Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Thirty by 30--Update for end of February

Update for end of February:



 Today (October 8, 2011) marks the beginning of the last year of my twenties.  Today, I am 29.  In approximately 365 days, I will be 30.  Gosh, I feel old. 

So, to commemorate the last year of my youth my twenties, I've created a list of 30 things that I want to accomplish by exactly one year from today.  My Thirtieth birthday. . . OMG, that sounds strange.  Real strange.

Here goes. . . .

1. Graduate with my Bachelor's Degree from college--after that's typed out I realize how odd and ill timed it looks.  I'm slow at finishing what I start. . don't you know this by now?
2. Go to Great Wolf Lodge--this is a GREAT water park that's fairly close by and I think Ty would really enjoy it!
3. Visit the 17th Street Farmer's Market
4. Try to wakeboard
5. Build a piece of furniture
6. Refinish a dresser--technically, it's a nightstand but I'm choosing not to sweat the small details! :-)
7. Go to Busch Gardens
8. Go to a baseball game
9. Attend a football game at my University
10. Go apple picking
11. Take a hayride
12. Go camping
13. Eat a deep fried oreo
14. Finish decorating (or redecorating?) my bedroom
15. Have a girls night
16. Visit the James Center at Christmas to see the lights
17. Play in the snow (if we get any!)
18. Take Ty to Starbucks on a Fall morning--one of our favorite past times!
19. Go fishing with Ty
20. Go on a hike
21. Go to a fair
22. Volunteer to read a book to Ty's class
23. Eat lunch with Tyler at school
24. Plant a garden
25. Go to a concert--I'm going to cheat and include a musical into this category.
26. Try a new Richmond restaurant
27. Volunteer @ a community outreach event
28. Go sledding--we didn't really go sledding since there wasn't enough snow and that's the only snow we've gotten all winter, so I crossed it off simply because we rolled around in the snow!
29. Visit a museum
30. Visit a winery

Some of these are things that I've never done, but would like to do, and some are things that I have done but really enjoy doing and want to do more of. 

I'll try to post an update every couple of months or so to keep track of what kind of progress I've made toward my goal. 

What about you?  Do you have a bucket list of sorts?  Share something from it! 

Blogger Budget Challenge--Week 4

It's been an expensive week.  Yeah, it's been an expensive week.  Here's how I'm rounding out the month in our budget challenge:

Food: $160.43 spent out of $200 monthly budget--Not Bad!!  I managed to come in under budget.  HOOORAY!!!!  Although, I do have to make my grocery list tonight so I'll be starting off next month already kind of crippled.  Oh well.  I managed to totally work it this month! 
Fuel: $171.14 spent out of $250 monthly budget--I cannot believe it but I'm still at the same number on gas as I was last week.  I'm literally driving around on fumes right now (yeah, gotta fill up on my way home tonight) so I won't actually end the month at this number but I doubt I'll go over it.  I mean, $78.86 (the amount left before I hit my budget for the month) is certainly not out of the realm of possibility seeing as how I drive an SUV and gas is nearing $4.00 a gallon. . .but, I think I can manage to keep it under budget for this month! 
Eating Out: $145.43 out of a $50 monthly budget--Eeek.  Yeah, it's bad.  I know. 
Pet: $41.10 out of a $60.00 monthly budget--Again, still at the same amount as last week.  But, that's only because I can't pick up Pete's heartworm medication until Tuesday night.  It's going to cost me $60.  ALL of March's budget.  Yikes! 

Other places where I spent money this week are as follows:

Target: $36.32 spent on some shoes for Tyler (he needed them), a shelf for his bathroom (I'm almost done with it!!), and some cat food. 

Costco: $152.80 HOLY GUACOMOLE!  This one hurts.  I went in for cat litter and walked out with cat litter, 3 bags of bulbs (they are so pretty. . .and my house needs lots of pretty out front!), a bistro table, two chairs for the table, and a set of pretty little pads to sit our pretty little tushies on when sitting at the table and enjoying some time outdoors.  I justified this expenditure because I've received my tax return.  And I've got big plans for it.  Big plans!

WalMart: $157.81 spent.  Another one that hurt the old wallet.  I went in for an oil change.  I came out with an 8 person tent (for camping trip in May), two sets of tent stakes, a jar candle, and a coke (I was thirsty!).  Ouchie. 

Well, that pretty much concludes the Blogger Budget Challenge for February.  Hop on over to my challenge-ees sites to see how well they survived the challenge.  the.mrs. and Attempts at Domestication are the two blogger buddies who so bravely joined in the challenge with me.  Coincidentally, they have both tackled big moves this month so I'm not sure if their final reports are posted yet.  Bear with them and enjoy what content they do have posted in regards to their moves and their new houses (YAY!  So happy for both of them!!) until they're able to get everything settled in. 

Now, on to March's Challenge.  At the request of the.mrs. at rich.in.love we're going to replicate February's challenge and just continue to post about our abilities to stay on budget.  However, we're in need of more folks to join us.  Who wants in?  C'mon. . .we won't bite. . .hard! :-)  If you want to jump into the challenge with us for March, just leave me a comment below!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Weekend Goals Update--Weekend of 2/24

Okay, don't go being all judgey on me.  Here's how I stacked up this weekend:


  • order heartworm meds for the dog--doing this at work today. 
  • tag stuff for the consignment sale
  • deliver tagged items to the consignment sale on Sunday
  • write a god-awful paper on a god awful subject: Globalization in Mexico and the U.S.
  • turn in previously mentioned assignment meant only to inflict torture upon an unsuspecting (and undeserving of said torture) soon-to-be (if God has any mercy at all, that is) graduate and smile while doing so because doing anything other could impact a (nearly) flawless GPA
  • get an oil change (I'm pretty sure this is God's way of punishing me for something--single women should not have to drive around in cars that require maintenance.  Or new tires.  Where's the gal who can design a car that doesn't require either of those things?  Wherever she is, she's soon to be rich.  And my new BFF)
  • volunteer at consignment sale on Sunday--I hide behind the concept that I volunteer at this thing because I want to help and I'm invested in the owners' success.  Really, it's just that they give me a bigger percentage of my sales if I volunteer.  So, again, I slap on a smile and grit my teeth while the two sale owners talk massive amounts of trash and gossip about every.last. unsuspecting customer, consignor, or volunteer who sets foot in the place.  And then I leave and they talk smack about me.  I'm not naive.  I know their game.  I'm not special so there's no valid reason to think that I would be spared from their middle-schoolish gossip fests. 
  • Take-out Chinese and a sappy movie date with a girlfriend for tonight--Lucky me, I get to indulge in this little bit of single mama bonding while attempting to multi-task and write the paper mentioned previously.  Where did I leave that damn cape??
  • Sweep & Mop the floors--oh joy--yeah right, this is probably the 3,460th time that this same task has shown up on my to-do list and hasn't gotten done. Convenient isn't it?  I HATE (as in, H-A-T-E) to sweep.  Don't mind the mopping but sweeping usually leads to violent twitches for me.  Since mopping just isn't as effective without sweeping first, my floors usually look like they are meant to be streaked.  It's the new look.  Just don't eat off the floors!   
  • Laundry--maybe I'll find my missing cape
  • Go over and help a friend fill out a job application on Sunday afternoon--since said friend is an HR professional, I'm very unclear as to why she asked me to help her fill out the application.  But, I'm flattered and more than happy to help her.  And I mean that geniunely.  She's a nice friend. 
  • Paint the final paint project for Tyler's bathroom--didn't get totally done with this but I did get something done on it
  • Write at least 2 posts for LoaDoL-SMS (if you haven't checked out the new addition to the blog, you must do so here.  Right now.  I'll wait.)
  • Talk my friend into actually scheduling a date for when we are going to go to Ikea and spend a very large chunk of my tax return
IN ADDITION, I also managed to get the following things done which were not on the original list:
  • Buy tent for camping trip in May
  • Read the Sunday paper while sipping a hot cup of coffee in a quiet house while completing ignoring the fact that there are dust bunnies hiding in every corner of the house constantly taunting me and quietly whispering to each other that they've lived here so long that in order to get rid of them I'll need a legal order of eviction.  Just keep blabbering you dust bunnies, I'm coming after you.  One day.  Maybe when I run out of coffee. 
  • I got two more pages written for my final Senior Thesis paper in my HR class.  Yay!  Only a few more pages to write and then I can start on the finishing touches.  Once I get that done, I can turn in the paper to my professor for a preliminary review.  I dread this--he'll probably pick it apart and cause me hours worth of more work just to get it the way he wants it before I can turn it in for good.  Oh well. . .T minus 69 days until graduation.  I can make it. . .I can make it. . .I will make it! 
Can I get a collective BOO-YAH?!  No?  Just me?  Oh, okay. . be that way, then.  I'm actually pretty happy with the amount of stuff that I managed to get done this weekend.  Then again, Ty was at his dad's house so that might explain the extra burst of productivity. 

Friday, February 24, 2012

Weekend Goals List--Weekend of 2/24

Yikes. . .lots of stuff to do this weekend.  Not lots of time to get it accomplished.  Perhaps I should put on my super-woman cape and get to work.  If only I could remember which overflowing hamper of dirty laundry it's currently hiding in. 

  • order heartworm meds for the dog
  • tag stuff for the consignment sale
  • deliver tagged items to the consignment sale on Sunday
  • write a god-awful paper on a god awful subject: Globalization in Mexico and the U.S.
  • turn in previously mentioned assignment meant only to inflict torture upon an unsuspecting (and undeserving of said torture) soon-to-be (if God has any mercy at all, that is) graduate and smile while doing so because doing anything other could impact a (nearly) flawless GPA
  • get an oil change (I'm pretty sure this is God's way of punishing me for something--single women should not have to drive around in cars that require maintenance.  Or new tires.  Where's the gal who can design a car that doesn't require either of those things?  Wherever she is, she's soon to be rich.  And my new BFF)
  • volunteer at consignment sale on Sunday--I hide behind the concept that I volunteer at this thing because I want to help and I'm invested in the owners' success.  Really, it's just that they give me a bigger percentage of my sales if I volunteer.  So, again, I slap on a smile and grit my teeth while the two sale owners talk massive amounts of trash and gossip about every.last. unsuspecting customer, consignor, or volunteer who sets foot in the place.  And then I leave and they talk smack about me.  I'm not naive.  I know their game.  I'm not special so there's no valid reason to think that I would be spared from their middle-schoolish gossip fests. 
  • Take-out Chinese and a sappy movie date with a girlfriend for tonight--Lucky me, I get to indulge in this little bit of single mama bonding while attempting to multi-task and write the paper mentioned previously.  Where did I leave that damn cape??
  • Sweep & Mop the floors--oh joy
  • Laundry--maybe I'll find my missing cape
  • Go over and help a friend fill out a job application on Sunday afternoon--since said friend is an HR professional, I'm very unclear as to why she asked me to help her fill out the application.  But, I'm flattered and more than happy to help her.  And I mean that geniunely.  She's a nice friend. 
  • Paint the final paint project for Tyler's bathroom
  • Write at least 2 posts for LoaDoL-SMS (if you haven't checked out the new addition to the blog, you must do so here.  Right now.  I'll wait.)
  • Talk my friend into actually scheduling a date for when we are going to go to Ikea and spend a very large chunk of my tax return
There you have it. . .my list of things to accomplish this weekend.  Wanna start making bets on whether or not I can actually get most of it accomplished?  I'll post an update on Monday.  If I don't die of exhaustion after trying to actually accomplish everything on this list, that is. 

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Meet the Spawn!

For the readers who have been with me for a little while, the fact that I'm single may not come as a shock.  I've mentioned it here and there over on the blog from time to time but I haven't really gone into too much detail about my situation.  When I started Living on a Dime or Less, I wasn't exactly sure what direction that the blog was going to go.  As much as I want (more like NEED) to live my life on as little as possible, I knew that I also desired to write about more than just my budget.  I longed to write about the reasons WHY my budget was as stretched as it is.  I wanted to share more about my life and the various things that I go through on account of my situation.  But, I just didn't really feel that my main blog was the place to do it. Hence, the new addition.  If you'll note, there is a new tab up top titled "Single Mama Stuff"

I started Living on a Dime or Less--Single Mama Stuff as a place for me to write about some of the more personal stuff going on in my life.  You know, the stuff that isn't directly related to my budget or a DIY project.  I hope you will hop over to the new page and check it out!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

February Blogger Challenge-Week 3 Update

You know what?  I kind of blew it again this week.  Shocker, I know.  Want to know something even more shocking?  I really don't care that much.  Perhaps it's the stress I'm under for school.  Maybe it's because I'm just tired of being tired.  And stressed.  Either way, I just really don't care anymore.  I mean, of course I care, I just don't want to spend too much of my time beating myself up over this stuff any more.  I try really really hard to be frugal.  To scrimp and save where I can.  Alot of times, I fail (at least, in my eyes) and I recognized through doing this challenge that I can either accept that failure is just going to happen from time to time and move on or I can continue to beat myself upside the head about it.  Only one of them results in me feeling a little bit more at peace.  And it makes my head hurt less.  I've also recognized that maybe I've set some of my budget numbers a little too realistically.  Unfortunately, right now, there is literally no room to move.  I'm (slowly) coming to accept the fact that maybe I'm just going to have to accept what it is for now and keep figuring out a way to make it work.  If I need to get a second job, I'll look into that option in May (once I graduate) and have a little bit more time on my hands.  Until then, I seem to be getting through each day somewhat unscathed (until you look at my credit card bill!) so I'll just keep trying to keep moving forward.  Then again, maybe I've been able to accept this laid back attitude because I know that my tax return is on its way and will help me breathe a little easier?  Yeah, that might be a big part of it too. 

Anyways, here's how I'm sitting after Week 3:

Food: $142.62 spent out of $200 monthly budget--Not Bad!!  I'm not sure if I'll go to the grocery store next week or not but so far, I don't think I need to make a stop this week.  This might turn out to be an okay month in this department!
Fuel: $171.14 spent out of $250 monthly budget--Still a little worried about going over in this department since I technically probably still have to fill my car up twice more before the end of the month.  And with gas prices going up and up and up. . .this could get ugly.  I already resent the fact that I spend more to feed my car than I do to feed myself and my son in any given month.  That's ridiculous!
Eating Out: $116.22--I know I'm over.  Sue me.  I've been meeting up with a friend about once a week during happy hour.  I need it.  Badly. This happy hour is quite possibly the one bright shiny thing in my stressed-out-to-the-max life right now (aside from my angel of a little dude, of course!). 
Pet: $41.10 out of a $60.00 monthly budget--Haven't spent any more in this category this week.  Although, I need to order my dog's heartworm medications ASAP before his test results exprire.  Putting that on my to-do list now.  

Now is the time that I bore you with other expenditures that I made throughout the week.  Sit back, grab some popcorn, and try not to fall asleep. . .it's sure to be an interesting time.

Costco: Spent $25.13--I bought a garden hose and half and half.  I know, it's thrilling.
Thrift Store: Spent $4.60--I'm actually quite proud of this. . .I bought two old brass candlesticks which I'm going to spray paint, a travel coffee mug (all mine are either broken, hideously ugly, or mysteriously missing the tops), an under armour shirt for Tyler to wear at football practice this fall, and 2 ice cube trays.  Not too bad, right?
Walmart: Spent $39.22--I bought two coolers to take camping over Memorial Day weekend, an Easter gift for Tyler's Easter basket this year, two boxes of Valentines cards on clearance (for Tyler to give out at school next year), a rubber mallet (again, for the camping trip), and two air filters for my house.  Are you guys dying of excitement yet?  Yes, I live an ultra exciting life. 
Target: Spent $19.81--I was killing time last night before a Dr's appt and there just happened to be a Target located right next to my doctor's office.  How convenient!  So, I found not one, but TWO matching sets of bras and undies (Sorry, Dad!) on clearance.  Since I hardly ever (like, NEVER) find matching sets of undergarments for myself (something having to do with being big girl sized on the top and little girl sized on the bottom...guys love it, I hate it.) I was giddy to not only find them, but to find them on clearance was AWESOME.  So, I indulged.  I'm not sure what's more disturbing about this. . .the fact that I just announced to the world (my father, included) that I now own matching sets of undergarments or the fact that I'm actually excited about owning matching sets of undergarments.  Don't worry, Mom & Dad. . .they're for my eyes only!
Dollar Store: Spent $13.40--I won't bore you with the 13 items that I bought at the dollar store.  I'm pretty sure most of you are already asleep anyways. 
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts: Spent $13.00--I'm weirdly excited about this.  I wanted to take the little dude out for a special day on Saturday.  I saw an advertisement for a Mummy exhibit at the Fine Arts Museum.  I thought that since he's a boy, he might like all things Mummy.  That is, until I saw the cost of the tickets: $18.00 just for me to get in.  UGH!  The cost of the museum itself is free and there's a TON of things to see in there but the Mummy exhibit had its own seperate charge.  Plus, parking was $3.00.  So, as I started really debating my decision to take him to this thing (I didn't particularly care to see the Mummies, I just wanted him to have a good time), I noticed on their website that there was a special student membership for college students.  $10 covers the entire year AND gives FREE entrance to the paid exhibits.  CHA-CHING!!  So, instead of paying $18.00 to get into the exhibit, I paid $10.00 for an annual membership which will let me into any other exhibits that come to the museum for the next year.  PLUS, I get free parking now that I'm a member.  We've already put my membership to good use since we also mosied on over to the Elvis photograph exhibit which would have cost an extra $6 if I hadn't been a member.  All in all, a totally great investment.  Plus, Tyler is free until he's 7 and there's a lot of really cool stuff to look at in the museum.  Coolness!

Anyone still awake?  How are y'all doing on your budgets this month?  Anyone else ever see a real life mummy?  I have. . .and it was kind of creepy to tell you the truth.  That dude was over 3000 years old!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Thrifty Thursday: Cheap Pet Supplies

For this week's Thrifty Thursday, I wanted to share with you how I get cheap Pet Supplies.  With a big dog who eats a ton and a cat who only eats wet food (he's super ancient, super picky, and super grumpy), finding cheap pet supplies is a huge help for me. 

Southern States or other Farm Supply Stores: This is a secret that I honestly can't remember where I picked it up from.  I think someone in my mom's group mentioned that dry dog food was cheap or something.  They weren't kidding!  I used to buy Pete's dog food from Costco.  I think for a 40lb bag, I paid about $24.  At Southern States, I pay $15 for a 40lb bag!  Seeing as how my dog goes through about 2 of those bags a month, that's a pretty good savings!  So, check your local Southern States or Farm Supply Stores to see if you can get your dog food a little bit cheaper.  At my local SS, they have other supplies that you might need for a dog, cat, horse, etc. 

**Disclaimer** Please check with your vet before changing your dog's food in any way.  Some animals do not react very well to their food being changed and it can cause gastrointestinal distress if you give your dog food that they are used to one day and then completely change it the next.  I'm very lucky in the sense that my dog seems to have a pretty tough tummy.  He has adjusted perfectly to me switching his food over to the stuff from Southern States but I did it slowly. 

Local SPCA or Animal Shelters: I don't know if every SPCA does this but our SPCA has a little pet supply store where they sell alot of items for super cheap.  I've gotten a few collars and leashes for Pete from that store and have so far been really happy with them.  I know some of the profits that are made in the store go to taking care of the animals in the shelter itself so I really like supporting them in any way that I can.  However, the biggest cost savings for me by goign to the SPCA is through the shots that Pete has to get on an annual basis.  Again, I don't know if every SPCA does it, but it's definitely worth it to check.  My SPCA has wellness days where they offer alot of preventative care for extremely cheap.  For example, I just took Pete this week to get his Bordatella and Distemper vaccines as well as a heartworm test and fecal parasite test.  All of this at his vet's office would have cost me over $120.  At the SPCA, I paid $39.00.  Huge cost savings!

Costco: When I don't have some really good coupon for wet cat food for the cat, I usually buy the bulk box of wet food cans at Costco.  It's something like $18 but I think there are 48 cans in there or something.  Not too bad when you consider that at the grocery stores, each can is $.50 or more.  However, I always try to be on the lookout for coupons which make each can cheaper than what I can even buy it for in Costco. 

Pet Supplies Delivered/ Omaha Vaccine  I actually learned of this place from the lady who helped me to rescue my dog.  This is the cheapest place that I've ever been able to find for my dog's heartworm medication.  Most places charge something like $60.00 for a 12 month supply.  I think Omaha vaccine has ours for less than $40.00 for a 12 month supply.  Score!

Another tip that I would give is to call around or get involved with some of your local animal rescue organizations.  Volunteer to help them out at an event or to help them with the animals whenever you have some spare time.  Not only are you helping out a good cause, but you get the insider scoop on some really great info.  These groups are typically very overloaded but underfunded so they have to make every dollar count.  Therefore, they usually have some great advice on how you can get pet supplies really cheaply.  Also, sometimes they have access to discounts that the typical person doesn't have access too.  For example, I helped out the rescue where I got my dog from a couple of times and one time that I was helping, the lady who runs the organization handed me a REALLY thick stack of coupons.  It wasn't until I looked a little closer that I realized that they were for $8.00 off a bag of dog food. . .that's an AWESOME coupon!  I asked her where she had gotten them and she said that a veterinarian that she had become friends with had sent them to her because he thought maybe she could use them.  Since she used a different brand, she asked if I wanted them.  Umm. .YES! 

What other tips do you have to keeping pet expenses to a minimum?  Please share! 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

February Blogger Challenge--Week 2 Update

Uh Oh. . .I'm NOT looking forward to posting this.  It's bad.  REALLY bad!  This week has just been really really spendy for some reason.  I guess part of it is because I've actually been getting out alot more.  I went out with some friends on Saturday night and then again last night so while it's very very good (and very very much needed!) that I've been being a little more social lately, it is certainly affecting my budget.  Anyways, here goes:

Food: $100.05 spent out of $200 monthly budget--still not too bad.  I'm actually pretty pleased with this.  Granted, I didn't really do a big shopping trip last week.  I'll probably be heading to the grocery store tomorrow or sometime this weekend so this total will likely be much higher next week. 
Fuel: $121.81 spent out of $250 monthly budget--I'm a little worried about possibly going over budget this month in this area.  I'm getting pretty low in my tank again and gas prices just seem to be going up and up and up.  YIKES!  I've already cancelled my trip to the beach this weekend partially because I didn't want to pay for the gas on the way down and back.  That's really sad! 
Eating Out: $83.08--I knew it wouldn't be long before I totally blew it in this category.  As already explained, I've been going to meet with friends a bit more lately but I'm actually a little shocked at how quickly those here and there get togethers are adding up for me.  Eeks! 

Aside from that, there are two other areas that I spent money this month.

Pet: $41.10 out of a $60.00 monthly budget--I don't know that I've ever been this close to actually hitting my budgeted amount in this category.  Honestly, I could probably get away with $60 every two months but this month, Pete needed new food and he had to get his annual booster shots.  Eeew. . .I just realized that the cat also needs new food AND I have to order Pete's heartworm medication.  OUCH! 
I actually haven't done too bad in not spending in the other areas either.  Well, with the exception of two little instances.  I did go and spend $20 on a top to wear out this past weekend when I went out with girlfriends (it had been so long since I've gone out to an actual club that I honestly didn't have anything to wear!) and then I did spent $12 on a decorative shelf that I thought I could use in Ty's bathroom (I'm still not done yet so the reveal is still a little ways away on that one!) but it's too big.  I may take the shelf back this weekend or I may keep it for another area in the house.  Not sure yet. 

Anyways, there's my confession.  How about y'all?  How's the budget looking mid-month?   

Thursday, February 9, 2012

I've been tagged!

I realize that it's Thursday and this is the second Thursday in a row that I haven't had a Thrifty Thursday post up for you guys. . .please forgive me.  I'm in need of forgiveness here!  I've just got a lot going on and my days honestly kind of got away from me.  As much as I'm *hoping* that my semester will settle down soon in terms of school work, it's not looking too promising.  But, I'm going to do what I can to make sure that I don't totally go AWOL on you guys.  Annnnyways, I was recently given another taste of blogger fame when I got tagged.  Now, is time for me to pass the fame along to some other very worthy bloggers.  Without further adeiu (I just realized that I have no freakin' clue how to spell that!). . . .

I've been tagged by my real life friend, Sarah, over at Downtown Southern
Here are the rules:
1. You must post the rules. (And link up who tagged you.)
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4. Tag eleven people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them!
~~~~~~~
11 Facts about little ole' me:
1. I grew up (for the most part) in Wyoming and will probably always think of it as "home"
2. After I graduated from college (the first time) I moved to Virginia and have been here ever since.
3. I HATE milk. . .except for in cereal.  In my opinion, that's the only tolerable way to have milk.
4. I have two younger sisters who used to beat me up when we were kids
5. I'm terrified (read: TERRIFIED) of clowns
6. I  sleep with my son's blanket when he isn't home and will wake up in the middle of the night and search for it if it falls off the bed.
7. My greatest career aspiration is to open an eating disorders clinic in Wyoming
8. I don't have a favorite food--I have alot of foods that I like, but nothing is my "favorite" because I feel that choosing something as my favorite would be discriminatory against all the other foods that I like.
9. I've chosen a career where I speak in front of people that I don't know (or don't know very well) all day long but I get extremely self-consious when I'm in front of people that I kind of know.  I either have to not know you at all or know you VERY well in order to not be nervous around you.
10. I'm 29 years old and still working on my Bachelor's degree--I graduate in May and am more excited than I probably should be
11. My son is my favorite person in the entire world.  



Answers to Sarah's Questions
1.What's your favorite snack? I don't have a favorite--see #8 above to understand why
2. If you were stranded on a dessert island and could only bring three things what would they be? My son, My dog, and a fully charged cell phone (because they get reception ANYWHERE these days!)
3. Where's your favorite vacation spot? This is a clear toss up between my mom's beach house in North Carolina and my mom's cabin in Wyoming
4. What do you like to do on a Friday night? Well, I normally spend Friday nights doing homework, but I'd rather be out with friends having a drink.
5. If you could splurge on one thing what would it be? New carpet for my house
6. What's your go to recipe when you have to bring something to a party that's always a hit? Don't have one. . .but that reminds me that I need to throw a party so that Sarah can bring some Lemon Blossoms and Sausage Balls. . .Mmmmm. . .she makes good food!
7. What's your favorite holiday? Hands down, without a doubt, CHRISTMAS!!
8. What's the best bargain you ever got with regards to clothes? A BCBG sweater at a garage sale one time with the tags still on it showing a price of $158. . .I got it for $3.
9. What's your favorite book of all time? Number the Stars by Lois Lowery.  It was my favorite as a kid
10. If you could be one Real Housewife, which one would you be? Kyle Richards--she's hot, her husband is H-O-T-T (yes, with an extra 'T'!), she's got money, and her kids are cute. 
11. What's your favorite movie of all time? Steel Magnolias

Questions for those bloggers that I'm tagging:

1. Who is your favorite person in the world?  Why?
2. If you could take an all expenses paid vacation anywhere in the world, where would it be?
3. If you could have the leading role in any major movie, which movie would it be?
4. What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment so far in your life?
5. What show/movie are you most embarassed to admit that you love?
6. What is one goal that you have for 2012?
7. If you were a superhero, which one would you be?
8. Name one thing that you cannot live without.
9. You're going to the beach for the day but only have room in your bag for three things, what three items do you take?
10. What is your best tip for living on a budget/living thrifty?
11. If you could spend endless amounts of money on one thing, what would it be?
I'm tagging:

SingleMama @ singlemamalife
the.mrs.@rich.in.love
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart.
Brit @ Knewlywifed
Ashley @ http://www.attemptsatdomestication.com/
Brandi @ His Shabby Her Chic
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove
Regan @ Renovating Rothernbergers
(Single)Mommy @ My Adventures in Mommyland
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies
Laura @ Casa del Hansen

I can't wait to see everyone's answers and who each of you tag next! :-)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

February Blogger Challenge--Week 1 UPDATE

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, ladies.  I'm going through some stuff personally and school work seems to be really piling up right now so I'm forced to focus my attentions in some other areas at this present time.  BUT, I'm still doing what I can to stick to my budget this month!!  So far, here's how the numbers have come in:

Food: $72 spent out of $200 monthly budget--this is actually an area that I'm feeling pretty good about.  Out of that $72, I bought ALOT of stuff including 8 frozen Digorno pizzas!  I recognize that frozen pizzas aren't exactly the pinnacle of healthy eating but when you're caught in an evening rush between leaving work, picking up your kid, rushing home to change and then rushing off to some other evening activity (scouts, sports, doctors appts, etc), then having a stockpile of something quick and easy (and cheap!!) to shove into the food processor (a.k.a. mouth) helps to cut down on the trips through a drive through--thus increasing my Eating out budget to astoronomical levels.  So, I'm happy with this!  Another perk is that I earned $.70 off of each gallon of gas for my next fuel fill-up by shopping the sales and shopping while a gas promotion was going on at my local grocery store!

Fuel: $25.01 spent out of $250 monthly budget--somehow this seems off because I'm sure I've filled up more than once this month (and trust me, $25 does not fill up my SUV!--this was just a quick "get some gas before you end up on the side of the road" fill up) but I only have one gas receipt.  Maybe one got misplaced? 

Eating Out: $36.99 spent out of $50 monthly budget--yeah, this one I'm not totally stoked about.  Yes, it's still under my monthly budget amount but I'm also only a week into the challenge.  I ended up allowing myself to get caught empty handed on an impromptu trip to the park with some friends and we didn't have time to pack any snacks prior to going (we were already out running errands when we got the call asking us if we wanted to go) so we ended up needing to get lunch while we were out.  Not at all a horrible experience (it was actually REALLY great for me to be out with some friends on that particular day--I needed it!) but it kind of hurt the wallet.  The other half of this expense came from going out to dinner with my team at work during an offsite meeting that we had last week.  Someone else chose the place and none of us really realized just how expensive it was.  It was one of those artsy fartsy "downtown" places where the atmoshere is super awesome but the prices aren't.  Yeah, I got french fries and a beer. . . .and a $20 total bill.  It was lovely (sense the dripping sarcasm?). 

Aside from that, there are two other areas that I spent money this month.

Pet: $2.10 out of a $60.00 monthly budget.  I ended up buying the wrong dog food last month so I had to return that and buy the right stuff.  This expense was the difference in price between the old bag and the new bag. 

WalMart: $23.81 out of a kind of non-existent budget.  I don't usually budget for trips to Walmart--I told you, my budget is stupidly tight.  But, I was in Walmart for something else and found some really good sales on kids clothes.  I ended up getting Tyler a set of thermals for $5 and a two piece athletic running suit for $7.  Pretty good deals since he needs those items for football.  So, in total (yes, I bought some beer too for the Super Bowl party I was headed to) I spent a little over $20. 

Now for the somewhat awesome news. . . .I had some rather unexpected additions in income this month.  The most awesome one is that I randomly received a check from my mortgage company for almost $1600.  Yes, I got this letter in the mail (and I have a serious anxiety problem with my mail--even diagnosed as an anxiety disorder by a doctor--I hate opening my mail.  Hate it. . .I'm always afraid I'm going to get a bill that I can't pay in the mail so I'm always very anxious when opening my mail.) and was terrified to open it.  But, it was a check.  A BIG check!  Apparently, when I closed on my house TWO YEARS AGO, they overcharged me (REALLY overcharged me!) on some of my closing costs and they caught it during an audit and were refunding me the money.  Now, when you look at the situation on a deeper level, it kind of sucks.  This is money that I've already paid in the form of taking out a mortgage and I've been paying interest on it for two years.  That totally sucks.  But, I'm making a decision not to look at it that deeply because the chunk of money was really a lifesaver at that time.  You see, I was within less than $100 of being totally maxed out on my credit card.  And I only have one credit card.  And I use that sucker to pay for EVERYTHING.  So, being close to maxed out is never a good thing.  With that and the extra $405 that I had accumulated in checks and other repayments for various little things (see, little things really do add up!), I was able to put over $2000 extra dollars into my account this month.  I immediately turned around and applied a $2700 payment to my credit card.  And I'm hoping that won't be the last one this month! 

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good about my performance in week 1.  Still not totally as great as I would have liked (I don't like the eating out part) but I'm going to try to celebrate the successes and learn from the hard parts. 

How have you done so far in your spending this month? 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

February Blogger Challenge--Week 1 & Introductions

I'm strangely excited about the challenge that we are taking on this month.  I find it very strange that I'm actually excited about going public with my budget and potentially failing miserably in front of all of you.  However, I am highly hopeful that since I'll be accountable not only to myself, but also to all of my readers, maybe it will be the incentive that I need to stick to my budget.  At the very least, maybe I'll gain some helpful insight from all of you along the way. 


So far, there are three bloggers who have signed up for the Blogger Challenge but it's NOT too late to join us!  If you're interested in joining, just leave a comment on this post so that I'll know that your jumping into the ring with us and taking on the challenge!  However, I'm thrilled that two of my blog buddies are along for the ride.  Ashley @ Attempts at Domestication and the.mrs. @ rich.in.love. have both jumped in feet first so make sure that you check out their blogs to get updates on their progress over the month. 


Here are the details of the challenge--every Wednesday, starting today, each of us will post updates on our blogs as to our progress in sticking to our budgets for the month.  The only two rules to the challenge are that we be honest and that we support each other.  Even if you aren't participating in the challenge along side of us, we invite you to give us feedback, encouragement, and kind words of correction along the way.  If we go over our budgets in any area, we'll be honest and tell about it.  We'll also try to figure out what actions caused us to go over in those areas of our budgets. 


So, my February budget numbers are as follows:


Food: $200
Eating Out: $50
Lunch for me (at work): $20
Gas for Car: $250
Target: $100
Walgreens: $50

Also, I'm starting the month with a credit card balance of. . . .*major cringe*. . . .$4241.19.  OH-MY-GAWD.  I have GOT to get that under control.  Like, pronto.  NOW! 


Those are the areas where I need ya'all to keep me honest.  If I go outside of these areas, and spend money on other things, I'll be sure to post about it.  I'm REALLY trying to get my credit card paid off so I need all of you to call me out when I spend too much on something.