It's been a long time since I've been on here. And so much to update on!

First college is going well. I have a love-hate relationship with my Computer Science class. Love it when my programs work, hate it when they don't.

I'm experiencing some computer problems. Last week, my hard drive failed. Taking 3.5 of the 6 pages of my English essay that is due a week from today with it. Even worse, I have nothing, absolutely nothing, backed up. I know, I know! So I bought a 2 GB flash drive yesterday. If something happens to my flash drive, I will cry. I learned my lesson though- after spending $230 on the new hard drive, the service fee, and the flash drive.

There was a bad communication problem at work. Even though I was laid off, they still consider me an employee so I'm on call for the weekends. I'm happy that I get to stay there, I like where I work, but I don't really like being on call. The good news is that they said they would let me know by Wednesday of every week if they needed me on the weekend. So I'm still working, not as much, but the past few weeks I've been doing overtime so it's slightly making up for it. I'll also be serving a lot of banquets in December, which means I'll be making tips.

As for Christmas gifts... I have a few gifts already but I have no idea what to get my father, boyfriend, or grandma for Christmas. I'm hoping that the light bulb will suddenly go off and I'll know just what to get them.

I'm hoping I'll be able to come back and update more, but with limited access to a computer (I'm using my father's), I can't say when I'll be back next.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Got back from the DMV and grocery shopping. I spent sooo much today.

$19.95 Smog Check
$28.25 for my car title
$83 for registration
$64.89 on groceries.
Grand total: $196.09

Ouch. Groceries cost so much because I also bought my Halloween costume. Good thing that Halloween and registration comes only once a year.

On the bright side I don't need to go shopping for the rest of the month. I don't need gas for another week and a half and I'm good on groceries for 1.5-2 weeks.

I'm going to do some job searching today. I applied again to the store I used to work at and while I don't REALLY want to work there, I know they're willing to hire me again and it's a decent job. Only problem, I'll be surrounded by clothes. I may have to leave my credit card and money at home whenever I go to work.

I'm blaming this one on being blonde (well, former blonde).

Just over a month ago I bought my car from my parents. And guess what I forgot to do?

Register it! It had been registered in August under my parents name but since the car is now mine it needs to be registered under my name.

So Thrusday I'm heading down to the DMV to do so. I'll have to pay about 2 weeks of late fees and I'll have to get new plates...

Darnit, darnit, darnit!

How could I have forgotten about this? The people at the DMV scare me enough as it is (seriously, they are scary!) now they're going to be mad at me and give me a hard time about registering late...

I want someone to go with me (even better, to go in my place!).

I picked up my car yesterday from the dealer. They said I also need my transmission and brake fluid changed, but I'm going to take my car to Pep Boys to get that done. It will be cheaper at Pep Boys.

I'm glad to have my car back. I like my mom's car but it drives differently than mine and it's kind of hard to to get used to. My car drives much, much smoother now that it's fixed.

I'm glad to have my baby back, I missed it!

Life has a sick, sick mind. It has a knack for allowing things to explode all at once.

This Saturday past we had a banquet. It was for a small amount of people, but because my work had laid off several people those of us who were still there were very strained. And to top off the fact that I was running around, picking up the all the extra jobs I too got laid off.

My last day is this Sunday.

I don't NEED to work. My aunt gives me money each month and starting in December my parents will give me money each month. I work to save money. So, I can either find another job right away and continue saving or I can take the rest of the semester off and take $25 or so dollars a month from my savings for spending money.

And the icing on the cake: the dealer called me today to tell me what had to be done to fix my car and how much it was going to cost.

$1,250.

The tire rod, alignment, and something else I can't remember now all need to be completely fixed. They also have to order new parts for my car.

If life were a person, I would probably hit him right now.

We went down to Pep Boys and they said the tires would cost $49 each.

I made an appointment at the Dodge dealer for Monday to have them fix my tire rod. Pep Boys said that it was missaligned and they weren't able to fix it. I have no idea how much it will cost to have it realigned but I'm hoping no more than a couple hundred.

I'm extremely thankful for whomever left the note. I wish I knew who did. If I ever get the chance to do something like this for someone else, I will.

This made me realize that I really, really need to educate myself about cars. I know my oil has to be changed every 3 months or 3,000 miles. Aside from that I am extremely ignorant about how cars work. (And that reminds me .... I need my oil changed next month.)

I could tell within seconds of driving my car home from Pep Boys the difference that new tires make. It drives much smoother and I feel more in control and there is still some work that needs to be done. I'm not driving my car until it's fixed so I'm using my mom's for the time being.

Though I wasn't planning on buying anything this week, I'm going to go to Barnes & Noble tonight and buy a couple "beginners" books on cars. Maybe I'll find ways that I can improve my car.

Moments like this make me more than happy that I have a savings.

Today I arrived at my car and discovered a note on the front windshield. At first I thought it was a ticket but it was a napkin. On it was written "Your front right tire shows a lot of wear and is low". When I got home I took a look at my tire and sure enough, LOTS of wear. The top portion of the tire is worn so thin that you can see what looks to be the metal stitching below. [I know nothing of tires, so I'm just guessing that it's metal stitching.]

On the way home I stopped by my parent's and showed my dad the tire. He agreed that with the note and said Thrusday (the day that I don't have classes) I need to go down to Pep Boys and have my front tires replaced.

My dad said my tires will cost between $100-125 each to replace. I don't have to dip into my savings to cover the bill, my dad said he'll pay for the tires, but it made me realize that having an emergency fund is very much a necessity.

I don't know who wrote the note, but I'm glad they did. Because they noticed my tires (and I know I probably never would have), they probably saved me from a lot of headhache later on.

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.

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!

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.

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.

My little brother will be getting his license around December and because my current baby was passed down from my mom, it has to be passed down to my brother.

Which leaves me funding my own car (hence the savings goal of $20,000). I'm going to buy used and I think I found my new baby- a 2001 Honda Insight. It's a hybrid that gets 61 mpg city and 68 mpg highway.

Because we live in an area that gets snow (about 1-2 feet every year) I want a car that does well in the snow. My mom has a Toyota and my dad a Honda and both have come to my rescue when I get stuck in the snow (I drive a Dodge).

The Insight is priced between $10-12,000 (according to the Kelly Blue Book) and I was looking for something that was under 10K. But I think I can make an exception.

The only problem I will have is that it's a manual and I've only driven automatic. I will obviously have to learn how to drive a stick-shift before I test drive one.

I won't be buying a car until my brother gets his license so I still have a few months to research more cars.

My parents bought a lot of bonds in my name about the time I was born. The amount they paid for the bonds was $2,100. I cashed the bonds in today and they were worth $4,730.42

I added that to my savings.

They were all EE bonds so I had 12 years for some of them to mature still. But I needed the money to cover whatever scholarships don't for college, which will be billing me in just over a month.

I want to buy some more bonds at the end of this year but I know absolutely nothing about them. Time to go do some googling!

Sometimes all you need to do to save money is to open your eyes.

Taking my usual way to work I found a new gas station that I hadn't noticed before. It's about .15$ cheaper than any of the other gas stations in my area and best of all, I don't have to drive outside of my normal route to get there.

Onto the purpose of Monday's post: my week's spending. I didn't buy the new iPod today (woke up late) so I'll be getting that tomorrow along with a father's day present. I want to spend less than $300 tomorrow (it is so incredibly weird to talking about spending that much!). I haven't the vaguest idea what I'll be getting my dad. Possinly a book.

Wednesday, Thrusday, and Sunday are no-spend days. Friday or Saturday I will be gasing up, but I haven't decided which. I've done more driving this past week than I expected and it has thrown me off. I expect $40 will be enough to gas up. Whatever day I don't buy gas on will be a no-spend day.

I filed my taxes late this year (I know, I know!) however I did not owe the government any money so I was not penalized. Not the best habit to get into, filing taxes late, but I'll do better next year, I promise. I just received my return so I'll be taking that to the bank tomorrow. I'll put $75-100 of the return into my checking and the rest will be put into my IRA.

As per advice of someone on here (I can't remember your name, my apologies!), I checked with my state's labor commissioner and according to them: "If you quit, wages and compensation must be paid no later than the day on which you would have been regularly been paid or within 7 days, whichever is earlier."

I should have been paid by today, at the very latest. I will be going in tomorrow to discuss this with my ex-boss. If I do not receive my paycheck within a couple days, I will be making a complaint. This wouldn't be the first trick she's pulled and I'm no longer going to put up with it.