer the phone like I've always done - like how I was told to answer the phone??) He also feels that I'm not accurate enough with names - both in telling him who's calling, and in writing them down. Ok, I'll give him that I'm not 100% on the ball there -- BUT some of these people who call 1)mumble horribly so you have to ask them to repeat themselves a number of times and/or 2) assume that you'll recognize who they are by their voice alone - when you've got 3+ other lines lit up - or 3) Have a very sketchy connection where you can barely hear them in the first place . . . and then of course, there is NORMAL human error - i.e. slips of the tongue - where for example I was asking D if so and so had called and accidentally said the wrong first name (coincidentally, the name of the main character in the book I'd been reading!) etc., etc. Yes, I had been spoken to a couple times about making sure I get the names spelled right, etc. -- which I did do at least 99.9% of the time - just those few times where one of the above happened or for some reason I totally blanked on getting the person to spell their last name for me.

So, I now have another hour+ in my day to have to figure out how to look busy and productive and not pull my hair out in total frustration.

I really like my coworkers - and for the most part the environment is really good. The benefits are really really good. It's also nice to have a steady paycheck. But between the total boredom factor and this latest development not to mention not seeing any possibility of this going anywhere anytime soon - I really am seriously contemplating what else I can do.

One option I'm thinking about is seeing if I can get approved for one of those at home call center places and start to put my hours of training/paying my dues in while continuing with my day job -- all the while working to save the last $3500 - $4000. Then once I'm at that point, going to 25 - 30 hrs a week with the phone center thing, then trying to get some tutoring jobs. Whatever the difference between my minimal monthly outgo and ingo is I would make up via my savings - only until I reach the point where they are equal. I also would cut my hours on the phone as I got enough tutoring clients -- and maybe eventually be just a full time tutor.

To reach that level (where I can quit) will take at least another six months - maybe up to a year or more - which would mean I'd reach two+ years at the company. That is if they don't fire me first because they figure out that there is so little for me to actually do.

I really tried to not let it show just how much this upset me this morning. But when one of my coworkers who has been a really good friend asked me this morning how I was doing, and I replied "ok" she asked me what was wrong. As I told her about it, I started tearing up like crazy, and eventually excused myself to the bathroom.

Later when people asked why my eyes were red I told them my allergies were acting up really bad.

The OM who was the one who told me I was being taken off the front desk completely had the gall to tell me that I shouldn't be upset. (Her office is directly across from my desk with these huge open windows) I didn't say anything back to her because I was afraid of what might come out of my mouth. Its not her I'm upset at though - she was just the messenger.

Part of me wishes I could turn in my two week notice tomorrow morning -- the more realistic part of me knows I'm going to have to put up with this for a longer time period - just need to figure out a really good plan to leave.

Today was our last day at our office building. Both my coworker and I were finished with everything we needed to pack early this morning, so we both were going around trying to find others who needed to help. Finally at 12:30 we shut off all our computers and wrapped up our phones -- and were told to go on home! Yahoo!

After work I stopped by the library to pick up a bunch of stuff on reserve for me, then headed out to the grocery store. After I was finished shopping, I had quite the scary experience.

I needed to turn right out of the parking lot. There was a car in front of me turning right, and an SUV type vehicle on the other side of the car in front of me. When the road was clear, both vehicles in front of me started moving out - only the one on the other side of the person in front of me turned *in front of that vehicle!* I must have been paying more attention than I thought I was, because all of a sudden my foot is slamming on the brake as hard as it can, and my car shakes like I'd hit something.

The car in front of me pulled on out and went into a turning lane. I pulled out after it and went to the lane beside it, because I wasn't 100% sure I had hit them, and wanted to make sure I did the right thing if I had. In the car was an older lady. We rolled our windows down and I asked her if she was alright, and if I had hit her. She said she was fine, and that yes I had hit her. I told her to go into the parking lot of the apartment complex across the street so we could check for any damage. We did that, and neither one of us could see any damage. She had an 89 Lincoln Towncar -- so I guess our bumpers absorbed the majority of the impact.

God was really looking out for the both of us - especially me - because I *know* I wasn't paying enough attention to be able to have as quickly as I did, slam on the brakes unless my guardian angel moved my foot for me. Wouldn't be the first time thats happened to me.

Spending:
~$40 - groceries (lots of frozen veggies, jam, fresh veggies, snacks for work, flaxseed, fresh fruit, etc.)

7/31
$9.63 - milk, water, etc.

8/1
$4.67 - a treat, frozen pizza


Today was a very busy day at work, which I absolutely loved! Something else that happened which just made me so happy was that the man from the delivery place (remember, he's the one who flashed me a Happy Valentine's Day ...etc) was back! He'd been on medical leave since early June. When I walked by and saw him I stopped out of surprise, and then he jumped up and came out the door. We gave each other a quick hug and a quick chat - but I forgot to tell him we're moving on Friday! It was good to see him again.

Oh! Something that happened yesterday. Some of you may remember my tripping myself up with that guy in the elevator who off handedly asked me if I'd like to go to lunch sometime and I replied about only having thirty minutes? (Quite a few months back.) Well, yesterday (Tuesday) we were again going down the elevator together and he actually followed me to ask me again - seeing as how both my company and his company are moving this month. This time I told him that sure, I thought that sounded fun. He asked me for my number, and I gave it to him. I haven't heard back from him yet, but I'm going to let patience rule the day on this one.

Also, I found out today that I had my picture taken at our recent fire drill for the Office building -- and it was on the front page of the monthly newsletter! Even better ... it was actually a pretty good picture.

Ok, its way late and I need to take Millie (my mom and stepdads dog) out for one last walk. She'll be picked up sometime tomorrow - she was nice to have around, but a dog sure is a lot of responsibility!

Through Sparkpeople.com I found this really neat website where you send in a full body picture of yourself, tell them what you would like done to it, and they send you back the revised picture. All for $17. (seeyournewbody.com).

I did this several weeks ago and was starting to wonder when I was going to get my picture. Today it finally came!

So ... if losing 40 more pounds will really make me look anything close to this? Ummm no more junkfood for me and for sure no more skipping out on workouts!

So ... I wonder how much money this picture will save me in the long run due to not eating or buying the junkfood? Of course if I really get to that size, all the saved money will be spent on clothes! Ah well ... the sacrifices one must make for good health.

Accountability 7/29/07:

No spending

I decided to check out my local Craigslist to see if anyone was selling a Fluidity Barre on Friday. There were two listings. One had the Barre + about 10 different workout dvds to go with it for $130! The second had just the Barre +3 Dvds for $150.

I sent an email to the first person saying I wanted to purchase it. Unfortunately, late Friday night I got an email from them telling me they had sold it that morning, but just hadn't taken the ad off yet. Whoever got it, got a great deal -- the Dvd's by themselves were probably worth more than $100.

I've also checked out Ebay - but all those listings are pretty close to the like new price plus they are all local pick up only - none in my area. So, I'm going to keep an eye on Craigslist and see if another great deal like this comes up so I can grab it!

7/27/07

Outflow:
Rent: $650

Gas: $20 (Didn't fill up all the way) $2.84/gallon

Groceries: $26.49
(Bagged salad, veggies,bread, pb, 2 frozen meals, a couple treats, bananas, string cheese)

7/28/07

No spending -- Did use gas though to go to my mom and stepdads. While there I fed their beta fish named Fred, and did a load of laundry. Love putting off a trip to the laundromat another 3 weeks!

Outflow:

Car Registration: $55.80
Car Insurance: $37.44

I registered my car online, so I did have to pay an extra $2 convenience fee. But to me it was worth not having to drive over to the DMV and possibly have to stand in line. In fact, it probably would've cost me that much in gas to drive over there and back!

I will be getting new license plates too. This is the first time I've ever lived in one state long enough to have to have my plates replaced! I wonder what you are supposed to do with the old ones?

Spending 7/25:

$20 - Copay doctor's visit (deducted from FSA account)

$4.16 - Walgreens - rasins (snacks for work), 2 candybars, a bag of almonds

-------------
Goal Plan --
I'm really wanting the Fluidity bar. The two main things that make me reluctant to get it are (1) Cost of $250 and (2) Whether or not I'll really keep up with my exercsie enough to justify it.

So, I've decided that I'm going to "earn" it by proving to myself that I will keep up my exercise consistentally.

Each 30 minute cardio session will be worth $5. Every time I complete at least 5 30 minute cardio sessions in one week (7 days) I will earn a $5 bonus.

Each 20 minute Strength Training session will earn $5. Every time I complete 3 sessions in an 8 day period, I will earn a $5 bonus.

If I earn about $50 per week, I will reach my goal in about 5 weeks.

In addition to my money goal, I need to also lose 12 pounds and keep them off for at least 2 weeks.

So, I figure that within 7 - 8 weeks I will be ready to order the bar and will feel like it has been well earned.

*There is a 30 day return policy on this, so if for some reason it turns out that its not what I think it is, or I'm not really using it, I *will* return it.

*This plan also gives me a lot of time to figure out if this is something I *really* want to spend my money on or not. I have a coworker who has one all ready, and I plan on asking her if I can try hers out sometime soon.

Credit Card:

There were some charges that hadn't come through yet when I made my previous accounting.

Several Target, Walmart and Tom Thumb charges +
Netflix - $8.65
Singles Website: $9.15

= $121.92

Then today I called about my phone bill to dispute the new charges (for the telephone line) and find out where my previous month's dispute was at. I had to wait for the CS rep to get the latest info from the repair dept - then was told that I didn't need to worry about the past due amount shown on my bill - that it would be going off in the next 2 billing cycles.

I sure hope so, because it really irks me to see "Past Due Amount" on my bill!

I paid the amount I was told to pay -- $61.41

So, my new CC balance will be $183.33

Otherwise, today was a non-spending day.

No spending today.

Ok. Today is easy. I didn't spend anything or do anything to do with money.

I did however eat up a lot of gas. After taking my mom and stepdad to the airport this morning (in their car, which I drove back to their house) I picked up their dog Millie and was almost back home. Then I remembered that I had left all of her food and medicine back at their house! So, I had to turn around and go get it. Ugh!

Ever since late April I have been doing terribly on saving. I've been managing to spend pretty much everything I earn - and other than in May when my cat died - the majority of what I've spent has been on a lump sum of junk. My savings haven't taken a hit (other than in May with Monkey) because I was a month ahead in my checking account, and so every month I've kind of "dipped" into the next months monies + just avoided sending off any money to savings.

This has got to stop! Since I am single and have no one to answer to but myself - and have no one to help me out financially (at least no one that I'd willingly ask for help) than myself - I'm the one that has to get a handle on it.

So ... I have decided to post my budget here in full - including the total amounts I have in savings/other non-retirement accounts. Then I will post here at least 3 - 4 x a week and give a detailed accounting for where I spent every single penny. I won't list balances of my retirement accounts because I don't feel that that is really part of what is needed.

My hope is that by giving myself a public accountability partner that I will be able to cut down my spending on the unneccesary items and the junk. This will help both my bottomline and my waistline.

So . . .
I get paid once a week.
From my weekly paycheck I have money withheld pretax:
4% to my 401k plan
$9.32 to my medical account (I have a debit card to pay co-pays/prescriptions, etc)
Post tax:
~$16 -- life insurance, disability, ?

Net pay: $428/week.
Monthly Net: $1712
Fixed:
*Rent: $650
Car Ins: ~$38 (Liability Only)
Renters Ins: $25
Netflix: $10
Cable: $18 (went up from $13!)
Phone (Landline/DSL/Cell): ~$80
Charity: $122
Roth IRA: $75
*Car Fund: $100 (Replacement/Repair)
Emerg. Fund: $170
*Utilities are included in Rent
*I have a 97 Honda Civic ~94k miles -Paid for
Balance: ~$424
Not fixed - Clothing, Gas, Groceries, etc.

I have 3 checking accounts -
One I use for almost everything (ING)
The second one I pay my car insurance and fund my Roth from (At a Credit Union I've had an account with for over 10 years).
The third one I pay my Renter's Insurance from - it is a local account where I can cash checks if need be.

The total amount in my 3 checking accounts as of today: 1369.81

I have two savings accounts -
HSBC (Emergency Fund/Car Fund) and
ING (Slush/Short term savings)
I also have my Charity account at ING

The total amount as of today: 7410.17

I have two credit cards which I pay off in full each month. One I don't ever use, and the other one is a MyPoints Visa which I use for pretty much everything (including paying my rent.)

The balance between my two cards as of today: $81.25

Looking forward I know my gas expenses are going to be increasing quite a bit, and I am going to have to start paying tolls as well. Right now I walk to work everyday and can generally make it on one tank of gas per month. As of Aug. 6 my company will be moving to a new location -- meaning at least a 20 - 30 minute one way commute, plus tolls. I will be having a coworker carpooling with me who doesn't drive - we'll be sitting down soon to work out how we'll split expenses.

There are also a number of things that I am really wanting. One is a digital camera. Another is a Fluidity bar (fluidity.com). I also know that if I actually get back into losing weight instead of being on a rollercoaster of 10 lbs up and down, that I'll be needing to replace most of my clothing. Also, I probably will be wanting to take a trip out to CA soon to visit my brother and his wife, as well as a possibility of making a trip to SC to visit a possible "friend".

---
So, instead of waiting for a new month to roll around and start holding myself accountable, I am starting today.

If anyone has actually read this far and is willing to do so, I would appreciate getting an "Ahem" note/comment whatever if you notice I haven't updated in more than a few days.

I just finished reading this totally amazing book. I picked it up off the library shelf yesterday when I was there picking up some other books I'd had on hold.

It's called "So Much For Happy Endings" by Kyra Davis. Once I started it this evening (last night?) I did not stop reading until I finished it. It's essentially about a woman who comes from a pretty dysfunctional background who marries this guy who seemed very spontaneous before the marriage, but she starts to find out a whole new picture from the first day of the honeymoon. Long story short, the guy had some serious mental issues. The story is absolutely riveting and breathtaking and heartbreaking all at the same time.

It's just an amazing book. I've read a lot of books that I've enjoyed or really liked, but don't really give whole hearted recommendation to many. This one I do.

What does this have to do with money/finances? I think one of the themes of the book is not letting go of your dreams. A steady job/assured job doesn't really mean much if you're not believing in yourself enough to follow your heart. For many of us who blog here or visit the forums, financial freedom - whatever that means to each one of us - may seem unattainable - but it is attainable with time, effort and belief in ourselves (and for those of us who believe in God or a higher power - God).

This book may also put whatever marital or relationship problems you may have, or have had in the past, in major perspective.