Happy May Day and TGIF!!
I’m not feeling so well today. I went to the doctor and I don’t have H1N1 or Strep, so I’m happy about that. But being sick is never fun. I will actually be leaving work early tonight to nurse myself back to good health. Rest, relaxation, and plenty of fluids are on my to-do list.
I hope everyone has a great weekend. It’s supposed to be really beautiful weather where I’m at so hopefully I’ll be feeling better so I can enjoy it.
Total – $20.18.48
No Spending Days = 3
The dogs’ category is so high because the dogs had a vet visit that was $295.00. Also I bought a poop-scooper and a set of stairs so my little dog could get up to the bed easier. I went over board this month with going out to eat. I went one night with some co-workers to a new restaurant and a highschool friend of mine had a birthday celebration. The phone category is twice as much as it normally is because it was time renew my contract. I got a new phone and will be receiving a $70.00 rebate, so it will offset a little of the cost. Currently, my main checking account is through USAA and they refund ATM fees up to $15.00 per month, so I will get my $7.00 back.
I hope everyone who celebrates Easter has a happy one!
I lost track of my spending during March, so there won’t be a March spending report. I have started keeping track again for April. There’s been another type of cutback in my department at work. Any of the representatives in my area that work after 7pm get a pay differential. Nights are started to get slower, so in order to cut more costs, the company has decided to have less people working at night. So those who will no longer work at night, will no longer get the pay differential. It’s 10% – 15% of our base pay. Which equates to about $2,750 – $4,800 loss. I don’t think I can really afford it. We’ve already had a 2% paycut. I could end up lossing 12% – 17% of my pay. Yikes!! But at least I still have a job, for now.
Sorry I’ve been gone so long. I was sick for about a week and a half. Then the market started getting crazy again so we’ve been busy at work. I haven’t had a lot of time to post. Right now I’m really wishing I had the money to take a week off of work and fly to Vancouver, Canada. Why you may ask? Well the most gorgeous guy in the world, Robert Pattinson, is in Vancouver right now getting ready to shoot the sequel to Twilight called New Moon. Oh how I wish I could just charge a trip on my credit card and just take off!!! But the responsible, frugal girl in me keeps reminding me that even if I did meet Robert Pattinson and had the time of my life, I’d still be stuck with a huge bill at the end of the month and not enough money to pay it off. Ah!! Why can’t I ever win? *insert extremely sad face here*
Oh well. Maybe I’ll get a chance to meet him somewhere else. Why can’t any good movies ever be filmed in the Midwest?
I know I’ve been MIA lately. It’s due to an evil cold that won’t leave me alone. I’ve been sick since Friday night and it continues to kick my butt. Monday I went to work, but left at lunch time. Tuesday I was out all day. Today I’m back in the office, but leaving again at lunch time. I really don’t like being sick. I would much rather save my time-off for when I’m not sick.
I’m sorry dear readers, but today is going to be a rant day. My brother is an idiot. Don’t get me wrong, I really really love him and I’m glad he’s my brother, but he’s a financial idiot. Financial idiocy runs in the family so it’s not a surprise, but he should be smarter than that. I just found out that my 20 yr old brother, who makes about $13,000 a year has just gone out and bought a new car. Not a brand new car, but a new used car. A Dodge Charger. He’s already had 3 mustangs, non of which had ever been paid off. And now he’s gone and bought this car. His loan is now $18,000 – AGAIN!!! His loan his more than his salary!! Is he insane???? I could just scream. He barely pays his portion of the cell phone plan we share. He doesn’t pay his own car insurance or his health insurance and my dad still gives him gas money.
Remember Mrs Powell – This is my new mantra. Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to someone I believe is an Angel in disguise. This woman has had some bad things happen to her:
Her husband of 39 years died, She has leukemia, has lost 7 children, had to have a disk replaced in her back, her truck was stolen, and her safe broken into.
And yet, she was able to laugh and joke with me on the phone. That’s amazing. I seriously believe she’s an Angel. I don’t think I’d be able to make jokes and laugh after all that.
So no matter how bad I think my day is going, I’m going to remember what Mrs. Powell has gone through. And know that if she can find the humor in life I can too! Bless you Mrs. Powell, you have given me a new outlook on life! Thank You.
Lately I’ve had this feeling of being off-balance. I don’t know what to do about it. I think it stems mostly from work. I recently switched my schedule and instead of working 12:30pm – 9:00pm, I’m there 10:45am – 7:30pm. It’s been difficult for me to adjust. I’ve been late to the office most of the week. Also, we’ve finally had some lay-offs at work. Approximately 550 people are being let go between now and the end of the year. Thank heavens I wasn’t one of them, but it could have easily been me. I’ve only been with the company for a little over a year and a half. It’s scary. And to make matters worse, I had an upsetting conversation with my aunt about going back to school. She basically wants me to quit my job and go back to being an even more financially un-sound college student. Is she out of her ever-lovin mind?!?!?! With the way the economy is, I need to hold onto my job for as long as I can. I enjoy my job, I like my co-workers, and I love my company. What’s wrong with that? I make decent money. I will actually gross approximately $5,000 more than she will, not that I’m trying to throw that in anyone’s face. But geez!! I know she wants me to do better and be better than what I am, but she wants it for all the wrong reasons.
I did have bigger dreams at one time, but things change. Just because I can’t go back to school right now, doesn’t mean I never will. Maybe I will go back and get into Pharmacy school. Who knows? Right now, I think if I did, I go back to get my financial management degree.
Since I finally decided to start keeping track of my spending, in order to start “Debt-Proofing” my life; I’ve realized I spend money almost everyday. It’s usually small amounts, but they all add up. The days I spend the most are obviously payday because payday is the day I pay all my main expenses. I started keeping trackas of Nov. 8th and it’s been tough. It really takes quite a bit of thought to write down every purchase, every bill, every anything, but I’ve been doing it. It feels good to see where all my money is going. I know tracking my spending will do me a lot of good in the long run. I’ve been meaning to set up a budget for so long; and now I’m finally going to.
So far, I’ve only had two No Spend Days. Although this depresses me, I know that the longer I keep track of things, the more No Spend Days I will eventually start to see. Right now I’m just trying to get a handle on tracking where the money goes. But I will keep trying for those No Spend Days. Generally the weekends seem to better canidates for me. This is due to the fact that I’ve stopped going out on weekends. I’d rather spend my time at home with my family and my dogs.
Satuday:
Saturday I found myself in the Emergency Room with my mother for 5 hours. It seemed to be a very very busy day for the local ER. My mother recently had a Tracheostomey and as I was cleaing it, I smelled an odd odor eminating from in her throat. It smelled like infection. So my mother called her main doctor’s on-call nurse & they suggested we go to the ER. We sat there for 5 hours so the ER doc could tell us that she has general respiratory infection and to give her a prescription for antibotics. We could have gone to convienent care for all this and it would have only take maybe an hour at most. Ugh.
Then it was off to run some errands for my parents’ business. Another two hours down the drain. Finally I got home around 7:00 pm, checked my email and then spent the rest of the night watching TV. What a waste of a day.
Sunday:
Sunday was better in a few respects. I didn’t spend the day in the ER, but I did spend 5 hours or so working for my dad. We were very busy. There was a lot of work to get done, and then I had another errand to take care of. Sometimes being the responsible daughter sort of sucks. Why are my siblings never held to the same accountability as I am? Because I’m the “good one,” the “responsible one,” and I feel bad if I say no. Ugh.
