HouseHappy's Personal Finance Blog

Well today was a spender, but not too bad.
I packed my lunch, but part of it kinda got ruined (long story), so I ordered a salad with some people from work. $7.00, but I ate 1/2 today & I'll have the other 1/2 tomorrow. AND I'll pack the rest of my food too.

On my lunch break, I went to Boscov's. I've been wanting a big fluffy robe, but have been putting it off. I figured now was the time to check out the sales. I found one just like I wanted at 75% off. I ended up paying 13.50 for a $54.00 robe! NICE. And I paid cash from my clothing budget.

One of my coworkers lives in my neighborhood & she waved me down on the way to work today. She had shut her front door with her house & car keys inside & therefore couldn't drive to work. So I brought her and she presented me with at $5.00 lunch voucher for our work cafeteria. So I'm going to hold onto it. I'm planning on packing my lunch for 3 weeks starting tomorrow. When I make it through the 3 weeks, I"m going to treat myself to a free lunch!

Overtime is still available at my work thorugh the 28th. I never made it in on Monday due to a fall on ice. I was really sore, so I stayed home and had a no spend day. Since then, I worked 2 hours OT yesterday, I did 1 today & I'll do another 2 hours tomorrow.

Then next week, I"m going to do 8 hours Monday, 2 hours Tuesday & Wednesday, getting in as much as possible before it ends. All that money is going directly into savings.

I"m having my family over for dinner Monday night and I've asked my dad to help me fix my ice maker & help me install my programmible thermostat. I'm afraid to do it totally by myself.

They usually read the meter around the 20th, so I start looking online for my balance. I'm obsessed this month because this will be the first month where I had the heat on the full month. I REALLY can't wait to see what its like at the worst part of the year. They actually cover electric/gas, so we'll see how it goes. I'll let you all know as soon as the bill gets posted online!

Here's an update on some of my goals in no particular order.

1. Track all expenses for the full year [done so far--down to the penny]
2. Limit soda intake/purchase [very limited- also switched to generic soda for the few purchases]
3. Stick to weight watchers [fell off the wagon a bit due to stomach problems, getting back on track with a modified version]
4. Find part time job/ find roommate for additional income. [Pending due to unlimited overtime being offered at work]
5. Increase 401k witholding [pending for annual review, will increase with raise]
6. Maintain $0 balances on credit cards [done, will continue]
7. Use library for entertainment. [done, also using free subscription to Netflix]
8. Cancel XM radio [pending, gave myself 3 month extension as a reward for large amounts of overtime]

I'll admit it, I'm a little obsessed with personal finance and especially PF blogs. I check out Saving Advice daily, plus I have a few individual blogs in my favorites and I pretty much daily check out pfblogs.org.

I came across an article at stopbuyingcrap.com entitled 'What If... Your Net Worth Is Public?' Very interesting idea. Money is such a taboo subject in some ways & so easily talked about in others. It'd be a shock if our net worth was out there for all to see. And the fact that its public would probably change the way we do things. I know for sure that I would. I know I have changed a lot of my habits since I've joined this site.

This blog & site helps keep me grounded. I am really honest in my writing and there are times where I think about doing something (spending money-wise) and then I think how would I explain that to you guys? It also motivates me to find new ways to save money or earn money & put it into savings instead of spending it. I LOVE being able to say I added another $300.00 to savings instead of buying that new beadspread that I want, but do not need

So check out the article & let me know what you think!

Today was a no spend day. I had a goal of packing my lunch for 3 weeks straight, but I'm going to break it tommorrow (not even a full week in). Our work team is haveing a little lunch out. At one of my favoritre restaurants. So I'm going to get a fried chicken salad (which is HUGE) & have 1/2 for lunch & the other 1/2 for my dinner tomorrow. I'll bring breakfast & snacks to work & I"m planning on having water at the restaurant.

Then I'll be sticking to my packing lunch resolve for the rest of the 3 weeks, adding 1 day on at the end.

I worked 12-5 yesterday & am working 5 hours today. So I made my 10 hour overtime goal for this week after all. I am working 8-5 tomorrow & I'll put in another 2-4 hours of ot later this week. I packed my food again yesterday & today.

I'm preplanning my meals for the week & after I get home tonight, I'm going to make some spagehetti sauce for dinner & to freeze. I'm also going to make some blueberry muffins to freeze as well. I'm going to premake tuna for sandwiches, and salads for the week. The easier things are to grab and go, the better.

I FINALLY have all my tax info together. One of my w-2s never 'arrived' so I had to wait & request a copy. Normally I break pretty much even on my taxes, but due to the job change, house purchase & tuition expenses, I'll be getting a little over 900.00 back. ALL of which is going to my savings goals.

I had bought a programable thermostat, which I am going to attempt to install tonight. The directions make it look pretty simple, but who knows!

I didn't find a cabinet knob that I liked with the wood on the cabinets, so I'm going to hold off. I want to pick a paint color before I make a final decision anyway, so I'm going to walk through Lowes later this week to get some ideas.

I haven't had a no spend day in a while, and the only reason that I didn't yesterday was because I stopped by Happy Harry's with my mom and while I was waiting for her to make her purchases, I found some panty hose on clearance for 19 cents each. They only had 2 pairs in my size, but I got them both. GREAT deal! Worth breaking the no spend day for.

I've got a couple of movies from my Netflix Trial, so I'll be having a movie fest tonight while I'm doing all my cooking--I have an old movie I"ve been wanting to see, plus GridIron Gang, and the Illusionist.

I went to the new lowes by my work today. I wanted to check out any grand opening sales/presidents day sales. I picked out a couple of different knobs for the kitchen cabinets. I figured I'd check them out in the kitchen, pick the one I like return the others and then get enough for all my cabinets. Little details to spruce up the kitchen

I also bought a programmible thermostat because I can't even begin to tell the temperature on the really OLD one that the house came with. I think I'm keeping the heat low, but I can't really tell if its at 60 or 70 right now. Really. Its THAT bad.

I also bought some windshield wiper fluid, which I desperately needed given all the salt on the roads right now.

I leave work at 8 tonight & I'm heading about 15 minutes out of my way to the Walmart. I'm picking up most of the groceries. I want to do some stocking up, so I'm using some of my spending money on top of my grocery money. I'll make up the spending money by packing my lunch instead of buying.

I also have been offered more overtime, including Sunday hours. So I work my normal hours tomorrow & I"m contemplating going in from 12-5 on Sunday & 8-5 on Monday (my days off). The sunday hours would offset my cabinet knobs, the thermostat & I could still reward myself with the Harry Potter preorder. We'll see how I feel

I'm only going to make 5 hours of overtime this week. Mainly due to snow issues. So I will not be getting to preorder Harry Potter 7. I'm going to hold off on that mini reward for next week. There is overtime available again next week. So if I do 10 or more hours of overtime next week, I will let myself preorder. I like these mini-rewards. This system seems to work for me

On the other side of things, I couldn't bring myself to pack today. I haven't been to the grocery store in a while. So I bought food, but I'm DEFINTATELY going to pack tomorrow & I'm going to hit the grocery store on Saturday. I'm hitting Walmart to stock up on my snacks & veggies. The Walmart has the best veggie prices in the winter & always has the best prices on muffin mixes, microwave popcorn, generic Dr Pepper (2 liters for 49 cents), and other goodies. I also need ketchup, worstershire sauce, some salad dressing, and wheat pasta. I'm trying to make a list & STICK TO IT. I tend to go overboard at Walmart. But at the same time, its a little out of the way, so when I go, I really want to stock up on the cupboard stuff.

I went to the dollar store today, I was looking for a toilet bowl brush, which they were out of. But I found really cute socks & snack cakes and some bath stuff! I came very close to buying all of them... but then I put the basket down & walked away. I didn't NEED any of it. Except maybe the socks...but I'm sure I can find a better deal. Just because they were in pretty colors, doesn't justify buying them at $1.00 each pair.

I'm really going to buckle down with the eating out. I have been doing really badly this month. I made it 3 weeks in a row with packing my lunch in January, so thats my goal---starting tomorrow, I want to go 3 weeks of packing all food, snacks & drinks. Definately doable!

I get paid tomorrow I'll be putting 387.86 towards savings for this paycheck. In January, I put 300.97 toward savings. So I've already beat last month. And I still have another paycheck with lots of overtime coming on 2/28.

With this paycheck, I'll meet sever mini savings goals. I had moved some around from my original plan, so bear with me if its a little off from what I previously said.

I've met my mini goals for:

-2008 HOA fee
-One Time Lawn Service (for 1st mowing since the grass is overgrown since I bought the house)
-Lawn Mower
-Garden Hose
-and some partial savings will go to outdoor furniture

Well, last night our snow storm turned into an ice storm. I can only open one of my car doors, my trash can is iced over. Today was the scheduled pick up, but they won't be able to get to my trash I tried shoveling my steps again, but the snow is covering about 2 inches of ice and the temperature is still dropping. So I gave that idea up.

I haven't been to the grocery store in over a week, so since I'm stuck in the house, I'm going to have to use up whats in the pantry and fridge. I have a little salad stuff left, and plenty of pasta and tuna fish. So I'll be set.

I get paid at midnight tonight. But I kinda doubt I'll make it to the grocery store even if I make it to work tomorrow. So I'll probably eat the pantry stuff through Friday.

Yesterday, I left work early. I felt a little foolish leaving early, so when I got home I decided to be productive. I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned, dusted and vacuumed the living room & organized a lot of my paperwork. Then I went upstairs and FINALLY put away my clean laundry and cleaned my bedroom.

I'm going to lay around this morning, but this afternoon, I'm going to change my sheets, and finish up the paperwork.

I really need to organize my basement, its like Christmas exploded down there, but I'm putting that off for a while. I REALLY need to be motivated to do that.

My mind is not on my work today, its on the weather outside. I came in an hour early today, buts its snowing & sleeting & I decided to leave early today instead of leaving at 7. Delaware is not known for its snow savvy. People panic very easily in bad weather, people with 4 wheel drive speed & people with older cars drive REALLY slow. Unfortunately, neither type steers clear of the other, so there are a lot of accidents. Plus, the salting of the roads isn't the best.

Driving in snow isn't that bad as far as I'm concerned, but we have sleet now & the roads are starting to ice over. So I made my overtime hour a regular one, and I'm using 1.5 hours of personal time and I'll be leaving at 4:30 today. WHEW.

I need to get gas on the way home, but there are no cheap gas stations on the way, so I"m going to fill up 5.00 worth and get some at the better station tomorrow.

Its funny, but most of the talk in the office today has been about the weather and stories of accidents caused by bad weather. I can't wait to get home safe & sound.

I'm going to snuggle under a blanket, eat leftovers and watch Lost Season Two, I'm a little over halfway through the dvds. I'm sucked back into the storylines, so I can't wait for Season 3 (which is still running now) to get onto dvd.

I got way off on my spending this week & last week. But I'm good to go again. My goal is to pack my lunch each and every day for the next month. Definately doable.

Today I've got a migrane, so its a no spend day for me. I've taken some pain meds, closed the blinds. When I feel better, I'm putting in some of Lost Season Two, so I can catch up. I'll have sloppy joe for dinner tonight. I had some in my freezer, so all i have to do is make some pasta to go with it.

Later, I'll premake salads for the next 3 days & some tuna to take for sandwiches the next 2 days. I have frozen sloppy joe for one day this week & frozen pasta sauce for another. That'll get me through the week. I'm hoping to hold off on grocery shopping til I get paid on the 15th.

I've been working dilligently at the overtime being offered. So I've been overworking, plus I've been eating badly AND I've been stressed about a friend. We had a surprise birthday party for her this weekend, but this week she had a cancer treatment & has been a bit down. She took a radioactive pill that kept her in isolation for 3 days. I've been visiting for 30 minutes at a time, and bringing her books & movies to keep occupied with. But its been taking its toll as well.

So today is my day of rest and as long as my headache's gone, I will go in for 8 hours of overtime tomorrow. My goal was to try to do 10 horus of OT this week, but our office is going to be closed at certain times this week, so I probably will only get the 8 hours in. Still good though

I saw this thread on MSN Money & I just HAVE to comment. It was interesting to read the replies over there. I really think it is both an easy and tough question.

First it brings up the question, what do you consider debt? I am proud to say that I have no credit card debt, no auto loans. But I do have a mortgage and 2 student loans. So I like to say I'm credit card free

Ultimately, I want to save for retirement and pay down my obligations, no matter what 'type' of debt they are.

The reason I want this is because I want to be independant and responsible. I grew up watching my parents have money problems and watching my Dad stress over money matters. Since I was a teen, he's said over and over to 'watch out' for credit cards. So I've always had a healthy respect for them. I've used them smartly & don't carry balances.

A significant factor to my attitude about money and debt is rooted in my parents financial instability. As I've gotten older, my father has carried on many conversations about their financial situation. To tell you the truth, he's put the fear in me. I worry about how my parents are going to survive in their later years.

The worst of it is that about 15 years ago, my fathers best friend committed suicide over financial problems. He had large amounts of debt and was so overwhelmed he committed suicide, leaving his wife and two daughters to deal with both the emotional and financial aftermath.

The situation hit my father hard and when he started talking so negatively about their financial situations, I actually worried about his emotional and mental health. I did talk to him about it. I told him it was scaring me and we had a in depth talk about his retirement savings, which is VERY healthy. I feel better about their situation now.

But I will NEVER forget that worry over my father & I want to make sure that I will never be in that position. I've taken on some debt to reach certain goals-- student loans to get multiple degrees and the mortgage to purchase my home. I'm doing everything possible to incurr no more debt.

But that feeling of fear will always remain with me and that is why I want to get out & stay out of debt.

Well, its been a long week. I've put in 14 hours of overtime this week. And I'm going to try to get as much in while its still available. I have set mini goals for myself & have set up small rewards as well. I was only going to work 12 hours this week, but I decided if I work 14 hours, I would use part of the overtime to renew the next 2 months of my XM Radio subscription. That got me out of bed this morning.

If I work 10 hours of overtime next week, I will use one of my overtime hours to preorder the new Harry Potter book. The week after (if theres still overtime), I will award myself with a lunch out at the salad place.


I've been motivating myself to do this overtime with these small rewards AND with the knowledge that all the overtime (with the exception of the XM, the book and the salad) will go towards my savings goals.

I've found it to be more rewarding to me to have smaller goals. Even if they're something I would have just moved money around for when it came time for them. So here's an example of a few of my mini goals and when they'll be reached, thanks to my overtime and other extra income. I would like to point out that I may have overinflated the amount needed, but I like to overestimate instead of under.

Lawn Mower: $200.00 Completed 2/15
Garden Hose: $30.00 Completed 2/15
Car Repair Fund: $500.00 Completed 2/28
Christmas Fund: $400.00 Completed 2/28
Vet fund: $200.00 Completed 3/15
Outdoor Furniture: $300.00 Completed 3/15
Homeowners Assoc 2008: $90.00 Compltd 3/15
Sewer Bill 2008: $200.00 Completed 5/15

I also have larger goals for my New To Me Car fund and my emergency fund, but they won't be met with just my overtime for January & February. I have an expected inheritance of $2,500.00 that will go to the new to me car fund later this year.

My motto on overtime is get it while it lasts! It has been offered off & on over the last month. The first week, I worked 8 hours, the 2nd 9 hours, the 3rd 4 hours, and this week I worked 8 hours on Monday, 2 hours today & I plan to do 2 hours tomorrow & possible 1 or 2 hours on Friday. I'm iffy about Friday because I'm getting a little burned out.

Every hour of overtime is roughly $19.00 post taxes & 401k. I am hoping the overtime offering will contue through the month. My goal will be to do 8-10 hours next week and the week after. We'll see how it goes.

All my overtime will be going towards my savings goals. If I do the 2 hours ot on Friday, then those funds will go to fund another 3 months of XM radio, which I was going to cancel in March. I listen to it daily at work & I figure this treat would motivate me to work on Friday as well. We'll see how it goes.

I fell off the wagon a bit with packing my food, but I'm track again today. I packed salad for lunch & a tuna fish sandwich & baked fries for dinner. Yummy.

Well, I went a little off my diet/packing lunches yesterday & today due to general laziness & stomach issues. I'll be back on track tomorrow. I'm going to premake pasta salad for tomorrow.

My office is offering overtime for an uncertain amount of time, so I'm going to take advantage while I can get it. I'm going to do 2 hours tomorrow & I'm coming in on my day off Monday & do 4 or 8 hours depending on a possible appointment I might have. My goal is to do 8-10 hours this upcoming week.

We're having a surprise birthday party for my best friend this weekend. I'm in charge of bringing chips & dip, veggies & dip & cake. I am getting the cake from a specific bakery because my friend loves it so much. I also got her a few things for a gift, but I still need to come up with a good present to go with them. I plan on going to the store tomorrow night for all the food.

I have decided to put off looking for the second job... as long as the overtime is available, it'll work out better for me. Once the OT dries up---I WILL get a second job.

On the bright side I went to the dentist today-- no cavities I LOVE my dentists office. They're out of network, but they've always been willing to fill the claims for me anyway. Under my new dental coverage, my out of pocket expense for my dentist was supposed to be $75.00. They charged me $22.00. I know they could be making more off me, but they don't. And thats whey I LOVE them.

I started this job about 6 months ago. As a 13 person training class, we all seemed to gravitate towards eating lunch together. Some packed & some bought from the cafeteria. We all worked 8am to 5pm.

After the 6 week training period was over, we switched to our regular schedule 11am to 8pm. So when we look 'lunch' at 4pm, the cafeteria was closed. This was about the same time that I was in the process of buying the house and due to laziness, I started going out to eat with my coworkers. This lasted about 6 weeks and when I moved into the house in October, I started packing my lunches again. I also started eating alone because everyone either had a different lunch time or they still went out to eat.

Well, a few of us had a conversation about lunch & I talked about preferring to make eating out a treat instead of an everyday occurance. And a few weeks later, I noticed that one of my coworkers started bringing his lunch and eventually he started eating with me! I rubbed off on him! Plus, now I have a lunch buddy.

Well, when I bought the house, I knew I was going to have a sewer bill to contend with & I had a montly amount in my budget, but for some reason, I didnt remember to prepare for the bill for this year. I just got a bill for $167.32 due 2/28/07. It'll cover the year of 2007. Since I just bought the house 3 months ago, the sewer savings doesn't have that amount in it yet. So I used my overtime & savings from this paycheck to pay the sewer bill in full. It'll set me savings plan back a little bit, but so be it. At least I have the cash on hand to handle the bill.

On the upside, I did a little overtime yesterday. AND my parents took me to see The Departed--surprisingly good!

Ima's post about frugal things we did today got me thinking. I've been getting a little lax in some areas, so my focus is going to be to focus on the little things. Today I packed my lunch, drank only water. I'll be premaking food for tomorrow as well, I have plenty of tv to enjoy & this weekend I'll enjoy the movies from my free trial from Netflix.

I also have several library books to get through. I just finished Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich. That series is REALLY good. Very funny.

One of my New Years Resolutions was to track my spending for the full year. I'm off to a good start. I'm tracking my spending & money put towards savings. I have a basic excel spreadsheet & at the end of the month I'll add up the catagories. I can already tell you I'll be over budget in groceries, but thats ok.

I was planning on working 8 hours overtime today, but I have an issue I need to resolve at the bank, so I'm going to work 4 or 5 hours & try to make up the other 3 or 4 between tuesday & thursday.

My goal today is to be productive:
I have a small to do list
-work overtime
-go to bank to close acct
-call & make drs appointment
-call trash co & discuss notice of increase of rates (they said there will be an increase, but didnt say how much)
-clean kitchen
-clean & dust living room
-change sheets
-clean bedroom

For any Nora Roberts fans: Tonight is the first of 4 of her books made into tv movie on Lifetime. I'll be taping it!

Well, I worked yesterday & I'll work tomorrow. I'm trying to gear myself up mentally to work the full 8 hours of overtime & still come in 2 hours early either Tuesday or Wednesday.

I've been holding steady on my soda resolution. I haven't cut it out completely, but it has been drastically scaled back. I have to admit to buying a soda from a vending machine last week. I had 1 can of soda at work (my emergency stash). I had an upset stomach, used the emergency can & still needed another one to make it through the day. Oh well. I'm going to pack 2 emergency cans to stash at my desk next week. Lately I haven't needed the soda at work, so the 2 cans will stay for awhile.

I've been really sucessfuly on my packing lunch resolve. I've packed every day so far this month & it really hasn't been a hardship. Partly because I'm still doing weight watchers & since I preplan my food & its easier to control what I eat when I bring it, packing is beneficial.

I've lost about 8 lbs this month & I'll do my weekly weigh in again tomorrow, so I'll give another update soon.

Lots of good tv on right now, so I haven't been watching alot of movies. But there are a few that I really want to see, so I signed up for the monthly free trial of Netflix. I'll check it out, then make my decision between that & Blockbuster Online.

Well, I'm off to watch the Dresden Files on Sci Fi. Interesting show. Then I'll be watching Dirt. REALLY good show.

The idiots at the power company incorrectly marked their power lines, so when my parents' neighbors had people working on their sewer line, they dug right into the power line & cut their electricity (and therefore heat). It was off most of the day and way into the evening. So my sister stayed at a friends and my mom & nephew spent the night at my house. (I only have one bed). My dad works nights & wouldn't be home til 5am, so he crashed in their family room, which has propane heat since its an addition.

Since they came over last night, my mom treated us to dinner out first. Nice free dinner. Then we watched Barnyard (which was funny) and put my nephew to bed. Then I got my mom to watch Jackass Number Two. I couldn't believe she watched it! So not her type of movie, but she was totally into it!

Anyway, they just left. I'm chilling until around 12:30, then I'm heading to the movie store (where I have a coupon for a free movie) and the library. I also am making a quick stop at the grocery store for a few items I couldn't get from the other store.

-I will have $154.00 in my 1/30 paycheck from overtime, that will go directly to savings.
-I have 130.00 from my 2/15 paycheck that would have gone to car ins that will now go to savings (since I paid the ins through the credit on my Sony card).
- I will have another $310 + in my 2/15 paycheck from overtime that will go into my savings account too

I only did one hour overtime on Friday, but I plan on going in for a whole 8 hours on Monday. Very aggressive, but overtime will not last long. Then I may or may not come in early on Tuesday & Wedensday. I don't want to get burned out.

On top of that, we're planning a last minute surprise party for my best friend. Her boyfriend emailed me on Friday. So I'll be helping with food & prep, which will probably lead to some unexpected expenses, but thats ok. I'm going to take $20.00 of that sony credit & use it towards food & whatnot.

I had jury duty today & the courthouse prohibits bringing any food or drink into the building. I caved & got some baked cheetos from the vending machine, spending 85 cents. It would have been a no spend day otherwise.

My work is offering more overtime from today to the end of the month. I already did 8 hours on Monday, but I'm going to do an additional 2 hours tomorrow. Then I'm debating on how much to do next week. I'm thinking a 1/2 day (4 hours) on Monday (my normal day off), 2 hours on Tuesday & 2 hour on Wednesday. OR just sucking it up and doing an 8 hour day on Monday again. I don't have to commit to anything now, so I'll just play it by ear.

On the upside, I just got my 150.00 credit for opening & using a Sony Card. I had used the card for a normal purchase, and paid it off immediately. So I am using the credit to pay my car insurance and groceries for this month. Then I'll put the budgeted money for those expenses into my ING. VERY nice!

I premade my lunches/dinner for both tomorrow & Saturday already. Tuna fish, salad and baked fries. Yummy. And I don't get too tired of having the same food back to back. I have been trying to vary my food a little more, but sometimes is easier to just double up on premaking the food, so I can just skip a night.

I think I have all the paperwork necessary to do my taxes, so I'm going to do a preliminary draft by hand to see how I come out. Shouldn't be too hard, then I'll use one of the free file options & check my work against that, before submitting them.

I've been doing pretty good with my soda intake. I used to have about 4 to 5 sodas a day, now I'm down to maybe 4 or 5 a week. I'm feeling pretty good about it.

At work, we just had a conversation about soda & I realized something pretty funny about myself. My coworker brought at 2 liter bottle of soda to work instead of cans in an effort to keep costs down. We started talking about the price of 12 packs of cans and I mentioned that I don't really see sales for 4 packs for $10.00 that often anymore. My coworker said, she keep seeing the 3 for $9.00 and that she refuses to buy it at that price. I said, I'm the same way, I'll wait til the next sale.

Then I realized that in the past, I would have definately waited for the next sale rather than pay $9.00 for 3 packs, but if I ran out of soda & wanted one, I'd still grab one from the vending machine at 75 cents per can. Lets do the math... 12 x .75 = $9.00! So out of stubborness, I'd end up paying 9.00 for a 12 pack from the vending machines just because I didn't like the sale at 3 for $9.00! ugh! That was really dumb of me.

Luckily, I no longer do the soda out of the vending machine (in the effort to pack my lunches & limit my soda intake. But it wonder.... how much money have I wasted being stubborn about the price I'd pay for a 12 pack??

Today will not be a no spend day...I'm paying some bills (electric, cable, ect) and I'm stopping back off at the grocery store today to get the bread & few other items that I forgot yesterday.

I'll be prepacking my food for tomorrow. In an effort to make things easier for myself, I try to premake for 2 days instead of one. Its been going pretty good so far.

Tonight's dinner will be a blt on wheat and pasta salad (with more veggies than wheat pasta).

I'll take the leftover pasta salad tomorrow, along with the leftover tuna fish from today's lunch. Very easy!

Finally got about 2-3 inches. It was very pretty to watch out the sliding glass doors this afternoon. It should be cleared up by morning, so no troubles

I've done very well spending wise. I got a salad (one of those huge ones from the specialty place) for $6.50 on Saturday.

Today I spent $28.63 for gas & $21.94 for groceries. Unfortunately, I forgot the bread, so I'll be stopping again tomorrow, but then I'll be set for awhile.

I've premade food for tomorrow, since I'm going in for 8 hours overtime. I will eat at home tomorrow night.

Today, my parents took me to see Dreamgirls. It was REALLY good. Their treat, which was awesome of them. They wanted to take me to lunch too, but I knew eating at home would be better for my diet.

I also got my electric bill today. $69 vs $63.00 of last month & $61.00 of the month before. I attribute the increase to being home more around the holidays & the fact that I've turned the heat on finally in the last week. Still a good number, since I've budgeted $150/mo to electric. The extra is going to my different savings goals.

Other than basic discussions on finances, I don't normally talk to other people about their debt (except online), but in the past few months, I've found out that a coworker has $20,000 & growing in debt and one of my best friends has about $15,000. I find these numbers to be amazing!

But then I took a look at their lifestyles compared to mine. And realized that there were a lot of differences. Comparing myself to the 'Joneses' actually made me feel good about the steps I've taken to help me reach my financial goals. And its motivated me as well.

For the updates--I packed my lunch every day this week. This is the 3rd week in a row. NICE! I had no spend days Tuesday through Friday. My intention was to have lunch out at work tomorrow, but I decided to take a personal day instead. So instead of working, I'm going to see my nephew in his new karate class, go to the library & head to the grocery store. I still might get that salad that I was looking forward to...we'll see.

I am really trying to stick to my grocery budget, but I need to stock up on a few things that I wasn't planning on. So I'm going to take a look at my list--determine what can be held off until my next payday & then just get whats needed this week.

I'm hoping, but not expecting any more overtime to be available at my work. If it does, I am signing up for as much as possible. All the extra money will go towards my financial goals.

And I hate to say it, but I still haven't been looking too hard for that part-time job. I WILL get on it this week. I promise.

Well, its cold today. I actually had the heat running last night. I can count the number of days that the heater's been on, since I moved, with one hand!

I finally get to pull out the cute gloves & scarves I bought last year. I pulled out my down comforter & have a several layers of blankets to cuddle under. I also have a few downstairs for sitting in front of the tv.

Today was another no spend day. I've been drinking only water. Staying on the diet too. I don't weigh in again til Monday, so we'll see how it goes. I packed all of my food. The only non-packed food is the free pretzel I got at work on Tuesday.

My work is offering a second day of overtime (pretty much unheard of) for next Monday & I'm going to sign up.

I haven't spent much this month (year). I'm really trying to rein in spending to be able to meet my financial goals this year. Its helped that I was sick the last two weekend---didnt leave the house, so easy to not spend.

No luck on the part time job search yet... but I'll admit to putting it off a little too. Due to both laziness & health issues.

I will be stopping for gas, probably tomorrow or Friday, but other than that, I'm holding onto my goal of no spending. Saturday will be my treat to myself-- salad from the place down the street.

No spend day today for me. I had one soda (still having the touchy stomach). I'm having dinner at home tonight & I'm going to try to get through a bit of chores--all easy stuff since I'm just starting to feel normal again.

I'm working on a to-do list for the house. I want to see what I can do on my own. So here's a few things to get me started:

-Replace seal in downstairs toilet (because its been running)
-Replace all of upstairs toilet interior--seal, ball, ect due to drip & old parts
-Tighten lock on front door...its a little loose (I'll be able to handle that tonight
-Put clothing rods in the spare bedroom closets, maybe some shelving.
-Put a door on mysterious alcove in the upstairs, making it into another storage closet. I'll have to take a picture of it, we can't figure out why it was put there in the first place.
-Pull fridge away from wall & fix ice maker (probably need a new doohicky--I know what it is, but I can't remember the name)

I've been doing some internet research, getting ready for these projects & I'll be taking them on one at a time.

Well, I've survived 2 work weeks in a row of packing my lunch & snacks. I'm on week 3, but I plan on treating myself next Saturday with a huge salad from the salad place. They always taste better when someone else makes them, plus I can get all the extras on it, that I wouldn't normally use at home-- green peppers, egg, mushrooms, ect...

I had 2 no spend days on Sat & today, mostly due to the fact that I've been sick again with my stupid stomach. which led to me having some soda this weekend. Overall, I've been doing really well. To combat the urge to 'binge' on soda, I'm using a 2 liter bottle instead of cans. I tend not to drink as much from the big bottle.

I went to Walmart today, which is a little out of my way, but Oh so worth it when I need to stock up on my staples. I got a LOT of stuff for 45.01. I stayed under my grocery budget & I still have about 15.00 left to buy more salad fixings next week to last me until the next payday.

And I got a free lunch today, went out with my parents & I was able to eat healthy at the restaurant they picked. Broiled flounder, baked potato & salad bar. I had the leftovers for dinner.

Well, tomorrow I'm working 8-5 (as opposed to my normal 11-8 schedule). I've packed a salad & sandwich for lunch & I'm having shake n bake chicken, salad & baked potato for dinner. I'll do the rest of my meal planning for the week tomorrow.

And I'm going to actively search for a part-time job this week. I hope to have one by February.

Brought my lunch every day this week. I've been thinking of eating out tomorrow, but in the end I'm going to bring a frozen dinner instead.

I spent a few minutes today mapping out expected money that will be put towards my financial goals. The smaller ones will be easy, but I need to get a roommate and/or 2nd job to reach the biggest goal of fully funding my emergency fund in cash (as opposed to savings bonds/ect).

I've been lazily looking for that 2nd job, but I'm going to really get started in the search. I would like a flexible position, more than min wage, but if I do go min wage, I'm thinking about working for a video store so I can get free movies as a bonus. Plus, I really don't want a stressfuly position and I'd think I'd really enjoy the video store. Well, thats a last resort, so I'll see whats out there first.

Today was a no spend day. Nice!

-I transfered 87.00 to savings today.
-I'm depositing 7.98 from a rebate to be transferred to savings.
-I'm depositing 26.00 cash from overage on cat supplies. This is part of my budget for her annual vet visit. So it will go into my ING until that appointment later in the year
-I'm transferring 5.38 from my Emigrant account, which will go to savings. Then I'm closing it. I really do not like their website or customer service.

I've already packed my food for tomorrow. I'm sticking to the diet, which helps with packing.

I get paid tonight: so tomorrow will be a spending day as I pay my mortgage, student loan #2 & car ins. Then I will have a certain amount in my checking already designated to certain catagories. This must last me until the next payday on the 30th.

$215 medical
$50.00 gas
$25.00 personal items (toiletries, ect)
$15.00 gifts
$15.00 clothes
$50.00 groceries
$35.00 spending (for whatever I want, including entertainment & eating out).

I also have money set aside for my monthy & quarterly household bills: trash, water, cable, electric, sewer.

I also have cash set aside for an oil change and $10.00 cash left from this last paycheck's groceries that will go to buy some staples at Walmart.