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Home > Archive: May, 2008

Archive for May, 2008

Quick Stop In

May 29th, 2008 at 06:58 pm

Hi all! Its been awhile since I've been here and I miss you guys! My computer is down at home & I'm crazy busy at work, so I haven't been able to get on. I should be up and running in the next week or so.

Can't wait to get back!

Busy Day, but no $ Spent

May 18th, 2008 at 01:12 am

Yep, today was a no spender. I haven't had one in quite a while. Today my nephew came over to play with the kitten and we watched The Bee Movie (borrowed from the library). Then I drove him to his Little League game, where I hung out with my mom.

Afterwards, my nephew went with my mom & I went to the park for a 2.6 mile walk. It felt great.

After that, I stopped back at my parent's house, because I promised my nephew I'd play Wii with him. Spent an hour doing that while my mom ran a few errands. (My sister, who is my nephew's mom, was at work today).

After that, I came home, got a shower, make myself meatloaf muffins, baked fries and a tomato salad.

Now I'm cleaning up and organizing and watching tv. Tomorrow will be more cleaning and laundry, with a walk at a different park. I will be spending for gas, though.

I have several outings planned for this upcoming week, but I'm trying to keep my entertainment spending low. We'll see how that goes.

Tuesday, my work group is going out to dinner with a peer from a site in a different state. He doesn't know anyone here, so we're trying to keep him company in his off time. I'm hoping I can keep my dinner bill under $10.00.

Wednesday, a group of coworkers from my old department are heading out to a local pub. We have reservations for the upstairs deck and we plan to enjoy cheap drinks, dinner, and good company. I'm hoping to keep my bill under $15.00

Thursday night, I'm meeting my sister and some of her friends at a different pub. This night could probably be accomplished for under $15.00.

Other than those outings, my entertainment will have to be free. I'm planning on taking food to work, and entertaining myself at home or at one of the great parks around my house.

$600 Stimulus Dollars to Student Loan

May 14th, 2008 at 11:48 pm

Yesterday morning, I received my stimulus funds by Direct Deposit. Yesterday afternoon, I mailed $600.00 to Student Loan #1. I'll have to update my sidebars Smile

I'm trying to get back on track. Lately, I've been all over the place with my spending, but no more. I'm back on track and planning things out.

Today, I spent 3.80 on 7 large tomatoes & romaine lettuce from the produce stand.I was hoping for a no spender today, but I was running out of veggies.

Tommorow will have some spending as well, as I have a dentist appointment. But it is a planned expense and the funds are available from my HSA.

Electric/Gas-wise, I've had the heat on one night in the last two weeks. I'm looking forwards to the much lower bill.

I also am working to cashflow the vet bills from the new kitty. To start, I plan on spending as little as possible from my entertainment budget and putting the extra funds towards the vet. We'll see how many otheways I can save towards the vet bill.

Well, I'm off to make dinner & something to take to work for lunch. (See, I'm planning ahead).

Rescued a Kitten

May 11th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

Today was a no spender, tomorrow is definately not.

I rescued a kitten yesterday morning. It had been crying in my & my neighbors' back yards for two nights. We couldn't get it, so we were feeding it a little. Its only a few weeks old and was starving.

Well, yesterday, I was able to capture it and now its living in my spare bedroom. Separate from my cat Colbi until I can get her to the vet tomorrow to be sure she's not sick.

So far, I've spent $1.00 for a cat food/water dish. $1.00 for cat litter. $1.00 for cat pan liner bags. $3.49 for a litter box. $4.49 for kitten food. (its WAY too young to eat my cat's adult food.

The kitten's a sweetheart. Tiny, probably only 4-5 weeks old. Its skin & bones and although I didn't want/need a cat, I'm going to keep it. So I have lots of upcoming vet expenses for shots, neutering, and declawing.

I'm going to work something out. In the meantime, I get to enjoy the cuteness of the baby kitty Smile I'll try to take some pictures and post them when I can. He is SO adorable.

No spenders 2 days in a row (long)

May 6th, 2008 at 05:53 pm

Yesterday & today are/were no spenders due to being sick. I had to leave work early yesterday.

This morning, I did run to Walmart (5 mins from my house) to return a Redbox movie that I had meant to return yesterday. And I returned a shirt and pair of pants that I had bought a few weeks ago. $26.00 credit back to my account.

For the rest of the day, I'll be lying around. I tried some food, but its not sitting too well. I REALLY have to go back to work tomorrow, so I'm going to take things VERY easy.

I have all the windows/doors open in the house. Two days ago, it was back into the low 60s, now its in the mid 70s. I'm enjoying the weather tho.


As for spending, I now have the two days of no spending. But I did waste some food. I packed a sandwich, salad and milk for breakfast/lunch at work yesterday and I left it there. The milk will be salvagable since it was in the fridge, but not the sandwich/salad.

In other news, I sent an additional $65.53 to the student loan. I've been slacking lately because of all my clothes spending. I pretty much got myself a whole new wardrobe. And it was worth every penny Smile


For the month of May, my focus is on my grocery spending. I joined the challange over at Krystal's blog over at Give Me Back My Five Bucks.

My budget is $50.00 per every pay period ($100.00 per month). I've spent $22.60, leaving $27.40 until the 15th. Definately doable since I will only need some veggies, lunch meat and soda between now & then. I'll keep updating on how I do.

Sweet Birthday Gift!

May 4th, 2008 at 09:49 pm

My good friends and I hung out this weekend. We had a lot of fun. My one friend gave me some neat candles (which I love) and a $50.00 gift card to Lowes. She knew there were things I wanted to get done around the house. This was WAY too generous, but its very typical of her. I've put the card away until I prioritize the house stuff. I want to fix a few things and do some painting. I think I'll get the most out of just planning what I'll use the gift card for Smile

Busy, but trying to keep it simple

May 3rd, 2008 at 02:39 am

Its been a while since I've posted. Its just that the last two weeks have been crazy at work and I have spent my evenings working out, celebrating my birthday & attending my nephew's baseball games.

In the midst of all this, I have been working towards making my life more simple. And usually simple means more frugal

-Last weekend, I organized my closet to make room for my new clothes. I managed to clear out two large trash bags worth of clothing. I'll be donating those to Good Will. I also am planning to part with a few business suits. I'll keep a few, but my workplace is casual and there's no longer a need for so many. (Cost of organization $0, plus tax benefit of donation)

-I organized my jewelry and found several forgotten pieces. So now I get the pleasure of wearing them again. (Free)

-I was in the habit of cleaning my kitchen and living room before going to bed. Mostly just picking up, but I'd gotten out of the habit due to all the running around I've been doing. For the last few days, I started doing it again. 10 minutes tops, but it is SO nice to wake up and come home to. (Free)

-Except for yesterday, I've had the heat off & windows open. The fresh air has done wonders for my mood and my electric/gas bill. (Electric/gas savings - my bill was only $70 this month and will be lower next)

-I've been spending a lot of time outside (walking). I had a little white butterfly follow along with me. It stayed with me along the bushes next to the walking path for nearly a mile.

I've found the walking to be very stress releaving. For the most part, I've been able to leave my work at work, but lately some of it has been coming home with me. I like what I do, but I have a lot of responsibility. The walking has really helped with the stress and with my sleep. (Cost -gas to get to the park; benefit-improved physical & mental health)

-I've been enjoying learning to cook new things. I take out cookbooks from the library and I've been tweaking the recipes to be more Weight Watcher friendly. I don't cook exactly from scratch, but I do much better, both money and health-wise, than eating out every day. (Free, plus less eating out spending)

As for this weekend, its all about friends and family. My good friends are taking me out to dinner tomorrow night for a belated birthday celebration and then we'll be watching a movie at my house. I had suggested Steven King's The Mist, figuring it was worth it to rent. But when I went to the library, there it was on a shelf. A free fairly new release. What a surprise!

In the morning, I am heading to the May Market which is run by a Garden Club in the small historical town near one of the parks I walk in. I plan on picking up some herbs and getting my walk in. Then I am planning to go to my nephew's ball game. Its actually a lot of fun to watch the kids and its a chance to hang out with my mom 1 on 1. She watches my nephew on Saturdays since my sister works.

I will be working on a meal plan and exercise plan for the week. But I thought I'd at least share the exercise I've done this week.

Last Saturday: 50 minute 2.75 mile walk
Last Sunday: 25 mins Aerobics
Monday: Off day (I have my Weight Watchers meeting that night)
Tuesday: 44 minute 2.6 mile walk
Wednesday: Off day (Family birthday party)
Thursday: 30 minutes Aerobics at home
Friday: 48 minute 2.75 mile walk plus 20 minutes push mowing
Tomorrow & Sunday (weather permitting) - both will be 50 minute walks at two different parks.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!