Boy am I glad that it is Sunday and the start of another week! Last week was a brutal week for me. It felt like the WORST WEEK EVER! First I chipped a tooth, and I may or may not have cried about it. Not for the chipped tooth, but for the fact that my insurance has not gone through yet. Talk about an unexpected massive expense. I'm set to see the dentist next week on Saturday. Then, I was upset because the money I had set aside to pay off my credit card would be going to paying for my dental work. I was also having tension headaches and feeling sick to my stomach, not a great week mentally or emotionally. Just when I though things couldn't get any worse they did! I was pulled over on Thursday for using our local express lane, and having my transponder set on 3 versus 1. I was so upset I was ready to cry in my car as I drove to work. Pretty much one rotten thing after another. Then as I sat at work attempting to read the reports and make my entries it hit me. Yes, this week pretty much blew and was awful. However, I didn't have to focus so much on all the negative aspects of it. I would just focus on one thing at a time, then proceed. As for the chipped tooth, yes I'll probably have to pay cash to have it fixed, but I can set up a payment plan with my dentist. As for the insurance it should be kicking in soon. As for paying off my credit card, I paid most of it off the other night. Now I only owe less than $100 on it! Woot! That means when July rolls around I can pay off the balance. Since I am ahead a car payment I don't have another payment due until August, so that means if I'm tight on money I can choose to skip my payment in July and still be okay! Now for that pesky ticket, I did my research and discovered that the CHP officer was not justified in giving me a ticket! The code he cited does not mention anything about incorrect setting use.....so I'm going to fight the ticket and prepare a Trial by Declaration and fight for dismissal of the ticket.
Guess I learned my lesson last week. Even when things are just going awful and seem to continuously get worse then it hits you. Either you can choose to let it all bog you down and make you feel super awful or crummy, or you switch your attitude and deal with all the issues appropriately. Now here's to the start of another week and a great week at that!
June 23, 2013
June 6, 2013
Budgeting to Maintain my Sanity
I have a huge confession to make. Once upon a time I had one too many credit cards. Yes, I was that irresponsible college student who refused to let her parents help her out. Sigh. BIG MISTAKE! Now I'm on the path, er road, to recovery and to set my credit score on track. I know only have one credit card, and two store credit cards. Even though I only use one store credit card on a monthly basis. I have been diligent about using it to purchase an item and paying it off in full. So now here's my monthly budget breakdown:
I came across this neat spreadsheet over at Gather Little by Little. I love that its detailed, but most of all that the spreadsheet is broken down by pay periods! Its exactly how I pay my bills.
For now I'm making progress. Baby steps for this gal, until her car and credit card are paid off, then its all my energies on paying off my school loans.
- Car - 500
- J. Crew - 50
- Gas - 200
- Savings - 450
- Schools loans - 370
- Internet - 20
- Spending cash - 250
- Misc (Gifts, etc) - 50
- Capital One - 75
I came across this neat spreadsheet over at Gather Little by Little. I love that its detailed, but most of all that the spreadsheet is broken down by pay periods! Its exactly how I pay my bills.
For now I'm making progress. Baby steps for this gal, until her car and credit card are paid off, then its all my energies on paying off my school loans.
May 31, 2013
I said I would so I am
Here's another post for this week! Quick update.
1. I purchased whole term life insurance through my employer! (This made me feel so much more like an "adult")
2. I managed to sock away $250 into my savings from this paycheck!
3. My budget looks good, now to stick to it.
4. I've read 26 of 30 books for my goal this year. Yikes!!!Might I need to revise this goal soon.
5. I bought the cutest task pads at Target for only $1 each!! I may go back and purchase a few more.
6. I promise to come back and write more in due time.
Have a good weekend!
1. I purchased whole term life insurance through my employer! (This made me feel so much more like an "adult")
2. I managed to sock away $250 into my savings from this paycheck!
3. My budget looks good, now to stick to it.
4. I've read 26 of 30 books for my goal this year. Yikes!!!
5. I bought the cutest task pads at Target for only $1 each!! I may go back and purchase a few more.
6. I promise to come back and write more in due time.
Have a good weekend!
May 23, 2013
No excuses
I really have no excuses as to why I haven't been blogging like I've been telling myself. Yes, I do get busy. I am exhausted when I get home from work, but that's no real excuse to not make time to write. I told myself, as its one of my resolutions, that this year I would write more. I mean, sit down, and write! I've been struggling to write and explore for the past two years now. I used to write like crazy in middle and high school, then I stopped. I definitely know that when I stopped writing for myself in college its when I got to a dark period of my life. Now I feel like I'm finally re-emerging and becoming a bit like my old "high school me". Work is going well. Can you believe that I'm almost up for my 6 month review?! Next week! Yikes!!!! Time sure does fly by. A quick recap to how I've been progressing.
Financially
- Month by month I'm getting closer to paying off my car! If I stick to my plan I'll be done by February of next year! 4 months ahead of schedule.
- Down to my last credit card! Balance of $662! My plan of action is to have that sucker paid off by December of this year!
- I have an okay savings, not the greatest, but I've made a habit to "pay myself" first after bills, and it's sort of become addicting. More on that later.
- I finally opened a Roth IRA and started to read and learn about finance and investing. By the end of this year I'm going to be a power woman investing in the stock market!
Emotionally
- I'm definitely in a better place. No more nasty thoughts for now at least. I seem to have regained my self-confidence back.
- Anxiety is under control. Still a bit whacky every now and then. You can tell when its bad by looking at my nails. I'm a chronic nail biter. Although I've done an excellent job at not biting them in the past few months.
Physically
- I've been running for 12 weeks now. I feel incredible and great when I run! The focus has been on developing my cardio, breathing, and endurance. Not focusing on distance. I know it will come with due time. I've decided to take on the Beach Cities Challenge this year and look forward to completing those races.
I can't promise I'll blog soon or do so on a daily basis, but this is me stating that I can't be making excuses about my writing. I can't put it off. I need to set aside my anxiety of authorship and just write. I like to think that this is my first step towards writing freely without my anxiety inhibiting any of it.
Financially
- Month by month I'm getting closer to paying off my car! If I stick to my plan I'll be done by February of next year! 4 months ahead of schedule.
- Down to my last credit card! Balance of $662! My plan of action is to have that sucker paid off by December of this year!
- I have an okay savings, not the greatest, but I've made a habit to "pay myself" first after bills, and it's sort of become addicting. More on that later.
- I finally opened a Roth IRA and started to read and learn about finance and investing. By the end of this year I'm going to be a power woman investing in the stock market!
Emotionally
- I'm definitely in a better place. No more nasty thoughts for now at least. I seem to have regained my self-confidence back.
- Anxiety is under control. Still a bit whacky every now and then. You can tell when its bad by looking at my nails. I'm a chronic nail biter. Although I've done an excellent job at not biting them in the past few months.
Physically
- I've been running for 12 weeks now. I feel incredible and great when I run! The focus has been on developing my cardio, breathing, and endurance. Not focusing on distance. I know it will come with due time. I've decided to take on the Beach Cities Challenge this year and look forward to completing those races.
I can't promise I'll blog soon or do so on a daily basis, but this is me stating that I can't be making excuses about my writing. I can't put it off. I need to set aside my anxiety of authorship and just write. I like to think that this is my first step towards writing freely without my anxiety inhibiting any of it.
March 2, 2013
Checking In
Well, once again I've fallen a bit quiet on the blogging front, but I thought I'd at least check in and mark some of my progress.
One of my resolutions this year was to conquer my debt and become financially stable and save more! A huge resolution to take on. So far so good! I've paid off one credit card, and well on my way to paying off a second one this month! Yay! In terms of saving....well its progressing, but not at the rate I'd like to. This year I came this really neat savings plan to help me at least save up for a vacation. I just started a new job, so I'm hoping that by the end of this year I'll have enough time accrued for a vacation and the money to finance it!
As for my resolution to be fit and get back on track....well its moving along slowly. Last year in October I ran the Nike Women's marathon and ended up with two black big toe nails, which left me side lined for roughly four months. Now I'm back. I purchased a new pair of running shoes and have embarked on week 1 of C25K. You ask what is C25K?! Only an amazing free podcast you can download to help you get back on track. I was supposed to get early today, but I let my excuses get the best of me. However, I did go out and purchase a bright, shiny new high impact Moving Comfort sports bra! Now, tomorrow I will get up and go get the third day in.
I'm reading again. Not as furiously as I once was, but I am into my 8th book of 30 books goal for this year. I promise I will post my resolutions soon. Also, I'm almost done redesigning my blog and injecting more of me into design. I've also gotten better at resisting my impulses to buy random things that won't be in use for long. I must admit though I have bought a few things, some unnecessary others practical, but its getting better.
Okay, I promise to be back soon and post more on my resolutions, life, and goals.
One of my resolutions this year was to conquer my debt and become financially stable and save more! A huge resolution to take on. So far so good! I've paid off one credit card, and well on my way to paying off a second one this month! Yay! In terms of saving....well its progressing, but not at the rate I'd like to. This year I came this really neat savings plan to help me at least save up for a vacation. I just started a new job, so I'm hoping that by the end of this year I'll have enough time accrued for a vacation and the money to finance it!
As for my resolution to be fit and get back on track....well its moving along slowly. Last year in October I ran the Nike Women's marathon and ended up with two black big toe nails, which left me side lined for roughly four months. Now I'm back. I purchased a new pair of running shoes and have embarked on week 1 of C25K. You ask what is C25K?! Only an amazing free podcast you can download to help you get back on track. I was supposed to get early today, but I let my excuses get the best of me. However, I did go out and purchase a bright, shiny new high impact Moving Comfort sports bra! Now, tomorrow I will get up and go get the third day in.
I'm reading again. Not as furiously as I once was, but I am into my 8th book of 30 books goal for this year. I promise I will post my resolutions soon. Also, I'm almost done redesigning my blog and injecting more of me into design. I've also gotten better at resisting my impulses to buy random things that won't be in use for long. I must admit though I have bought a few things, some unnecessary others practical, but its getting better.
Okay, I promise to be back soon and post more on my resolutions, life, and goals.
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