HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

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.

Roomie is moving out this month/beg of May. He's reconciled with his ex & moving back in. I'm not trying to be mean, but I can see him wanting to move back in again in a few months when they start fighting again. All in all he was an ideal roomie.

I'm putting an ad on Craigslist and putting the word out with friends. I'd really like to get a roomie in again. But I'm going to be choosy. I need to be 100% comfortable with someone who will be sleeping down the hall!

Wish me luck!

Well, its been quite a while since I've been on the site. Checked in once in a while, but nothing more than a quick stop in. Lots of changes to the site, I will have to get used to them.

I've been in a chaos with finances and am working to get my spending under control.

I'll be looking to update my actual debt, my budget and to start holding a STRICT budget and get the debt back down.

Good to see you guys!

HH

Well, the surgery went well. Thanks to all the well wishers! It was NOT cancer, so this will be the end of it. The only process now is to treat the scar on my neck and hope that it becomes minimal soon

Its been a week since the surgery. I am going back to work Wednesday. I used 5 of my own sick days and 1 day of leave, which is covered 100%. I am still tired & could stay home more (per the doctor), but I think I just need to get back in the swing of things. All in all, I'm a lucky girl!

I made my March budget. I slacked a little on tracking spending the last 2 weeks, but I'm back on track today!

I did some spending today:

$3.49 Easter candy
$25.78 Lunch with mom after doctors
$14.98 Vitamin E oil & ointment for scar
$10.24 special suncreen for scar
$2.04 Redbox movie rental
$50.30 Cell phone
$133.15 Car insurance
$20.00 Mom- money for groceries that she picked up for me post surgery
$10.00 sent to Christmas fund
$43.00 sent to Rent Increased Utilities Fund
$74.72 quarterly water bill


Because of the surgery, I'm passing on going to a concert that I bought prior to knowing I'd need the surgery. A friend is buying the ticket, so I'll get my $60.00 back.

I plan on putting $25.00 of that money towards a ticket to a beef & beer to benefit a foundation in the name of a friend's child. The rest will go to my entertainment spending (and likely be set aside for another concert in the summer)


My goals for March are the following:

1. Stay 100% on budget
2. Track 100% of spending
3. 8 No spend days
4. Review Medical HSA & medical budget. Will need to restructure monthly budget to add funds throughout the year. (I am expecting $450 in hospital bills/copays/ect).
5. Pack lunch 18 workdays of the month

Turns out I have a pretty big nodule on the thyroid and this Monday, I went to a specialist. Im going to have surgery and half my thyroid removed. IF while they remove that half, the pathology comes back cancer, they will remove the whole thryoid. But the chance of cancer is about 10%. So hopefully that wont happen.

I've never had big surgery, so I'm kinda freaked. I am concentrating on getting things together before the surgery in 2 weeks. I'll be in the hospital for a day or two, then at my parents for a couple more days. I'll definately be out of work for at least a week. Luckily my work has a very good leave program and I won't be losing any pay.

We all know I like to make lists! So here it is!

1. Finish filing taxes (DONE)
2. Pay bills for the next couple of weeks
3. Make master list of all accounts/online information
4. Have cash stash to give mom & dad (for any supplies while I'm staying with them)
5. Secure roommate to feed cats while I'm gone (DONE)
6. Contact HOA members to let them know I'll be unavailable for a week or two
7. Contact insurance to make sure there is nothing that needs to be done prior to the surgery. Also confirm estimates on deductible. (DONE)
8.Reschedule dentist appointment
9. Find someone to take my concert ticket (date is too close after surgery)
10. Notify the party time job (may put job at risk)
11. Complete leave paperwork for full time job. I have to use 5 sick days before it kicks in. Then I have up to 7 weeks paid leave at 100% pay. I am pretty sure I wont even get anywhere near that much.
12. The weekend before surgery: clean house, do laundry the day before, clean litterbox, clean out any perishibles from fridge


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In other news, today is a snow day! I'm getting some of my to-do list done. And I'm going to have a movie day with the roomie. We have leftover beer from the party and in honor of the snow, I made jello shots! And of course, in between movies & eating, there will be shovelling. Can't forget about the shovelling.

Well, I've never really put it out there, but here goes. I got a raise & my new annual salary is $41,000.00.

Per my work information, the company's estimated yearly cost of benefits are as follows:

Retirement $1325.83
401k Match $2328
Health & Income Protection: $3817.20
Social Security & Medicare: $3037.05

TOTAL: $10,508.08

So, my total annual compensation is roughly $51.5k.

I also get tax breaks for using my HSA which arent counted in this.

So I guess I'm not doing too bad. But one of my financial goals for this year is to look for a new position in or outside of my company that will challange me more (as well as pay more! lol).

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So I re-started at the part time job last night. We were sent home an hour early, so only worked 3.25 hours. Today I would have worked 8.5, but no work due the snow. So now, my 12 hour week turned into 3.25

This week (starting tomorrow), I'm scheduled 16 hours. Then 12 hours the following week.

I like the 12-16 hours. Definately do not want to be working the 20+ that I was during the holiday season.

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As for the roommate. He'll have been here 1 month this week. Paid when agreed, is neat and courteous. He stays up in his room most of the time, but he's starting to come out of his shell. This is definately working out!

When he pays me on the 9th (the agreed upon date based on the day he moved in), I will be taking the $487 and putting:

$91.30 to pay off the vet bill.
$45.00 to home repairs
$82.00 to increased utilities fund (includes the comcast upgrade he asked for)
$39.17 to pay myself back for a grocery splurge
$229.53 to the credit card.

LOTs of snow. There's a state of emergency & all the roads are pretty much unpassable. BUT the retail chain I work for (part time) is going to open the store despite the mall being closed. Guess who is not going in? I'm going to miss my 8 hours of pay. But I'm not gonna risk my safety OR a ticket for driving during a state of emergency.

I havent even begun to dig myself out. Its still snowing & very windy. No matter what, I'm getting out there this afternoon. Here are some pics at what I'm looking at!

So I did a tentative run of my taxes. I always do them by hand AND online to ensure I'm not missing anything. And the first version I did says I'll get back $1331 federal and 397 state!

I had some extreme things happen that caused my itemized deductions to greatly change my taxes. I can guarentee this will not happen again next year!

Still - 2/3 ($1152) of any refund I get will go to my credit card and 1/3 ($576) will go to my vacation fund. Yay.

January was not my best month But I'm working on February!

I had a party Saturday - spent about $22 on food and jello shots. It was BYOB. We played board games, friends brought additional food and we all had a GREAT time.

I started the month off with a No-Spender! Tomorrow, I'm taking a sick day & have a doctors appointment ($20 copay) and who knows what'll come after that.

I do plan on picking up some groceries ($15)

I have a dinner party to go to tomorrow night. I'm taking free wine from home and a veggie tray. I already have the veggies (bought Sat) and I just have to pick up some dip (< $5.00)

Wednesday I'm hanging at a friend's house - FREE

Thursday, I have a semi-date. I'm not sure what we're doing yet. But I'm sure there will be some money spent.

I start the part-time job back Friday, working 6-10:30, then 1-10 Sat & 12-4 Sunday. I'm going to avg between 12 & 16 hours per week - NICE

My Feb goals are to actually follow through with my 2010 goals. The only financial ones for Jan that I actually followed were track 100% & keep part time job.

So for Feb:
1. Continue to track spending
2. Pack lunch 90% of month
3. At least 8 no spenders
4. Gym 3 times a week
5. Take meds daily
6. Follow Weight watchers (REALLY!)

The agreement with my new roomie gives him a little leeway with getting me money for the first month. Since he's paying double rent for January only (rent at his old place & at mine).

I'm working hard to plan out where the money goes. Jan will be weird since I used some of the funds to purchase a ceiling fan/light and have it installed. And as a splurge to myself, I bought a concert ticket.

So he paid me $225.00 as agreed this week:

1/2 Rent - $225:
$75 - Fan removal & installation
$60 - Concert Ticket
$30 - Extra groceries (needed to stock up badly)
$20 - Party (Hosting game night)
$15.92 - Lowes Closet supplies (to Dad who bought them for me)
$24.08 - Increased utilities fund (savings for increased utilities that may occur due to roommate)

Should be getting $ 263.00 next week (for Jan)
$25.92 (Increased utilities Fund)
$44.00 (Extra cable expense on his end)
$79.76 Ceiling Fan/Light
$113.32 (credit card)

Feb- $488
$38 (Cable increase)
$50 (increase in utilities fund)
$20 (home improvements fund)
$380 (credit card)

I have missed a bunch of my 2010 goals. I'm planning on getting back on track this week. No more excuses for me!!

Today's 5 things:

1. Call Drs office about bill. Insurance should have paid (DONE)
2. Call artisans about temporary auth thats been on acct over 10 days
3. Call part time job about new schedule for Feb (DONE)
4. Finalize 1/15 budget
5. Start cleaning junk stuffed into bedroom closet when roomie was moving in

So the roommate moves in Saturday. I bought some stuff to put rods in both the closets in his room. Then I took the longer rod back out because it wasn't stable. I tried using another type of rod, but that didn't work. Finally, my dad helped me find a bigger pole and helped me out by sawing it to the right size and reinstalling it for me today. Yay He also helped me re-hang a mirror and move a dresser from the spare room to the basement. In trade, I bought him, my mom & my nephew take out at our fav place. $56.00 OUCH, but well worth the help.

Now I have 2 rods to return & I'm not sure if Lowes will accept them since they've been taken out of their wrapper. Although I still have the papers that came with them. I'm thinking that IF they don't, I might install one as a hanging rod from the ceiling in my closet. The closet is a long thin rectangle with built in cabinets on one side. I could hang clothes that need to air dry in there, so its a maybe

Other than that, I've upgraded my cable at the request of the roomie. I'm charging straight rent, with utilities included and the proviso to revisit that rent at a later date. He is going to pay the extra amount of the cable bill since he is asking for the DVR and HD for his bedroom. I splurged and got a DVR for the living room. $6/month & that'll be my BIG present to myself. All other roommate funds go to the credit card.

And I found a trustworthy handyman. He said he'd replace an existing ceiling fan for me for $75.00. Which is priced reasonably for my area. I'll be going to look for a new fan tomorrow. This isnt really a roommate expense, but I might have continued waiting a bit longer.

In other news, I've blown it with some of my 2010 goals. But hey- if I get on track in the next few days, I'll be fine with it!

I've gotten off track with my 5 things, but here they were for today:

1. Call Drs office for results (DONE & they were good)
2. Order prescriptions (DONE & cheaper than I expected
3. Write up rental contract & print (DONE)
4. Dinner at home, pack snack for work (In Process)
5. Work part time job (Soon)

So, I take a medication that my Employer's contract says has an over the counter equal. Its not exactly the same & the over the counter does not help my condition. So I pay for taking a "Preferred" medication. Last year, they FINALLY came out with a generic version, but the plan still considered it "preferred". So I was paying $120 for a 3 month supply.

I just ordered my refill through their mail order service and was only charged $20 for a 3 month supply. THey're finally considering it a true generic!! This is saving me $400 a year.

Now my dilema is that I priced my HSA with that medication as being $120. So I'm going to have an extra $400 in my HSA budget. Given my health issues lately - (I have a sucky immune system). That might get used up. And if it doesnt, I'll order an extra supply of contacts, or new glasses.

LOL. Sometimes its who you know! My mom's old coworker's son in law does handyman work. And apparently is VERY reliable (from references).

I called to have him give me an estimate on replacing an existing ceiling fan & light in my living room. I'm just not comfortable tackling the job myself, so I'm willing to pay to have it done. He'll give me an estimate tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully it won't be too bad. In the mean time, I need to go shopping for a fan!

In other news. Although the roommate isnt officially moving in until Saturday, he has been bringing stuff by the house. He's very nice and polite. Since he's not officially moved into the house, he has called prior to stopping by to drop stuff off. AND he noticed the new rods in the closets and thanked me for installing them!

Today, I've spent $1.90 on a soda & soft pretzel and another $1.35 on a second soda. I really need to cut out the soda addiction. But in the meantime, I need to buy some cans so I don't pay for soda at work anymore!

Its inventory time at the part time job and crazy me signed up for extra hours. Because its a store and cannot close during normal hours, the inventory hours are 9pm to 6am. Its mandatory that I'm there for the inventory in my department (Thursday) until 2am and then they ask for ANY additional hours we can give them to help other depts.

So now I will be working the following:

Thursday 6pm to 2am
Friday (OFF)
Saturday 6pm to 2am
Sunday 10:45 am to 7:15pm
Monday 6pm to midnight.

Then I'm off the spare job until the following Sunday. But I'm still crazy.

LOL. Sometimes its who you know! My mom's old coworker's son in law does handyman work. And apparently is VERY reliable (from references).

I called to have him give me an estimate on replacing an existing ceiling fan & light in my living room. I'm just not comfortable tackling the job myself, so I'm willing to pay to have it done. He'll give me an estimate tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully it won't be too bad. In the mean time, I need to go shopping for a fan!

In other news. Although the roommate isnt officially moving in until Saturday, he has been bringing stuff by the house. He's very nice and polite. Since he's not officially moved into the house, he has called prior to stopping by to drop stuff off. AND he noticed the new rods in the closets and thanked me for installing them!

Today, I've spent $1.90 on a soda & soft pretzel and another $1.35 on a second soda. I really need to cut out the soda addiction. But in the meantime, I need to buy some cans so I don't pay for soda at work anymore!

Its inventory time at the part time job and crazy me signed up for extra hours. Because its a store and cannot close during normal hours, the inventory hours are 9pm to 6am. Its mandatory that I'm there for the inventory in my department (Thursday) until 2am and then they ask for ANY additional hours we can give them to help other depts.

So now I will be working the following:

Thursday 6pm to 2am
Friday (OFF)
Saturday 6pm to 2am
Sunday 10:45 am to 7:15pm
Monday 6pm to midnight.

Then I'm off the spare job until the following Sunday. But I'm still crazy.

So, I returned to the basement last night to find that most of the mold that had been attacked by bleach was dead. It appears that scrubbing isnt as necessary as time is! So I am holding off on calling the experts and am having another bleach/water spray session. Here's hoping!!

I have a call into a local repair man. I need to replace the ceiling fan/light in the living room. I would tackle the project myself, but I'm not comfortable doing that. So I'm sure it'll be a couple hundred out of pocket. But it'll be worth it. I need lighting back in the living room! haha

Well, Thursday, the seasonal part time job asked me if I wanted to stay on. They think they have a position for me. WOO HOO!!

Also, I was put in touch with a friend of a friend who was looking for a place to stay. We met today, he saw the house, we hit it off & he is moving in. Fairly quickly too. YAY for rent money!! $450/month plus whatever increase to the cable services he wants (DVR, ect).

This comes at a good time because I need to deal with some mold on my basement wall in 2 corners. (this is the SOMEWHAT part of my title!) I tried handling the job myself (bleach and water), but because the previous owners painted over the cement, its proving hard to remove. To be completely safe, I want professionals to handle it.

Roomie is moving in next Saturday, so I'm hoping to get someone in to work on the mold this week. Hopefully ASAP.

So the first months rent will (partially) be used for the mold removal. I plan on budgeting a portion of the income and setting it aside for increased utilities due to a 2nd person in the house. The rest, after the mold expense, is going to my credit card!

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Looking at today: I spent roughly $10 on lunch for my mom & myself, plus $4.08 in 4 movie rentals at Redbox. I bought $9 and change on groceries.

And I spent the rest of the day attempting to remove mold in the basement. What I find REALLY ironic, is that was the plan for today before my friend even called me about her buddy looking for a room

Tonight I'm watching rented movies & vegging.

Tomorrow, I am hitting Lowes for closet rods to install for the rented room and the Farmer's Market for veggies. Then I work the ptj (part time job) from 1:30 to 10.

Sunday, I'm helping my sister set up her computer and doing brunch & a gift exchange with friends. YAY!

Hope everyone had a GREAT New Year! I know I already am. Even with the disasterous attempt at mold removal!

Happy New Year to All!

2010 Goals - I will review monthly around the 1st day of the following month. I WILL have more follow through in 2010

Financial:

1. Track spending 100% (have notebook for purse and a spreadsheet)
2. Keep part time job (extra $300-400 a month depending on hours)
3. Loosely look for roommate - no strangers
4. No additional debt (easy!!)
5. Pay off credit card (3.2k)
6. Cash only Christmas
7. Minimum 8 No Spenders monthly
8. Pack work lunches 90% of the month

Personal:

1. Host at least 6 larger get-togethers (Game night, LOST finale, Birthday, Halloween??)
2. Volunteer - at least 2 events
3. Keep house picked up daily
4. Hiking minimum 8 times this year - 4+ mile trails
5. Try indoor rock climbing
6. Update resume & put feelers out for better full time job

Health:

1. Take meds daily (I have a habit of forgetting them & take meds for a chronic problem)
2. Gym minimum 3 times a week. (Not too hard, I actually LIKE the gym!)
3. Weight watchers 100% - NO more quitting

House:

1. Last touches on bedroom decorating($20?)
2. Redo downstairs bathroom ($100?)
3. Remove mold in basement (already have items needed)
4. New ceiling fan in living room ($75?)
5. Living room ceiling fixed (FREE)
6. Paint living room or kitchen ($150?)
7. Organize basement - create shelving ($80)
8. Sell extra furniture (Earn $300-400?)

Hey all! I've been sick & working alot, so I haven't been around much in the last few weeks. Here's a few quick updates:

Week 1 of the part time job brought in $115.88, 100% of which went to the credit card

Week 2 of the part time job brought in $173.47, 100% of which went to the credit card

I have 26.75 hours that will be in this Friday (Jan 1st) paycheck. And then the estimated 20 hours I will work this week in the Jan 8th paycheck. Since my position is seasonal & they havent asked me to stay on yet, I feel that after this next week, my 2nd job income might be done. Which means I will definately need to start looking again. Although it may take a while.

Christmas was fun, but I was sick. So I was NO help to my parents and slept most of the time I was there. I'm going to make it up to them by doing some deep cleaning in their house in January.

The upside, was that I did complete a 100% cash only Christmas. Yay!!

I'm working on my 2010 goals - financial, personal & health and will have an update soon. Hope everyone had a good holiday!

So, I've spent about $91.21 in the last 2 weeks for medical expenses. Obviously, I've been sick. I'm on my 2nd round of antibiotics, this time its for twice a day for 10 days.

I'm still working the part time job and with being sick. I've literally worked & slept. Which means that I have not followed a meal plan and have been eating out. But not too excessively.

Thank Goodness I finished my Christmas shopping early! And that I'm not hosting anything. I have been tracking spending 100% and managed to send 100% of my first part time job paycheck to my credit card. I'm gonna pay that thing off soon!

I'll try to catch up with everyone. If I dont get back here this week, please have a good holiday!

So, (I'm sure you all remember), I'm working a part time job. Its seasonal, so I probably only have about 5 weeks more of work. (Unless they keep me on... Oh please, oh please!) There is an all black dress code. I can wear another color underneath, but the main pieces have to be black.

I have 2 black shirts (that actually fit) & only 1 pair of suitable black pants.

I also have a limited wardrobe for my business casual full time job. And I definately can wear black pants, shirts & sweaters there.

Last week, I used $20 in gift cards (earned with cc points) and a $10 gift card to Old Navy & bought a black long sleeve shirt & sweater ($0 out of pocket).

This week, I had another $10 coupon. I got 2 more black shirts. But couldn't find any pants. ($0 out of pocket)

Next week, I'll have another coupon $10.00, but I'm gonna splurge on NON black clothes

Still, I need another pair of black pants. I could use them at my full time job as well. My seasonal job sells black pants. And I have a 30% off coupon plus 20% employee discount. So this week, I'm going in search of black pants Hopefully for $12.00 or less.

Other than that though, I DO NOT need any more new clothes, regardless of the discount!!

Tonight is my first time off from the ptj this week. I am doing laundry, picking up a little and then heading to a friend's house for a movie

I'm also off tomorrow, and unless I find out my good friend can go get a Christmas tree with me, I'm staying in. Catching up on tv, cleaning the house, making a meal plan. All that fun stuff I need a little couch time! hehe

Tonight I have the actual orientation for the ptj (last night was training). This is where we'll go over HR info & pay & ect. We have direct deposit, which is nice. Now I'm just waiting to find out the rest of my schedule. Since this is temp work, I'm willing to pick up every shift they'll let me!

So today, I work from 7:30 to 4, will have dinner at home & then work from 6-9. Shorter shift than last night & tomorrow due to just being orientation.

Now Tuesday is my normal pub night & I'm getting flack from friends to still come out. I'd say no, but ironically, the way I get home from the mall to my house, DIRECTLY passes this little out of the way bar. How funny is that? I might stop by for a minute, but I'm not sure. I think I'd rather that today be a no spend day. I have only had one this month & am definately not making my 15 no spenders this month

Today's 5 Things:
1. PTJ shift
2. Make dinner at home, pack lunch for tomorrow
3. Get laundry from dryer & put away
4. Put out a few Christmas things (in from basement)
5. Get to bed early!

Today was the first day of working the part-time job.

I worked 7:30 to 4 at the full time job. Made a library run on my lunch break.

Then home for dinner, to change clothes & pre-pack food for tomorrow.

Then to the new part time job for training. 4 hours and the place is only 5 minutes away from home. Yay

Today's 5 Things:

1. Library Run - DONE
2. Dinner at home, prepack for tomorrow - DONE
3. Quick clean bathroom (wipe counter, ect) - DONE
4. Clear out emails - DONE (and I found a reply to my roommate ad!)
5. Send sympathy email to friend for the loss of a pet. - DONE
6. Go to bed early! - WORKING ON IT! LOL

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday was a good day. I hung around the house & just got a few things done. Last night, I got all dressed up for a Christmas party for my friends work. They had Casino night with fake money, a buffet dinner and open bar. A good time was had by all. I spent $3.00 for tips for the bartenders at the bar.

Today, I sold a 13 inch tv (that was given to me free several years ago) for $20.00 off Craigslist. Then I went to the Farmer's market for my weekly veggie/fruit fun. $10.51 spent.

This afternoon, I'm heading to the Playhouse to see Legally Blond with my mom & sister. Tickets were a gift from my mom and we'll probably do an early dinner out afterwards, so I'm looking at $10.00 spent or so.

I had $20.00 left in my entertainment spending budget. Minus $3 for the tips last night, I'll have plenty for dinner out.

This upcoming week is very busy. I start the new part-time job. I"m prepping by planning out clothes (new dress code for part time job) & food.

Monday, I'll work my f/t job 7-4pm, then the 2nd job 6-10

Tuesday, F/T 7:30-4pm, P/T 6-9

Wednesday, F/T 7:30-5pm, P/T 6-10

Wish me luck!

I have cereal measured out for 5 days. I made 2 pasta salads for lunches Mon & Tues. I took 2 sloppy joes & 2 meatloaves out of the freezer. I already measured out snacks of animal crackers and carrots. I made 2 new pitchers of fruit punch & pink lemonade and have reusable water bottles set up.

So I'll have food for breakfast, lunch at the the F/T job, come home for dinner (quick), pack food for the next day & have snacks at the P/T job. Definately doable.

I am weird. I know it and tonight I reminded myself. Backstory: The night before Thanksgiving I had my nephew spend the night. Thanksgiving morning, I was running around and trying to get him ready. Someone (and I DONT think it was him) used the downstairs bathroom, washed their hands and then failed to shut off the water properly. So it ran at a small pace all day. Yes, ALL day. Thanks to me. Can't even blame the 8 year old!

So in penance and because I had just gotten my quarterly water bill & wanted to try to beat it this quarter, I have been handwashing 100% of my dished. Its amazing how much water I save. I really was getting lazy & using the dishwasher an awful lot. It was so not necessary.

So yeah, I am kinda punishing myself with dishes to make up for leaving the water run

Second point of the post - I sold a duvet cover & 2 pillowcases that have pretty much remained unused since bought. I think I paid $20.00 for it a few years ago. Got $8.00 cash for it tonight

Tomorrow, I am selling a desk to someone from Craigslist. Its been used by me since my early teens, but has been sitting unused in the spare bedroom. So I figured I'd earn a few bucks & have someone else haul it out. I underpriced it, but I'm ok with that $10.00

And now for tonights 5+ Things (which I previously listed). I've gotten pretty much nothing accomplished!

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

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

Well, knocked a couple of things off on my financial To Do list.

- I listed a few things on Craiglist last night. I have interest in 3-4 items & hope to get rid of them by Saturday.
- I put an ad on Craiglist offering my room for rent. Have 2 potentials and hopefully I can meet them in the next week
- I had an interview for a part-time seasonal job at a chain store at the mall. AND I got the job! Its gonna be crazy busy, but I could use the extra money. I think I got the last nights/weekends position that they had! Lucky me

I'm trying to control unnecessary spending, but I HATE curbing my social activities. So I'm just trying to be smart about them.

Tonight, I have my homeowners association meeting. (We're ordering pizza, so I'll chip in $5). Then I'm meeting friends for a quick drink ($3? just one drink, really!!). I already made lunches for tomorrow & Thursday because tomorrow night I'll be busy.

My friend's birthday is tomorrow. We'll be going out with friends for her birthday. Dinner & drinks out (approx $15), so there will be spending. So then she'd going to crash at my house (I'm the DD), since she works here, but lives 40 minutes away.

Thursday night is book club. I'll have one beer (approx $6). Friday night, I'm definately staying in.

Saturday night I promised a friend I'd be his plus 1 for his work's holiday party. I know a bunch of his coworkers, so it should be fun. And I get free food/drink. Probably will tip a bit at the complimentary bar ($5?), but that should be it.

Sunday night, my mom, sister & I are going to a play. My mom gifted us the tickets. She'll probably want to do dinner out before or after, but I'm probably going to pass. I'm spending the morning cleaning her house for her (as a gift) and I really want the evening to prepare for the next week.

Speaking of that next week. I have orientation and training for the part time job Monday through Wednesday!

I'm going to have to plan well so that I have food for breakfast lunch & dinner & don't spend extra money eating out!

And on a good note, my heat hasn't been kicking in much at all!

1. Finish Cash Only Christmas - using cash only.
2. Track spending 100%
3. Pack breakfast, lunch & snacks 20/22 workdays in the month
4. Put additional 6 items on Craigslist
5. Put up add for roommate
6. Obtain temporary part-time job
7. Finish off remaining amount in HSA
8. Actually meet grocery & entertainment budgets (for once! haha)
9. Attempt to bring down electric usage. (did that last month as well).
10. Work to keep down gas (heat) usage. It helps that its still in the 50s during the day around here!.

Well, I'm gearing down Sunday night. Got a bit of stuff accomplished, but nothing like the frenzy of the last two days. Mostly I just enjoyed the fruits of my labor! I just made a good will run, took some stuff back to family and bought groceries. The rest of the day was spend hanging around and relaxing

I'm 99% done Christmas shopping. All that is left in my budget is the tree, 1 gift card and a small token gift. Yay

Part of the gift to my parents is doing some housecleaning for them. I'll be doing that next weekend. Lucky me! haha

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.

Just came downstairs to a beautiful, uncluttered and VERY clean house. Now I just have to do the upstairs & basement! lol.

When I got up this morning, I wasn't feeling the cleaning, but after seeing the results from last night's cleaning binge, I am SO ready to continue the efforts. Wish me luck

And as a result of staying home today, it will be a No Spender