November Budget & Climbing - Where did I go?

Haven't been blogging much. One reason has been computers freaking out on me. It's clammed down and everything appears to be running smooth. (Although every time it makes a strange sound I start to panic.) I also now have the ability to grab pictures off my camera! I hate doing posts without pics, but what can I do? Sweetheart had gotten a new computer, but then the hard drive died. He only had it for about two months! So we waited three weeks the replacement and we have it back now. (Thank goodness!)

Another reason I haven't been blogging is I needed a break. One where I wasn't posting every couponing trip I managed to make. I've been making fewer of them as I've gotten worn out and run into the 'coupon burnout.' I'm still buying coupons and using them when I spot a good deal, but not nearly as many. So what have I done with my time?

I've been reading and cooking. Wondering how exactly I want to switch from conventional to less processed and more organic options. I had started a post about it, but it got far to long and lengthy for my taste. I think it's going to be a product by product sort of change. Some things were simple enough buying whole wheat flour and then organic whole wheat flour. Others not as much such as cutting out processed sugar or finding a bread with less than 5 ingredients that will not have my traveling 35 miles and paying $5 a loaf. I'm trying.

Ideally I would like to follow the rules listed below:

1. No refined grains such as white flour or white rice (items containing wheat must say WHOLE wheat…not just “wheat”)
2. No refined sweeteners such as sugar, any form of corn syrup, cane juice, or the artificial stuff like Splenda
3. Nothing out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label
4. No deep fried foods
5. No “fast foods”

Please see Real Food Defined: AKA The Rules, as spelled out by the Lisa the author of 100 Days of Real Food. (It's the site that got me interested in changing my diet.)

I like that these rules are simple and to the point. The simplicity is wonderful, but it's what also makes them hard to follow. No buts, only ifs, no exceptions, no loop holds. Mostly I'm having issues with rules 2 and 3 as stated before. I think I may make a few of my own exceptions as I go (such as Hellmann's® Mayonnaise, something Sweetheart will not compromise on), but that is for another post.

The Budget

Bills (Electric) $100
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $10
Cruise 2012 $0 *Completed Savings Goal
Free Money $20
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $10
Rent $100
Student Loans $372
Emergency Funds $20 *Decided I need a bigger fund

Grand Total: $1044/month (Take home pay.)

No changes for this month. I need to use extra cash for a gift or two . . . After that I think I am going to split it three ways: Paying off Loans (40%), Fixing up Kori, my car (40%) and Computer (20%). The only other additional element to the budget is what I've been earning with Swag Bucks. (Yes, this is my referral link.) I've been doing well enough to earn $25 worth of Amazon credit a month. It's not a lot, but I'm using to further my goal of unprocessed organic food. That amount is almost 20% of my month grocery total! It's a lot in my book. ^_^

Hamburger Salad, it's tasty!

Grand Total Last Month: $39,519.14
New Grand Total: $39,219.38
Amount Paid Off: $299.76

Slightly better than last month. I moved one of my loan payments a little early because of the way pay days fell this past month. I figured I would save myself a little bit of interest. Fingers crossed I actually have some extra money at the end of this month to pay off more!

October Budget and Climbing

Due to card reader issues I had to find a stock photo. I dislike using them, because they are not really my own. Sorry!

I really thought my computer had died on me. Now it just seems temperamental. It doesn't always want to start up and freezes fairly often when I do manage to get it going. I briefly had use of my XD/SD drive yesterday before it decided to not read anything. My sound said it was on, but didn't actually work. I'm hoping between my dying laptop and Sweetheart's dying laptop I can limp along until I actually have money to buy a new one. Thankfully there will be 3 holidays between now and the end of the year, plus an additional paycheck in the month of December.

I got my first paycheck on Friday that I need to apply to my new budget. This does not look promising. Only an extra $10 left to apply towards anything . . . not so good. I was really bad and didn't think about it until after, but I placed an order with Lock 'n Lock before getting my paycheck and looking at my new budget. Oooppss. I still have some extra cash from the past few months, but I need to be really careful with what I buy from now on. I can't go spending my 'free' money willy nilly any more.

But I want it! *Puppy eyes of doom!*

The Budget
Bills (Electric) $100
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $10
Cruise 2012 $0 *Completed Savings Goal
Free Money $20
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $10
Rent $100
Student Loans $372
Emergency Funds $20 *Decided I need a bigger fund

Grand Total: $1044/month (Take home pay.)

Not sure what exactly I'm going to do with any extra money. Kind of tough to decide. I will need a new computer at some point soon. (Fingers crossed I can hold out until Jan at least!) I also know there will be work to be done on Kori and more than likely new tires for her as well. I also really need a bigger emergency fund because I'm very nervous about how close to the edge I feel at the moment after looking at the numbers. I'd like to avoid more stress if possible.

The morning sun was perfect on these flowers. ^_^


Grand Total Last Month: $39,763.80
New Grand Total: $39519.14
Amount Paid Off: $244.66


Ouch? That is not a number that I wanted to see. I didn't make any extra payments last month in an effort to save up for that promised cruise. I wanted to at least take that pressure away from me so I wouldn't worry about it. With a number like this I would love to just pour all my extra money into my debt. ARG! This is a frustrating scenario. This next month will be just as rough and then November will come. November has two holidays in it and I'm working both. Thank goodness for the extra cash flow a head.

My Computer Died!

Crud. Will have to see if I've got some way to get something soon. :(

CVS - It's been too long . . .

Mostly summer clearance and the St Joseph's baby aspirin that was free after EB.

While I haven't stopped shopping at CVS (I work there after all), I have stopped posting all my trips. Now that I am no longer employed at my part time job (see here) perhaps I will have time and energy to actually get around to posting more regularly. Seems like it's good timing with some good weeks not to long past.

This is from two weeks ago. The Fig Newton Fruit thins were a nice freebie. I really wanted to try these since I've seen them out, but didn't want to pay for them. They also don't exactly fall into my 'less processed' food plans. (See here.) I think I may have some rules for myself soon, but I'm still toying around with a few ideas. I was lucky to get this as about 1/2 through the week or so the coupon stopped printing. I think it was underestimated how many stores got and people ran out quick.

Free tampons, free allergy 5ct (this kind actually worked for Sweetheart!) and a bottle of vanilla (because mine 'home made' hasn't matured yet in it's flavor) for 75% off wraps up the week. Oh! The Reese's are a favorite of Sweethearts and he had a birthday not long before that so I got them as a special treat. I nabbed a bag for $1! (Sale $2, and a $1/1 10-20oz bag from the coupon center.)

I still have two or three items to get this week. I would wait to post, but I don't want to procrastinate because that's what got me off track from posting in the first place. (Hoping for toothpaste, contact solution & body wash.)

3 Dawn Dish soap @ $.99 each = $2.97 (raincheck)
2 Excedrin Migraine 8ct @ $.99 each = $1.98 (I gave these to a friend last night. ^_^)
Thermacare 1ct $3.79
Schick Quattro for Women Cartridges 4ct $8.99
Total Before Coupons: $17.73

3 $1/1 Dawn Dish Soap (Hand Renewal Only), adjusted down to $2.97
$5/1 Schick Quattro for Women Razor or Cartridges (Coupons.com, no longer available)
Total After Coupons: $9.76 + $.12 tax

Received:
$1.98 EB Excedrin (limit 2)
$3.79 EB Thermacare
$4.00 EB Schick Quattro for Women
Net: $.11 cost (so basically a little bit of tax!)

Saving Sunday - Mailbox!

Okay, I'm posting this on Monday. (Luckily I can back date this.) I'm behind on my blogging. I thought I was all caught up, but nope. Running late, again. Why? My boss let me know that as of the 23rd I would no longer be employed at my part time job. He would keep me if he could ("I want to take this out as long as I can"), but the company acquiring his doesn't need me. That doesn't really inspire me to blog much. The good news is I'll get one more paycheck this month, so I can keep my current budget. ^_^

These are items I've gotten in the past month. I haven't been keeping up the the free items as much as I would like. I still love getting these in the mail. A gift to make me smile.

September Budget & Climbing

I'm worried. Worried about what will happen when my part time jobs ends. This month started out relaxing. I went camping with a few of my college friends. I had a great time, even though it rained & rained. There was a severe thunderstorm that caused us to sleep in our cars and and a house close by. (It was bad.) Still lots of fun, but that relaxed feeling is gone.

I have two budgets to run under for the month. I am assuming that before the month is out I will need to switch to the minimum budget. My Sweetheart has already agreed to pick up most of my part of the rent. I will only be able to afford 1/3 of what I currently do. My boss told me to expect about two weeks . . . I'm thinking he means the 15th. I was hoping to be able to finish out the month. *fingers crossed*

The Budget (regular)
Bills (Electric) $104
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46 *Forgot to change this last month
Car Repair $100
Cellphone $36
Clothing $20
Cruise 2012 $50 *A trip that's been in the works for about 3 years.
Free Money $40
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $20
Rent $310
Student Loans $372

Grand Total: $1368/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra funds to be put into savings as I'm not sure when exactly my job will end. I might need the money to 'cushion' a week to make the switch between pay check cycles.

The Budget - minimized

Bills (Electric) $100
Bunnies $30
Car & Renter Insurance $46
Car Repair $60
Cellphone $36
Clothing $10
Cruise 2012 $0 *Gotta make do with what I got.
Free Money $20
Gas $120
Groceries $120
Health $10
Rent $100 *Sweetheart will take over most of the rent when I'm down to one job.
Student Loans $372

Grand Total: $1024/month (Take home pay.)

*Extra funds, treated the same.

The Climb, I feel as if it is slowing to a crawl. I'm still getting somewhere . . . I'm just not sure how the next month will turn out. I had taken some extra funds this month before I knew for certain I would be losing my job shortly. I was really, really hoping I had until the end of the year. No such luck.

I don't really know where I can come up with extra money. Do I need an alternative to working a second job? (Selling on ebay? Creating something and opening an esty shop?) Should I try and find another part time job? Am I going to find one with such a flexible schedule? Will I have an understanding boss if I need to suddenly change my shift last minute? (That would be a tough one to find.) Will it pay as well as this job? If it doesn't, how many more hours will I need to work? Do I have the energy to work two jobs still?

The last question leaves me to believe I shouldn't jump to find something right away. I'm tired. I know there are other people who work two, three or more jobs to make ends meet. I'm running out of steam and fast. When I've been working too much it starts to affect my health. Headaches, stuffy nose (could be allergies or a cold), upset stomachs and digestive systems . . . I notice I feel better when I have just one extra day off. It's time for a break. So when this job is over I will not look for something else until January. I need to chill out.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $40,125.68
New Grand Total: $39,763.80
Amount Paid Off: $361.88

I can get out of debt! I will get out of debt! Just have to do it one small step at a time. My steps might be smaller and slower, but I will do this.

Breaking the Bank

I've been worried for a while. Worried that my part job will come to an end. An end quick and sudden. I know it's coming and there is nothing I can do about it. I have an idea when it might end, but not an exact date.

It's been up in the air for a while. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. My boss is of that age where he would like to retire. As a small business owner it means either going out of business or selling it. Ideally that latter. He's found a buyer and at some point soon they should be signing a contract for it all. When that happens, my job is gone.

At first we (Sweetheart & I) thought it would be fine, as it was implied they were keeping the current employees. Then they did interviews for those on a salary and then the hourly employees. Sweetheart had his interview and it will be on a trail basis. No surprise really, it's almost as if getting a new job with a new company. (A sort of probation period.)

I however was not asked to interview. It's been a little over a week since the hourly employees got interviewed so I asked my boss if I would still have a job once the sale and moving was complete. He told me I wouldn't be working there as soon as he signed the papers. I can't even help with moving.

Now it's a waiting game. Will I still have a job at the end of this month? How about until the end of next month? Or maybe the one after that? There have been at least three dates for the 'takeover' that we've been given. We've passed each one so far without a fuss. So I really wonder how long it will be until it's done.

In the mean time I'm not going to pay extra on my loans. I'm going to save all that I can, because I don't know for sure how it will work out. I've asked Sweetheart to do the same, just in case. I've reworked my budget and it looks short by about $200 a month. Sweetheart says he'll help with that part. Life will be okay . . . just a much tighter budget than before.

CVS

This was from last week's sales. I keep forgetting to bring my coupons to work with me so I haven't made any purchases for this week yet. I grabbed these on Saturday night quick. I feel so strange working a Saturday night, but it was a nice change of pace. I usually enjoy putting up signs. I just don't feel like I'm very quick at them.

Dove Body Wash $5.99
Red Vines $1.00
Total Before Coupons: $6.99

$2/1 Dove Body Wash CVS Coupon Machine
$1/1 Dove Body Wash MQ
$.75/1 Red Vines 5.x oz CVS Coupon Machine (I'll try it for a quarter.)
Total After Coupons: $3.24 + $.18 tax

Received:
$2 EB Dove Body Wash
Net: $1.42

It's hectic at work again. My one co-worker is out on leave. My boss and I have no idea for how long. I have a feeling I might be putting in a few hours of overtime again. Everyone is taking vacations at the moment so the help is harder to come by. My boss and I have vacation time coming up soon too. I hope we can use it. On the brighter side I got to use the bento box again. Not my blue one, the pieces from the other set fit into the bag.

CVS - Candy!

Not much of interested for me this week. I did however plan on getting M&Ms for my candy 'jar'. My 'jar' is actually one of gum ball machines. It's great because when I'm feeling the need for some candy I turn the handle once maybe twice and walk away. I don't tear through bags of candy any more. The Coupon Center gave me a $3 off $15 grocery purchase and a $2/1 Hershey's Reese's Mini's or Drops. Sold!

2 Hershey's Reese's Minis 8oz @ $3.00 each = $6.00
4 M&M Bags (Medium size) @ $2.50 each = $10.00
Total Before Coupons: $16.00

$3 off $15 grocery purchase (CVS coupon)
$2/1 Hershey's Reese's Minis or Drops (CVS Coupon Machine)
$2/2 Hershey's Reese's Minis or Drops
Total After Coupons: $9.00 (used $7 EB + $2.00 cash)

Received:
$3 EB wyb $10 of select Candy
Net: $6.00 (about $1.00 for each bag of candy!)

March Budget & Climbing

February was a good month for me financially. I got in a few extra hours & I sold Lizzy to my brother. His car threw a rod or something. It's dead, no resurrection, short of a new engine. So he bought Lizzy. Took her to my parents mechanic and as far as I know she's running fine. (Not stalling!) Still has that coolant leak to look into & the problem with the heater. I just hope she'll last longer for my brother than his last car. (Which was about 9 months for about $1000.) Yea for bonus money! Let's rebuild the Emergency Fund shall we?

Kori is using TONS LESS GAS than Lizzy ever did. LOL. It's partly better gas millage & partly cutting my normal commute to CVS in almost half. Yep. It's like getting a raise. Better actually because they don't taxes out of it. ^_^

Unfortunately the amount I will be cutting back is going to the be eaten up in the increased rent. Sweetheart volunteered to take it, but he pays more than half already. I feel bad enough as is. This is just an easy switch. Nothing to fuss about.

Decorations at a friend's wedding.

The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36
Cellphone $36
Free Money $40
Gas $140 (works out to $35 a week)
Groceries $100
Rent $310 (increased rent)
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1267/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Extra to the Emergency Fund.
2. Categories on hold: Car Repair, Clothing, Health & Savings.
3. Car Repair to be funded by 5th pay week when it occurs as the inspection is due in May.

A gift for being a bridesmaid.


Emergency Fund:
Last Month: $419.32
This Month: $782.92
Goal: $1,000


As I said, a good month.

The tossing bouquet. Sometimes I think I should have been a photographer.


2011 Goals

Finical Goals

1. Buy A Car (A Reliable Car)
2. Rebuild Emergency Fund So Close
3. Pay my parents Back Not applicable
4. Pay off another smaller loan
5. Save $750 for Cruise 2012!
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents

Non-Finical Goals

1. Develop a sleep pattern - Still working on getting up at a regular time.
2. Lose 20lbs.
-Slight change in plans. First I'm starting to look at what I eat. Each day I'm doing an 'approximate' calorie count to see where I stand. If I'm between 1600-1850 I'm good. (That's the range I should be eating to lose weight.) If I'm over then I'm going to mark how or why. (Chinese Buffet . . . Bad idea.) I want to see how much over eating I'm actually doing. Just the act of looking at this is causing me to measure my food out. (1/2 cup chex mix instead of the entire bag at one sitting.)
-I started to gain weight with changes in my diet, including eating out more. Sweetheart treats me out about once or twice a week. I'm okay with that, but rather eat at home. Sometimes I'm just too tired to care or too stressed. When I'm stressed & tired I choose fatty, high calorie foods. Then his parents will turn around and invite us out to eat (and then pay). It all adds up. Time for me to start looking really hard at menus and make better choices.
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch'. - Still working on it. Kinetics Sports anyone?
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night. - Improving, but a far cry from it.
5. Clean the apartment more often. - Set up a 'schedule' on a three week rotation: Living area/Kitchen, Bathroom & Bedroom.


Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $42,844.31
New Grand Total: $42,547.41
Amount Paid Off: $296.90

Fairy Wings of a bridesmaid. Each one had a different color to represent the four elements: Earth, Air, Water & Fire.

Here's hoping for another good month. If I'm very, very lucky I can finish off the emergency fund either by the end of this month or next.

Belated V-Day

I'm not much for Valentine's Day. I didn't start dating until collage, so it's always had this slightly bitter taste. Working at CVS I'm amazed how many people wait until the last minute just to get a card. It's crazy! It's not like it was a surprise to everyone. We started putting out the VD stuff as soon as Christmas started to clear.

I was easily amazed at how much people were spending. $8 for a card? $5 for a single rose? I won't even talk about the guy who bought a balloon, two bears and resuarnt gift cards on top of things like that. All for one person. (He wanted it all in one gift bag!) It just doesn't feel like a day about love with all that rushing around.

Luckily I insist on doing it the day after. Or even waiting until a month latter on Pi day. No sense in paying twice as much for merchandise. I did however enjoy a quiet dinner at home with Sweetheart. He was really cute this year. He took a picture of the bunnies and wrote on it "Some Bunnies Loves You. You Make Us Very Hoppy!" He's corny like that, but sweet. He set it as the background on my computer so I was surprised when I turned it on. ^_^

I had fun 'making' the center piece for our meal. Still not quiet what I want for the metal spinner thing. (I ripped it off a display at work when we went to throw it out.) I'm hopping to get a large wooden plate to stick on it. My own Lazy Susan.

Hope everyone had a good time celebrating love.

February Budget & Climbing

Time again for the recap. I'm in a budget crunch due to taking out a large portion of my emergency fund to buy a car. The good news is I now have a car that works & does not stall from point A to point B.

Meet Kori. She's a '99 Toyota Corolla. She currently has a little over 160,000 miles, but runs strong. Best part is I got her within 'budget' and I will not have any car payments. And I didn't have to borrow any money from my parents. She is mine free & clear. Yippie!

Not sure what's going to happen with Lizzy. She's a good car, but needs some work. Hopefully once I get a little extra money ($200?) I can take her to another mechanic and get a second opinion. If she's really easy to fix I'll get her fixed and give (sell for the price to fix) to my sister who doesn't have a car yet. That's what I'm hoping for. I really think she could go for another 50,000 miles or more. She runs great except for that stalling problem!

That all being said, my emergency fund was wiped out to about $200. Ouch! I need to rebuild that stat! Luckily January was a very kind month in the way of working. So I've doubled what was left in the emergency fund. February is not looking to be so lucky. This is going to take some time. With that in mind some adjustments are to be made.

Ice storm took out a few tress around here.

The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36 *Stayed the same!
Cellphone $36
Free Money $40 *$10 a week isn't much, but it's enough
Gas $180 *Small adjustment. Kori uses far less gas already, but I don't want leap before I take a good hard look. I'll give it some more time.
Groceries $100
Rent $280
Student Loans $472

Grand Total: $1277/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Everything extra goes to rebuild the emergency fund. There are no 'savings' as this fund gets rebuilt.
2. Categories on hold: Car Repair, Clothing, Health & Savings. All current funds in these areas are holding steady until the emergency fund is full. These will be treated temporarily as emergency funds if a situation warrants between now and then.


Emergency Fund:
Last Month: $202.84
This Month: $419.32
Goal: $1,000.00

It looks so pretty!

I'm not doing to well on a lot of non-finical goals. Really, it's been a bad month for it. Maybe it has to do with having a lot of hours at work? Things are slowing down so here's hoping for free time and a chance to make good on those goals. Although that will slow down the finical goals.

2011 Goals

Finical Goals

1. Buy A Car (A Reliable Car)
2. Rebuild Emergency Fund
3. Pay my parents Back Not applicable
4. Pay off another smaller loan
5. Save $750 for Cruise 2012!
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents

Non-Finical Goals

1. Develop a sleep pattern - Getting there. I need to try and get up on time. Going to bed isn't too bad.
2. Lose 20lbs. - This is the next one to really work on. I need to plan exercise time.
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch'. - Um . . working on it . . .
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night. - Getting closer?
5. Clean the apartment more often. - Totally didn't happen. Time for a major clean up this weekend.


Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $43,140.15
New Grand Total: $42,844.31
Amount Paid Off: $295.84


This is going to be SLOW!

2011 Goals

There are many things I want to accomplish in 2011. I'm not sure I will be able to do it all, but I will give it a try. Some goals are financially oriented and others not so much. I want to make a list here so I can easily find them latter. I want to be able to say I can do it all, but life may well have other plans for me.

Finical Goals
~Listed in order of importance to me.

1. Buy A Car (A Reliable Car) - Not much of a choice on this one.
2. Rebuild Emergency Fund - Goal: $1000
3. Pay my parents Back - if applicable, could be up to $1000
4. Pay off another smaller loan - Would need an additional $150 to have it paid in Dec.
5. Save $750 for Cruise 2012! - If this doesn't happen I might not be able to go
6. Start a Gift Fund for Presents - So I'm not at the mercy of hoping to earn extra funds or using all my free money.

Non-Finical Goals
~No particular order
1. Develop a sleep pattern - I don't get enough sleep because I would go to bed too late and get up early. Maybe with my job being closer to home & not out until almost eleven I will be more consistent.
2. Lose 20lbs. - Better to aim for something than nothing at all. This is slightly less than 10% of my current body weight. I feel it would be a good start.
3. Do more stuff that doesn't involve sitting & playing games on the 'couch' (it's not really a couch, just my old twin bed).
4. No more dirty dishes in the sink @ the end of the night.
5. Clean the apartment more often. (Aiming for every other week.)

January Budget & Climbing

I'm afraid her time may have come. It's been a good 4 years.

December wasn't the easiest month. Lizzy is not fixed by any stretch of the imagination and I still have really been able to find a car in budget. It's frustrating the heck out of me! I came really close to getting a car, but someone else came in only a few hours after I did and had the thing on hold. I want a night to think about it, only to have it turned up on hold when I called two days latter and sold the next day. Ouch! Rotten luck that.

It's really been discouraging that so many people shake their heads when I ask if they have a car for under $2500, or even $3000. Just wish I could find something. I need one soon. Lizzy is now most definitely leaking coolant. Her temperature light came on today. The mechanic filled it when I had her looked at for the stall problem. So it was an emergency stop for me to grab some coolant from K-Mart. *sighs*

This is going to wipe me clean. All the leaping and bounding I feel that I've done in my effort to climb out of this hole of debt is going to come to a stand still. Nothing to be done. I might even need to borrow money from my parents to get a good car. Taking a few steps back so I can move forward. I'm not looking forward to it.

2011

I am hoping for a good year. I am planning on a good year, although I will not be climbing out of debt as fast as I was. I can happily say I do have one less loan to worry about this year. It wasn't a big one, but it does free up about $25/month. Some breathing room as I am about to take a 4-5 hour cut a week on average at my main job. (CVS)

The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30
Car Insurance $36 *Slightly more than I needed, may go up with a new car.
Cellphone $36 *Adjusted to compensate for unlimited family texting plan
Free Money $40 *Varies slightly depending on second job
Gas $190 *Hoping once I get a 'new' car I can adjust this down
Groceries $100
Rent $280
Savings $65 *I need to rebuild the emergency fund
Student Loans $472 *One Less Loan

Grand Total: $1352/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Health up to $28
2. Clothing up to $40
3. Everything Else: Emergency Fund

Dreamsacpe: An image that lingers in my mind. 2nd rendition


Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $43,528.26
New Grand Total: $43,140.15
Amount Paid Off: $388.11


Not quiet the grand finally that I was waiting for. On the up side since keeping careful track of all my debt I've managed to pay off a grand total of $3932.22! Not to shabby. Some of it would have come off over the normal coarse of paying it down, but not all of it. I'm getting there.

Falling Behind

It's been an 'exciting' week. Sweetheart was sick from Tuesday 'til Saturday. I started feeling ill Sunday night and ended up calling off on Monday. I'm mostly better, but still not 100%.

Lizzy is being a problem child and stalled on me again Sunday morning on my way to work! Yikes! No other options now. I must get a 'new' car because not knowing what's wrong is driving me crazy! She only stalls when she's cold so I'm going to have to warm her up for about 5 minutes or so every time before I drive. What the heck is wrong with my car?

Hoping to get another post up tonight. Maybe two? Catching up on CVS & Rite Aid. I'll be back in the swing of things soon! As long as there are no more mishaps. *sighs*

Making Gift Baskets

I decided to gift baskets for my friends this year. (My first attempt at this.) I'm short on funds because of the car trouble and worried about having to possibly dip into my emergency fund. So far, so good. If nothing else packaging up these gift baskets means less money my friends have to spend. They shrug off my couponing talk and just aren't interested. (Or at least they don't appear to be.)


1. Gather all possible goodies to see what you can make of it. (That's a lot of stuff!)


2. Make a selection.


3. Start packing it up. I used the funnies from the paper as filler to lift up smaller items. To make it festive I put a layer of tissue paper over top. (Not that you can see it mind after all the stuff goes in it.)



4. Have fun with the arrangement!


5. Sometimes it has to be left behind. (Just couldn't make it look nice without just shoving it in. Sometimes less is more.)



6. Wrap her up!

Bonus! The Guy's stuff. (Not pictures are the raiser starter sets. See here.)

These were fairly well received. Some people were poking fun at the items. ("Are you saying I smell?" "She got me Toilet Paper!") Coming from my friends it more than likely means acceptance, although it's always hard for me to take the teasing. I get WAY too serious about it.

December Budget & Climbing

Burning Desire

I had absolutely every intention of having this up on the 1st of this month. My budget was already to go about a week before hand. I was excited at really giving this 'minimized' budget a go around. (Up 'til this point I still had auto withdraws for the 'extra' sections I planned in last month.) I was really looking forward to accelerating the pay off of my loans. Now . . . we'll see . . .

On Wednesday after getting home Sweetheart & I were a bit tired from working all day. (Getting up at 5:30am will do that to you.) So we decided to go out to eat. We hop into the my car and drove two or three 'blocks' down the road. Stopped at a red light to make a left. Just as we got the green arrow my car stopped. More specifically the engine stopped running.

PANIC!

Turn on the blinkers. Not happy. I'm stopped in the middle of a busy road and can't start my car. The vehicle behind me is not happy as my Sweetheart waves him around. Please remember, when someone puts on their blinkers chances are they are having problems. Don't go cursing them out for a car that will not start. Not their fault. *sighs*

I managed to get the car started again and make my left turn. Only one street up and there's a stop sign. Pause. Start to go through only to have the engine cut off again. WHAT?! Now we push the car to the side of the road. Turn on the blinkers and wait. After a minute or two start the car and let it idle for a bit. After another minute put her into drive, take the foot off the petal . . . no running engine.

ARGH! Thank goodness my mom got me AAA for my birthday. I'm never been so thankful in my life for AAA. I always thought of it as a 'discount club.' No more I say! If you don't have AAA get your rear in gear and get it! You never know what might happen on road. (I recommend the plus because of the 50 mile free towing.)

My mechanic looked at the car and couldn't find the problem. The coolant was low, but the car wasn't on that long for it to really be the problem. He cleaned out some other part and turned up the idle. Hopefully it's all fixed. I've been debating back and forth if I need to get a new to me car.

I've come to the conclusion that I at least need to save for a new car and fast. I really hope I can run Lizzy for another year at least. I do have my emergency fund, but rather not tap that to get a car. I'm going to be set back a little to get money for the car with paying the mechanic and for the car rental. I don't like where this is going.

I've felt so empowered knowing that I have one of my many loans paid off. (Within a few cents actually.) I was hoping to give that news latter because it was technically paid off this month, but I'm so frustrated! I wasn't happy to hear one of my co-workers respond to me "It's time you got into debt like the rest of America."

First, I'm in debt already. I've got student loans coming out my ears. If having to pay about $500 a month on student loans isn't debt, what the heck is? Second, I'm not 'the rest of America." I don't intend to be. That's not my goal. My goal is to be debt free. I was 15 when I was asked to write down a goal I had for when I became an adult. I said I wanted to be debt free by age 30. I still do! It seems a little unrealistic, but that doesn't mean I can't try. This is almost as demoralizing as my one friend telling me "I'll always have credit card debt." You don't have to. Why do people insist it's the only way to live?

Without Further Ado, The Budget:
Bills (Electric) $103
Bunnies $30 *Last month was more than what I needed, adjust
Car Insurance $42
Cellphone $30
Free Money $40 *Varies slightly depending on second job
Gas $190 *Gas went up almost $.20/gal in about two weeks. Ouch! Most of the money I was going to 'save' just got lost again.
Groceries $100
Rent $280
Savings $40 *Car? I'm considering it.
Student Loans $497 *May be reduced soon, not sure how the auto deduction will change.

Grand Total: $1372/month (Take home pay.)

Extra Funds Notes:
1. Health up to $28
2. Clothing up to $40
3. Saving for a Car $$ Everything else

*December will have a 5th pay week. All extra funds that week will go towards saving for a new to me car. All 'monthly' expenses (ie Rent, Loans, ect) are considered extra money for that week.


I'll climb straight up a wall if I have to.

Monthly Climb!!!
Grand Total Last Month: $44,304.82
New Grand Total: $43,528.26
Amount Paid Off: $776.56


It was a good month. One holiday plus the 5th pay day from the previous month. Extra clean in my checking account. Don't think I'll see these numbers again for a while. I should make a goal amount to save up to before looking for a car. I think I might be able to grab a decent one for $2000? Time to start talking with people. Thank goodness there are more holidays coming.

Happy Chaukkah!

Only picture I have at the moment. Where's my camera?

101 Posts!

I just noticed that my previous post was my 100th post! It amazes me how much I enjoy doing all this shopping for deals & posting them along with my debt climb. Now if only I could be a bit more consistent with the posting. Hopefully I can make myself out a schedule soon.

I missed my normal Sunday post rushing to get to work and then over night at my parents so I could see my mom in the hospital. She had a breast reduction (choice: breast reduction or more fusions in her neck) and there were some minor complications. That's actually really good for her, because usually she ends up with major complications and ends up there for almost a week.

In one of our conversations she was telling me how wonderful it was to breath while lying on her back. Can you image suffocating because your body made your breast to big? Makes me wonder how much I take for granted. (Such as my health in general.)

So congrats to Mutti on her breast reduction and yea for me & my blog!

Cheap Date

Sometimes it's fun to have a really cheap date. McDonald's recently had their traditional Monopoly game going one. Sweetheart & I ventured over once a week to take a chance. In the process we won some 'free' items. We decided to use up some fry & McFlurry coupons. There was also a coupon for a free sandwich from KFC when you buy a 30oz drink. Normally I don't want something that large but it made for a cheap meal. Sweetheart instead on getting some biscuits, but $.99 for two isn't that bad.


Total cost $5.07.
A yummy dinner with my Sweetheart = priceless. ^_^
(Too many commercials I tell you!)