HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

When I got my house, the electric company made me put a $180.00 deposit on the account. They told me that after a year of on-time payments that I would get the amount credited to the account. So since last month, I’ve been literally begging them to send me a check for my money.

I’ve never even had an electric bill over $100.00, so why should they get to keep my money for an extra couple of months. They said it would take about 6-8 weeks to get a check out to me, which is ridiculous, but even with some excessive begging, I couldn’t get them to commit to doing anything quicker.

Anyway, today is the day that the electric company bills me. Normally, I just go online, where they will show the balance due. But of course it was $0.00, since I now have that large credit on the account. So I called them and I found out that I had my best electric bill so far!!! $50.58!!!! And that in the next 2-3 weeks, I should be receiving a check for the difference of $129.42.

So I’ll be waiting for that check, which will go towards my student loan. And the $120.00 that I’ve budgeted for electric & gas for this month is going towards a birthday gift for my nephew. I wanted to give my sister some money towards his Karate Lessons. The kid has WAY too many toys, but loves his Karate. And my sister just had a big financial setback in that my nephew’s father is no longer willing (not able, but willing) to pay child support even though the courts ordered him to. So I know $120.00 will go a long way to help her and my nephew

I made it my goal to stop using credit cards altogether this month. I realized that I have a tendancy to use my credit cards between paychecks and then use my hard earned overtime to pay them off. So I never carry a balance, but I spend more than my budget allows.

So its the 23rd day of the month & I haven't used the cards since before I started this self-challange. Its starting to get 'tough' now (at least mentally). Because I won't be paid again until the 31st.

I have 2 checking accounts: My main checking and my "House" checking.

The balance in my main checking is $189.95. I have budgeted:
$10.52 to groceries
$27.11 to medical expenses
$20.00 to entertainment
$40.00 to Weight Watchers membership (I pay ahead)
$10.00 to Netflix
$72.32 to Vacation
$10.00 to Cat expenses

The House checking has $227.65:
$47.65 to Trash (paid quarterly)
$80.00 to Water (paid quarterly)
$100.00 to Vacation Savings (to be used next week)

I have slush money in a savings account attached to my primary checking of $106.10, but I never touch that money if I can help it.

To make it til next Wednesday without major spending will be tough.
Wednesday: I have a work outing tomorrow night at TGI Fridays.
Friday: Halloween party at firehall with cash bar
Saturday night: Hanging out with friends. I just have to convince them that cooking is better than ordering out.
Sunday will be the first day of vacation & I don't plan on leaving the house
Monday and Tuesday entertainment will come out of my 'Vacation Budget'.

So I can do it, but it might be tight.

I budgeted $100.00 for the party. I spent $124.87. I WAY overspent on alcohol. BUT the leftovers will be put to good use. I plan to use the beer and Smirnoff Ices when hosting future, smaller get togethers. I have a bottle of wine that I plan on gifting to a friend tomorrow for his birthday. I have a large amount of Captain Morgan, which is my preferred drink (since watching my weight) and this will last me a LONG time.

I stuck to snack stuff for the food, picking up pretzels and cheese curls at the dollar store. I got chips and dip, carrots, halloween candy and soda from the grocery store.

My friends were nice enough to bring food too. We had meatballs and rolls, a cake, pita chips in the shape of bats and dip. Stuffed mushrooms and shrimp. My friends were very generous!

The food was pretty much gone by the end of the night, the leftovers were eaten over the rest of the weekend or given to my family.

I was able to borrow a dress for my costume (I was a Stepford Wife). I used my own pair of heels, jewelry and make up. I did buy fake eyelashes.

And I'll be able to reuse the costume for another party next friday

I have to say that the party was pretty sucessful and worth every penny. But I've learned my lesson to plan better with the alcohol.

I current have my homemade Excel Spreadsheets to track my finances. But I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about Yodlee. Anyone have any experience with this? Let me know your opinions. Thanks!

I packed my breakfast, lunch and dinner for work today since I'm working 8am to 8pm. But I spent some money on a soda and some pretzels from the vending machine to settle an upset tummy this morning. I'm fine with it, since the funds come from my entertainment spending. And I'll still be eating the rest of my meals today.

For lunch I have a tuna wrap with shredded lettuce and a salad. For dinner, I have pasta salad with more veggies than pasta. I have a banana for snack. I was in the mood for ligher fare when I planned my food for today.

Tomorrow will be a large salad for lunch and meatloaf muffins with baked fries for dinner. Very yummy

The way I run my budget is this. When I get paid, I have every dollar allocated to a category. I put all extra money into either savings or towards my student loan. Once I’ve paid my bills, I’m usually left with money for gas, groceries and incidentals in my checking. Once that amount is used up, then I’m ‘broke’. Lately, I’ve noticed that what I do, once the funds have run out, is I use my credit card (which I pay off monthly) to ‘cover’ myself until the next paycheck. Then I’m using money that would be going to the student loan to pay the credit card.

So this month, I’m challenging myself to completely stick to my budget and not use the credit cards. I last used a credit card on October 1st. I haven’t used the card since. I have money set aside for my party and for my vacation. So there really is no need to use the cards at all. I’ll keep you all updated of my progress.

I dropped a CFL bulb this weekend and I remembered someone saying that you needed to open a window before cleaning it up. So I opened the window and googled CFL bulb clean up to find out what I needed to do.

CFL bulbs contain mercury, so the clean up is pretty specific. You want to open an window and keep everyone out of the room for at least 15 minutes while airing it out. Don't touch the bulb directly. Wear rubber gloves. Don't use a broom. Double bag the broken pieces.

For more info check out this link:

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

I just wanted to share a few tips that I use to save me money.

-I try to drink at least 64 oz of water a day. Instead of buying bottled water, I went out and bought some Sports bottles like this one:



I got them in the clearance aisle of my pharmacy. I now have 4 or 5 of them that I cart around and keep at work. Many of my coworkers bring in bottled water or buy it from the vending machine. I fill these bottles up with the free filtered water that my work offers.

-I preplan my meals. It helps me stay on track with spending on eating out. Although I do eat out occassionally.

-Now that its FINALLY getting colder, I've started breaking out the blankets. I like to layer up with clothes and with blankets. I keep extra blankets on each of my couches and in my bedroom.

-And I know this is completely girlie, but with the layering up clothes, I like to layer a bright colored tank top under a bright long sleeve tee and then with a button down sweater. I do make sure I match But seeing all the different fun colors while I'm vegging around the house makes me happy. And it makes it easy for me to WANT to layer up instead of just turning up the heat.

I also have fun looking socks in bright colors and patterns like these for the same reason.



For an added bonus, knee socks really keep my feet warm!

-I utilize my programmable thermostat. This was really the best purchase I made for the house last year!

-I buy 2 liter bottles of soda to use at home and 12 oz cans to take to work. I'm trying to limit my soda intake, but I still drink it. What can I say, I'm only human

-I buy my non-aspirin and ibuprofin at the dollar store. As long as you keep an eye on the expiration date for the meds, they work just fine.

-I turn making a meal at night into making a few. That way I can either stock up the freezer by making a bigger batch of food. Or I can stock up the fridge with food to take to work during the week. Then maybe I can skip cooking the next night

-I watch the free movies from Comcast On Demand. I don't have digital cable, but they gave me a box for free to use the On Demand options. I use their free exercise videos and free movies. They have a big horror section called FearNet. Its not the mainstream blockbuster stuff, but its still good. I also can watch some of the Network tv shows that I missed during the week, like CSI.

- I utilize the library for lots of things. Movies, books, cookbooks, decorating books. I also utilize my computer and the internet for entertainment a lot.

Since I’ve been tracking every cent of spending this year from January 1st on, I was able to easily track how much I’ve spent in Medical expenses this year. Then I estimated what I’d be spending now through December. I came up with an obscene (at least to me) amount……. $968.99 !!

I need to not be so expensive. Geeze. I know a majority of the expense is my main prescription, which is $132.00 quarterly. But still. What have I been doing? Well, there’s been dentist appointments, sick visits, prescriptions, eye doctor appointment, gyno appointment and over the counter meds. But geeze! I can’t imagine what it’d be without insurance.

Anyway, I’ve decided to go ahead with the Health Savings Account through my work. They take the money out of my account pre-tax. I get a debit card to use from the account. All of which seems easy to use.

Now to figure the amount out. Now I know what I’ve spent this year, with nothing out of the ordinary. I’m set on contacts, but in the upcoming year, I’ll need new glasses. Actually, I need them now, but I want to wait until my annual appointment before investing in a new pair. Just in case my prescription changes. Which it better not, or those contacts will be useless.

I also don’t want to put too much into the account & then have a lot leftover in my account. At least the IRS allows us to go 3 months into the next year to use up any balance left in the account. So I’m figured that I’m going to estimate that I’ll be spending about 1000.00 next year. Well, really I’m figuring that it’ll probably be closure to $1100.00 with the glasses, but I want a little wiggle room until I’m comfortable with the account.

I currently have budget 82.00/month for medical. And the out of paycheck would be roughly 82/month. According to my benefits website estimator, I’ll be saving $326.50 in Federal & FICA tax savings. Which sounds good to me.

So I’ll be enrolling tomorrow. Whew. That was tough.



In other news,I had a no spend day on Monday and today. Also, the Breast Cancer benefit went really well. I had a few drinks, got a bit generous and ended up spending/donating $38.00 total instead of my planned $15-20 amount. But hey, it went to a great cause.

I have several things coming up in the next few weeks. On Sunday, I’m treating my sister & my nephew to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair. Tickets for the 3 of us will cost roughly $90.00. Then I’ll need some spending money. But it’ll be worth it. I really liked the PA Ren Fair as a kid and I know that my nephew will LOVE it.

I have set aside $100.00 towards my Halloween party. And roughly $200.00 towards my vacation week. I want to set aside a few extra bucks, but I’ll be waiting until my 10/30 pay check to use those funds. Which is halfway through my vacation, but works out just fine.

I get paid on the 15th and I’ll be sending 413.00 towards my Student loan. It’s a bit lower than the $500.00 per paycheck than I wanted, but I actually ended up doing a little less overtime than I expected and I’ve recognized that I’m getting a little burnt out on the overtime. So now I’ve rethought my goal and I’ve lowered it to $400.00 per paycheck. Which is still a VERY substantial amount.

So in conclusion, today I’ve made a couple of big decisions. And I feel good about them

Yesterday was almost 90, today was in the 80s. I was in shorts and tee shirts all weekend. This crazy weather is making me sick too. My allergies have been going crazy.

Its benefits enrollment week this week. I haven't taken advantage of our company's Health Savings Account since they just started offering it last year. Since I"m on 3 different daily meds, I am going to sign up to at the very least take that much out for the year. But I have a lot of questions about the plan and the company provides the information in a manner that is very hard to understand. I'm putting a call into HR tomorrow.

I am working on the plans for my Halloween party. I think my costume is going to be a Stepford Wife. I have a coworker thats going to lend me a dress. I already have shoes and a purse and all I'll have to do is buy some white gloves to complete the outfit.

I am planning on some food & booze for the party, but I encouraged guests to bring their own bottle as well.

I am SO looking forward to my week off at the end of the month. I plan on visiting a family friend with my Mom one day. I want to spend the day at the hair salon and I am going to splurge and get a pedicure done. I know a classy, but cheap place. I plan on spending at least 1 or 2 days just lazing around. And the rest of the week is up on the air.

Well, back to work. I'm here til 8pm. Then I'm heading off to an Breast Cancer Benefit that my friend is having at a local bar. $5.00 cover and 50% of the drinks go straight to the charity. I have $15.00 to spend and thats it. But all of it will go to the cause!

Also, in Weight Watchers news I lost another 1.4 pounds this week for a total of 16.6 pounds! Slow but steady! And I FEEL so much better. And I noticed that I'm enjoying food so much more

I've been eating out a lot lately and packing my food, but still buying some stuff at work. But my goal this week was to refocus and I've been doing well. I packed all my food yesterday. It ended up being a no spend day.

Today will likely be the same I packed my food, staying on my meal plan.

I worked 4.5 hours of OT yesterday and I'll be doing 3.5 hours today. I have to rethink my $1,000.00/mo towards my student loans goal because I completely forgot to calculate a few things into my spending/overtime earning for the end of the year. For example, I forgot that since I have a week off at the end of the month, I won't be earning any overtime that week.

So I'm going to re-evaluate and reset my goal. I'll post more once I've done that.

I tried watching Maxed out yesterday. I lasted 20 minutes before I had to turn it off. I understand that credit card companies are out to make money and that their practices aren't always ethical or in the consumers' best interest. What they were talking about was interesting, but there was a big, glaring gap in the film.... where was personal responsibility? If you can't afford it and you chose to buy it with credit, then you have played a part in the 'evils' of credit cards. It really made me mad and I had to turn it off.

Ok, rant over

Today is my only day off this week. I worked about 10 hours of OT last week. Not a lot, but I really needed the break last week. I could feel myself getting run down. So tomorrow I’ll be working 9am to 4pm (7 hours) and my goal is to get 3.5 hours of overtime Tuesday through Friday. We’ll see how it goes.

I interviewed for that Quality job on Tuesday. I don’t know how many people I’m up against, but I think it went well. We’ll see. And if I don’t get it, I’m content where I am and as long as there’s overtime, I’m financially comfortable. I’ll be keeping an eye out for jobs though, either in or outside of the company.

Today, the temp was in the high 80s. I kept the A/C off and the fan running. I organized my pantry to take stock of what I had in there. Then I did laundry, cleaned the basement and started putting out some fall decorations. It was pretty funny to be putting out Fall & Halloween stuff while in a tank top and shorts 

I called Comcast today because my promo rate was ending and the rep told me that it was actually not ending until December. I thought I had a 12 month promo, but apparently its 14 months. So my whole speech that I had prepared was for nothing. I’ll shelve it for later.

I made a meal plan for the week and prepped some food for tomorrow & Tuesday. Here’s the Meal plan (which can be switched around as needed).

Monday:
Lunch: Salad with chicken, Tuna on honey wheat wrap
Dinner: Barilla Plus pasta with hunts mushroom sauce, sautéed veggies & ground beef

Tuesday:
Lunch: Pasta salad with Turkey Pepperoni
Dinner: Meatloaf Muffin and baked fries

Wednesday:
Lunch: Tuna on honey wheat wrap
Dinner: Sloppy joe over no-yolk egg noodles

Thursday:
Lunch: Chicken strips and Honey mustard Pita
Dinner: Turkey bacon BLT

Friday:
Lunch: Peanut butter sandwich
Dinner: Shake n bake chicken

Saturday:
Lunch: Pasta salad
Dinner: Taco Salad

Sunday: To be determined

Things have been pretty crazy lately. And stressful. Work, family, friends, health all seeming to be stressful lately. So, to cheer myself up, I decided to see how much the balance on my student loan has changed. I know, totally PF nerdy of me, but hey, if it works!

It was hard to keep track of the exact balance since the loan is technically in my parents name & I wasn't able to log in like I am other accounts to get accurate balances. But here's what I have:

December 31, 2005: $15,694.69 balance

February 28, 2006: $15,100.52 balance

January 31, 2007: $12,512.40 balance

April 30, 2007: $12,312.40

And drumroll please..............
Todays Balance: $8813.28 (give or take a few dollars estimated)

Well that makes me happy anyway And on that note... Goodnight to All.

Ok, so last night I was at home, fixing a problem with my computer and half listening to House on tv. A credit card commercial came one. I didn’t catch which one it was, but the slogan registered in my head. I missed the beginning, but the ending went “… for when you want it NOW”. Can we all say SHAMELESS?? Credit card companies have cajones, if you’ll excuse my language. They have no shame in plugging the want it now mentality of America. I am guilty of having that feeling from time to time, but its pretty bad when the credit card companies aren’t even subtle about it. Ok, rant done. I just had to share.

In other news, I packed food for work today, but my team is having an outing. Free lunch, YAY! It was rescheduled from last week. We’re going to Bennigans and I’m having the Kilkenny Country Chicken Salad with grilled chicken instead of fried and with fat free honey mustard (in keeping with the Weight Watchers). Anyway, the salad is HUGE. So I’ll be taking the other ½ home for lunch tomorrow. Or dinner tonight if I can’t wait

The air has been off in my house and the windows open. I love this time of year. I have to put together a list of things to do to winterize my house. I also need to get some dry cleaning done. I have 2 pea coats that I like to get cleaned before winter starts.

I’ll be updating my numbers soon. I also want to compare where my balances stand today compared to January. I think it’ll be pretty morale boosting.

Also, its that time of the year for health insurance selection. My work offers several different plans. I really like the one that I’m on. The price is going up $3.90 per paycheck $(93.60 a year), which sucks, but I some of the other plans jumped up even more. And the smokers went up VERY much. Thank goodness I don’t smoke. It costs just to buy those things and then you have to pay for the probable effects on your health. I’m also looking into an H.S.A this year. I have to make my decision by the 12th, so I’ll be doing a little research over the weekend.

Well, I’m feeling regret over all my purchases, but still I’m going to be using everything that I bought. So now I’m in Buckle-down mode. I am making a meal plan for this week. I already packed all my food for today: Breakfast is a banana and Rice Chex. Lunch is more snacky, than a real lunch, but I’m having strawberries, a banana, a hardboiled egg and one hard boiled egg white. Snack is popcorn. Dinner is Turkey Sloppy Joe over whole wheat no yolk egg noodles. This is one of my favorite meals, so YUMMY J If I get hungry at any point after dinner, I have instant oatmeal to snack on.

I’m working on Christmas stuff. Some of my friends/family are hard to shop for, but I want to get it all done by the end of this month. I have a $25.00 amazon gift certificate to put towards it and I’m requesting another $25.00 gift card from my points. I have $400.00 in my Christmas fund budget and I am planning to add another $100.00 towards it for a tree and outdoor decorations, which I didn’t have much of last year.

This month marks my 1 year anniversary in the house and I have to say I’m still loving it !!! I am looking forward to the winter. I love bundling up under a mound of covers J

In other news, I’m going to have to be making some big decisions soon about work. I love what I’m doing, but the job itself is getting tedious. I love the unlimited overtime, but I really don’t know how long that’s going to last. Anyway, a quality position opened up with means going to an Exempt status (which means no OT). There are some trade offs, such as 4 weeks of vacation. I think it comes with a raise, but now sure of the dollar amount. I would need it to at least match the 10% shift differential that I’m currently getting, plus a bit more. The main benefit would be the possibility for further advancement. Hopefully it’ll lead me to higher positions.

My manager asked me to apply, and I did. I have an interview today. If I get the position, I’m really going to have to punch down my budget. I’ve gotten a bit sloppy, knowing the overtime will carry me if I go over budget in some categories, like groceries and eating out. We’ll see how it goes.

Well, shopping on Thursday went well. I ran all my errands and stayed on budget. Then I went clothes shopping. Let me preface this by saying that in the last 2 years, I've probably spent about maybe $150.00 on clothes, shoes, acessories and coats.

Since I was still gaining weight, I kinda refused to buy new clothes at the larger sizes (which really means that I was still in denial).

With the upcoming winter season, I needed to gear up on some long sleeve tees and some sweaters. The last few 'nicer' shirts that I have have been pretty much ruined by my clumsiness when it comes to eating and drinking. I've been known to ruin a shirt the first day that I've worn it by spilling a soda on it.

So I spent almost $250.00(all paid with cash) and I came home with 3 tank tops (for sleep or summer for $4.00 each), 4 long sleeve shirts, 4 sweaters, and 3 bustier-like tops that I plan on layering up under my button-down work shirts. My office is known to get freezing in the winter and layering is a must.

I'm completely set on pants at home, although I only have 1 pair of wearable jeans. I have some old pairs in the basement that I'll be able to use once I lose about 15 more pounds. I also have a few pairs of khaki's that are waiting too. Here comes the bragging part ---- I've already lost 16 pounds! So I know I'm going to keep losing. And I'll soon have several 'new' pairs of pants

I am set for shoes and coats and sweatshirts. I could use some new socks and underwear, but I'm going to save that til I take a trip to Walmart.

In other news, I've been doing a lot of OT, but slacked this week and took some time off to help my sister care for my nephew while her babysitter (my Mom) was out of town. She took some days off & I did too. I also was able to mail off a $637.00 check to my student loan. Yay!!

I've also slacked on packing all my meals for work. But not too much, I still stayed within my spending budget.

Its finally gotten cool enough that I could turn my air off and throw open the windows. I'm really enjoying this weather!

My electric bill was 74.03! Way under the 120/mo that I budget for electric and gas. I probably have another month of low bills before I have to turn on the heat. Possibly two months if the the weather holds.

Today, I'm taking a half day today and am planning on picking up my nephew after school. In the meantime, I plan to do some spending.

I want to find some of those plastic deck chairs to have outdoor seating for my party. Some of my friends/coworkers smoke and I don't want it in the house.

I also want to pick up some party supplies, including disposable plastic shot glasses to make jello shots. Its a tradition with my friends.

I'll also be keeping an eye out for some decorations for my downstairs bathroom. It has absolutely nothing in it, so I want to get a trash can, some guest towels, ect.

I am also going to do a little clothes shopping. I do actually 'need' some long sleeve tops to get me through the winter. I'm also going to look for short-sleeve on sale to stock up for next year

I also am planning to pick up some toiletries at Eckerds with a gift card that I have from a prescription transfer.

And in the midst of all this, I'm goign to be looking for some Christmas presents. I really want to have all my shopping done by the end of October.

So have a good day all & I say Happy Shopping

I bet you guys are excited, this is my 2nd post in one day after a week long absence I've been thinking about debt repayment motivation. I get really excited when I send those large checks to my student loans, but once thats over, waiting 15 days for another payday makes it hard to stay focused. There are quite a few things that I do to combat this.

1. I know its all mental, but I LOVE to plan ahead. My work displays our paychecks online about 4 days prior to payday. As soon as that happens, I 'spend' all the money by putting them into budget categories & pre-documenting any checks or online payments in my checkbook. For example, out of this paycheck, I pay:
-cell phone
-monthly student loan #2 payment
-mortgage
-gas
-groceries
-spending money (entertainment)
-gifts
-car exenses (oil change, ect)
-cat food & litter
-clothing
-weight watchers fee
-electric
-trash

Then I divide up my overtime money, most of which goes to the student loan. Seeing that large amount written down is always exciting!


2. I try to see the 'light at the end of the tunnel'. I like to prepare a futuristic budget that no longer includes my student loans, but instead has bigger retirement categories and other savings goals. It’s a real big motivator to see that instead of paying $335.00 (in just minimum payments) to the student loans, I am putting that money to better use. I also run those numbers using my discretionary and overtime income (putting over 1,335.00 a month towards new goals looks REALLY good!)

3. I keep a post-it on my checkbook with the current balances of both the student loans. It’s a nice little reminder that I have to pay back such a large amount of debt. The note makes me think twice before spending. This post-it actually replaced the little drawing of a house I used to keep on my checkbook, which reminded me of my biggest savings goal, which was buying a house.

4. I get comments ALL the time from friends, family, coworkers, managers, and the head honchos about the amount of overtime that I do. Most are just joking with me. But there is always truth behind their statements. They don’t seem to understand how I can do such a large amount of overtime or why I would ever want to. I try to give flip responses, but if someone is genuinely interested, I’ll give my real reasons J

I tell them the why: I want to pay off my student loans
And I tell them the how: In high school, I went to school full-time, played sports AND worked part-time. In college, I went to school full time and either worked full-time or worked multiple part-time jobs. I tell them how in the summer, I would work 6am to 2pm at one job, work in the evenings at another job and then did overnight babysitting for a neighbor. I’ll explain that I just finished working full-time and attending grad school. I’ll explain that I’ve never really done ‘just’ a 40 hour workweek and if I’m comfortable with it, why not do it and meet my goals.


5. Finally, I get motivated thinking that one day I could scream “I’m Debt-Free!” I probably won’t be calling Dave Ramsey’s show to scream. But I might just have a party in my living room J

Payday is Friday. My work put the checks up online, so I was able to see that my overtime hours added up to $814.00. I plan on putting $614 towards the student loan. I am saving $100.00 towards a Halloween party that I'm throwing next month. I am also saving $100.00 towards my nephew's birthday gift. I am giving money towards his karate lessons.

I am still doing the OT, although I'm getting burnt out. I'm packing most of my lunches, but I have been lax about getting some snacks here and there. So I'm really going to work on not buying any snacks or drinks.

In other news, we have a work outing on Thursday, which means free lunch! I don't know from where yet though.

I plan on talking a bit about my sister and nephew's financial situation, but I'll save that for another time.

In other news, my parents went to London this week to visit my uncle. I miss them and I am HORRIBLY jealous that I didn't go with them. But I've made myself a goal. Once I'm completely out of student loan debt (both loans), then I'll start saving for a trip to London. I went when I was a teenager and I can't wait to go as an adult

I've been really busy lately. Not spending a lot, which is always good. I've been spending a lot of family & friend time. I'm still packing lunches, but eating out every once in awhile (out of my entertainment budget).

I was paid on Friday & mailed an extra $500.00 payment to my student loan (right on schedule.

Yesterday, work had a celebration for a company acheivement. I was able to pick up a free soda & tee-shirt. I stayed away from the cake though

Still working lots of overtime, but it is starting to wear on me. I maybe rethinking some of this OT soon. We'll see.

I went to my Weight Watchers Meeting yesterday & I've lost another 1.6 pounds! Its real slow going cause I'm fighting several medications, but I'll take every bit of loss that I can get In my enthusiasm for the new eating lifestyle, I've bee SERIOUSLY overspending in groceries.

Plus, this weekend, I did my usual WalMart trip that I do every 2 months or so. I spent $80.00 and not all of the things were necessary items. I really stocked up because there's not another SuperWalmart closer to me & this trip should last me a few months.

At my WW meeting, the leader asked us to make specific, positive goals to accomplish between now & year end. I've come up with 3 of those goals for WW and I decided to do the same for financial goals. So here they are:

WW:
1. Lose 20lbs from now and Dec 31st
2. Exercise consistantly each week
3. Make one new change to eating habits each week

Financial:
1. Bring balance on Student Loan #1 under $5,000.00 by Dec 31st (current balance is $9434.56). I will accomplish this by doing at least 36 hours of overtime per pay cycle).
2. Have an average of 12 no spend days per month
3. Continuously work to keep electric/gas bill under budget each month

These are some agressive, but obtainable goals, but I can do it!

- No overtime this week since I was sick, but I'm feeling MUCH better now
-Packed my food for the week, but did buy bottled water one day and a soft pretzel the next. Normally, I have a cup at work for water, but I took it home to put in the dishwasher & forgot it.
-Today was payday- I paid my electric, water, amex, cell phone, cable and student loan
-I was able to sent a total of $730.00 extra to my student loan!
-They announced overtime was extended through September at work, which is AWESOME!
-I have some new savings goals that I need to think about. My friends and I are thinking about renting a house for a week in the Outer Banks next year and I need to plan for some new clothes once I reach my goal weight (I have a while to go)
-And by the way, I lost 1 lb this week (slow but steady wins the race!)

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!

During my lunch break, I went out to grab a movie from one of the many Redbox Dvd units in my area. There's one in nearly every grocery store. I had a free coupon code - DVDONME, which entitled me to 1 free movie. Today has been a total no spender. I packed food for work, I have a friend coming over tonight. I'm making dinner & have the movie & the friend is providing the wine. Fun!

Yesterday I brought food for work, but still bought a soft pretzel because I was extra hungry. I also gave $5.00 towards a gift for a coworkers baby shower. Then I grabbed some groceries --- normal stuff, plus veggies, cheese & pepperoni to make pasta salad for the shower. So yesterday was a spendy day, but all planned, except for the pretzel.

Today is a no spender, I brought breakfast, lunch & dinner. I'm making that pasta salad tonight after work.

Tomorrow I'm packing breakfast & a snack, but lunch will be covered by the food at the shower.

Tomorrow night, I have a friend coming over. We'll be making dinner and watching a movie. Yummy.

I'm doing a lot of stuff tomorrow, but it'll still be a no spend day if I can help it

Overtime update-So far I've worked 14.5 hours of ot this week. I'm aiming for over 20. Definately attainable.

I've been crazy busy lately, but wanted to stop in for some quick updates.

-I lost 1 pound this week
-I'm adding walking to my routine this week, even though...
-...I'm working 20 hours of overtime this week
-I've been overspending in my groceries catagory, but underspending in eating out
-I'm redoing my budget this weekend, something that I've been putting off for awhile. That should be fun

Hope everyone's doing well! Thanks to everyone who responded to my A/C question!