Today was a pretty good day. I had work at 1 pm and got off a little after 6. It was a golf tournament scoring party, which should have been cake, but there was some issue with the food. There was also a wedding at the same time and only two cooks.

I wanted to go out after work to get a couple more work shirts but my feet were hurting and I decided I'll get work clothes tomorrow when we go shopping. I was hungry and cold and my feet needed a break.

I really need to clean the back of my car. My car usually doesn't get messy (I don't allow anyone to eat in my car and I only keep what I need in my car) but I have been leaving junk mail and paperwork and for some reason, hangers in there. I know I had a reason for taking the hangers out of my closet, but I can't remember why.

Great news is that after almost 5 weeks, our kitchen is *this* close to being done! All that is left is the countertops. We have our sink and dishwasher and cabinets. Then they need to replace the carpet in the dining room, but I frankly don't care too much about the carpet. The dining room is not heavily used and the small chunk of carpet that is missing is not in a vital location. Soon our lives will be completely normal.

I am looking forward to shopping tomorrow. My boyfriend was going to come with us tomorrow but then decided not to. Says he put off getting my b-day gift and needs to get it tomorrow. I remind him that my birthday isn't until next Saturday (and that a gift isn't necessary) but he just shrugs.

Oh, and I earned 13 cents in interest on my savings and 6 cents on my IRA for the month of Feb.

No no no no no no no no no.

NO.

A friend of mine, whom I do love as a friend, recently asked me for $100. This is the same friend who borrowed sums of money ranging from $20 -$100 from other friends and forgot to repay them. So when she asked me for some money, I smiled and said that I couldn't spare $100 right now. Mumbled some excuse about this and that and tightening the belt...

What I felt like saying was, "Are you kidding me? Do I look like an idiot? I wasn't born yesterday in case you didn't know."

Ah.. friends.

My daddy got into town late last instead of this afternoon. He, my boyfriend, and myself ran a couple errands and had lunch. The three of us will be going to a local sandwich joint for dinner and then ice cream. Brother was in school while we had lunch and doesn't feel like joining us tonight. He's being a party pooper but oh well.

Tomorrow is the end of Feb.

I have made a total of 11 cents in interest on my savings and 6 cents on my IRA. I have not sold anything this month on half.com but I was expecting that. I've adjusted the price on all my items a few times so I am just going to sit back and wait. If I find anything else to sell I will list it but I am not optimistic on making money in March on half.com.

I went to church yesterday for Ash Wednesday but I forgot to decide what I am going to give up for Lent.

I gave up the internet last year for Lent and I no longer have a myspace or a facebook. I don't want to repeat that and there wouldn't be much internet to give up anyway.

I don't eat out all that much and I haven't gone to fast food in a loooooong time. I don't drink soda or eat junk food on a regular basis. The only thing I could think of was chocolate but that is cliche and I don't buy that much chocolate.

So I have been pondering and decided I am going to give up TV shows. Movies are ok to watch, but not more than a couple times a week. TV shows on DVD are not allowed. Boyfriend will be also giving up TV. I have gotten into the habit of turning the TV on when I start my homework. I don't usually pay attention to it but leaving it on like that is a waste of money and electricity.

Soo... here we go! No TV for 40 days!

I just got another W-2 in the mail today. They had a really old address so it took a while to get to me. Weird thing is, they had an address of mine from 2007, not 2008 (I moved in fall of 2007 to an apartment with my grandma).

But the thing is, I do not recognize the company. I worked at two places last year. One was where I currently worked and the other was a short stint at another company. I have already received both W-2s.

Could it be a correction? I thought that at first but when I compared the names of the companies on my other W-2s to this one, none match.

Obviously I am going to need to file an amended tax return, as this will affect what I was owed. I already received my refund so I am most likely going to owe the IRS money.

But that doesn't answer my question: Where the heck did this W-2 come from?

I'm going to try to call this company and get information from them.

ETA:

Ok. So the company I currently work for had one payroll company until the end of 2007. Then, starting Jan. 1 of 2008 they had a new payroll company. This W-2 is for the last paycheck I received from the old payroll company on Jan. 4th of 2008.

I'm glad I got that cleared up. Amended return here I come...

Ahhh... today was a difficult day.

We finally received the death certificate today and after staring at the envelope for several minutes I finally opened it up.

Cause of death was determined to be an accident. Cause of death was multiple organ failure, drug intoxication, and the underlying cause was listed as the meds she had taken that day.

It was a shock actually having that piece of paper in my hand.

This Friday my dad is coming home and we'll have to go to the bank to get me on the account and the SS office so my brother can collect my mom's SS benefits. Saturday I work so Sunday we'll be celebrating my b-day.

Since I was 19 at the time my mom died, I am assuming I cannot collect her SS benefits? Or am I wrong?

I can't remember if I wrote about this or not (and I am too lazy to look) but I will go ahead:

I finally convinced my boyfriend to open a Roth IRA. He opened it awhile ago (not that long, less than one month) and today made another contribution to it. I am very proud of him.

I have been thinking a lot lately about what I wanted to do after I finished my undergrad. I know I want to go onto graduate school and I always thought I would get my masters in Math. Then I would go to work for the FBI or NSA or even CIA. But I have been rethinking that plan, partly thanks to this wonderful forum (I have learned so much from this forum!) and the economic situation I have learned a lot about finances and have become very interested in the financial world. So I have been thinking that instead of getting my masters in Math, I get it in finances or accounting (if it is even offered... I haven't checked yet) and go into that field.

I'll look into it but I haven't made any decisions yet. Still thinking.

[I saw this on another forum and had to share]

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Lol!

Well I am working a banquet tomorrow. I probably won't receive a lot of tips but at least I am working. There is another banquet I will be working next Saturday.

For this event however I need a black tie. I cannot find one in my house so I will have to buy one. My boyfriend will be picking one up from his work tonight before his shift begins. That is, if there are any in stock. If not I will be going to a Men's Warehouse to buy one.

I am very excited to be working tomorrow and next week. Since dropping a class I have had a lot of free time and quite honestly have felt a little useless. I have been looking for classes to take (on things like sewing or tennis or whatever) but haven't found what I have been looking for.

Recently I mentioned that my dad's job has been secured until June.

And today we received some more good news. Several years ago my dad invested money in a company that later went bankrupt. They stilled owed use a lot of money and we were able to get a small portion of that back. Well, we just received another check from them! This check plus the previous doesn't add up to the amount that we are owed, but it came at a great time and is close to a year's worth of expenses.

Yay!! Sooo happy about this!

My birthday is the first week of March and I just found out that my dad will be coming home next weekend for several days. So we will be celebrating my birthday then. We are finally having some good luck. I don't know how long it will last, but I plan to enjoy it for as long as possible.

How did I miss this?

I just went online to transfer $70 from checking to savings and I realized that the checking I was set up with was interest earning!

There is a $12 fee but that is waived if you have monthly automatic $75 transfer from checking to savings. So I have that set up for the 10th of each month. On the 9th on each month though, I have it set up so there is an automatic transfer from savings to checking for $75. So it evens out.

Once I hit a combined total of $5,000 between all my accounts I no longer need to have the automatic transfer to waive the fee.

I'm excited that I am earning interest on my checking. First time I've ever had a checking that earned interest.

I deposited some money into my savings and IRA today- after I switched banks.

It took longer than I expected to close my accounts and then open new ones. Because I had to open the checking with at least $100, I had to take about $70 from my savings to open the checking. But once my online banking is up and running (should be but I haven't checked it yet), I will transfer that money back to my savings.

One thing I noticed is that every time I make a contribution to my IRA, the bankers have to relearn how to do it. They actually have to ask me what the next step is. It is amusing, but I think a little sad too. Hopefully more people will contribute to IRAs and it will become second nature to the bankers.

I have about $2,600 left until I meet my savings goal for the year. I think I'll be able to make the goal by the end of summer.

Another eyeglass store was having a sale, 2 glasses for $99, but again no luck in finding glasses. I found one pair I liked, it was $110 for frames. I was considering getting especially since I found out I could get another pair for free but I couldn't find any other glasses I liked. Oh well.

Today was a busy busy day. After my classes I ran some errands that I have been putting off.

I finally went to the mall to get my chain and while there I stopped by an eyeglass store to look at frames. They were having a sale; a complete pair of glasses for $99.95. I looked at the frames on sale and I can see why they are on sale. Most of the frames were ugly. Trying to be a good sport, I tried several on. A few were passable but most were blech.

I looked at the other glasses and found a frame that I loved and looked good on me. It cost $160 for just the frames so I didn't buy it. I might get it later, but there are other places in town having sales.

I just found out that my dad's job is secure until June, when his contract is up. We are relieved because a job he had applied for he did not get. There is also a good chance that in July or August he will get a job at Boeing. Keep your fingers crossed!

After looking at eyeglasses (yes, I know I am jumping around) I went to the DMV. My license is expiring in March because my birthday is just over two weeks away! I will be turning 20 soon! My dad plans on coming down either my birthday weekend or the weekend before and will take me shopping. I have been flip-flopping on what I want. I just can't decide.

I still have grocery shopping to do. I don't know if I want to do it tonight or wait until tomorrow morning. Walmart will be packed at this time and I hate dealing with those crowds. What I'll probably end up doing is getting some things at a store just around the corner and do the rest at Walmart tomorrow.

I received a notice from my B&N credit card that the terms have changed. The fee for a late or missed payment has gone up and the interest rate has been lowered. Neither I care about because my payments are always sent in early and my balance paid off in full each month.

After I finished paying the bills I did some cleaning.

I have been washing some dishes in the bathroom sink and really needed to clean the bathroom. I cleaned as much as possible and tried to organize everything. Didn't work well, but at least the house looks cleaner than it did this morning.

I just realized that I probably scheduled the maid service at the same time that some workers will be coming over tomorrow. The maids may not be able to clean the kitchen, but they will be able to clean the bathroom- a lot better than I can too.

I forgot to go to the mall to get my necklace so I will do that tomorrow. Probably right after I open up a new savings account at Wellsfargo.

I think I am going to watch TV and read for the rest of the night. There is a new episode of Chuck on and hopefully one of House.

For awhile, I thought I had lost a bill.

When I receive a bill, I put in it in a letter organizer on my desk (I don't organizer the bills, I just put them there).

Mondays are my pay the bill days so I went through the bills and noticed that there was one missing. It is due in just over a week.

I looked all over my desk, the night stand, the kitchen, etc.

After I exhausted the most likely areas, I started searching the bathroom drawers, the pantry, even the fridge.

I couldn't find it anywhere so I went back to my starting location and looked in the letter organizer one more time.

And guess where it was?

Smooshed between two bills that aren't due until the end of March.

Boyfriend thought it was hilarious that it was right where I had put.

Ever since I decided to change banks I have been wondering if I made the right decision. After thinking for a few days, I decided that I did make the right decision.

The interest rates at Wellsfargo are slightly lower than at my bank, but the alternative I came up with (keeping my savings at my bank and checking at Wellsfargo) would cost me more money.

The two banks in question are about a 10 minute drive from each other. If I were to keep my savings at my current bank, every payday I would have to drive to two banks to deposit my paycheck (I tried DD and didn't like it). And since my bank does not do telephone/online transfers to other banks, every time I wanted to move money around, I would have to go to two separate banks.

The difference in the interest rates is small. It translates to about 50 or 60 cents a month. I will easily eat up that money by having to drive to two different banks, even if I do that only once a month.

Another bonus that I didn't realize is that Wellsfargo has many more branches than my current bank, and a few of them are within walking distance.

On a different note, my boyfriend is really toying with me. I am saving for a purse and I currently have about half the cost of the purse. My boyfriend just told me that I should go and buy the purse as a treat to myself. And he knows that I don't have all the money.

I am torn because while I really, really want the purse, but I also don't feel right buying it when I don't have all the money. I could take the money out of savings, but I know I shouldn't do that. And my boyfriend even offered to pay for the rest of the purse, but I can't have him do that.

So I will wait to buy the purse until I have all the money. I have waited this long and I can easily wait for however long it will take.

Damn responsibility. But I know I am doing the right thing.

The interest I have earned on my IRA has skyrocketed to 4 cents.

Woohoo! :P

Today was a pretty good day. My boyfriend and I slept in until 11 am (it is really rare for me to sleep that late) and then went on a bike ride. Afterwards, we went to a local diner for brunch. There was a surprisingly large amount of people exchanging gifts there. Our waitress even asked us why we weren't exchanging gifts.

Then we went to Walmart to look for a couple things. Boyfriend was looking for a game that the thinks has been discontinued and I was looking for a carpet cleaner and a shoe rack. I wanted one that stood on the floor and was tall but all I could find were ones that went over the door or were longer than tall. I found a carpet cleaner, a small one, for $37. My dad has given me the green light on buying it so tomorrow when I do some grocery shopping I will buy it.

I recently dropped my most time consuming class and had to repeal to get the money back. Instead of a 100% refund, I will be getting a 50% refund. That is still a couple hundred dollars, so I will take it.

Tomorrow I need to go to the mall to pick up my gold chain. Then I want to go to a few craft stores and look into sewing lessons. Then I need to hit the gym and I am hoping I drag my boyfriend along. He made plans to play Dungeons and Dragons with his friends tomorrow so I doubt I will succeed. But I can try.

Overall it was a good day.

The carpet cleaners that you spray on the stain and dab just isn't cutting it.

Last night my brother accidently dropped an entire bowl of tomato soup on our cream carpet. And the repairmen today tracked in some dirt today after it snowed.

Our normal cleaning chemicals work wonders on our smaller stains but for a job this large I am thinking of buying a small carpet cleaner or renting one for a couple hours.

I'll deal with it after the repairs are done. Which should be soon. We have our walls done (they have to be painted, but at least they are filled in) along with our sink. We still need the dishwasher, some linoleum, the cabinets, and the counter top. I'm thinking a couple more days, but that could be wishful thinking.

My cats were thrilled that the repairmen were coming and going today. Every time they heard the door they would run up to it and peer out, but they would never go outside (they were too scared!).

I'm still waiting for my tax return to be deposited into my checking. I don't remember exactly when I sent off my taxes, but I think it was two weeks ago. So I should get my refund in the next two weeks. I know it is silly, but every day that goes by I worry that I am going to get audited. I even had a dream about it. I know it is really silly, but I guess I am slightly paranoid.

I am going to change banks after I get my refund. My current bank is changing its fees and I don't want to pay them. One of the fees they are changing is for basic checking accounts. Starting in March, all checking accounts will be charged $8.50/month if you do not have at least one direct deposit each month. So I am switching to Wellsfargo.

The downside is that Wellsfargo does not offer as good interest rates as my current bank. But I want to keep my checking and savings at the same bank. I do not have my paycheck set up for DD and I don't want to drive to two banks every payday. My current bank does not do online transfers to other banks and I like to be able to easily transfer money between my checking and savings.

If I do not get my refund by the end of Feb, I'll wait until the end of March to change banks.

My boyfriend and I got into an argument just before he left for work. He has OCD and tends to obsessively worry and take things too literally. I have learned to be patient with him (which is quite a feat for me because normally I am the least patient person), but today I was already a little stressed and got snappy at him. It'll blow over by the time he gets home.

Today was all about jewelry with some eyes thrown in the mix.

I am the type of person who once they get woken up, they are up for the day. So guess how lucky I was when I was woken up at 6 in the morning because a bird flew into my window (don't worry- the bird is ok. Probably had a headache for awhile, but he lived).

So I took a shower and had some breakfast. Then I started washing the dishes in the bathroom sink but got annoyed with that so I decided to organize my jewelry. I used to have a couple hundred pieces of jewelry. 98% of that was fashion jewelry bought from places like Target or Walmart. Most of it I don't like anymore but I have been keeping "just 'cause".

So I decided to get rid of the jewelry I don't like anymore. I have cut my jewelry collection by more than half, which is perfectly fine by me. The jewelry that is left is good quality jewelry (diamonds, pearls, emeralds, etc.) with a little bit of fashion jewelry that I love.

I walked to Goodwill to donate the jewelry. The guy there pretty much knows me by name now. I have been going through a "simplifying" phrase the past couple weeks and have dropped off many, many things there since Christmas. I realized that I don't need as much stuff as I had and that others could really benefit from my "junk".

Then, while the boyfriend was here waiting for the repairmen, I went to the mall to talk to a few jewelers. I had broken the chain on one of my favorite pearl necklaces and wanted to see how much it would cost to replace the chain vs. repairing it. I also wanted to price how much it would be to resize my mom's wedding set. She has an absolutely gorgeous diamond engagement ring that I am thinking of using.

The chain cost $16 to repair and the ring would cost $78 to resize. I have decided to wait on resizing the ring until later. Maybe in a couple months I will have it resized, but not now. Beside, I would not feel comfortable wearing the ring everyday. It cost more than what I spent on my car and I would be nervous wearing it to school and work.

After my brother got out of school I took him to get a trim and then we went to the eye doctor to have his eyes checked. He needs more contacts. While there I was looking at the glasses. I found a pair that I really liked and am considering get a new pair of glasses now. My eyesight has changed slightly, but I could live with it for a few more months. I'll shop around for any deals.

To see something incredibly cool yet unsettling, click this link:

Why is everyone calling me?!?!

The phone rang like 7 times last night (between 6 and 10) and has already rang 4 times this morning (and it is just past 9:30!).

The phone is driving me nuts! I hate the constant ringing.

The worst part is most of the phone calls are junk... I got a phone call last night and this morning saying that I can lower my interest rate on my CC. They say they have made several attempts to reach me so why don't they take the hint and give up?

I was also informed last night that there is a college fair or something going on. That's nice, I don't care.

But the most annoying is the company that keeps calling to confirm an order. My dad ordered something a couple days ago online and since then they have been calling us to confirm the order. The first time they called I got their customer service number and gave it to my dad. He then called them and confirmed the order. But they won't stop calling! So I have been letting the machine pick up and screening the calls. When they call and the machine picks up, they just hang up! Arrrgh.

And I can't turn the ringers off. It is an old fashioned phone where you have to turn the numbers instead of press them. And it has no option for loudness of the ring.

I think I am going to leave for school early today. I have to sign some papers at the Admissions and Records building anyway.

I learned something interesting about my boyfriend today (I am surprised it took me this long, but oh well).

He prioritizes wants. He keeps a list of things he wants (games, movies, etc.) and puts a "1" next to the things he REALLY REALLY wants and a "10" next to the things that he would like to have, but is fine doing without.

I think his system works a lot better than mine. I tend to bounce around from want to want. One minute I am saving for this, a day later I am saving for that. It is never organized.

I am going to create a list of things I want. No more than 10 items at once. Of course, if there isn't 10 items that I want I am not going to "stuff" the list with things I don't want.

I think I will make a separate page for this. I just discovered the pages feature and I have been having fun with that. Simple minds you know.

I have most of my IRA money in a MMA right now. I do plan on getting some CDs and putting money in the stock market in a few years when I have a higher balance.

Anyway, last month I earned 23 cents in interest. So far for this month, I have earned 3 cents in interest.

I knew with Feb. being so short I would make less interest, but why so little when Feb. is almost half over?

One the 10th of January I had already made about 7 cents in interest. Big difference between that and 3 cents as of today.

I suppose it doesn't really matter. But it is weird and it is bugging me.

The leak was fixed yesterday. So I will be hanging out today at home waiting for the other repair men to come and fix the drywall and put my appliances back. I like how they assume I will be available all week without actually confirming what day they are coming. Tricky buggers.

I will be going to the bank today. I have a check to deposit and I want to ask them about the fee changes they sent a letter regarding. I want to make sure that none of the accounts I have will be charged any fees.

Half.com paid me today so I will also be transferring $30 from my checking to savings (the payment was for $40.39).

I convinced my boyfriend to open an IRA. He will be opening one next paycheck (in two weeks). I don't know how much he plans on contributing to it each month. I think he will be putting between $20-40/month into it (he makes around $300/month).

I finally got fed up of dealing with the obstacle course that has become my house and decided to move as much as I could back into its original place. I moved the hutch to another part of the condo so that we could access the couch.

While doing the moving, I found a five dollar bill. And several coins.

I should probably comb my house for change more often. It really surprised me how much change accumulated in the most random places! As to where these coins are coming from, I can't say. My brother rarely spends money and my boyfriend almost always uses his debit card. I keep coins in my coin purse.

I always pick up coins I see on the ground and put them in the coin jar. I never think to put coins found in the house in the coin jar because they are in my home. Whenever I do see a coin in my house, I tend to move it to another location (and rarely the coin jar) as a reminder to get it later.

Do I remember?

Apparently not.

I really like the bank I am currently with. They are always very nice and helpful and since we have been with them pretty much since they opened (we joined about 2 months after they opened), we get treated well there.

So I was a little confused about why the transfer I called in on Monday didn't go through. I know the banker I talked to and I know she wouldn't have forgotten to do it.

And then I looked at my accounts online.

I am the guardian on my brother's savings account and it turns out that the banker accidently withdrew the $200 from his savings, not mine, and deposited into my checking. I just transfered the $200 back into my brother's savings.

I suppose they are allowed to make a mistake... :-P

Good news: We can move back in!

Bad news: We don't have a kitchen sink, half of our counters, a dishwasher, and some carpet, tile, and pantry. And it might take up to a week to get everything else finished.

Good news: Everything is good with my work and my boss is excited for me to come back.

Bad news: There is no work until the last week of Feb.

Good news: I have been doing surveys on e-rewards and have like $17! I do not plan on cashing out just yet- I want to wait til I have closer to $50 or $100 so I can get several Macy's gift cards and use it towards a Coach purse.

Bad news: I had to go to the ER last night because I had a horrible migraine.

Good news: My gums no longer hurt from the extraction.

Bad news: I hate snow and it is snowing.

Good news: It is Friday and that means a new episode of Monk and Psych!

Bad news: For some strange reason, I cannot log into my bank account online. I think they might be doing some work.

Good news: I still have my sanity.

The company that was hired to kill all the mold has finished and now the leak can be repaired. I'll be so happy when this is all behind us. The HOA will be reimbursing us so that is one less thing to worry about.

I am a little worried about work. I called over a week ago about being able to return and have not heard anything. I called two days ago but again, nothing. I will try again today.

ETA: Grrr. I just called my bank to check my savings account balance and I discovered that the bank did not transfer money from my savings to my checking like I asked them to do on Monday. It was a telephone transfer. I really needed that transfer to be done on Monday to cover a check I had sent in the mail. Chances are that check bounced.

Sigh.

The bank shows no record of me asking them to make that transfer so I doubt they will cover a bounced check charge if it does bounce.

I'm late to it, but I have decided that I want to join the eBay challenge!

I hope to average $40/month.

My eBay challenge total so far: $201.18

I will primarily be selling things on half.com but I do plan on having a yard sale in June so I will also include that.

I sent in my request to receive my credit score from Equifax today. I should be getting it in about 3 weeks.