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

Yesterday was almost 90, today was in the 80s. I was in shorts and tee shirts all weekend. This crazy weather is making me sick too. My allergies have been going crazy.

Its benefits enrollment week this week. I haven't taken advantage of our company's Health Savings Account since they just started offering it last year. Since I"m on 3 different daily meds, I am going to sign up to at the very least take that much out for the year. But I have a lot of questions about the plan and the company provides the information in a manner that is very hard to understand. I'm putting a call into HR tomorrow.

I am working on the plans for my Halloween party. I think my costume is going to be a Stepford Wife. I have a coworker thats going to lend me a dress. I already have shoes and a purse and all I'll have to do is buy some white gloves to complete the outfit.

I am planning on some food & booze for the party, but I encouraged guests to bring their own bottle as well.

I am SO looking forward to my week off at the end of the month. I plan on visiting a family friend with my Mom one day. I want to spend the day at the hair salon and I am going to splurge and get a pedicure done. I know a classy, but cheap place. I plan on spending at least 1 or 2 days just lazing around. And the rest of the week is up on the air.

Well, back to work. I'm here til 8pm. Then I'm heading off to an Breast Cancer Benefit that my friend is having at a local bar. $5.00 cover and 50% of the drinks go straight to the charity. I have $15.00 to spend and thats it. But all of it will go to the cause!

Also, in Weight Watchers news I lost another 1.4 pounds this week for a total of 16.6 pounds! Slow but steady! And I FEEL so much better. And I noticed that I'm enjoying food so much more

Today is my only day off this week. I worked about 10 hours of OT last week. Not a lot, but I really needed the break last week. I could feel myself getting run down. So tomorrow I’ll be working 9am to 4pm (7 hours) and my goal is to get 3.5 hours of overtime Tuesday through Friday. We’ll see how it goes.

I interviewed for that Quality job on Tuesday. I don’t know how many people I’m up against, but I think it went well. We’ll see. And if I don’t get it, I’m content where I am and as long as there’s overtime, I’m financially comfortable. I’ll be keeping an eye out for jobs though, either in or outside of the company.

Today, the temp was in the high 80s. I kept the A/C off and the fan running. I organized my pantry to take stock of what I had in there. Then I did laundry, cleaned the basement and started putting out some fall decorations. It was pretty funny to be putting out Fall & Halloween stuff while in a tank top and shorts 

I called Comcast today because my promo rate was ending and the rep told me that it was actually not ending until December. I thought I had a 12 month promo, but apparently its 14 months. So my whole speech that I had prepared was for nothing. I’ll shelve it for later.

I made a meal plan for the week and prepped some food for tomorrow & Tuesday. Here’s the Meal plan (which can be switched around as needed).

Monday:
Lunch: Salad with chicken, Tuna on honey wheat wrap
Dinner: Barilla Plus pasta with hunts mushroom sauce, sautéed veggies & ground beef

Tuesday:
Lunch: Pasta salad with Turkey Pepperoni
Dinner: Meatloaf Muffin and baked fries

Wednesday:
Lunch: Tuna on honey wheat wrap
Dinner: Sloppy joe over no-yolk egg noodles

Thursday:
Lunch: Chicken strips and Honey mustard Pita
Dinner: Turkey bacon BLT

Friday:
Lunch: Peanut butter sandwich
Dinner: Shake n bake chicken

Saturday:
Lunch: Pasta salad
Dinner: Taco Salad

Sunday: To be determined

I bet you guys are excited, this is my 2nd post in one day after a week long absence I've been thinking about debt repayment motivation. I get really excited when I send those large checks to my student loans, but once thats over, waiting 15 days for another payday makes it hard to stay focused. There are quite a few things that I do to combat this.

1. I know its all mental, but I LOVE to plan ahead. My work displays our paychecks online about 4 days prior to payday. As soon as that happens, I 'spend' all the money by putting them into budget categories & pre-documenting any checks or online payments in my checkbook. For example, out of this paycheck, I pay:
-cell phone
-monthly student loan #2 payment
-mortgage
-gas
-groceries
-spending money (entertainment)
-gifts
-car exenses (oil change, ect)
-cat food & litter
-clothing
-weight watchers fee
-electric
-trash

Then I divide up my overtime money, most of which goes to the student loan. Seeing that large amount written down is always exciting!


2. I try to see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. I like to prepare a futuristic budget that no longer includes my student loans, but instead has bigger retirement categories and other savings goals. It’s a real big motivator to see that instead of paying $335.00 (in just minimum payments) to the student loans, I am putting that money to better use. I also run those numbers using my discretionary and overtime income (putting over 1,335.00 a month towards new goals looks REALLY good!)

3. I keep a post-it on my checkbook with the current balances of both the student loans. It’s a nice little reminder that I have to pay back such a large amount of debt. The note makes me think twice before spending. This post-it actually replaced the little drawing of a house I used to keep on my checkbook, which reminded me of my biggest savings goal, which was buying a house.

4. I get comments ALL the time from friends, family, coworkers, managers, and the head honchos about the amount of overtime that I do. Most are just joking with me. But there is always truth behind their statements. They don’t seem to understand how I can do such a large amount of overtime or why I would ever want to. I try to give flip responses, but if someone is genuinely interested, I’ll give my real reasons J

I tell them the why: I want to pay off my student loans
And I tell them the how: In high school, I went to school full-time, played sports AND worked part-time. In college, I went to school full time and either worked full-time or worked multiple part-time jobs. I tell them how in the summer, I would work 6am to 2pm at one job, work in the evenings at another job and then did overnight babysitting for a neighbor. I’ll explain that I just finished working full-time and attending grad school. I’ll explain that I’ve never really done ‘just’ a 40 hour workweek and if I’m comfortable with it, why not do it and meet my goals.


5. Finally, I get motivated thinking that one day I could scream “I’m Debt-Free!” I probably won’t be calling Dave Ramsey’s show to scream. But I might just have a party in my living room J

Payday is Friday. My work put the checks up online, so I was able to see that my overtime hours added up to $814.00. I plan on putting $614 towards the student loan. I am saving $100.00 towards a Halloween party that I'm throwing next month. I am also saving $100.00 towards my nephew's birthday gift. I am giving money towards his karate lessons.

I am still doing the OT, although I'm getting burnt out. I'm packing most of my lunches, but I have been lax about getting some snacks here and there. So I'm really going to work on not buying any snacks or drinks.

In other news, we have a work outing on Thursday, which means free lunch! I don't know from where yet though.

I plan on talking a bit about my sister and nephew's financial situation, but I'll save that for another time.

In other news, my parents went to London this week to visit my uncle. I miss them and I am HORRIBLY jealous that I didn't go with them. But I've made myself a goal. Once I'm completely out of student loan debt (both loans), then I'll start saving for a trip to London. I went when I was a teenager and I can't wait to go as an adult

I went to my Weight Watchers Meeting yesterday & I've lost another 1.6 pounds! Its real slow going cause I'm fighting several medications, but I'll take every bit of loss that I can get In my enthusiasm for the new eating lifestyle, I've bee SERIOUSLY overspending in groceries.

Plus, this weekend, I did my usual WalMart trip that I do every 2 months or so. I spent $80.00 and not all of the things were necessary items. I really stocked up because there's not another SuperWalmart closer to me & this trip should last me a few months.

At my WW meeting, the leader asked us to make specific, positive goals to accomplish between now & year end. I've come up with 3 of those goals for WW and I decided to do the same for financial goals. So here they are:

WW:
1. Lose 20lbs from now and Dec 31st
2. Exercise consistantly each week
3. Make one new change to eating habits each week

Financial:
1. Bring balance on Student Loan #1 under $5,000.00 by Dec 31st (current balance is $9434.56). I will accomplish this by doing at least 36 hours of overtime per pay cycle).
2. Have an average of 12 no spend days per month
3. Continuously work to keep electric/gas bill under budget each month

These are some agressive, but obtainable goals, but I can do it!

- No overtime this week since I was sick, but I'm feeling MUCH better now
-Packed my food for the week, but did buy bottled water one day and a soft pretzel the next. Normally, I have a cup at work for water, but I took it home to put in the dishwasher & forgot it.
-Today was payday- I paid my electric, water, amex, cell phone, cable and student loan
-I was able to sent a total of $730.00 extra to my student loan!
-They announced overtime was extended through September at work, which is AWESOME!
-I have some new savings goals that I need to think about. My friends and I are thinking about renting a house for a week in the Outer Banks next year and I need to plan for some new clothes once I reach my goal weight (I have a while to go)
-And by the way, I lost 1 lb this week (slow but steady wins the race!)

Yesterday was No Spend Day # 10 for the month. I’m almost at my 13 no spending days for the month goal!

I’ve been overspending in the grocery category, stocking up on healthier foods. But its all good.

I’m still waiting on my electric bill, I want to see where I stand. And I hate waiting.

Today I packed breakfast & lunch for work, but I’m going to have to buy something for dinner.

I’ve been working out a little every day since last Friday. Last night, I was only able to get in 15 minutes of Tae Bo, but a little is better than nothing J

I made a mistake on which paycheck would have the 3 weeks of OT in the check. I thought it was August 30th, but its actually September 30th. So that’s when I plan to send $1,000.00 from that check towards that student loan. In the meantime, I’m keeping with my goal of at least $1,000.00/month or an average of $500.00 a paycheck going towards that student loan. I already paid $400.00 towards it this month, so I plan on getting at least $600.00 towards it out of the 30th’s paycheck.

This next paycheck, the 30th, will include 3 weeks of overtime instead of the normal 2. During that time, I worked 58 hours of overtime. I had forgotten that this was a 3 OT week check.

Originally, my goal had been to pay $1000.00 towards my student loan this month. I already paid $400.00 out of my check on the 15th. But now, I think that I can get $1,000.00 to the loan out of the 30th’s check!

I can estimate based on my last 3 week overtime check of 55 hours of overtime, that I should net about $950.00 after taxes, medical & 401k (which includes a percentage of the OT income). Plus now I have my raise, which should bring it up a little more & I did 3 extra hours of OT above that other check. And I’m expecting to be under on my electricity budget, which is paid out of my 30th check to. So between all that, I should come up with the additional $50.00. I am going to do everything in my power to pay $1,000.00 or more to that loan. I can’t wait to send that check!

In other news , staying on the topic of grand plans, I am trying to incorporate exercise into my week. Its hard working 60 hour workweeks, making healthy meals at home to take to work, plus trying to exercise. I started out small with a little walk on Monday, but then I didn’t do anything Tuesday through Thursday. Last night, I did an exercise video from On Demand (for free). It was a mile walk (in the house) in 15 minutes. I felt pretty good about it. Today on my lunch break, I’m going to take a mile walk outside of my work building (there’s a small trail around the buildings in our work complex). I should get it done in a ½ hour in this heat. Tomorrow, I’m going to attempt a much bigger walk. And I’m going to try different On Demand videos during the week, walking outside when I can.

My goal for no spend days this month is 13 (I did 12 last month). I’m well on my way to hitting that goal!

-I made a financial goal of tracking all of my spending from for the whole year. I've kept up with the tracking and its actually gotten pretty easy. Its crazy to see some of the numbers for catagories. Once the year is ending, I'm going to reevaluate my catagories.

-I counted up all my overtime hours from January 1st through last week... 316 hours! Plus 18.5 that I'm working towards for this week. My goal is to get 20 hours a week for the next three weeks.

-Just a few updates for today: I worked 7am to 8pm, with a trip to the library on my lunchbreak. Today was a no spender. I packed my breakfast, lunch & dinner. I already have tomorrow's food planned. When I get home tonight, I'm going to take a quick walk, then make the food, then veg in front of the tv for awhile.

I recieved a $24.67 cash back credit on my Amex card! I use it for gas, so that'll go to my next purchase.

I truly enjoyed my short time off. With all the OT I've been doing, I haven't had a decent amount of downtime in a very long time. I did little spending, lots of relaxing and nothing that I needed to do around the house, other than mow the lawn.

My goal this upcoming weekend is to plan most of my Christmas shopping. Over the weekend, I recieved an unexpected $25.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com from my Amazon Chase card. I had put the air conditioning bill on it, then paid it off immediately, but apparently it earned the gift certificate anyway! I'm going to put 1/2 of the g.c. towards a book that I've been dying to get and 1/2 towards a Christmas gift. Plus, I have a $5.00 off coupon from purchasing my Harry Potter book through Amazon. I'm also eligible for another $25.00 gift card from my points which I'll use for a gift. The rest of my Christmas money is already in savings.

I kept my A/C on all weekend, but at a higher temp most of the day, utilizing the fan & being downstairs in the day. At night, I turned the temp down a little more so that I could sleep comfortably. There's a lot of humidity right now & its messing with my sinuses.

I've been doing pretty good money-wise. I just sent off another $284.54 as an extra payment to Student Loan #1. I get paid again on the 15th and the check will include 41.5 hours of overtime, all of which, minus my weightwatchers fee and an unplanned gift expense of $43.00, will go to the loan.

My hair dryer, that was already on my list of things to replace, completely broke last night, so I"m going to buy one today. I have the cash for that earmarked in my personal items catagory in my budget.

This week I'm working between 16 & 18 hours of overtime between Tuesday & Saturday. All of which will go directly to that loan.

I've been listening to Dave Ramsey again & all I want to do is to pay this student loan debt off. I really can't wait!

On a side note: I lost 2 pounds this week! For a total of 6.8 pounds.

My goal for this week is pack my lunch every day. I spent 55 cents on a soft pretzel today & I'm picking up some veggies from the grocery store, but I am hoping to make Wednesday through Saturday no spend days.

Yesterday was a no spend day. I worked 7am to 9pm with a ½ hour lunch, earning 5.5 hours of overtime. I was invited out after work, but I declined because I didn’t want to spend money. Plus I wanted to go to bed early. So I came home, made food for today & went to bed. I was back up at 5:45 am (which is a feat, since I am NOT a morning person & my normal work shift is 11am to 8pm).

Today I’m working 7am to 8pm & then I’m heading to a friend’s house for dinner & movie night. I offered to bring stuff, but she refused, so today may be a no spend day too. We’ll see. I hate coming over empty handed.

I’m making some changes in my current goals. The plan was to replenish my emergency fund after it was hit with the hot water heater & air conditioning problems. However, I have $5,000.00 in my ING account earmarked to pay back a first time home-buyer incentive loan at 0% due in Sept/Oct of 2009. I’ve decided that I’m comfortable with having this as a back-up e-fund. So what I am going to do is put all my extra funds directly to student loan # 1. I’m really motivated to pay it off quickly, because it’s in my parents’ names. If for any reason, I have to touch my emergency fund. I will immediately stop paying down the loan & work on rebuilding the e-fund.

I’m getting paid on Tuesday. I have very little overtime in this check, but I’ll be putting 194.55 towards the student loan. Next pay period (August 15th), I’m hoping to have over 40 hours of overtime to put towards the loan. I REALLY want to get this paid off! If anyone has any comments about my plan, please let me know. I’ve thought this through in terms of my comfort levels, but I’d like to hear other opinions as well.

Saturday:
-Worked 8-5 with a 1/2 hour lunch
-Mowed the lawn myself (my neighbors all pay someone to do what takes me about 20 minutes)
Sunday
-Picked up one of my prescriptions using a gift card I earned for bringing in a new prescription last month. Did not buy anything else, so I still have $17.34.
-Used a coupon for 1 free 22 count of Always
-Bought a 40 pound bad of cat litter for $9.99. They had a sale tag up from the prior week. It rang up at $19.99, but when I showed them the tag, they honored the sale price.
-Weeded the rocks by my front door, trimmed the bush back away from my kitchen window & electrical box
-I tackled the thorny bushes at the back of my property. I didn’t make much headway, but I was able to trim back enough that I won’t get scratched when I mow the lawn.
Today:
-I took my parents to the movies today. $19.00 for the 3 tickets. The last few times we’ve gone, they’ve treated, so it was definitely my turn
-Got 2 free movies from Redbox using online codes
-Made brownies for a work party tomorrow, plus giving $5.00 to the pot for a gift. I used brownie mix that I had at home, so no spending there.
-My car has to be inspected at the end of the month. But my check engine light is on. My Dad & I checked all my fluid levels & sensors, but it’s still on. So I need to take it in, this week or next. Luckily, I have money in my car repair fund
-Today I did some make-ahead meals. I made myself a quick pasta dinner while waiting for my ground beef to finish defrosting and then I made the work brownies, salad & pasta salad to take to work tomorrow, a large batch of sloppy joe to freeze, and I tried a new recipe – Mealoaf muffins, which I’ll freeze as well. They turned out really well. Now I just need to see how they freeze.
-On the upside, its been really cool here, so no A/C on.
-I always struggle with food and eating out, so that’s going to be my main focus this month

I was invited to Atlantic City this weekend, with some new friends, but I declined in an effort to not spend right now.

At least we have a movie night planned instead of the weekly bar night we have usually. I'll bring microwave popcorn from home, one of the guys is supplying the movie. Should be fun.

My goal for the weekend is this: to not use any cash, debit, or credit cards. Today, I am working til 8pm. I'm stopping for gas on the way home (I'm on E). Then I'm heading home to watch a library movies and possibly a re-run of House while I clean & pack some food for work tomorrow.

Saturday, I'm planning on leaving my wallet at home. I'm working 8-5. I'll take a 1/2 hour lunch, but I won't be going anywhere. I just plan on playing on the internet for the 30 minutes.

Then tomorrow night, I plan on hanging out at home. I've been working 6 days a week and for the last 3 weeks, my only day off (Sunday) has been packed with family obligations. So I am planning on completely staying home and vegging on both Saturday night & Sunday. Unless the temperature gets too high for being without A/C, in which case, I'm going to camp at my parents house

I'm want to do some organizing and cleaning this weekend, watch some free movies, catching up on blogs and some financial stuff, and generally relaxing. I really need it.

I have food for dinners at home, but I plan on making a stop at the grocery store at some point. I have $29.36 in Super G gift cards left for this pay period. So I'll stock up on some salad stuff & some essentials.

I was going to make some food to freeze ( I have this meatloaf muffin recipe that I want to try), but if its hot, I won't be turning the oven on. I'll just plan on having a lot of salads and tuna fish and pasta salad

So to recap, I'm buying gas tonight. Then no more spending except my gift card to Super G for groceries.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Well, the A/C went again. The last visit from the repair guy was a last ditch effort to see if it would limp through this summer. Obviously, it won't. I have the cash to get the new unit, but I want to pay myself as soon as possible.

Also, there was a glitch between my hot water heater timer and my brand new hot water heater, so I had the installation guy come back out to take a look. It took him 5 minutes, but it was fixed.

Today I:
-woke up at 6:45 am.
-was at the grocery store by 7:30 am to buy veggies and some staples
-made food to take to work
-called & set up an appointment with the a/c guy
-called & got 1 more car insurance quote. I'm just waiting to talk to the company who has my homeowner's insurance to see if grouping them together would save me a few bucks
-met with the hot water heater guy
-went to work for overtime from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm
-came home & cleaned the kitchen, living room and downstairs bathroom
-made dinner and premade food for tomorrow.

now I'm resting, playing on the internet & reworking my budget a little.


I'm actually going to be under budget for groceries this pay period! Yay I have $17.56 left of my $50.00 gift card that I'm using for this pay period. I'm going to save it for when soda is on super sale again. I like to stock up when its at its cheapest

So other than groceries paid by the gift card, I had a no spend day today.

Tomorrow, I'm working 8am to 8pm (3 hours OT). I've packed breakfast, lunch & dinner to take with me, as well as some snacks.

I've been running the house fans, but not the a/c since the a/c isn't working. But even if it was, I'd probably have it off, its been so beautiful in the last few days.

My goal for this week is to pack my meals all the way through Saturday. I say that sometimes and I don't follow through. But I will this time. I actually put a sticky note on my debit card. It says "A/C", just as a reminder. When I was saving for the house, I had a sticky with a picture of a house on it. Its a strange little motivation, but hey, it works for me

For entertaiment this weekend, I'm getting a few movies from the library. I've been watching old Poirot movies, which is fun. I have plans to do some organizational and cleaning stuff around the house this weekend. It should be pretty frugal

I opened up a trial size toothpaste this morning that I had gotten as a free sample. I have another one somewhere in the drawer. Its berry flavored, with a hint of mint, which is a little weird, but it was free & it'll last me a good long while I'm going to organize & use all my free samples, before they get lost.

I'm going to be putting together an organizer for my card collection. I keep a stock of cards for birthdays, sympathy, congratulations, ect on hand. But when I go to find them, I can't because they've been shoved into some drawer in the spare room. So I cut the top off a tissue box & I'm going to organize the cards in it tonight. This means cleaning out my desk drawers, but that needs to be done as well.

I'm in the process of reading Green with Envy: Why keeping up with the Jones is keeping us in debt by Shira Boss. I got it from the library awhile ago, but I'm making time to finally read it this weekend. After that, I'm re-reading the last few Harry Potter books so when the new one comes out July 21st, I'll be refreshed!

I am holding off on my impulse to pre-order Mean Lean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich. I LOVE this series. I have all the other books in hardback. But I"m really trying to hold off on it, get it from the Library and just put it on my Christmas list in December. We'll see.

I've been listening to back episodes of Dave Ramsey's show & heard his guest Henry Cloud. I put two of his books on my want list at the library. Boundries, and Integrity. Both should be good reads.

For the weekend, I plan to:
-Deep clean the house
-Finish cleaning the basement after the repairs
-Clean out my car, including vaccuming
-Start updating my resume
-Put some stuff up on Craigslist (I keep putting this off)

Next week I plan to:
-Finalize my car insurance decision
-Work any OT available to me
-Pack breakfast, lunch & dinner every day next week, no exceptions!
-Work on prescription billing issues

$30.00 specialist copay to eye doctor... I have a floater, if anyone knows what that is. Its very distracting at work, but so far, not a sign of a serious problem (which it can be).

I spent nothing on food today. I packed my lunch. YAY!

I am heading to the grocery store after work. I'm going to use on of my gift cards. I'm trying to limit my spending today, knowing I'll be going back next week to stock up on more veggies and fruits.

I am working on my May totals and June goals over the weekend & I'll post them as soon as I have them.