Playing Hopscotch with My Money

At work today I seemed to injure and bruise myself non-stop. It was just one of those days. Constantly bumping into things, running things over my foot... you get the drift.

And then I get home, park my car, get out and walk in front of my car and.. ram my knee into my license plate! Already a bruise is forming.

Sigh.

I got my paycheck today! The one bright side. It was for $404.88. So Monday I will go to the bank and deposit it. $202.44 will go into savings, $121.46 will go into my iRA, and $80.97 will be used for spending money. Which I've kind of already spent. Not all of it, only about $30. Agh.

You know, it is a lot easier to justify spending little amounts of money when you are already spending large amounts of money. Boyfriend and I both had a lot of expenses this month- car registration/insurance, parking permits, medical bills... And we started to let our fun money go slightly over because hey, we just wrote a $200 check to boyfriend's doctor, what's the big deal?

Luckily our "out of control spending" lasted only a couple days and cost us only $30. Well, technically $32 and change when you consider sales tax.

Ok, I need to get to sleep. I am way past my bed time.

The heaviest, and most expensive, book I had listed sold today!

The book old for $7 + shipping. After commission I made $9.02. I compared the prices of shipping it and Media Mail will be the cheapest. It will cost $3.16 to mail.

This sale brings my June total to $32.41!

Is there any place I can check out general reviews of mattresses?

Boyfriend and I are shopping for a mattress. We want a good quality mattress, as it very important to have a good night's sleep. I've never paid much attention to the different brands of mattresses and really couldn't name any brands or even tell you their general quality. I'm not even sure what brand my current mattress is. Lol.

We'll be gong to RC Willey tonight as they are having a sale on mattresses. I'm wondering though- are there any brands of mattresses we should avoid? We want to get a mattress that will last a long time.

I tried a google search for reviews of mattresses but didn't come up with much.

Does anyone know of any websites I should check out or have a recommendation of what type of mattress we should shop for?

I finally reached a decision about the parking permit situation.

I had two options. Option A was to stick with my current parking permit and pay $205. Option B was to "step down" and go with the cheaper permit and pay $105.

My main concern was about walking to and from my car if I were to park in Option B. Since a shuttle does not stop in that area, there is less foot traffic coming and going. But I went over my schedule for the fall and the latest I get out is at 4 pm. Even during the winter, there is still some daylight at 4 pm.

So I have opted for Option B.

I also sold another book this morning! I made $3.48, bringing my total to $23.39 for the month. I'm starting to become a regular at the post office.

Woo-hoo!

Another sale! Another $3.28, bringing my total to $19.91!

A conversation about my sales went as follows today:

Me: My books are selling so much faster than usual.
Boyfriend: Don't you have more listed than usual?
Me: Yes.
Him: So doesn't it make sense that the more you have listed, the more chances you have to sell one?
Me: Shut up.

Don't you just hate it when SOs point out the obvious to you?

Honestly, I'm surprised at how fast my books are selling on half.com! I'm very happy though- the more that sells, the better!

I sold (obviously) another book today. After commission I made $3.28. This brings my total for the month to $16.63.

I don't think I will mail it off tonight- I don't feel like driving to the post office. So I'll mail it tomorrow before my classes.

I tried a new recipe today: Potato-Zucchini skillet pancake.

It called for a cup of shredded onion and I must say: my eyes! Aaagh! My eyes burned and watered like you would not believe.

The recipe turned out ok- it was an interesting taste. I didn't have enough potatoes (it called for 3 cups, I only had 2 cups) though. Boyfriend really liked it, brother did not, and I'm on the fence. It was alright but I don't feel really strong about it either way.

I don't think I will be making the recipe often though- mostly because I don't like it enough to want to shred more potatoes, zucchinis, and onions. The recipe is linked in my dinner menus page if you want to see it.

I included a picture of it because I wanted to show you what it looks like:

Oh my!

Today my boyfriend and I went out after we got off work. Amazingly we both got off at the same time even though we were both scheduled to work later than we did. We were scheduled to 6 and got off at 5.

So we had dinner out- or at least, I had dinner out. Boyfriend didn't eat so I couldn't pawn the bill on him- though he did eat a few of my french fries and I still maintain he needs to reimburse me for that. :P

Then we looked around Whole Foods. I don't think I've ever been in there before today. They have a lot of stuff and an amazing collection of just about everything. I was pleasantly surprised. I joked to boyfriend that Whole Foods is kind of like an amusement park because the one near us has a restaurant and a buffet. I won't be shopping there regularly because the prices are high, but I'd be happy to go back for some things.

Anyway, while at Whole Foods I found rechargeable batteries. I decided to pick up a pack. It came with 4 AA, 4 AAA, and the charger for $16 + tax. I was inspired to get this because of a thread on the forum. I don't remember which one, but someone mentioned rechargeable batteries.

Then we wandered over to Target because we didn't want to go home. While looking around we pointed out things we would like to get over the next few months for our home. We ended up buying a Brita water pitcher. We're not going to be buying a lot of stuff new. We agreed bedding will be bought new but everything else will be bought used when possible. We still need to buy a bed and I'm a little nervous about how much that will cost.

After we got home I checked half.com- and discovered I made another sale! Woo-hoo! Another $3.91.

This brings my new total for the month to $13.35.

I sold another book this morning. After commission I made $3.48.

I'm going to mail it in a manilla envelope instead of buying an envelope at the post office. I had started to reorganize the bills after work yesterday (it is a lot easier than I expected because I already have a system in place) and while doing so I found a stack of manilla envelopes that I haven't used.

The book is going to CA so shipping should be cheaper than usual. I don't think I'll need to use Media Mail.

So Monday I will ship the book on my way to class.

Current June total: $9.44

I used to be very dedicated at keeping receipts. I would put the receipts in an envelope labelled with the month and the end of the year put the small envelopes into a big envelope for the year.

And now? Well there are some receipts under the bed, in the bathroom, I'm pretty sure I'm sitting on a couple too.

I just received a big kick in the pants today to get back to my super organized ways. When I picked up my meds about 2 weeks ago the pharmacist said insurance wasn't going to cover it. Weird, as my insurance has always covered it and there was no change to our insurance plan. So I called my doc's office and spoke to her nurse. The nurse said she would handle it.

I called the pharmacist today to make sure my insurance will cover it because I have to pick up my meds in two weeks. The pharmacist said that yes, my insurance is covering it, and it was supposed to cover it for last time. She told me to come by and they will reimburse me for the difference.

But what did I do with the receipt?

God only knows where it could be.

Maybe they'll give me the reimbursement without the receipt. Surely they have it on file how much I paid the last time I picked it up.

On a hunch, I looked over my ledger for my checking and savings- I haven't updated them in a month. Bills are scattered about too. The ones coming due are on my desk but the ones already paid are here and there and everywhere!

I really need to get reorganized.

Sigh.

Of course, when I have no more spending money I want to go shopping. There's nothing in particular I want to buy but I just want to shop. Tiffany & Co. is a terrible website to check out when you have no money to spend. Not that I would buy much from Tiffany- the prices are unbelievable! They had some really nice stuff though.

I've been upset the past few days. A few days ago would have been my parents' 23rd wedding anniversary. And the fight boyfriend and I had the other day didn't help my mood. Today was a pretty good day though.

I have to get my hair trimmed tomorrow. I've been putting it off for the last... 6 or 8 months now. Lol. What's prompting me to finally do it is my hair turned green. One word: chlorine. Fortunately it is mostly the tips of my hair that turned green. So I'll go to the hair cut place tomorrow and get a trim. I don't want to show up at work with green hair.

I'm also going to try to get my car smog-ed and registered tomorrow. If not tomorrow then definitely Monday.

Not much else to report on... 20 more days until we can move in. Though moving will be tricky to arrange with my work and school schedule, boyfriend's work schedule and his brother's (who will be helping us to move) schedule.

My boyfriend and I both did very stupid things last night.

He left his laptop in his car with all of his windows rolled waaaay down. I left the key to the house in the door lock on the outside all night.

His laptop was still there this morning and fortunately nothing was taken out of our house.

Talk about lucky!

I didn't make as much on the books. The shipping was $3.15 + .99 on the packing. So I made $1.82.

Listing all those books finally paid off. I sold two yesterday evening to the same person.

After commission I made $5.96. It will cost $2.77 to ship plus another $1 for the package... so I'm looking at about a $2 profit. I'll take anything.

Boyfriend and I had a huge fight last night. We're ok now but last night was not fun. After we made up we went to Dairy Queen and got ice cream. The fight started because last night I had so much homework and couldn't make dinner or do the chores so I asked him to come right home from work to help me. He got upset because he wanted to spend time with his friends. Ironically, the time we spent fighting and then getting ice cream took more time than the cooking and cleaning would have taken.

I'm going to be so happy to have my dad back home and me be able to move out. I love my brother, but he is causing a lot of stress between my boyfriend and I. My grandma has said that if I wanted to move into my apartment officially before my dad comes home she can stay with my brother until dad gets here. I am seriously considering doing that.

Speaking of moving, we are getting a sleeper sofa from boyfriend's parents. They have also offered us an entertainment center but I don't think we are going to take that- it is really big. They are still undecided about the book case but that's fine.

Has anyone been experiencing problems with SA lately? SA and the blogs haven't been loading properly the past couple days. Earlier I tried to make a blog and every time I clicked on "New Entry" I kept getting an error. I also couldn't read comments on others' blogs. And the forums have been loading weird too.

I took my car to the mechanic today and the reason for the flat tires was discovered: hubcaps!

Apparently the previous owner put hubcaps on the wheels that did not fit and it was cutting off the valve. Somebody must have kicked my hubcaps and that made it deflate more quickly.

I joked to the mechanic: I never thought I would have to check the hubcaps on a used car! Seriously, who would have thought to check that?

I picked up my paycheck today. It was for $367.37 and went right into checking. I had to take about $50 out of savings to cover the smog/car registration and parking permit. I will get my car registered tomorrow and send off the payment for the permit too. So I wasn't able to save anything but I also didn't take anything out for spending money.

This weekend will be very very busy. I work Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So my next paycheck should be larger than it has been recently.

I finished the essay. It took a lot of coercing to get me to actually sit down and do it, but between my numerous breaks I actually got a lot done. Honestly, I rarely procrastinate this much. But this assignment... maybe because it is summer.

I have made a decision about my future apartment: no plastic! I try to be as green as possible (cloth pads/towels/napkins, those light bulbs, etc.). I refuse to buy anything new that is plastic, but I would be willing to buy something used that is plastic. My dad and grandma have been handing us old kitchen supplies they no longer need. As time goes on we'll slowly replace things.

We are getting a lot of furniture too:
1. Recliner from my grandma
2. Dresser from my grandma
3. Writing desk that will be used as a dinning room table from my grandma
4. Possibly a sleeper sofa from boyfriend's mom
5. Possibly a bookcase from boyfriend's mom
6. Coffee table from my grandma

The bookcase will need to be repainted. I think a pale yellow would be good. Boyfriend and I have decided to go for "French Country" theme in the apartment.

Boyfriend and I have decided that we will combine finances when we move into our apartment. We'll get a joint checking account and all of our paychecks will be going directly into that account. At the end of the month we will split whatever is left between us to put into our savings. I know it would be better to save money first, but I'm not sure how much we'll have leftover each month for savings.

We're going to try this for a couple months and see how it goes. If there aren't any problems we'll keep with it. If there are we'll figure something out. We haven't decided if we will keep track of our spending. The main thing we have to worry about is keeping grocery costs low.

I have so much to do tomorrow:
1. Stop by lawyer office
2. Classes
3. Possibly sign lease- I need to find out when we have to sign it and they haven't called me back
4. Drop my car at mechanics (they are closed on the weekends)
5. Grocery shopping
6. More homework

I haven't even had the chance to make a menu for the week and the grocery list for tomorrow.

I don't have anything to report on. I'm just putting off my essay. Here is my prompt:

"Eurocentrism: Using examples from history or particular writers we have examined, describe what it means to say that European Age of Discovery had a highly "ethnocentric character". Then examine the way that Montaigne uses satire in order to make Europeans aware of the ethnocentric biases in their attitudes towards New World peoples. What makes Montaigne's essay effective or ineffective in combating the cultural biases of Europeans? What practical effects might Montaigne hope that his essay "On the Cannibals" would have for the debate about the status of New World peoples and their treatment by colonizing Europeans? You can also bring in texts such as Columbus' letter and/or other assigned readings."

Blah.

I actually liked Montaigne's essay "On the Cannibals". It was interesting to read and discuss. But I'm totally unmotivated to write this essay.

I really need to rewrite the one paragraph I have...

What a night!

The wedding yesterday went just fine. I got a little after midnight and a coworker and I walked out to our cars together. I get in my car, start, and begin to drive up the hill when I notice my front tire is being weird. So I pull over and look at my front passenger tire.

It's flat!

My coworker saw me so she drove me back to the club to get my other coworkers and boss and have them help me change my tire. It is then that we realize that the front driver tire is flat too.

Two flat tires!

Argh. Fortunately my spare was in my car (when I bought the car I forgot to check for that. You can bet that now I'll never forgot to check the spare on a used car.) so we changed one tire and the other tire we fixed with "Fix-a-Flat". It is this foam that is pumped into the tire. It essentially makes the tire a spare as you can't drive very far on it. But the foam fills up the tire and coats any holes.

I'm going to be calling my mechanics very, very soon. Chances are someone let the air out of my tires (who, I don't know) but I still want to get the tires looked over. Just in case.

And I still have an essay to write today.

But I'm not going to be able to save much from this paycheck.

Car registration is due- $219 and $20 for the smog check. I'll be going to one of the smog places that allows you to re-register your car there.

Parking permit for school is also due at the same time. $205 to renew the same permit. I'm thinking of "downgrading" and getting a cheaper permit. Father from the classes (of course) and it is cheaper -$105. I'm still deciding though.

I forgot to ask the manager of the apartment we're moving into when we need to sign the lease. I'll give them a call tomorrow. Only 26 more days until we can move in!

OMG! I am sooooo excited!!

My boyfriend and I were approved for the apartment we love today!!!! Yay!

And the best part is that on July 1st, all we pay for the month is $150 (rest of the deposit)! The first month is free, something I didn't know before.

There is so much that needs to be done. And so many people to tell! In mid-August we are going to have a house-warming party for all friends and family.

I'm so excited! It's going to be so nice to have a place to ourselves- our first home (ok, apartment)!

I was supposed to hear from the apartment complex yesterday about the applications my boyfriend and I dropped off. Still no word from them. If I don't hear from them by the time they close tonight I am going to call them tomorrow morning.

I am terrible at being patient. And I'm getting myself a little worked up over the application and how long it is taking them. Why is it taking them so long? What if they don't accept us? We need an apartment by the end of July- what if we can't find one? All of these "What if?"s are running through my head and driving me crazy. I am worried.

I'm driving my boyfriend nuts because of my worries- he's even telling me to stop worrying (he has OCD and worries about everything) about it and relax.

Ugh. I hate waiting.

Ok, onto other stuff. I've been doing some online window shopping of stuff I would like to get for the apartment but I really need to get my mind off of that right now.

Today I took my car into the mechanic. I got a lube,oil, and filter and tire rotation for $60. They also checked the brakes and the steering and everything else. Everything checked out just fine.

Payday is Friday. That's also the only day I work this week. I have an essay due next week so I am glad I can devote the weekend to working on it. I believe this Friday is also boyfriend's first payday at his new job. He likes working there. I miss him, especially when I'm studying for a test and I want to cuddle while reading. Oh well. It's worth it.

I've been wanting to go on a bike ride the past few days but have been unable to because of the weather. Our weather is unpredictable and the past few days we've had a lot of rain. Half the time it's drizzling and the other half it's pouring incredibly hard. And it changes every five minutes.

I finally got my butt in gear and went to the storage unit to get some books to sell. I came back with about 65 books to sell.

I listed most on half.com. Several were not available on half.com and a few others weren't in a good enough condition to sell.

I started yesterday with one item in my inventory on half.com and now I have 56! It took awhile to list all those books... but at least for awhile I don't have to worry about not having enough inventory.

Now I just sit back and wait for something to sell.

I'm not sure what to think of this.

Awhile ago I got a free FICO score through myfico.com Then it was 703. I just got another free FICO score through the same place and it is now 685. It's been a few months since I checked my credit reports, so I went to annualcreditreport.com and tried to look at my credit reports.

I couldn't. Two said they were unable to do so online and I would have to send in the form to receive my credit report. The third said that I had already received my free credit report through them for the year and I would have to pay for it. But I haven't received my free report from them. I'm positive of it.

I'm a little worried now. I haven't received any of my reports online before so I don't know if this is usual.

ETA: We just checked boyfriend's score and report to make sure there is nothing funny with his. He has a score of 766 and so far his reports look clean.

May was a pretty good month .

Made: $724.08

Saved: $430.27
-Savings: $213.06
-IRA: $217.21
*I had to take $149 out of savings for the deposit/app. fee for the apartment.

Half.com Sales: $27.98
-New Average: $48.11

Survey: $0

Yay!

Yesterday my boyfriend and I went to look at an apartment. There were only three one bedrooms left, and only one on the third floor. So we took it.

I gave them $50 for the application fee, $99 for part of the deposit. We turned in the applications today and we'll find out Monday if we got it! I'm so excited and a little nervous. If need be my dad could sign for us. Hopefully he won't have to.

Arrgh. The wait is horrible. I keep thinking I might have left something out.

When we the apartment we will pay another $150 for rest of the deposit when we move in. Move in date is July 1st.

Yesterday I got a letter I put in the mail back. It was a bill. I put a 42 cent postage on it and it was returned because I needed another 2 cents in postage. Was postage raised? Weird thing is none of the other bills were returned.

Sometimes things just fall into your lap.

I've been meaning to get the carpet cleaned for a couple months. It's not disgusting, but there are a few stains that I can't get out. When I was taking out the trash, a sales lady approached me. She asked if I would like to get a carpet cleaning done for free. It can't be the whole house (obviously) but they can do one room. I said sure and asked if they could do the living room.

They'll be here between 10-12 to do the living room for free. And if they do a good job, I fully intend to hire them to clean the hallway carpet and the carpet in my brother's room.

Sometimes, it pays to procrastinate.

But not when it comes to my car. I about 2 weeks past a regular tune up and I need to get my tires rotated. So I'm going to call the mechanic and make an appointment. I won't be going to the usual Lube Express so I might pay an extra $10-15 to go to a nicer mechanic. Definitely worth it. They also off free classes on basic mechanics to women so I'm going to try to go to one of those.

Today wasn't much fun.

I had to write two papers for my English class and read a TON of pages of Luther and Erasmus. It wouldn't have been so bad if I had started earlier but *cough* I didn't. Hehe. I took a walk between the papers to clear my head and recharge.

What matters is that I got it all done, and before 10 pm tonight!

Dinner was hard tonight. It took about an hour and a half from start to finish. Any other day that would have been fine but I was in no mood to be cooking so long. Turned out really well but the stuffed shells is a recipe I will be reserving for special occasions. I'm sure I could find a quicker recipe for it elsewhere though.

I went to the grocery store to redeem my coins. Not for cash this time, but for a gift card to Amazon. I will spend that money on books- once I finish the very long line of books waiting to be read of course.

The next two days I will be going straight from school to work but I have the weekend off. I'll be finding out very soon about whether I'll be staying at my job. Maybe even tomorrow.

I was introduced to a new vinegar today- Apple Cider Vinegar. I've never heard of it before. Apparently it is really good for you and it is pretty cheap. I got a 16 oz bottle for two bucks. I had trouble finding it in the store so I asked an employee for help. He said he knows people who drink it with water. I was very surprised to hear that.

I'm trying a several new recipes this week. Stuffed shells, risotto, and buffalo chicken salad. The buffalo chicken salad is the recipe that calls for the apple cider vinegar. All the recipes are linked in the dinner menus page. They are all from a new show I discovered: "Cook Yourself Thin" on Lifetime. I'm not trying to lose weight but I like how the show teaches you to make healthier substitutions when cooking.

I went grocery shopping today. I usually go on Monday but I was getting antsy and really needed something to do at 11 pm beside go to bed. So I went grocery shopping. Boyfriend totally thought I was crazy for wanting to go grocery shopping so late, but he tagged along anyway.

The total came to $89.04. I have to go to another store tomorrow though- Walmart doesn't carry scallions. Walmart was also out of zucchinis when I went so I'll be getting that tomorrow too.

Oh, I received my Kindle a few days ago. I'm sooo glad I purchased it- it's great! I'll go into more detail about the pros and cons of it tomorrow.

Boyfriend made a decision about how much he will work.

Until mid-August, he will work 9 hours/day (he misheard his parents-it was never 10 hours/day), 5 days/week. He will have Sunday and Monday off.

If he works 45 hours/week, he will make $900 every two weeks before taxes. After taxes he will make about $810 every two weeks (no state taxes). That brings us to $1,620 every month.

His beginning savings is $5,500 (not including IRA). He plans on putting half of his paycheck into savings, 30% into IRA, and 20% for spending money (what I do).

At the end of June, he will have roughly $6,300 in savings. At the end of July, he will have about $7,100 in savings.

Assuming I have $4,500 by the end of July, between us we will have $11,600 in savings.

Our monthly expenses will be as follows (roughly, we'll fine tune it later):

Rent and utilities: $625
Phone/Internet: $50
Groceries and household supplies: $225
Gas: $150
Misc: $50
Total: $1,100

That means we will have about ten months of expenses in the bank before we move. This is likely to decrease though when school begins because I have to buy textbooks and tuition. Boyfriend has prepaid tuition and a scholarship and that covers everything, including textbooks. My textbooks and tuition shouldn't be more than $750.

There is a possibility of me leaving my job in as little as a week. I don't want to say much about it until it actually happens. Nothing is certain right now.

When I told boyfriend (I found out last night at work), he said, "Finally I get to be the primary bread winner!". His previous job made considerably less than mine, and I knew he felt a little bad about that. It never bothered me but I think it bruised his ego that he was making less than me. I asked him if he would feel bad if he had to pay for everything and he said no: he likes to take care of me.

If I have to leave my job, then that's that. I will find another. It might take a few weeks, but I know I can find another job.

I am in a pickle.

Boyfriend has been offered a job at his parents' shop. Which is great for a few reasons. 1) He can see them more, 2) he'll make more per hour (he'll go from $7.5/hour to $10/hour), 3) he will work as many or as little hours as he likes.

The problem is with how many hours he'll work over the summer. They want him to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week (the entire time the shop is open basically). Honestly I think 60 hours a week is too much. We would have very little time together if he works 60 hours a week.

I work mostly evenings and nights. He would work from 8 am to 6 pm. I also work weekends, so the Sunday he has off I would be working. And during the week (on the nights I have off), I will be most likely be doing homework.

Boyfriend wants to work 60 hours/week so we can save as much money as possible. Yes, if he works that much he'll make about $2,000/month. Great money, but not worth it to me. If he just works 40 hours/week, he'll still make about $1,300 (after taxes). The extra money would be great to add to the savings, but is it really worth not spending so much time together?

I don't know what to do. We could use the money. Boyfriend says that he wants to work so much so that we have that extra money in case we need it. He says working so much now will pay off in our future. I can't argue with his logic- it makes perfect sense. The more he is able to save now, the better. That's less we have to worry about when we move, get married, I begin grad school... And if there should be an emergency over the school year (when neither one of us is working full-time), the extra padding in the savings could be a life saver.

I just don't know if I want to give up some time with him now. I suppose I'm being selfish. And it's not like we won't see each other at all this summer. We will have time together, just not as much as I would like.

He knows how I feel. I told him to do what he thinks is best. I think he's going to talk with his parents about the hours and see what else they can offer him.

Last night I made Herbed Chicken Parmesan.

It turned out really well except for one little thing: the vinegar for the sauce. When i first looked over the recipe I thought it called for 1/4 cup vinegar (among other ingredients of course). I was happy that the only thing I had to buy for this recipe was the chicken as I already had everything else.

Well last night I started putting all the ingredients on the counter for easy access. And that's when I realized that the recipe called for 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar.

Hoping that maybe we had balsamic vinegar and I didn't know, I looked in the pantry and fridge. I did find a bottle of balsamic vinegar but it was empty. So I looked around some more and I found red wine vinegar.

So I decided to use that instead. I was debating between regular vinegar and the red wine. I didn't know how either would affect the taste of the sauce so I guessed and used the red wine. Even with red wine vinegar the sauce was really good, but had this little sour kick to it. It tasted a little off.

I've added balsamic vinegar to next week's grocery list. I want to make this recipe again, this time with the right type of vinegar.

I made a bit extra so I will be having that for lunch today.