Booo! The electric bill went up. $94.97! Still under budget, but I'm not too happy with the amount. I got the amount online, but I'm waiting for my paper statement to see what the usage was. With the rates going up, its hard to tell if that bill is really all that out of line.

I've been home all day with a migrane. So its been a no spender. All the things on my to do list went out the window. Oh well.

Today, I've set the AC at 78, but it hasn't kicked on in hours. I've kept the window shades drawn and thats helped. I am utilizing a fan in the living room. A bit before going to bed, I'll lower the temp a little more and use my bedroom fan to keep things cool.

I get paid tomorrow and I've worked out a zero based budget for this pay period. My goals are to stay within the budgeted amounts for entertainment spending ($39.75), groceries ($50.00), gas ($60.00) and cat expenses ($31). I'll hold myself accountable here because I really need to get back on track with this kind of spending.

I've also premade food for work tomorrow. Cheerios and milk for breakfast. Salad with chicken for lunch. Popcorn as a snack. I've made a tentative meal plan for the rest of the week.

Wednesday Dinner: Chicken and baked fries
Thursday Lunch: Meatloaf muffin and pasta salad
Thursday Dinner: Sloppy joe over pasta
Friday Lunch: Salad with chicken
Friday Dinner: Turkey BLT

Today was another no spender. Brought food to work, ate dinner at home. I picked up a few movies from the library. I'm working my way through the TV show Angel.

I've applied at a well-known shipping company for a part-time job, but have yet to hear from them. And on the roommate front, I'm still searching. I'm planning to put an ad back on Craigslist. But not until after the weekend, when I do some deep cleaning

Today was a no spender. Boy, has it been a LONG time Packed breakfast & lunch for work. Ate dinner at home, buffalo shake n bake chicken, which was YUMMY!

Took a walk with a friend at the park. One hour, approximately 3.5 miles. It was pretty nice out, but hot.

I've already packed food for breakfast/lunch tomorrow. I'm hoping for another no spender.

I am planning that sometime this week, I need to get kitty litter, gas and groceries, but I'm hoping to wait til the weekend.

I think the key to getting back on track with spending, just like my diet, is planning

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.

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


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.

I track every penny spent and have been doing so since January 2007. I was looking at my March spending and thought I'd share. Its been a really conservative month, except for groceries. I've gone a little overboard, but mostly I was stocking up on some REALLY great deals. Like whole-wheat pasta for 67 cents. You really can't beat that!

I've been lucky at having lots of free entertainment with friends and family. And yesterday I even got to enjoy some AWESOME time outside thanks to some nice weather. Most months aren't like this.

March 1
Cell phone $38.61
Student Loan $767.05
Groceries $20.16
Gifts $33.48

March 2
NO SPEND

March 3
Groceries $21.29

March 4
Car Repairs $338.84

March 5
Groceries $11.99
Library Fine $1.25
Drinks out $10.00

March 6
Gas $46.24

March 7
Groceries $13.82

March 8
NO SPEND

March 9
NO SPEND

March 10
Groceries $3.84

March 11
NO SPEND

March 12
NO SPEND

March 13
NO SPEND

March 14
groceries $32.48

March 15
NO SPEND

March 16
NO SPEND

Today was a no spender. I packed breakfast & lunch again -- its actually starting to get a little boring saying that

I had a busy day at work. I did get a freebie bottle of water though.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to leave work a little early & go for a nice long walk at a park. Its been warm in the sun the last few days. So maybe it won't be too cold to do that.

I plan on reigning in my eating out & entertainment spending this pay period. I have some stuff I want to do around the house & I'll be taking funds from those catagories to do that.

We'll see how it goes. As we say at work, Everything's subject to change

First, about weekend spending. There was none! I vegged Friday night after a long work week. I did pop back out around 9pm to go to the grocery store. I didn't want to have to deal with the Saturday morning crowds.

Yesterday & this morning was hanging out with the nephew. This afternoon has been all about cleaning and watching Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. And recovering from the Nephew's visit

I have gotten a LOT accomplished. Its amazing how changing your sheets & dusting and vacuuming the house can change things

As for the upcoming week, I drop my car back to the repair place for work tomorrow. The window motor was fixed and the window will go up & down if you use the passanger controls. But they do not work from the driver side controls. I'm hoping its an easy fix that would require no extra charges. But if its the driver side controls that have the issue, I'll have to decide if I want to have it fixed (for a cost) or leave as is for now.

I'm trying not to spend until payday on Friday. I have a full tank of gas and tons of groceries. So unless some entertainment spending comes up, all of the extra funds in those 3 catagories can go to the Student loan as of Friday.

In an effort to keep up with eating at home & my lunch challange, I've made a meal plan for the week.

I have a desk drawer of oatmeal, crackers, granola bars and microwave popcorn.

Monday:
Breakfast: oatmeal & pears
Lunch: Salad, cheese sandwich
Dinner: Pasta, baked potato

Tuesday:
Breakfast:Cheerios with milk, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Pears, large salad
Dinner: Meatloaf muffin, baked fries, green beans

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, hard boiled egg
Lunch: Cheese sandwich, salad
Dinner: Sloppy joe over egg noodles, green beans

Thursday:
Breakfast: Cheerios with milk
Lunch: PB&J sandwich, pasta salad
Dinner: Pasta w/ sauce; salad

Friday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit cocktail
Lunch: Pasta salad, cheese sandwich
Dinner: Turkey BLT; baked fries; salad

Saturday:
Breakfast: Cheerios, fruit cocktail
Lunch: Large salad with penne in it
Dinner: London briol, leftover baked fries; peas

As you can see, I can never get enough of salad, be it just cucumbers & tomatoes or a big salad with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, peppers, carrots, eggs, cheese & pepperoni. I've always been this way

Todays a no spender. My nephew came over around 1pm. He's 7. We've been taking advantage of the rainy weather. We've played video games, go fish, had play karate fights, and watched a kids movie (free on cable). We even took advantage of a break in the storms to walk to the beginning of the neighborhood to get the mail.

Lots of fun and no spending. We had drinks, snacks, lunch & dinner all at home. Lots of fun.

AND until around 8pm tonight, the heat was off. I even had the windows open for about an hour earlier. Fresh air is SO nice!

Todays a no spender. I sucessfully packed breakfast & lunch today. I'll be having dinner at home as well. I plan on organizing some recipes while watching last night's Big Brother & tonight's LOST. My goal is to go to bed early, since I was out late last night.

Last night's spending was $10.00 exactly. I LOVE the Pub, its so Cheap! There was a band, loud & not that great, but we had a great time.

Yesterday I went to the bank, did some grocery shopping, paid some bills. Then last night, I went over a friends house. They provided dinner & a movie. I only had to show up. VERY nice.

Today, I'm doing house stuff, laundry, cleaning,ect. My mom & nephew are stopping by for a visit, maybe we'll watch a library movie. I have Meet the Robinsons. All in all, today will be a no spender.

My private student loan is down to $4,013.09 with another $542.05 on its way now! I am chugging along with this thing. March will be a challanging month. My budget is SUPER tight.

I have an expected large expense in the form of a car repair. I'll get a diagnosis & estimate on Tuesday, when I take the car in.

I also have several non-regular expenses to deal with this month. I am hoping to cashflow as much as possible.

-I have a bigger than usual electric bill. I budget $120/mo and its $132 and change. I have reallocated funds from other household budget catagories to cover the overage

-I need to take my Advanced Defensive driving class ($27.00 fee) to ensure my car insurance rate at the lower amount. This will be be good for 3 years.

-I have a broken bifold door on my pantry and I really want to replace it. If its within the budget at all, I'd like to replace it this month. Estimated cost $40-45

I am also working with a slightly lowered grocery budget ($40.00 from 3/1 to 3/15) since I ridiculously splurged at Walmart on Monday and stocked up on LOTS of things. My goal is to buy only veggies and a few small items until the 15th.

At least yesterday & today were both No Spenders. Tomorrow will be too. I'm hoping to keep Saturday & Sunday as frugal as possible, but plans are up in the air and I don't know what my expenses may or may not be.


I also have an unexpected hiccup in the February-March Lunch challange, which I'll go into detail about later.

My car, a 2002 Hyundai Sonata has been making a squealing noise for a while. Mostly when it starts up after being cold for awhile. Its likely a fan belt, but I've been putting off the repair.

Well, the noise has gotten worse. To the point of being embarrassing. At least the car is still running perfectly. So I made an appointment for next Tuesday to have it looked at. Hopefully, it won't be a big expense, but I do have funds in my car repairs savings.



As for today's Lunch. I'm right on track.
Breakfast: Hard boiled egg, all bran crackers
Snack: Granola bar
Lunch: Turkey wrap with lettuce, tomato, red peppers & light mayo, plus a salad with light italian dressing.

I brought a soda from home and have had several bottles of water, all refilled from the free filtered water at work.

Tonight will be dinner at home, so today will be a no spender.

Also, I got my electric/gas bill, its 132. 21. Thats about 12.21 over my budgeted amount for electric/gas. Oh well, time to revamp the budget since prices are going up. I know its certainly not my usage thats increasing. I'll be able to pull the extra funds from other household accounts. I'll be fine.


Tomorrow is payday and I already have a budget in place for the funds. I plan on being ultra frugal for the month of March. I'd like to cashflow as much of the car repairs as possible, although it probably won't be much. We'll see how it goes.

For February, I have been able to put a lot of extra funds towards the student loan.

$18.00 State Tax Refund
$393.00 Federal Tax Refund
$3.21 Leftover from car insurance
$63.73 Savings Account Interest
$478.32 Metlife Insurance Inheritance

WooHoo! Plus the balance is down so much that most of my payments are going directly to the balance.


As for the Februrary-March Lunch challange, this week is going well. I have moved around some meals in my meal plan. So tonight I had sloppy joe instead of Friday, but its all working out

Plus, today, I had a bit of free food from work. Some of the people I work with made snacks for the baby shower. I had a cookie & a small bit of fruit and pudding. It was good


Today was a no spender. I came home from work, did some laundry, worked out, made dinner. Now I'm going to veg out & watch Mr Woodcock, which I borrowed from the library.

Today was a no spender. Packed a hard boiled egg, banana and oatmeal for breakfast. A meatloaf muffin & salad for lunch. And I had dinner at home - Sloppy joe over egg noodles. YUMMY

Last night I did my taxes. I'm getting back $393 from Federal and $18.00 from taxes. I planned my withholdings carefully to ensure I wouldn't get a large tax refund. I'd rather have my money upfront

I just checked my CashCrate balance, which was $18.80 for January.

All of this is going to my student loan. Plus I'm expecting about $475.00 in an inherited insurance distribution.

My goal is to get that student loan paid off this year. I need to get my butt in gear and get a 2nd job. It's necessary if I want to get that loan paid off.

I went from Saturday until yesterday with no spending.

Today I used my HSA debit card for the first time. I went to the doctors. $20.00 copay. Got a prescription to fill, which I will do tomorrow. Probably $10.00.

Tomorrow, I have to go for a test. $20.00 copay. Then from there who knows. I am so glad that I filled the HSA account. Because if this health problem is what I think it is, its going to mean some procedures.

In the meantime, I took lunch to work and am having dinner at home. I'll be packing lunch for work tomorrow.

Tomorrow night, my sister's throwing a surprise party for her boyfriend's birthday. I'm the excuse, so I get to bring him to the bar a 1/2 hour after everyone else. No drinking for me because of my health problem. But I'll be buying a shot for the birthday boy.

Then I'm planning a low key weekend. Not feeling so hot, so staying home is a good idea. Maybe I'll have my nephew over to watch some movies and play games. He's a lot of fun

Today's another no spender. Its only 9:37 am, but I'm planning on not spending. I'm working 7:30am to 4pm. I packed breakfast & lunch and am drinking water provided free at work. I am going to my Weight Watchers meeting tonight, but that's prepaid. I have some stuff to do around the house tonight and I'll make food tonight for tomorrow's lunch. This is going pretty well so far. Since Saturday, I've had 3 no spenders in a row!

Today is another no spender. I am bumming around the house, doing laundry, meal planning, cleaning, ect. I have set up my meal plan, which can be subject to change. But mostly, I might switch out one dinner for another.

Monday:
Lunch: Meatloaf muffin & small salad
Dinner: Chicken Taco Salad w/ green beans

Tuesday:
Lunch: Pasta salad with Turkey Pepperoni
Dinner: Egg salad w/ baked potato

Wednesday:
Lunch: Morningstar Chick’n wrap and small salad
Dinner: Sloppy Joe over pasta w/ green beans

Thursday:
Lunch: Leftover Sloppy Joe over pasta
Dinner: Shake n bake chicken, baked potato & salad

Friday:
Lunch: Peanut butter & crackers, small salad
Dinner: Turkey BLT and salad

Saturday:
Dinner: Pasta w/ chicken

Sunday:
Dinner: Tilapia


Breakfasts will consist of the following:
Oatmeal, rice chex, all bran crackers and breakfast potatoes

Lunches over the weekend will be at whim.

My goal is to have no spenders until Friday of this week. For a total of 6 days. 2 down, 4 to go!!

Today was a no spender. My parents generously took me out to lunch, which was not planned. But I didn't give in to temptation and pick up some videos from Redbox. I went home an am planning on watching some videos that I already own.

I have a thing for 80s horror movies. So I'm planning on watching Prom Night and Terror Train

Today was a no spender. I did a lot of stuff around the house today. Did a couple of loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen, washed the floor, cleaned and vaccumed the living room, balanced my checkbook and made food to take to work tomorrow. I feel like I've gotten a lot done.

It was fairly warm today, so I had the heat off and the shades up until it got dark. I've been wearing my robe & slippers in an effort to keep the heat down. Anything I can do to keep my electric/gas bill down.

I actually went & got new slippers from Boscov's yesterday for $6.97. My old ones were ripped on the side, which wasn't a bit deal to me, but then the cardboardy stuff on the bottom started flaking off all over the house. Thus the need for the vaccuming

I've had a $25.00 gift card to Linens n Things for awhile now. I orginally was going to use it for a Christmas gift, but I didn't. So I'm thinking of getting a bathroom rug and some hand towels for my downstairs bathroom. Or possibly using it for a birthday gift for my friend in February. It depends on what I end up deciding to get for my friend.

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!!

Today was a no spender, so was yesterday. I packed food for work and didn't buy any thing else from the cafe even though I was tempted to several times

This weekend, I am watching a bunch of dvds that I borrowed from the library. I'm fighting being sick, so I really don't plan to do much this weekend, except maybe de-Christmas the house. I had grand plans of recycling the Christmas tree again this year, but the State Park that I dropped my tree off last year to is not accepting recycled trees this year. So now my trash company will be taking it.

So anyway, I've been watching the first season of Hitchcock Presents, which I like a lot. I also picked up the first and only season of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. I had never heard of the series (I think it was from the 70s), but its really very funny. Its about a reporter to investiages strange occurances. Think zombies, vampires and werewolves.

I have a meal plan set up for this weekend and other than going to the grocery store on Sunday for salad stuff, I don't think I'll be leaving the house this weekend.

Hope everyone has a good one!

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.

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 forgot my wallet today. Luckily, I packed food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'm working from 8am to 8pm today. I was going to stop at JC Pennys on the way home to look for a dress to wear to my 10 year high school reunion. I have nothing appropriate and its been years since I bought a little black dress. So I'm going to invest in one, knowing I can reuse it for things coming up in the future.

So Today will be a no spender

Today is a no spend day. I packed all my food, I'm working from 7:15am to 8pm today, so I packed breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Breakfast:
Hard boiled egg
1/2 cup of southern style potatoes


Snack:
Banana

Lunch:
Pasta salad and a tuna wrap

Snack:
All bran crackers

Dinner:
Meatloaf muffin and baked fries

I packed a soda and other than that I'm drinking water all day.

Tomorrow I have a dentist appointment and I have to pick up my winter coat from the dry cleaners. I already have tomorrow's meals packed/planned.

In other news, I got a free flu shot from work yesterday.

I'm working on tweaking the budget and planning the spending my last bit of overtime. Its not going to go to my student loans, but instead to planned expenses like my HOA fee $75.00 and my yearly sewer bill $180.00, so that I can leave those funds in the savings account for future expenses.


AND the best news is that the most updated balance of Student Loan #1 is now at $7,733.11! Yay!

It was previously:
October 3,2007: $8,813.28
April 30, 2007: $12,312.40
January 31, 2007: $12,512.40 balance
February 28, 2006: $15,100.52 balance
December 31, 2005: $15,694.69 balance

That makes me feel good. I'm sad that the paydown on the account is going to slow down, but I plan on picking up a part time job in the new year, after I've settled into my new position at work.

I was sick over the weekend, ended up not going into work on Monday for overtime and then I called off work yesterday. Since I called off work, if I did any overtime this week, I’d only get paid regular time. So there will be no OT this week. Which isn’t so bad, since I’m still not back to 100% I got pretty much nothing accomplished on my time off, but I did manage to pack lunch for work today.

My Electric bill was 77.21! I’m putting the overage from the budgeted amount of 120.00 towards my student loan.

And being sick helped me gain 3 no spend days for Saturday, Sunday and Monday. So I’ve made it to my goal of 13 no spend days for the month! And today will be number 14!

I am going to be able to put at least $700.00 towards the student loan this paycheck. With the previous $400.00 I put towards it, I’ll have surpassed my $1,000.00 a month towards this loan! YAY!

I’m still doing the weight watchers and its been slow, but steady loss. I got off the exercise track while being sick & I’m still feeling low, so I won’t do anything tonight. But starting tomorrow, I’m going to have a steady exercise routine in place.

I need to update my numbers both in my personal tracking as well as this site, but its at the back of my to-do list right now. I'm behind on a lot of things.

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.

I'm fighting off a cold & its not fun. The non-stop rain isn't helping, neither are the many coworkers who cough & sneeze all day around me. But I'm holding on

I'm planning to work about 14 hours of OT this week. Its a little less than normal, but I switched my day off from Monday to Saturday so I could attend a birthday party. So Between Monday & Friday, I'll get 14 hours in, which is still awesome.

I did some unexpected spending over the weekend, but I'm holding strong now. Yesterday was a no spend today. Today may or may not be the same. It depends on if I stop at the store on the way home for some vitamin C. We'll see

I didn't get a chance to do my meal planning for the week, but I am planning on packing my food again for tomorrow.

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!