Winter is coming up and rumor has it that my work will be closing earlier during the winter due to lack of golfers. Completely understandable, very hard to golf in the snow.

But I don't like it.

This means that I will go from making $400-$500/month to $300-$400/month. It's not as much as a problem now that my dad got a new job (YAY!!) and my parents will be giving me money every month to pay for my bills and whatnot, but it does mean that I'll have to put less into savings each month. I was hoping to put $400 into regular savings and $100 in IRA, but now it looks like it will be $300 into regular savings and $100 into IRA.

Good, but not what I was hoping for.

Here's what I plan on spending each month:
-$25 DSL
-$100 gas ($25/week)
-$60-80 groceries (depending on if I need to buy kitty litter/food)
-$80-90 fun money. A girl has got to act like a carefree college student every once in awhile, right?

The above will be covered by my parents. What I earn is strictly for saving.

Today is September 29th, 2007.

I logged onto the Wellsfargo account to check my IRA balance and I noticed that paid me interest already for the month of September. Only they said it wasn't paid today, but tomorrow.

When I saw that interest had been paid on September 30th, I freaked out. I thought that I had slept through an entire Saturday and not only did I miss work, I also missed the chance to get some homework done! Then I checked my cell phone and saw that it was in fact the 29th, not the 30th...

This is the first time I've noticed Wellsfargo paying interest early-or any bank for that matter. Is this a common practice?

College offers a lot of opportunities for free, or at the least very cheap, fun. There was a concert at the music hall entitled "Ethos" for $7. It was a classical concert and normally I would jump at the chance of a cheap classical concert...

BUT

At Walmart, there was a FREE Plain White Tees concert in the parking lot. It was also a lot closer, so by going I not only saved on the ticket price, but I also saved on gas.

The only reason I went is because a friend of mine really wanted to go and didn't want to go alone. I had never heard of Plain White Tees prior to the concert, but now they've earned a spot on my "Music To Buy When I Get Around to It" list.

Someday I'll remember to log onto iTunes Music Store or stop by Target to get their CD. When that will happen I don't know...but someday.

My dad had a couple interviews last week and both are setting up offers. If they offer him enough my parents will give me a monthly allowance of $300, which means that I will be able to save all of the money I earn.

On a fairly unrelated note, I love college so far! The first two weeks I didn't really care for it, but now that I've adjusted and I'm completely settled into my new home and routine, I love it. I could do without the homework (can't we all!) and I'm not liking Sociology as much as I thought I would. Sociology 101 is interesting but... it just doesn't "fit" with me. So I'm going to change my minor but before I declare another minor I'm going to take several elective classes to find something I really like.

I still love Math so no changes there.

Computer Science is hard but I'm becoming better at it. Not my favorite subject, but I'm kind of glad it's required for Math majors to take CS (I believe we have to go up to 300 level classes).

As for Geology... I like looking at all the pretty pictures in my textbook.

I'm back after over a week without internet.

A LOT of things have happened this past week and money is going to be very, very tight for the next couple months. To explain, let me back up a little:

June of 2006 my father and his business partner opened up a restuarant. The restuarant thrived for awhile and we got the best reviews and was compared to some of the top restuarants in our city. Unforuntetly, the business partner turned out to be less than honest and because of her the business, and my family, went bankrupt.

My parents are currently filing for bankruptcy and had to auction off our house (bank declared foreclosure), which took place last Friday. We obviously had to move. My mom found a condo that we were able to afford and the plan was for her, myself, and my brother to live there. My dad's new job was in California.

But his security clearance didn't go through on time and he lost his job. So he moved back here and will also be living in the condo. Now, this condo is just under 1,000 sq. feet and could honestly fit inside my old room with room to spare (my old bedroom was about 1,100 sq. feet). [Needless to say, our old house was huge and it's quite a shock downsizing that much.]

I decided that while I love my living with my family, I love them alive even more and living with them could be hazardous to their health/life [The closet that would have been mine was SMALLER than my old shower.]. So I moved in with my Grandma and some family friends.

My monthly expenses have obviously changed. Right now they look to be:

Gas: $80
Food: $60
DSL (My grandma didn't have DSL before I moved in and I need it for school): $25
Music: $60
Total: $225

My monthly income will be about $400 (post-tax) and my Aunt has decided to send me $100 every month to help out.

I could get by without her helping me but I want to save as much as possible because I will have to dip into my savings for this month (the cost of moving...aaagggghhh) and I will be buying a car on the very near horizon.

I haven't forgotten about my IRA, but I will have to decrease my deposits for the time being. I'm thinking $50 a month for now.

While I hate what's become of the restuarant we worked so hard on, this entire experience has taught me so much. It's the reason I've been saving so much and have opened up my IRA. It's taught me how to budget not only my money, but my time. While I was a senior in high school I was working full-time to help with the family bills.

It sucks, but this only proves the saying that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger true (and I have the muscles built from moving as evidence!).

I'll be popping in and out, whenever I have a moment that I'm not working on homework.