After much delay with travel and starting job #2, I've clearly been slacking in the writing department. As you will soon learn it is a direct correlation to my poor spending habits. The less I write, the more I spend and stray from budget. But here's the thing, most of that time I didn't even have a set budget. I didn't know how much my paychecks would be, utilities etc. But I've cleaned up my Excel budget, got a new bank account (still have the old) and now trying to do some major damage control.
My credit card bill has magically (or so I'd like to think) sky rocketed to just over $1000. I had to buy new contacts, I had two flights and two hotels on there, my parents' fathers/mothers/both birthdays/anniversary present (a wii-totally worth it by the way!) and misc. expenses from transitioning down here. I haven't been able to stock up on groceries in a LONG time because I don't want to take over my boss' kitchen where I was staying-LOTS of fast food :( All in all, things have gotten out of control. Not to mention there have been no savings and no loan payments all summer. Not cool.
That will all change this weekend, however. I moved into my new place last night! I still have one more trip to make from my boss' place but it's livable. I've never had my own place before so it's pretty neat. The best part is that I can start making my own food and save a LOT of money that way. Since I'm the only one there I can also control the utilities. I don't mind a warm room so I'll keep the AC low and try to use appliances sparingly to save on the energy bill. I did get a target gift card and money for my birthday to use for my place so this weekend I'll go get the necessary items. The biggest issue is that I don't have a microwave. I do plan on making big batches of meals and heating up leftovers to last me for days-I realized though that I'll have to use the oven for now. Normally that's not too big of a hassle but now that I'm working both jobs, I don't exactly have all the time in the world. Any advice on where to get a decent, working microwave for cheap?
Anyways, I'll be sure to update more regularly from now on. Here's one quick update on the credit card bill before I go:
I did just get $300 for graduation from extended family so that will put a dent in the bill. It's not due until Aug. 4th so I have a little time but yikes! It should now be down to $684 with that payment. Now that I've started at Express too (my availability is literally everyday so I'll work as much as they let me!), all that money will go to the bill 'til it's paid off. Then I can even start to think about rebuilding my emergency fund and then tackle loans. It will be a slow but sure process and I plan on working as much as possible to get back on track and to be in better financial standings. Wish me luck!
It might be too late, but we got one for free of Craigslist when we moved into an apt without one. It was huge and probably older then me, but it worked!
ReplyDeletewhat are you referring to? the microwave? my boss actually had a really old one from when one of his kids was at college. It hardly works unless I tell it I want it to cook popcorn so I can't set a specific time but it does the trick lol!
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