Random Thoughts

Last night my backpack finally came in the mail!  I did order it about 20 days ago from www.o2gearshop.com.  I was annoyed at having to wait so long, but the North Face backpack did retail for $79.99 and I got it for $49.99, with a free aluminum Nalgene bottle and free shipping.  So, if you don't mind waiting a bit to save money in order to save about 38% on your stuff, I highly recommend it.  Next time I order from them, I will upgrade my shipping.  A few things will be happening this week:

1) My boyfriend will be going out of town for work the next couple days, returning on Saturday. 

2) I have a new class starting tomorrow (Business Ethics) for my MBA Program.

3) I'm still waiting on the grade for my Strategy/Economics class.  I am superstitious, so I don't like to sell the book until I am 100% sure I'm in the clear for that class.  I think I have been doing well so far, but I haven't kept track of my grades.  I'm hoping for at least an A-, but a B+ will work. 

4) I need to make some choc. chip cookies for a potluck dinner on Friday.

5) I need to have the house clean before my friend comes over on Saturday.

6) I need to spend some time outlining my goals and how to achieve them more thoroughly.  This includes, outlining what dietary changes I will be making, creating an exercise schedule, and doing an audit of classes I've taken so far and what I have yet to take. 

7) Computer cleanup/consolidation.  I need to organize all the shows I have stored on my portable hard drive so I can keep that with my new lil computer when I travel.  I'm keeping my old laptop for programs that take up more space (Photo software and drawing software that I'll use with my Wacom Tablet).

 

Hopefully, I'll have time to get everything done.  My goal is to not overspend this weekend (if I can help it), as one of my spendier friends will be coming over and we will be shopping at a massive mall (King of Prussia Mall).  Also, I just discovered that a new Gap Outlet opened up within a 5 minute drive of my house!  I'll post updates of what is actually spent this week/weekend!

Lunch

Lunch today ended up costing $24 for me and a friend (my treat, since it was her birthday).  I did get some valuable info about doing art shows with a friend of hers, and when and where I could go see the next few shows.  She also brought up that she does catering for these shows, and that in the future she may be interested in branching out and start catering for other events.  The wheels in my head are turning-- I love to cook and bake, and think catering would be hella fun.  Maybe we can join forces (?).  I think I'm done with Xmas shopping, except for my best friend's present, but since she is visiting during the holidays, maybe I will pay for her to do some sightseeing stuff and take her to a nice restaurant instead.  So far, I am expecting to get a $40 amazon gift card from work for attendance, and $25 from my ING Electric Orange.  I will put that towards my Xmas shopping, or maybe a Nintendo DSi. 

Overspending

On a whim, I decided to take a couple of my friends out for happy hour yesterday.  It ended up only costing $30 for 3 apps and 4 drinks, including tip.  After that, I went to the grocery store and bought all sorts of skincare junk and scrubs that I needed to stock up on for $23.  Overall, I didn't spend a ton, but the weekend will be expensive, so I really shouldn't have spent it.  Today I'm taking a friend to lunch.  We are going to an Indian buffet, so it shouldn't cost more than $25 for both of us with drinks.  I am also buying some raffle tickets for a charity this weekend ($20 worth).  I hope I can make it to Payday!

Weekend Spending

I actually managed to make it through a Saturday spending $0. The bf and I helped his Grandma move, and in return were fed lunch and dinner.. Yum! I had gotten her a housewarming present from her favorite gift store (a local shop called The Garden Path), which was a glass bowl on a silver stand with three sparrows on it.  It was originally $70, but I got it for $35 on sale, and she loved it.  I put both my name and the bf's name on the card, so he ended up looking like a rockstar.   Sunday, however, I spent quite a bit more.  Bf and I went to Sears, and I found a great deal on a massive tool storage chest that bf wanted for Xmas.  It was on sale for $199, and came with an add-on that costs $89 for free.  It ended up being $211 with tax, and I left $5 in his roommate's truck that we borrowed to haul it over.  I would rather have waited until next payday to buy it, because my friend is coming from out of town this weekend, but the sale would be over by then and he wouldn't get the free piece.  Since he told me what he was getting me and gave me my present early, I let him have  his early too.  I will probably get him a few little things here and there (socks, candy, etc.) that I'll wrap for him to open at his parents' house, but the main present portion is complete!  He spent the rest of the day on Sunday rearranging the garage and setting up his tool area.  Now, I have the bulk of my Xmas shopping done, (I bought his aunt and uncle's presents last week.. woohoO!) and I have about $300 to last me until the 30th (10 days).  This should be fine, since I have no real bills to pay, but in between now and payday I am taking a friend out to lunch (belated birthday), contributing to a birthday potluck with some food and probably a gift, and having an out-of-town guest (which usually means lots of shopping, going out to eat, and drinking).  I was going to make another payment toward my mom debt, but that will have to wait until later. My ccard bill is down to $2865, and my mom debt stands at $1600.  Here is what I have allotted for next pay :
Total : $950

Rent  - $200

Ccard -$350

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Leaves: $400 to spend on food, cell phone bill, and other miscellany that comes up over the next few weeks.  I also need to look into contributing more to my emergency and vacation funds.  I should also be saving more in general, bc my best friend is flying up to PA from New Orleans at some point during the holidays, and we plan on going all over the Northeast-- NYC, DC, and possibly parts of Maryland.  Also, my best friend from Middle School found me on Facebook!  She lives in Canada, so we'll be making plans to meet up soon as well.  I also found out I have Veteran's Day off!  Once my cell phone plan ends and I switch to prepaid in December, I won't have to worry about paying that every month.  I was also thinking about getting a seasonal job to stash extra money over the next few months. 

Columbus Day - Update

Today I have the day off! Also, it is the last week for my two super-hard classes, so starting next week I should have some more posts up. So far this is what has happened in the past week:

1) My Electric Orange Account is up and running. I got my mom set up as a payee to send electronic checks to. Since she doesn't have email to accept the payments with, I had the emails sent to me, and I go in and approve the payments. So far, my mom debt is now down to $1,600. I am aiming for that to be down to at least $1,000 before the year is over. So far, Electric Orange has been awesome. I asked the BF if he wanted to get his rent paid that way, but he prefers cash. It's easier and cheaper than PayPal (and it's free!). The only downside is it takes a few days to get the money into your ING account from your local bank, and then another couple days for the transfer to go through.

2) My boyfriend gave me the Mini PC! It's for Christmas, but he said I can use it in the meantime, and then he's going to wrap it up around Xmas when we go to his parents so I can open it there and pretend to be surprised. : ) It's the Acer Inspire One with a 6 cell battery. It's so cute and light! And the battery lasts like, 5 and a half hours!! Much better than my old Dell Inspiron 6000, which tops out at about 2 hours and also weighs a ton.

3) Finished buying the bulk of my Xmas presents and wrapping them!! I still have to get stuff for my boyfriend and his mom, and those two are going to be expensive and hard to shop for. Also, a few key friends are getting presents too. But, I'm glad the majority of my shopping is done for now.

4) On Thursday, I get paid!! For this paycheck, I have no rent or bills due, so I'm going to put extra payments toward my mom debt and credit card debt.

5) My friend Christine will be coming to visit near the end of the month before my next paycheck, so I need to keep some money on hand for that. She is a super-spender. She makes my bad spending habits look good. She's coming on a Saturday morning, so I'm going to take her to the King of Prussia Mall for a bit, then out for lunch, then back to the house for a bit to change, then out for dinner and drinks, and then back in to play video games for the rest of the night.

Ok, time to finish my take home exam, then head to school!

Good News!

It seems that October is a good month for me financially. I went home and received $200 from my Dad. When I came back, I also got a check for $320 from a guy that hit my bumper in August, and I received a refund for half of my textbook that got lost in the mail (~$28). Yay!! This is also the first month I have no bills left to pay from my old apartment! Also, I ended up finding the North Face backpack I wanted online for a much cheaper price! At o2gearshop.com, I ordered the backpack I wanted for $49.99, which includes free shipping, and I get a free water bottle with it. Every other website I looked on had the backpack for ~$78! The main reason I got this specific model (Borealis) is because my laptop is older and kind of bulky, and this was one of the few cool ones that would fit it. After coming home and telling my boyfriend about the backpack, he told me he was buying me a new mini PC for Christmas so I won't have to lug my big laptop everywhere!! I'm v. excited!! I don't know what I can get him that's really going to top that. Now I guess that large PC pocket in the backpack is not as necessary, but I am still happy to get a new one. I've decided not to buy any new clothing (except winter gear) until I lose 30lbs, so I can focus on buying other things. : ) I've also started Christmas shopping for this year, and have a nice pile of stuff saved, and some of it is wrapped already. YaY! Also, I finally got my Electric Orange Account with ING, so I can start making automatic payments to my mom to pay her back. I hate sending her checks, because she never cashes them in a timely manner, so this should fix that problem. I have a few weeks left for my two difficult half-semester classes, and I'll be starting another easier one towards the end of October. Tomorrow I get to sign up for my Spring semester classes, and I'm going to try not to overextend myself. This semester has been super hard!

Wow! I have a reader!

Who knew someone actually read my tiny blog? And it's someone whose blog I have been keeping up with (ChickyFinance)!  This is more motivation for me too keep writing!  V. excited!