MissAngel's Personal Finance Blog

I'll spend it all tomorrow. (Sorry Scarlett O'Hara for the steal of your line)

I have had a very pretty run of NSDs lately. I have to find something else to fixate on, because it is getting a bit tedious reading it, I'm sure. I think I spent money on Monday and then haven't spent anything since. Today should be another--but tomorrow will definitely be a spend day.

First the Bug goes in for his 140,000 mile service. They said at the dealership when I made the appointment that it shouldn't be too bad. I have budgeted $100, so we'll see where land. Then, onto the grocery store. I'm running out of healthy food to eat, so have to get more. Tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries--things to eat with no weight watchers points. And cat food. Don't forget the cat food.

After that, I'm heading over to Noodles, where I have a BOGO coupon. I'm going to eat one there and take one to go. I love their Japanese Pan Noodles. I'm going to try their Bangkok Curry as my other dish. Then onto Verizon, where my boyfriend's best friend works and I'm hoping to get him to put a new screen protector on my phone. Mine is peeling up at the corner. It has lasted two years, so I'm not complaining. I'm not getting a new phone and I can turn him down without feeling too bad about it.

On my way home, I'll hit my local grocery store for bottled water (wish our home water didn't taste so bad--even with a Britta pitcher it sucks), and they have cherries on sale. Oh wait, before that I will finally go to Kohl's and get that tablecloth.

While I'm at the dealership, I will work on my homework (very few distractions there). I will bring my coffee from home and will probably eat my bagel on the way. I will bring a Banana to snack on.

Boyfriend is thinking of going dirt bike racing on Saturday, so I might have part of the day at home by myself. It does give me a bit of incentive to get my errands done early so I can go home and watch my DVRed shows! Actually, I only have one show on the DVR right now--an Iron Chef America. I could get a bit of cleaning done and blast my music! Now THAT is something to look forward to!

It's a coincidence, Dad.--The Simpsons

Yesterday ended up being an accidental NSD. I had totally planned to spend money at Kohls, buying that red tablecloth I didn't buy on Monday. I planned on spending about $10 out of pocket. I have a $10 off of $10 card and a 15% off coupon.

I left class around 9 PM and could hear the thunder and see lightning. By the time I was near Kohls, it was pouring rain and thundering like crazy. I figured it was a sign to not go to Kohls and spend money---so I went home! Watched a bit of the hockey game, read a couple pages of my book and went to bed.

Today when I opened up my email, there was a coupon for 20% off at Kohls. I was going to use the coupon for 15% off, so driving right on by worked well for me this time!

On a non-money related issue, I've been back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon for over a week now. I am an online member and it is very easy for me to stop tracking and fall off the wagon. Also, it is very easy for me to get back on. So, I'm back on. Swimsuit weather is here and I just need to drop a few pounds. I know weight watchers works--that's how I lost all the weight in the first place. I just need to buckle down a bit and follow the plan. It does seem to get easier to make good choices and decide that the cupcake just isn't worth it sometimes.

Kind of like finance.....

Only 3 more Economics classes! I like the professor and the information is OK, but I will be so glad to not have homework hanging over my head. By next week Thursday, the class will be over! I may have to celebrate by getting some take out Chinese! ;-)

Last night after class I went to Kohl's, as expected. I just didn't find anything I wanted to buy--even with the $10 gift card. I was wandering around the store, picking things up and putting things down and suddenly thought "this is dumb" and walked out of the store. After mental debate, I just might go back and buy the red tablecloth that I was eyeballing. I've had "red tablecloth" on my wish list for a while, so I think for $10 out of pocket, it's an OK deal. I'll do that Wednesday after class.

Then I went to Meijers and bought milk, bananas, bread, watermelon, tomatoes, butter, grapes, and some Crystal Light drink mixes (coupon). I'm trying to kick the Diet Coke habit and I thought having some flavored something would help. I've also been buying fizzy fruit juice drinks to help with this too. Diet Coke is so hard to resist to me! I spent $22. I still have $132 left out of my $250 food budget.

I am so ready for a vacation--only it isn't going to happen. I do have the 5th of July off, making that weekend a 4 day weekend, but we have no real plans. The only thing from having me throw a fit is the fact that our neighbors talked about a trip to Mexico...and at the Homeowner's meeting we found out that they have never paid their HOA dues since they moved in. Since I want to be fiscally responsible, I know that a vacation isn't in the cards. I would dearly love to go camping in the pop-up, but boyfriend just isn't a camper. He was excited about the pop-up, but only as a vehicle to have at the dirt bike track for race weekends.

Mom is coming to visit me in September and I've taken time off for that, so maybe she and I will go pop up camping! :-)

It was a NSWeekend this weekend. I went shopping on Friday at the grocery store and didn't spend another dime. I will today!

Saturday we went to the homeowners association meeting in the morning. An hour and a half of not-so-exciting stuff. Afterwards, we resisted all temptation and went home. I cleaned the house while boyfriend worked on the yard. We're having sprinkling put it in a few weeks and he wanted to start getting ready for that. We just had black dirt trucked in to give our poor grass seed a bit of a boost. Lots of yard work things being done this year! After I cleaned the house, I went for a run.

Side note: I am actually proud of myself for running 4 times last week. That I actually got up out of bed and went for runs--or did them after doing something else is something that is not easy for me to do. I want to get more exercise into my life and I do enjoy running. There is a Nike app that I use and can have people cheer for me on facebook. It seems to be the thing to get me out of the house and on the road. I hope I can keep this up.

When we were both done with our chores, we watched motocross, then some hockey, then went to bed. While I watched these sports, I was also paging through a magazine and looking at recipes to try to figure out what this week's new recipe was going to be. I hardly ever just watch sports.

Sunday we woke up early. Too early. I was hoping to sleep in to do more catching up on sleep. Oh well. By 9 AM I was inline skating on the paved trail near our house. I have to drive to the park to get to the paved trail, which is a bit of a bummer. But the trail itself is beautiful and I skated about an hour--just out and back.

Came home and prepared food stuff for the week. Lunches, made the cookies from this week's new recipe, made up taco meat for boyfriends tacos that he will eat for dinner or a snack. Just did all the kitchen stuff in one shot. Then relaxed until boyfriends' hockey game.

Today I ran in the morning before work. I was afraid it was going to rain on me, but it held off (yay!) and I was able to run 2 miles. I notice that my morning miles are much slower than miles I do later in the day. Legs just aren't awake yet, I guess. I'll work until 5, then go to class. Right before class I'm dropping off my old microwave to a co-worker who is collecting kitchen stuff for a young woman who seems to need everything to get on her own. My microwave was just sitting in the attic since boyfriend and I moved in together, so I offered it to her and she accepted.

After class I hope to go to Kohls, then Meijers. I have a $10 off $10 coupon they sent me, plus a 15% off coupon. I'm going to check out the sandals because the pair that I've been wearing for 10 years finally died. If they don't have something I like, then I'll get some kitchen towels or something similar. Then to Meijers for fresh fruits and bread for lunches.

Yesterday managed to be a NSD--which always makes me happy. Went to work, walked at lunch, went to the library after work (no puzzles to tempt me), got home, changed and went for a run. I ended up going to bed at 9:30. I was sitting on the couch, writing in my journal about how short-sleeped I felt, and thought "how dumb am I? Go to Bed!" So I did.

I can tell I am short on sleep because I'm slightly irritated at things that would normally not bother me. And I want to eat everything in sight. And I have attitude about EVERYTHING. So I went to bed. Brilliant!

Today I went to the grocery store on the bus at lunch. Keeps the list short and sweet and you can only carry so much home on the bus! I bought bananas, celery, cherries, 2 bags of coffee beans (on sale and I had a coupon!), 2 boxes of ice cream treats (another coupon), a diet coke (oops), and I was very, very hungry so I bought a pre-made fruit cup. The fruit cup was well worth the 1.75--cured my hunger in a healthy way and reminded me how much I love melon. Need to get some melon for the lunches--not in a pre-made container!! Total for it all: $30. Should last me most of next week.

It looks like that will be my only spending today. I plan on eating tacos for dinner (everything already at home), boyfriend has some leftover pizza to eat. Tomorrow we have a Homeowners' Association meeting, but other than that, no plans. He wants to work on the yard and I need to do some cleaning in the house. I really am a homebody. I love that we don't really have plans.

I love reading about other people and how they need to tighten their belts--like CB is doing. It inspires me to try to follow their lead. I need to keep on the straight and narrow myself--and in looking at the budget, I have five cents left in the personal care category. So no buying from there for the rest of this month! The rest of the budget is doing OK, but it IS only the 7th!

Yesterday when I went to buy the cheese sticks for boyfriend's lunch, they had only 2 left. I bought the two and the cashier let me know that they were getting a truck in that night and would have more in the morning. So, this morning on my way into work, I stopped by and bought 6 more for next week's lunches ($6). I hope that is the only spending I will do today.

The farmers' market is on campus today, but after much mental debate, I realized I have enough in the house right now, so I just walked over and looked, but didn't buy. Maybe next week. A big factor is that I have class tonight and don't have a good way to keep stuff from baking in the car while I'm in class. I just might bring a cooler next week!

I find out how I did on my test tonight. After tonight, only two more weeks of classes. I think I can. I think I can. I'm so ready to read a pleasure book without the threat of homework hanging over my head. I also know that eventually this will all be worth it, but it does seem very far off. There are days when I wonder why I'm even getting a 2nd degree. I like my job; my pay is decent. Why am I stressing myself out?

On a good note, I am in love with google docs. I now keep my budget there and can easily access it from work and home and anywhere else. It's so nice to be able to update it or pull it up to see where I stand.

Yesterday ended up being a NSD. I didn't mean to do it, but when I tried to buy the cheese sticks for lunches, they didn't have any. So I didn't end up spending anything.

I did have a test in my class, so I was stressing about that. Instead of going for a walk at lunch, I studied. Not sure how I did; I didn't feel very confident when I turned it in. More of a "well, might as well turn it in now because I'm not going to get any smarter in the next five minutes!" I had already gone over my answers once and just decided to turn it in and go for a quick walk around the building.

Today I have made up for yesterday. I bought my gas for the month ($125), picked up my cleaning ($17), bought water, cheese sticks, bread, lunch chocolate, parmesan cheese, and tortilla chips ($19). I received a $5 Amazon gift certificate from swagbucks and found 27 cents on the ground.

I will be going home after work and riding the bike on the trainer while watching some TV. Then, onto studying and reading for tomorrow nights class. It's an exciting life I lead!

I managed to make the last day of May a NSD. Yay! Then I spent a lot of money on Saturday. More on that in a minute.

May numbers
Item---budget---spent
Rent---$550---$550
Cell Phone---$67---$66.60
Donation---$50---$50
Student Loan---$366.04---$366.04

Gas (car)---$100---$100
Household---$100---$93
Grocery---$300---$270
Entertainment/Restaurant---$100---$50
Car Maintenance---$0---$0
Clothes---$50---$75
Personal Care---$100---$24.95
Gifts---$50---$87

Extra money in: $381.04 (sold a textbook, did good on surveys 'n stuff, money from the ex for the student loan)

All extra money not spent in a certain category this month went towards the Visa bill.

Saturday was a spendy day: Groceries $41, Personal care $77 (hair cut & color, plus eyeball stuff, face wash, girl stuff), out to eat $17, household $43 (mostly cat food & litter). Whew! What a way to start June with a bang!

Yesterday was a NSD. The in-laws came over to borrow the power washer. The summer session of hockey started up. I studied for my test today. I still don't feel ready. But I doubt I ever will. Not sure about my decision to take a 6 week summer course!!!

I was all set for a NSD yesterday. I was on my way home and I stopped by the library to pick up a book they had on hold for me. In the lobby is a basket where people leave old magazines for others to take. I had a small stack of Real Simple magazines to drop off. There wasn't any magazines I was tempted by and I turned around to go into the library and There. It. Was.

A Wysocki puzzle on the Friends of the Library shelf. Our local Friends of the Library will sell books, CDs, and puzzles to raise funds for their various projects. I've purchased a puzzle from there before and I believe they check to make sure all the pieces are there before they will sell it. Anyways, for $1 I could not resist it. I enjoy doing puzzles and Wysocki puzzles are the only ones I own.

There goes my NSD! Oh well, that is the only thing I spent and I still had money in my entertainment category. It was a quiet night at home, just doing some not-for-class reading. It was entirely too hot to sleep. We don't have central air and the window air conditioner hasn't been installed in our room yet. I think it will probably happen this weekend. It should be a NSD today, but tomorrow I anticipate doing quite a bit of spending. Hair, Sams Club, Meijer, maybe even a bit of take out Chinese.

Happy Friday!

So I was complaining in my last entry that saving $300/month seemed easier before. Then it hit me this morning: I now pay the full amount towards the student loan and the ex sends me his portion with a check. I don't dare count on this happening (although it has happened for about six months now), so I essentially have an extra $240 coming out of my budget every month on paper. When I get his check, it all will go into savings. But, again, I don't count on it the way I count on my paycheck.

Oh yeah. That. So now I'll jiggle with the numbers again, taking that into account. Maybe the budget won't seem quite so tight then.

Also, Petunia100 had a great idea of rolling over whatever I don't spend in a category into the next month's budget. I'm showing how much of a long time lurker I am--there used to be someone on here years ago who was trying to do a budget based on minimum wage and in her spreadsheets, she would roll over her amounts to the next month. I was always inspired by her posts because she seemed to take such pleasure in simple things like drinking hot tea and footie PJs.

Yesterday I took myself out to Subway for dinner between work and class. $8. Wow. That was even with a leftover gift card that I've been meaning to use up for months now. Subway has gotten expensive. Then after class, I ran to WalMart and spent $18 on top of the $25 gift card I had. I got most everything on my list and used about $3.25 in coupons.

What did I buy? (kinda boring, I know)
2 - Weight Watchers Ice cream (coupon)
3 - gallons of water (track, truck, home water)
1/2 gallon of milk
bag of yellow popcorn
chocolate chips
fun size hershey's bars (pack of 10 for lunches)
homemade mac & cheese meal
2 boxes granola bars (track food) (coupon)
3 boxes of lean cuisine egg rolls (work lunches on class days) (coupon)
pound of butter
2 jars spaghetti sauce (coupon)
jar of strawberry jam
loaf of bread

So now I hope to not spend anything for the next two days. There are slim pickin's for fruit/veggies for lunch, but I'll survive. I have a list already started for Saturday shopping. Since I have a hair appointment that day, I'm going to be out and about anyway.

Still working out the kinks in my budget. I must be a geek because I've been playing with the spreadsheet numbers and playing with the numbers and playing with the numbers. I am thankful that I have numbers to play with, but I'm wondering about my sanity. My first goal is to pay off the credit card. So all my extra money is getting thrown at that. After that, I'd like to save $300 a month. It feels like I was able to do that easily before the whole ex business came up, but now that I'm working with actual budget numbers, I wonder how that ever happened.

I wonder if I'm one of those people that don't do well with a budget because I tend to spend money in all the categories because I budgeted that amount. I budget $50 on clothes, guess I'll go buy some clothes, even if I don't actually "need" the clothes. Otherwise, I wouldn't even think about buying clothes unless I know I need socks.

Anyway, I'm working on the numbers for June already. I know I have a hair appointment and a car appointment, so I have to make sure to budget money for those things. Need to have some money in the gifts category for Dad's day and boyfriend's birthday. So add a little here, subtract a little there.....

This past weekend was a complete NSD weekend. I spent money on Friday, then didn't spend anything until yesterday. I bought beef jerkey cheese sticks for boyfriends lunch--$3. That's all I spent. I returned cans for $1.50 and found a quarter, dime, and a penny. Almost enough "in" money to pay for the cheese sticks!

Today I have work, then class after work. On my way home, I'm going to swing by WalMart to use my $25 gift card from my credit card reward points. I'll use it for boring stuff like groceries for the week. I anticipate having to spend a couple of dollars above the $25 to get everything on my list. This could very well be the last spending for the month. Cross your fingers for me!

It is perfect weather this weekend. I have a long weekend and I'm really enjoying it.

On Friday, I spent $14 on groceries for the weekend after work and then spent $41 on underthings online. There has been no spending since then.

Saturday we went to the dirt bike track. When we go, we pack food and drinks. We just hung out with people and enjoyed the day. Came home, watched some professional dirt bike riders on the TV, then hockey, then went to bed.

This morning we both woke up really early. Too early. I did some house cleaning, then went outside and helped pull the biggest weeds from the yard. We're trying to reseed our yard so we have grass, not a bunch of weeds. A few weeks ago, boyfriend used the tiller and tilled up the whole yard. Then we put down grass seed and starter fertilizer. We do have quite a bit of grass growing, but some of the weeds have arrived too.

After some lunch and showering, we watched the Indy 500 and took a nap somewhere between lap 50 and 20 laps to the end. Boyfriend cooked up some steaks on the grill for dinner and I made up some mac & cheese. Yum. Now to just relax a little longer. I still have a bit of cleaning to do, and I really should study, but for now.....

I managed to have a NSD yesterday! It was much easier once I got home, but until then, it was touch and go.

Today, however, I have spent a little money. I bought a pair of jeans, some velcro, raised bed boxes for a garden, and took myself out to eat for lunch.

Jeans: $32. I own two pair of "good" (aka not paint stained, holey jeans). On Sunday I was crawling on the counter in the bathroom and when I got down, I snagged my jeans on the hook for the hand towel and ripped a hole in the butt.

Velcro: $4. Our new curtains for the living room don't quite stay shut as I would like when we go to close them for privacy.

Raised bed boxes: $56. This is one I kinda had a fit and just bought them. I bought two boxes to start my garden. I could've, should've waited or not even bought them at all. I want to plant some tomatoes and I'm running out of time if I want to have some this year. In the long run, this will be frugal, but I AM still paying off the attorney. Wait. No excuses. I did it and I'm not taking them back.

Out to lunch: $1. I had a Panera gift card, so my out of pocket only ended up being $1 for a salad and an iced chai latte. Yum.

I will probably spend a bit more money on my way home, but I'm looking to a pretty frugal weekend. No plans that I know of, but my boyfriend did buy some good steaks to burn on the grill. That's what I get to look forward to!

I'm still here, but the six week Economics course is really taking up any free time I have. I do want to keep blogging to try to keep myself on the straight and narrow when it comes to finances.

So, just jump in where you are, right?

Yesterday I spent $30 on groceries; $6 on gifts; $3 on out to eat/entertainment. I'm under budget in most of my budget categories--except gifts.

The drama with the ex-husband/old mortgage is now over (for me). I settled with the bank and they dismissed the case against me. Yay! It took all I have in savings and I had to pay the attorney with my Visa. So, my next financial goal is to pay that off. I hope to pay it off by the end of July. It's around $2500, but I think if I can live super frugally, I can get it paid. It does help that July is a 3 paycheck month for me, so that's where the extra paycheck money is gonna go this time.

Darn.

Today I want it to be a NSD, but I am really struggling with it. I didn't get much sleep last night, it is cold and rainy here, and I'm very grouchy. This is when I want to run to McD's and get french fries. Or get take-out chinese on the way home. Something to "treat" myself. I can come up with more excuses to "treat" myself--I'm full of them! I have a packed lunch here at work that I'm hoping will fight off the french fry urge.

What I really want is a nice nap, then a nice walk--preferably outside in sunshine, then to settle into a comfortable chair and read. Unfortunately, I'm at work for another five hours, and I don't see any of that happening. Maybe the book.

Here's to hoping that a good night's sleep will make tomorrow bright!

The financial issues with the ex seem to be over! I signed papers and sent off a cashiers check on Thursday, so now I can get back to normal finance business! I'm so excited!

Unfortunately, between the attorney and the cashiers check, I have no savings and I'm going to have a bit of a Visa bill to pay off now. I'm confident that I will have that paid off within two months. It will be a tight two months, but I'm up for it.

So far for the month of May, I've spent $43. $2 for the cashiers check, $17 for food (grape tomatoes, apples, greek frozen yogurt, peanut butter pretzels), $2 for clothes (I had a $10 off $10 Kohls coupon, so I bought me a polo shirt), and $12 for take out Chinese to celebrate the end of the ex business.

Mom's day presents and cards are done. For Mom, I sent her a new mp3 player that she asked for. She uses it to walk and listen to books on tape while she sews, so I feel good about that gift. My ex-MIL gets a magazine subscription that I knew we both liked. My step-mom is getting a matching ticket to a baseball game---my Dad's birthday is in May, so I thought a fun present for both would be going to a game.

I have one more birthday at the end of the month (ex-MIL) and I am not sure what to get her at all.

Today we're going to the dirt bike track (very cheap for me). Tomorrow I go to a graduation party, then watch SO's hockey game. I have a card for the graduate, but need to write out a check. I also hope to go for a long run tomorrow. Gotta get ready for the 10K next week!!

Item---Budget---Actual---difference
Rent: 550---550---0
Cell: 67---66.66---.34
Donation: 50---50---0
Student Loan: 366.04---366.04---0

Gas: 100---100---0
Household: 195---224---(-29)
Grocery: 310---331---(-21)
Entertain/Restaur: 150---194---(-44)
Car main: 0---0---0
Clothes: 60---66---(-6)
Personal Care: 114---$113---1
Gifts: 0---96---(-96)

Extra income: 371.74 (ex student loan payment, amazon gift cards, found money, reward gift cards, can deposit return

I went over my budget by about $200 overall. Other than gifts, I'm hoping to keep spending down to a minmum for May.

Went a little crazy this past few days. I will definitely, positively be over budget on many categories when this all plays out. Dang.

I was going to have a whole pile of NSDs this month. I will still meet my goal of 14, but this past week was just going to add to the total. Instead....well.....

Wednesday, SO needed me to drive him to his van, where it was fixed. Since I was going to be "in town" anyway, I decided to get the errands done that I was going to get done on Saturday when I had to be in town for work. So, to the Apple store to exchange my wrong laptop cord for the right laptop cord. Then to Home Depot to pick up the cushions I ordered online and had delivered to the store.

Then to Meijers for groceries 'n stuff. Spent $7 on clothes (black socks for work, snaps to fix a lunchbag with a busted zipper), $17 on household/cats, $14 on groceries, and $11 on personal stuff (including $4 on nail polish that I didn't NEED, but wanted).

Then to pick up $21 worth of Chinese for take out. Yum!

Thursday I have nothing written down, but I also don't have NSD written in my calendar so I don't even know if I spent anything. Let this be a lesson to everyone: write it down!

Friday I bought SOs cheese sticks for this lunches and was having one of those days. You know, don't care, whatever, I think I'll eat pizza on the couch? $19 in Pizza.

Saturday I worked (sweet, sweet overtime) and on the way home, I needed to pick up some groceries so I could go the next two days for NSD. Spent $15. I was talking with Mom, who mentioned her mp3 player bit the dust. With Mom's day coming up, I knew what I was going to get her now! $62 later, Mom's Day for Mom is done. I went ahead and ordered my ex-MIL's gift at the same time--$24 for a magazine subscription I know she likes.

I ordered Mom's gift from Amazon and went ahead and signed up for Prime so I can watch movies and shows and have the two day shipping. Since I am a student, I was able to get it for $39 for the year. But, there is $39 I wasn't really expecting to spend.

Yesterday was a NSD and today probably will be. I took today off as a vacation day to "recover" from working on Saturday. It is supposed to be a great day after the fog burns off, so I plan on pumping up my bike tires and going for a bike ride.

I am disappointed at myself for going over my budget. I think I do so well for a while, then I burst out and spend more than I planned, then go back to trying to live frugally. I could make excuses that most of the things I bought were somewhat planned. I knew I was going to buy Mom's gifts. I just thought they'd come out of next months' budget. I will plan accordingly next time.

Some things, though, were just wants. Nail polish. Amazon prime. Luckily, I will be able to pay for all of this without too much trouble. That's why I took the overtime on Saturday. A little extra money for the fun stuff I want. I just need to figure out a budget that really works for me.

Today is a planned spend day. So far, I've spent $4 at the post office to mail out a book I sold, $15 for food (tomatoes, raisins, oatmeal, yogurt, water), $10 for Mom's Day cards, $8 for household (candles), and $36 at Amazon for food (dried apples and individual bags of pop chips for lunches).

Most of this was planned and on a list. Except the mom's day cards. I was at the store buying candles and thought I would take a look while I was thinking about it. The cards I picked out made me laugh hard while standing in the aisle, so I had to get them. It's a lot more than I would normally spend on cards, but with 3 "moms" to buy for and since the cards were really funny, I believe they are worth it.

I can already see that May is going to be a spendy month. A graduation, three Moms, two birthdays--yikes!

I'm not yet sure if I am done spending for the day. I already know what I'm having for dinner (leftovers). SO isn't going to be home until late, so maybe I'll watch some stuff from the DVR. I have it in my head that I need to do some...um....foundation shopping (if'n you know what I mean), but I could probably put it off a little bit longer.

I have 14 NSDs for the month. Last week was a good week for NSD and I'm working on more this week. I'm really trying to conserve my money, in case a settlement is reached in the dealings with the mortgage crud.

Had my spendy Wednesday. Then didn't spend on Thursday or Friday. Saturday was planned spending of a hair cut and color ($65), small amount of grocery shopping (bread, milk, bananas, frozen greek yogurt, and a 20 oz of soda), and a milkshake from McDonalds.

I was disappointed by my shake at McDs. I just wanted a vanilla shake--the way they used to be. Instead I got a fancy, whipped cream with cherry thing. It was nice, but it wasn't what I thought I was getting when I ordered. McDs is getting all fancy. And it cost me $3 to find that out. Urg.

Sunday I cleaned the house, went for a run, made food for the week, took a nap, finished a book, then went and watched SO play hockey. Another NSD.

Today I think will be yet another NSD. I will be spending some money tomorrow to send out a half.com book and basic groceries to get us through the rest of the week. SO likes soft, fresh bread, so there is a lot of bread buying around our house. Then the next spend day should be Saturday. I need to make a trip to the Apple store to return the cord I bought for my laptop--it isn't the right cord. Sigh.

Broke my streak of NSD with a Major Spend Day (MSD?). At least, it seemed like it to me!

Groceries: $48. string cheese, lots of fruit and veggies, water, clif bars, taco shells, fizzy fruit drinks (I'm trying to kick diet coke and think that this might be my 'treat' instead of diet coke), lemon juice, cheese, tortilla chips, Doritos

Gas for month on gas card: $100

Econ book: $30 (used on half.com Checked into the awesome idea of renting and and found it would cost $40 to rent it)

Chair cushions: $47. Boyfriend bought this really cute folding chairs/table set for the deck and we found out at the store that cushions improved the chair's comfort substantially. Only, they didn't have a color we wanted, so I finally ordered it online.

Laptop Cord: $84. Dang Mac. I ended up ordering it at Apple, but I did take the suggestions into account and checked into amazon and ebay. Unfortunately, my laptop is old and needed a cord that I wasn't able to find cheaper than Apple.

Clothes: $30. Two new running shorts and a running shirt. I saw them last week and resisted, but kept thinking about them. They were on sale this week. This was a want. I wanted bright colors so drivers can see me when I run in the morning. Now I got 'em.

I think I can go today and tomorrow not spending anything. Saturday will be my next planned spend day with a hair appointment and out to eat. I will probably pick up bread and milk for the beginning of next week, so a small grocery shop is planned.

Here, it is raining, raining, raining. Rivers and creeks are over their banks and it isn't supposed to stop raining until tomorrow. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be affecting our basement.

The NSDs are piling up around here.

I went grocery shopping on Thursday last week and haven't spent anything since. I have been very tempted, but have created a list of things I need to buy during my next spend day. I need a book for my summer class and a new laptop cord.

It does seem like when it rains, it does pour. I was doing so well financially before this whole business with the ex hit. It's sucking my savings away, which makes me sad. But also, the Bug has his check engine light on and last week I went a few days where I couldn't open my trunk(sigh) and the power cord to my laptop bit the dust on Friday night. I had been having problems with it, but had so far been able to make it work. My battery isn't all that, so it died on me while taking a survey.

On the bright side, the Bug isn't making any funny noises, the trunk is now able to be open, and my wonderful boyfriend had an extra laptop I was able to use until I order and get my new cord. I do swagbucks and take surveys, so I really do appreciate having the internet and a way to get on.

I will probably spend some money tomorrow. I really need to order my book before the semester starts and we're out of a few essential groceries at home. I hope to then not spend any money until Saturday when I get my hair done and meet with the ex-in-laws for a late lunch.

I was all set to go grocery shopping after work yesterday....

and then didn't.

Immediately after work, I went to the indoor track and did some running. By the time I was done running, I had talked myself out of the grocery shopping. I figured we had enough food to last until Thursday, so I would just not go shopping. Unfortunately, since I took my coworker out to lunch, it wasn't a NSD, but I didn't spend anything else.

I was not planning on spending any money until Friday, but I think I'm going to move that to Thursday to try to beat the crowds a bit. Then I'll have a NSD on Friday and maybe even into the weekend. I have my list ready to go. It does help that my boyfriend is out on a run, so I can eat easy and cheap.

Cereal for dinner, anyone?

It's my payday today! All the bill are already accounted for, so it's time to go shopping!

Ok, if only it was that exciting. I just get to do some food shopping on the way home. Nothing exciting to see here folks, keep on moving. My goal is to go shopping tonight and then not go shopping again or spend any money until Friday.

I did take my co-worker out to lunch to thank her for switching hours with me so I can go to class in the Fall. I have been spending a lot of money in the out to eat category. I may have to move some of the gifts category into the out to eat category. I guess taking dad and my co-worker out to dinner should be consider gifts, huh?

Another co-worker is getting rid of her cat stuff because her fuzzy recently passed away. :-( I was able to get a whole bunch of new mice and a very nice fuzzy cat bed for my Big Kitty (whose picture you see to the side). I'm sad for my co-worker, she is such a sweetie, but I'm happy for my Big Kitty!

I had two NSDs this weekend. We were supposed to do a lot of running around and being away from home and instead it turned into a nice weekend hanging around the house. I was able to do some running, some walking, some cleaning, some organizing. I was a very happy girl. I just love puttering around the house.

Tonight I will be up late to watch the NCAA tournament. I'm going to be dragging tomorrow morning, but GO BLUE!!

My numbers:

Savings--went negative and I actually don't want to think about it because I don't know when the negativity will end

Item: Budget---Actual---Left
Fixed
Rent: $550---$550---$0
Cell Phone: $67---$66.66---$0.34
Donation: $50---$50---$0
Student Loan: $366.04---$366.04---$0

Variable
Gas (car): $100---$100---$0
Household: $45---$45---$0
Grocery: $237.80---$267.50---$-29.70
Entertainment/Restaurant: $90---$86---$4
Car Maintenance: $0---$0---$0
Clothes: $75---$0---$75
Personal Care: $85---$85---$0
Gifts: $45---$46---$-1
Exercise: $30---$57.95---$-27.95

Found/extra money: $312.77 (looks impressive, but includes $240 that ex pays me towards student loan that I don't count on).

Total: $2053.61---$1720.15---$333.46

If you don't count the $1000 that went to the lawyer, I was actually under budget for the month.

March update of yearly goals--
1. Save $X000. No, the financial issues have hit with a vengeance.

2. Run a 10K. I signed up for the River Bank Run 10K

3. Ride a "T-Shirt" bike ride. I'm leaning towards the Colorburst tour in October in Lowell.

4. Try one new recipe per week. Yes! This month I've made Chocolate Streusel Coffee Cake, Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, Spicy Orange Shrimp w/Broccoli (this one was so yummy that I could happily eat this instead of shrimp with broccoli at the Chinese restaurant), and Spicy Chicken Curry.

5. 12 No Spend Days--Yes, I had 14

6. 20 Workout days. Yes, I had just 20.

7. New Running shoes in July

8. At least one 6 week summer class. I am actually signed up for 2. Economics and Accounting. One is the first 6 weeks, one is the second 6 weeks.

9. New Walking shoes in January--already done.

10. Read 50 books. I'm up to 11.

11. Up my annual donation by $X00. I have increased my donations by $25 over this time last year. Only $275 left to go!

I have not been posting because I have no idea what to post. I was thinking I need to get back into this and post my numbers for March--except I can't get to those numbers now. The 2nd mortgage with the ex problem has not been resolved and I just made another payment to the attorney that is handling this for me. My savings rate will be negative for both March and April.

I have been keeping myself from spending any money in case I need it for the 2nd mortgage stuff. So, I've been pretending that money is super-tight and not buying anything that is not strictly needed. Makes for boring money posts. Although I did buy a box of cookies from a Girl Scout. Good thing cookie time only comes once a year!

Things are just going along here. I have been feeling that I need to plan something to look forward to--even if it is just to go and visit my Mom. Just...something. I am feeling that all the days are the same, just rolling and rolling. Maybe once spring finally gets here, I will be inspired again. For now, I'm just hanging in there.

I want to have a garden this year--I have nothing in place. We have bunnies, deer, and turkeys that wander around our neighborhood, so a fence would be nice. Some good dirt. Seeds, plants. I know that in the long-term a garden is a good investment. But with money being tight, is it a good investment now? I know there are some ways to garden on the cheap. But some things (i.e. good dirt) on the cheap require time to do stuff like compost. And do I want to add another thing on my list of stuff I want/need to do?

These are the thoughts that wander through my head.

I'm so glad it's Friday.

Wednesday and Thursday this week were NSDs. I bought my gas card today ($100 for the month) and bf's cheese sticks for his lunch ($5). I plan on hitting the grocery store after work, then getting Chinese for dinner. I have one more full day of no boyfriend tomorrow. He is scheduled to come home early, early Sunday morning.

I plan on cleaning the house while he's gone, getting some exercise, then trying to finish off my DVRed shows. It should be a pretty relaxing day. I'm looking forward to it. Actually, I've been looking forward to it all week. It's almost like a vacation day!

I am a big believer in little bit by little bit. I save change in a jar. I do swagbucks, but my goal is "just get over 10 points per day." I don't spend a lot of time or effort in these little things, but they add up. Same with exercise. I walk on my breaks at work. I try to walk at lunch. Just keep myself moving a little. I'm not going to get rich or skinny overnight, but I can always do a little!

Isn't it just too easy to outspend what you make? I personally struggle with the "I Wants" and could easily spend $1000 without trying too hard. Unlike Monkey Mama, I do have to use willpower.

Wait. That's not quite right. Most days are easy. I'm happy with where I'm at; I'm happy with what I have. But on bad days, I look at new clothes, new pans, a new laptop and want. I want a personal shopper, who tells me what looks good on me and what doesn't. I want Le Cruset and Calphalon pans. I want a Macbook Air. I resist because those things are expensive and I know I don't NEED them.

I read somewhere that it is easy to out eat what you exercise. In 10 minutes you could eat a McDs meal and undo over an hour of running. Same with money. Work all week to make money and it could be gone with one trip to the Apple store.

I think lately I have been having a bit of a pity party because all that is going on. But also, I seem to be hearing a lot about people who just spent money without thinking too much about it. I sometimes feel like I think too much about spending money. Two people who I thought were super-frugal just both raved about going to the Outlet Mall and spending oodles of money. They both seem like they can afford it--this isn't a tale of someone who is overdrawn and spending like crazy. These two people are "bring lunch from home" and "use coupon" people. Finding out that Outlet Mall shopping is a great way to spend the day to them was....surprising.

Not that I want to go to an Outlet Mall. For the most part, I dislike shopping. The idea of driving a few hours to go shopping all day pretty much makes me want to poke my eyes out. Lesson learned by me: people, even frugal seeming people, like to do things I don't like to do!!

Met with the lawyer on Friday about the serving of papers and he is going to see if he can fight it. He's sending out a letter today saying they can't come after me for the debt. We'll see if that works. I'm crossing my fingers. It's going to cost me a chunk of money, so I'm going to be tightening my belt even further. Even then, I'm going to be pulling money out of savings. I keep telling myself that this is exactly what savings is for.

Saturday I helped boyfriend do his taxes and finished my state taxes. I knew I was going to owe $8 to the state, so I wasn't in any hurry to file when I did my federal at the beginning of February. I figured as long as I was doing tax stuff, I would finish my own. Now to just mail it out. Other than writing that check, it was a NSD.

Sunday I had lunch with my friend--we both have birthdays in March, so we went to a free birthday dinner place and caught up. I haven't seen her in a while, so we had a lot to chat about. While I was out and about, I did some shopping. Food, personal, household.

Monday was a NSD and was CRAZY at work. I was very glad to go to spin class, which meant my work day was over.

Today I've gotten more groceries, went to lunch with my boyfriend (something that NEVER has happened before), and spent my birthday money from my friend. Boyfriend is going on a trip with some buddies, so I have almost a week home alone. I'm kinda looking forward to it, but I'm sure in a few days I'm going to be missing him.

Yep, the papers I was served was for the 2nd mortgage. I talked with a co-worker's husband who is a retired attorney and he basically agreed with my thinking. Which is basically that I can't do this without an attorney--there are too many variables involved. Probably I'm going to be out some money. I have to assume the worst, right?

For the first time in a long time, I've felt like I wanted to shed a few frustration tears over this whole divorce/money thing. I didn't, because I'm at work. It's just so....stupid.

In other money news, I've spent $35 on groceries in the past few days and $7 on the cats. I got paid Monday, so put a little into savings, but most of it went towards the student loan and paying the yearly car insurance. I pulled out my spending cash money and that's all I've got for two weeks. It should be more than enough.

After work today I'm going for a run at the indoor track, then to a meditation class at the local yoga studio. I'm looking forward to the class, which goes for three weeks. Maybe it will help calm me down while I deal with the ex.

One final awesome note. My awesome boyfriend surprised me with a belated Valentine's Day present that was back-ordered and just came. You know those days where you totally fall back in love with someone? Yeah, it was one of those days. The present was great, but it was the spending time together that really did it. :-)

Back in 2008, my then-husband and I decided to divorce. In the divorce decree, he was supposed to pay the house payment until the house sold. He made the payment for a few years, but then stopped paying and the house was foreclosed upon. By the time he told me that payments had not been made, foreclosure proceedings had already started and he had to be out of the house in 20 days. It kinda didn't matter, because I didn't have the money to make the mortgage payments anyway.

So, the house was foreclosed. Yucky for my credit. But now the 2nd mortgage, which was not taken care of with the foreclosure process, has been sold to a company that is now suing me for the amount of the 2nd mortgage. At least, I'm pretty sure that's what the person trying to serve me papers is going to give me when she comes back.

I'm frustrated. I'm angry. I probably need to meet with an attorney to see if there is anything I can do to not be on the hook for the full amount. I would like the ex to be on the hook for 1/2. I don't know if that is possible.

I'm also irritated and mad because I feel like I scrimp and save and for what? To pay an attorney to make ex pay his fair share. When we divorced, I took the credit card with the higher amount owed because he was agreeing to pay the mortgage. I scrimped and saved to pay that off, while watching him run the other credit card up.

I know that part of this is my own fault; my own responsibility. I signed those papers. I'm just angry because I feel like I'm paying for the ex's mistakes. Heh. Or maybe my own mistakes, because I did pick him, right? ARG!