Monthly Archives: May 2012

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Spending Summary

So far, my spending has been very limited for the month of May…and I guess, I guess it needs to be. I’m living at home for a few weeks, so I haven’t had to buy food, gas, pay rent, etc…so really all of this spending is extraneous.

  • 5/1/12-5/4/12 – No spend days!
  • 5/5/12 - $29.86 at Walmart (craft supplies, Marie Claire, & York Peppermint Patties) + $2.86 at Sonic (Cherry Limeade Slushie!)
  • 5/6/12-5/10/12 – No spend days!

So far so good! It’s really great for me, because I tend to be an emotional spender and the last few months haven’t been fantastic, but it seems to be out of my system! This weekend there will be some spending ;)

But not this kind of spending…avoiding getting that gleam in my own eyes

I’ve been going through my wardrobe to clear it out the stained, ripped, and ill-fitting, but because I have lost some weight, none of my clothes really fit that well anymore, and since I will be working this summer, I’ll need at least a few things, PLUS I need to donate what I don’t want anymore to declutter. I’ll be checking out some consignment shops and some “New to You” shops! I hope to spend no more than $50 total (which I think is pretty reasonable considering I’m PURGING my closet), because I also plan to continue working out and don’t want to purchase an entire new wardrobe 2-3x. Just a little here and there to get me through it. I’m also altering my shirts that are a little too big to try to make them fit again (instead of making me look like a box monster). I’m not courageous enough to do that with pants; however, I’m more of a skirt girl and they’re more kind with fluctuating weight than blue jeans!

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Finance Snapshop – May edition

So I said I was back, and I am! It’s actually taken a lot of thought to figure out where I wanted to go from here, you know, fresh starts and all that jazz ;) So after outlining a few ideas of traditional posts I’ve done that I like and figuring out new things to push my comfort zone, I’m starting with the basics. Where I’m at. It’s hard for me to look at myself, because the knowledge of what to do and what not to do is in my grasp, in my head even! And yet, here I am.

Not quite in financial ruin yet

Pretty Much

Pic. Source

So I am in no way in financial ruins. Every time I look at my bank account and get a frog in my throat, or open my wallet with a shudder, I try to put things into perspective.  The well-being of others does not rely on my financial success; I am not bankrupt, I am not homeless, hungry, or sick. I’m just a broke college student with no one to blame but herself who needs to make better life choices and actually stick with them. So where am I at right now?

  • Discover: $1,401.49
  • Checking: $155.01
  • Savings: $0
  • Cash: $100.05
  • Loans & Interest: $13,753

This puts me at a cool -$14,899.43 as far as networth goes. Well, looking back at it almost a year ago, I’m down by $4,752.43 from -$10,146. I was really confused until I remembered that I anticipated $3750 in loans that I ended up not taking out that were accounted for and that I valued my car at $5000 (it has since had some…problems); however, I really tanked my savings and cash (plus I got that…credit card). And even in writing this post I wanted to mislead myself and look at my networth as having “gone up,” when it really didn’t at all. I never had the loans I was taking into account, so my networth was never that low in the first place. Denial is not just a river in Egypt, y’all.

Of course, I’m not exactly pleased about this, but a great quote by Thoreau is “Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” Of course we should always learn from our mistakes (like don’t charge Christmas to your card, and when you get reimbursed for expenditures, treat it as a reimbursement and not as “Ooooo free monies!”). Or, in my case, even though I KNOW KNOW KNOW that credit card money is not actually my money, to not say “I have $400 left of my limit! That’s $400 I have to spend!” And curbing emotional spending. And hobby spending (knitting can get expensive). And not just avoiding my finance-related life out of shame. I really love the PF atmosphere and am genuinely interested in it and getting better. I need self-control. And I need it soon.

As of right now, I’m living with my parents until I leave for an internship in Pensacola, FL on May 24. There, I will have free housing and meals, and a $3000 stipend. That last bit is pretty important because as of August, many things will come to a head.

  1. My Discover Card will have an interest rate (est. 17-20%)
  2. Tuition. I dropped my 2 minors in order to drop my tuition from $3200 to $1500, so that helps, but at least half of it is due the first week of August…so $750 bones…
  3. Rent & deposits on my first ever big girl apartment
So the plan is to get an additional job while in FL (the internship is 30 hours a week, so I would have the time) so that I know for sure I can take care of all of those financial obligations. The next step is building up my EF  and savings. And loan interest repayment…but I’m getting into another post entirely here :)


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Back to Reality

After a shockingly rude awakening, I am back! I don’t want to delve into too much personal detail, less out of respect for those involved, but more because I am finally able to let sleeping dogs lie, and typing it all out will just make me angry about it again :) . A pretty short and sweet summary of the last few months:

  • Got dumped out of the blue in February, 2 days before Valentine’s Day, by my boyfriend of nearly 4 years
  • Racked up what is as of now $1400 in credit card debt
  • Blew through all of my savings and standing money (I’m sitting at having about $300 to my name)
  • Had a stalker…twice
  • Got an internship in Pensacola for the summer :)
  • Lost 30 lbs
  • Got a dog
  • Was fired from not one, but two jobs
  • Graduation pushed back to December ’12

I suppose that’s the major update as to why I haven’t been around, but I need to get back on track, both personally and monetarily. This is the longest I’ve been single since I’ve started dating (serial monogamist, me, no!), so I’m hoping to do a little self-discovery along the way. Gonna have to revise my goals and figure out a life plan that doesn’t revolve around someone else!