Update

I feel like my life is just crazy right now. Things have been very busy still. I am getting over being sick. I ended up having to go to the doctor. I really didn't want to. My copay was $20 for the office visit. I also had to spend $14 for two medications. I guess it was worth it though. I just hate spending money on doctor visits. I am trying to get back into working out. The doctor said to take a week off. I didn't listen. I have worked out twice, but they have been awful workouts. I am still exhausted and tire easily.

I have also been researching where to live. I have to give notice to my apartment management office by the end of the month. It started with me thinking about moving in with one or two friends. Their lease is up the month after mine. So, the debate was should I give notice for the end of May or pay one month extra (my rent goes up $190!!!) and have my lease end at the same time as theirs. Then we started looking at renting a house instead of an apartment. It has now turned into me getting a pre-approval for a mortgage and looking at houses!!!! I am very torn on what to do. I would love to buy something, but it scares me. I would have to use a little over half my savings to purchase a home. Part of my issue comes from living in a large metro area. I am finding homes I like further from my work place than I would like. I need to decide how far I am willing to drive to and from work each day. Any thoughts on this!?!

I have also been very busy at work still. It slowed down a little, but not too much. I am curious to see what happens over the next few months. Part of why I am worried about purchasing a home is because of the stability of the job market. I guess you just never know though.

I have still been searching for clothes which fit. It's a process for me. I am also trying to find good deals and not just buy the first thing I see. I am hoping to get a few more things in April. Discover has 5% cash back from April through June for department stores and clothing stores. So, I think I will look in April once I can get some extra cash back on my credit card.

I decided to sign up for a review course for the next part of my exam. It was a lot of money, but I will get reimbursed by my work as soon as the course is over. I just have to drive downtown once a week for 8 weeks and pay for parking. That will be a change for me. This is the part which freaks me out the most, so I think this will be a good thing. It will also force me to complete sections by a certain time. I am hoping to put some time in studying this weekend to get a head start before the first class this next week.

I would love to hear thoughts on purchasing a home. If anyone is in the Minneapolis area, I would also like to hear thoughts on locations. Thanks so much!!!

My Life Currently

I am completely exhausted right now. I have been working 12 hour days and then coming home and working a few more hours before going to bed. I have also been working at least one day each weekend. I can't wait for this time of the year to be over with. I want to get back to my normal life. I have been managing to work out at least 4 days a week still. I am making this a priority no matter what I have going on. I think work should quiet down a little bit after this week.

My family is coming to visit me this weekend. I have plans on Friday night with a friend. I think it should be a good weekend overall. I am hoping to do some shopping. I want to find some deals for items which are on my list of clothes I want to buy. I am slowly working at buying the items on my list as I find them on sale and that fit. I struggle to find clothes that fit me right.

I have started running at the gym. I am hoping to sign up for a 5k in a few months if all goes well. This will be a huge accomplishment for me. I really enjoy working out. I feel great lately. The cost is well worth it to me.

Due to working so much, I haven't spent much money lately. I have spent a little more on groceries than I probably should be but that's okay. I haven't spent it on other items, so that's a plus. I am still under budget.

I really want to start highlighting my hair again, but I am worried about the cost. I know I probably shouldn't, but I love my hair when it's highlighted. It has so much more body and it's thicker.

The boy . . . we haven't had time to do anything this past week. We are both very busy with work and other things right now. I am hoping after this weekend we can spend a little more time together and see what happens. I really enjoy spending time with him, so I hope it works out. You just never know though.

I will post after this weekend once I know how much I spent. I hope to stay within my budget!

Update

I have been awful at keeping up my blog lately. Sometimes I wish there was more time in the day. I am swamped at work right now. In addition to work I have been spending time with some of my best friends, working out, randomly dating, and working some more. I am also trying to fit in studying and some me time. I have stayed within my budget.

I have also started the process of rebuilding my wardrobe after cleaning out my closet and giving away all of my clothes which no longer fit. I was able to get some good deals last week. I made a list of everything I want/need clothing wise and how much I can spend on each item. Everything I bought last weekend was on my list and under budget. You can't beat that since I have a pretty big list.

I know a lot of the blogs I read have been mentioning date lately. I have not dated since college. This is for a variety of reasons. I am just feeling better overall now that I am working out 4-5 times a week, so I have been more social. I met a guy who was cute, but he ended up keeping some things about his personal life from me. So, I am not planning to see him again. And then there is a friend of a friend. Not such a great idea either. And now there is one other one. We'll see how this goes.

I have been considering moving in with some friends when my lease is up in order to save some time/money. I spend a lot of time driving to meet up with them (disadvantages of living in a bigger metro area). I am just concerned about going from living alone to having roommates again. I did live with one of them a few years ago and it worked out just fine.

We got more snow this today. I am not impressed. I really wanted spring to come. I have been itching to go on vacation. Somewhere with a beach, no shoes, and a book sounds amazing right now.

Lack of Updates

I know it's been awhile since I have updated. A lot has been going on. I have been reconnecting with some great friends, working a ton, working out, and just trying to survive. I feel very overwhelmed right now for some reason. I want to spend time with friends, do my best at work, study, and work out, but it gets to be a lot sometimes. I am working really hard at not spending too much money and keeping my apartment in order.

I cleaned out my closet last weekend and gave a bunch of pants that didn't fit to one of my friends. They fit her great. It was hard to part with the pants (and the money invested), but I was sick of looking at all these clothes in my closet which don't fit. I have lost weight this past year and really need to invest in new clothes. I have some money set aside in my budget, but I am having no luck finding anything that fits/can afford/I like. It's very frustrating. I just want clothes that fit well and I feel comfortable in but aren't too expensive. Clothes shopping is a very frustrating thing for me.

I am really struggling with food right now. The more time I spend with other people the harder it is to not eat foods that will make me sick. They all look so good. I just want real food which is healthy, tastes good, and is easy to prepare.

Sorry for the rant! I hope to get back to regular blogging this week.

On a side note, I had a date. This is not normal for me! Dating makes me nervous. I had a good time but found out later he still has a thing for his ex-girlfriend. I told him we would not be seeing each other again because I don't want the drama of all of that.

Shopping & Future Plans

Well, I went shopping this morning. This means that I will not meet one of my goals. My goal was to limit my spending to under $50 for September for things like extras and clothes. I spent $59.25 today. I am okay with not meeting this goal. I got a great deal on the clothes I bought. I bought a pair of black dress pants and some nice jeans which I can wear on casual days at work. The store had a buy one get one half off deal. Plus I had a coupon for $30 off a purchase over $75. The original total was $119, but with all of my coupons, I only spent $59.25. I needed new pants due to losing some weight over the last six months. I only have two pairs of dress pants which fit. I am hoping to not spend any money on clothes for a month or two now.

Other spending this month . . . I haven't spent any money this month until today on anything other than my normal bills, groceries, and my professional association dues.

My future . . . I just found out that a state university is going to begin offering their MBA program at an off-campus location close to where I live. The school campus is about 1.5 hours from me, but the off-campus location is within 15 minutes!! I am seriously considering starting to study for the GMAT and taking it to see how well I do. If I decide to do this, I would apply to start school next fall. My work reimburses up to $5,000 per calendar year for tuition and books. Based on my calculations I would end up spending about $6,000-6,500 out of my pocket on tuition and books. I need to calculate the total cost including the GMAT and other things which will come up like application costs. This would require me to completely rework my financial plans for the next few years. I would also have to put off buying a house longer than I would like.

This Weekend

It sounds like it's going to be a gorgeous weekend here after another storm filled week. I really wish the severe weather was done for awhile. I have a few things I am hoping to do this weekend, so money will be spent. It is all budgeted for though which is great.

1) Dinner with my mom. She is in town for the weekend, so I will be seeing her tonight for dinner. It's nice to see her even if it's only for a short time since we don't live in the same state.

2) Black sweatpants. I have been wanting another pair of sweats for awhile now. I love sweats!!! I wasn't planning to buy these until the fall (they are in my clothing budget for Sept), but I have a coupon and a gift card. I have a hard time finding clothes that I like and/or fit, so I decided to just get them now. As long as I am going out to see my mom later, I figure it works out great since it's not an extra trip.

3) Groceries. I am hoping not to buy too much. I will make my list prior to going. I have some leftovers from yesterday, but I need fruits and veggies for the week. I also may stop at a specialty store if there's time later when I see my mom. This would eliminate a trip there in a few weeks, but I don't know it will work out today.

4) Gas. This one may hurt. gas prices inched up here again yesterday. I was hoping they wouldn't since I am waiting until after I see my mom to get gas. I put everything on my credit card and pay it off twice a month. Right now I am getting 5% cashback on gas, so that helps with these high prices.

5) Other. I have a few other coupons for stores I love. I am hoping that I won't be tempted to buy anything, but I do have about $35 extra budgeted in July just in case I find something that I want. Since I have a hard time finding clothes that fit me, I usually go to the mall and come home with nothing. I have a coupon for a bookstore though. That could be dangerous!! I also need another pair of dress pants, but I am hoping to wait until September to buy these. They will be replacing a pair that are not looking so great. I will be waiting until I get more coupons for my favorite stores and then I will head to the mall to search for a pair.

I hope everyone has a safe and great weekend.

PS - I did really well 4th of July weekend with my spending. I went out with friends and only spent $5. I bought groceries, but kept it within my weekly budget.