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)

So the roommate came home after being at her parents for the holidays. I had emailed her yesterday with the question - what are you doing for January? (backstory: she gave 30 day notice back in late november, but did not move in December after all & is paid through Jan 9th).

Last night, she told me she's moving to Florida. She's going there for a job interview 1/3 and then on a short cruise and will be back around the 10th.

At that point, I told her that any days she (Or her STUFF) are here after the 9th, she will be charged rent divided by 31, which is roughly $15/day.

I will be sending her an email today confirming that arrangement, as well as stating that the day to day can continue through Jan, but as of end of day Jan 31st, I expect her to be completely moved out so that I can have a new renter start Feb 1st.

This means that my budget will have a shortfall in January. I will be looking closely at the budget & while I do have savings to cover the shortfall, I plan on doing everything I can to cover the shortfall without digging into savings.

I get paid on the 15th & last day of the month. I"ve always worked by budget as the 30th & the 15th so that the paycheck at the end of the month goes to the first 14 days of the following month.

For example, December 30th check will go for my January budget. I recently changed my 401k witholdings so my 12/30 check is a little less than what it was on the 15th. To top that off, my medical benefits increased by $6 and my Social Security withholdings will be going down (Woohoo) and I also changed my HSA withdraw amount by quite a bit. Given all these changes, I do not know exactly what my new paycheck amount will be on Jan 15th. Hard to make a budget.

PLUS - I still do not know what the roommate situation is. I plan on emailing her today to see if she can give me a heads up. She was out of town all Christmas week & went to her parents on Christmas Day & I haven't seen her since. I know that she is not working. I don't think she's found a new job. As she is planning to work in another state, I don't see her leaving until she gets a new job/place to stay, but I just don't know.

So in light of all the above, my January budget is all jacked up until I truly know what is going on with my paycheck & my roommate

I plan on being SUPER frugal in January to cover any shortfall in income if the roomie leaves and it takes time to find a new one. I really do need to find a new one though.

So I will set my 12/30 budget, but will wait to set the 1/15 one until I see the new paycheck online about 5 days prior. SHould be fun!

I ran a lot of errands last night & today.

I spent:

- $17.90 for groceries at Target *used a $15 gift card
- $19.66 groceries at WalMart
- $4.95 ornament from Pier One (for a gift)
- $1.98 picture enlargements for mom
- $35.01 gas
- $3.99 for catnip (present for the cats & entertainment for me. They treat it like its crack!)
- $9.34 large bad of calcium for snow
- $12.54 groceries at grocery store

*Lots of grocery shopping, because I was OUT of staples

I have paid all my normal bills & I have the following amounts left in my cash (and gift card) envelopes

- $10.00 to mail a package to England
- $105.54 Christmas
- $7.01 Cat (need litter & litter bags)
- $.66 leftover calcium funds (this will go to the piggy bank)
- $79.60 Entertainment money (I am hoping to stretch this into January!
- $56.42 groceries

Unfortunately, I have a couple of Christmas items to still pick up (UGH - hate last minute shopping!!)

This weekend, I plan to:

Do an annual Christmas trek with friends. We hit 2 specific Christmas stores & enjoy the sights. We might do lunch, which would be the only money I spend there.

I need to hit a bookstore & get some gifts.

Saturday night, I plan on chilling at home & doing some cleaning. And especially doing some wrapping of presents!

Sunday, I promised 2 hours to my mom to clean wherever in her house she needs the help. After, my sister & my nephew are coming over to enjoy the real Christmas tree, make some cookies & watch a Christmas movie. I am really looking forward to it!

The roommate is still unsure when she is leaving. She got official word of the termination, but I think she has no idea what she's doing. All I know is she's paid until the 9th of January & if she needs to move - she still has to give 30 day notice again.

Lastly - I just wanted to share that I have a bunch of stuff checked out from the library at any time. I just finished Catherine Coulter's Whiplash (I like her easy books), but what I am really into is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Socity by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Its about a writer who gets a letter from a farmer on Guernesy Island in 1946, just after the Germans un-occupy the area. He had come across a book she had once owned & had her name in it. A flurry of letters commence between the author and the islanders in the society who have been cut off from the world during the whole occupation. Its really well written even with so many different voices giving their versions of events. Its something really different and I LOVE it.

Today is payday. I spent $8.10 on lunch - losing my lunch challenge, but oh well I went to the doctor ($20 copay) and then out to dinner with a friend, and she treated. I will reciprocate next week. I spent $1.00 for parking.

I am now home, snuggled under an afghan and enjoying the cats & the Christmas tree and paying bills and transferring funds to my various savings accounts including the efund.

I upped my grocery budget this pay period because I need a lot of staples. $106.50 cash/gift cards into the envelope.

I started with $72 for the entertainment budget & am already down to $62.90. I am looking to put some stuff up on Craigslist & add to my entertainment budget because I have a lot of social obligations (or social wants) in the rest of the month.

Tomorrow is our work holiday lunch - so YAY FREE FOOD! We also have a work holiday happy hour after work. I'm debating about going because it means spending money. BUT it would also mean schmoozing, which is always good for the career. I will figure it out

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

I had a great weekend and Monday is going well for me. I am working to stay within budget for the rest of the month. ALthough the sidebar is not updated, I have finished all Christmas shopping, except for a gift card for 1 friend and an Itunes Gift Certificate for the nephew.

I am finishing my Christmas card today, nothing like waiting until the last minute!

I packed breakfast, lunch & snacks for work today. I'm hoping it will be a no spender, like yesterday.

I also wanted to mention that I finally downgraded my gym membership from $20/month to $10/month. Nice savings there!

Today's 5 Things (to do):

1. Finish & mail Christmas cards
2. Make dinner at home, pack food for tomorrow
3. Make meal plan/grocery list for the 15th through the 31st
4. Finalize budget for 15th through the 31st
5. Start wrapping gifts

I should also add that I will be (Hopefully!) finishing The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I really like the book. A friend let me borrow her copy.

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

My roommate tried to get out of paying me any more rent other than what she's already paid (which would get her through December 9th).

Basically, as of this weekend, she told me she did not have a move out date nor did she know exactly what was going on. I have been patient and said to just let me know when she's ready to give 30 days notice. All weekend she never said another word on the topic.

I was off work Friday & Monday, which she knew. She had sent an email to my work on Friday, stating that she didn't know when she'd be moving out, be it the '1st, the 15th or whenever' and that she did not see in the rental agreement where she needed to pay through the 30 days notice.

I was outraged when I read that at work yesterday. At NO point did she say anything to me about this face to face. I went home & found the signed rental agreement, told her I read the email, that the 30 day notice WAS in there and that I would accept Fridays email as her 30 day notice.

I followed up this conversation with an email confirming what we spoke about:

-that she is paid through the 9th
-she owes me 30 day notice payment of $150.00 to cover the 10th through the 19th (the last of the 30 days)
-and I also (GENEROUSLY) provided that if she (or any of her belongings) stayed any time after the 19th, then she would pay the rent divided by 31 days ($15) per day.
-I also clearly stated that that offer of extension on the rental agreement was good until the end of December & that I would be looking for a new roommate to start January 1st.

I just truly hope she pays me. And I'm kinda hoping she'll be out by the 19th.

However, this leaves me with a problem with my December budget. I will stop my aggressive repayment of debt & only pay the minimum. I have the new car payment to account for in a new budget without a roommate. I also have about $200 of upcoming medical bills to still be paid between now & the end of December.

I am doing what I can to make a budget where I do not have to use any savings & still pay all the medical & Christmas expenses in cash. Fun, oh fun. And I am NOT counting on any additional rent from her until its in my hands.

BUT today was a start, I sold a DVD set for $15.00 off Craigslist. I will be putting a LOT of new listings up tonight.

And in terms of good things - the craigslist sale happened, work let me out 1.5 hours early for the holiday, I got a nice haul of books & movies from the library, my parents brought me leftovers from their lunch out at a restaurant right by my house & I got a free dinner that I did not have to cook!

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)

Well, thanks to all the physical yard work yesterday, I woke up with a VERY sore back. I'm taking some anti-inflammatory meds and trying to walk around to loosen up the muscles

Well, today will be a day of rest instead of a day of cleaning cause there's no way I'm going to be able to handle picking up stuff for scrubbing the bathtub.

I went to the farmer's market & got some veggies. Other than that, there is no spending for today. I am heading to my sisters for a bbq.

My cash envelope totals are now as follows:

House Stuff - $0 bought items on Friday
Groceries - $25.52
Entertainment- $31.13

Tomorrow, will be a no spender as well. The only thing I have planned is another bbq at a friends and I already have the items needed for veggies & dip.

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?

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

Today was payday. I paid my car insurance, funded some savings accounts, paid for my gym membership & set up the rest of my budget.

I have a $49.24 Entertainment budget to last from today until the 30th.

Today I went to my nephew's baseball game (free) and met some friends at my Tuesday Pub night. Played darts & had 1 beer. Total $5.00 for 2 hours of fun.

Tomorrow - I am meeting friends for a walk at a local park (FREE)

Thursday - I am meeting different friends for a walk at a different park (FREE)

Friday - I am going over a friends for horror movie night. I'll need to bring a snack & we already own the movies. Expected spending ($5.00?)

Saturday or Sunday, I might see a friend in a local company's rendition of Willy Wonka. I think tickets are like $18.00, and I'm not 100% sure if I'm going.

I'm hoping to buy paint for the downstairs bath tomorrow and start the painting this weekend. I really can't wait for the 'makeover' to be over!

Well, I found someone through Craigslist. This is the first time that I've done that. We emailed & talked a few times. She came & looked at the place today.

She has a stable job at a state Hospital (as a social worker). She already gave me first months rent & is looking to move in this weekend. She will be giving me the security deposit then, which is fine with me.

And the best thing is that we were talking about the different rents based on craigslist ads and she mentioned people wanting $500/month plus utilities (which would be high in our area). I said that I chose to include utilities in the rent becuase it was easier to deal with as long as the utilities don't increase too much. And she said....

....wait for it....

she's a FRUGAL person and mindful of energy and water usage. Lol... it sold me!

So she's moving in this weekend. As for rent, this is the plan. I'm asking $475/month (up from $450/month for the last roommate).

$100 increased utilities, my dvr splurge & house stuff
$50 of fun money. If I have to share my house, I want a fun benefit!
$325.00 credit card

And I will reconsider the fun money, based on budgetary needs each month. Obviously the safety deposit will go into a savings account.

In other news - A/C is still off. LOVE fresh air and I am thankful its not too hot out yet.

And as for the lunch challange - today I bought some animal crackers for $0.85 from the vending machine. I REALLY didn't want to do it, but I was having a blood sugar drop & shaking. I WILL be restocking my desk with snacks tomorrow.

I will probably count this is my one day of the month splurge, unless a real lunch out comes up

Last night was a blast. One friend bailed, but the other & I went out and had an awesome time!

I provided snacks ahead of time. Made my own bruschetta with stuff from my garden & the farmer's market. And put out some crackers & had beer leftover from the party. So we had a pre-event party with no money (outside normal groceries) spent, nice!

The event itself was awesome! We had a great time and had a few beers and split some fries. With tip, I spent $31.48. So I went over my entertainment budget for this month, but took $5.00 from my grocery budget, so I now have $0.08 to last me until the 15th. This should be fun!

I'm going to put up a couple of things on craigslist. If I get extra money, then I can use 1/2 for entertainment!

Today will be a lazy day. I plan on taking a walk, doing some laundry, and prepping food for this week's lunches. All will be free!

Happy Friday! I'm ready for my long weekend! Today is payday and already I know that my budget is wayyy too tight. Suffice it to say some things have changed with my income, I no longer have the part time job or a roomate, expenses are creeping up and I have a TON of social obligations coming up.

So I am going to control everything that I can. I have 19 days in this pay period. And for this time, I have (after bills are paid)

$110.00 in my grocery budget
$50.00 in my gas budget
$83.19 in my entertainment budget
$45.00 in birthday gift budget
$21.19 in house budget
$20 Old Navy gift card
$15.00 Target gift card
$10.00 Blockbuster gift card
$25.00 Barnes & Noble gift card

Its going to be tight & I'm going to have to be creative, but I defitely can do it!

Payday is tomorrow & I've already made my $0 based budget. Outside my normal montly bills, I have variable spending in the following catagories:

$45.00 gas
$129.50 groceries (need a good stock-up)
$50.13 entertainment
$26.00 Communion gift
$8.00 misc cheer up gift for a friend

Its going to be a tight month and I'm going to have to get creative with my entertainment. This budget takes me through to the end of the month.

I have 2 work happy hours, 1 friends happy hour, 3 or 4 of my nephew's ballgames, a wine tasting and a movie to fit into that entertainment budget. Should be fun! Luckily the baseball games are free. That helps.

Tomorrow is Friday - I've already packed breakfast & lunch. After work, I will be hitting the library, the dollar store & the grocery store. Then home for an evening in.

Saturday, I'm going to my nephew's ball game, then driving 2 hours to a Communion party, driving 2 hours back home and going to a housewarming. I already have a gift for that.

Sunday will be for the gym ($0), the farmer's market, the other grocery store & cleaning.

I have Monday off work and will be cleaning & organizing the house, hitting the gym and heading to my nephew's ball game that night.

I am hoping to list a few items on Craigslist this weekend as well. Any extra income will be welcome!

Other updates:
Heat went back off at hte house this morning.
Lunch challange is still going strong
Still looking for the roommate

Well, a while back, I did a lunch challange and it helped me 1. Save Money and 2. Eat Healthy.

For the month of May, 2 coworkers and I are doing a Lunch Challange. There are 20 work days in May. We have challanged ourselves to pack our *HEALTHY* lunches 18 of the next 20 work days. We did set a $1.00 allowance daily to supplement the meals - so if someone wanted milk for their cereal, ect... but I plan on skipping that unless I really, really need to

I'm also trying to curb my soda addiction(AGAIN!) I will drink several throughout a day. I had 2 cans (from home) that I drank at work - there will be NO soda tonight. Hoping to get to 1/day at work for the rest of the week and then go from there.

So today was a no spender. I worked extra hours to be able to flex some of my time on Friday to sit at the hospital while a friend has surgery.

I also was talking about food with some coworkers and I mentioned I was interested in baking my own bread - my manager mentioned she had an unused extra one. So we'll see if she follows through and brings it in. Wouldn't that be awesome?

I turned on the air yesterday mid-day due to it being 88 in the house & extremely humid. I kept the air on overnight and left the air on at 78 while I was gone today. Turned the air off when I came home since it cooled down a bit. Windows are back open and the fan is going!

And I'm going to get back into my 5 Things - I feel so much better when I get something done off my To-Do list, even if its not all of it!

1. Stay on food plan (DONE)
2. Call & reschedule doctors appt (DONE)
3. Make dinner at home & prepack food for tomorrow (Working on it now)
4. Search HOA records for info needed (DONE)
5. Litter box (DONE)

Today's Food:

Breakfast: Granola bar, 1 cup fat free cottage cheese (didnt get to eat the fruit I brought)
Snack: 1 mini bag popcorn
Lunch: LARGE salad with buffalo chicken (grilled)and low fat blue cheese dressing
Snack: Tomato salad
Dinner: Whole grain spaghetti with basil from my plants, tomato sauce & ground turkey with a side of garlic bread

Hi All! I changed my blog name from HouseHopeful to HouseHappy. Since I've owned my home for 3.5 years, I figured its time to update! haha

Today is my 31st Birthday. I have the day off. I plan on doing some cleaning (to recover from the HUGE party I threw Saturday) and some much needed laundry. I'm going to hang around the house and just enjoy the day.

I do have to head out to get a new drivers lisence ($25.00) and plan on picking myself up a birthday lunch (estimated $10.00) and heading to the local veggie stand to pick up some fruits/veggies (est $12.00)

Tonight I'm meeting friends at our normal Tuesday night out and having some fun (estimated $20.00). So today will be spendy.

Tomorrow, I will be heading back to work after a 5 day weekend. Two of my coworkers and I are starting a challange in May to bring our lunches. I definitely need to do that, which will help with getting back on track with my Weight Watchers and my budget.

Hope everyone is doing well!

HH

I typed up a whole post, then lost it. Dont know why. Anyway, I've made a mess of money the last few months and today, I'm back on track.

Payday was today. Spent $4.95 on food. I'm hoping to be VERY frugal hosting 2 parties between now & the end of the month.

The roomie is 80% moved out. I'm still waiting for the last rent check. It was due the 9th. He'll get it to me, but I'm thinking not before next week. Not a fan of that.

Still looking for a new roomie, but taking my time.

Went a little crazy at the garden store last weekend. I'm looking forward to planting a few things soon. And I have a bunch of herbs & indoor plants to play with.

I've had the heat off for a week now. Hoping my electric bill will be AWESOME this month!

I have a bunch of things to do this weekend, including home repairs and cleaning.

So today is payday I have spent the last few months being crazy with spending. Today is my first day back on track. woooooo

I have a budget and its TIGHT. I'm holding a Skincare party Monday night and have a small budget for food/drinks. I'm doing this for my sister, who has decided that selling these products is a GREAT way to earn money. Personally, I just feel strong armed into pushing a bunch of people to come to my house and listen to a pitch for skin care products.

Therefore, I am planning on providing yummy appetizers and plenty of wine!

Then later this month, I have 3 vacation days from work for my birthday. I am having a little party on the Saturday before. I decided my theme is Mexican. I got some decorations from the dollar store, I'll have a taco and nacho bar. My friends are bringing extra blenders and we'll have a bunch of margaritas. I'm keeping it small, but tacos for 10 people is still not cheap.

Today I spent: $4.95 on food at work today (BOOOOO)

I have a HUGE to-do list for this weekend.

-The roomie is 80% moved out and I'm gonna take the time to do a BIG clean.
-Plant some seeds and transfer the 1 tomato plant I'm attempting this year
-Planning/shopping for food for Monday
-Planning food/beverages for birthday party

I'm glad to be in control of money again. I'll update my information soon, but the #s aren't pretty.

Yesterday I did a lot of spending.

$3.00 Dollar tree for grocery items
$5.67 Acme - groceries
$14.64 Walmart - groceries
$48.99 BIIIG bag of cat food
$98.00 Wilm Trust Home Equity
$8.65 Old Navy (after $30.00 in gift cards).
$16.00 Dinner & drinks at book club

*A note about the Old Navy. My NEW but TEMPORARY part-time job requires an all black outfit. I have a few black shirts, mostly summer and one pair of appropriate black pants. So I went to Old Navy in search of an extra pair of pants. Was unable to find any that were worth it money-wise (i.e. under $39.00) and that fit right. I did find a black sweater, a black long sleeve tee and a pair of christmas pajama pants. For me, it was worth it. Both tops can be entered into my full time job's wardrobe and the christmas pants were just a bonus for me!

I have another $10.00 to Old Navy to spend after the 6th. I'll try again for pants.

Today, I hope that I am able to have a no spender. We'll have to see! lol.

Today's 5 (+) Things:

1. Send pics of birthday party to friend
2. Laundry
3. PIckup house. Already clean, just a little cluttered again due to a busy week
4. Set aside 2 items for pickup from Craigslist
5. Adjust budget. Need to rebalance checkbook, I'm off somewhere
6. Change sheets
7. Do nails
8. Pull out dresses for Christmas party tomorrow
9. Meal plan for upcoming week
10. Wardrobe Plan for the upcoming week
11. Catch up on Sons of Anarchy, Monk, Fringe and Supernatural
12. Put out Christmas decorations

Wow! I REALLY cleaned today. With a few breaks here and there (as prescribed by Lux!)

I was able to clean my whole upstairs, scrub the bathroom, organize stuff for goodwill (and loaded up the car with it), do some heavy duty dusting on fans, walls, baseboards & trim. I did 3 loads of laundry (hung 2 to dry).

I also organized paperwork, filed & shredded. Put out a few Christmas items (from the dollar store). And lastly, I am sitting down to watch a movie from the library, maybe read a book or play on the computer.

I accomplished a lot and feel 100% better for having rid myself of a lot of clutter and dust

Tomorrow, I have to drop some items off to my parents, my sister and a friend I borrowed a book from. I will be making a Good Will run and hitting the farmer's market for veggies.

I TENTATIVELY will tackle the basement, which needs to be cleaned, but not organized. However, I'm thinking the chances of that actually happening are pretty low! Haha

Financially, I have my ducks in a row. My Nov 30th budget is done, I found a $4 check to deposit, and am working on keeping my Christmas spending under budget.

I also have an appointment for a part-time job at Macy's on Monday. Just temp work, but I could use it. Also, since the house is superclean, I took some pics of the place & am putting another roommate ad up on Craigslist.

$0.55 for a soft pretzel. I was extra hungry today. I also need to restock my snack stash in my work desk

I hit the library after work (free), then the gym (no spending today there), then straight home. I'm about to start dinner: Penne pasta with ground turkey & fresh basil. YUMMM

I have a loose mealplan for the week. All flexible. I won't get much in the way of leftovers, but am planning on buying a turkey & cooking it over the weekend or next week for myself and freezing the extras. Should last me a LONG time!

And as a side note, the weather was so nice this weekend, I was able to have the windows open on Friday. Heat didn't kick back in until last night. Its a nice 64 degrees in the living room. After dinner, I'm spending the night under a blanket & infront of a tv! lol

Today's 5 Things:
1. Library
2. Gym
3. Cook dinner & pack food for tomorrow
4. Pack car with stuff for goodwill
5. Budget for 11/30

Well, I've been lucky enough to get a few free things this week.

- Several books/movies from the library
- Borrowed movie from friend
- 2 Hershey bars from work as a promotion
- Gummy lolli-pop (friend's leftover Halloween) Am giving to the nephew.

Other updates:

- Heat kicked back in last night. Woke up to a living room of 62 degrees. That was tough this morning as the last week or so has been 67-70!

- Made it out of the pub on $3.00. Had fun, didn't drink a lot and basically spent nothing!

- Water bill came in for the quarter. It went up a bit, but I haven't looked it over to see if increased rates or usage caused it. Roughly $6.00 difference.

- Am working to use the dishwasher less and handwash dishes. Managed to do that the last 2 nights.

- I am working hard on Christmas shopping. I'll share my status on gifts and spending - maybe tonight.

- My goal for the rest of the week (Wed through Friday) will be no spenders. Definately do-able!

- Well, I had a stone hit my windshield last week and I was able to have someone come right to the house & fix it this weekend. Never had that happen before, so I'm not too sure about the work done. The crack is very much better, but there still is an indent in the windshield. Anyone know if that is normal? I'll be doing some research tomorrow.

- We received an email from work that based on the changes in the economy and the way our company has worked together, we'll be receiving a $500.00 bonus that will be added to our 401k. YAY

- I stayed within my grocery budget for this pay period. I have $3.80 left & I only need some milk, which will be $1.78. Woohoo!

- I did NOT stay within my entertainment budget. I added $20 to it from other budget catagories when I realized that $38.61 was a little unreasonable I HAVE stayed within the $58.61 amount and I'm pretty happy with the result.

- So basically, I have $2.00 that I will use for milk and $6.00 for a beer after work tomorrow with friends. The overage in budget catagories will roll over into next paycheck's budget.

- This next pay period is going to be TIGHT. I have a good friend who is an artist (not his main occupation, but is his true calling). He has a drawing being published in a book and there will be a book signing this Saturday. I want to support him and buy the book, but its $18.95, so I'm gonna have to wiggle that right into my budget.

- I did 2 loads of laundry today, used the dryer only once.

- The heat has been off the last 2 days, but the good weather will not probably last long. Whatever, every little bit helps

- I have not put any items up on craigslist yet. This will be my goal for the weekend! I need the extra cash and I have a few good items - desk, wireless router, small ikea tables, extra plastic storage bins.

Today's 5 Things were:

1. Laundry (DONE)
2. Clear out/organize emails (DONE)
3. Start Christmas shopping (DONE)
4. Give the plants a little TLC (DONE)
5. Hit the gym, dinner at home & prepack food for tomorrow (DONE). (I made this one item since its pretty routine a few days a week! lol).