Dream when you're feelin' blue
Dream, that's the thing to do
Just watch the smoke rings rise in the air
You'll find you're share of memories there
So dream, when the day is through
Dream and they might come true
Things never are as bad as they seem
So dream, dream, dream
After Friday's loan payment of $46.75, I can't help but feel defeated. After paying off interest, that's only a $35 dent. I rarely get days off and when I do, I volunteer to work and yet I'm able to only make teeny tiny dents in my major loans and it's bumming me out. I know any progress is better than none but when I'm working really hard every day plus school, it's a lot for such a minor reward. I worked until 1am last night and have to go back today but next loan payment will be about the same. I just wish it were a little easier to see the benefit of working this hard.
Sorry for the short post but I have to finish homework and go to work-again. Hopefully I can find a positive attitude somewhere. In the meantime, I'm going to dream...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Update...
With the advice from my uncle and the Utah bff, 50% is just way too much to put into savings each paycheck when I already have an emergency fund complete and loans are just too much of a priority for me. I am going to keep adding 20% to savings and the rest will be a loan payment. I'm pretty excited because I still get to add to savings while making minor MINOR dents in my loan payments. After this payment of $47, I'll be within sight of being under $3000 on this loan. That'll still mean a few more payments until I'm at that point but it's still a nice milestone.
Also, Wednesday is double daze (yes they spell it that way) at Rainbow, so all coupons are worth double their amount. I had a lot of coupons to use but bonehead me forgot a few. It was still nice to see a little extra savings where I can find it. That also means I can make more meals rather than spending so much on fast food. Steak was on sale so we get to live large tonight and have delicious steak and potatoes. YUMMM!!!-yes, definitely deserves three M's.
Last but not least, my hair fund is 100% complete so I'm very excited for my appointment in a week! I also was able to add $20 to my Spring Break fund so I'm more and more prepared for a crazy time! After I paid for my yoga pants from Express, I'm left with $40 allowance for the next two weeks. If I can reduce my spending on fast food, I'll be good to go! Wish me luck!
Also, Wednesday is double daze (yes they spell it that way) at Rainbow, so all coupons are worth double their amount. I had a lot of coupons to use but bonehead me forgot a few. It was still nice to see a little extra savings where I can find it. That also means I can make more meals rather than spending so much on fast food. Steak was on sale so we get to live large tonight and have delicious steak and potatoes. YUMMM!!!-yes, definitely deserves three M's.
Last but not least, my hair fund is 100% complete so I'm very excited for my appointment in a week! I also was able to add $20 to my Spring Break fund so I'm more and more prepared for a crazy time! After I paid for my yoga pants from Express, I'm left with $40 allowance for the next two weeks. If I can reduce my spending on fast food, I'll be good to go! Wish me luck!
Is it really only Wednesday?
Yikes, this week has been jam packed and it's only half way finished! Oh well I guess, today is payday and spring break is in less than a month! WAHOO!!
I decided to pick up a closing shift Saturday so that will help my paychecks and keep me out of spending trouble again! After they cut so many shifts during the last pay period, I should definitely take what I can get. I get nervous now when I check to see if the schedule is posted for next week because I don't know now if it's just not posted yet or I'm not scheduled at all. As of last night it wasn't posted so I'm trying to be patient but it's hard not knowing what your income will be.
As I mentioned, they cut a lot of shifts last pay period so when I saw how much I'll receive this Friday, I wasn't too pleased. I like to split my paycheck in half: half to savings, half to checkings. What's in my checkings finishes off whatever amount I need to make my budget work and the rest goes towards a loan payment. With this paycheck however, there is exactly enough going to checkings to make my budget work that there will be no loan payment for me this paycheck. It makes me kind of sad and now I'm wondering if I'm putting too much in my savings? Half a paycheck? Granted a smaller paycheck of the two but still, half is a lot when I have a 12.5% interest rate trying to rape me (sorry for the graphic wording but it's true-I literally rack up $1 a day in interest on that bad boy!). Anyways, what do you guys think? Saving is really important since I do have SO much to save up for and I know it's smart to have at least 10-20% of your paycheck go to your savings but is %50 just not realistic?
I decided to pick up a closing shift Saturday so that will help my paychecks and keep me out of spending trouble again! After they cut so many shifts during the last pay period, I should definitely take what I can get. I get nervous now when I check to see if the schedule is posted for next week because I don't know now if it's just not posted yet or I'm not scheduled at all. As of last night it wasn't posted so I'm trying to be patient but it's hard not knowing what your income will be.
As I mentioned, they cut a lot of shifts last pay period so when I saw how much I'll receive this Friday, I wasn't too pleased. I like to split my paycheck in half: half to savings, half to checkings. What's in my checkings finishes off whatever amount I need to make my budget work and the rest goes towards a loan payment. With this paycheck however, there is exactly enough going to checkings to make my budget work that there will be no loan payment for me this paycheck. It makes me kind of sad and now I'm wondering if I'm putting too much in my savings? Half a paycheck? Granted a smaller paycheck of the two but still, half is a lot when I have a 12.5% interest rate trying to rape me (sorry for the graphic wording but it's true-I literally rack up $1 a day in interest on that bad boy!). Anyways, what do you guys think? Saving is really important since I do have SO much to save up for and I know it's smart to have at least 10-20% of your paycheck go to your savings but is %50 just not realistic?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Good morning and happy Monday!
So this weekend wasn't the greatest financial weekend of my life but I'm just going to go with the idea that "I lived a little".
I'm in desperate need of some groceries because when I'm on the go or have work breaks, it's usually fast food since I don't have/haven't take then time to make meals. Oops. It's racked up and I'm disappointed about that but I'll do better this week. MG already made me some muffins for breakfast for the week so there's a start!
On top of the terrible eating habits, the BFF came to visit Saturday night and man did we have a good time! We went downtown to the Shout House to meet up with a roommate of mine who was having mother daughter weekend with her bff and their moms. Her mom taught Matt in high school and grew up with her bff. The thing about going on Saturday is it's the only night of the week with no drink specials and a cover charge. Bye bye money. Between two taxi rides, $8 cover charge and drinks at $5 a piece, whoops, there goes $50. And I can't forget to mention I wasn't the only one spending that much. MG and the BFF definitely spent more than that too!
It was a great evening and a rough morning BUT I managed to pick up a shift at Express on Sunday. I dragged my bum into the store and got a solid 6 hour shift in when I definitely could have stayed in bed. I was impressed. I have yet to pick up a shift for next weekend. I know I should but there's a lot of people coming to visit and my house will be a crazy party house. I believe my roomie has 7-8 guys coming to visit so after a late shift at work, I'm going to want to sleep, not come home to a super loud crazy house. BUT if I work, I make money and I occupy my time so I can't spend money. I'm still deciding.
Last (on purpose because maybe you won't read this far down) I broke my lent deal already. I have these yoga pants from Express and they're fantastic for the yoga I do (go figure!). It's hot yoga so they're better than shorts because that way I can hold the moves without my skin rubbing against itself and slipping from all the sweat. Also, when I'm doing yoga a 3-4 times a week with sweat dripping off my eye lashes, that adds up to be a lot of laundry for 1 pair of pants each week. As a result, I bought 2 more pairs. They were buy 1 get 1 half off so with my discount that's $29 and don't worry, they're different colors. I still plan on sticking with no more purchases until Easter but it just made sense on that one. I even had MG approve it-since he grew up Catholic ya know.
Maybe not working this weekend will keep me out of spending trouble after all...
I'm in desperate need of some groceries because when I'm on the go or have work breaks, it's usually fast food since I don't have/haven't take then time to make meals. Oops. It's racked up and I'm disappointed about that but I'll do better this week. MG already made me some muffins for breakfast for the week so there's a start!
On top of the terrible eating habits, the BFF came to visit Saturday night and man did we have a good time! We went downtown to the Shout House to meet up with a roommate of mine who was having mother daughter weekend with her bff and their moms. Her mom taught Matt in high school and grew up with her bff. The thing about going on Saturday is it's the only night of the week with no drink specials and a cover charge. Bye bye money. Between two taxi rides, $8 cover charge and drinks at $5 a piece, whoops, there goes $50. And I can't forget to mention I wasn't the only one spending that much. MG and the BFF definitely spent more than that too!
It was a great evening and a rough morning BUT I managed to pick up a shift at Express on Sunday. I dragged my bum into the store and got a solid 6 hour shift in when I definitely could have stayed in bed. I was impressed. I have yet to pick up a shift for next weekend. I know I should but there's a lot of people coming to visit and my house will be a crazy party house. I believe my roomie has 7-8 guys coming to visit so after a late shift at work, I'm going to want to sleep, not come home to a super loud crazy house. BUT if I work, I make money and I occupy my time so I can't spend money. I'm still deciding.
Last (on purpose because maybe you won't read this far down) I broke my lent deal already. I have these yoga pants from Express and they're fantastic for the yoga I do (go figure!). It's hot yoga so they're better than shorts because that way I can hold the moves without my skin rubbing against itself and slipping from all the sweat. Also, when I'm doing yoga a 3-4 times a week with sweat dripping off my eye lashes, that adds up to be a lot of laundry for 1 pair of pants each week. As a result, I bought 2 more pairs. They were buy 1 get 1 half off so with my discount that's $29 and don't worry, they're different colors. I still plan on sticking with no more purchases until Easter but it just made sense on that one. I even had MG approve it-since he grew up Catholic ya know.
Maybe not working this weekend will keep me out of spending trouble after all...
Friday, February 19, 2010
Here comes the bride...(not me though!)
My Utah BFF is getting married in a little over a year! WAHOO!! We've already started talking about colors etc which is just so stinking exciting! But you know what that means, I need to start a savings fund to have money to fly out there, get a dress, buy presents, do the bachelorette party thing, etc. Good thing I have a year because this is a mega important event! My current plan is once Spring Break is over, I'll put $20 from each paycheck into an envelope for that. Come summer or fall, I may be getting weekly paychecks so that might help speed up the savings and ensure I have enough for everything! So excited!
Also, I sold 3 books back yesterday and received a whopping $30. But that's $30 I'm adding to my allowance to help get through this week. I went out for a friend's birthday last night and another friend or two is visiting tomorrow night and sometimes that can get pricey. But I deserve a night or two of fun after all this working!
Speaking of work, I was able to pick up 1 shift from Express. I could have taken a Sat. night closing shift but I still haven't decided since my roommates have friends coming to town and that'd be really fun to be included on the night. We'll see. Regardless, I'll definitely take that 1 shift and see what else I can grab this weekend while I'm there.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Are you kidding me?
We get our schedules for Express Sun-Sat usually that Tues/Wed before, short notice but whatevs. Anyways, the schedule still is blank for me online so I called the store and it says I'm not scheduled at all for the next week. WTF!? So I have this Sunday off, next Fri night off and all day Sat? Seriously? I needed that money! I know for a fact I didn't request off any of those days so I'm REAL annoyed. I know most people would be excited for all that time off but I'm trying to work hard here!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Ask and you shall receive
I just got home from night class and my payment is finally posted on the Sallie Mae website! AND what's even better is that the interest really still does say $0.00!!! WAHOO! It's a beautiful sight! What I love even more is that my loan amount went from $4120 to it's current standing of $3,231.00. And in 1 week from Friday I get to make another payment. I'm not sure how much the payment will be exactly since I don't normally calculate how many hours I work in a pay period at Express and it's hard to estimate with taxes etc. but still, any little bit helps so I'm definitely excited! I love being in the swing of my original budget plan!
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