Today and tomorrow we are having our estate. From 9am-3pm (so today's sale is already over).

All I can say is, wow!

Things went quickly! And people were knocking on our door at 8am trying to get in early to get "the good stuff". Pretty much every single piece of furniture sold within an hour and a half. All that is left is some knick-knacks and one chair.

One poor, lonely, abanded chair.

I no longer have a proper bed. I have a mattress on the floor. All of my knick-knacks, books, purses, etc. still belong to yours truly. Maybe I'm selfish, but I didn't want to get rid of my stuff. I didn't even want to get rid of the "family" stuff. Our house seems so...spacy.

I'm working tomorrow so I won't be here but I'm boxing up all of my good stuff and putting "Do not cross" tape across my door.

For the rest of the night I will be reading. Harry Potter of course!

My state offers a scholarship to residents who are attending any 2-year/4-year in-state college (funded, I believe, by the tobacco industry here).

The only requirement is a certain GPA (3.25).

I received a letter today from the treasury stating that I had been awarded said scholarship (yaay!) and for every credit up to 12 credits, the scholarship will pay $80. That's $960/semester.

Subtracting the other scholarships I received, all I have to pay for the first semester's tuition is $592.50.

That doesn't include books, registration, all the other fees, etc. All in all, I'm expecting the first semester to cost about $1,200.

I've also been thinking about pledging a sorority (don't know which one), which will cost about $700-1,000/semester.

I'm very lucky, paying for undergrad will not be a problem.

I rarely give money to the homeless when I'm in my car. If I'm walking in or out of a building I'll stop to give them my change. But for some reason or another I feel too vulnerable handing them money from my car.

Today, however, I broke this "habit" and gave a man $4.00 from my car window. He had a sign that said, "US Veteran needs help". As the relative of many family members who have served, the sign pulled at my heart strings and I couldn't drive past him without giving him something.

I stopped by the bank to deposit another $100 into my Roth IRA and guess what I found when I stepped out of my car?

A $5.00 bill.

A dollar made by being kind. Me thinks I will keep this fiver and not spend it.

It was incredibly slow today at the restaurant and I earned a grand total of $7.00 in tips.

I earned $40.00 by housesitting for another neighbor that returned a couple days ago. I decided this $40 will be used for gas, with the reminder going to the Challenge.

Old Balance: $111.00
+ $2.00
New Balance: $113.00

I started babysitting and housesitting when I was 12. It's a great way to make money.

I'm 18 now and most of my neighbors no longer need babysitters. However, they still need housesitters.

I made $20 this week by watering the plants for one neighbor. I'm taking care of another neighbor's hamsters while they're out of town (they get back tonight).

Another $20 into the Challenge...

Old Balance: $91.00
+ $20
New Balance: $111.00

Eyeglass World is having a great sale-buy one pair of glasses and get two free. Lens and everything is include. I needed a pair of sunglasses (never had one before) and decided to take advantage of the sale.

I bought three pairs of glasses for $214.57. New prescriptions lens too.

The sale only lasts until July 21,2007. They are also having sales on designer glasses, sunglasses, and contacts.

After talking to my parents about credit cards and reading about them here, I've decided to take the plunge and get a student credit card to be used expressly for gas. I've found one that sounds (and is) great-the Citibank Student Driver's Edge Mastercard.

I read through almost two pages of Terms and Conditions, and while very tedious, I'm sooo glad I did. I had to take a couple breaks, but I got through it alive.

Since I withdraw cash for gas, I decided that when I gas up I'm going to enter the amount into my checkbook register rounded up. That way when the bill comes I have money to cover it without having to scramble.

As I was doing research I found a budget worksheet on citibank's website. It's geared towards teens, but can be used for anyone. It even has a section to put away money each month towards a goal.