I have a bunch of goals for November.

1. Buy all Christmas presents and stay on budget
2. Pack breakfast/lunch/snacks for work 100% of the month
3. Stay within Entertainment budget for both November pay periods. ($38.57 for now until Nov 15th). This is a toughie, but do-able!
4. Stay within grocery budget of $84 dollars per 15 day pay period. It'll be tight, but also do-able.
5. Put all extra funds towards debt repayment
6. Look for a part-time job.
7. De-clutter and put a minimum of 8 items on craigslist.

Well, I have today off of work & am planning on getting a lot stuff done.

I am working to be uber-frugal to pay down the little bit of debt that I have left from my 'crazy spending time' a few months back. So my entertainment, eating out, and grocery expenses are going to be carefully thought out. I will share as I work through this

Today's MORE than 5 Things:

1. Laundry (DONE)
2. Groceries (DONE)
3. Pick up prescription (DONE)
4. Return to drug store (DONE)
5. Deposit at bank (DONE)
6. Get air in tires (NOT COMPLETED)
7. Look at discounted Halloween costumes (DONE - no purchases made)
8. REview meal plan (DONE)
9. Make ahead meals for Tues and part of the week. (DONE)
10. Clean up litter box (NOT COMPLETED)
11. Catch up on some tv (this is a fun one! haha). (DONE)
12. Pack lunch for work tomorrow & pack gym bag. (DONE)

Woohoo! Today at 3:30, I started the beginning of my 10 day vacation! I don't go back until Tuesday 11/3

After work, my friend & I went to the dollar store (picked up a makeup travel bag = $1.00). Then to 2 Halloween stores to look at costumes for the Halloween party on the ship. I wanted a new, cute costume, but couldnt justify the price. So instead, I am going with an old sorceress costume that I have (free!).

We went to Michael's crafts after that. My friend is trying to be the skipper from Gilligan's island and wanted to make a life preserver to go with his costume. He got all those items and I ended up buying a piece that was meant for a floral arrangement, but would actually make a good sorceress wand. $2 and it made my costume feel like new! I am hoping to hit the costume stores AFTER Halloween and maybe pick up a good deal on a costume for next year.

I leave for the cruise on Sunday, so I'm spending tonight & tomorrow organizing, cleaning & packing. I am spending time with the kitties who I feel BAD about leaving.

Today's 5 Things:

1. Get bloodwork done before work (DONE)
2. Clean downstairs bath (DONE)
3. Clean out fridge (To be determined!)
4. Do laundry (DONE)
5. Take deck furniture into basement (NOT DONE - came home after dark)

I also cleaned my bedroom and walk in closet, so I did accomplish more than I thought I would.

I also entered Savings Bonds that I have into the treasury calculator. I have a little over $1000.00, which I mean to cash in soon. However, I was checking a specific one that a family member gave me in 1980 and my mom just found in some old paperwork. That thing has a face value of $75 and is worth over $240! I'm heading to the bank to cash that one & 2 others out. I'll leave the rest alone for now & deal with them in 2010.

Hope everyone has a good Friday night!

Happy Monday All!

If you haven't already noticed, I am a fan of lists and plans. Following them is always a challange though, because I don't like being told what to do. Even if I'm the one doing the telling! LOL

I have a spending plan, meal plan and workout plan for this week. While at work today, I made a little chart on paper:

MONDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym
Planned Spending: $0.50 library fine
Meals: Pasta salad/Shake N Bake Chicken
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

TUESDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym, Civic Association Meeting
Planned Spending: $8.00 groceries
Meals: Sloppy joe/Tuna Wrap
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

WEDNESDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym
Planned Spending: $0.00
Meals: Tuna sandwich/Pasta with meat sauce
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

THURSDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Park for walking, Nephew's baseball game
Planned Spending: $0.00
Meals: Salad with pasta/Soft taco
Exercise: Park 25 min walk

FRIDAY
Planned Activities: Work, Gym, Movies
Planned Spending: $10
Meals: Turkey Meatloaf Muffin/Salad with pasta
Exercise: Gym 45 minutes

SATURDAY
Planned Activities: Gym, Kennett Brewfest (beer tasting event); Spending night in West Chester
Planned Spending: $15-20 dinner
Meals: Salad & meatloaf for lunch/Dinner out with friends
Exercise: Gym 45 mins in early am.

SUNDAY
Planned Activities: West Chester Chili Cookoff
Planned Spending: $10.00 Cookoff Entrance fee, $5-10 drinks
Meals: Unknown breakfast; chili lunch, salad at home for dinner
Exercise: Walking around cookoff


In other frugal news:

- My heat is still off. I even had the windows open for a few hours yesterday.

- Most of my entertainment (other than planned events) has come in the form of books and movies borrowed from the library & new Fall shows on tv.

- I'm packing all my food for work & saving a bundle

- The addition of exercise into my routine has helped me sleep better and have more energy. Hopefully, in the near future, it will help with some of my health issues.

- The laundry I'm doing tonight will not need the dryer, so all of it will be line dried in the spare room.

Yesterday, I went to my nephew's baseball game. Spent $5 at the snack stand. Was still feeling really off and I splurged for some food & caffine to help that out.

Afterwards, instead of hitting the gym like I planned, I went home. I thought I'd take a half hour nap & then hit the gym. I laid down & slept for 3.5 hours! Crazy.

I woke up, got dressed, and made some food before heading out to the ghost tour with friends. Ticket was already paid for and someone else drove, so no spending for that even. I really enjoyed it, but it was a bit cheesy. I'd love to go back to Fort Delaware during the daytime and explore.

This morning, I woke up and headed straight to the gym. Then I headed to the grocery store & farmers market. I had a set list, and stuck to it. This pay period (30th thru 14th) I have a budget of $80 for groceries. So far, I've spent 54.97. I have $25.03 left and should be ok since the only items that I have to purchase would be perishables.

Then I came home. Suddenly, I felt really ill and a migrane came on without any warning. I must have pushed myself too hard this weekend, since Friday's migrane came back with a vengance. I have a physical scheduled later this month. I am going to have to talk to my doctor about this.


I would like to thank everyone who picked up my 5 Things. I just wanted to put out there some small goals for myself and the fact that others are joining me, helps motivate me as well as keep me accountable!

Today's 5 Things were:

1. Gym (DONE)
2. Grocery shop (stay within budget)(DONE)
3. Meal plan, pack food for tomorrow (DONE)
4. Clean kitchen (DONE)
5. Prepack library bag (to return), gym bag (DONE)

Tomorrow, my goals are to have a no spend day and to do the following:

1. Gym again
2. Clean living room
3. Laundry
4. Prapack food for Tuesday & Gym clothes
5. Return shirts to Old Navy

Two no spenders in a row! I like it

Today, I worked, went to the library, headed to the gym for 50 minutes and then home to make dinner, clean the kitchen, do a budget and upload some photos for my mom.

I accomplished 4 out of 5 of the things I said I'd accomplish today. The one I missed was going through my financial paperwork. I'm cool with that though. I have a 1/2 day at work tomorrow. I took a half mental health day and plan on hanging out at home. I'll do the paperwork tomorrow night.

I would like to mention that meal planning has really helped me to both be frugal, but also eat better meals! Instead of grabbing fast food or a quick dinner of noodles, I am having real meals. Its so easy to get out of that habit since I live alone. But I'm back on track & I REALLY want to share how much I enjoy a real meal.

Last night I had buffalo breaded chicken, potatoes and a salad. Tonight, I had penne pasta with marinara, a ton of veggies & a tomato salad.

Tomorrow, my 5 Things are:

1. Hit the gym (even though I have a 1/2 day of work!
2. Sort paperwork, file & shred
3. Grocery shop & attempt to get below budget!
4. Try a new recipe for dinner
5. Sort 5 items for Craiglist & list them for sale

Happy Tuesday! I'm planning on having a No Spend day today, so it should be a good day!

The air/heat are still off at the house. Its been over a month now. The temps started dropping again, but I'm just layering up in the house as needed. Yay Fall!

I packed breakfast (cheerios & banana), snack (banana blueberry muffin) & lunch (pasta salad & carrots). I plan on hitting the gym after work and then staying in tonight to watch the Biggest Loser.

I'm passing on going out to the Pub that I usually go to on Tuesdays. Some of the group dynamics have changed and its just not a fun anymore. It makes me sad, but probably isn't a terrible thing as I wont be drinking or spending money

I talked before about my 5 Things list. Its meant for me to accomplish some goals for the day, but without being overwhelmed by a huge To-Do List. Here are today's 5 Things.

1. Go to the Gym after work
2. Go to the library
3. Finalize budget for pay period starting tomorrow
4. Go through financial paperwork, shred & file as needed
5. Make dinner at home

The big item - getting rid of mold in the basement - got scrapped due to poor weather planning. Its pouring and a dry basement would be best.

In between the gym, my newphew's baseball game and horror movie night with friends, I was able to knock off a LOT of items. Its like spring cleaning, but Fall cleaning instead.

I feel like I'm getting the house ready for the colder weather. Deep cleaning and airing out the house with the windows open possibly the last time before the winter.

And the only spending I've done this weekend, other than groceries is the dinner I bought for myself & my nephew Friday night. And I feel AWESOME that I got so much accomplished.

Below is a running tally of what I've accomplished this week.

Friday

- Clean junk drawer in kitchen
- Organize freezer, make list of items
- Wipe kitchen blinds
- Organize & wipe down pantry
- Meal plan for the week
- Grocery Plan for the week
- Entertainment budget/plan
- Make new workout playlist on MP3 player


Saturday

- Grocery shop
- Cleaned downstairs bath
- Clean kitchen, wash floor
- Wipe down refrigerator and cabinets
- Polish kitchen table

Sunday - Already accomplished

- Get produce from the Farmer's Market
- Vaccum stairs & upstairs hallway
- Clean spare bedroom, vaccum & wash floor
- De-hair the chair in the spare bedroom that the cats sleep on
- Clean bedroom, vaccum floor
- Clean upstairs bathroom & floor
- Polish wardrobe in bedroom

Still to do today:

- Laundry (edited - DONE)
- Budget
- Make meatloaf muffins (edited - DONE)
- Make blueberry muffins (edited - DONE)
- Mani/Pedi (edited - DONE)
- Organize garden stuff, store in basement (edited - DONE)
- Clean, dust & vaccum living room (edited - DONE)
- Wipe down living room blinds, dust fan (edited - DONE)
- Clean out car (edited - DONE)
- Put out fall decorations (edited - DONE)
- File/shred paperwork.
- Pack bag for gym (edited - DONE)
- Clean litter box

Well, today is going to be a hang around the house kind of day. I plan on cleaning and organizing. I'm heading to a party tonight, so I already got up and made jello shots. In my group of friends, its the thing I'm always asked to bring. Easy to make & fun to eat! LOL.

This week, I bought a curtain rod & hung curtains that I had from back in my college days. Its been on my To Do list since I got the house, but I've been very, very lazy. The curtains were from Pottery Barn and they REALLY make a difference in my bedroom.



Also, its only going to be 83 today, so last night I turned the air back off & opened the windows. I'll be turning it back on tomorrow as its supposed to be in the mid 90s for Sunday.

So my goals for today are the following:

- Organize Financial Paperwork
- Redo Budget
- Deep clean kitchen
- Deep clean living room
- organize clothes/household items for Good Will. List them & pack in car for delivery
- Do nails myself

And because I've been camera happy again - here are some cute kitty pictures. Believe it or not, playing with the cats can be a HUGE stress reliever

Well, I failed most of my February goals, so I'm making them my March goals!

- Complete Taxes
- Keep house clean daily
- Pack Breakfast/Lunch for work 100% of the month - NO Excuses!
- Stay on Weight Watchers plan 100% of the month
- Work out at least 3 - 4 days per week
- Lower electric usage
- Sell at least 5 things in Craigslist
- Prepare furniture in basement for sale
- Take a few bags of clothes to Good Will
- Stay 100% within budget for this month (been going over in a few catagories)


The last item be tough, especially with the amount of social activities that I've been having, but I'm going to make do any way that I can.

This month, I'm challanging myself to spend NOTHING on eating out at work. Day 1 went well. Packed breakfast & lunch and I stocked up my desk drawer with snacks & a backup lunch (soup) just in case. Made dinner at home tonight as well. Yay!

As a bonus, I stayed within my WeightWatchers plan, which is another February goal

Worked out in my living room and according to my Heart Rate Monitor, I burned nearly 400 calories. Not bad for a quick work out! This meets part of another February goal - working out several times a week!

Lots of goals for February, financial and non-financial. Here are a few.

- Complete Taxes
- Keep house clean daily
- Pack Breakfast/Lunch for work 100% of the month - NO Excuses!
- Stay on Weight Watchers plan 100% of the month
- Work out at least 3 - 4 days per week
- Lower electric usage
- Sell at least 5 things in Craigslist
- Prepare furniture in basement for sale
- Take a few bags of clothes to Good Will
- Stay 100% within budget for this month (been going over in a few catagories)

So things have been a little out of control for me lately. With eating and with spending. It's been off & on for a few months, but I've finally hit a wall. I am feeling the ill effects of gaining a few pounds back and of using extra cash for eating out or entertainment instead of focusing on savings.

Well, I'm getting back on track. I have a meal plan for the week (following my Weight Watchers plan) and I have a spending plan for this pay period (which started the 28th).

Today I bought cat food & a few groceries. I skipped getting lunch out and made food at home. I'm staying in tonight. Watching movies from the library and free on Comcast On Demand.

Tomorrow should be a laid back day as well. Tidying up the house, doing laundry, maybe heading to a friend's house to play some board games.

I'm going to start journaling my spending again. Never hurts, right?

Fern had a great comment/question in my last post. And I thought I'd address it in its own post. (Hope you don't mind, Fern!)



Fern's Comment:

"I love your methodicial and ambitious plans for paying off the loan (sounds like me). But let me ask you this, just to double-check: what's the rate of your student loan vs. your mortgage? Don't federal student loans have fairly low rates?"



First, there's actually not much difference between the two rates. I have a good deal on the mortgage rate and the student loan rates were slightly higher at the time I was in school. So the student loan is only 0.125% less than the mortgage.

And for me, a lot of this is mental. I graduated high school 11 years ago and college 7 years ago. I don't want to still be paying for a school I went to almost a decade ago!

Plus, paying off my mortgage is not something I will be able to do in the immediate future (like in the next year or two). I plan on paying it down as quickly as possible, but in the short-term, I'd just love to be debt free, but the house! And I can be there in about 6 months!

So I have this goal of paying off my last student loan by age 30. My 30th birthday is April 27th. And if I work really, really, really hard, it just might happen.

Currently, I pay an extra $263.00 to the student loan each month. I have a plan for coming up with the rest of the funds for doing this.

Its seemed like I could easily pay off the loan by the end of 2009, but I would miss my birthday. However, I made a VERY detailed spreadsheet and I can do it by...

1. Trimming other budget catagories and putting the extra funds to the loan.

2. Lowering my 401k percentage TEMPORARILY (but still making the company match) to add an additional 45.00 per paycheck in take-home pay.

3. Trimming my Christmas budget by $159.00 to put towards the student loan.

4. I have 3 months of the year where I don't have a $125.00 car insurance payment. Those 3 months (Feb, Mar & April) will go to the loan.

5. I have an annual inheritance that I should receive in March. $475.00

6. Taking funds from my vacation, house and When-I-Make-My-Weight-Goal clothing budgets $300.00. None of these catagories are needs, just wants.

7. Cashing out savings bonds that my parents had given me. $1144.92.

8. Selling an extra wireless internet setup and my TI-83 calculator. Expected $45.00

All of this should get me within $35.00 of my goal. I just need to stick to the budget and come up with the additional $35.00.

Knowing its that obtainable, I will work hard to get it done. Anything I can do to keep this goal!!!

Today I packed breakfast (cheerios & milk), lunch (pasta salad and grapes) & snacks (carrots and strawberries) for work.

On the way in this morning, I filled up the car with gas at 3.69/gal! Glad I did it, on the way home that same station was sold out. The next lowest price in the area was $3.80. I spent $48.58 of my $60.00 budget. I've put the remaining funds $11.42 in a savings account.

After work, I headed into the area around the University. (5 mins from work in the opposite direction from home). I parked in a free parking lot and walked two miles around the campus. I got a little nostalgic as this was my undergrad school. (Yay free healthy exercise, de-stressing and entertainment all in one)

I've been trying different places for walking as I tend to get bored. I'm definately going to keep the University on my list!

After work, I headed home. Made dinner (Big salad, with pasta and a side of baked fries).

And now I'm vegging. The cats are fighting, so I have to keep yelling at them I'm watching free movies from Comcast, giving myself a pedicure and playing on the internet. Great start to the weekend!



Tomorrow morning, I'm getting up early & heading to a local state park for an hour long hike. $3.00 admission, but its so worth it!

Then in the afternoon, I have a party to go to. Its a big cookout with crabs and beer. Its a little far away and pretty much an all night party, so most of the guests camp out. The guests chip in $20.00 and bring a dish. I'm bringing brownies.


And just cause I'm still ridiculously happy about paying off my student loan, I've been making all kinds of spreadsheets. I REALLY want to have this paid off by my 30th birthday, which is in April. It would be a HUGE stretch, but I'm going to try.

I'll get the check from my mom this weekend and the first thing I'll be doing is putting that $2047.54 to the student loan. (Which is the original $5,000.00 minus the payoff on Student Loan# 1 minus funds set aside for a complete new wardrobe when I hit my weight goal and vacation funds).

Once that hits Loan #2 and the extra payment I just sent of $225, I'll have a balance of roughly $6,744.74. Down from today's balance of $9017.28. Thats a pretty great start!

Thinking ahead. I currently have $377.84 in my Christmas savings.

I will be putting $15.00/mo from July to December into the fund. ($90.00 total)

Right now, I have 4,611 points in a MyPoints account. Once I get the total to 4900, I will use my balance to get $25.00 and $10.00 gift cards to stores that I shop at each Christmas.

Also, I'm utilizing my Amazon.com rewards cc. I'll be putting my gas, grocery, and cable budget on the card, pay it off immediately. With my current rewards balance and those charges, I will have enough rewards points to get a $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon by the end of August.

So, the plan is that I'll be working with $527.84. I plan on making up a gift list soon and will be looking for good bargains.

First, I finally got my electric/gas bill. January was my highest month last year, but I did well. I recently lowered my budgeted amount and I was worried I might go over this month. But I came in under budget by $7.40!! Nice!

I have already gone over my entertainment budget for this pay period. I know my budgeted amount probably is just too low, but for now, I'm leaving it where it is. I'm taking the overage from leftover amounts in other catagories (like personal care, which I don't need anything for right now) to cover my entertainment overage.

I worked all day, brought my lunch. I stoppped by the library & picked up some books, magazines and movies because I'm making this a stay in weekend. I've been out 5x in the last 7 days, so I could use the rest

I also stopped at a local produce place by my house. I've only been there once because it looks kinda sketchy from the outside. But someone recommended it and I went there today to use up the last of my grocery budget for planned veggies.

I was able to get a ton of veggies; a 10 pound bag of russet potatoes, 3 cucumbers, 5 large tomatoes, a bag of carrots, a large green pepper and celery for $12.19!

Right now, in my area, the veggie prices are astronomical!

I was most excited about the potatoes & tomatoes. The 10lb bag of potatoes was $2.99, which is the same price as a 5lb bag at my nearest chain grocery store.

The same with the tomatoes, I would have had maybe 2 or 3 small ones for the amount I paid $2.74!

I'm definately going back there for now on. And I can't wait for summer to get all kinds of goodies there.


Since I'm all set on gas & groceries. I have no upcoming plans that would require spending. So, my goal is to have no spenders Saturday to Thursday. It will be a stretch for me, but I like a good challance I'll keep everyone updated.

Sunday & Monday were both no spenders. Today I spent about 1.10 for snax at work. We moved offices & I had taken all my work snacks home. I've learned my lesson and I have stuff to bring to the office tomorrow.

Today I received my first Cashcrate check... for $31.65. I already have over $19.00 accumulated for this month. ALl these funds go straight to my studnet loan.

I'm waiting for my electic/gas bill to show up. Any extra is going straight to my student loan as well.

I also have been paying ahead on my car insurance (there are 8 payments a year. If you pay more than the minimum (as low as $1.00), there's no charge for spreading the payments out. If you pay just the minimum, then they charge $4.00/mo for the 'payment plan'. So my last payment is next month and its $10.66 lower than the budgeted amount. So that'll be going to the student loan as well.

I'm also planning to put some stuff up for sale on craigslist. I have some chair cushions, a TI-83 calculator, a finance calculator, messenger bags, a lamp, an old wireless router and an old stereo.

Its my goal to have that stuff up for sale in two weeks. I'll put any funds from those sales to the student loan.

I am waiting on some tax info, but I can't wait to do my taxes. Because this is my first full year in the house, I'm expecting a bit of a refund. Normally, I break even, but with the mortgage interest deduction, I should get some $ back. All of which go to the student loan.

Don't forget, my goal is to pay off the loan by the end of the year.

Today was another no spender. It was definately needed.

I've been spending a lot of my entertainment/eating out money on eating at my work cafe. Mostly this is due to laziness.

Well now I have $5.81 left in my entertainment budget until the 15th. Oh well, lots of eating in and watching movies. I plan on doing some deep cleaning at the house this weekend. I want to sort some stuff to sell on Craigslist.


Also, I just got a statement from my Capital One Money market Account. I received a $25.00 bonus just for signing up and funding a small amount ($40.00). Woo hoo.

In other news, my MyPoints balance is over 1000 points! I took it to zero just before Christmas and now its already up to 1k! Very nice!!

Student Loan # 1:
January balance was $12,512.40
Current balance is $ 4,650.35

In 2007, I paid off $7,862.05 of Student Loan # 1!!!

My goal for 2008 is to pay off the rest of the loan, which will be a challange.

I haven't had time to sit down and set any goals, personal or financial. I've been having some health issues and its kinda thrown things up in the air for a little while.

I have been feeling better, so I'm trying to get back into a good routine.

I purged some stuff in the house over the last few days, which made me feel better. I have a few things that I want to put up for sale on Craigslist.

Today, was a no spender. My mom did treat me to a movie. We saw National Treasure 2, which was cute.

I made my meals at home today. I premade food for tomorrow. I am really going to work on not spending money at the office cafe. With being sick, I've been relying on it a lot instead of packing. But I've made a meal plan for the rest of the week and I"m going to stick with it.

I do plan on getting some goals together this weekend. I already have an idea of what they are, I just want to sit down and define them before sharing.

Good luck to everyone in the New Year.

I sent $2,575 to my student loan. Right now I have 2 emergency funds. I took one of my emergency funds, some money leftover in budget catagories, some acrued interest on savings and sent it all to Student Loan #1.

This will bring my balance to under $5,000.00, which was a goal I set for myself awhile ago.

My main 2008 goal is to completely pay off that Student Loan. Its in my parents name and I just want it to be over.

I have a $60.00 grocery budget for this paycheck, which must last me until the 30th. I went shopping yesterday and bought $27.06 worth of groceries. I bought eggs, 2 liter bottles of soda, oatmeal, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, green pepper, and potatoes.

I plan on making another run next week, to stock up on perishables and other items, such as Barilla Plus pasta, salad dressing, popcorn, and red wine vinegar.

I’m set on meat and canned veggies right now. So I am using up what is in my pantry. Any grocery funds leftover will go into a Wal-Mart trip I’m planning next month.

I have a meal plan, including making dinner for friends for movie night on Wednesday.
I am really trying to stick to my budget. Its going to get touch, but it is doable.


As far as my entertainment/spending goes. So far I’ve spent $3.00. It was for a toll to go to a co-workers party. I brought some leftover beer from my party and a little token hostess holiday gift.

Today I’m staying home. Doing laundry, watching tv and organizing the house. I plan on spending some time prepping food to take to work for Monday and Tuesday. I find it a lot easier to do this on Sunday and Wednesday and then in the mornings, I just grab and go 

Today was a no spender. Packed my lunch. Ate dinner at home.

Tonight, I'm vegging on the couch. I am playing on the internet, enjoying the Christmas tree and watching CSI.

I did my Christmas cards. All 10 of them. Most are obligatory cards for my mom's side of the family. I see them maybe twice a year, but its really important to my mom that we stay in touch with them.

Most of my friends, I stay in touch with by email, so no need for cards.

I am completely done Christmas shopping, but I still have some funds in my budget for the work holiday outing to a bar on Friday and some money for gas to go to a Holiday party at a coworker's house in the next state. About 40 minutes away.

This paycheck on Friday was supposed to be my last paycheck with overtime in it, but in a clerical error, it was missing.

So now I know exactly what my take home pay is under this new salary. Not so fun. Until I pick up a roommate or a part-time job or both, my budget is going to be TIGHT.

Out of this upcoming paycheck, after 1/2 my mortgage payment, the cable and water bill are paid, I'll be have the following budget:

$50.00 Gas
$60.00 Groceries
$35.00 Entertainment/Spending
$110.00 Student Loan #2
$53.00 Medical
$10.00 Personal items
$110.00 Car Insurance
$40.00 Weight Watchers monthly pass
$20.00 Oil Change

My goal is to stick exactly to the budget. I have money in my checking for quarterly bills like trash and medical, ect but I really want to stay on budget and not go over. It'll be tough given my grocery budget and spending budget being so low, but its doable.

I'm planning on doing movie nights with friends vs going out to the bar. Utilizing the library and internet for entertainment. Making and sticking to mealplans. And focusing on exercise and weight loss.

All of this is definately doable. Especially since this time of year, I LOVE to sit at home watching Christmas movies, sitting with the tree lit up and lights off and having a glass of wine. Very relaxing!

I haven’t posted in a few days because things have been crazy. I worked a total of 17.5 hours of overtime last week and I’ll have completed 9.25 hours this week.

After today, I will no longer be overtime eligible. I start my new position at work tomorrow (the beginning of the new pay period). I’m a bit nervous about starting in the new department, but hopefully it won’t be too bad

I would have worked more OT this week, but I’m fighting being sick. I actually went to bed at 9:45 last night. I’m taking vitamins and Sudafed, so hopefully I won’t get too sick.

I packed all my meals for work or made them at home up until today. I’m planning lunch out with some of my coworkers since I’m leaving the department. And then tonight a bunch of us are heading out to the local bar. I chose it since it has cheap drinks, which I’m limiting to 2 for tonight.

We got paid today, and I received $529.00 in overtime. I am going to put some aside for expected yearly expenses such as my HOA fee (75.00/year), sewer bill (estimated 170.00/year), $20.00 towards Thanksgiving and the rest towards Christmas and a few home projects that I've been putting off. I have funds in my savings for these expenses, but I decided I’d rather keep that money in my savings for the upcoming year.

I am going to purchase closet shelves/poles for the 2 closets in my spare bedroom. I have a friend of a friend who is looking for a new place to rent. I’ve met the guy several times and like him a lot. It’s a bit of a hike from my house to his work, so I don’t know how beneficial that would be for him, but we’re going to meet on Sunday to talk it over and so he can see the house. Which means that I need to clean up on Saturday!

On the Christmas front, I’ve finished shopping for everyone, but my two best friends. They’re the hardest to shop for, but I’m sure I’ll think of something. I’ve utilized several gift certificates and online specials and have gotten several gifts for free. To date, I’ve bought presents valued at $215.27, but only spent $152.34.

I just have the 2 people left on my list. Plus a hostess gift for a Holiday party and some small gifts (I’m thinking baked goods) for my 2 good work friends. I’m staying WAY within budget and any extra funds will just go back into savings towards Christmas 2008.


I’m still trying to stay in ‘Super Frugal’ mode. I plan on putting the Overtime in my last 2 paychecks (an estimate of $500.00 total) towards my student loan, just to be able to end on a good note for the year. As of January, I’ll be looking for alternate sources of income. Part-time job, roommate, ect. I plan on sitting down and making financial goals for 2008 soon, can’t wait to share those!

To date, I have lost 22.8 pounds! I have a while to go, but now that I'm taking a good hard look at all the extras in my budget, I've been thinking about the Weight Watchers fee.

Currently I pay $39.95 monthly which includes meetings and online access,which I use on a regular basis. I've been thinking hard on trying to go it alone, but the support at the meetings is really helping me. So I decided to keep it in the budget.

I am motivated though... once you make your goal and maintain it for about 6 weeks, then you get to be a Lifetime member, which means that the meetings are free! So I am definately working towards that goal for my health, my self-esteem and my pocket

I got that job that I interviewed for on October 2nd! There was a lot of internal back and forth before I applied and accepted the position. In the long run, this position is going to greatly benefit me, but there are going to be some short-term financial impacts.

Here’s the run down:

PRO - I’m going from non-Exempt to Exempt status
PRO - I move from an 11am-8pm schedule with Saturday hours to Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm
CON - I lose overtime eligibility
PRO - I gain 2 more weeks of paid vacation
CON - I lose my 10% shift differential for working nights and weekends
PRO - I gain a 7.5% raise in base salary, with another review coming up in the Spring.
PRO - I have a much greater opportunity for advancement from this position, plus I am more attractive to outside companies given the new job title.

This last one was the most important. Currently, I work in a department of 80 people or so. Yearly, maybe 2 or 3 promotions open up a year. The new department has about 15 people and there are several opportunities for advancement in that department as well as several other departments. Also, I now have a much more attractive position to put on my resume. This will give me management and quality experience, which will make me eligible for more experienced positions in the future.

Overall, I am losing overtime and essentially taking a 2.5% pay cut. But given that I just had an annual review that went into effect in September, I am about 3.5% ahead of what I was making 3 months ago.

Since I've been doing so much overtime, I've become pretty lax with some spending catagories, just using overtime to pay for it. Well, that stops NOW.

I need to buckle down with ALL spending. I am going into what I call Super Frugal Mode. That means curbing spending, lowering non-essential expenses, being more rigid with eating out and grocery spending.

It also means looking into alternative ways to get extra income. I am thinking of taking up a second job for the holidays. And I am looking into the possible roommate situation again. I am just so scared of opening my home to a stranger. And I got burned with Craigslist. But I am putting out a LOT of word of mouth through friends and coworkers, hoping that I’ll hear of someone needing a place to stay for a while.

In the end, I am VERY happy with the new position. I think I'll really enjoy it! And I am good at, but bored by my current position. This is also give me more time to work with other aspects of my life, such as losing weight, exercising and being social! This was definately the right decision for me!

The way I run my budget is this. When I get paid, I have every dollar allocated to a category. I put all extra money into either savings or towards my student loan. Once I’ve paid my bills, I’m usually left with money for gas, groceries and incidentals in my checking. Once that amount is used up, then I’m ‘broke’. Lately, I’ve noticed that what I do, once the funds have run out, is I use my credit card (which I pay off monthly) to ‘cover’ myself until the next paycheck. Then I’m using money that would be going to the student loan to pay the credit card.

So this month, I’m challenging myself to completely stick to my budget and not use the credit cards. I last used a credit card on October 1st. I haven’t used the card since. I have money set aside for my party and for my vacation. So there really is no need to use the cards at all. I’ll keep you all updated of my progress.

Since I’ve been tracking every cent of spending this year from January 1st on, I was able to easily track how much I’ve spent in Medical expenses this year. Then I estimated what I’d be spending now through December. I came up with an obscene (at least to me) amount……. $968.99 !!

I need to not be so expensive. Geeze. I know a majority of the expense is my main prescription, which is $132.00 quarterly. But still. What have I been doing? Well, there’s been dentist appointments, sick visits, prescriptions, eye doctor appointment, gyno appointment and over the counter meds. But geeze! I can’t imagine what it’d be without insurance.

Anyway, I’ve decided to go ahead with the Health Savings Account through my work. They take the money out of my account pre-tax. I get a debit card to use from the account. All of which seems easy to use.

Now to figure the amount out. Now I know what I’ve spent this year, with nothing out of the ordinary. I’m set on contacts, but in the upcoming year, I’ll need new glasses. Actually, I need them now, but I want to wait until my annual appointment before investing in a new pair. Just in case my prescription changes. Which it better not, or those contacts will be useless.

I also don’t want to put too much into the account & then have a lot leftover in my account. At least the IRS allows us to go 3 months into the next year to use up any balance left in the account. So I’m figured that I’m going to estimate that I’ll be spending about 1000.00 next year. Well, really I’m figuring that it’ll probably be closure to $1100.00 with the glasses, but I want a little wiggle room until I’m comfortable with the account.

I currently have budget 82.00/month for medical. And the out of paycheck would be roughly 82/month. According to my benefits website estimator, I’ll be saving $326.50 in Federal & FICA tax savings. Which sounds good to me.

So I’ll be enrolling tomorrow. Whew. That was tough.



In other news,I had a no spend day on Monday and today. Also, the Breast Cancer benefit went really well. I had a few drinks, got a bit generous and ended up spending/donating $38.00 total instead of my planned $15-20 amount. But hey, it went to a great cause.

I have several things coming up in the next few weeks. On Sunday, I’m treating my sister & my nephew to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair. Tickets for the 3 of us will cost roughly $90.00. Then I’ll need some spending money. But it’ll be worth it. I really liked the PA Ren Fair as a kid and I know that my nephew will LOVE it.

I have set aside $100.00 towards my Halloween party. And roughly $200.00 towards my vacation week. I want to set aside a few extra bucks, but I’ll be waiting until my 10/30 pay check to use those funds. Which is halfway through my vacation, but works out just fine.

I get paid on the 15th and I’ll be sending 413.00 towards my Student loan. It’s a bit lower than the $500.00 per paycheck than I wanted, but I actually ended up doing a little less overtime than I expected and I’ve recognized that I’m getting a little burnt out on the overtime. So now I’ve rethought my goal and I’ve lowered it to $400.00 per paycheck. Which is still a VERY substantial amount.

So in conclusion, today I’ve made a couple of big decisions. And I feel good about them