I'm not sure what to think of this.

Awhile ago I got a free FICO score through myfico.com Then it was 703. I just got another free FICO score through the same place and it is now 685. It's been a few months since I checked my credit reports, so I went to annualcreditreport.com and tried to look at my credit reports.

I couldn't. Two said they were unable to do so online and I would have to send in the form to receive my credit report. The third said that I had already received my free credit report through them for the year and I would have to pay for it. But I haven't received my free report from them. I'm positive of it.

I'm a little worried now. I haven't received any of my reports online before so I don't know if this is usual.

ETA: We just checked boyfriend's score and report to make sure there is nothing funny with his. He has a score of 766 and so far his reports look clean.

Sometimes things just fall into your lap.

I've been meaning to get the carpet cleaned for a couple months. It's not disgusting, but there are a few stains that I can't get out. When I was taking out the trash, a sales lady approached me. She asked if I would like to get a carpet cleaning done for free. It can't be the whole house (obviously) but they can do one room. I said sure and asked if they could do the living room.

They'll be here between 10-12 to do the living room for free. And if they do a good job, I fully intend to hire them to clean the hallway carpet and the carpet in my brother's room.

Sometimes, it pays to procrastinate.

But not when it comes to my car. I about 2 weeks past a regular tune up and I need to get my tires rotated. So I'm going to call the mechanic and make an appointment. I won't be going to the usual Lube Express so I might pay an extra $10-15 to go to a nicer mechanic. Definitely worth it. They also off free classes on basic mechanics to women so I'm going to try to go to one of those.

Today wasn't much fun.

I had to write two papers for my English class and read a TON of pages of Luther and Erasmus. It wouldn't have been so bad if I had started earlier but *cough* I didn't. Hehe. I took a walk between the papers to clear my head and recharge.

What matters is that I got it all done, and before 10 pm tonight!

Dinner was hard tonight. It took about an hour and a half from start to finish. Any other day that would have been fine but I was in no mood to be cooking so long. Turned out really well but the stuffed shells is a recipe I will be reserving for special occasions. I'm sure I could find a quicker recipe for it elsewhere though.

I went to the grocery store to redeem my coins. Not for cash this time, but for a gift card to Amazon. I will spend that money on books- once I finish the very long line of books waiting to be read of course.

The next two days I will be going straight from school to work but I have the weekend off. I'll be finding out very soon about whether I'll be staying at my job. Maybe even tomorrow.

It's taken me almost two years, but here is my 200th post! Yay!

Last night I made a shrimp chowder. It was really good. I really surprised myself because the recipe called for sautéed onions and I've never sautéed onions before- or anything else. But sautéing onions turned out easier than I thought- now I just need to work on chopping them!

I think we need to get the knives sharpened as I had to press down a little too hard to get them to cut. We don't have a knife sharpener (beside the metal stick thing that came with the knife set). Is there a place that will sharpen the knives for me? I have no idea of what to even search for in the yellow pages.

Not much else to report on. I made a huge mess in the dinning room and I'm avoiding cleaning it up. Maybe I could get my boyfriend to clean it up...

Ick. I hate it when the weather is like this. It's hot with high humidity and no breeze. I could stand it if there was at least some kind of breeze. So boyfriend and I are going to buy him swim trunks and then go swimming at the pool.

I paid my tuition today. You guys were right- I was only charged $25 in late fees because they weren't open Saturday and Sunday. I paid the second half of the tuition today too.

Turns out I need to get one more book for my class. It wasn't listed online but it is required. We won't need it until next Monday so I have some time to get it.

I went grocery shopping today and only spent $85! I usually spend between $95-105 each week. I'm going to try a few new recipes this week. I think what made the grocery bill less this week was that I didn't buy any beef.

I also got some green tea and herbal tea. I've never really liked tea but I want to try the various flavors. I have this strange urge to buy a teapot but I won't buy one until I know that I'll drink tea regularly.

I've been meaning to go to the storage unit to get some books to sell online. I really need to do that tonight or early tomorrow. I have some homework to do and I want to get the books before the homework starts to pile up.

ETA: So I looked online for the two books I am missing for my class. One is by John Locke and is available for free download on the Kindle. Once I get my Kindle (should be here by Friday!) I'll download Locke and use that for school. The second is available in the library so Wednesday I will check it out and make copies of the pages I need at home (for free!). I could have purchased a used one for $15 online but I don't know if it will get here in time. Whew! Glad I solved that.

When I need to deposit money I usually go into the bank. Today the line was really long so I decided to use the ATM to deposit money.

I confused myself greatly! I didn't realize I need to put the cash in an envelope (I swear the ATM didn't say!) so I tried inserting the bills. But the ATM wouldn't take the bills. And then I forgot to write on the envelope how much cash was in it (after I figured out there were envelopes) and so it spit the envelope out. I went back to my car to fetch a pen and wrote the wrong amount on the envelope. Sigh. Oh well, the correct amount went into my checking anyway. I think I'm going to stick with going inside from now.

Boyfriend and I went mountain biking today. We cut it short as I'm really sore from work the other night.

In the middle of the night my cat decided to knock over a shelving unit (it's on wheels and has fabric drawers). She likes to sleep in the drawers because that's where we keep our PJs. It caused a very loud sound. Not a fun way to be woken up at 1 in the morning.

Boyfriend announced to his family the other day that we will be moving in together later this summer. It went surprisingly well he said. They didn't seem upset but at the same time not really happy either. I'll take that as a win- they've never been really fond of me and the past few months things have just gotten worse between his family and I. I think this is a good sign though.

Today was a good day.

My bike tire pump broke so boyfriend and I went to Sheels to get a new pump. Yeah, we could have gone to half a dozen places that are closer but Sheels is fun to walk around. We spent several dollars playing games and riding the ferris wheel. It's also near a beautiful (man-made) lake so we had a picnic.

Tomorrow we'll go on a bike ride.

I sold another movie on half.com! Before shipping I make $5.79. It will cost aout $1.00 to ship (DVDs are light) and I don't have to pay for an envelope.

I really don't want Monday to come. I don't want to take this English class. Unfortunately it is required. I'll just suffer through it.

that the thing you screw on a lamp after you put on the shade is called a finial?

Interesting.

That's all I have for today. Oh, wait, that's not true.

My credit card is being stupid. Amazon won't ship the Kindle until my CC is charged for the cost (naturally) but it is taking a while for the charge for the Kindle to go through. I'm not sure why it is taking so long. I'm not even close to going over my limit. Most charges go through within a day. I placed the order on Monday and it hasn't shown up. I doubled checked the CC number and everything.

I wonder if Amazon hasn't charged my CC yet. The item was in stock so I should have been charged for it immediately. Hm. Maybe tomorrow I'll make some calls- I am very impatient.

The first sale of this month happened today. Yay! I sold one of my old textbooks.

It sold for $22.50, so after the commission and shipping fees I made $17.65.

Not too shabby.

Tomorrow I'm meeting some friends for lunch and after wards I plan on going to the storage unit and picking out some more books to sell on half.com.

It's been a few days but I'm coming up for air after many hours of studying for finals.

Mark (my boyfriend- I don't think I've ever used his name on here)and I found the perfect apartment! It's a few minutes away from where I currently am and is right across the street from a couple of my friends. It is in a great neighborhood and the apartment is beautiful. It has 3 large closets! One will serve as a pantry/linen closet and the other two will be for myself and Mark (we are each getting a closet- I have a lot of clothes!).

Best of all is the price. $625/month all utilities included! Can you believe that? All we would have to pay for is internet/cable/phone (or two of those three)! A co-worker of mine actually used to live there and she says it is a great place to live.

We have to go back in early July to turn in the application and everything (they won't know until then what apartments will be available for August). I'm so excited about this! In June we'll start going to thrift stores (there are two nice ones within walking distance) to get kitchen supplies and everything. My grandma is giving us some furniture and my dad will be giving us some duplicate kitchen stuff he has.

I'm going to go to the movies in a little bit. It's been months since I've been and I need a break from studying. So a friend and I are going to see "Star Trek".

I've been considering getting a Kindle2. The videos of it on Amazon make it seem really cool. I always carry a book with me and it would be nice to have access to several books in one device. It is expensive- $360. I'm thinking this will be my reward to myself for when I meet my goals. There's a very good chance I will change my mind later- I'm very fickle when it comes to shopping.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I hope everyone has a good weekend while I'm slaving away at my desk...

On second thought, not so patiently.

Tomorrow is payday and I'm almost tempted to count the hours until I can go pick it up. Sad, huh? But it has been a month since my last paycheck and I'm itching to boost my savings!

I went grocery shopping today. I was hungry (bad idea!) and gave in to buying hot pockets. But I got some ground beef, chicken, bread, milk, and lunch meat and cheese as planned. We have enough fruits and veggies (frozen and non) so I think I did pretty good. I forgot to put up the menu for this week last night, but I finally did it today! The menu is loose and I might change some of the meals around.

I got the book list for my summer classes. For my CH class I think I have some of the books already so I have to double check that. There is only one textbook for that class and the other books (4) are reading books (ok, all books are "reading books" but I'm sure you get I mean). I'm thinking no more than $100 for all the books I need this summer (thank goodness!). I'll begin shopping for the books after dinner tonight.

I received a check from OpinionOutpost today. I don't think I'll be continuing with this survey site. I get so little surveys and most of the time I don't even qualify for the ones they give me. I'll stick with mysurvey and if I feel the need to join another survey site, I will.

Tomorrow I'm going to look at a couple more apartments by myself. Boyfriend is busy with school projects. If I like the apartments, we'll visit them again together. If not, we'll look at other places.

So my boyfriend and I looked at another apartment today.

It is a beautiful apartment also with a wood burning fireplace. This one looks at a lot better than the one we saw the other day. Better location too.

But it comes at a price. Rent is $675/month, no utilities paid. Not even sewage and trash. And we also have to have renter's insurance ($13/month is the cheapest).

I love that apartment but all utilities and rent would be about $900/month. Waaaaay out of our price range, considering we also have to pay for food and gas. Very unfortunate as I loved that place.

It is hard trying to figure out what we can afford, and what we can't. And it is very disappointing to learn we can't afford a certain place.

I'm going to list a budget for when we move out and I would like some input on it.

Monthly income: $500/month
Other income: $500/month from dad
Total: $1,000/month

Rent: $600 (highest we can go)
Gas/Electric: $80
Water: $40
Internet/Phone/Cable: $50
Food: $200/month
Gas: $150/month
Total: $1,120

We'd be losing almost $200/month...

Our monthly income will probably be higher than $500/month. But our income does vary month by month and $500 would be a good average to use. I was hoping I wasn't going to have to rely on my dad but it looks like we might have to.

Thoughts:
1. Find a cheaper apartment. We have found a nice studio for $550/month (mentioned in a previous post). Hopefully we can find more apartments in that price range. If need be we could rent a 2 bedroom with a roommate, but that will be a last resort.

2. Internet/Phone/Cable: We need internet for school but don't need a phone or cable. We'd be just find without cable and a landline (we have cell phones on our parents' plan). I haven't done a lot of shopping around for the price of internet service so hopefully this will be lower.

3. Food: I'm including cat food/litter and toiletries and household supplies in this category. I don't want to eat cheap, junk food just because it is cheap. But I'm pretty sure I can find a way to get all of this for less than $200/month. Just have to be creative.

4. Gas: If we stay near school we can walk or ride our bike to school. Unfortunately we both have to drive to work.

5. Gas/Electric: Do the obvious: energy efficient light bulbs, keep things off... We're not going to have a lot of appliances though. Laptops, microwave, TV, toaster, and a fridge. Everything but the fridge will be unplugged when not in use.

This summer we're really going to have to buff up our savings. But that will be difficult because we have summer tuition, I have car insurance and registration next month, textbooks...

Welcome to the real world, right?

I'm very glad we both have good savings. Boyfriend has more than I do (won't say how much because it is not my savings to share). If we have to dip into savings to make ends met, then we have to. Each summer we'll jut build up the savings again. And we're only two years from graduating.

I know I shouldn't be laughing at my friend's plight, but I couldn't help it when she told me this story.

I don't drink alcohol. Never liked the taste and I don't see the point in getting drunk every weekend. I do have friends that drink though. One friend got drunk last night with some other friends at her place. After they passed out, she went online and started surfing the net.

And then she stumbled upon eBay. She bought a Tiffany necklace (don't know for how much), still completely drunk. She then went to bed. Woke up this morning and checked her e-mail to find an e-mail from the seller she bought it from.

She asked me what she should do. After I was able to stop laughing (I found it funny!), I told her to e-mail the seller back, explain what happened, and ask the seller if anything can be done to undo the purchase (I've never had to do that before so I don't know how to do it or even if it can be undone).

So the lesson of the day: stay away from your credit card when drunk.

And while we are on the subject of eBay... I found another book I wanted to list on half.com but I had to do a catalog request again! I'm giving this book a month. If it hasn't been listed by then I'll sell it somewhere else.

I looove natural fireplaces! And today, while my boyfriend and I were looking at a couple apartments, I found one.

It is an apartment complex less than a 5 minute walk from where I currently am. It is a nice, spacious apartment. The closet is huge (not a walk in, but I can deal!). The kitchen is a little small but the living is huge and has gorgeous windows overlooking the park. And best of all, it has a wood burning fireplace!!

The only downside is the price. It is $650/month, hot water included. Washer/dryer is not in the actual apartment, but on site. That's not a problem as I can use my dad's washer/dryer. We can afford $650/month, but that is pushing it.

They do have studios that are $550/month. We will have to go back and look at the studios as we didn't have the chance today. I'm pretty sure the studios also have a fireplace, but I'm not sure. The fireplace is definitely my favorite part!

But we won't be moving in until August so we have plenty of time to look at other places (which we intend to).

I have work tonight, though it will only be for a couple hours. Pay day is Tuesday and I can't wait for it to arrive! Boyfriend's work has also been giving him more hours. We're very happy about this as the past month he hasn't been able to save much.

Not much else is going on. Finals start in 6 days.

Oh, by the way, you can now get "The Suze Orman" show on iTunes for free. You can get the shows from March 28th on.

Today was a weird day.

I got to school a little yearly and talked to a couple friends while we were waiting for the class to begin. The subject turned to the Mexican Swine Flu. One girl thinks it is man-made and a result of bio-terrorism. She launched into a big conspiracy theory about it. I didn't pay much attention to the theory but I don't believe it. I think this will pass as long as everyone is cautious and washes their hands properly, etc.

So I went to the grocery store today. I spent a whopping $142! But I went to two stores- Walmart for everything but chicken and salmon and a second store for the chicken and salmon. The salmon cost $20! I wonder if I should start getting that at Walmart. The Walmart near me sells good produce and meats, but the salmon today didn't look great. The second store is a lot more expensive, but their seafood looked more reliable.

I learned a lesson today in reading the product label thoroughly. I wanted to buy avocado for sandwiches but didn't want to buy a whole avocado- I just wanted the inside (does that make sense?). So while looking in the produce section, I saw this container that said "Avocado" so I grabbed it. I got home and discovered that it is Avocado veggie dip. It tastes weird on sandwiches but really good on crackers. I guess I broke even.

I'm going to try a new recipe tonight. It is this:

I hope everyone had a good "Earth Day"! Does hallmark make cards for this holiday? Who knows, Earth Day may become as commercialized as other holidays.

I finally remember to do what I needed to do at the bank but I have to go back tomorrow anyway. For something entirely different.

I just realized how close it is to finals! Finals begin May 8th and end May 11th. Eeek! It is getting down to the wire.

So my hours were changed on Saturday, but it worked out for the best because I'll be working longer on Saturday. Sunday my boyfriend and I are going to drive to the state capital. We keep on saying we will, but have always found an excuse not to. So we are going to do it this weekend as it might be one of the last weekends we have the chance to for a month.

I just realized it has been a few weeks since I've done a survey. Hmm.. I used to get a lot but now nothing. Oh well.

My grandma just informed me that she owes me $85 from the deposit we got back on our apartment. She says she didn't give me the full amount when we got the deposit back and has been meaning to give me the money ever since but keeps forgetting. I honestly don't remember this but she's insisting and I'm not going to refuse $85 (not that I can refuse either- once she makes up her mind, that is it!).

I work tomorrow and Saturday. I'm glad that things are starting to pick up.

I think...

That I am depressed. Actually I'm pretty sure of it.

Yesterday was a terrible day. I had a fight with my boyfriend and I started it. I threw a fit over something minor. I was really upset about stuff that had happened earlier in the day and everything just accumulated and BOOM!

Yesterday wasn't the first time I got upset over something small. Lately I've been feeling unmotivated and really insecure and minor things have been upsetting me lately. I've been feeling lonely and haven't been wanting to go out.

So tomorrow I will be calling a psychiatrist.

It's true!

Last night I had a terrible nightmare and SA was involved! I dreamed that I was talking to the SA forum while I was being chased by someone in a pickup truck. I've never had a dream before where I was being chased and this one was very scary! Boyfriend tried to wake me and I ended up screaming very loudly when he tried to touch me (still asleep at the time). Needless to say I didn't sleep well after that nightmare.

Boyfriend and I were planning on going on a day trip to the capital today but decided against it. Instead we plan on watching movies and playing chess in the park. Later we'll have to go to the gym as it has been several days since we've gone (almost a week unfortunately...). It'll be a frugal day today.

Tonight was my boss's b-day and I was invited to her house for her party.

Apparently one of my co-workers is an accountant and has started his own CPA firm. I was talking to him and he told me that next tax season, if I want, I can do some work for him! I would be helping his staff with tax returns. I fully intend to take him up on his offer next year. I'm very excited about this.

There's not much else to report on. Payday is the 20th but I won't be getting a paycheck. I created a list of stuff I need and want for my future apartment. I'm so excited about this! Life has been difficult the past few years but I feel like I'm over a major hurdle and it's starting to improve. I just hope that I'm not getting my hopes up too high.

I bought a small carpet cleaner today because I was tired of having small spots on the carpet. The carpet spray that we have isn't working well and I wanted to get rid of the spots.

I got a lot of the stains out, but I think I also created some stains when I accidently spilled the dirty water on the floor. And this is why they tell you to open it over a sink.

We had to take one of my kitties (the one who was in the dryer some posts back) to the vet today. She has been throwing up the past few weeks so I made an appointment to have her see the vet (actually, this throwing up is the reason I bought the carpet cleaner- she threw up today and the spray didn't get it all out). The vet did some blood tests and said one of her white blood cell counts was a little high. He thinks it might be an anti-inflammatory infection.. so he gave her a shot and told us to call in a week. Vet visit was $200 but well worth it.

Do you think cats need to be in a pet carrier when traveling short distances in the car? I don't have a pet carrier for my cats. The vet is a ten minute drive from my place and that's the farthest they go in the car. Both cats stay relatively still while in the car. They sit on the passenger seat (sometimes in the lap of my passenger) and meow at me. They don't like to move around the car. At the vet today, while waiting in the lobby, my cat sat in my lap and looked at the other animals. The vet staff didn't care that she wasn't in a carrier but one lady made a rather rude comment about it. My cat wasn't bothering anyone and wasn't climbing on the furniture. I guess I don't see what the big deal is.

I work on Sunday. It doesn't sound like it will be a long party though. I am crossing my fingers that next week is busier.

I tried a few new recipes last week. Most turned out pretty good but I didn't cook the salmon right the first time. Oh well. I'll try the recipe again in a couple weeks when I go through the rest of recipes I want to try.

The other week I bought a video game called "Wedding Designer" for the Nintendo DS. It is a really stupid game. I can't bring it back because I bought it new (I know, I know) so I will sell it on half.com. I hope I can get a good price for it.

I needed to remember to get something at the grocery store the next time I go. I knew that if I didn't write it down right then I would forget it. So in the 4 seconds it took me to turn to my left and get a pen and the grocery notebook, I forgot it!

Argh.

I cannot remember it! And I can't even remember what triggered me to think of it too- normally that would help me re-think of it.


I can only hope that I will remember it before I go grocery shopping again or else I have a feeling this process will repeat itself many times...

On a different note... anyone wanna play "Guess when boyfriend will remember to mail his taxes?". He has finished his taxes and is getting a small refund (I think around $40) but only if he remembers to mail it. I have reminded him but he never seems to be able to grab that envelope and drop it off at the mailbox. If he doesn't bring it with him when he leaves for school tomorrow I will mail it for him.

I think I am going to rent a movie tomorrow. I'm not sure what, but I'll stop by RedBox and see what is available.

If the companies won't tell me?

I've been looking at prices for internet/cable/phone and am really confused. I don't want a lot of cable, just a simple package, but I need to bundle that with internet. However all I can find on the companies' websites are the introductory rates. Not the actual rate.

Very annoying.

I talked to my dad again and he will definitely be moving here in August/September unless something huge happens (i.e. medical bill wipes out our savings, etc.). I know it is 4 months off but already I'm preparing for it. I'm getting excited!

My boyfriend and I have been going over apartments and we found several that are cheap. One is in an iffy neighborhood, but the rest are in good areas. One apartment is $565/month with all utilities included (they didn't specify internet, but that won't be more than $40/month). Another is $450/month with water and garbage paid.

My dad offered to give us $500/month to help us if we need it, but I'm not sure if we'll take it. We should be able to pay for everything with just our income. And my boyfriend has more in savings than I do. So we should be ok. But it is nice knowing I can ask my dad for help if something happens.

I hope everyone had a good Easter! Boyfriend and I went to a morning mass and then nothing. He had a test he needed to study for so I've been puttering around the house. Did some cleaning and then bought cupcakes for my friend that just moved into her apartment. A boring, yet peaceful, day.

Before my mom died I was sharing an apartment with my grandmother. The lease for the apartment was supposed to end this month. At this time, my boyfriend and I were going to get our own place.

Obviously that changed. After my mom's death I moved into my dad's place to help look after my younger brother. My dad's job is, unfortunately, in another state. He couldn't find a job in state that paid well (most were under $50,000/year and the job he has now is almost 3 times that). He comes home every 3 or 4 weeks.

The other day my dad announced that he might be coming home at the end of August/ first of September for awhile. He said if his job is not up by then he will quit and stay home for my brother's senior year of HS (brother is currently a junior).

At this time, I will be moving out.

I want to be excited, I really do, but I am a little hesitant.

I am worried about what would happen if my dad doesn't find a job at the end of the school year. He currently has almost a year's worth of expenses and will have more by the end of the summer. I think he is thinking of selling the condo when my brother graduates but I'm not sure.

BUT

I think it is more important that my dad be here. At some point money just isn't as important as family.

Soo... I am going to begin preparing for the chance that I do move out in August/September. I was planning on opening a 529 after I met my savings goal, but I think it is more important to add even more to my savings. I will open a 529, but I'll probably delay it by a couple months.

One of the upsides is that I don't have to worry about getting a lot of stuff for an apartment. I will need to get some sort of sofa or futon for the living room, but that's the biggest thing I have to get. I will scout thrift stores (we have some pretty good thrift stores here) when the time comes.

Sigh. I don't even know if this will happen for sure. It is a possibility, but not set in stone. We'll find out in a few months.

The financial talk at the expo wasn't what I expected. It wasn't very interesting for one. It was in Q&A form and most of the questions were basic (how to set up a budget, how much in savings do I need, etc.). It was good hearing a few different experts' opinion on everything. But I still wish they had talked about more in depth stuff.

But I got a lot of free samples at the expo. I walked away from the expo with a very heavy bag full free samples. Made the $10 entrance fee (for two) worth it.

While my boyfriend and I were watching a movie before he had to leave for work we heard an ice cream truck! The moment I heard it I immediately sat up and ran right to the window to see where it was. Boyfriend laughed and said I looked like a dog, running around trying to find the ice cream truck.

But it is an ice cream truck! I haven't seen one in years. We both got some ice cream for 75 cents each.

Tonight was unusually cheap for us. We have a couple date nights a month where we usually go out to dinner and then a movie, or a show, or something.

Tonight was date night and we decided to do something different. We made dinner at home (chicken and asparagus and a salad) and then rented a movie for free (some special program my boyfriend signed up for video games). We also went to the local park and played on the swing set and jungle gym.

We rented "Made of Honor" and after we watched that we watched "Blazing Saddles" (which we already had).

Sunday is technically payday but because it is a Sunday the paychecks will be available on Monday. I'm not expecting it to be more than $100.

Tomorrow and Sunday is the annual Women's Expo. I've never been so my boyfriend, friend, her mom, and myself will be going tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. In the morning there will be a talk given on finances that I want to hear. So my boyfriend and I will be getting there a couple hours before my friend. I'll report tomorrow what the talk was on.

I have always hated cooking. Didn't like it one bit. But lately I've been forcing myself to try more recipes and I'm starting to like it more.

It helps that I've been getting better at it too. I especially like baking. So my cooking goal is to try at least one new dish a week. It can be an appetizer, salad, etc. Something. I'm currently looking at a couple cook books trying to decide what to try based on what we have. I don't mind having to buy a couple ingredients, but we have so much food supplies that I don't want to buy a lot more.

Today was a pretty good day. Boyfriend and I got a lot of de-cluttering done today. We took some things to the storage unit and did some cleaning. In the evening our friend that is moving into our complex with her boyfriend came by and we went to get cupcakes. Then we went to their new apartment.

I'll start with the April Fool's prank I experienced today:

I always pick up change when I see it on the ground. When I was walking across the parking lot today I saw a quarter on the ground. I bent to pick it up and it didn't budge! So I hit it with my shoe and still no budging. I looked closer and discovered that it had been glued to the ground! I thought that was really clever. I wonder how many other people tried to pick it up but couldn't.

Onto the $72. I bought a PO Box today! Yay! I got it for a whole year. I'm using the PO on the way to school so it will be convenient to pick up my mail.

I've already changed my mailing address with the school and with my bank. I will also need to change my mailing address on half.com. I'm trying to think of other places I need to change my mailing address for. The DMV is one.

I can't stop laughing.

What do you do next?

I have decided, with regards to the money I will be getting for referring my friend, I will spend no more than $60 and save the rest.

But my question is, when you guys meet your savings goal, what is your next step? Do you take a small break from saving and buy yourself something (nothing outrageous, just a small treat)? Do set a new savings goal and work on that or do you set a different goal (maybe a CD, stock, etc)?

I'm thinking that once I meet my savings goal I will concentrate on my IRA until I meet that goal. And once both are complete, I'm not sure what to do. I could just continue saving, but I would like to "diversify". I was considering getting into the stock market. I would save another $1,500-2,500 and then buy some stocks (not sure which ones, still researching). Does this make sense?

For the most part I want my money to be safe. But I am willing to take a risk with a small amount (under $3,000), which is why I was considering the stock market.

So I recently found I will most likely be getting a check from the company that owns the complex I live in for $500. Reason is that a mutual friend of myself and my boyfriend has signed a lease and is moving into an apartment because of our recommendation.

The company is/was running a special that any current resident who recommended someone to the complex (and they signed a lease) would receive a check for $500. I don't know if the special is over; they never mentioned when it would end. But if it is over I will be getting a check for $250 (the regular rate).

BF and I have decided to split it 50/50. It is a mutual friend of ours and since BF does live with me, it seems fair.

The issue is though, I want to spend all of my portion. BF says he doesn't care whether I spend or save it (he plans on buying a video game and saving the rest).

I know the ideal plan would to do something similar to what my BF is doing, but.... I don't want to! Argh. The check would arrive, at the earliest, in a month.

I think I am getting a little stir crazy. I have been really good about saving for awhile and I kind of want to just spend. I don't know what to do. I think my wanting to spend this money goes beyond just wanting to buy something.

What would you do? Until I know otherwise, I'm going to pretend that my portion will be $125.