Apartment & Job Update

We found an apartment!! We really like the main living space. There is a lot of room. One bedroom has a bigger closet and one a bigger room, so there was no problem deciding who gets which room. I am very excited to have this decided. One less thing to worry about. Now I just have to move all of my stuff. I can't wait to start saving some money.

I applied for a new position at the company I work for. I am very nervous about this, but we'll see what happens. I am not sure when I will hear anything.

I bought groceries today since things will be closed on Sunday. I came in $10 under budget. I also got gas and a car wash. I came in $2 under budget for those things. I have also been trying to get a lot of studying in. I have so much to get through. I don't want to get behind. I would have liked to go home to visit my family this weekend, but I decided against it. I have plans with a friend tomorrow night instead. It's finally nice out here, so I am hoping for a good weekend.

Week 3 Spending

I know I am a day late!! It's been a busy weekend. The company I work for changed their holiday schedule, so I now I have MLK Jr Day off. I took advantage of the long weekend and have been trying to get a ton done.

January 17th (Saturday)
- Groceries: $10.24
- Apt/PHP Items: $8.74
- Movie (Bride Wars): $5.00

January 18th (Sunday)
- Groceries: $34.50
- Gift: $2.60- Gas: $18.56

Total Weekly Spending: $79.64

This weekend was higher than I wanted. It seems to be a trend. That's not good. I don't normally go to movies, but I decided to spend time with a friend since I had a long weekend. I enjoyed the movie. There were some good previews as well. I will probably wait until they come out on DVD. I stocked up on a few things from Super Walmart. It's a bit of a drive, so I should be good on groceries from there until at least the end of February. I finally got gas this weekend. It's been three weeks!! My mileage was awful though because of the cold. It finally warmed up here. I am very excited for that. It's entertaining that people get so excited when it's above zero.

Other things going on in life that are finance related . . . I need to get started studying hard core again. I have had a month off from studying, so I figure it's about time. The sooner I take the next part of my exam, the sooner I get reimbursed from work. I have been working out a lot lately. I am glad I am using my gym membership. I was worried I would join and then quit going after a week. I have been successful so far. My family is heading to Vegas Memorial Day weekend for a wedding. I am trying to decide if I will go or not. I feel like I should since it's my cousin getting married, and we have a small family. I am not sure if it's in my budget or not though. I am waiting to find out who's all going for sure before I decide. If I can keep the room costs down that would help. The flights are around $320 for a direct flight. That seems like a lot to me. It's an expensive weekend to head out there in my mind.

Christmas Vacation Update

I am still on vacation from work, but I am back at my apartment now. I returned from my parent's house yesterday. I was planning to stay another day or two, but once I heard the forecast I decided to head back early. I am sure glad I did! They got over 7 inches of snow last I heard. There is also snow where I live resulting in more accidents, so I am glad to be safely home and not having to go anywhere.

On the money front . . . I didn't spend much money while at my parent's. I did go to the mall, but I did not find anything! That saved me from spending money unnecessarily. My parents are very generous when I am home. They paid for my oil change, bought me a few things from Target, and drove me around while I was there. My car sat in the garage most of the time. It was great. They have so much snow there, so I really didn't want to drive on their roads.

I love that gas prices have gone down. It only cost $15 to fill up my tank after my 4 hour drive to my parent's house last Monday. It cost a little more when I got back here yesterday because I also needed a car wash due to all of the salt on my car. (Another reason I am not a fan of living in the upper Midwest.) I also needed lots of groceries after being gone for a week. I was able to limit my spending on groceries to $34. That was good. I stocked up on a few things, so I should be able to spend less next week. My only expenses for the past week have been gas and groceries. The total was around $75 which was within my budget! Yay!
I got some great presents from my family for Christmas. They were all items that I wanted but didn't want to buy myself. Those are the best things to get. I got an angel food cake pan, a purple shirt from The Limited, a sweatshirt with my college logo on it, and a banana tree. My family loved everything I got them as well.

I am still working on getting my 2009 goals figured out. I hope to post them soon. As of right now, I am planning to be boring and stay home tomorrow night. I have a cold, so I don't feel like going out. I am planning to see how I feel tomorrow and decide. Some friends of mine are having people over, so if I do anything, I will go to their place. At least it will be a cheap night if I do something.

I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve and stays safe!

Pre-Holiday Expenses

I went to the store today to pick up a little fruit to get me through the weekend. I only spent about $2. I don't plan to spend any other money this weekend besides filling up my car with gas. This should be minimal as I only need a few gallons. I want to have a full tank when I leave for my parent's either Monday or Tuesday.

I am going to bake some cookies and bars this weekend. I purchased all the supplies for those over the past few weeks, so no more money needs to be spent there. I also have all of my Christmas presents (except for one I can't get yet) and the supplies to wrap them. That's also on my to do list this weekend. I will be picking up my brother's present when I get back home.

My other weekend plans include: making the top of a quilt (for my parent's-not their Christmas present), cleaning, doing laundry, packing, and lots of working! It's going to be a busy weekend. I hope I can get through it all. I am planning to go into work tomorrow and then work from home on Sunday. We are supposed to get more snow sometime Saturday and into Sunday. Sunday will be a good day to stay home and finish up frosting cookies and packing.

Overall, I shouldn't spend more than $30 before Christmas. This is assuming I don't go shopping once I get home. I am thinking about going, but I know I shouldn't spend the money. I can't wait to get home and eat lots of food!

Weekend Spending

I went to run errands today which means more money spent. I had to go to two grocery stores, but I bought only what was on my list at least place. I am all set for my holiday baking now. I made a roast today which means no cooking for the next few days. I should only have to go to the store once before I head back to my parent's house for the holidays. That trip should be under $10, maybe even under $5.

I also got gas today. I debated about filling up, but I want to make sure that I have a full tank since I have to drive to my test on Wednesday and it's going to be cold here this week. I paid $1.669 a gallon. I was well under budget on my gas.

No spending now until later next week at the earliest I am hoping. I hope to workout again tomorrow (I went this morning), but the weather will determine if I dare go out or not. We might get the edge of a winter storm tonight/tomorrow. Tomorrow through Tuesday will be lots of studying. I have my test on Wednesday morning. I am very nervous. I really need to pass. Work will reimburse if I do, so there is also a lot of money on the line. I am taking Tuesday afternoon off to get some extra study time in.

I will be very busy once this test is over. Then I need to start getting ready for Christmas. I can't wait to start baking. My mom and I split the cookie making duties. I usually make sugar cookies. I have a lot of them to take this year. I also want to start thinking more about my goals for 2009. I have some ideas, but I need to write them down and see how realistic they are.

I Have Heat!!!

I love when simple things in life make you happy. A very nice man from the heating company came late yesterday and fixed my furnace. Apparently my apartment complex has a wasp problem (news to me) and they get into the HVAC unit through a vent. They get into the motor and it breaks. It is very nice to be warm again. It came just in time too because we have had rain/snow all day today. It's not a very nice day here.

I ended up going nowhere and spending no money this weekend. It was great. The last time I spent any money was on Friday. Even then I only spent $1.79 on groceries due to having coupons. I am hoping to spend very little this week. I will need gas and a few more groceries, but that should be it.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Weekend Goal

My goals for this weekend . . .

1.) Only spend money on gas and groceries. There should be nothing else I need this weekend.
2.) Study lots!!!!

There is currently snow on the ground outside. I am not sure if I am ready for winter, but it's here whether I like it or not. I might have to turn my heat on this weekend since it's going to get cold and stay there.

Lunch with an Old Friend

I went out to lunch today with a good friend from college. He was in town visiting a cousin. We went to PF Chang's and he treated me to lunch. How very nice of him!! It was a great lunch. It's one of the few places where I can eat with food allergies and not worry too much. They have a specific gluten free menu as well as knowledgeable staff.

As long as we were at the mall, I looked for a new scarf. No luck though. All of the ones I liked were way out of my budget. Not too surprising. My friend was looking for some jeans. He ended up finding some at a store where I had a coupon. He saved about $23, so that was good.

I took him to Trader Joe's while I did my monthly shopping there. He has never been there since there isn't one where he lives. I talk about it all of time though, so he wanted to check it out. I bought him some salsa from there since he brought some for me from a place I loved in college that I can't get where I currently live. I spent $29.99 including what I purchased for him. I have $40 budgeted for food for this weekend since I was making my monthly TJ trip. I did not get any fruit at TJ, so I will go to the store near my apartment tomorrow to get some for the week. I have $10 left for this, so I could be able to stay within budget.

I also need to get gas tomorrow. It's been three weeks since I got gas!!

As for the week ahead . . . I have to pay rent this week. That's never fun. I am seeing a new doctor this week. I am not sure how much this will end up costing me. She is in-network, but I don't know if it will be a copay or my deductible ($300) and then 20%. I sure hope it's a copay!!

Weekend Spending

I feel pretty good about my spending this weekend. I only bought groceries and put gas in my car. I tend to do my grocery shopping each Sunday. I also get gas every other Sunday assuming I am not driving more than normal. I fill up every week if I need to.

I looked through all of the area grocery ads this morning before I deciding where to go. A supermarket about 8 miles from me (one I have never been to) had great meat prices this week. I was completely out of all meat. I have been refusing to buy any with the high prices. I bought three pounds of hamburger and two pork roasts. The majority of my grocery bill this week was spent on meat. I might even go back on Saturday before the ad expires and get some more hamburger. I saved about $1.20 a pound, so it's worth it. This will last me a few months at least. I put almost all of it right into my freezer.

I also got gas on my way home from the grocery store. Gas was 10 cents cheaper in this area than by my apartment. Any savings helps!!!

I didn't spend any money this week other than paying two bills. I had to pay my internet bill and renew my professional association dues for the year. I am very pleased with myself this week. This week should help me achieve my monthly goals . . . at least some of them.

Unplanned Trip

I am heading home for an unplanned trip tomorrow morning. My Grandma is very sick and in the hospital, so I will be heading back to visit her. I keep extra funds in my gas budget at all times for things like this. I will be driving, so I will be able to use that money without it ruining my entire budget. I am fortunate that I am able to drive since flying is so expensive now. I shouldn't spend too much money this weekend since I will be staying with my parents (and eating their food).

Have a good weekend.

Long Weekend

I am currently on "vacation". I decided to take Thursday and Friday off from work to head home to visit my family. I am hoping for a relaxing weekend.

I headed to my parents after work today (a 4 hour drive) and noticed that gas prices decreased more and more the further I got from where I live. I hope they stay like this (or go down more) so that I can fill up for less than I was expecting before I head back on Sunday.

On Thursday we are planning to go to a resort at an area lake for two nights. My parents have this week off and were planning to go somewhere local for a mini-vacation. It has now turned into a family vacation. It's been a number of years since we've done something together other than going to a relatives house out of town for one reason or another. We will be enjoying a nice meal out and maybe going bowling at night.

On Friday my mom and I are going to a spa for an hour or two. (I decided to treat myself. I have been stressed lately and really need to relax.) My dad and brother will be golfing. We will also hang out on the beach at the lake and probably the hot tub at the resort.

Saturday my mom and I are planning on going to some quilt stores and little shops in the area on our way home. My dad and brother said they are not interested in this. (Not surprising.)

I am hoping that I will be able to eat some good grilled food while I am here this weekend. I can't have a grill at my apartment, so I love coming home in the summer time.

Financially this weekend shouldn't be too bad. The biggest expense will be gas. The massage is not in my normal budget, but I really want it. I have to treat myself every now and then. My parents are paying for the room and most meals. (How nice of them!!!)

Have a great rest of the week.

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.