Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that it's been nearly 6 months since I've posted a new entry. Wow! How time flies. I was sticking to my budget, but somewhere along the way I lost track of my goals and wasn't putting anything extra toward my bills or into my savings. Then at Christmas I completely blew it all.

It's okay. I'm picking myself up and dusting myself off to begin again. I can say that my credit score it up almost 100 points from this time last year. On the down side I opened up 2 gas card accounts, 4 store charge cards and 1 new credit card all in the last six months. Unfortunately I maxed out 3 of them over the holidays.

Tonight I'm working on my new budget for 2009. I'll post my goals and plan tomorrow. My mom and I are going on a cruise in October and I want to lose over 100lbs. I'll probably start posting those updates on this blog as well. It's too much for me to have more than one blog.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

May Wrap-Up & June Goals

May Wrap-Up

I'm disappointed with May's progress. I received my Stimulus Rebate and yes I put mostly all of it in my savings account, but it was to replace money that I had previously spent. Therefore I didn't use it to boost my savings. I used it to bail myself out. I barely put any of my excess funds toward debt repayment. I can't say that Mother's Day or my eldest daughter's birthday were the reasons for my lack of progress. I spent a lot of money eating out in May. That's senseless because I had $44 left in my grocery budget. I'm seriously going to start sinking if I don't get my act together. So in June I'm going to try something different. I'm going to post my June Goals here and hopefully at the end of June I'll have accomplished them all.

June Goals
  1. Do not charge more than $100 on my credit card.
  2. Save at least $28 in my money games.
  3. Replace the $79.13 that I owe my Christmas Fund.
  4. Save at least $49.39 toward repaying my mom for my previous car.
  5. Save at least $6.87 in my ING account.
  6. Pay at least $150 extra on my car note.
  7. Don't go over budget on my youngest daughter's birthday.
  8. Lose 8 pounds!
  9. Take a lunch at least 2 days each week.

Wish me luck!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

BL @ Work - Surprising Twist

When I got to work this morning there was an envelope in my box saying that I won 3rd place in the Biggest Loser at Work contest. The prize was $20. I'm not sure how I won. In the end I gained a couple of pounds overall. So I guess maybe the other 3 people didn't weigh in or they gained more than me. I know one lady lost 29 pounds and she didn't even exercise.

She drank a gallon of water a day. She ate at least one monounsaturated fat with each meal. She did a couple of other things, but I can't remember what she told me.

So, today I decided to stop planning and just to make myself do something. I met a co-worker at a local track and I walked 1 3/4 miles. I thought my knee was going to be in a lot of pain when I got home, but it hasn't. It actually feels a little better.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Credit Card Spending

My credit card spending is getting out of control. These last couple of months I've nearly maxed out my card and used my extra debt repayment money to pay it off. I've got to get it together.

I guess I can consider this another ripple.

BL @ Work Finale

Okay today was the last day and I didn't lose a single pound. As a matter of fact I gained. I'm disappointed with myself for not doing anything. I just gave away $25.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate

I got my rebate on Friday, the same day that I got paid. It was awesome to see so much money in my checking accounts.

I spent all of it except for $60 on debt or savings. I'm so proud of myself. Last year I would blown the whole thing on clothes, electronics, food, hotels, etc. and I wouldn't have anything to show for it in 6 months. Hopefully in 6 months I'll have some decent interest to show for my discipline this year.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

$5 Obsession!

I'm realizing I have a new $5 obsession. LOL! Well, not really, but lately I've been doing a couple of things in fives and it seems to be working.

Even though I have a list of things to try for my Money Games each month. I usually end up saving the new five dollar bills. They are so pretty!

This past week I decided to spend no more than $5/day. It's been going really well. I usually spend it on lunch because I haven't been to the market. This entire week I spent less than the $5 and I put the excess in my money games each night.

I'm going to the market this weekend, so next week I shouldn't spend much at all. I just remembered that I'll be proctoring for the next 2 weeks at school again. They have breakfast bars, fruit, chips and water for us. That means I don't have to buy some of those things when I go to the market. I'm going to buy a couple just in case they run out at work and don't replace it. It'll save me lunch money, grocery money and gas since I won't drive to the food place or home. I'll go up to my office instead. This will also help me in the BL @ Work contest. Yay!