Visitors

Last weekend I had visitors (a good friend from high school and my best friend).  We started Friday night off with dinner at a Thai restaurant, which I picked up the tab for ($70).  We went out for drinks afterwards which they covered.  Saturday morning we all went to Panera Bread for breakfast (~$20, picked up by me) followed by some shopping at the Outlets ($41), a beer tour (free) and booze sampler (~$10 covered by friend, drank by all of us), then a trek to another mall where I bought lunch for us in the food court (~$12), and also bought some Bare Escentuals powder ($26) at Sephora, and redeemed a fragrance certificate I had bought online (amazing grace).  I also bought some miscellaneous supplies (pens and other knick knacks to mail to my friends, ~$20) but my boyfriend accidentally threw them out before I even made my packages.  Oh well, I guess I’ll start over.  Saturday night we went to a party, and ate and drank for free, which was nice.  Sunday morning we ate breakfast at Atlanta Bread Co, paid for by one friend, and then shopping (I bought a book, $7)and the other friend paid for lunch at a Mexican restaurant ($40).  Then we went to a movie (I paid about $21 for the 3 of us) and we were still full from lunch, so didn’t really have dinner.  They left on Monday morning.  Total damage for the weekend was a little more than $200.  Not too bad, but I am entertaining one of those friends again this weekend, and these things add up, especially since I will be driving back and forth a ton showing her the sights.  *Sigh*.. Having friends around is fine and good, but it hard trying to entertain and keeping the budget low.  We could have eaten more at the house, but opted not to.  Oh well.  Christmas update coming soon.

Decisions

Yesterday, my boyfriend called me at work and asked me if I was interested in going to Brazil in February for Carnival.  We would be going with his friend and staying at his friend’s girlfriend’s house that lives in Brazil.  Apparently the exchange rate for the US dollar there is great right now, and we would only need to pay for the flight and food, and the housing would be basically free, other than a gift we would get for the family and some cash we may leave for them.  I want to go so badly!  I would only miss one class, and I can probably get the time off for it (the time off schedule hasn’t been made yet). 

Lucky boyfriend went to Brazil last year with work, so he’s a little more familiar with it than I am, but I want to go so badly!  The main part that sucks is that it only gives me a few paychecks to scrape up about a grand, and it also means it will put me behind in being debt free for the year.  However, I am expecting a bonus in February, so that should help me get ahead a little bit.  Unfortunately, I can’t put it toward my trip, bc I will probably receive it while I’m on vacation.  I have made the decision that if everything works out, I will go, but it means I will have to set aside $400 from this paycheck, $700 from the next paycheck (Jan.8^th) , and another $400 from Jan.22^nd paycheck.  This should give me ample money for a ticket and activities while I’m down there, but it does mean lean times for me until the trip.  I wish I had more notice and more time to save, but I guess if I had beefed up my travel fund earlier, I wouldn’t be having these problems.          

Lazy

Not only have I been super lazy the past few weeks, I’ve also been pretty busy.  No excuse not to post, but I’ll have to sum up what I have been up to:

·         I received a letter from a collection agency about my previous apartment’s deposit.  They said I owed $260, which is fine and all, since the apartment wasn’t super clean when I left, but I never received an initial bill, so I am pretty mad that they sent me to collection without trying to bill me first.  I paid it right away, but I hope it doesn’t negatively affect my credit too much. 

·         I decided it’s time for me to take responsibility for more of my finances, so my little ’01 Civic (currently owned by my dad) is being transferred to me.  So, he will do the title transfer in Texas, and once that is done, I guess I have to jump through some hoops and get that car registered in Pennsylvania, and I will also have to start paying car insurance (which I think costs about $600 for 6 months).  I guess I picked a good time to start doing this, just as my $100/month phone contract is about to end.  As of next week, I will be switching my boyfriend and myself to prepaid, which I think will save me at least $600 next year.  We will be using his work phone for any long phone calls, but both felt it was necessary to maintain our numbers and not have a contract. 

·         Now that I will have to get my car registered in PA, I will also need to make the necessary fixes so I pass the PA inspection.  This includes replacing my slightly (two tiny dots!!) cracked windshield for about $250, and also doing some brake work to my rear brakes (about $300).  Then paying for the inspection, and an oil change.

·         Another thing car-related that isn’t necessary but would look nice is replacing my dinged up bumper.  That will be another $300, but I am trying to prioritize for now, so that is closer to the bottom of the list.

·         I am dying to get LASIK!  I think I really need it, and I have problems driving at night.  I know the price has gone down significantly, and starts at around $500 per eye depending on how bad your eyesight is.  This is a total want but it will also improve my driving skills.

·         Debt --- creating a plan of action!  I decided I will pay the cc off first.  It is around $2500 right now, not to mention the $1600 I still owe my mom.  I must eliminate this.

·         Dental work—though my teeth haven’t been bothering me, I know I have plenty of cavities to get filled, and I also need to get a root canal and a crown on one tooth.  It will probably cost me $1,000 -$1500 even with insurance. 

·         Rent—I will be paying my boyfriend $2,400 for rent next year.  When the other roommate moves out, I think I may start contributing a slightly higher amount. 

·         Christmas shopping is almost officially over.  I added a little bit to my boyfriend’s gift, bc I want him to have stuff to open from me on Christmas. 

·         My best friend and another good friend will be visiting me a couple times throughout the next few weeks.  I know this is going to end up being a pretty expensive time for me, and I will be gladly picking up the tab for much of what is done.  She is in law school and does not work, and did pay for the ticket to fly up, so I have no problem paying for our New York and Philly excursions.  For the weekend they’ll both be at my house, I made up an itinerary that shouldn’t be too costly, but I have my ccard for backup (bad, I know!).

·         School is almost over, and I only have one paper to finish up! Next semester should be a piece of cake, (I hope).  I will only be in class one night a week.  I am seriously contemplating an additional part time job. 

 

So, that is the basic overview of what has happened since my last blog post.  Sadly, my emergency fund is nonexistent, and I really need to work on saving more and spending less.  I just bought a cute North Face fleece and new bras this weekend, and will probably be shopping more when my friends come to town.  (Sad but true).  At least I have a good grasp on what to expect as far as next year’s expenses.