A swift kick in the butt

Remember a few posts back when I announced the launch of the website I work for? The one about anonymous notes to anyone that everyone can read? Well I started getting some feedback about my blog on the site and there's one particular note below that I want to share with everyone:

Someone is Sharing a Note to Clueless With Cash Blog from Fastnote.com

Now the reason I post this is not for a pity party. Quite the opposite actually. It's just the kick in the ass I needed to stop dinkin' around and really start figuring things out. I know I'm clueless, why else would I have named the blog Clueless with Cash? It certainly wasn't just to be cute.

I can't do anything about the past but I can focus on where to go from here and that starts today. It just so happens that I got three paychecks in September. Since I always split my bills into two paychecks, I feel kind of like have a freebie with this one. Here's how I'm breaking it down:

All of my funds will be refilled as usual minus rent. I can always have a little extra cushion room in each of those funds but rent always stays the same and will always only require two paychecks. That extra money is going straight towards my credit card bill.

The next two weekends will be spent out of town, where my allowance will definitely be spent, so I will work hard to use what I have when I'm home. I did some smart grocery shopping last night and got more cereal for breakfasts and brought lunch and snacks for work so I won't spend a dime. I have a few meals planned out for next week too so I shouldn't need to buy anything for the next two weeks. I only have one shift at Express next week but I'll take it. I'm dropping off 3 applications for waitressing jobs tonight.

I'd love to hear any other feedback ya'll might have for me so either comment or leave me a note on fastnote.com!

Oh and I suppose it's day eight...three turn ons...
1. Humor and the ability to make me genuinely laugh out loud
2. Being personable and charming
3. The ability and desire to cook well

My new home!

Well you know how I've been looking into housing options now that my lease will be up soon? Well, I've decided to move...to the poor house! I'll be sure to have a house warming party with plenty of ramen and tap water though, don't worry! Everyone is invited!

I'm actually probably staying in my apartment for another six month lease but we might as well refer to it as the poor house because that's what it will be. I am still eagerly looking for a better paying part-time job but until then, yikes.

You might be wondering, why am I all the sudden freaking out and hauling ass to the poor house? Well, you see, I happen to have people very near and dear to my heart all over this lovely nation. This requires airfare. Fortunately (or unfortunately with my finances), I found a website that compares six different flight search engines AND sends me e-mails notifying me of cheap flights to destinations I normally go. Well yesterday was a doozy for cheap flights to all of my favorite people and I couldn't pass it up. I snagged a last-minute flight to NYC this weekend (I already had the weekend off from Express so what better thing to do with my weekend?!) where I will see 4 different groups of my people I love! Later in the day, I was also informed of really inexpensive airfare to Minneapolis! HOME!! I've been hoping to get back to that area sometime during the holidays but flights were over $500 and I can't spend a month's rent on a few days home :( So I jumped on two different opportunities to head home both for less than the price of one holiday ticket! One is for a quick  Christmas trip and the other is a surprise! I'm just going to show up when you least expect it and knock your socks off! Get ready Minnesota! I couldn't be more excited and I think it's entirely worth eating Ramen for a solid year.

That being said, I'm going to strategically plan meals for the food I have left and from today on out I'm going to really buckle down and live minimally. I won't be wasteful and I will put in extra effort to make meals that will last me a while. I will also give in to working as much as I can at Express until I find a new job. I have a meeting with the editor of the local paper next week so that might help me get some freelance opportunities. I doubt it would be a position that pays enough to cover a second job but it'd be a job I have a lot of experience with and really enjoy doing. I'll let you know how it goes :)

Also, while I was on the phone discussing flights with my mom last night, she told me she shipped me a lot of my things from home! 5 whole boxes! It's all stuff I didn't critically need right away but with fall around the corner (I hope...it's still pretty warm here!) I'll need a few warmer outfits among other things. Since I clearly won't be shopping for a very very very long time, it will feel like Christmas and I am so excited to be reunited with my stuff!

Last but not least I missed a day with that daily post deal so here's day six.
Day Six: Five people (I'm changing this to groups of people) who mean a lot to you.
1. My parents
2. Sissy
3. The BFF
4. My Musketeers!
5. My uncle


Clearly I have plenty more people that should be on this list but that's the most I could squeeze in. Don't get jealous. 


Here's day seven: four turn-offs
1. Lying
2. Guys that are too interested or too available (I know that seems weird but I don't like being smothered or feeling guilty that I clearly am not as interested) Get a life.
3. People that don't try on purpose
4. Being rude without apology

Happy Monday...Day Five

Good Morning! I had a very inexpensive weekend and actually got a lot of sleep. Express screwed me over on Saturday so I didn't end up working this weekend. I drove ALL THE WAY THERE (30 min drive minimum) and the new manager tries to tell me I was supposed to be there an hour earlier (umm..nope, check the schedule lady!) and that she had called and left me a voicemail saying I didn't need to come in but wondering if I could work that night instead. Well, I never got a voicemail and my phone never rang. She didn't even know my name when looking at the schedule so maybe she called the wrong person. Regardless, I wasn't going to spend 2 hours of my day driving back and forth for a 4.5 hour shift, where I'd make $28 after taxes. No thank you. It's hard enough justifying working there but when they pull things like this I just want to up and leave pronto.

I definitely have some financial stress to get off my chest though and I need your help. So when I do the math, there is no possible way for me to cover my expenses with the current jobs and the current hours I have now. Not even close. Not even if I ate Ramen for the next 6 months straight. I am on the hunt to figure out what makes the most sense. I know I'm going to quit Express because it's just too hard to justify near minimum wage and working that many hours.  It doesn't bring me even close to the monthly income I would need to cover my student loans so it's just not an option anymore. I need to be spending my time where it actually counts.

Here are my options:
1-Keep my full-time job and find a better part-time job. Bar-tending maybe, or a waitress? I've always wanted to waitress but I don't have any experience and I'd have to go to bar-tending school before I could bar-tend. Hmmm...worth looking into.
2-Turn my full-time job into a part-time job and find a different full-time job with an actual salary and benefits. I really do like where I work but sometimes it's hard to justify a full 40 hours of work in a week and an internship salary definitely won't pay all the bills. Not sure if this is even an option with the boss but worth looking into.
3-Find a much cheaper place to live so my income MIGHT be able to stretch enough to cover everything. Not sure what my options are here considering not a lot of people need roommates in January but we'll see.
4-Quit everything, pack up and head back home. The thought has crossed my mind but I really love it here and I don't want to feel like I'm giving up. I'd still need a job back home of course since these student loans wont pay for themselves but I could live in my parents basement and save a few expenses maybe.

Tonight I'll be sitting down with my updated resume, my job hunting hat, some wings and Monday Night Football and I will figure out my options. Wish me luck! Any advice or input is greatly appreciated. Or if any of you lovely readers wants to start a "Help Katie stay in the Carolinas" fund, I think it could really catch on ;)

Anyway, I took a break over the weekend from this 10 Days thing. I had plenty of time but I'm just not a big weekend blogger.
Day Five: Six things you wish you could change or you wish you’d never done.
1. I wish I could change my financial situation (obviously!) I'm working on it!
2. I wish I was a faster reader. No matter how much I read, I'm just slow because I like to really comprehend it all I guess.
3. I wish I never would have ended a few friendships in my past. 
4. I wish I would have made more friends in college-totally my fault and probably a result of transferring as a sophomore and having a boyfriend the whole time, neither of which I regret so it was my doing but I wish I would have balanced it better to have both. 
5. I wish I was more up to date with current events. I try to change this but it's hard to keep up.
6. I wish I could change my natural hair color to be the highlighted blonde I dye it. It would save me lots of money and I would never have to be brunette again. 


Don't forget, give me any advice possible on this turning point I'm facing please!

Day Four

Nothing new financially. Last night was fabulous and although nothing too exciting is planned for this weekend, I'm looking forward to it. I'm happy to be working and making some money and I'm excited to watch the Gamecocks play Sat. night. I recently bought season 5 of How I Met Your Mother (during my trip to Target this week...I forgot to tell you...oops.) and I plan on going to the library tonight to get some good books to relax with :)

To continue with this 10 days thing...here are 7 things that cross my mind a lot.
1. Boys (a specific one much much more so than others but that's for me to know about and MAYBE I'll talk about it one day...MAYBE)
2. Work
3. What I'll eat today
4. All of the people and things I miss from back home
5. "I should work out today"
6. Money/my budget/how to make ends meet
7. Variations of thoughts about how much my life has changed over the summer.

Deep, I know. I'm not proud to admit that boys are number one...I feel like I'm 15 again...but it's unfortunately honest. Have a good weekend ya'll!

Is it Thursday already?

Nothing new financially besides a tiny trip to Target last night for some cleaning supplies. Yes, I looked at clothes AND shoes (duh, after a bad day it's only natural) but refused to purchase any of them (kudos!) but then I came across the halloween candy and had to get some candy corn (the good bag with the pumpkins and the brown striped ones too!).

8 Things I can't live without:
1. Most people in my life
2. Pizza and Steak
3. Electronics: phone, tv, ipod, laptop, nook etc. (although breaks from all of these can be nice!)
4. Hugs
5. Diet Coke/Coffee
6. The Vikings (minus Brett Favre!)
7. Traveling
8. Work (I really do like having a job believe it or not)

I didn't think I could fit it all into a list of 8 but I cheated a little and managed :)

Day Two

With my paycheck from Express coming on Friday, an extra $25 from my gas gift card and $30 from babysitting last night, I just made a $169 payment to my credit card bill. Yay. Slowly but surely, right? I really am trying, no matter how difficult it is to be strict.

I also have a slight problem I've discovered. I ate dinner with the kids I babysat. When I left I went to a friend's house to watch Glee and ate a second dinner with them! Why did I shell out another $6 for a meal I didn't need? I wasn't even hungry! I need to work on that because that's money I could spend elsewhere! I still have allowance left but I have a whole week to keep it in tact and I'm assuming it won't be easy. Ugh. Too overwhelmed. I really do need to find a new second job that would help income better. Still taking suggestions!

Day Two of this blogging project: 9 Things Most People Don't Know About Me
1. I'm allergic to trees. I can't have a real christmas tree, I can't jump into a pile of leaves in the fall and I will never be a tree hugger. People tend to freak out when they hear this but really, I'm not missing out on much in life. It messes up my allergies and asthma every spring and fall but otherwise it doesn't affect me too much.

2. I have a cup of coffee every morning even though I mostly hate the taste. I refuse to give up a busy lifestyle so I make that sacrifice. And I like the idea of being a coffee drinker. Strange but true.

3. I'm a very slow reader even though I love to read. In this instance practice does not make me better. I was recently informed that I'm probably a slow reader because I'm a natural editor. Just because I'm a slow reader will never cause me to stop reading though. Now that I've graduated I read for a little bit nearly every day.

4. I don't know if I want kids. Growing up I selfishly refused the idea of ever being a mom. I came around to the idea for a bit during college and now that I'm on my own again, I am back to debating it. I love kids and I'm a great babysitter. I wish I had a lot of siblings who had lots of kids because I'd make a great aunt and godmother but I'm not sure if I'll ever be fully cut out to be a mother. Who knows how my mind will change over time but that's where I'm at for now and it always surprises people. I think I would need a much more demanding job or big life project (similar to Oprah) to keep me busy and to justify not having kids though. We'll see. Anything is possible.

5. I wish I were a runner. I love the idea of running, letting it clear my mind and being great for my body. When it comes down to it though, it bores me! Plus I am terribly out of shape have asthma, which has always been my excuse.

6. I found a church I really like. Most people don't know this because it just happened two weeks ago but people are also surprised to hear this because I spent years and years uninterested in church/religion.

7. I write better than I talk. Most people don't know this because I talk to people more than I write (although it's a tough call since I e-mail, blog, text etc. a big chunk of the time too). My thoughts flow much more fluidly with a pen or keyboard at hand. When I talk, words come out wrong, my ideas aren't conveyed accurately or concisely and I always feel like a big moron most of the time. I'm not saying I'm a great writer, I just wish I could write everything instead of talk some days.

8. I love to go new places but I'm terrible at meeting new people on my own. I'm shy. People are surprised when I make friends in my new surroundings and it usually looks like I'm very social but it takes a lot of effort for me. I like it much better when other people approach me and make it easy to instantly feel comfortable. If that's not the case, I'm usually much more content hanging out by myself.

9. I'm naturally messy. A lot of people close to me know this but definitely not a result of my blog so now it's out there for everyone to know. Growing up my room was never clean and I've never grown out of that. I've gotten a tiny bit better now that I'm not swamped with work + school but most people would still consider me a mess. However, I'm a natural cleaner when I'm stressed. I find total relaxation in cleaning so it tends to balance itself out. Tonight, I plan on doing lots of cleaning (not just tidying and putting away clothes but scrubbing counters etc. too). It's been a crappy/stressful day and I'm going to take it out on my apartment and my car.

That was actually harder to write than I thought. It's easy to spill my guts about my finances but when I think of things I don't typically reveal to people, I found myself at a loss. Now you know :) Get ready for tomorrow's eight things I can't live without!

Weekend Update

This post was meant to happen yesterday but time got away from me. I had an absolutely fantastic weekend and couldn't have asked for more! My bank account is also a happy camper about the weekend! Friday I snuck away with two girlfriends and had the most carefree night I might have ever had. Great food, great music, great company! I tried biscuits and gravy and I learned how to shag (it's a dance you pervs!). Besides a few groceries for dinner and drinks, I spent nothing!

Saturday was another Gamecocks game and you guessed it, we won! They will be sad next week when we lose because I won't be there :( I really do have to work this weekend and it's finally an away game. We tailgated and I met some fun new people. Besides Subway for lunch and a slice of pizza at the game, I spent nothing! The nice guy I was sitting next to let me join him for free :) I'm a lucky duck huh?

Sunday I got up and went to church (this is the first time in my life I've gone to two services in a row and didn't crack jokes in my head or laugh til I cried...yup, I have done this on a regular basis and the reason I don't go to church very often...so apparently I'm getting something out of these services for once) and had to work all afternoon. I had a delicious dinner at a friend's house and enjoyed relaxing the rest of the night.

I babysit tonight for my favorite boys (2/3 of them at least) and my credit card bill is happy about that (so am I of course!). I've done a good job of not putting much on the card so if I can keep the payments coming and limit the spending, I'll be set.

I increased my availability at Express to include Wednesday nights because I need to cut back on being social and focus more on being financially stable. It's just so hard to justify missing out on a fun night with new friends for a whopping $28 (sometimes even less than that!). I know it all adds up  If you have any ideas of jobs that pay more that I could work evenings and weekends, please let me know. I think it's time for a change since Express isn't getting me very far.

I know this is off track from my finances but I saw this on one of the blogs I follow and I want to try it out:
Day One: Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.

Day Two: Nine things about yourself that most people don't know.

Day Three: Eight things you couldn't live without.

Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.

Day Five: Six things you wish you could change or you wish you’d never done.

Day Six: Five people who mean a lot to you.

Day Seven: Four turn offs.

Day Eight: Three turn ons.

Day Nine: Two words that describe your life right now.

Day Ten: One confession.

Here are two blogs that are also doing this challenge if you want to read what other people have to write:
http://forthelove-mb.blogspot.com/2010/09/last-2-days-and-next-10.html
http://runninglawyer.blogspot.com/


Boss(es): Thank you for listening to my opinions and actually making me feel valid. I know I'm young and don't always have a ton of experience but I always feel like I can speak up with ideas and it really motivates me when these ideas are taken seriously.

Mom & Dad: Thanks for supporting me from half way across the country! I miss you both very much but I'm doing great down here and I love our phone calls and skype chats.

Jessie: Thanks for still being my friend even when you think I'm a moron. You always tell me the cold truth and I appreciate it.

DS: Stop tapping your shoes together to the WAY TOO LOUD music you have playing in our office. Even with my headphones on, it's hard to drown you out and I wish you'd stop. Thanks!

Most of the male population: Please give me a break from all your crazies. It's baffling and exhausting.

Amanda: I wish your phone worked or you used e-mail or facebook or ANY form of communication (snail mail, morse code, ANYTHING!) because I really miss my best friend and I hate that we can never figure out a good time to talk. Please get back into my life soon because I really want to be in yours!

Brett Favre: Retire (mid-season is totally fine with me), go back to Mississippi and stay there. You're not worth all the drama you put us through and the extra money we spent on you and you're really just a major disappointment.

cRf: Thanks for being my silver lining and my social life conductor! My life would be much less exciting in the South without you!

Managers at Express: I was up for a promotion at my store right before I transferred down to North Carolina. I think I've proven myself pretty well and deserve that promotion already. It would really help justify working there. Thanks.

If you count my parents as two people (which I do because they are very different!), then that's 10! A lot of thanks with a few annoyances, not bad. Get excited to learn a few new things about me tomorrow :)