13 posts from 2007

So far my first month on a budget did not go so well... I used my Credit card for some things i needed and some things i did not need... the end result is, even though i tried to stick as much as i could to a budget, i forgot to plan on gifts for the two weddings i am going to... which in turn but me in the whole for more credit card debt..

I am def disappointed in myself, but hopefully, next month i will be back on track... Its nice to actually use cash for gas and food... but i need to really stop using the credit cards.... yuck yuck yuck....

I will have to put it in the freezer i suppose as i can't control it...

i hate debt - what a bad month!

I know this is a little off topic, ok alot off topic, but i wanted to write about it. I have decided to walk in the philadelphia 3 day walk for breast cancer.

This came about because i have alot of women in my life who are struggling with this battle. 2 of them have lost their lives to this awful cancer and 2 are now fighting for theirs.

The mothers of my two best friends were both diagnosed within 2 weeks of each other in the year of 2006. I will be walking beside them for the full 60 miles! Their mothers are like my own mother and have always treated me that way.

I know that i can't be there everyday for them or as much as i would like to, but i feel that joining this walk and raising the money for the cancer research can be my small contribution!

If you would like to check out my page or make a donation - please feel free to do so.

If you have done this walk - please let me know your story - i am curious of how your expirence was!

www.the3day.org/philadelphia07/tracyjurowicz

I was reading from another blog and came across this article... figured i will post it for my future reference, so that i may obtain free samples as much as possible...

My thinking is this... the more free samples i get the longer i can go without purchasing daily products... It makes a world of difference, when i get a small sample in the mail of lipstick or deodorant and it prolongs me from going to the store to buy more for about another 2 weeks!!!!

http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/aol/organize/0,21863,1591814-1,00.html

I am use to going out and not really worrying about money when i hit the bar scene with my friends.... but more and more, i need to pay close attention and suddenly things don't seem to go so smooth...

I miss the old days but do embrace the new me... Its hard to get use to. i feel like i am back in college, when we would have a few drinks before we went out just to save... boy i thought those days were over..

Funny how the past comes up to rear its ugly head again....

Eh, maybe its for the good, i need to learn patience... that is one of my weaknesses... i never can just wait things out...

This i will have to!

Ok, so on  my new frugal living, i have decided that i wrap my sandwhiches everyday in sran wrap - well for about a week , i have been using a new one everyday to wrap - then it dawned on me!!!

Why in the world don't i reuse the wrap? My sandwiches do not have any mayo or mustard on them, they are dry and the saran wrap is dry... so why not reuse!

I was so excited when i reused this morning... that will save me money every month!! And its a good reminder of why am i am living so frugal....TO GET OUT OF DEBT!

Ok, so i got two checks in the mail today that were unexpected... one for 23.00 dollars and one for 18.00... just some money from some simple dividends and such.

So i sat there and was very excited to have an extra 41.00 this month. And  I thought - what should i do with this. Then it came to me - i want two things most in this world right now - 1. ) pay down debt - 2.) get my savings account up.

So  i decided that whenever i come into some money i was not expecting - that i will take half of it and pay it towards debt and the other half will go into savings....

It may only be 21.00 here and 20.00 there - but it will make a difference either way.

This weekend was very hard.  First they shorted my in my pay check about 150.00. i was counting on that to put towards my move. So, I had to move this weekend, go to a wedding and then go food shopping. The totals made my stomach turn.

And on top of it - i had no cash even after i got paid. In fact due to some recent unforseen events, i actually had to borrow 65.00 from my boyfriend just to pay the bills that were slated for these next two weeks.

So, I bought food for the month - food for everything - breakfest, lunch and dinner. Total food bill for ONE person - $266.00 - ick and that is after i saved 100.11 in coupons... thank god for that.

Truck 89.00 to rent for the move

cleaning supplies - 16.00

gas for car 33.00 last week and 35.00 this week.

And to boot - all of this had to go onto a Credit card... cause i had no money... but the good news is this

- I am tracking my spending and after my next check i can pay off 424.00 of the total i put onto the credit card - which only leaves 66.00 on there that i actually will put on this month...

I feel better about that - cause these are things i needed and i am paying off most of it within the 30 days i charged it...

But it still makes me sick... oh well - on to the next month....

Well, i was at a Rehearsal dinner last night and before we went there - we had to do the whole church thing... Well, my BF is the best man so i patiently waited in the back for the Rehearsal to be over.

While waiting there were a few people with me. The guys (cause their men) decided to roll a quarter down the isle... Yes, i know but they are men - no offense fella's :)

As i sat there and watched the quarter roll my first gut reaction was to go for it. My brain was saying - that is .25 ct more to put towards debt....

right then i realized - i am obsessed! I started laughing to myself and said - well at least i am always thinking of ways to make extra cash to pay down my debt - no matter how silly it sounds...

Of course i refrained myself from jumping across the isle and diving for it. I just let is peacfully roll and had a good laugh to myself! ;)

Back in Jan, when I began my obsession with fixing my finances, my first thing was to check the credit report.

I was shocked when i noticed a student loan on there for 18k...

I called my bank who holds my loans to check if i had anymore. They said no....

So i filed my dispute online with experian - which you can do right from their website.  https://www.experian.com/consumer/cac/InvalidateSession.do?code=DISPUTE

and they took it off...

Pretty scary when you think about it... I also found some dups on bad credit on there and also had those removed

I know now to check my report at least once a year

The weekend was pretty tough. Its hard getting use to other people paying for me and me constantly saying - i can't do that, i really don't have money. Its a very humbling experience to tell ya the truth.

I feel horrible about it but it is a great lesson. It reminds me of what i am working towards and everyday that i don't use a credit card for my every day needs is another day closer to freedom.

So weekend one down and i spent 33.00 in a whole on everything.. not bad - i use to spend well over 150.00 - so every little helps.