Keeping It Frugal

The last couple days I have been majorly procrastinating on running my dishwasher. It was to the point where I knew I would have to do it today or not have a spoon to eat my cereal with in the morning. Well, when I got home from work today and went into the kitchen to let Monkey out onto the balcony, I had a surprise waiting for me! All my dishes were cleared out of my sink (and off the countertop) and my dishwasher was empty!

I called my Dish Fairy (my dad) and found out that his courier job had brought him over by my neck of the woods this afternoon and he'd had some time to kill between runs, so landed at my place. I thought that was so sweet of him.

Today at work I was asked if I'd be interested in learning how to do another aspect of our company's work. Of course I said "Yes!" So tomorrow morning instead of heading into the office in the morning, I'm going to meeting S at a company that has all the maps and records for Texas. She's going to show me how to look up the information the guys in the office need. Then I guess we have to make copies of the information.

I'm excited to do this for a couple reasons: 1. It gets me out of the office for a few hours (and away from answering the phone!) and 2. It gives me another skill/way I can be of help to my company.

I used to be a much more positive minded person, but now I tend to take most things/situations with a grain of salt and an attitude of "I'll see if that happens." But from a couple comments made to me today, along with other comments made to me at other times, I seem to get the feeling that there actually might be a place for me in the company other than the front desk receptionist/Admin Assist.

All I know is that I will take every opportunity they present me with to learn more about what makes the company run. I'd be fine staying just where I am now, but ..... if moving up is offered to me . . well, I sure wouldn't refuse it!

KIF,
Laura

Well, I finally have my HSBC online savings account set up. It was a little bit of a hassle, but I think it will be worth it. I was looking through their site and noticed they have a feature where you can have all your online financial information, email accounts, etc. on one page - for no charge. That was the one feature I really missed from when I used Mevelopes a few years ago.

ETA: I double checked at HSBC for the "Easy View" feature and realized you have to be signed up for Bill Pay. Bill Pay requires you having a checking account with HSBC. Oh well.

After talking to my Rental Insurance agent, I found out that I'm not being charged a convenience fee for paying in monthly installments. So I decided to go ahead and keep it as monthly installments. I also decided that the money I was going to put towards paying my 6-month car insurance premium (saving me $12) would be more useful in my car maintenance account since my 90K service is very shortly due.

Looking at my spending for the month of April I found that I spent WAY too much on fast foods or junky foods. I've been taking the money for that out of my FUN budget. So, for May I am cutting my FUN budget by $10 AND only allowing myself up to $10 from my Grocery budget for Fast Food, etc. I also decided that my Grocery budget was really too high for one person, that it gave me too much room to buy things that are "easy" rather than healthy or moneywise. So, I cut $15 from my Grocery budget and added it into my Emergency Fund.

I also took a look at my Wedding/Vacation Fund and decided that I really was siphoning way too much money there. The amount I have in there now is enough to cover the plane ticket, so I just need to save enough to cover my share of a rental car, a hotel room and my dress (hopefully my brother's fiance will choose something I can wear again!) So, instead of $74/mo, I am putting in $50, and the other $24 is going into my EF and in my phone bill (Taxes/Fees were a lot more than I anticipated - 60% of my bill!)

I also decided where I am going to keep my various money categories. My EF (emergency fund) and my RF (Retirement Fund - just till I figure out a fund to put it in) are going to be parked in ING. My CRF (Car Repair Fund); MF (Medical Fund); GF (Gift Fund); and OF (Other Fund) all will be kept in HSBC. My LTF (Long-Term Fund) will be kept in Emigrant. All my other money will be in my two brick and mortar bank accounts (no interest).

**Did I use enough acronymns??

I talked to my OM today, and she told me that I wouldn't have to use a 1/2 sick day to go to a doctor's appointment. Yay! I also called the doctor's office and set an appointment for next Tuesday. I need to get to the Dentist too, but one thing at a time.

I have to tell you about this great deal I got on Friday at Kroger's!! I had done some shopping at Albertson's which is across the street from Kroger's, but decided to just stop in and see if there were any good deals. I am so glad I did! As I was heading to checkout, I noticed a grocery cart with "REDUCED." Inside of it were about 40 packs of hoisery and some other items. I searched through it, and found 7 pairs of hoisery in the style and color I like. Normally these are anywhere from $3.50 - $5.00 EACH -- I got all 7 of them for less than $9.00!!! Woo hoo!!

Ok, I better close off. 30 minutes till I'm off work.

KIF,
Laura

When I was hired back in February, it was my understanding that there was a 90-day waiting period before I would be covered under the health inusrance plan.

Well, when I checked my mail on Friday, I had a letter from my company's insurance place. It told me that my coverage had begun on April 16 -- 60 days!!! Woo Hoo!

I went online to find out if the doctor I had used before (when I was covered under my teacher's insurance) was in my plan. She is!!

So, what I would *like* to do is call her office up on Monday and find out the first available morning appointment. My only qualm is that when I was signing up for the insurance plan, it said something about them looking back three months into your medical history for pre-existing conditions (three months prior to qualification date). I haven't been to a doctor since March (2005)... but, if I go to the doctor I used before, she would have three years of medical records for me. Would they be able to use those previous years records to indicate a pre-existing condition, thus giving them an excuse to not pay for lab tests and medications?

I also need to clarify with my Office Manager whether or not I'd have to take a half-sick day if I was back in the office by 10 a.m. (missing only the first hour and a half of the workday).

Hmmm..... Well, I'm just so happy to be covered now - a whole month earlier than I was expecting!

KIF,
Laura

In the past three days I have made two very foolish money moves, I am ashamed to admidt.

The first move was letting my craving for a Pizza Hut stuffed crust pizza override my knowledge that I had a perfectly respectable Red Barron pizza in my freezer (cost less than $2 on sale + coupon).

The second move I didn't discover until I went into my purse to get out the $20 to pay for the pizaa. On Sunday I had stopped at Walgreens and got a couple items, along with taking out a $20 for cash. Apparantally I forgot to take that $20 out of the Walgreen's bag before throwing it away!!!! The trash bag with that WG bag in it has already been taken to the dumpster (before I discovered this horrible news.)

So, now I need to figure out where I should deduct this $20 from in my budget. Should I take it from my "other" money - which wouldn't be too much of a hardship for me? Or, should I deduct it from my "Fun" money (though I'm not sure I have that much balance)? Hmmm... this was definitely an expensive lesson on checking my store bags BEFORE throwing away!

KIF,
Laura

You know, I've been pretty happy at my job (just hit the two-month mark!). There were however two-things that kinda bugged me (okay, actually one of them is a person).

So, this afternoon one of the three people who were in my interview came by and told me she'd like to chat with me about what I'm really liking about my job, what I'm not liking, and what could make it better -- and that she'd give me 20 or 30 minutes to think about it. As soon as she left, I typed out my thoughts. I was able to think of around 10 things I liked (some of them were verging on silliness - comfy chair, working with goofy people, etc) but all were true.

Then I thought long and hard about how to word my two main frustrations without looking like I was saying something bad about someone who's been at the company 12+ years.

When she came back a little while later I prepared. She knew exactly where I was coming from with my two frustrations (and figured out the person too!) and gave me several suggestions, which I immediately put into effect.

Now that I know that I can basically ignore what this one person says, my job satisfaction will go from about a 7/10 to maybe a 9.5/10!!

My brother called me tonight and we talked for awhile. He told me that he had accepted a new job at a resturant where he has a very good chance to get into the marketing aspect (which is what he has a degree in). He also told me that he had been informed by his fiance's family that in the Mexican culture, it was expected that the groom pay for the whole wedding.

At first, this looked like it was going to cause some problems ... because, well ... in American/cuacasioan culture, the bride's family pays for the wedding, plus the fact that her family was insisting on the wedding being in Flordia.

My brother, being the charmer he is, as well as an experienced negotiator, talked this over with Jazmin (his fiance') and they decided that between the two of them they could come up with a certain amount to cover airfare, honeymoon, wedding expenses -- Jazmin's family agreed to cover the cost of the reception (which apparantally is a big production in her family tradition) and her mom is going to make her dress. So, an issue which could have caused a lot of contention not only between my brother and his fiance, but also between my brother and his fiance's family, worked itself out due to the magical concept of ---- Communciation and Negotiation!

Oh yes, I must mention that he also told me that both he and Jazmin have agreed that the whole wedding, etc WILL be paid for in cash! Oooohhh!! I am so proud of him!

I'm just so happy for him. His life just seems to be falling into place so well.

In other news, I'm doing good at keeping up with my budget so far. I did spend money this weekend, but it was all budgeted. I am SO looking forward to Saturday night and the "Phantom of the Opera"!!

KIF,
Laura

Ok, about the only thing this post has to do with saving money or frugality is in the fact that I borrowed the book from the library, and instead of going out somewhere and spending money, I stayed in and read this book.

There's not many books that I would write about extensively in my blog here, and at first glance at the title, you would certainly imagine this would NOT be a book I'd even mention having read. But after having finished reading the last word on the last page this morning at 1:30 a.m., I realized I HAD to share this book with you.

Ok, have I got you curious now as to what book I'm talking about? "Good In Bed" by Jennifer Weiner, also the the author of "In Her Shoes" (book is WAY better than the movie!).

The books heroine Cannie is a journalist, who happens to be plus-sized, has a dysfunctional family, and a now ex-boyfriend/aspiring writer who took her a little too seriously when she asked for a "break". Through the course of the story, Cannie reflects back on her childhood and how she didn't realize she was "fat" until her father told her she was fat one day when she was 12. Her reflections are interspersed between the story of her life in the year following her breakup with Bruce, the aspiring writer.

Cannie goes from not being able to look at herself in the mirorr and not being able to accept that anyone could think of her as beautiful or worthy, to accepting herself as the beautiful, worthy human being she is with many people surrounding her with love and acceptance.

Though the title may sound just a bit racy, it is a beautiful and moving story which I think any woman, whether large, medium or small could relate to.

Well, we are almost finished with the first week of April, and I have done very well with not spending money unnecsessarialy(sp?). Even though Dad finished off the OJ on Sunday that would have been enough to last me through this week, (ARGH!) I resisted the temptation to go to the store to just get some more OJ (cuz I KNEW I would use that as an excuse to pick up something else I've been craving, but REALLY don't need!). I'm trying to wait till Sunday to go to the store for groceries.

I got my cell phone bill for last month - it was $58.84!!! Mainly because of 5 1411 calls I made (3 of them when I was trying to find the place where I was susposed to meet my co-workers!). Normally my cell bill is under $50, and hopefully it will be even less now that I've combined it with my landline bill.

Saturday afternoon I will be spending some of my fun money on an afternoon/evening with some of my Pathway friends. I'm really looking forward to seeing a couple of them whom I haven't seen since October - Matt and Beth especially.

Almost forgot to update on my happy, happy news! Monday afternoon (April 3) my little brother (ok, maybe not so little at 6'2 and 25 years) became engaged! I was the first one (in our family) that he called. Jazmin (his fiance) asked me to be a bridesmaid, and I happily accepted. It sounds like the wedding won't be till sometime in September or October, so that gives me a little more time to save, although being a bridesmaid will also probably add some expenses, so I guess it all evens out.

Have a great weekend everybody!

KIF,
Laura

Alright guys, I'm gonna be brutally honest here. For the past two months I have not been keeping to any kind of a budget or even really tracking how much I've been spending. I could give a million reasons ...er.. excuses, but the plain ol' fact is that I've fallen down on the budgeting job.

So now I think I have paid any and all lingering expenses related to moving (ya know, all those "final" bills - ugh!) so I *think* April will be a more normalized month.

So tonight I spent several hours going to all the various financial websites with my money info, a trusty calculator, a piece of paper, and my copy of You Need A Budget. Over the past few months I have made various attempts at setting my budget straight, but it just wasn't happening. So, tonight I started with a completely blank budget, and started it from March 31.

I decided that I was going to leave $1k in the Emergency fund, pay off my CC (~$800), and put the balance (minus March's pay) in my Freedom Account. From my Freedom Account I'm going to pay my 6-month's car insurance, the balance of my renter's insurance, and have money designated for car repair, clothing, entertainment, etc.

Well, I was feeling pretty good about how I had all the numbers working out for me .... then I realized something. In all of my categories there was one VERY important thing I had not set aside ANY money for --- My brother's wedding!! Well, he hasn't quite asked her yet - will be on Sunday or Monday - but it's a pretty foregone conclusion that she's going to say yes. So, that means that probably in August or September I'll be making a trip to Flordia to see my little Buster Brown get married and finally have a sister! This of course is going to cost money - whether I drive down there or fly. So, I went back to my budget and added a Wedding category, and cut money from one of the other categories to start funding for it.

So hopefully this month I will actually keep myself on my budget and keep track of my money.

KIF,

Laura

Way back in 92 the guy I was dating at the time and I really wanted to go see Phantom of the Opera. At the time my family was living in New Jersey about 30 minutes away from New York City. He came to visit me over Valentine's weekend -- unfortunately the tickets were already sold out - had been for months. We ended up seeing Wrongturn at Lungfish instead (an off-Broadway play which had Tony Danza in it - very good!)

A few months later Phantom was on TV and we watched it "together" (he was in PA, I was in NJ) and called each other during the commerical breaks. If it was nowadays, we would've IM'd each other! LOL!

So, anyway, what's my point you may be asking?? Well, a theatre in Dallas is performing Phantom of the Opera thru April 16 -- and I bought myself two tickets (the cheap balcony ones of course.) I asked my best friend Tammy to go with me (she went with me to Jim Brickman a couple years ago) but she's not sure if her family is going away for Easter weekend or not. If she can't, then I'll probably ask my mom, then my dad.

I am so excited about finally getting to see this performed live!! One of my favorite songs from it is "Music of the Night."

Being able to do these kinds of things is what makes it worth it to me to sacrifice in other areas of my life.

In other news - work is going much much better. Today I sat in on a meeting where they were demonstrating how to use some new software. I had very little clue as to most of the terminology, but I think if I was given the info to plug in, I'd be able to do it easily. I also was given a new project to do which will keep me pretty busy tomorrow. I love being kept busy.

Ok, I better get going! Time to go home!

Laura

P.S. My DSL at home is now working wonderfully! Yahoo!

Well, I still don't have internet access at home. I have my DSL modem all connected to the phone line (the working one in the kitchen) but now the problem is my ethernet card. Somehow between it working just fine for cable internet in my last place, and moving here, it decided to stop working. The technical speak is that it isn't "bound" to the TCP/IP.

So, this weekend I'm going to find myself a new ethernet card and figure out how to install it in my computer -- and hopefully have internet access!!

My dad stopped by yesterday. He brought me a house-warming gift from my Aunt. It's one of those bed pillows with a built-in massager, a drink holder, and side pockets for reading materials/remotes etc. It's something we saw in Brookstone a few years ago for $150 that I really liked (but NOT for that price!) then this past Christmas we saw it again in Foley's for $29.95. It still isn't something I would have spent my money on, even though I really like the idea of it. I need to get some D batteries to make the massage function work. She's getting me something else too that she ordered from the internet, it might be here by Friday, whatever it is.

I really do appreciate her thoughtfulness and generosity. Sometimes though I get so frustrated because I am trying to simplify my life - have less "stuff" to figure out where to store. It's just crazy to me how much "stuff" I have, even though every time I move I purge a ton of things. Most of the "stuff" that accumulates between moves are things that are given to me - either as gifts, or as pass-on's (like from my parents, since they divorced I have "inherited" a king-size bed, a computer desk, dishes, etc. etc.) Again, I appreciate everything - but ... I was perfectly happy with my twin bed, my computer desk, the amount of dishes I already had, etc.

I hope I don't sound like an ingrate. It's just that the amount of stuff I have has a direct relation to my cost of living. What do I mean by that? Well for one thing, if I had to pay for my electricity, then every new electric appliance acquired would add to my bill. Another thing (far larger than the electricity) is the square footage required to adequetely arrange/store all the "stuff". Then of course all the "stuff" which requires maintenance, or requires me to purchase more items to make it work (case in point - my Tivo!).

If I were to start over completely from scratch, I think I would be in a studio apartment furnished with a daybed (both a couch and a bed), a computer desk, a tv, a dresser, one set of bookshelves, enough dishes for one week for one person, and one set of pots and pans, one set of silverware. Or .... I could just live in one of those fully furnished extended stay places and whenever I needed to move, I'd be able to fit everything into my car! (Of course I wouldn't be able to have my cat then, so that wouldn't be quite so perfect.)

Okay, enough rambling for today.

KIF,
Laura

Hi all,
It's been a little while since my last update. Today now marks one full month that I have been at my new job, and I am loving it more and more. Everyday I am given more responsibilities and tasks as they realize what I am capable of.

I moved into my new apartment on Sunday, March 5. It went pretty well, although it took longer than I had anticipated. All in all, the move cost me less than $200 - including the cost of the UHAUL truck, gas, some boxes I ended up having to buy (ran out of the free boxes, and couldn't wait to get more-time crunch), food food for the moving crew, and a few other miscleaneous things.

I absolutely love my new place! My things fit into it much better than I had thought they would - they're just arranged differently. But what I LOVE the most is the fact that I am able to walk to work in about 3 minutes time! I walk home for lunch as well (even though I only have a 30 minute lunch!)

I did have some problems though - my phone line wasn't working - no dial tone. I called SBC (local telephone co.) and they said my line was turned on and according to them working fine. Since I had elected not to pay the $5 month extortion.. er, I mean inside line insurance, if they sent someone out it would cost me a service call. I called my apartment management, and they told me they were responsible for one working phone jack.

Yesterday (yes, I was without a dial tone since I moved in - of course I have my cell, so not really that big of a deal) they finally sent a maintenance guy over and he managed to get two of my phone jacks working (the one for TIVO and the one in the kitchen, but not the one in the bedroom for DSL.) I'm thinking I'll just run a long phone cord from the kitchen to my computer for the DSL.

On Sunday when I went grocery shopping I bought something which triggered me getting TWO FREE movie tickets good for ANY theatre/ANY movie up to $12!! I wish I knew what it was that triggered it.

I'm going into withdrawls not being able to check my email everyday (can't check email at work due to virus fears) and not being able to check my bank accounts daily. Hopefully I'll have my DSL up and running again this weekend so I won't have to rely on the library or my mom's computer to access email/bank accounts.

KIF,
Laura

This past weekend I spent a good number of hours packing my place. I think I made pretty good progress. Dad is responsible for packing the kitchen/pantry by this weekend, then I'll be finishing up the rest. Sunday is the big move day. I can hardly wait! I'm a little bit worried about the amount of helpers I'm going to have - it may just be my dad, me, and the friend who recc'd me for this job. Oh well, it will at least get done.

Saturday night dad and I went out to eat at Denny's - we had a Boca Burger and an order of pancakes - which we split in half cuz' we both were in the mood for "breakfast" but also for the BB. Then we saw "Date Movie." That was a very corny, gross in some parts, yet very funny movie.

Sunday night I got to my mom's place and had it to myself for a little while. Once mom got there I asked her if she'd like for me to help her on her budget. She agreed. When I put the acutal numbers on the spreadsheet, she was a little depressed (I would be too if my rent and car payment equalled nearly 65%!!! of my take home pay!!) When I found out how much she was paying for her phone services, I asked her if she'd be willing to cut back any. She was more than willing. So I told her exactly what she needed to say to the phone company to get what she wanted - she called the phone company on Monday and cut over $100/mo from her bill! She also had a checking account she was paying fees for - I suggested (strongly) that she think about getting rid of that account -- which she also did! I also suggested that she put a certain amount every month in a "No Touch Fund" -- she set that up to be automatically done!! For her, the more simple the plan the better - so I divided the money left after the non-negotiable bills between groceries, giving, Blow (hair, clothes, nails, extra coke, etc), and the No Touch Fund. She wasn't too excited about the amount of "blow" money, but I pointed out to her that there wasn't really too much left after bills TO divide between the other categories. She seemed to accept that. Only time will tell how much this will help her. --- Oh, another thing. She's going on a cruise next week that a friend of her's paid for and is taking along a certian amount of money for spending. I suggested to her that she make a game out of seeing how little of that money she spends. Then when she gets back, put half of what's left in her blow fund, and the other half in her "one month ahead" fund. She was getting pretty sleepy by then, but I think she was ammenable to the idea.

I am just so proud of her for taking care of the phone and the bank! That right there will help her tremendously! Today she's supposed to call a couple places to give her new address and get W-2's from, as well as health-savings account claim forms. She told me that if I'll file her taxes, she'll come to my new place and help get things organized (we'd both do it for each other anyway - but, oh well.)

My new job is going well. I've been on my own now for two days. Get to have a LOT of time for surfing on the net - not an entirely bad thing, but I do hope I get some other things to do so I feel more useful.

KIF,
Laura

Tonight I had to go to the going away party for the person I am replacing. I really didn't mind, because I have really started to like her. It was at a bar, which is a place I don't frequent very often. Going in I was surprised to be asked for my i.d. - just not something I think about needing to have out when going into a place where there is a party. I had a Coke. When I was ready to go (after about an hour) I got the waitress's attention and asked her for my bill - she told me that soda is free! I only had $1 in my purse, so I left her it for a tip - she'd really kept my glass full.

When I got to my mom's place, mom was like "Let's go to Dillard's! They're having a 40% off of reduced price sale!" So, off we went to Dillard's. By the time I found enough clothes that I could try on that were close to my size, it was 20 minutes to closing. I was frantically trying things on, and didn't get to everything. I ended up buying 3 items - a black top, a beautiful white blouse, and a cute brown jacket. There was one pair of pants that might have fit me, but I was running out of time. The lady at the cash register very kindly stayed open to take our purchases.

After we had purchased our stuff, we went to the door we had gone in. The doors were shut down tight. There formed a group of about 20 people - all of them just standing there waiting for ??? I noticed a Dillard's employee closing his cash register nearby, so I went over and told him that there was a group of people needing to get out, what could he do? He made a phone call to let someone know, and about 5 minutes later a very grumpy lady came down and opened the door for us. I wonder how long everyone would have stood there if I hadn't gone over and asked for help??

Tomorrow I get my first paycheck from my new job. I can hardly wait to see if it is for 3 days or for 8 days!

Money spent since Wednesday:
Quizno's (supper) $7.98
Snack at work: $2.77
Tip at party: $1
Dillard's: $37.89

KIF,
Laura

Got a call during my lunch break today - I was approved for my apartment! Yahoo! One of the ladies who works here also lives in that same complex and says it is really nice - she's lived there for 12 years and hasn't had any problems.

So, March 3 I'll sign the lease and pay the balance of the $199, then actually move in on March 5.

I can hardly wait!!

Tonight I'm going to my coupon club meeting. I haven't been to one since May and have really missed the ladies, not to mention the free coupons!

Well, better go - got work that needs doing.

KIF,
Laura

We had quite the wintery weekend here in the DFW area. Thankfully today is a little bit warmer than it was yesterday.

I went to my apartment this weekend to pack up more clothes for work, etc., and to start packing other stuff. Dad hadn't gotten any boxes, so Saturday night we spent a couple hours scrounging up boxes from various grocery stores.

This afternoon I looked at my first apartment complex on my list - and decided to go ahead and fill out an application. I explained to the person my situation re:rental history/dad and she told me that she thinks the manager would be willing to work with me on it.

The apartment is 1 BR, 770 sq ft, has a small kitchen pantry, a dining area with hardwood floors, the bedroom has a wall closet AND a walk-in closet, it's on the second floor (ugh!) but has an enclosed patio (for my cat to get his "outside" time). I will have to go back to doing laundry once a week at either a laundrymat or at the apartments facility. For an extra $35/month electricity, water, trash is included!
It is less than two blocks from where I'm working - a sidewalk goes along the whole two block area -- so, I could walk to work if I wanted to. I think I'll be able to fit everything in there - if not, I'll figure out what I can get rid of!!

So, I should know by Wednesday whether or not I am approved or not. My move out date from my current place is March 5 - my move in date would be March 3. First months rent + deposit is $199!!

I can see this place saving me alot of money - gas, wear and tear on my car, (car insurance is going to go up alot though - though pretty much anywhere in this area it would), electricity, water bill, etc.

I just can't tell you how anxious I am about getting into a place that is completely my OWN again!!!

Money spent this weekend:
Movie tickets (2) (Walk the Line) 13.55
Gas: (2.02/gallon) 12.20 (half tank)
Clothing: (skirt/sweater Old Navy sale) 23.80

KIF,
Laura

Wow guys! I can't tell you how much all of your comments have meant to me.

I had my first day today. I think it went pretty well. The person I am replacing is very nice. It looks like I'm going to have plenty of time to satisfy my readaholic bug. i.e. - There's a lot of downtime.

Filling out the paperwork took quite awhile. There was a lot to go through. I signed up for the group Life Insurance (x1), the Accident plan (x5), and Disability (x5). Total take out - ~$29/mo. The Medical Plan is a PPO, and the best part is that the premium's are PAID!!

They do have a 401K plan, but unfortunately there is a ONE-YEAR waiting period before an employee can participate. (How does that make sense???) So, I guess I'm going to figure out where to put some money away in an IRA myself.

I found out today that I get paid weekly, and my first paycheck will be next Friday. They have direct deposit, which I immediately signed up for.

I'm just so excited about all of this!

I'm going to have to ask Jesse if I can download a copy of YNAB onto my mom's computer so I can keep up with my budget away from my home computer. I *could* do it just once a week, but I have a thing about liking to play around with it 4 or more days a week.

Spending Log:
$5 - lunch (didn't bring lunch with me because I wasn't sure whether or not I'd be staying the whole day or not.)

KIF,
Laura

Remember the interview with the Oil company that Tammy's husband Nick reccomended me for? I had that interview this morning, and it went great. They told me that they would call me either this afternoon or by noon tomorrow to let me know one way or the other.

Well ... they called me this afternoon, about 30 minutes ago ... and .... I GOT THE JOB!!! I start TOMORROW morning at 9am to start training to take over the current receptionists position. I'll be salaried, but the hourly rate is about $2 more an hour than what I was making as a Supervisor AND I get benefits (paid for!!!)

I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!!

God is so good! So are friends!

*This* is the best Valentine's present possible!

Laura

Yesterday I spent a couple hours on Career Builder going through a ton of job advertisements. I sent my resume and a cover letter to about 5 places which looked like possibilities.

I actually got a response from one of them! I will have an interview with them on Wednesday morning at 10. So, so far that is 3 interviews lined up for this week. Not to mention all the other resumes I have out there that could possibly turn into an interview.

I'm feeling much more optimistic.

I did something yesterday evening that was probably pretty foolish - probably a waste of money. But, I did it, and I guess all I can do is see if it actually pans out or not. Basically one of the advertisements on CareerBuilder was for this site that gives you a website advertising the free install of a product, and then you submit your website once a week to over 100 search engines. If anyone signs up for the free install of the product, you get $50. It cost $29, and there is supposedly a 60-day moneyback guarantee. Only time will tell I guess.

Spending Sunday:
$29 - website/search engine submission

Spending Monday:
$10 - maybe ... chip in for flowers for a Pathways classmate who's relationship ended recently

KIF,
Laura

Well today I ended up getting a free lunch! My friend Tammy's family, my mom, two Pathway friends, and me all ate at a Thai restraunt. It was getting towards the end of the meal and I saw the waiter heading towards us with the bill. I tried to get his attention, but he ignored me and gave it to Nick (Tammy's husband)y paid the entire bill! What a sneaky little turkey!! I really was dissapointed because I had wanted to treat them for once - they'd treated me so many times before.

I guess I could use the money I set aside for the meal for a low-end mp3 player.

It was so great to spend time with Tammy's family - the kids were a little shy at first, but then they remembered how much fun "Lorla" can be.

Mom and I got a bit annoyed w/each other today. Def. don"t think she/I would get along very well long term in the same living space.

The concert last night was AWESOME!! I;m thinking of downloading 4 or 5 songs from Casting Crowns I heard last night. Of course, downloaded songs don't do me very much good w/a dead mp3 player.

Spending:
Saturday:
Supper - $8.00
Groceries - $7.49 (Newspaper, bread, junk)
Gas - $17.40 (2.06/ga - not an empty tank)

I got up to my mom's yesterday afternoon. Not too long after I arrived, I got a call from my friend Tammy's husband. He told me that a receptionist position had JUST opened up at his company and he had reccomended me for it! He told me to get my resume in as fast as possible.

I had it faxed over to the company w/a cover letter by the next hour!

This morning I was about to get in the shower (after sleeping in) when I got a phone call. It was from the VP of the company - the person I had faxed my resume to. We set an interview up for Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.!!!! Yahoo!!

This afternoon I am going over to my mom's office building to pass my resume around to a few contacts that she has made over there. Maybe something will come from one of them too.

In other news - I checked my bank account a little bit ago, and my tax refund has come in!! Yahoo! I'm going to put most of it away for possible moving expenses or just plain ol' living expenses. But .. I plan on using ~$50 - 60 tomorrow taking out my mom, a Pathway's friend, and Tammy's family to lunch. I feel that that will be a good use for the money.

Spending Log:
Thursday - 2/9
Walgreen's - $20.29 - Hair stuff (one item I'll get a rebate on, making it free.)
$25 - paid for a prescription for mom

Friday - no spending planned
Planned spending:
Saturday - ~$50 - 60 - lunch
~$10 -- Supper

Got another call today, half past 8 asking if I'd fill in for a receptionist at a Printing company. I quickly agreed to do it. Between yesterday and today, I now have my gas paid for in March. So, I have rent and gas covered - just that much less to have to take out of savings.

Called my mom to let her know that I won't be coming until tomorrow. She's anxiously waiting to see my new do, but she understood why.

Dad took some pics of my new do with his camera. I tried emailing them to a number of people, but the files wouldn't atatch, so I made a new page on my website, and uploaded them.

I got a phone call just shortly after 8 this morning from Jan asking if I could do a temp assignment in the same bank I had been at two other days. I of course jumped at the opportunity. I managed to arrive there by 9:35 a.m., which I thought was pretty darn good since I managed to eat some breakfast, dress professionally (although I could not find any hose!) and drive 40 miles!

Since I was not expecting to work today, I didn't have anything ready for lunch, so I did end up eating at Schlotsky's. Not exactly a hardship for me.

After work of course was my hair appointment. I arrived with enough time to fill up on gas, and stop by Taco Bell for supper.

Amazingly when I went in the hair salon lobby, there on a chair was a magazine with a picture of Jennifer Anniston's exact hairstyle I was wanting! When I got in the chair and took out my hair clip, I had a number of people ask me if I was *really* sure about cutting it off.

Amanda (the hairsytlist) put my hair in a ponytail (a requirement for Locks of Love) and cut it off. That was the *weirdest* feeling. What was even weirder though was to have my ponytail in my hand!!

All in all I am happy with my new do, though I think it's going to take a while for me to get used to it. It turned out a bit shorter than I was expecting, but still goes slightly below my shoulders. It also doesn't quite look exactly like JAs style, but I think I do like it.

Now I have to find out where to send my ponytail to. I thought Amanda already had that info, but she told me I would have to send it to them myself. Hope they'll take it!

Spending Log:
Lunch: $4.75
Supper: $1.83
Gas: $20.22 (2.08/gallon)
Haircut (cut, style, highlights, tip) $100 (paid for by my grandma and my dad)

Keeping It Frugal,
Laura

I don't know if my body realized "Hey girl, you don't have to go into work in the am, so you can be sick now" or what, but I've been feeling progressively worse the past three days. Just pure exhaustion, stuffed up, nauseua, congestion, coughing, etc. Ugh!

Saturday afternoon I called my former co-worker to let her know I would be in her area next week. I ended up actually talking to her husband for a good hour. He told me that he had at least two job possibilities that he would check into for me. I would dearly love to up in that area again - be near Tammy, my coupon club, and a church where I feel welcomed.

Later that afternoon I drove up to Fort Worth to see a few of my Pathway friends. One of our classmates from CA had flown in for the weekend. It was really good getting together with them - we had six of our class members alltogether + families. We spent a couple hours talking, then went out to eat at a Mexican resturant.

One result that came from our chatting was that the lady who lived in the house we met at told me that there was someone she knows personally who has a garage apartment for an extremely reasonable amount - and that he would probably rent it to me on her word alone. She also gave me the name of a friend of hers who does resume work/career coaching as a ministry.

So, I'm going to be checking into those things today. Then tomorrow I get my haircut, and on Wednesday I'm going to go to Dallas and spend a few days with my mom - as well as put my resume out there. Then of course Friday night I go to the Casting Crowns/Nichole Nordemon concert, and the next day will see Tammy and family, then have another Pathwayian get together.

I got my water bill on Saturday. It was down another couple dollars. I *really* wish I knew how it keeps going down while the electric keeps going up. I haven't noticed us using any less water, and sure haven't been using more electricity!

Spending Log: (Feb 2 - 6)
Cabo's (Mexican): $7.28
Groceries: $4.36

Keeping It Frugal,
Laura

Long story short. I was laid off from my temp job at the trucking company. Found this out as I was heading home from downloading information at the bus station - got a call from Jan.

A didn't even have the decency to tell me to my face. So much for my debating on whether or not I should put my name out there for something else before May.

Apparantally one of their departments is running pretty slow and so they're going to use someone from there to cover what I was doing.

Guess I'm going to have to figure out about unemployment benefits tomorrow. I am glad that I made enough these past two weeks to barely cover March's rent. Am also glad that I didn't look at apartments yesterday.

Am trying to tell myself that maybe this is a good thing. Maybe it happened to leave me open and available for something better. Really am trying to believe that.

I am just so discouraged. Really thought I had until at least May to have to worry about finding another job/assignment.

Ugh!

Edited to add: I just looked up the requirements for unemployment in TX. Since I've been working for an employment agency, I am technically not unemployed for three business days - so I can't file until at least Wednesday.

I took off work this afternoon for the express purpose of looking for a new apartment. I stayed up past my bedtime last night narrowing down the places I was going to visit to 4. I found my two latest paystubs, and found my lease. I was all ready to go.

Then today at work I got a phone call from an employment agency I had applied to last JULY in Dallas. They had a job possibility for me they wanted me to interview for. When I first spoke to the lady I told her that I had a job until May. She asked me to give her a call a few weeks before this job ended.

Well, I met with my dad after getting off work for lunch. He was talking to my mom on the phone when I got there. I talked to her and ended up telling her about the phone call. She convinced me that I should call them back and at least find out what the job was all about, and that it wouldn't hurt to just put my name in the pot.

Dad and I talked about the job opportunity too. My main qualm was that I feel like I have given my word to the place I am working at right now that I'll be there till May, and also I feel like I would be letting Jan down if I didn't finish this assignment.

Dad made some very good arguments, including the fact that if it was the company losing money, they wouldn't have any qualms about letting me go. That it's the way of business, etc. He also asked me just what I was going to do when it gets to be May and the assignment is over, and there I am in my apartment with a lease that wouldn't be up till August at the earliest.

I finally decided to go ahead and call the place back to find out about the job. It was a temp job - so not anything to get excited about. But what it did do is make me reconsider getting an apartment/signing a new lease before having a permenant job nailed down.

What I have decided to do is to give it another go of putting my resume out there in Dallas and waiting at least another month before looking for an apartment in Fort Worth.

The commute may kill me before my time is up here, but it probably is better than finding an apartment, leasing it, then before the lease is half over finding a perm job in Dallas starting immediately - thereby creating a much longer commute.

I hope I am doing the right thing, because I was SO looking forward to the idea of not having this commute anymore and having a place with a dishwasher!!

Well, I'm off to Walmart for an oil change and some tire rotation/balancing. Hopefully it won't take too long.

I started my morning at work with doing the same task I had spent the previous 18 hours doing - taking apart PODS, filling out expense reports for each POD and bubbling in the little ovals. A little before lunch my supervisor *finally* came to me with the extremely welcome news that after lunch I was to go back into the payroll office and do stuff in there! So after 22 hours of PODS, I got to go back into payroll!

While I was doing my thing in payroll, I got several calls relating to the Bus Survey job. The surveyor who had done the assignments this past week/weekend called to let me know she had done all of them and that her Palms were in the office charging. Yay! Then I got a call from Marcelo (the guy from the survey company) and he told me that they had found another assignment that had some trips missing! So I called the employment agency and told them what Marcelo had told me, and that I was going to ask C to do the assignment. I also found out that R's bag still had not been returned!

While I was making and recieving these phone calls, I was getting a lot of ribbing from my supervisor and office mates. I spoke to my supervisor before leaving and let her know, all joking aside, that I would not normally be taking phone calls during work hours, but this was a bit of a special situation. She told me she really didn't mind as long as it wasn't taking up too much of my working time.

After I got off at the trucking company, I headed over to the bus station. It took me about an hour and a half to do everything I needed to do. I'll be going back again on Thursday evening to download the *LAST* assignment (please, please, please - let it be the LAST one!) so that will probably be another hour or so.

The library is open late on Mondays and Thursdays. I needed to renew two books (way overdue) plus I wanted to get some more books. So, I stopped by the library. I found a James Patterson book I hadn't read before "Beachhouse" and I also found the new Jan Karon book (can't remember the name right now.)

Oh, I wore my hair down today (something I don't do very often because my hair doesn't hold a style very well, and it tangles WAY too easily.) I had so many comments - it was so funny! One lady told me that she only dreams of having her hair that long (about two inches above my tailbone.) She sounded dissapointed when I told her I was planning on cutting it to shoulder length. Anyway, I thought it was kind of funny how many people noticed my hair today - especially since I made the decision to cut it!

Okay. I want to go watch Crossing Jordan before going to bed tonight, so I probably ought to get going. Tomorrow night I will probably watch 7th Heaven and Flight 93 which I Tivo'd tonight. I love my Tivo.

Spending Log:
Bus Station - $.60 - candy bar
Library- $3.60 -- Fines
Taco Bell - $1.97 -- supper (and lunch tomorrow)

Keeping It Frugal,

Laura

Woo Hoo! I received my W-2 from the employment agency on Wednesday, and today I received my W-2 from my teaching job. I went through irs.gov , then "free file" then through "Turbo Tax."

I'm not getting back quite as much as I had thought I would, but it still will be a nice shot in the arm.

I found a website where you can enter in your payrate and find out how much in taxes will be taken out depending on how many exemptions you use, etc. I did a lot of calculating, and I think I could take up to 3 exemptions (based on what it looks like I'll be earning for the next five months) and still have some money coming back to me.

I'm going to have to see about changing my W-4 soon so I can have more money in my weekly paychecks.

I talked to my supervisor at the trucking company on Friday afternoon about what I could expect as far as work hours in the coming weeks. She told me that I could count on at least 30 hrs a week, but more than likely closer to 40 hours a week due to a project the billing department is doing. That was very good news to me!

I also asked her if I could take off an afternoon next week to go apartment hunting, and she said "no problem!" I'm going to be taking off Wednesday afternoon.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to my dad that I was wanting to do something to my hair, maybe get a new cut/style. Well, he mentioned it to my grandma and to my mom, and between the three of them, I have enough money to get it cut/styled and highlighted, plus a nice little tip!! I made an appointment today for Feb 7 after work. The lady told me that my hair would be a good canidate for "Locks of Love" if I am willing to cut off 10 inches. I'm thinking about it - I still would have nearly shoulder blade length hair even with cutting off 10 inches.

Spending Log:

Walmart - $14.79 -- $2.13/gallon
Walgreens - groceries $1.39

This has been a most relaxing weekend - especially compared to last weekend! I did ride the bus Saturday night - had a short one hour run. Then I went into the bus stationt this afternoon for a few hours. I had planned on wrapping *everything* up, but the person who was supposed to complete the other surveys had not left his bag, nor returned any of my numerous phone calls. So, probably I'll have to go in again tommorrow after work, or maybe the next day.

I did some searching for apartments this weekend. I found one that was ~700 sq ft for $430/mo --- best part of it though was that it was across the street from a new library! Unfortunately, they didn't have any openings. I asked the lady for suggestions of other places in that area. I called the place she mentioned - they do have some openings, but the rent is quite a bit higher. They are however having a move in special - $99 total move in (first month's rent+deposit). So, if I like the place, I'm going to ask if they would prorate the special out over the 12 month lease - which would make the mid-size apartment (~670 sq ft) ~$455/mo. I'm going to take a look at it tomorrow after work. It has a dishwasher and it has a stackable washer/dryer connection - I'd just have to locate one of those. Of course, this time I would be MUCH more careful about obtaining a *working* one!!

All right, I've got some coupon cutting to do. Then gotta hit the hay early. It's been just loverly sleeping in the last two mornings. But, alas, none of that for the next 5 days at least.

Spending Log:
Newspaper + Snickers bar -- $2.39

At the temp job I where I started yesterday, I am working in the back office in the payroll department. There are two other ladies back there, plus the manager. The three of us were talking this afternoon as we worked. The past two days I've been doing a lot of filing, sorting, and stuffing. These are all things the other two normally do. So anyway, I asked them how they got all that I was doing, plus everything else they were doing, done.

They told me that they both put in overtime. The younger girl (the one I'm training to take over for during her maternity leave) only does maybe 3 or 4 hours of overtime. But the older lady said that she averages 17 - 20 hours of overtime PER week! She told me she was worried about what she was going to do when the truckers went completely over to the scanning system - which would cut way back on the paperwork. She has been working this kind of overtime for the past three years, and has grown accustomed to living on that amount of money. She's going to be in trouble when she has to live on just her 40 hrs a week salary.

I wanted to suggest to her that it's never a good idea to count overtime money as actual income. That it's better to base your budget on the base salary, and then have set categories for any kind of extra money that comes in - whether it be from overtime or from lottery winnings, etc. etc.

Of course I didn't say anything like that to her for two reasons: 1. It really wouldn't be very helpful to her now because she's already used to living on that money... and more importantly 2. I'm new, and she's the one I'm going to have to be working with for the next few months, so want to keep a good working relationship.

Spending Log:
None

Keeping It Frugal,
Laura