I packed breakfast, lunch & snacks today. However, I am not feeling well & bought breakfast at the cafeteria along with a caffeine soda to help me get through the day. $4.35. So today will be 1 of the 2 days I've alloted for buying breakfast/lunch.

Packed Lunch total: 1/2

I packed my breakfast, lunch & drinks for work today. 1 down, 20 to go! lol

I made a mealplan for the week.

Breakfasts will consist of one or more of the following: yogurt, oatmeal, hard boiled eggs and animal crackers.

Snacks are animal crackers, popcorn, veggies & dip or pretzels & drip

Lunches:
Monday - salad with tuna
Tuesday - peanut butter & crackers
Wednesday - salad with tuna & pasta
Thursday - salad with pasta
Friday - tuna sandwich
Saturday - tuna sandwich
Sunday - pasta salad

Dinners:
Monday - Baked potato & salad
Tuesday - Sloppy joe over egg noodles
Wednesday - meatloaf muffins & baked fries
Thursday - Pasta with meat sauce
Friday - pasta with meat sauce
Saturday - to be determined
Sunday - to be determined

I also have an entertainment plan for this pay period. I have a strict budget of $40.00 to last me until January 15th.

Monday 1/3 - no money spent except for gas and poss groceries
Tuesday 1/4 - $5.00 - 1 beer out with friends at the pub
Wednesday 1/5 - no spender
Thursday 1/6 - $5.00 - book club at restaurant. Will eat dinner before I go & just have a beer there
Friday 1/7 - Nephew spending the night and watching library movies
Saturday 1/8 - Up in the air. Likely to be taking tree to be recycled & deep cleaning the house
Sunday 1/9 - Up in the air.

Next Monday 1/10 -
Next Tuesday 1/11 - $10.00 pub night
Next Wednesday 1/12 - Dinner with friends $10.00
Next Thursday 1/13 -
Next Friday 1/14 - Horror movie night with friends (FREE)

And lastly, today's 5 Things are:

1. Confirming referral for doctors procedure this month (DONE)
2. Get gas (DONE)
3. Compile Price list of items donated to GoodWill in 2010 (SKIPPED)
4. Pack food for Tuesday and Wednesday (DONE)
5. Make eye doctor appointment (DONE)

There was not enough snow for a snow day. Oh well, at least the drive in wasn't too terrible. I went into work about 45 mins late so that I could drive when it was light out versus dark. Management is totally fine with those type of situations.

After yesterday's post, I started feeling ill again. The doc has not fully diagnosed my problem - so I have been calling it the mystery illness. I was feeling weak (not tired) and was worried I might pass out, so I went to my parents to hang out there. We enjoyed leftovers from Christmas and watched movies on tv and I spent the night.

So because of that, I did not have breakfast/lunch packed. I have seriously failed in my lunch challanges the last few months & I need to stop making my health an excuse. When I eat better, I feel better anyway, so its a win-win.

Anybody who has a snow day today, I just have to say LUCKY! lol

And just to share - books! I just finished the 3rd book in the Hunger Games series - Mockingjay. I really liked the books. I also read the 1st 2 books of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series & my friend is lending me the 3rd tomorrow! I started re-reading the Kitty books by Carrie Vaughn - they're about a werewolf named Kitty. I find them to be nice, light reads.

Well, none of my goals for yesterday were accomplished, except finishing my Christmas cards. Oh well, I enjoyed reading the rest of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and watching some tv.

Today is the last day before payday. I have about $5 left in my entertainment fund, which I may use to buy a beer at the local pub with my friends for our normal Tuesday night outing.

I am working today on my budget for 12/15 to 12/31. Its going to be tight as I have about $95.00 in medical expenses to pay for. Oh, the joys

An update on the roommate situation - I think the job will end soon for her and there's a very good chance she will be moving soon. I don't know for 100% sure, but I know she's paid through January 9th. Even with her personal drama (which I really only overhear when she's on the phone in the same room with me), she's been an easy roommate to get along with.

I haven't done too well with bringing lunch, so between the 15th and the end of the year, I plan on packing my breakfast, lunch & snacks 100% with the exception of 1 lunch out for the holidays with my coworkers.

I also have finalizing the grocery list & meal plan for the next 15 days. I keep planning on doing it, but don't follow through. It will definitely be done today! LOL

Spent $12.03 on groceries yesterday. I packed my lunch & snacks, no problem.

My health issue came back with a vengance (They still don't know what it is) and I spent the night on the couch. I didn't get anything completed. Luckily I had already prepared food & snacks to take to work today as well.

The heat has been running a lot at the house. Although I keep the thermostat at a reasonable temperature, we have had some NASTY winds and the house was definitely feeling them. I bundled up and was plenty comfortable.

In other financial news, the roommates next month rent is due the 10th. We will have to see if it comes in on time. She has said she's staying through December, but at this point, I'm not counting on the money until it is in my hand.

Tonight, I am getting my CHristmas tree. I still get the lives ones. I just LOVE the smell. My dad & nephew are going to help me. Then I will be pulling Christmas decorations out & going crazy with decorating

Contradiction, I know

I went to the Farmer's market for groceries and came straight home. $8.03 spent.

I made breakfast at home, then started pre-portioning & making food for the week.

I took a large container of yogurt & put then in single serving plastic containers to grab & go for work.

I pre-made a large pasta salad. At the same time, I cut up veggies for a salad to take to work. I pre-portioned dressing to go with the salad.

I also made a bowl of tuna salad with onions, celery & spices. I ate 1/2 today & 1/2 will go toward a lunch this week.

I put animal crackers & pretzels into plastic bags to take to work.

In my fridge, I put a pitcher of water, pitcher of cherry limeade and a pitcher of lemonade. No soda for me!

All in all, it took me under an hour. Now I am watching old episodes of Parking Wars & am snuggling with the kitties. The rest of the day will be pretty lazy.

I only have a few things I want to accomplish:

1. Organize work clothes for the week
2. Clean out my purse
3. Put together birthday present for friend
4. Work on debt payoff plan for with & without rent. Roommate still is saying she will be here through January.
5. Enjoy my Sunday!

I am moving some funds around in my cash budget. Here are my totals:

1. Medical $40
2. Cat litter/food: $55
3. Groceries: $60, now at $50.11 after groceries purchased yesterday
4. Entertainment; $60, now $32. I had a big night out the other night!

This cash budget has to last me until the 15th.

I packed breakfast, lunch & drinks today. However, yesterday I bought some food at the work cafe. That was my 1 day allowed for hte month if I want to complete my December Lunch Challenge.

In other news, I am nearly done my Christmas shopping and it was all done in cash. Yay!!

Today is payday. I have already paid all of my normal bills online. I have withdrawn cash for Medical (60), Groceries (60), pets (55) & Entertainment spending (40). Pet food is high because I buy the REALLY REALLY large bag from the vet (one of the cats has crystals). The bag will last about 6 weeks & then I still need to buy litter & litter plan bags.

Today's spending: $0.55 soft pretzel. This will be my last one because I start my December lunch challange starting tomorrow!

Yesterday's 5 Things did not go as planned. Instead of what I listed, I did the following:

1. Put air in tires (Free)
2. Sort through all paperwork
3. Finalize December budget
4. Put together loose meal plan
5. Go to bed early! lol

Todays 5 Things:

1. Get free oil change (Coworker went with me to drop the car off & another coworker will drop me off at the end of the day to pick it up)
2. Pay Bills, organize cash for cash budget (DONE)
3. Finalize grocery list/meal plan since some things changed with my schedule
4. Prepack food for tomorrow
5. Organize library books to be returned

I am not doing shopping, as I am almost done my Christmas shopping. I have to update the sidebar, though.

Today, I spent $0.55 on a soft pretzel & $30 on a specialist copay. I am feeling better (Although not perfect) and I want to get back to my normal stuff as much as possible.

So, today, I am starting back on my 5 Things list. This is the 5 things off my to-do that I plan to tackle today. I can never seem to do EVERYTHING off the list, but if I can accomplish 5 a day, its definitely worth it.

So today's 5 Things are:

1. Finalize December budget
2. Make meal plan & grocery plan for the next pay period
3. Do emails for HOA
4. Laundry
5. Clean bedroom (including vacuuming)

I also have set some goals for December:

1. Complete Cash only Christmas
2. Pack lunch all days but 1 (my personal December Lunch Challange)
3. Stick to budget 100%
4. Continue to put up stuff to sell on Craiglist
5. Look for new roommate
6. Keep heat low & sweaters on

I have turned the lights off for the trick or treaters. I have a LOT of candy left. It was a very small turnout compared to last year. I will have to find some way to get rid of the rest of it.

I am starting back on Weight Watchers for the 80-billionth time tomorrow. I am unable to workout, but I can still do the meal plan. it'll just be tougher because working out meant I could splurge a little more food-wise.

I have already pre-packed my food for work tomorrow. I am upstairs & getting ready for bed in a minute. I LOVE coming upstairs to a completely clean room & made bed. I am going to try to keep this up.

The weather warmed up in the afternoon, but got chillier again at night. I have made it all the way through the month of October without turning on the heat. We will have to see how it is going forward. The house is a little chilly and any more drop in temp & I will definitely want the heat on

Tomorrow, I will be posting November goals and will be working hard to stick to them. I can already share that I am doing another Lunch Challenge. I get so easily distracted from packing my lunch The threat of layoff will definitely be a motivator.

I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

I'm still struggling with my health, no exact diagnosis made. I will say that I am on a lot of medications to deal with symptoms and I am VERY thankful for my insurance and HSA card. I have another test coming up, its a nuclear scan and they are looking at my thyroid again, however, its kind of 'just a guess' at this point.

I am at the point where things are manageable. This upcoming week will be the first week in a month where I won't have to take a day off for my health (as long as nothing changes). My manager at work has specifically told me that since I am still managing to make my projects/goals (and still being a top performer), the time off is not a concern and that she and her manager are NOT concerned about anything and that I have full job security. It was REALLY good to hear that. Probably it helps that I look like poo lately and its plain to see I'm not faking.

In other news, my spending had been a little crazy. My parents have had to put up with me spending the night, late night calls for help, driving me around and taking care of me. In exchange, I have been paying for meals for 3 people - eating out because nobody has time to make meals.

This week, I am back on a budget. I finally have a small bit of energy and I plan to put it to good use cooking healthy meals at home and at work.

I get paid on Friday again & will be working on my budget this week. My lunch challenge went out the window this month, but I hope to do better the 2nd half

Well, to help me with my lunch challenge, entertainment spending & with weight watchers, I have a weekly plan set up. I've set a meal plan, workout goals and my social commitments to a calendar.

Money-wise, I've been able to have the a/c off & windows open. My roommate's rent was due on Friday (the 10th) but it is still unpaid. However, I have not seen her since Thursday since she's been away all weekend. That may be why I haven't received it. She's always just handed it to me instead of leaving a check. Hopefully, I will get it tonight when she comes home.

As for my schedule - I would like to note that my exercise activities have been modified for the next week or so due to tendinitis in my foot. Booo to that.

Today, I am home doing laundry, planning my weekly wardrobe per our new dress code, and watching movies from the library. I have The International, Black Christmas and When a Stranger Calls. Yay for free movies!

Monday:
$0 spending.
Gym - bicycle 30-45 minutes, plus weight training.
Entertainment - no commitments
Breakfast: oatmeal, apple
Lunch: Salad with tuna
Snacks: goldfish, microwave popcorn
Dinner: pasta with spinach and a salad

Tuesday:
$10 spending
Gym - off day
Entertainment - Nephew's ballgame (free); Pub night with friends ($10)
Breakfast: apple, animal crackers, cereal
Lunch: Salad with tuna
Snacks: goldfish, microwave popcorn
Dinner: pasta salad (to be taken to ball game)

Wednesday:
$15 spending
Gym - 30 mins bike, 15 mins strength training
Entertainment - Dinner out with friends
Breakfast: oatmeal, apple, animal crackers
Lunch: Pasta salad w/ turkey pepperoni
Dinner: Medallion salad from restaurant

Thursday:
$0 spending
Gym - 45 mins bike
Entertainment - no commitments
Breakfast: to be determined (after grocery shopping!)
Lunch: Salad with meatloaf muffin
Dinner: shake n bake chicken/potatoes

Friday:
$15 spending - happy hour dinner & drinks
Gym - 30 mins bike
Entertainment - Happy Hour with coworkers
Breakfast: to be determined
Lunch: pasta salad
Dinner: Salad at happy hour; tuna sandwich at home after

Sat -
Spending: $10 at Delaware Park races (can bring own food). Then $10 Oktoberfest with sister to celebrate her anniversary

Sunday - Day at home; groceries shopping for spending; movies from library (free)

I'm working a personal Lunch Challange for September. My goal was to pack my breakfast/lunch/snacks all month with 2 exception.

I used the first exception on Sept 1st for a soft pretzel ($.55) and the second today for a bottle of water & a pretzel ($1.90). I forgot my reusable water bottle as I took it home Friday to watch. I will NOT be forgetting it for tomorrow! lol

Additional spending for today - I will be stopping by Acme for some lettuce & some ground turkey if it is on sale. Other than that, no extra spending.

I am passing on my weekly pub night with friends as I saw most of them yesterday at a friend's bbq. I plan on spending the time getting my bedroom cleaned & organized.

Today's 5 (Well, really 6) Things (to get done)
1. Library
2. grocery store
3. clean bedroom, dust & vacuum
4. pack food for tomorrow
5. call for wellness appointment by phone
6. pay electric bill - locked myself out & need to reset my password from my home email account

Well, I packed food 99.99% today as I bought a soft pretzel. I will be getting rid of that habit starting tomorrow Breakfast, lunch & snacks are already packed for tomorrow.

Today, I worked 7:30 to 4pm. Then I stopped by Joann Fabrics and picked up jeans patches. Unfortunately, my favorite jeans got worn in the inner thigh, so I used the $2.99 iron on patches and tried them out. Worked ok although they weren't an exact match. I'm just hoping to get the jeans through the next month or so of weight loss, when I have slightly smaller jeans that will work just fine.

I ate dinner at home & then met my parents at the movies to see Piranha 3D. My dad & I share a love of cheesy, over the top horror movies - the more crudeness the better. My mom was not as thrilled as we were, but we all had fun. $12.25 ticket.

My parents also followed me back to my house and dropped off a weed whacker and electric hedge trimmer that I asked to borrow. I am planning on taking care of the yard this weekend. I have a very small lot and can get around doing major yard maintenance too frequently. As long as my parents don't mind sharing, I see no point in buying those items myself.

Tomorrow, I am having some girls over for girls night in. We plan on making margaritas. My buddies are bringing stuff to make nachos and I am picking up some tequila and supplying the margarita mix. We should have a blast!


Today's spending:
$0.55 pretzel (from spare change in desk)
$12.25 3D movie ticket

Cash Envelope Balances:
Groceries: Start $110/ Current $64.82
Entertainment: Start $65/Current $43.90
House/Lowes: $40 plus coupon
Kitty Litter: $10

Welcome to September! I'm looking forward to cooler weather where I can keep my windows open and not run A/C and therefore save some money. Unfortunatley that isn't happening this week. Its in the mid to high 90s here.

Yesterday was payday, I spent 8.85 on pub night with friends (entertainment budget) and $42.19 at the grocery store to get most of my staples for this pay period (thru the 15th).

I have been working hard to make my money work for me. I paid some bills - bought gas, paid cell phone, car insurance and my cable bill with my Old Navy cc. They are doing triple rewards points and that plus the balance I already had, will yield me a $10 gc. Which I will use with another gc I already have to get some fall pants I am paying the cc off as soon as the charges post to the account, which will leave a $0 balance.

I also reduced my 401k contribution (while still keeping the company match) and all that extra amount is going straight to my credit cards.

I have lowered my entertainment budget to $65 per pay period and my grocery budget is $110 for this pay period and about $70 for my next pay period. I am going to work extra hard to stay within these budgets.

I also have finagled $40 in funds to use with a $10 off $50 coupon for Lowes. I need a new basement window cover, some weather stripping, carpet tape & CFL bulbs. And purchasing all at once will save me $10

I an reinstituting my Lunch Challange for myself for September. I went off plan a little at the end of August and really want to be back on track. So my goal for Sept is to pack breakfast, lunch, & snacks 100% with 2 exceptions for the month. One exception is today where I bought a 0.55 pretzel.

I would like to state that I don't mind the lunch challange because 1. I save money 2. Its easier to stay on my WW plan and 3. I'd rather spend disposable funds on being social

Finally, I plan on lowering my gym plan from 19.99/month to $10 a month. I can switch on the 24th of Sept and already have it on my calander. I also am returning a cable box that I have in my bedroom. Promo ran out & returning it will save me $9/month.

Cash Envelope Balances:
Groceries: Start $110/ Current $67.81
Entertainment: Start $65/Current $56.15
House/Lowes: $40 plus coupon
Kitty Litter: $10

Well, this weekend was busy. In addition to all the social activities that I had planned - picnic Sat & BBQ Sunday, I also managed to get some things done around the house.

I also want to share that I went to a midnight showing of Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with life actors, yelling things at the screen and throwing toast. Its a weekly tradition for years at a small movie theater near the university. I have never gone, but impulsively, a friend & I decided to go.

Paid $5.25 for the ticket, $1 for a bag of goodies to throw and $2.00 for a drink. There was lots of audience participation, weirdos to watch and general craziness. Very fun and unique experience.

Sunday, I did some cleaning and yard work. Managed to pull up some weeks in between my deck & my neighbors. I let it get out of hand this year. Ended up with several bags of yard waste, which I promptly took to the yard waste drop site (Free). By state law, I would have to have paid extra to have yard waste picked up by my garbage company. Dropping off is free, but messy. So now I need to vacuum out the trunk of my car

This week will be busy. I have scheduled at least 4 days this week of working out/walking. I have plans to see a movie with my dad, go to my weekly pub night and have a girls night in with an old friend. And all of that is BEFORE next weekend starts!

I packed lunch today, breakfast & snacks. I'm hoping today will be a no spender.

And I am going back to my 5 Things list. To recap, I always have a large TO-DO list going. It seems never ending, so I have determined that getting just 5 things done of the list is an accomplishment and managable

Today's 5 Things:

1. MAke call to wellness program for a free 'session'
2. Finalize budget for payday. This includes a grocery budget and meal plan
3. Change sheets on bed
4. WAlk or hit the gym depending on weather
5. Pack food for Tuesday, eat dinner at home.

I haven’t been around much this weekend, but I have been checking out everyone’s posts!

This week, I stayed on plan with my August Lunch Challenge. I have stayed on plan with my weight loss and exercise plans. And actually, the extra activity has helped with me spending less for entertainment/eating out.

Monday – I worked 7:30-4, then walked 4.75 miles with a friend near the University – FREE

Tuesday – I worked 7:30-4, then went to the gym for strength training – Paid subscription to gym

Wednesday – I worked 7:30-4, then went to the grocery store & home (no unplanned spending)

Thursday – I worked 7:30-4, then walked 2.9 miles at the local reservoir. Was supposed to meet a friend, but he got stuck at work – FREE

Friday – I work 7:30-3, then I will be meeting friends at a local bar to sit outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather. I have $10 to spend. That will be 2-3 beers plus tip. NO food. I will eat dinner when I get home

As for weekend spending, I have $24 left in my grocery budget which I will spend on veggies, fruits, and dairy. No crazy spending there!

Saturday, I’m planning on getting up early & hitting the gym. That afternoon, I will be going with a friend to his company picnic. I know a lot of people he works with, so it should be fun. This will be free.

Sunday, will be a walk in another park (Possibly with a friend), then a small bbq at a friend’s house. I have offered several times to bring something, but she’s refused it. She’s not a drinker, so I can’t show up with a nice bottle of wine, so I’m kind of stumped. I hate to show empty handed, but I also don’t want to show up with food and duplicate something they already have. Spending should be $0-$5?

I have been sticking to my strict entertainment & grocery budgets. I have also been staying on plan with my August Lunch Challenge & look forward to doing another one in September.

Money-wise, not much is going on. I use cash only for my discretionary spending & I have very little left between now and the 31st. Its doable. I have $20 in entertainment left. $10 will be to the movies with my dad and $10 for a work happy hour.

Last post (and I know its been a while), I mentioned the Wellness program at my work. Jump through a couple of hoops for points. Points turn into dollars and I can improve my wellness and earn up to $200 for the year.

I have been a week and a half back on Weight Watchers. I also have started weekly activity goals. One of the wellness options (hoops) is to engage in physical activity based on the CDC's standards.

CDC recommends '150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity OR 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity (or a combination of moderate & vigorous activity) per week. PLUS muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week that work all major muscle groups'.

My Wellness program offers $20 a month that you meet the guidelines weekly for up to 5 months ($100 total). There are other goals I could meet much more quickly, but health and exercise is something that I'm personally working on. So I decided to make this half of my Wellness goals. I will take the $100 I've earned after the 5 months & buy myself some (hopefully) much smaller clothes.

This is all money related because:

-Good health means less medical costs
-watching what I eat means I plan (and therefore budget) food more carefully
-Getting more activity in means more free or semi-free activities.

Last week, I had 253 minutes of moderate exercise and 40 minutes of strength training. This included a hike in the state park with friends ($3.00 entry fee), a walk into a private park near work with some coworkers/friends(free), 2 gym trips (monthly fee $19), and a walk around a county park with another friend (free).

This week, I have already taken a 90 minute walk with friends (free) and hit the gym (no extra funds out). I figure by the time the whole 5 months end, exercise will be a HABIT

Been very busy lately, so I haven't had time to post. A couple of quick updates.

- Watched a free Redbox movie with the roomie (Book of Eli). It was interesting, if a little slow in parts

- Listed 7 items on Craigslist. Hope they sell, I could really use the money

- Finally got some decent weather and have been able to open the windows as opposed to the A/C since Friday night. This will really help the electric bill!

- Will be looking for more items to sell from the basement tomorrow night.

- Been packing work food 100% -so keeping up well with the lunch challange. Will continue the personal challange through August.

- Transferred a bit of debt around for a lower rate - worked out really nicely.

Still doing very well on the lunch challange. Which is good, because money is somewhat tight. I am off work all next week and although I'm not taking a real vacation, I have several fun things going on. And they cost money.

So I will update with my spending plan/goals for my vacation later. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a good friday!

I"m off to get my tuna sandwich from the work fridge. Yummy lunch

I picked up some groceries and veggies and am working a meal plan for the week. I am planning on taking breakfast, lunch & snacks to work.

I am prepacking portioned out pretzels, animal crackers, and pb crackers. I made a big bowl of pasta salad that can be taken to work easily. I have apples & bananas. There is NO reason for me to spend anything on food at all.

I meal plan, but switch meals based on what sounds good that night. But here are my meals for the week.

1. Shake N Bake chicken & potatoes
2. Pasta with spinach & ground turkey
3. Meatloaf muffin & potatoes
4. Pasta salad
5. Pasta with spinach & ground turkey
6. Sloppy joe
7. Meatloaf & veggies

I am SO glad today is Friday. Its been a long, stressful week & I need to relax.

My lunch challange has been going well. I have used up my one planned spend day. So I have to be careful to not use anymore.

Tonight, I invited some friends over to play some board games & enjoy the beer in my fridge. But its all last minute, so I don't know who/if anyone is coming yet. If nobody is, I will still have fun as I have some library movies to watch. Tonights spending will be $0

Tomorrow, I have no plans. I will be doing some grocery shopping - veggies only, with a $10 limit.

Sunday, I am watching a horror movie with a friend and her preteen kid. No money should be spent there either.

Since I put pretty much all of my cash to the car deposit, this is very good.

In addition, I have goals for my 'lazy' Saturday. Its still lazy to me, because I do things at my own pace.


-farmer's market for veggies
-laundry
-clean bedroom
-finish cleaning downstairs bath
-organize financial papers (I keep pushing this one off)
-compare homeowners insurance offers
-redo budget
-make plans for summer vacation week
-mani/pedi at home

Well, the insurance confirmed they won't be covering anything with my car incident. I figured as much, but they wanted to check the car out anyway. If there had been any true fire damage or body damage, they would have paid something out. So basically I was left with a not working car.

The car place gave me $500 for the car. Given the car was 9 years old with 88.5k miles on it and the blue book value for that car in 'pristine' condition was $1700, I"m very happy getting $500 for a car without a working engine.

I did have to take a loan to buy the car (booo). The loan is 0% and is 4 years. I hope to have it paid off in 2. I am going to be working very hard to minimize my budget & throw all I can to my debt.

This is not the most ideal situation (I would have wanted to pay cash) but I am already starting to plan for future car expenses/purchases. I won't be surprised by circumstances again.

In other news, I've packed breakfast, lunch & snacks every day of work until today. I didn't get home until late due to the car buying and I was so stressed from this week I just sat on the couch for an hour then went to bed. So I bought breakfast today ($1.05). I have peanut butter crackers & cottage cheese for lunch & popcorn for snack, so I'm cool wtih that.

I will be reworking my paycheck budget for the 15th and my monthly standard budget for the rest of the year to add in the car payment & extra payments. That should be fun.

I also have a few things to put up on Craigslist. I want to use the extra cash for the vacation week that I have scheduled in 2 weeks. I am selling some dvd sets, a wireless router, a cookie press and some other things. Wish me luck!

And lastly, I am back to doing my 5 Things lists. Here are 5 things I will accomplish today:

1. Add new car to insurance
2. Take pics & put up ads on Craigslist
3. Change sheets, put away clean laundry.
4. Pack food for tomorrow
5. Deposit rent check in bank & make payments/transfers as budgeted for the rental income

I'm still in a holding pattern on the car situation. Although I can't imagine that the insurance is going to cover anything, they want to send someone to look at the car. I"m not going to argue if they really want to do it.

My mom is still allowing me to use her car. I am doing chores, ect for her in exchange. (Her physical capabilities are limited & my dad has a bad back).

Today, on my lunch break, I went to the library, which was packed! I'm assuming it was so busy because the library was closed Sunday & Monday for the holiday. I picked up 7 books and 1 movie (The Fourth Kind).

I packed breakfast, lunch & snacks today. Tonight I plan on spending $10 on my regular Tuesday night outing with friends. I have taken my spending to pretty much none, but I am going to go out tonight and have a beer and play some darts.

I also plan on buying some contact supplies, but they are covered by my HSA. This is the last year for that benefit!

So yesterday was a no spender. My mom was nice enough to pick me up and take me to my friend bbq where she ended up hanging out too. Childhood friend who knows my mom well invited her. I supplied a veggie tray & tried to give money to my mom who picked up dip, but she refused. So it did end up being a no-spender.

I did not make it to the University fireworks, although some people from the party headed over. I wasn't feeling so hot, so I headed home around 9 & went to bed.

Today, I've packed breakfast (breakfast potatoes & cottage cheese), lunch (tuna on bagel thin) and snack (all bran crackers and popcorn).

I have borrowed my mom's car today, so I will be running a few errands - library, dollar store. I am pretty much stopped with spending until I deal with this car situation, but I do need a couple of things from the dollar store to hold me over.

I did really well in July! My goal was to pack breakfast, lunch & snacks for all the work days in June except one.

I love hearing how everyone else did!

I packed for all but 2. The 2nd day being that I needed a quick snack due to not feeling well. So I have learned my lesson. Keep snacks in my work desk.

I am very happy with the results. I plan on continuing into July - but this will be out of necessity. I am on a bare bones budget given my car situation.

Today is the last day of the June Lunch Challange. I packed breakfast & will be supplied lunch for free at a team outing to a local park.

I have succeeded in the challange. I bought lunch one day & a snack one day. I did not technically meet my goal of eating out only once, but I'm perfectly fine with that as the snack was needed the other day due to not feeling well.

I hope everyone feels they did well. I know some of us do this on a consistant basis and it was not as much a 'challange' as being aware of your habits. I feel that I got something out of this and I hope that you did too.

I've been seeing lots of updates in personal posts, but if you want to chime in with a quick note on how you're doing, that'd be great! I'll do a final Lunch Challange post on the 30th & we can all share how we did overall.

So far, I have bought lunch 1 time and bought a small snack 1 time (.55). I'm pretty happy with my results and will likely set a goal for July too, maybe with a little more leniency.

How are you guys doing?

I went to my nephew's Little League playoff game. They had lost the last one and this is a double elimination tournement, so it was very important they win tonight.

The game was really cut-throat. The other team's managers were actually being a little shady - trying to influence the ump and insisting that a base coach pushed a kid when in reality, he patted him on the back to keep running (causing the kid to be out). I understand there are rules, but the coach - a grown man- practically had a hissy fit.

Still, the game was close, tied 8-8, went into an extra inning, we went up 3 points & then our pitcher closed out their batters, winning the game.

It was great! I took a chair & a snack and sat with my mom and my sister, screaming my head off. Very frugal outing.

And I found out my nephew is doing baseball camps this summer. 2 weeks for 5 hours a day for a total of $330. I pledged $15 towards it since I'm on such a tight budget this month.


Oh, and as a lunch challange update - I am holding steady - 1 breakfast bought & 1 snack. Woohoo

Today I woke up with some stomach issues & ended up buying breakfast at work. THis is the 2nd time I've bought food at work, and its been due to not feeling well both times I needed a lot of carbs in my stomach to help with acid, so I got a bagel & some breakfast potatoes.

However, to make up for it, lunch was free! We had burgers (and hot dogs for whoever wanted them), potato salad, macaroni salad, cookies and water. I also got a 'free' casual day at work to use when I want, and some little toys to keep at my desk. ALl in all, freebies are fun.

THey were pushing the foodbank donations at work and last time, I brought in a ton of stuff. So am going to work on getting some in this week.

I also need to rework my budget. I'm hoping to be able to buy some stuff for the AnySoldier.com program that Elisabeth was talking about in her last post.

Tonight, I have 5 Things I need to do:

1. Eat dinner at home, pack food for tomorrow
2. Work on Budget
3. Go to nephew's playoff game
4. Clean litter box
5. Organize list for home depot trip tomorrow