-SPENDING (7/10/08)-
Gas For BF's Car: $25 ($234.52/$600.02)
Milk/Flour (SF): $5.48 ($21.14/$100)
Candy @ BF's Work (SF): $1.05 ($22.19/$100)

-SPENDING (7/11/08)-
McDonalds: $2.29 ($24.48/$100)
My Health Ins: $56.76
Emergency Vet (DC): $232.29 ($378.25/$325)
Pup's Dry Food (SF): $40.01 ($418.26/$325)

+INCOME (7/10/08)+
Mom's Reimbursement: $130

+INCOME (7/11/08)+
My Paycheck: $1045.81

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Well, you guessed it, we had to make a trip to the emergency vet tonight. Our pup hasn't been eating like normal the past few days, and he had vomited on Tuesday, had diarrhea on Wednesday. He has been known to eat anything he possibly can, so we just figured he would be fine after he got it out.

But when we got in from work today, the poor little guy had peed/pooped/vomited in his crate. He has NEVER done anything in his crate. I know he must have felt really sick to get to that point, and I just felt so sorry for him.

While BF started to clean up the mess, I took our little guy outside. He had diarrhea, no solids at all. We started to think of anything that could be wrong with him, from bloat (very dangerous in Great Danes), to Parvo (he had 2/3 of his puppy shots, but you never know), to just reacting to the change in his wet food. We have him on a super-premium dry food, but we have to mix it up a little with the wet food we mix in, or he gets bored and won't eat it.

Besides the vomiting and diarrhea, he was acting fine, trying to chase the cat and everything else. So we decided to wait it out and see if he was better by the morning. Right before I left to go get a new carpet cleaner (I told you we'd need one!)... the pup started gagging again, but there wasn't much left to come up this time. BF took him down to use the bathroom, and it looked like there was blood in his stool.

Needless to say, we felt like that was serious business. Two and a half hours later, we are back at home, and $232 poorer. They ran tests to rule out Parvo, and said it didn't look like bloat because he was still acting so well and didn't have tension in his stomach area.

The instructions now:

We have to take him off his pain medication (for his hip) for now, until his stomach settles down. They gave him an injection of "coating" for his stomach to protect the lining, and also an injection of some sort to stop the vomiting/diarrhea. We paid $10.50 for three cans of prescription "bland" food. We also have two bottles of pills that we have to feed him at different intervals, one of which is dissolved in water and fed with a syringe.

SO... that's where we are. The vet thought it was either the pain medication affecting the lining of his stomach, a chronic diarrhea that dogs sometimes get, or his system was just upset because he'd eaten something like rabbit poop. The rabbit poop might indeed be the culprit, because they are always running around in the backyard of our complex, and I've seen their little round terds laying around myself. Why he would want to eat that, the world will never know.

We are supposed to keep him on this strict "bland" diet for a while, meaning we either have to buy more of the cans, or we can make it ourselves by boiling skinless chicken and white rice. We are leaning towards the latter, both because it's cheaper, and because then we know that he is ONLY getting chicken & rice, no supplements or extras thrown in.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He is becoming one expensive little category this month. The cat hasn't cost us a dime - the pup has cost us alot of food money, a new HUGE crate, a new carpet shampooer, and now $232 (and counting) for the vomiting/diarrhea. The budgeting side of me is cringing.

But as I type this, he is laying on the ground right beside of me, in a deep sleep, on a fresh soft blue blanket. He's worth it.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Not much else went on today, just people getting on my nerves at work. A girl started drinking my sweet tea today, fully aware that it was mine, fully aware that I was standing right behind her. Very strange, I think.

I REALLY wish someone would email me about pet/house sitting or babysitting. I could really use the extra money, to pay off the charges we've put on the Discover Card this month, and keep our budget even!

But it's a challenge, and I like challenges. We will just have to cut more from our spending on our food and try to save as much as possible. It's bound to get better.

-SPENDING (7/9/08)-
Gas For My Truck (DC): $58.41 ($209.52/$600.02)

+INCOME (7/9/08)+
Bro's Loan Check: $110.00
Survey Checks: $27.50

Well, good news for yesterday is that I finally made the deposit for my brother's reimbursement check (I pay the bank, he pays me) and two survey checks I had been holding. So a total of $137.50 added to our BBT account.

And what appears to be great news - my mom deposited her reimbursement check (same thing, I pay the bank, she pays me) into my old checking account to cover my gas emergency the other day. I just checked the balance, and the deposit is showing, but the gas transactions aren't! Even though I would have thought since it's all electronical now, the transactions would've posted overnight, apparently being two states away does make a difference. So unless something weird happens where they back-date the transactions (you never know), then I am saved of the $30 overdraft fee! Oh yes.

Yesterday did have its bad points though. As soon as I was able to pull myself from bed, BF met me with some bad news. Apparently, in the hour that they had been awake before me, the pup had chewed completely through the cord on the carpet shampooer. Sigh.

He had already looked up the cost of replacement (he knows me too well), and it looks like they range from $85-$130 for a similar model. I really hate to spend that much money on something that we shouldn't have to replace yet, but I also don't want to run out and get the cheapest one that isn't going to work.

We have a vacuum, but since we've been using this shampooer, I've realized how much cleaner you can get your carpets. That is especially important to us because we have both a cat and a dog, and we are renting... so we'd like to get our deposit back eventually. Plus, it gives me piece of mind to vacuum & shampoo really well before we are expecting guests, because I know everything smells fresh.

I thought I might still have a 10% off coupon for Lowe's, but it expired in May. I did dig out an older BoA Visa gift card that my mom had given me earlier this year, which has about $18 on it. The only thing is that those gift cards are so darn hard to use. It seems like there is always a catch - you can't use them to partially pay for a purchase, you have to know exactly how much is on them, can't purchase online without a pin number, etc. But it's worth a shot if it will save us $18 of cash.

Today is my last day off, then I work 5 days straight. At my last job, I was used to Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:30, off on the weekends. Now that I'm working retail, I've been getting off on Thursdays and Sundays, but other than that my schedule changes a bit.

However, I volunteered to work this Sunday if I could get off on Wednesday/Thursday for BF's family coming to visit. BF is still not sure what day he will be off. I kind of hope that he gets both days, even though I know he probably won't, just because it will be kind of awkward to spend all day alone with his sis/bro-in-law/niece. Plus, I have a feeling his niece is going to be scared to death of our pup, because she's only used to little house poodles. And he's definitely not that.

I put some of my clothes up on Craigslist in different lots. I figured that I should at least try to get a few bucks out of some of them, since they've only been worn a few times (or not at all). Especially since it's free... and if it doesn't work, I'll donate them. No bites on them yet though.

There are a few things on my to-do list today. I still need to call the pup's surgeon back and see what the game plan is for the future. I also need to run to the library either today or tomorrow. It's more fun when BF goes with me (and he's working 2-10 today), but I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I get there and pick out some new books. I'm going to see if I can renew InkSpell, since I haven't finished it yet.

My week-long conference for work is getting closer. It's the first time I've done major travelling for a job, so I'm kind of nervous. I keep thinking I'll forget something important - like I won't pack something, won't fill out the right expense reimbursement forms, won't fax in everything I'm supposed to beforehand, etc. I also have no idea what clothes I'll take. It's supposed to be business casual (khakis & a nice collared shirt), but the only khakis I have are the cheap ones I wear to the store to work. They have stains all over them! I can probably dig up some shirts to look nice, but the pants will be a problem. I also have no dress shoes, just boots and tennis shoes. When did life get so complicated, and where did all my clothes go? Ahhh!

-SPENDING-
Gas For My Truck: $9.01 ($151.11/$600.02)
Coke at Work: $1.00 ($15.66/$100)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kind of. While I was updating our expenses in my blog last night, I had to dig out the receipt for the pup's crate from my wallet.

When I left for work this morning, I gave BF $30 of the $50 from the sale of the crate to use for gas, and I decided that I would keep the other $20 at home and put my gas on the DC, since it would be alot more than $20.

I was running low on gas this morning, but because I had to leave at 6:30, I didn't want to be late because I stopped at the gas station. So after work today (in the boiling heat), I walk out to the truck to find that I have LEFT my wallet at home. I had no cash because I'd left it, and no checkbook, credit cards, anything.

I was freaking out, and then (thankfully) I found my old debit card that had fallen into the bottom of my purse. I wasn't sure how much was left in the account, but I knew it was probably under $5. So I stopped at the first station and got $4.01. Unfortunately, that lasted me only halfway. I had to stop again, and got $5.01. I just checked our updated balance for that account, and it is $4.41.

That bank charges $30 PER overdraft. Thankfully, the first one should be fine. But the second one could cost me $30 for $5.01 in gas. ((Puke))

My only hope is that the debit won't go through until Friday (it varies), and I can somehow get the $5.00 in there to cover it. The worst part is that the bank is two states away and has no branches here... so I am going to call my mom and see if one of them can run a deposit there for me.

I still have the two checks from her and my brother for the loan reimbursement that I haven't deposited yet, so I may tell her to just go ahead and make out another check to deposit into THAT account, and I'll rip up the one I have here. Surely, since her account is at the same bank, they would deposit it to my account the same day?

If we have to pay the $30, it will hurt. We've been doing so well this month with budgeting and expenses and tracking, I would hate this setback. It was definitely avoidable... if I had taken time to ensure that my wallet was with me this morning, but at least it wasn't just purposely spending on stuff we didn't need.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In other news, I'm going to list some of my clothes on Craigslist. I have so many (shirts especially) that have only been worn a few times or not at all (Christmas presents), maybe someone will be willing to pay a few bucks for them. I also have several pair of name-brand jeans that don't fit anymore, so I'm listing those too. It's free, so there's no reason not to try.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Work was horrible today. With the manager on vacation, it seems like everyone wants to be bossy and get an attitude. Even people I typically like, they have all started acting like they're the boss. And even worse, I am actually supposed to be telling them what to do in some cases.

I am very worried that I have become too friendly with some of the other employees. When I was here by myself, and knew nobody, they were the only ones I talked to and I started to become friends with a few.

It didn't help that the manager never gave me any authority or responsibility, unless she wanted to unload an unwanted task on me at the last minute. I understand that you have to work in the trenches to learn any job, but it would kill me when she would let other (part-time) employees do inventories, paperwork, price changes, etc. I honestly felt like she forgot that I was there to be trained.

And now that she's gone on vacation, suddenly I am left with all this responsibility and coworkers that obviously don't view me as someone they need to listen to.

A specific example - today I told one of the cashiers (who I am friendly with) that when the pallet jack was returned, I was going to tell the warehouse guys to bring up a pallet of product for the front display. I walk to the back to get paperwork, and when I get back, the pallet is there. Why did she think it was okay to go ahead and do that? There were plenty of other things she could've been doing, tons of stuff to put on the shelves.

Now I am just trying to figure out what my action plan needs to be. Do I go nazi-manager-trainee on them and demand that they listen to me, or do I try to gradually (but firmly) enforce what I say?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

One small bit of good news is that I got a nice little package in the mail yesterday. It was a free gift from Nexxus, two full-size bottles of hair products. I participate in an online forum about beauty products and research, and this was a reward for part of it. Yay!

-7/6/08 SPENDING-
NONE!!!

-TODAY'S SPENDING-
Pup's New Crate (DC): $128.30 ($145.96/$325)
Rent: $875 ($875/$875)
Student Loan Pmt: $51 ($51/$51)
My SF Card Pmt: $199.65 ($199.65/$199.65)

+INCOME+
Pup's Old Crate (Craiglist): $50

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We finally got the pup's new crate today. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a plastic pan in the bottom, so hopefully he will be okay with his comforter in there. I'm not too worried about cleaning, he won't pee in his crate, and we don't put water in there with him.

I had to put the crate on my Discover Card (DC). I hate to do that, but we just have no other choice right now. Our checking accounts are pretty much drained, and my paycheck doesn't come until Friday. I will need to put my gas on the DC, but BF can use the cash we got from selling the old crate today. As soon as my paycheck goes through, I'm initiating a payment to the DC for the total amount. I just did a balance transfer from the DC to my State Farm card for decreased interest, and I don't want to carry a balance on it again.

The good news is, that because we were able to get his new crate here and put together, we were able to arrange for a woman to pick up his old crate. We sold it for $50, and we only paid about $75 for it earlier this year, so I don't think that's too bad. Plus, they came to get it. It felt good to switch the crates AND land $50 in cash. I am going to scrounge around and see if I have anything else that someone might be willing to buy via Craigslist.

My mom and little brother left for home this morning. We had a nice visit, but an 8-month-old Great Dane and a 4-year-old boy make quite a pair. I didn't think the pup would ever go to sleep on Saturday night, he was still so excited from playing/romping.

Yesterday, BF had to work from 2-10 so he didn't get to be with us all day. We all went out to eat at Bob Evans for an early lunch (pot roast sandwich = addiction), then came back so that BF could change clothes and play some Playstation with my little brother before leaving for work. It was even funnier because they were "smack talking" each other over a cartoon racing game. Knuckleheads.

As always, my mom insisted on buying some extra food stuff for us while she was here. I have paid my own bills since I was 16, and have never asked for (or accepted) money from her. It frustrated her alot to begin with, but I always knew that she didn't have alot of money to spare, and so I felt like I should be able to pay my own way, so I did. But now that I live so far away from everyone and only get to see them once every month or so, I feel like it would actually be mean of me not to let her do little things. We don't need help, but I don't want to make her feel unappreciated, either.

She wanted to make dinner for us last night, so while BF was at work, I went with them to Walmart to get the ingredients. It was my fave - "hobo meals". She got the chicken, carrots, onions, aluminum foil, salad stuff, and cob corn, then wanted to make something special for BF. He ended up getting strawberry cake with cream cheese icing, and chocolate chip cookies. Along the way, she would sneak little stuff into the cart that she knew we liked - trail mix, cereal, chips.

Now, we have quite a bit of extra left. There was extra chicken, onions, and cob corn, and she had brought a watermelon and 3 cases of soft drinks on the drive. Oh... and 3/4 of a strawberry cake, a box of tea bags, and a big bowl of mixed salad. Our food budget just heaved a sigh of relief.

We finally heard from the pup's future surgeon on Thursday. I didn't want to call him back over the holiday weekend, so I will try to do it tomorrow. From the voicemail he left after looking at our x-rays, he still thinks it is too early to do anything now, as his growth plates are still so open. His estimate is around 6 months from now, with x-rays and consultations before that. He said our medicine was on track, but mentioned another pain medicine that we could get for him, and was in the process of describing an injection we could get for his joints when the voicemail cut him off. He was rather long-winded!

So for now, I just want to know what our next steps should be. If we get him the other pain medicine and arrange for the injections at the vet, when should we contact the surgeon for a consultation, in 5 months? I hate when I don't know specific timelines, especially when it's out of my control.

Work has been going semi-well. The manager is on vacation for over a week, and the day before she left, she gave me a bunch of vague instructions about random things to do. I like that she's finally giving me some responsibility and acting like I'm more than a high school cashier, but the fact that it was the day before she left was kind of weird. Plus, it's hard to have "instant" authority when telling warehouse guys what to do, when I've never had any before. I feel like they're probably looking at me and thinking, "Who does she think she is?"

She also gave me a set of store keys before she left, and the combination to the safe. Oh well, at least I am progressing, even if it's slow. I will just have to find a way to deal with trying to tell my "peers" what to do, without sounding like an idiot.

BF seems to be liking his job. It's a smaller store than he's worked at, so apparently everyone is impressed when he handles their "busy" days so well. Their busy days are like his old store's slow days!

-SPENDING-
Gas For My Truck: $40.01 ($142.10/$600.02)

Just a quick note since my mom & little brother are visiting. I wanted to update our spending, even if I can't really make a complete entry. No slacking here!

Hope everyone had a great Fourth!

-SPENDING-
Gas for BF's Car: $17 ($82.06/$600.02)
Gas for My Truck: $20.03 ($102.09/$600.02)
2.77 Lbs of Pork Ribs: $4.13 ($12.17/$100)
2 Ears of Sweet Corn: $1.00 ($13.17/$100)
Pack of Butter: $0.99 (14.66/$100)

Since our checking account was on the blitz yesterday, BF & I decided that we'd better not go all-out on the dinner for celebrating the 4th. I suggested spaghetti with chunked chicken in the sauce, which he agreed to. Actually, he isn't much on pasta, and spaghetti is about the only kind he will eat.

Today I checked our account, and both of the false transactions have cleared from it. Our pending balance is just about the same as our actual balance, which is GREAT! By the time we pay rent, and BF's student loan payment, we will only have about $18 until my paycheck a week from now.

BF used $20 cash to get gas today, and I used my old debit card. As of right now, I think we have about $40 in my old account, and $14 in our new one. Hopefully we can get by on that until next week when the payday hits.

I was looking through a grocery sale ad at work today, and noticed they had country-style pork ribs on sale for $1.49/lb (they're usually $2.79). And since the checking account was okay, I decided that I'd surprise BF with a barbecue ribs & corn cob dinner tonight. He doesn't get off until 10PM, so we won't be eating until 10:30, but I think he will like it! Even better, I just noticed as I was tracking the expense that the ribs rang up at $1.30/lb! We will probably use one pack and freeze another, so the total out-of-pocket for dinner will be about $3.20 (we already have barbecue sauce, biscuits, and salad stuff).

My family will be here tomorrow evening when I get off work, so we've got to finish our cleaning tonight. That's what I'll be doing for the next two hours, then start getting prepared for dinner at around 9:00. Maybe our neighbors will be shooting off fireworks again tonight.

-SPENDING-
Carpet Spray & Powder: $6.32 ($6.32/$20)
Milk & Bread: $4.21 ($8.04/$100)
Hip Pills For Pup: $8.45 ($17.66/$325)

I forgot to mention yesterday that BF got some free canned dog food from his work. Apparently the company had shipped the wrong quantity, and it would've expired before they could sell all of that kind, so his boss told him he could just take it home. They are the mini-cans, so we'll have to use two to mix in our big pup's meals, but free nonetheless!

I just checked our BBT account to see if those two "fake" transactions were cleared yet, and something even weirder has happened. Now instead of the two separate transactions, there is just one amount ($470.93) labeled as "Balance Adjustments". Why would they move to that category? For a second I thought that must mean they were about to clear from the account, but then I noticed that the $470.93 is still being "held" from my available balance. I hope it's all okay by Saturday!!!

Currently, there are people outside our apartment building setting off fireworks. I'm all for celebrating, but why couldn't they wait until the actual 4th? It's 10 PM and they are setting off some pretty loud ones. It doesn't bother us, but I can just imagine that we will all have notes on our doors tomorrow morning from the property management.

I got into a baking mood tonight. I used the stuff we already had to make some homemade biscuits, which are one of BF's favorites. He's really a bread person for some reason. Then since I already had flour everywhere, I went ahead and whipped up a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies. The recipe said fluffy - and they ain't kiddin. They were almost like cake!

All of this took place AFTER I cleaned the kitchen. (It didn't make sense to me either.) Needless to say, I'll be wiping everything down again tomorrow afternoon after work.

Speaking of cleaning, I didn't get as much accomplished today as I would have liked. With all the bill-paying, account-balancing, freaking out, and driving forever trying to find a bank, my cleaning time was cut short. What I did manage:

=Pick Up Living Room
=Vacuum Living Room & Hallway
=Organize Pet Closet
=Take Pup On A Walk
=Sweep Kitchen
=Clean Kitchen Counters
=Mail BF's Student Loan Payment
=Balance Checkbook
=Wash Dishes
=3 Loads of Laundry (Washed & Put Away)

So overall, not a bad day. I called my mom and she confirmed that they are still coming up this weekend. Apparently it's just going to be her and my littlest brother. I don't know why I had thought my other brother was coming too. Hmm.

Someone is supposed to be coming on Monday evening to pick up the pup's crate for $50. Not bad, considering we've used it for 4 months and it was only around $75 new. Hopefully she really shows up!

-SPENDING-
Gas For My Truck: $20.06 ($65.06/$600.02)
Food For Pup: $3.76 ($9.21/$325)
(7 Cans, 1 Pig Ear)

I signed up for an email list with a local farmer's market. Today, I received an email with a list of their current available produce and a coupon for 10% off a purchase. There are a few different farms and pick-your-own places around here, but I think it would be nice for us to visit one soon. The 10% coupon will help!

I'm home right now without BF, which is weird. I can't decide what I'm going to make for dinner, but I might make his favorite... salmon patties. If I can dig up the ingredients. Hopefully he will still be hungry when he gets off!

Also - I had someone email me and offer $40 for the pup's old crate. I don't know if I should take it or not, I might wait and see if I get any other offers in the next few days. I listed some clothes on Craigslist too, a bunch for $20. Most of them have only been worn a few times, or not at all because I just didn't like the way they fit (Christmas presents). Someone emailed me about those too, but they won't really say when they'll be able to pick them up, so who knows.

-SPENDING-
Gas For My Truck: $20 ($45/$600.02)
Chips (BF @ Work): $3.33 ($3.33/$100)
Coke (BF @ Work): $0.50 ($3.83/$100)
Cancelled Pup's Crate: -$246.93 ($5.45/$325)

I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear that my online order was cancelled. BF forwarded the email to me today, and the PetSmart order was officially cancelled! That means we can save $110 by ordering the pup's crate through my work. I went ahead and placed the order today, so it is supposed to be here by Monday.

The pup did okay in his old crate today. He wasn't happy about it of course, but BF said when he got home, he was in a good mood and went running out the door for a walk. Hopefully, the only days he has left in the old one are tomorrow, Friday, Saturday, and Monday.

BF had a good first day at work. Apparently his department boss rarely likes anyone, and the manager told him that he is one of those rare few. BF is amazed that he can just be himself and get so much admiration, lol.

It was kind of weird today though. I kept waiting for him to email me (on my cell phone), and then I'd remember that (duh!) he's working too. Tomorrow he works late (2-10pm), so I will be coming home without him here I suppose. That will be weird, like it was before he moved up here. :S

Since he is working full-time too, I am trying to take more responsibility around the apartment. We split dinner tonight, him grilling chicken and me cutting lettuce for a salad. So we had a somewhat healthy meal. He cleaned up a bit when he got in from work today, so I think I will do our laundry and dishes tonight.

Other than that, there's not alot going on. I took my lunch for work today (canned soup), and we had birthday cake for a coworker too. (Chocolate, yay!)

Besides the food, work has been getting on my nerves lately. My boss (the manager) never really makes it clear what I'm supposed to be doing. More than anything I get stuck running the cash register, even when there are "cashiers" there. Today, I wasn't even supposed to have a register, but then another girl walked back to get cake and never came back. Thirty minutes later, I realize that she is helping somebody do inventories.

So I am stuck running the register the rest of the day, which means I can't do anything else. Exactly WHAT did I move 2 states for? To get trained on how to run a freaking retail store! Instead, this girl (who only works there when she's off from college... she's going to be a teacher) always does everything. I guess because I'm not really a butt-kisser, maybe that's why. Or maybe they don't realize it's a big deal to me. But I just think, if something like that needs to be done, why wouldn't they ask me, I am the one who is going to NEED to know this in a year! Ah!

-Spending-
Gas For BF's Car: $25 ($25/$635.02)
Pup's X-Rays Shipped: $5.45 ($5.45/$325)
Pup's New Crate: $246.93 ($252.38/$325)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Our fresh start for the second half of the year has certainly started well for us.

First, BF got a good call about work this morning. They are giving him full-time with benefits at $9/hr. That is more than we thought they would do! The way they were car-dealing about the pay, I figured they wouldn't go for BF's $9/hr and 40 hrs/week minimum. Apparently they thought he meant full-time with benefits or nothing, so that's what they gave him!

I'm excited for him, and he seems genuinely enthused about it. It's good to see him like that, because it seems like he has a purpose to work towards now. And apparently they are really expecting alot of him, the head manager (who he actually got to meet today) told BF that he'd like him to be the "second man" for the Grocery Head, because BF knows what is supposed to be going on.

Even so - BF has said that when we get settled in a year or so (when we're done moving for my job), if his job isn't advancing or if it's not going to be enough for the future, then he will go back to school to at least finish his Associate's Degree. He already has some credits under his belt, and he left with good grades, so the only issue will be time & money. He will continue to work full-time if he goes back to take classes, but at least he is admitting that it's something he may need to do.

He starts work tomorrow, and unfortunately, will have to work until 10PM on Independence Day. So no fireworks for us. But that's okay, I think he gets paid extra because he's full-time and it's a holiday, and I think it's a good sign that his first official day on the job will be the first day of the month.

With BF working comes a predicament, though. We have no idea what we're going to do with the pup while we're both at work. He can still fit in his cage for our short trips out to the grocery, but I feel bad to leave him in there for that long. He can stand up in it and turn around, but he has to kind of lean his head down a bit. I guess if we have no other choice, he will survive a few days.

We did order the bigger crate from PetSmart this morning. I had budgeted $250 for it, and it was $246.93 with shipping, so pretty close. It was supposed to be here by Saturday I think.

THEN, when I got to work, I thought to ask if we ever special-ordered large items like that. (We carry some pet stuff, but not a huge variety.) And to my surprise - YES! We looked through the catalog and found a crate that has the same dimension as the one from PetSmart, and because it would be shipped at the same time as our regular stock orders from that vendor, I wouldn't have to pay shipping at all!

The total for the crate from my work will be about $130. COMPARED TO $246.93!!! I couldn't believe it. So the first thing I did when I got home was go online and try to cancel the PetSmart order. No luck. It said you couldn't cancel, you just had to ship it back to return it. That would have been pointless, because the shipping itself would be $100 both ways. So I called their customer service, and the lady said she would send a request to cancel it at the warehouse. I am supposed to get an email to let me know whether it was successful or not. If not, she said I could return it at a retail store (again, opposite of what the website said) and then call customer service for a credit on the shipping. That would be the longer route, but I'd theoretically still get all my money back, and end up saving the $110 on the crate.

So, I'm going to go ahead and order the crate at work tomorrow, and it will be here on Monday of next week. I'm off Thursday/Sunday, so we just need to figure out what to do with the pup for this Tues/Wed/Fri/Sat/Mon. Stress!

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I'm listing his old crate on Craigslist tonight. I've also emailed the guy from my pet-sitting ad on Craigslist again. Apparently the week he needed someone was the week I am going to be out of town for a work conference, so that sucks. But he said they might need someone for a few days before then, so I emailed him the amount I would charge. Maybe that will work out.

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Well, I'm off to wash my (and BF's!!!) work clothes for tomorrow. Oh - forgot to mention that I had a free lunch today because we had a retirement party at work for one of the guys. Lots of good food, and free! So the soup I brought from home was saved for tomorrow.

I've decided that I won't start my expense/budget tracking for July until tomorrow (6/30). I just feel better about starting it on a Monday, and closer to the actual start of July. We went grocery shopping today, and ate fast food (bad, I know). BF is aware of the new all-encompassing system we're going to follow in July, so I told him this would be our last day before that starts. Hence the visit to Arby's, lol.

At Walmart, we got some chicken & fish for our dinners, and some soup & yogurt for our lunches. We are both making an effort to eat healthier and lose some weight, but he is doing much better than me. They also had 24-packs of Diet Coke on sale for $5, so we got a pack. We've been trying to just reuse our water bottles, but that's still a work-in-progress. Hopefully we can do better with our fresh start tomorrow.

I am going to finish the budget for July and will make a separate post about it as soon as I get done. It always helps me to have things in writing, I guess it feels more like a committment.

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BF is supposed to hear about his job tomorrow. I am trying not to get my hopes up for anything, especially with how confusing it's been so far. I will try to post a short update whenever we find out something for sure.

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I can't believe July 4th is coming up so soon. We had some preliminary plans to go to the big fireworks show in the town next to us on Friday night, since I get off work at 4:00. I figured it would be a good way to celebrate and do something, but without spending much (or any?) money. But on the off-chance that everything works out with BF's job, I can imagine them wanting him to start this week, and they'd surely need him on the 4th. So our plans may be cancelled if I am staying home alone.

Normally that would be depressing, but we are expecting some of my family to visit us on the 5th, so it won't be so bad. I enjoy getting to see them of course, because it's been about a month and a half. The only thing is the stress with getting everything ready. They will be staying with us, but all we have for extra sleeping space are couches and an air mattress... so I guess we'll just makes sure the sheets/pillows are clean.

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I had an email today from a Craigslist ad. It was a guy looking for a pet-sitter for when he & his wife go on vacation. He had wanted me to call him, but my cell was dead at the time, so I emailed him back and let him know the dates I would be gone for a conference this month, and told him I would call him if he felt like our schedules could work. As far as I know he hasn't emailed back yet, so I'm starting to wish I had just waited until the my phone was charged. Oh well, we'll see.

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Also checked on a big dog crate for the pup while we were out today. They didn't have the size we needed at PetSmart or Petco, and we even asked if they could order them. It's weird that they can't order them when I can find the one I want on PetSmart's website.

But anyway, the cost for the crate & shipping from PetSmart is about $245. I found another place that has a similar crate (same dimensions) for about $230. Every other place was going to cost more with shipping. I'm undecided on which to order. I'm familiar with PetSmart, and I can have the crate in 3-5 days it says. The other site doesn't give an estimated time for arrival, and I've never used them before. I'm starting to think we should just go ahead and pay the extra $20 or so and know that the crate is going to get here, and relatively soon. Especially with BF's work schedule up in the air right now.

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Well, I guess I should be getting to some other things besides blogging. I want to finish our July budget (and then post it, hehe), clean the bathrooms (taking it one step at a time), get the pup's x-rays ready for BF to mail tomorrow (finally), and wash my clothes for work (yay).

I've blogged about BF's job interview yesterday. A recap & update (and rant):

BF put in an application online for the grocery store on Tuesday. Thursday, a guy from the store calls and leaves him a voicemail, saying that they were originally looking for 2 part-timers, but with BF's experience, they might be able to give him full-time with benefits. Then, before BF had even noticed the voicemail, the guy calls back again on the same day. This time BF answers, and the guy tells him the same thing... he could probably get full-time with is experience. They arrange for a face-to-face the next day (Friday).

BF goes to the interview, where he is told by the same guy that the starting pay for part-time is $7.50/hr, but that's for young kids with no experience. BF tells him he'd really like full-time, and would probably have to have at least $9/hr for our budget. The guy tells him he understands completely, he thinks BF will be great, and BF can probably move up the ladder just like he is (I'm guessing the guy is a department manager or something). He tells BF that he will talk to the boss (the manager?) and see what he can do for BF.

So he calls BF this morning and tells him that they just CAN'T start anyone out at more than $8.50, but that he could work a month and be moved up to $9.50/hr. BF tells him he's not sure if that will work, and the guy tells him that he can start work next week, and get 25 hours.

So BF calls and tells me, and I am pretty much ticked at this point. Why would that guy call and leave a voicemail saying they could probably get him full-time, then call back, then have an interview and act like he completely understands what BF will have to have, and then call to offer PART-TIME and $8.50/hr? And the fact that he was promising a whole $1/hr raise after a month of "good work" made me uncomfortable. Would that ever really happen, and if so... why not just start him out at the $9 he wanted? It just pissed me off because, if you know you can't hire someone full-time or pay them what they need, why waste their time?

Fast forward a few hours, BF calls to tell the guy he just can't do that, but thanks anyway. Then, magically, the department-head guy says, "Well, what if we can get you $9/hr and 40 hours/week, just no benefits? Would that be enough for you to come?" BF tells him no guarantee, but that would be the minimum. So the guy tells him (exact words), "Well, I'm gonna go to bat for you man, and if I fall on my face... so be it."

Am I just being super-paranoid, or does this sound SO car-salesman-ish? This guys is the one that contacted BF, that called his references, that read his reference letter, that interviewed him, and that has called him back since. And yet he has to "go to bat" for BF to the boss? If he doesn't have the authority to hire people, why is he leaving messages and interviewing them? And why did he tell BF that $8.50 was the absolute most they could hire at, and now he's saying it's possible to get more? Does he not see that he's cross-stepping himself?

Ugh. So here we are. The guy is supposed to call and let BF know whether he can get him $9/hr and 40 hrs/week on Monday. I'm even more confused on whether I want BF to take it or not. $9/hr is what we were shooting for, but I'm just not sure it will be what this guy is promising. Are they allowed to work people 40 hrs/week consistently without making them full-time? I know in our old state, if they did that for 3 weeks in a row, then you were automatically considered full-time, and eligible for benefits. So I'm afraid they'll give him 40 hrs SOME weeks, and less others, to keep under the threshold.

*Sigh*. BF says to look on the bright side, that he even had a job call and offer. I know that's the way to think, but it's just exasperating when I feel like we've had to wheel-and-deal for a GROCERY STORE job. I didn't negotiate that hard for the position I have now.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts & comments on this situation... we need BF to have an income very soon, but we also don't want to get screwed over.

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Good news for today... our two trial deposits for our ING savings posted today, so we were able to verify them. Now the ING account should be officially open for depositing & saving. I'm hopeful for what we can do with it.

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As far as our budget, I am debating on whether or not to start our "fiscal" month of July tomorrow (June 29th). The perfectionist in me wants to say "July is July", but the logical side of me says otherwise. Tomorrow is my day off, and we need groceries. So if I wait until July 1st to start tracking expenses, it won't include our groceries from a few days before. I may end up waiting until at least Monday before I start tracking July spending. Still undecided.

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I finished The Lovely Bones last week (one of my library reads). It was really good... moving at times. Made me appreciate just being alive a little more, and being able to experience life thus far.

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Well, I'm off to balance a checkbook, clean the apartment, and smack BF around a little for his texting to his cousin. (Hello! $0.20 per text!!!) And maybe some reading out of my other library book, InkSpell. Maybe.

Well, BF had his job interview with the grocery store today. According to him, it went really well, and the guy who was interviewing him wasn't much older than us (24 I think). He was from down south too, so they had that in common, and he seemed impressed with BF's work experience and references. They usually don't give new people full-time, but I think this guy is trying to work it out for BF. When he read the reference that BF's old manager had given him to bring up here, he said "Wow, this is serious... you should be interviewing for my job!" Lol.

The semi-bad news is that he said part-time people start at $7.50/hr. There is no way that we can afford that. Of course, he said that's for 16-year-olds with no experience, but he couldn't nail down what BF would get either. Of course it would be higher if he got full-time, plus he would get some paid vacation and benefits. BF told him that he couldn't work for less than $9/hr, and he would really prefer full-time. The guy seemed to respect that we have a budget and need to know where the money's coming from.

So... he is talking to the head manager tomorrow and is supposed to let BF know. If he hasn't called by 5:00, BF is supposed to call him.

I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I really expected the full-time pay to be higher than even $9. BF was making $9 back home working part-time, and that is a much lower cost of living. Here, I figured he could make $10/hr part-time or maybe $12/hr full-time. Ugh.

On the other hand though, he seems to think he would really like it, and was even talking about how he could transfer to another one of the stores when we moved (it's a national chain)... and maybe move up the ladder like the guy he interviewed with. So I don't want to rain on his parade.

The Pros:
+We can start getting the income sooner.
+BF's health insurance costs might decrease.
+BF gets paid holidays & vacation days.
+BF could possibly advance w/ the same company, as they are national.

The Cons:
-The pay isn't what I expected for a full-time job.
-He would have to work evenings alot, which means our schedules would be opposite.
-It's the same work experience that he has already, no new skills.

I am wavering between just telling him to take the job if he can get $9/hr, and telling him to hold out for something else. I even emailed him a bunch of customer service jobs off of CareerBuilder, but I don't know. AHHH!!!

The good (and weird) news is that we apparently don't have an electricity bill this month. For some reason, when I check the account balance online, it says we have a $2.00 credit and nothing due. We have been waiting for the paper statement to make sure, but haven't gotten anything. So I called tonight, and the automated system told me the same thing... $2.00 credit and nothing due. The due date is the 30th of this month, so I know it would be showing by now. The only thing I can figure is that when we called to get the balance last time, it didn't include the payment we had mailed... so we had paid for two months at once? Maybe? I don't know.

Anyway, as long as we're not getting double-billed next month, that is fine with me. And just to make sure that "extra" money was put to good use, I went ahead and applied $50 extra to my credit card bill.

Pmt to SF Credit Card: $149.65 (min) + $50.00 (extra) = $199.65

I also paid the personal loan by transferring money from my old checking account (what I had left) to the loan account. I haven't done that before, but hopefully it will work and save me $0.42 in stamp cost.

Pmt to Personal Loan: $113.61

Paid our cell phone bills, it was high this month because we added BF to my plan. We had to pay an activation charge to add his line, but I've switched it to FamilyTalk, so it should be considerably cheaper next month.

Pmt to Cingular: $182.01

I started to mail a payment to State Farm for my brother's life insurance ($14.01), but decided not to. We don't have much extra money, and my brother doesn't have any debts at this point that makes life insurance a necessity for my mother to have on him, so I'm not going to pay it anymore. I got it when I worked in insurance, and he always said he would pay for it, but I never asked. I'm going to contact my agent and have her change the address on the policy to my mom's, and let my brother know that he can continue to pay it if he wants.

So the only bill left for June is the cable bill, which we haven't gotten a bill for, but I know was due on the 24th. I tried to call tonight and pay it, but they closed at 5PM, so BF will be doing that tomorrow.

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And last but not least... I am getting everything ready for our "fresh start" in July. I want to start the second half of the year ready to go with our budget and tracking our spending.

In the next few days, I will be preparing our specific budget for July, and hopefully evening out the financial stuff we've got hanging in the air. I have two checks from my family (reimbursement for the Personal Loan) that I need to deposit, and I want to get our Orange Savings up and running by July.

So yes, we are determined. Every penny will be tracked, and every dollar budgeted.

Well, we had a late start to our day. I always try to sleep in a little on my day off so that I can "catch up" on my rest, but I hate when I get up and feel like half the day is gone.

I have started to go through my piles of clothes and decide what I can get rid of. As hypocritical as this may sound after my last blog, I plan on asking "De" from work if they can use any of my gently used jeans/shirts. Even though the way her and her husband act about finances is totally exhausting for me, I feel sorry for their kids. If not, I am going to drop them in a donation box outside my work. The important thing is... less clutter in my closet (maybe BF can finally put some of his stuff in there).

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I can't wait for my Orange account to be up and running. As soon as they make the trial deposits into my checking account so that I can verify them, I can start making other deposits. All I need is the money for those deposits, hehe.

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BF has gone to Walmart to pick up some random groceries and household items. We needed more clothes hangers to help in the de-cluttering effort. He might pick up a $1 movie too, I want to see "Definitely Maybe" or "10,000 B.C." (complete opposites, I know).

And because I'm determined that we're going to start being "more active", we are taking a trip to the park today. I guess I have always thrown "fun activities" and "spending money" in the same bag, so I have sacrificed planning stuff for us to do because of our finances. But, thanks in part to many people on this site, I realize that we can do lots of fun stuff for little money, or maybe even free.

I kicked off my little plan last week with the library trip. Even though BF isn't that into reading, he had a good time visiting with me and helping to pick out my books. Maybe as we go, he will pick up the habit.

And last night I drove by the park on the way home from work, and decided we should try that. It's really small, but less than a mile down the road. I know there are picnic tables and grass... and I'm hoping they have grills for us to cook on, or else we can just take sandwiches. Anyway, we're taking our pup, and hopefully it will be a good (and inexpensive) way to spend my day off.

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I'm starting to get nervous about the visitors we're expecting next month. My mom, brothers, and brother's girlfriend are coming up on the 5th and staying until the 7th. Then BF's sister, bro-in-law, and niece are visiting from the 15th-18th. I've already requested off a few days so that I can actually enjoy their visits, but I'm nervous about getting everything done before they get here.

We have one air mattress, but need to make sure we have clean sheets, pillows, etc. The spare bedroom needs to be cleaned, as well as the rest of the apartment, really. We are trying to tackle it early, so we've started cleaning out the closet and stuff today.

And from the 20th-26th of July, I have a conference for work that I'll have to travel for. I'm nervous about meeting all the new people, and leaving BF to fend for himself with the pets! :S

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We might look for a bigger crate for our puppy today too. We'll have to order it online because he is too big for even the biggest they have at PetSmart or Walmart. The shipping will probably be atrocious, but we have no choice. He can barely stand up in the one he has now, and when BF starts work, he won't be able to stay in there all day.

The upside is that once we get his new crate, we should be able to sell his current one on Craigslist. It cost us $80 new, and we've only had it 5 months, so hopefully we can recoup some of that.

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It will all work out I suppose, I just hope for as little stress as possible.

Yes, my Associated Content articles were finally published. So here is my shameless plug, if anybody is interested:

My Associated Content Profile Page

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237343/silly_ole_me.ht...

"How To Free Your Pet From Ringworm"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/833833/how_to_free_...

"How To Live With A Great Dane"
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/834149/how_to_live_...

I think I'll also create a separate page where I can list my published works. Keep in mind these are my first two articles, so nothing stellar. Now that I am a little more familiar with how the site works, hopefully I can create some quality stuff.

If anybody missed my blog about joining AC, it works by paying you for the number of page views that your published articles/songs/videos get. Right now I have to get 1,000 page views to get $1.50. Not a fortune, but it's a start, and this site has taught me not to discount little extras.

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I also started an ING Orange savings account last night for BF & I. I like the way it lets you have "linked" external accounts with no fees. I think that will really help us to make more deposits (even if they are small) whenever we have it. Even if it will eventually go to a bill, it can gain a little interest or keep from being spent on other stuff for a while.

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I only spent $1 today, and that was on a sweet tea from McDonalds after work. I managed to take my lunch, and didn't have to buy gas (thank goodness). We also made out the car payment to mail. Tomorrow will be a bill-paying day, as we have to find out what is going on with a few of them.

Our cable bill was due today, and we have never gotten a paper bill. But then again, we did get somebody ELSE'S cable bill (same apartment number, wrong building)... so maybe it's the mailman's fault. But our electricity bill is due at the end of the month, and we haven't gotten a bill for that either. Neither of the websites will allow you to look up your account balance, so I guess we'll have to call them.

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On a side note, I thought I'd share some thoughts I had today. I usually try to refrain from judging other people's financial decisions, because I know everyone's situation is different. BUT... some of the people at my work are just amazing!

Take "De"... she's a 40-ish married woman, she works retail (cashier) and her husband is a middle school janitor. They have 3 kids, one in middle school and two that are graduated but living at home. Long story short, she's always commenting on how their electricity gets shut off because they couldn't pay the bill, or how her shoes are almost worn through on the bottom but they can't buy new ones. One of their daughters works part-time and pays a bill or two every month for the household (she's 18).

And here's the part that rubs me. This same woman has spent SO much money on plants for her garden. She buys all kinds of flowers, is always getting fast food for lunch, and just today, her husband was asking if we could order bamboo windchimes. If you can't pay your electricity, do you really need flowers for your yard or bamboo windchimes? She even told me that they have NEVER bought their children clothes. They've always been given clothes from relatives, or her husband has taken the "lost and found" clothes from the schools he works at. When the kids got older, he went from an elementary school to middle school, so that the clothes would be bigger.

I guess what really got me to thinking about all this was after a customer left the store today. She had bought two flowers, and was discussing with "De" that she had never tried that variety before but it would be an experiment. After she walked out, De turns around to me and says (mockingly) "Oh look at me, I can just come in and buy flowers for an experiment... I have good credit and can pay my bills, what a nice life."

I didn't say anything of course, but I was just in awe. I know I'm not a budgeting expert (by ANY means), but even I know better than to act like THAT. Geesh.

I have been trying to simplify our finances, since combining together and moving to another state has us all spread out. Right now we have two checking accounts, and one savings. BF has already closed his checking and savings.

I see alot of you can do transfers from your checking to your savings online anytime you want, and I'm thinking that would be REALLY nice. I know it would be more incentive to stay, especially because the only way to deposit money into the savings we have now is to mail it. Then we have to find an ATM that supports that bank to get it out.

If we're going to follow through with my plan of budgeting everything monthly & then putting whatever extra into our savings until the bill comes, then I'll need a savings that is easy to deposit & withdraw from. I guess I should check into that.

Which banks are you guys using for that? We have BBT for our checking account here.

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BF & I took our $1 movie back to Walmart tonight. We didn't rent another one, mostly because all the good movies are coming out in a few days.

We picked up some odds and ends groceries, but not much. Then I made a stop at Office Max to get an organizer for work. I started out carrying my paperwork back and forth in a manilla folder, but in four months, I have gathered 3 more folders and they are tearing apart. We looked around forever, but I finally found exactly what I wanted... a brown leather outside, zips up, 3-ring binder for papers, pockets, and places for business cards. It ended up being $14, so I was happy with that.

Then, since we were in the same shopping center, we went to the dollar store. BF wanted to get some more of these shaved ice things they have (he's attempting a diet). They are $1 for four of them in a pack, so we picked up some snack food. We don't snack alot (I'm always working), so it's so much cheaper for us to just get some random things at the dollar store... cheaper than Walmart even.

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My AC articles still aren't published. I'm getting a little worried, even though there's really no reason why they wouldn't be approved. Ugh.

I am feeling a little motivated, so I think I may help BF in his job search. None of the retail places he has applied to have called, but maybe that is a blessing in disguise... maybe he will get a better-paying job with a more predictable schedule. That would be nice! I also need to finish sending my thank-you cards for my graduation gifts. People have probably given up on me by now! :S

We are determined again. I've been trying to track all our spending this month, but have fallen short with all that's gone on. Especially since we've been using cash more, which is ultimately hard to trace.

And so I've decided that I will continue to track our purchases, but the June summary will not reflect all our spending. I just feel like I would be leaving alot out, and I want to make sure that if I look at anything analytically, that it is a true representation of our habits. All I know for sure is that we have spent more than we budgeted for this month.

I'm also going to go back to tracking our spending using this blog... I'll just post a short description of what expenses we had each day. That way I can have it all saved for the end of the month tally.

And finally... the budget is done! It will probably always be a work in progress, but I think we have some pretty good estimates in there now. I've broken down all our expenses to monthly, even if they are actually paid quarterly. At the end of the month, we will take the money we had set aside for that eventual expense and mail it to our savings account. It can collect interest for a month or two before we withdraw it for its actual purpose.

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In other news, we converted our cell phones to a FamilyTalk plan tonight. The change will take effect on July 8th, so I'm not sure if it will be reflected in our next bill or not. Our separate plans gave us 450 anytime minutes apiece, and cost about $120 before taxes and fees. The FamilyTalk plan gives us 700 anytime minutes to share (unlimited in our network), for $105 before taxes. So hopefully in the end, we will save a little money.

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I haven't heard anything from the woman I had talked to about babysitting. She emailed me from Craigslist, and said it would be a while before she needed me, but it would be nice to have the extra money soon.

I also attempted another article on AssociatedContent, this one about living with Great Danes (something I have LOTS of experience with)! It can take 2 days for them to get approved, so once I have something published I will put the link in a blog entry or somewhere.

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I'm off work tomorrow, so yay. That means I get to do some more free (library book) reading! We might rent a movie as well, since it only costs $1 out of the Walmart machine.

I got quite a bit of my coursework done at work today. We have independent study courses that we have to complete along with our regular training, and we have been so busy that I feel like I've fallen behind with it. I was able to submit four completed courses today, and request materials for four more, so hopefully I am headed in the right direction.

Well, I'm pretty excited right now. Usually at this point (when my day off is ending), I get a little depressed because returning to work is on the horizon. But since I worked yesterday and took off today, that means I only work tomorrow... and then I'm off again on Sunday! So it's a little better to know that I only have to go back for one day.

Determined to get a little done on our day off today, BF & I ran a few errands. First of all, we ran to the vet's office to get the pup's pain medication. They gave us a 60 day supply for around $65. We STILL need to mail those x-rays, so I think I might have BF do that tomorrow while I'm at work. He'll need to go to the post office since we need a special envelope. But at least the ball will be rolling on the surgery consultation.

While we were out, we also stopped by Walmart to pick up a can of wet dog food. Our pup is so picky - he always has been. We have put him back on a better version of dog food, especially for giant breeds, to make sure that his joints are getting the right levels of everything. The problem is, it's like he senses that it's healthy, and refuses to eat it alone. So we by the same brand of wet dog food and mix it, and up until a few days ago, that has worked really well. Now the little fart has decided that he's tired of even the mix, so we'll have to adjust it. The closest place to get the good brand of food is 20 minutes away, and we didn't even know if they carried another flavor we could use, so we decided to pick up a small can of cheap food at Walmart, just in case he refused to eat at all. We also ended up getting a bottle of hand sanitizer and McDonalds. (gasp!!!)

I still haven't gotten around to updating our spending trackers and budget today. But since I don't have to be at work until later tomorrow morning, I can afford to stay up a little bit tonight. Maybe I will get around to it... if so, I will update our Budget page on here too.

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And perhaps the funnest part of my day - I talked BF into going to the library with me while we were out! It's in the city next to ours, which is quite a bit bigger than we're used to... so when we ended up downtown it was such a weird experience. Walking in, there was an actual hotdog stand out front! I have never seen that except on movies or TV... craziness. I am proud of myself for thinking to check out the books I've wanted to buy.

I ended up getting "Inkspell", the sequel to "Inkheart" that I read a few months ago. I've been looking for it in Walmart every time I go, but no luck. I'm glad that I was able to borrow it today, even if I had to go to the Children's section to get it! Books are one of my favorite things to buy, and therefore one of my biggest financial weaknesses. Even though I usually get the cheap versions at Walmart, it's still going to save me alot of money to get them at the library. Plus, a little less clutter around the house when I get done reading them!

Because I was a little embarrassed to be checking out with a "kid's" book, I also got "The Lovely Bones" to balance it out. I've wanted to read that for a while too, and I am very impressed with what I've already finished.

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And last but not least... BF told me I should write a book today. Lol. I think it's just because I actually like to read (which he finds fascinating), but he has mentioned this several times, even saying today, "What? I would read it!" Well, I would hope so!

Anyways, instead of launching into a novel, I did a little research on some freelance writing online. I ended up at www.AssociatedPress.com, where you can get paid based on the popularity of your articles. I figure there's nothing to lose, so I've submitted my first article for approval. The topic is spectacular... "How To: Free Your Pets From Ringworm".

What can I say, you have to stick to what you know, right? Perhaps someone will find it helpful. Anyway, I guess if it gets approved and is published on the site, I will post it on here for anyone that is remotely interested. Yes, expect some shameless plugs.

If anybody is interested in doing the same thing, I have my own referral link:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/join.html?refer=237343

I have no idea if that link even means anything, or if it just takes you straight to my published stuff, but I thought I'd offer it just in case. There is also an option to subscribe people (via email) to be alerted every time I post a new article, if anybody is interested in that. Come on, you know you want the answers for ringworm!

Okay, I'm done promoting. Back to reality.

Well, I'll start by confessing. BF and I went to Walmart yesterday, and NOT for groceries! While much of it we could have done without, there were alot of things that we (me especially) have needed to pick up for a while and have been putting off. The loot:

PS3 controller for BF (his only purchase)
Eyeliner
Tampons (yay)
Foundation
Makeup Sponges
Sunscreen
Lotion
Lipstick
Crest White Strips
Mascara

The total damage was about $102. Not bad for things that aren't (totally) frivolous.

In good news though... my boss informed me this weekend that my employee discount applies to GAS at company gas stations as well! We're not an "oil company", so there aren't alot of gas stations around, but there just happens to be one on my way home from work. It's about 1/2 mile off the interstate, so definitely worth going to if I can save some money. Our discount is 5% above cost, but since gas isn't marked up too much at the stations, I think she said I could save 5-10 cents per gallon. That would add up after a while!

And perhaps the most exciting part of my day... I stopped by Starbucks on the way home (I still have a gift card from Christmas), and ordered a grande caramel machiatto. Apparently they messed something up for the people ahead of me in the drive-thru, and then they were mixed up about which drink I had ordered. So to make it up, they gave me the drink free! Didn't even have to use my gift card... and it was the best tasting Starbucks EVER! lol.

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BF mentioned today that he wishes he was "successful". I think the jobless-ness is getting to him. I keep telling him that there's no way he should feel bad about anything... he moved up here for me, then I had his car for 3 weeks, and he's putting applications in everywhere he can think of. He said sometimes he thinks about going back to college.

Honestly, I hope he decides to. He's so talented creatively... and has such an outgoing, likeable personality. All he needs is a little education or a diploma to go behind that, and he'd do so well. Heck, I am almost anti-social at times, and I landed a good job, so I know he could.

I think he just worries that he would be "putting his life on hold" again. But it would be different now... because he's already got the money for an engagement ring, we're already living together, and I have a good steady income. Plus, he's already halfway to an Associate's degree (or a fourth done with a Bachelor's) with a good grade history. I keep telling him that I want him to do whatever will make him feel good about himself, and happy in the future. And if he wants to do it, now is the time. We're young and energetic, and we don't have any kids (except the pets of course). So we'll see.

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His sister, bro-in-law & niece are coming to visit in mid-July I think. I have a week-long conference for work at the end of July, so they're coming either before or after that. It seems like we either have absolutely nothing going on, or EVERYTHING going on at once.

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I've got to get the pup's x-rays in the mail to the surgeon so he can check them out. But how do you mail x-rays so that they don't get bent or anything?

So yea... life is okay right now. I should say that it's great actually, because I have so many blessings that I should be counting!

After a telephone consultation with the orhopedic surgeon, I learned that our pup probably won't be getting surgery until 6 months from now. The surgeon doesn't want to do the implants until then because he is still growing so much. So, that's good news on the financial front, and hopefully everything will work out for our little guy. I had applied for a personal loan with 2 banks when I thought we were going to have to pay the money up-front to reserve a surgery date, and I've gotten calls from both of them saying that I was approved.

Now, if we can pay the surgeon through the vet clinic, I think they accept the "FirstCare" payment plan, which is a veterinary loan with no interest. That would be preferable, but if not, at least I know that I can get approved for a personal loan through a bank.

In the meantime, I'm mailing his x-rays to the surgeon, and we're starting him on some joint supplements that were recommended by the vet. We also got him some special canned dog food today, the same brand as the dry food, and he actually ate it really well when mixed. So maybe we can finally get back on a feeding schedule with him.

While we were getting his food in the pet store (it's kind of hard to find), we were looking at the cutest little puppies. It's hard to believe our 90-pound and 30-inches (at the shoulder) tall pup was ever that small! I can already tell that when BF & I have a house (and therefore a yard)... pets are going to be a problem area for our budget!

We've decided to make a meal plan this week, and see how it works out. Not only will it hopefully save us money in the long run, but it might help us to already know what we're fixing, so it's not so much stress after work.

So here are the meals for this week, and what we had to purchase at the store today in order to make them:

-Salmon w/ Lemon & Dill
Salmon Fillets ($4.18)
Butter (Already Had)
Lemon Juice ($1.29)
Dried Dill Weed ($2.67)
Garlic Powder (Already Had)
Sea Salt ($0.98)
Black Pepper (Already Had)
Peas (Already Had)
Carrots (Already Had)

-Army SOS Creamed Ground Beef
Ground Beef (Already Had)
All Purpose Flour (Already Had)
Cube Beef Bouillon ($1.59)
Salt (Already Had)
Black Pepper (Already Had)
Milk ($3.24)
Worcestershire Sauce ($1.00)
Egg Noodles ($1.23)
Bread ($0.97)

-Gingered Pork Chops In Orange Juice
Flour (Already Had)
Ground Ginger ($2.34)
Salt (Already Had)
Black Pepper (Already Had)
Olive Oil (Already Had)
Pork Chops (Already Had)
Onion (Already Had)
Orange Juice ($3.88)
Green Beans (Already Had)
Instant Potatos (Already Had)

-Mesquite Chicken w/ Salsa
Butter (Already Had)
Hickory Barbecue Sauce ($1.00)
Chicken Breasts (Already Had)
Salsa ($2.65)
Sour Cream (Already Had)
Corn On The Cob ($1.58)

-Burgers
Ground Beef (Already Had)
Sweet BBQ Sauce (Aleady Had)
Bread (purchased for above recipe)
Fries (Already Had)

-Spaghetti
Spaghetti Noodles (Already Had)
Spaghetti Sauce (Already Had)
Ground Turkey For Sauce (Already Had)
Garlic Bread ($1.37)

GRAND TOTAL: $29.97

That's not too bad at all really. Feeding 2 people for 7 meals, $30 is pretty good. Granted, alot of the meat we already had. But on the opposite side of that, alot of the ingredients will last forever for other meals. The spices, salmon, cob corn, milk, bread, and orange juice will all be extra. Hopefully that will mean in the future, I will need to buy even fewer ingredients to fulfill a recipe.

I'll have to let you all know how it goes!

In other news - BF bought a video game today. I was really proud of him, because a month or so ago he had traded in alot of older games, so that he would have enough store credit on a gift card for when this game came out. It's nice that he was prepared for it, and now he can enjoy the game without us really paying for it.

He's putting in alot of applications, so hopefully someone will call soon. I wish he would get a small office job, that way he could have a decent schedule and we'd have some time off together. Plus, it adds a different kind of experience to his resume for when we move back to our home state. AND... if he could get an office job close to our apartment, he could run home on his lunch breaks to take the pup out. We'll see I guess!

Purchases for yesterday (4/19):

Gas: $40.46
Snacks: $3.08 + $1.58

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It was pouring the rain when I got up this morning, but it has stopped now, so I might run to Walmart to pick up a few things today. On the list so far:

-Carpet Shampooer Solution
-Fabric Freshener
-Disposable Camera

I feel like there is more that I need, but since I forgot to write it down, I have no idea. Either way, I'm going to wait before I go, because if I don't need anything besides those three, I'm not going to waste a trip. I can go without those until Thursday (my next day off). By then I might have more to add to my list.

Because of my snacking yesterday, I'm pretty sure my food budget is gone for the month. It should be okay, because I've got stuff to make here at home & take to work, but I'll have to put in a little more effort as there is no wiggle room. I'm really trying to resist going over on the budget. It's hard when I know that I have a "safety net" in my checking account. I've just got to remember that I have a budget for a reason, and next month I won't splurge early on McDonalds!!!

So right now I've got some cheesy rice cooking, and I guess I'll try to finish the Kool-Aid that I made before making a pitcher of sweet tea. I wish I had just made tea to begin with, the Kool-Aid just isn't doing it for me.

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Puppy Update: We are SLOWLY, but surely, getting to our goal of total housetraining. Because I'm uncomfortable crating him all night right now, I am just getting up when I hear him get up in the mornings (if it's too early for me to get up) and putting him in his crate for 30 mins to an hour until I am ready to take him out. At least that ensures that he's not going to go on the carpet. It should be easier when BF gets here too, and I only have to take him out HALF the time.

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BF should be here in 9 days. Finally in the single digits! :P I can't wait, and I'm trying to come up with some neat things to do to celebrate.

I already have some cookie dough that doesn't expire before then, and that is one of our favorite things to do... make cookies together.

I also have a poster that I've decorated that says "Welcome Home"... kind of humorous because this will really be the first time it's been his "home".

We also have a $25 gift card to Red Lobster that I got as a gift for my birthday a few months ago, so we could use that to go out and eat, but will probably save it until the weekend.

So for the day he gets here, I have cookies & a poster, haha. I am going to try and have the apartment as clean as possible so he doesn't feel like he's coming home to a junkyard, and it will mean more time we can spend together not worrying about cleaning/laundry.

I also want to have a financial binder of some sort ready when he gets here, so we can start budgeting together. The May budget will likely be a special one, as we are going to be having some weird expenses (2 trips to our home state for my graduation & his cousin's wedding, buying a couch), and he will be finding a job in that time. The income part will be largely estimated, but we have an emergency amount to dip into if needed. Hopefully by June we will have a pretty standard budget in place.

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Well, lots to do today and not so much time to do it in, so I guess I should get started if I want to accomplish any of my goals for BF's getting here.

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Note: I forgot to add that I've tweaked my monthly budget again (always a work in progress, right?). This time I just changed the amounts going towards my credit cards and the amount I'm putting towards our Wedding Fund. After researching some average photographers and reception sites, etc., I've discovered that many of them ask for a deposit up front, and so we will need to have cash ready for that.

Because it's not possible for us to pay off our debts and save the necessary amounts at the same time, I talked to BF, and we decided the best thing to do would be to pay the minimum amounts (or a little more) on the debts, and put the rest towards our Wedding Fund. Any extra income from surveys, ebay, change, etc. will also go towards the Wedding Fund, as well as if we underspend for our budget one month.

So, at the end of each month, we'll mail in the total of our surpluses to our Wedding Fund savings account.

We could take out a personal loan for the wedding, but I like the idea of slowly paying down some of our debt, while saving as much as we can for our wedding. I also know that it will help us to be more frugal if we are saving, instead of knowing we are getting a loan for the wedding. We'll see.

Managed to get the truck to the shop this morning, and picked it up after work. $511.38 later, there is no grinding noise and the brakes are much better!

The mechanics said I needed new front brakes (period), and one new router. They managed to fix the other router, and cleaned/maintenanced my back brakes. I also told them about the issue of it not starting periodically, and they performed an electrical test. That guy said it was one of two things: either I need a completely new starter, or the neutral-safety switch for the clutch was going out. He said he thought it was the switch because when he wiggled the clutch, it started, but it could still be the starter.

Anyways, the $511.38 was the total for the brakes/router/labor/oil/tax today, and they had to order the switch for the clutch. He estimated that would be about $65 next week (but I'm not sure if that includes labor). I asked him how much a new starter would be, and he said with labor, somewhere between $300-$400 more. Whew! Let's pray it's not the starter, just the switch!!!

I do feel alot relieved, though. The brakes are new, the grinding is gone, and the oil is changed (next stop 119K miles). So hopefully when they replace the clutch switch next week, that will be the end of it for a good long while. *crosses fingers*

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Some random work news: I was taking out the trash before we closed the other night, and in my boss's office I saw a manilla folder with my name on it on her desk. I knew it wasn't my personnel file, because those are different looking, so I thought it must be MY manilla folder I had left in there earlier. I looked inside to see if she had marked anything else off my list, but then realized it wasn't mine. It was a manager's appraisal of my performance (monthly I guess), and with a quick glance, I saw that she had marked "Excellent" for my performance. Yay. I assume that I will see that form officially at some point anyway, but it's nice to know she thinks I'm doing good right now.

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Eleven days till BF moves in. He's already cleaned his car out and washed it, so that he can pack his things in.

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Puppy Update: Since I vacuumed/shampooed the carpet yesterday, he hasn't had any accidents. He didn't even get up last night and try to go. If we keep having problems at night though, I will wait until BF gets up here and then we'll crate him overnight. I don't want to do it now because he's my only company. (Yes, I'm a chicken like that.)

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I need to figure out something to fix for dinner. I'm out of the ground turkey that I bought. I kind of feel like making some frozen veggies in the skillet, but then again I'd also like something with a bit more flavor. Hmmm, I dunno. One thing's for sure... I don't have much money left in the food budget for the month, so I can't go buy anything.

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Now that I've got the truck expenses taken care of (I hope), we need to start thinking about a budget for buying a couch. I have some extra from my signing bonus & tax refund, but I want to leave about $800 or so in there in case we need it before BF finds a job, or an emergency.

We want a brown leather couch, and we've decided that we'd like to go with a higher quality that will last us a while, rather than the cheapest just to get by. We have the cash for it, so I'd rather get something quality, but of course we can't break the bank either. Plus, we want to eventually have brown leather furniture as the cornerstone of our living room in our "real house". (That's what we call the house that we will someday OWN... instead of renting apartments)

Anybody know about how much a good, new, brown leather couch would cost? Anything we should know before shopping, any special kinds to look for? Any help would be appreciated!

Well, I thought I'd post a pic of the pup today... just because.



Currently he is running around the apartment like a wild hog. When I took him out earlier, 3 different people stopped us to ask what kind of dog he was, how much they cost, etc. He's popular.

He's done really well with the housetraining again today. Went out this morning before work, then when I got back, he went #1, and we had a wait a little while before he could go back out for #2 because it looked like a sudden thunderstorm outside. All is calm now though.

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On the financial side, spending for today was:

Gas: $20
McDonalds (lunch): $9.50

Actually, only about $5 of the McDonalds was mine, because I picked up lunch for one of my coworkers too. (She's supposed to pay me back tomorrow.)

I had to put both on my Discover card, because I have yet to get my money transferred from my old checking acct to my new one with a debit card. But the Discover card is easy to check & pay online, so I will add my expenditures on it this month to the planned amount I was going to pay, and all should be even.

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Went off to work this morning and forgot to take the move-in sheet that I was supposed to fax to my old apartment complex. BF suggested that I use my scanner and email it to them, which is a great idea, if I can only find the power cord for my scanner/printer. I'd like to get it done as soon as possible, so I can go ahead and face whatever the next crap is that they throw my way.

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I may pay some bills later tonight, so I'll update if I end up doing that.

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There are several big financial decisions that have been weighing on my mind lately. One of these is my vehicle situation. I have had the same truck since I turned 16 and got my license. It's been great, very dependable and easy to maintain. With the recent not-starting and ever-louder grinding noise though, I am scared that it's going to be a downhill spiral. I am especially distrustful of most mechanics, and so it would kill me to hand several hundred dollars over to someone to fix my problem, and then run into another (or the same) problem soon after.

I just wish I knew exactly what was wrong with it, and if I spend the money to fix that, if it will hold up for a while yet. It's paid off, so I certainly don't want a car payment if I can help it, but I also don't want to keep dumping money into something that is going to keep taking it.

Also, if I'm going to end up selling it in the next year, I'd rather do it sooner than later, because whatever I get will be better on gas mileage. I'd also rather trade it in while it still has the most worth, and not wait until something else happens to it.

I have never car shopped before, so I have no idea where to start. I like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, but can't decide if it would be better for me to go with a new car and get a warranty, or get something used and hope it holds up. Bleh... I really just wish my truck was fine.

The other decision I've been thinking about is how much money to leave in my checking account for emergencies. With BF moving up here and having to start over with finding a job, I want to have enough of a stash to cover us for a month or so. Also, we will be spending some extra on gas to get back & forth to my graduation in May, as well as his family weddings in May & June.

So I am thinking I should leave at least $1,000 in there. That would cover us for a month or so, and the gas expenses to get back & forth. But maybe I should leave more to cover my pending car repair expenses?

I do think that I'm going to go ahead and get my hair cut this week. I haven't had a cut in 4-5 months, and I want to look decent for my graduation pics with family. I would rather do it now when I have a little extra in my checking, before I start paying extra on the credit cards.

Alot to think about, and not much time to think about it...

Today will be a much needed day off. Even though most of it will be spent doing laundry, taking out the trash, cleaning, and catching up on randomness, it's still better than having to worry about my truck starting for work or rude customers ruining my day.

I'm also expecting a package sometime soon. My mom told me on Tuesday that my graduation cap/gown and invitations had arrived at their house, and that she would forward it on to me here. I had to have it shipped there when I paid for it, because the bookstore didn't offer delivery confirmation with their shipping options. And I really don't feel like paying $187 dollars again because it got lost.

Hopefully it will come today, because if not, I will have to go one day before work to the post office and pick it up, and Lord knows my mornings are hectic enough without another stop. I also need to hurry up and get the invitations in the mail to the people who I am actually inviting to attend. And of course, the sooner I send out the "announcement" invitations, the sooner people can send me graduation money.

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Puppy Update: He is doing good so far today, although it's still really early. We made it out this morning for #1, and then after he ate, for #2. It's harder for him to concentrate when he can hear traffic on the nearby interstate, or people walking down the road, or birds chirping, etc. I feel kind of ridiculous sometimes, because I will be so excited that he's about to go, and then all of the sudden a weird bird will chirp and he's completely alert and totally distracted from his task.

The only problem we're still having is the time right before bedtime. I take him out just as much (or more) then, but we have yet to have a no-accident night. I can't figure it out, because I only give him water when I first get home from work, with his food. Maybe when BF gets here and I don't feel quite so alone, we will work on moving the crate to the bedroom and letting the pup sleep in there.

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Speaking of BF... he finally broke the news of his moving to his boss at one of his jobs. He works two part-time jobs, one of which he just started about two months ago, before we knew I'd be moving. I feel horrible about it really, because he seems to really like the job itself and could probably get a good full-time job there within a year if we stayed. Anyway, it has been stressing us both out (especially him) to think about what they will say when he leaves.

He told the boss man yesterday, and apparently it went great. He said the guy acted a little shocked at first and just said "Oh, really?" like it was no big deal. Then BF explained that I am up here by myself, with alot of stress and worry, and the guys says "Oh yea, I completely understand, man."

Then BF tells him that he hopes nobody is mad at him, and that he really liked the job and wouldn't quit for anything less than this reason. And his boss told him "Oh, I'd take you back in a heartbeat."

Yay!!! Even though we're not sure where my next move will be, or if we'll ever end up close enough to that area for him to work the same place again, it's nice to know that he does have the job if he wants it. And I know it makes BF feel better to know that nobody thinks badly of him.

Honestly, we have decided that if my next move (to be an assistant manager) isn't within 3-4 hours of our hometown, then I will quit and find something else. I really don't want to have to do that, because we've both sacrificed alot for this so far, and it's a WONDERFUL opportunity for our future (plus a stable job), but I also can't justify letting them drag us wherever they want for the rest of our lives. We want to be close to our family and friends, and they have enough stores within 3-4 hours of our hometown, that it's not ridiculous to ask for.

It's important for us to be near our families when we start having children of our own, etc., especially for BF. He has told me before that he doesn't want to live so far away that he can't decide to go watch a ball game with my brother, or visit our parents' houses on the weekend. So right now our timeline is, within 3-4 hours away for my assistant manager position (about 9 months), and then when I take the first manager job, within 2 hours. I'll do that and try to transfer to a store closer to home, but if I can't do it in 2 years, then I'll have to find something else. We'll just take it as it comes I guess.

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Today should be a NSD, unless I pay some bills. I could go grocery shopping, because I really have nothing to take to work for lunch, but I think I'll use today to get together a list of what I REALLY need to get, and see how much of my food budget is left for the month. Then I will just look at it as a challenge, to see what I can be creative & come up with for lunch and dinner for the next few days, out of what I already have. It should be interesting.

And finally... there is a website that I just remembered, and I thought I'd share it with my fellow SA'ers. It's called BookCrossing (www.bookcrossing.com), and I think it's about the greatest idea since sliced bread. Although I've only had limited participation to this point, I'm hoping to get more involved.

The basic idea is that, members of the site (it's free to join) use either old books that they have read already, or an extra copy that they have, and "drop" them places to be "hunted" by other BookCrossing people. It's like a scavenger-hunt version of a library. But, every book that you hunt, you go and make a journal entry about it after you read it. Most of the books already have a little BookCrossing label on the inside, which identifies the book to the site. But if you want to drop a book of your own, you can go there and print out a label for it.

You can go to the site, search the area where you live, and most likely there are already books "dropped" somewhere near you. When you go hunt them down, you can read & journal about them, and then you go drop them off somewhere yourself, for someone else to find. Most of the time, people will announce when they've dropped a book so that it's easy to find, but some people just randomly drop them, making it even more random when someone finds it.

Anyway, it's a fun site, and pretty much free to do. An exciting version of the library, and every book you get has a story of it's own.

*On a side note, I've also decided to track my credit score on here, although it will only be about every three months or so.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

Today has been a semi-productive day. The dog got me up early, reminding me that I HAD to go get his dog food this morning. I also had to take my rent check to the office, as I realized yesterday that I hadn't paid it. I wasn't sure what the grace period was (or wasn't), so I wasn't going to feel at ease until it was taken care of.

At this point, I started wondering if the rent was indeed $875 like I've been saying all along, or if it was $895. I knew it was $875, but for some reason I was doubting myself and decided to check. When I was skimming over the lease, I noticed a part that says the landlord has the right to require all rent payments in money orders or certified checks.

WHAT??? So I'm freaking out because there is no way I can get a money order OR a certified check in this state. I have all of my money in my old checking account in my old state. So I wait patiently until 9:00 when the BBT banks open. I was planning to explain the situation, and hope that they would let me cash a check from my other checking account, if I deposited some of it into the checking account I have with them.

BF called on his break from work, and I was so stressed that he said he hoped my day got better, and that he'd pray for me. Ten minutes later, at exactly 9:00, I decided to try calling the leasing office to verify that I couldn't just write a check. And what do you know, she said that was fine! Apparently they use the same lease for the hundreds of properties owned by the management company, so that particular clause didn't apply to me. Better yet, she said I had until the 5th to even drop it off. I called BF back to let him know that his prayers worked.

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I also picked up some paper mess that the pup had made while I was in the shower yesterday, and was startled by a knock on my door. Not knowing who it was (and we don't have peep holes yet), I didn't want to answer. The pup was barking like a guard dog, and I just sat completely still, and didn't hear anything else.

I told BF about it later, and he said it might've been someone who just had the wrong apartment, which made me feel a little better, since there was no note or anything on my door from maintenance or package delivery, etc. So I go do my errands and come back, and I'm right in the middle of a survey when my doorbell rings. It's a rather loud doorbell, and hardly anyone uses them, so it scared the crap out of me. The pup is barking again, and I'm sitting in my computer chair frozen. I wait about 15 seconds, and don't hear anyone walking or talking outside the door. Just when I go to get up and see if there was a note, the doorbell rings again. I freeze again. Still no talking, no offering of who they are, no walking away, etc. Then about 10 seconds later, there is a knock. This time, it wasn't just a regular old knock, it was the EXACT rhythm that BF used to use when he would come to my old apartment, so I would know it's him.

So of course, what do I think? BF has crossed two states to surprise me, and he's going to move in even earlier than I expected!!! Yay!!!

Not. I grabbed the pup's collar and opened the door a crack, only to be faced with a middle-aged man and woman, dressed professionally, and then be battered with questions of how I'm doing and do I attend church, and did I before I moved.

Now, I am a Christian, and I do wish that I could get into a comfortable church here, but is knocking at strangers doors at 7:30 at night really the best way to go about recruiting people? I was really surprised to find out that they were from a Baptist church (which is what I attended back home), because I've really never encountered that. Anyways, after 10 minutes of them doing all the talking and me trying to keep the pup from escaping between my legs, I was handed a card with their cell phone numbers, and a pamphlet about their church.

All in all, I'm a little relieved to know who it was knocking at my door earlier, but I'm also a little freaked out that they came back twice, and were pretty persistent the second time. They also kept asking me alot of personal info, like my first & last name, if I was married or moved for work, etc. Kind of freaky.

It also sucked that in my pathetic state I thought it was BF at the door.

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On to the financial stuff...

The shipping for all my ebay items totalled $13.80, plus about $2.75 that I had to spend on packing supplies. The total payments I received after the fee from PayPal was $23.65, so my net profit was $7.10.

It's not alot of money, but it's more than I had a few days ago! Also, it's a little less clutter of unwanted items around the apartment.

I've decided to take any extra income (overtime, surveys, ebay, etc.) and put it into our State Farm savings account (AKA Our Wedding Fund). I'll wait until the end of the month to mail in the deposit, in case there is anything else I might get to add.

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Pay day is officially Saturday, but I got my pay stub yesterday, so I know the amount I'm getting plus what's being deducted:

Net After Taxes: $1,075.66
Health/Dental/Vision: -$56.76
401K: $0.00
Net Deposit: $1,018.90

This check also incluses 1.12 hours of overtime, which amounts to about $6 more net pay. I'm going to add that to my $20 challenge, and put it in the Wedding Fund at the end of the month if it's still extra.

The good news: The net pay after taxes is a little higher than what I had budgeted for (based on two pay periods per month), so that may be a surplus at the end of April.

The bad news: The amount deducted for my insurance benefits is about $2.76 more than I budgeted from each paycheck, for a total of $5.52 more per month. I will check my next stub, but I will probably change the amount budgeted for that next month.

The other news: I had forgotten that my 401K contributions will not start until after my third month with the company. So at the end of the month, if I don't need the money to cover some other problem budget areas (like the insurance deductions), then I will stick it in the Wedding Fund.

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I requested payment from a survey site today, so hopefully I will get a $9 check in the mail this month. More for the Wedding Fund maybe!

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Gossip News: For those of you who read my post about the "situation" with BF's sister getting married again, around the same time as we would be starting to plan our wedding, I have some extra news:

Not only is one of BF's girl cousins getting married in June (they've been planning for like a year), he just found out today that one of his guy cousins is moving his wedding up to the end of May. They were originally planned for December of this year, but due to some unforeseen circumstances (one guess what it is), they will be doing it in May.

So... if my intuition is correct and me & BF will be getting engaged in the next three months (I could be wrong, I haven't exactly asked him, but I have a pretty good feeling about it), that will mean that at the same time we're announcing our engagement and starting to plan our wedding:

1) His cousin will be having his wedding in May.
2) His sister will be having her "shot gun" wedding in June.
3) His other cousin will be having her wedding in June.
4) My uncle's baby is due for July.
5) His cousin's baby is due in November.

And we're both VERY close to our families (uncles, cousins, etc), so each of these events will be a big deal for our families. It's starting to look like I am going to have to give up on waiting for "our moment" to be the sole event... if I want to get married any time in the next 10 years!!!

Today's Spending:

Gas: $15
Boxes & Tape: $4
Candy: $1.75
McDonalds: $4

I've learned not to go into work hungry anymore. I thought I'd be okay with a drink, but just knowing that I had to work until we closed, and I was already starving, I ended up buying a bag of candy to tide me over until lunch. The good news is, I bought it at our store, so I got it at 5% over cost. At least it was cheap candy.

Then I realized that with the stress of the last few days, I had completely forgotten about planning for lunch. So, I hit McDonalds. I'm not proud of it, but hey, all I can do is plan for tomorrow!

Other than that, nothing much going on. The dog is driving me nuts, and I need to clean my apartment, but I'm not in a hurry.

Still having trouble with getting an answer out of my old apartment complex. They were supposed to call me today and LEAVE ME A MESSAGE if I didn't answer, with how much I owe them for breaking the lease. I got off at 4:00 and there was no missed call or voicemail. So I tried the call the office, and the phone went straight to their voicemail system. From what I remember living there a month ago, they were open until 5:30 on weekdays???

Needless to say, I am pretty ticked off about this. I am two states away, I need to get this taken care of so 1) I can know exactly how much money it cost & how to budget accordingly and 2) So that I can stop worrying about bills for two apartments. As if I'm not busy enough!

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On another note, I did have time to stop by the bank today and deposit money to cover the $46 fee on my checking account. Although the woman was really nice, I wasn't able to get it taken off. Oh well, it won't happen again.

I also stopped for $20 in gas. Was able to pay cash for all of it out of the money that BF left this weekend. I really needed to stop and get dog food/stamps/envelopes/boxes, but I had some dog food left in another bag, and he is eating it, so that can wait until tomorrow.

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If the bank fees and apartment complex people didn't have me stressed enough, BF called with another interesting little bit of information today. Here's the scoop:

He has two older sisters, one is 24 and one is 26. The 26 year old (I'll call her "S2") has been an emotional and financial rollercoaster the whole time I've known her. She's a nice enough person, and we get along well, and she's SUPER sweet, but she just doesn't have any sense sometimes.

She was married to a guy that their whole family didn't like (not that it matters, but it foreshadowed the future). About a year and a half after I started dating BF, she moved back in with their parents and said she was separated from him. I think many of their problems stemmed from the fact that neither really functioned as an adult, and he was HORRIBLE with money. I'm talking, her car got repossessed, but he had an extra truck and a boat?

Anyway, she ended up going back to the guy, only to move BACK in with BF's parents 3 months later. This time, she says they are getting divorced, but they have to wait until they finish filing bankruptcy. Nobody even knew they were filing bankruptcy, but BF's parents decided to help her get back on her feet, if it meant she would be better off in the long run.

She lived with them for over a year, in which time she had several part time jobs. BF's parents paid for her to take nursing classes, then she quit. They paid $500 for the divorce proceedings so they could get underway. She never paid rent, never bought groceries, etc. She saved $5000 for a downpayment on a car, which BF's dad had to co-sign for of course.

At this point she's been working a full time job at a factory for about 3 months. Her divorce is finally final, but she's been slightly obsessive over other guys during the whole time anyway. She breaks up with one she's been dating for about 4 months, then starts talking about a guy she met at her work, who is "just a friend".

About a month later, BF informs me that the guy is married with two small children. While she still insists they are only friends, she also justifies the time they spend together with "he's planning on divorcing his wife".

A month after that, she is suddenly obsessed with moving out to her own place. Everyone was concerned that she was only doing it to move in with this guys, but she swears she's not.

This all happened as I was getting notified of my job offer. Sure enough, two weeks after she moved out, she told BF that the guy had separated from his wife and was staying with her most of the time. He was even bringing his kids to visit (they're 5 and 3).

So they have been living together for about two months now. BF calls me today and tells me that S2 says, if this guy can get the divorce from his wife final in a month or two, they are going to get married THIS JUNE!!!

This upset me a little, for a few different reasons. Number one, I had defended S2 to BF and his family, saying that she might really just want to be out on her own. Number two, I have never even met this guy, he's still married, and she's only known him about 5 months total. And number three... and this is going to sound completely selfish I know... they are planning this whole shenanigan at the exact same time that I expect BF & I will get engaged.

Even typing that, I feel horrible. But to justify myself a little, I am not the type of person to be the center of attention all the time. I am content to stay in the background and be modest about my achievements or talents.

BUT... after four years of dating BF, we are finally getting engaged. While we are not perfect, we are hard workers, never take a penny from our parents for college or other expenses, and are already hard at work paying down debt to save for our wedding.

It is very disheartening to realize that I will have to "share the spotlight" with S2, as she goes through with this mess. I had planned to ask their other sister to be a bridesmaid, but how exciting will that be for her, when she is going to be maid of honor at her own sister's wedding 6 months before? And how about BF's dad, who he wants to be his best man, how excited will he be to pay for a honeymoon for the FOURTH time, twice in 6 months? And what about when I talk about our wedding details, when theirs is on the forefront?

I know this sounds bad. BF doesn't understand why it matters to me, and I don't know how to make him see that I've been planning and dreaming about this for my whole life. We've done all the right things, we're responsible, we're in love, and when our moment comes... we have to share it?

Thoughts will be appreciated... don't be too harsh on me

After posting my summary for the last half of March, I am feeling a little more at peace with myself. Not really because the budget was great, because I only started really tracking the expenses on March 16th when I started this blog. But seeing my debt get reduced by quite a bit since I started has been a tremendous psychological help. I am trying to stick to the practice of snowballing my debt, and I think it will work.

That said, I am proud to announce that when my FFB Credit Card receives the check that I am mailing tomorrow, it will officially be paid off! It was the smallest of my cards with a balance of $2,280.78, but it is so NICE to know that it's going to be gone. Plus, they didn't offer a way to pay online without a $9 fee, so that will eliminate one more stamp & bill to pay every month.

Now I only have two cards left to pay on, and I am focusing on the Discover Card next. It has the lowest balance left, and they both offer easy payments online. I've updated all of the amounts in My Debt Tracker if anyone is interested!

I called my apartment complex (again) today to find out exactly how much I need to send them a check for. I was told that I'd need to call back at the end of March to get the amount of my last month's water bill, as well as the exact amount I'd owe for breaking the lease. I called a week ago (as I posted in my blog I believe), and was told the property manager was with someone, that she was the person who would need to help me, and that they would have her call me back. Never got a call. So today, I called 30 minutes after the office opened and spoke to someone, who said the property manager only works the first Sunday of the month. I explained what I was hoping to find out, she said she could do that for me, give her 30 minutes because she was in an appointment and she'd call me back. Two hours go by, still haven't heard from her.

I called back, and was told that she was just calling me at the exact same moment (what a coincidence). Then she told me that she'd only been there 3 weeks, but from what she understood, breaking the lease required 30 days notice, which I had already done, and then 2 months worth of rent. Since I was paying $489/month, that would total $978.

BUT... then she said she wasn't positive, so she would check with the property manager tomorrow and one of them would give me a call and let me know. I told her to leave me a voicemail if I didn't answer because I had to work.

My question is, what incentive is there for them to put me off like this? Maybe it is just a coincidence that I am not getting an answer, but it seems fishy to me. I am two states away, and I just want to pay them what I owe!

I would love to think that she's right, and that I'll only have to pay the $978. That would be about $1,000 LESS than I expected, and all of that could go to either my credit card debt or savings. However, I don't think that is the case.

When I called prior to making my decision to take this job, the person that used to work there (that I signed my lease with) gave more detail:

2 Month's Rent
+ Specials or Discounts I Had Received
+ Last Water Bill
+ Damages That I Caused To Anything

I know I didn't cause any damages, but I'm always nervous that they are going to try and pin something on me. I was receiving a special on the rent, which was $489 instead of $540/month. I received that special for January-March, and I got half of December's rent free when I moved in. So if I add up all the discounts I had received, that is:

$540-$489= $51 * 3 Months = $153
$540/2=$270
Total: $423

I also had my pet deposit on a payment plan, and had only paid $50 of the $200 it was supposed to be. Also, I think they would calculate the "2 months rent" based on $540/month, not the $489 she was talking about. That is an extra $102.

If they end up charging me for the rest of the pet deposit, and the discounts, that's an extra $828 on top of what she told me today. Plus the water bill, which should be no more than $30.

So we're talking [$978 + water] versus [$1,806 + water]. It sure would be nice to know the exact amount so that I can get on with the rest of my budgeting!!!

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Alright, done with the rant. I'll give them until tomorrow, and if I haven't heard from them when I get off at 4, then I won't be so nice.

I decided to go ahead and summarize my March income/expenses today, and I am just going to start my "April" tracking on March 31st.

This will actually only be a summary from the time that I started this blog on March 16th. Even so, I really think it's going to help me see where I am spending money and if I'm keeping to my allowances for each category. I have a feeling I will be making some adjustments & new allowances after this.

Also, I am going to go ahead and pay my credit cards, which are due around the 12th of April, so that I can update My Debt Tracker for the month's end. If I end up having anything extra for My Savings Tracker, I'll update that as well.

===INCOME===
{Salary + Overtime}: $1,626.55
{Signing Bonus}: $2,952.50
{Ebay - After Shipping}: $34.13
{Cash From BF}: $150
{Cash From Gran}: $20
{Easter From Mom}: $100
TOTAL = $4,883.18

===EXPENSES===
{Gas}: $145.01
{Food}: $25.15
{Pet Supplies}: $33.00
{Utilities}: $12.82
{Cell Phone}: $187.99
{Other Life Ins}: $28.02
{Personal Loan}: $113.61
{Household Supplies}: $13.15
{Clothing}: $10.00
{Graduation}: $195.00
{Cigarettes}: $7.94
{FFB Credit Card}: $2,280.78
{Discover Card}: $105.00
{State Farm CC}: $115.00
{Personal Loan}: $113.61
{Ex-Boss}: $635

I am waiting on a call from my old apartment complex to see how much I owe them, and then I might see if I can allocate any to my Wedding Fund or IRA.

Well, I had an excellent visit with my BF the past few days. He was able to make it up on Wednesday night about 8:30, which worked out well because that's just about the time I was getting home from work that day. This might be a weird choice of words, but it was really "refreshing" to be with him again! We have never gone longer than a day or two without seeing each other, even when we lived in different towns, and it had been a whole month this time. So yea, I love him

The bad news is that I was so excited Wednesday that I forgot to stick to my "no eating out" rule (or at least that's my excuse), and I spent $3 on breakfast at McDonald's. BF paid for dinner Wednesday night, so I don't have to count that in my spending. Then Thursday, he paid for breakfast when we went to Wally World, but I did end up buying a new collar & harness for the puppy. The good news is that I still had money on my Walmart giftcard to pay for it.

Thursday night I cooked his favorite meal (salmon patties), which turned out pretty decent. I had to work on Friday, so I just grabbed a bagel & cream cheese before we left the house, and BF brought me lunch at work. Friday night, he cooked chicken & potatos, which was AWESOME (so much better than my salmon patties), and the best part was that we already had the groceries to make it.

He left early this morning as I left for work, and I have to admit that so far, it hasn't been as bad as I was thinking it would be. In my mind, I had worked it up so much that I thought it would be even worse this time than when he had to leave the first time. Although today is only the first day, I think it's going to be a little better this time. Plus, I know when he comes back in a month, he's coming back to stay! No more boring nights or days off alone!

Because I was in such a hurry this morning to leave before he did (it was a psychological thing, lol), I didn't have time to eat breakfast. When my coworkers were taking orders for someone going to get breakfast, I caved again. Another $3 to McDonalds.

So in total, from Wednesday to today, here is the spending:

Wednesday: $3 Breakfast (cash)
Thursday: $7 dog collar (gift card)
$8 dog harness (gift card)
Friday: $0
Today: $3 Breakfast (cash)

I do have to say though, BF insisted that I take $150 cash this morning before he left, "just in case" I needed anything that I couldn't write a check for. He's so good to me I told him I didn't need it, and my plan is to still have most of it when he gets back, when we can either put it in the Wedding Fund or pay off that much more debt. We'll see though, I may have some expenses that I don't see coming right now.