Playing Hopscotch with My Money

Today was payday. My paycheck was for $371.65.

I put $185.83 into savings, $111.49 into my IRA, and I kept $74.33 for spending. $30 of the spending money is going to my Kindle, but the rest I can do whatever I want with.

This brings my new totals to:

Savings: $3,792.89
IRA: $1,991.52

Yay!

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.

I can't believe I forgot to make a payment!

Not on my CC, but for my summer tuition! The $400 was due yesterday and I completely forgot! I can still pay until Tuesday, with late fees of course. I think the late fee is $25/day.

Arrggh. I doubt that the financial services building will be open tomorrow but I'll stop by just to be sure.

So the summer tuition is $418.50 + $75 (late fee guess) now. While I'm there I'm going to pay the second half of the summer tuition (not due for another month) just to be safe. Dad said he will cover the second half of the tuition bill.

Live and learn, right? I'll be out $75 (or around there)- expensive lesson to learn.

This is a non-financial bragging post:

I got a 4.0 GPA this semester!!!!!

I haven't had a 4.0 since high school! My GPAs for the previous semesters have always been around 3.6-3.8.

Yay!!!!!!!!

[/end bragging]

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.

Mmm I spent money before I was originally intending to.

I bought a Kindle (from Amazon) just a couple hours ago. I should be getting it in 5-9 days- I opted for the free shipping.

I was planning on buying it later (in a month or two at least). I know I will be using this a lot (and I better for what it cost!)- I love to read and frequently carry multiple books with me. Carrying one Kindle versus a few books will be a lot easier.

Anyway onto why I bought it now instead of later:

A relative gave me some money on Sunday and told me to do with it what I wanted. With that money, along with the spending money I had saved up, and my half.com money, I had almost the cost of a Kindle. I say almost because it costs $359 and I had $330. But I know I will be getting the $500 from the complex in the next few days (confirmed this with management). I do intend to save the remaining $470.

I did a lot of research on the Kindle today and am feeling really confident about my purchase. A lot of students even use it for school. The summer class I'm taking that starts in a week is an English class and a few of the books we'll be reading are available for the Kindle for free. I fully intend to try it out for school. I don't see me using it for school much in the future though- even if my math textbooks were available on Kindle, I doubt I would buy them on Kindle. The screen is too small for a textbook.

I'll be sure to post about it when I get it and start using it. Anyone here have a Kindle (or any electronic reader)? I hope it comes soon!

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...

I finished buying all of the textbooks I need today.

I bought 4 online (half.com) for $30.40. I ended up saving a couple dollars per book after shipping was included. I did purchase two other books new at the bookstore because I couldn't find it cheaper anywhere else. I spend $11.25 on the books. The final book is the most expensive one. Available used at the school for $65, I got it free from a friend of mine who is currently taking the class. If she doesn't remember to give it to me, I can purchase it used of half.com for $40. Either way I save money.

So I spent a total of $41.65 on my textbooks. Had I purchased them through the book store I would have spent $114.25!

Thank you, internet! What would I do without you?

I got my paycheck today and it was $352.43. I'm really surprised at how high it is. Right after I got my paycheck I went to the bank.

I put $176.23 in savings, $105.72 in IRA, and $70.48 I kept as spending money.

This brings my new totals to:
Savings: $3,607.06
IRA: $1,880.03

Yay! I am less than $900 away from completing my savings goal! I'm very happy about this.

Currently what I am doing with my paycheck is putting 50% in savings, 30% into IRA, and 20% as spending money. Once I complete my savings goal I plan on putting 40% into savings, 40% into IRA, and 20% as spending money. I'll keep doing this until I move out and real bills start coming in.

I'm going to save my spending money for a larger purchase. I'm not sure what yet (Coach bag? Nice piece of jewelry?), but I want to buy a special item for when I complete my goal(s).

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.

Earned: $83.66

Saved: $24.16
-Savings: $24.16
-IRA: $0

Interest: $.50

Half.com: $0
-New average: $54.44

Survey Money cashed: $10

April was a "Meh" month. An odd ball really. May will be better though.

A couple posts ago I mentioned that I tried to pay my credit card online by setting up the bill pay through the credit card website.

After a couple days of that not going through, I went to my checking account and set up that for online bill pay. I figured that the first payment I tried wouldn't go through because I hadn't set up my checking for online bill pay.

I was wrong.

Today a second payment of $78.95 went through and now I have a credit of $78.95.

I really need to learn patience- my CC bill isn't due until mid May and if I had just given the payment a few extra days to go through this would not have had happened.

It's not a big deal, more of an annoyance. I think it is a little funny too. I will probably end up using that credit soon because I will have to buy books for summer classes in the next week.

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:

Ok, prepare for a mushy moment!

Last night when I got home from work my boyfriend surprised me by buying me some roses.

His reason? Just because!





Ok, no more mushy moments for while. I promise.

My inventory was getting low on half.com so I went through my stuff and pulled out some old textbooks and books and movies I wanted to sell.

I listed everything but the last textbook I tried to list created a problem. Turns out the book I want to sell isn't listed on half.com. So I started to do a catalog request when I remembered something: I had already submitted a catalog request for this book a few months ago! That explains why I had never sold it- I was waiting for it to be "approved" by half.com.

If half.com doesn't approve the book within the next month, I might try to selling it to a few used book stores in town. I wish I could sell it to the university as this book is needed for a class everyone has to take, but I didn't buy it from the university. Maybe I should put up a flyer offering this book for really cheap.

I've seen a few others do this and would like to jump on the band wagon.

I created a page that will keep track of dinner ideas. I've always been a pretty good eater- I never ate a lot of junk or unhealthy food but I know there is room for improvement. So I'm hoping to be more accountable for what I eat. Plus, it will help me organize my grocery list.

I created the dinner ideas for next week. Each Saturday or Sunday I will add the dinner ideas for the following week (week for me begins on Monday). I will probably keep up the previous weeks' dinners.

I am only keeping track of dinners for a few reasons. One, breakfast usually is cereal or bagels and the three of us don't have breakfast at the same time. Two, lunch is also eaten at different times. My brother eats at school, I usually wait until after my classes to have lunch (usually a sandwich and a light snack), and my boyfriend brings lunch to school. None of us eats a large lunch so that accounts for a small portion of the food budget. We eat larger breakfasts and dinners.

try, try again.

I attempted to do online bill pay yesterday. I went to my CC website and put in my checking account number, how much I wanted to pay (full balance- $78), and set up the payment for today. I just checked and there was no payment made. It didn't even show a pending payment.

So I went over to my bank account (the checking account showed no pending payment either) and set up a payment for today for $78 to that CC. It says it will go through in two business days, on the 28th.

So we will wait and see. Worst case is that I send two payments of $78 resulting in a credit of $78.

My French class was cancelled today so my friend and I went to a juice place. First time I've been there. I got an "Oreo Speedway" and it was delicious! Wasn't the best drink to get on a cold day (really should have gone for the hot coco but next time!).

There is an odd smell in the house that I need to track down. I think my brother left some food in his room and forgot about it...

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.

1. Call the bank and order more checks
2. Transfer $571 into my brother's savings (that is his SS benefit payment; the check was made out to my dad)

And I was even at the bank today... in fact I just got home from it. I made myself go to do the above but on the way I forgot and all I did was deposit the check I got from mysurvey.com. Argh.

I am going to call them right now. I hope nothing distracts me while I walk the 20 feet to the phone (and knowing me, something very well might).

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.