SillyOleMe's Personal Finance Blog

That's what I had for dinner tonight. Yum. I'm finding out very quickly that when it's just me, the pup, and the kitty, my cooking skills go untested.

On the bright side, I had a No Spend Day today, but mostly because I was lazy and didn't go anywhere. I did manage to get a load of dishes washed, clean up the kitchen & living room some, and list some items on CraigsList. I'm not extremely hopeful that I will find a buyer, but it would be great if I did.

I talked to BF tonight and told him that he needs to hurry and get here before I forget how to make spaghetti. It's so funny that my psychological state affects my motivation to prepare a meal. I have big plans for a full meal sometimes, but as soon as I crank out the can opener or turn the stove on, I start to hear this nagging little voice that says, "Why bother?"

This situation, along with the fact that I've stopped spending as much money on fast food, does come with one benefit: I have lost 4 pounds since I moved!

I've still got a long way to go to get to my goal weight, but I will be happy to shave off a pound or so a week. The sad part is that it's actually not that hard for me to lose weight, I've done it in the past whenever I've been busy with work or school without even meaning to. I have come to the realization that I need to go ahead and get down to the size that I want to be now... before I lose the metabolism and it gets harder.

I had plans to go to Walmart and pick up some film I had developed today, but as the day drug on I didn't feel like going anywhere. I kind of wish that I had now, because I'm curious to see what's on the camera. I have this habit of taking FOREVER to get film developed, so by the time I get the pictures back, I usually say something like, "Oh, look, these are the pictures we took on vacation! I thought I'd lost that
camera!"

I forgot to add the other day that I bought a book of stamps for $8.40. Hopefully they will last me a while, since I don't really mail alot.

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Puppy Update: Today was not much better than yesterday. The pup had went in the floor WHILE I was attaching his leash to go outside. I did catch him circling later in the day and took him out, but after 15 minutes of nothing, we came back in, and he actually didn't go then either. Maybe the urge had passed?

Anyway, he had one more accident later in the afternoon, and each time I would calmly put him in his crate for a few minutes while I cleaned it up. He surprised me by not whining THAT much. We did have one victory... I took him out earlier this evening, and he went #2 almost immediately. It's all in the timing I suppose. :P

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Well, that's all I have to report right now. I have to work the early shift in the morning, and since I'm not all that enthused about work in general these days, I guess I should be getting to bed fairly early... don't wanna be any crankier than usual.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!

Thanks to MariRDH's post about the free site for watching the Maxed Out documentary, I have some more motivation for my financial journey.

I have to say, I am more motivated than ever to save and pay down my debt. Seeing how those college students killed themselves over their debt, or that older woman breaking down because she was losing her home, that is so horrible.

It really makes me feel scared, like my heart beating faster. All I could think about was my remaining credit card balances, and the "who knows what" that is going on behind my back each time I mail in a payment.

I used to feel embarassed when being particularly frugal, like choosing to eat lunch that I brought from home while everyone else is eating out. But now, I feel like my priorities are much straighter.

I know this might sound a bit dramatic, but that documentary really made me feel as though you can't trust anyone anymore. I thought the FICO score was the most sacred thing in the financial world, and then you watch the movie and find out that unless you're an "important" person, they don't even care if your credit report is right.

Along with this feeling of distrust comes a deeper feeling of self-reliance. Especially in an economy like we might experience soon, it feels like the wolves are gathering, and we need to circle the wagons around our families and finances.

It's funny because I think this feeling of uncertainty has translated into our culture in more ways than one. Not only are people a little more hesitant about the economy and investing, but I have actually noticed MANY more people doing their own gardening this year. You would be surprised at the number of people that have always gardened for fun or a hobby, and now they are doing it to save money and have security.

Amazing, and scary.

RANT ALERT: I understand that working in a retail environment means dealing with all different kinds of people and personalities. But today, I was pushed to a new limit.

A lady comes in, and apparently clueless about the process of standing in line and waiting your turn for the cashier, starts nudging her way next to the customer I'm checking out, and asks for clothesline. I overlook the fact that I have 3 people in line, and she has just walked in, hasn't even tried to look around our store. (It's not a huge store, you can cover it in 5 minutes easy) So I ask the other cashier, who is also busy with her own line of customers, and she says "I don't think we have it."

Then the customer I have just finished checking out (who has been nudged out of the way by Clothesline Lady) suggests that she try Walmart, which is not even 2 minutes away. To this, she huffs "You've GOT to be kidding me!"

As I hand the customer his change and the next customer starts to unload their purchases onto the counter, I tell the lady "We do have some string/rope right back there, you might be able to find something similar. It's right back there under those trashcans." I point in the direction of the trashcans.

A few minutes later, the lady checks out with the other cashier (there were only two of us, even though Saturdays are crazy busy) and I hear her get kind of rude. When the rush finally died down, I asked the other cashier what she had said, and it was "There WAS clothesline back there, and you were going to send me all the way to Walmart!"

Fast forward 20 more minutes - the store manager is at the front and the phone rings. She answers it, and there's alot of "No, go ahead" and "Absolutely, right..." and "I appreciate it".

She hangs up, turns around, and says to the cashier and myself "That was a lady that bought clothesline. She said that she felt like you guys were no help."

We both stare at her in disbelief. She goes on, "She said she asked about clothesline and one of you said we didn't have it, and a customer told her to go to Walmart"

I tell her that the customer I was checking out had suggested Walmart, and that I had told her we did have rope/string, and told her exactly where it was in case we did have something similar to what she wanted. Then the manager says "Oh, well she did say that one of you finally suggested where she could look, but SHE found it."

Awkward silence.

Needless to say, I was not in a good mood after that. The fact that we were still really busy and I wasn't able to blow off any steam really made matters worse. One of the assistant managers overheard the whole ordeal, and had happened into the lady on her way out, when she had given him a dirty look for stepping in her way as he came in the door. He tried to convince us to forget about it, that people like that don't deserve any extra thought.

But SERIOUSLY??? It KILLS me that some people can be so RUDE and OBNOXIOUS. First of all, is she more important than the rest of the customers who are waiting patiently in line to check out or ask questions? Secondly, is Clothesline our specialty or something, would it be so outlandish if we DIDN'T have it? Thirdly, was it really such a hardship on her that she felt the need to call back and complain?

Days like this make me wonder if I really want to be in this management development program at all. I do know one thing... when (if) I am a manager, and I get a complaint about two of my FRIENDLIEST and HARDEST WORKING employees, I will at least ask them about it before scolding them in public.

Eh. Rant over.

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Puppy Update:

I have decided to take some of the advice given in response to my last post, and also to update our house-training progress in this blog. If it works for financial accountability, why not training the pup?

Tonight when I got home, I took him out and he went, then praised him & gave him a treat. No #2 though. Then we came back in, I saw him sniffing a little later, so I took him out. After 15 minutes, nothing. I take him back in, and he pees. I crated him while I cleaned it, then let him out. Then I turn around, and it's #2 in the floor. Again with the crating & cleaning.

I'm not going to give him any more food/water tonight. I don't want any late night getting up and having a little wee in the bedroom floor.

So today - not so good, but we're working on it.

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And finally the financial stuff:

Spent $40 on gas tonight, and $4.24 on a pack of cigarettes. Had originally planned not to buy any more, but after today, I caved.

Okay, I have heard several different pieces of advice lately, but I thought I would ask my SA friends too.

I have a 5 month old Great Dane puppy, who is a total sweetheart most of the time. It's also my opinion that he is pretty darn smart, learning to sit and lay down in about 2 days. He also has learned random things like the fact that he can put his paw to the outside door of our building and push it open to go outside.

So if he's so smart, why can't he get housetraining?!?!?!

This is what we've done so far, tell me where we went wrong:

We got him when he was almost two months old, and immediately started using puppy pads for about the first week. Then, when I moved and could take him outside easily, I started putting his leash on and taking him outside any time I saw him circling the ground like he was about to go.

Within about a week, I thought he had the gist of it. There were even a few times when he would go to the door and look at it, wanting to go out.

But then, a week or so after that, it all suddenly stopped. I would try to time when he would need to go by when I would give him his food/water, but it never works. I wait 30 minutes and take him out, but then we end up out there for 20 minutes and he acts like he just doesn't have to go. But when we come back in, five minutes later he is going on the carpet.

I use a crate for during the day while I'm at work and can't come home, and he does really well with it. He never goes inside, and when I take him out as soon as I get home, he goes outside easily.

Sadly, it's when I'm AT HOME that his accidents happen. I've tried everything, puppy pads, catching him in the act and trying to interrupt and take him outside, yelling a stern "NO" when I see him, pre-emptive trips outside after eating, etc...

Now I am afraid my brand new apartment is going to start smelling like dog pee! Plus, all the Spot-Shot is costing me a fortune, I go through at least a bottle a week cleaning up after him.

Any advice, suggestions, etc. would be GREATLY appreciated. I am all out of ideas at this point, but I can't imagine going on with him doing this!

I didn't have to spend any money today, as the gas tank is still about half full. I also took lunch to work, a salad with cheese & ranch dressing, and some egg noodles that I made this morning. The tupperware I got at the Dollar Tree is really coming in handy.

I missed BF alot today. I still do actually. I guess it's just one of those days that seem harder than others, when you see other couples doing everyday things like shopping for pet food, or holding hands coming out from the grocery store. Less than a month until he's here though... and this time he's not leaving. Even if I have to break out the handcuffs.

I have decided that the next time I buy dog food, I am going to get the cheap kind from my work. It's even cheaper than Ol'roy from Walmart, for a 50 lb bag, and I get it at 5% over cost, which should make it even cheaper.

I've also decided to save $500-$1000 in an emergency fund. There are some things that aren't practical to budget for monthly (like semi-serious car repairs), but can't be ignored either.

What prompted this decision? My truck has started making this weird grinding noise. It's not all the time, at least I don't hear it all the time. It's mostly when I'm going slower, like in a parking lot, and I'm pretty sure it's the worst when I'm applying the brakes. BF says it could be anything from needing brake fluid to brake pads to new roters (sp?). This is all new to me, because it's never given me any problems, so it's a surprise to think something might actually be wrong with it.

Either way, I'm going to try and make it until BF gets here in less than a month, and then he will be here if I need to take it to the shop for a day or two.

Another reason for the emergency fund is income uncertainty. While I'm on salary, we're not sure what hourly pay BF will be able to get a job with, or how many hours he'll be able to get either. So it would be nice to have a little extra to dip into if we fall short in the first few months.

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!!!

I guess I should start by detailing my expenses from yesterday:

Ice Cream w/ the Coworkers: $1.75
Gas: $40

Today, I have to drop my rent payment off, and also mail some items that I was able to sell on Ebay this week. I will update with the exact amounts I was able to profit after I see how much the shipping is going to be.

Rent: $875

Also today, I have to tidy up the apartment, finish laundry, and get a plan together for lunch at work tomorrow so I don't end up splurging more of my food budget again.

I have been thinking, if I'm going to detail my daily expenses, I might start putting a note out to the side of how much I have left in each category for the month. It will be easier for me to keep track of where I'm at for the month.

Had to make a trip to Walmart today to get some stuff, and since Dollar Tree is only a little ways from it, I decided to run in there first, and see if I could get anything cheaper. I was able to find some good deals on stuff that would've cost me more at Walmart:

=Dollar Tree Purchases=
3 Pack of Dish Rags: $1.00
Box Tape: $1.00
2 Pack of Rubbermaid Containers: $1.00
Travel Coffee Mug: $1.00
(Tax): $0.24
1 Lb of Dry Egg Noodle Pasta: $0.50
1 Lb of Dry Spaghetti Pasta: $0.50
TOTAL: $5.24

=Walmart Purchases=
17 Lb Bag of Dog Food: $9.92
22 Lb Bag of Dog Food: $7.50
12 Pk of Bottled Water: $2.50
2 Citrus Air Fresheners: $0.94 (x2)
Dental Floss: $0.87
Box of 100 Envelopes: $0.94
12 Pk Diet Cola: $2.38
(Tax): $1.56
2 Heads of Lettuce: $1.44 (x2)
Bag of Sugar: $2.14
TOTAL: $32.57

I was able to use my Walmart gift card for the purchases there. I got two different kinds of dog food because I am going to try and mix the kind my pup usually eats with a less expensive brand of similar nutritional content, so that he can continue to eat to his heart's content, with breaking the Pet Supplies budget.

I am going to try and use the tupperware containers and the bottles of water to take my lunch in for work. After the water's gone, I'll make tea and take that. That should cut down on the cost of colas.

===Change in Budget===
Food ($75): $56.31 LEFT
Gas ($360): $285 LEFT
Rent ($875): $0 LEFT
Household Supplies ($10): $0.84 LEFT
Pet Supplies ($50): $31.53 LEFT
Bank Fees ($0): $46 OVER

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!!!

----------------------------------------

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.

I paid a stupid tax today. I had checked my credit score last week, and instead of paying the $5.95 for a one time score, I decided to enroll in the "7 day free trial" for free, and then cancel it before I had to pay. Why pay $5.95 when you can pay nothing, right?

Well, I can't really say what happened between the time that I made that decision and today when I checked my bank account, but perhaps it was all the excitement of BF coming to visit. Some how, some way, I started thinking the "trial period" was a MONTH instead of a WEEK. Needless to say, when I was logging into my new checking account today (the one that I haven't deposited money into because I'm having a heck of a time trying to get checks for it), I was VERY surprised to see that I had a NEGATIVE balance!!!

FreeCreditReport had charged 14.95 to my banking account, and then because I didn't have any deposited in there to cover it, I was charged a $35 overdraft fee. Hence the negative balance of $44.96.

At first I was ticked off because I thought I had been charged prematurely for the credit reporting, but then when I checked the site, I realized that it was only a WEEK free trial. So, it is my fault and my fault only.

So for this time, I will chalk it up to a VERY expensive credit score/report. If there is a positive to come from it, maybe it is that now I will be forced to make a stop at a local BBT branch and deposit some of the cash that BF gave me today. Maybe I will also get the checks situation straightened out.

And I did cancel the credit reporting membership effective today, so that is taken care of at least.

I have just started reading the Fly Lady website, and I am excited about starting that. Even though it really has nothing specifically to do with what happened to me today, it does focus on organization, and a "chaos" free life. Sounds good to me. I've got to get organized and stop costing myself money!

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.

Well, I had to work today as usual. With driving comes the expense of gas, which cost me $10.01 this morning and $40.00 as I filled up this evening. Hopefully that last bit will last me a while!

The most exciting thing about today is that my boyfriend is visiting tomorrow night! I have to work until 7:30, and so by the time I get home, he will probably only be about an hour behind me. Anyway, it will be the first time I've seen him in about a month, and we've never gone that long apart, so I am SUPER excited. So excited that I decided to make his favorite dinner for him either tomorrow night, or the night after if we don't have time tomorrow.

Of course, I didn't have the ingredients on hand, so I had to make a trip to Walmart. I decided to go ahead and do some grocery shopping while I was there, hence saving some future gas money, if I saw any decent prices.

Here is the run down:

Box of Fish Sticks (44): $2.63
2 Potpies: $.62 each
2 Boxes of Mushroom Bites: $1.25 each
3 Frozen Dinners: $.98 each
1 Frozen Dinner: $.78
Box of Saltine Crackers: $.96
2 Cans of Salmon: $1.82 each
Chocolate Milk Mix: $2.32
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: $1.72
Ketchup: $.96
Can of Biscuits: $1.34
Half Gallon of Milk: $1.84
{FOOD TOTAL} $22.87

Bottle of Fabric Freshener: $1.27
Bottle of Carpet Cleaner: $3.38
(2) 10 Pks of Clothes Hangers: $1.17
White Posterboard: $.38
Pack of 24 Crayons: $.72
Pajama Set: $9.97
{OTHER TOTAL} $19.15 (tax included)

GRAND TOTAL: $42.02

The best part is, I had a gift card left from my birthday that covered it all, and I still have about $150 left on it! (It was a nice gift card lol) I am going to try and save at least $100 on it until BF moves in, in case he has trouble finding a job for a while then we can at least have that to fall back on.

That's all that I spent today, and I think the food will last me for at least about a week. Now I just have to find time to finish laundry, cleaning, and putting away groceries so that I can go to bed!

I could've posted this yesterday, but I forgot! When I was going about listing a few random items on Ebay (mostly stuff I got for Christmas that I'll never use/wear) to see if they would sell, I checked my Paypal account and realized that I had $34.13 left in there that I had never transferred to my bank account when I sold a textbook last month. I have no idea how I forgot about it, but it was a nice surprise!

I have two other books that I might try to sell. I usually wait until early January or late August, so that people are needing them for classes, but I guess I might as well try now, before they're obsolete!

As far as spending goes, I didn't eat out again today (I'm really on a roll with this), but I did buy two packs of cigarettes on my lunch break. It's kind of weird to even put that down as an expense, because I'm not really even a "smoker", so it's weird to even think about them as an expense. I usually only smoke sporadically when I'm around my brother, etc., but since I have a 40 minute drive to and from work, and I'm by myself except for the dog & cat, I have started out of boredom I guess. I go through about a pack every two weeks, so the two packs I bought today should last about a month. That should be about the same time my BF is moving in, so then I won't be bored anymore! Ha!

Anyway, the cigarettes were $7.94 with tax, and I paid cash. I also had to get gas this morning, which I used my debit card for, and it was $15.

I also got my signing bonus today!!! Apparently they didn't want to direct deposit it like they did my other two paychecks, so I had a paper check waiting in my manager's office. The total amount is $2,952.50, which is about what I had expected.

The mail brought my health/prescription cards today, and those are effective the 1st of April, so I should be set there!

So mostly good news, but I do have one nagging little issue going on. My new checking account, which I had opened online before I moved (in the hopes that it would actually be up and running when I got here) is getting so freaking complicated. It seems like opening a checking account would be one of the simpler things that banks do, but apparently not!

First of all, when I submitted our account application online (a month ago), I was told that I would receive notification via email in a few days to let me know it had been accepted & opened. This was true, a few days later I got the email thanking me for opening the account, and telling me that we would be receiving a "welcome kit" in the next few days with our account documents. Fast forward a few days and I am already moved, and a few days after that I get the paperwork in the mail, but it has a signature document in it that we (me & my BF) are both supposed to sign and apparently mail back in.

Keep in mind that my BF is now TWO states away. Needless to say, he gave me permission to sign his name & I mailed it back in. Prior to this, I had tried to call the 24 Hour phone support number they have to ask where we were in the process of actually being able to use the account. Unfortunately, you cannot access anything to do with your account unless you have a "security code" attached to your SS#. If you don't have a security code (which I didn't of course), you had to request one, and then they tell you it will arrive in 7-10 days!!! So I requested the code, and meanwhile mailed the signature paper off.

A few days later, me & BF both received our debit cards, and called to activate them. I tried to get online and check the balance, since I had received a notice that they had posted my opening deposit of $50, and it kept telling me that I already had an online account. I finally ended up calling the online support number (different from the 24 phone support), and she told me that I had a username & my password was the last 5 of my social. Could someone not have told me this, either over email or in the series of documents I was sent?

So I check the balance and it says that I have a $20 debit for gas (which was fine), and then a $1 debit three days later for "credit card...." The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I am getting charged to use my debit card???

I haven't used the card for anything else, but the second charge was 3 days after my gas purchase? I would call about it, but I haven't received my security code yet!

Now on to the next issue... checks. Apparently we are not getting any with our new account, nor are we getting a check register or deposit slips. No problem, I think, I will just order my own. I go to Walmart check printing online, and I find some simple inexpensive checks that will cost about $7, try to order them, and it asks for information off an EXISTING check. So I decide to try and order through BBT, even if it might be a little more expensive. I go to the online site for ordering through the bank, and picked out a style that I didn't particularly like because there was very little selection. I get almost all the way through the ordering process for one box of checks before it tells me the price. $29 for one box, of about 100 less checks than the Walmart site!

Long story short, I refused to do that. I plan on calling them (as soon as I can figure out how to actually speak to someone) and ask about both the $1 charges and the check ordering process.

Until then, I am not going to deposit my signing bonus into that account, not if it costs me $1 every time I use my debit card to spend my OWN money. I also need to close out my old checking account, which now has a balance of about $3,500, before my BF moves up here, but I don't want to do it now because of how complicated it's all been!

Eh. This is what I get for trying to be prepared and open an account before I actually needed it.

Well, enough of my rant, I am going to see if I can actually get something productive done tonight.

Today marks the end of a whole week of NOT eating out! I was going to go get breakfast this morning, with a sweet tea from McDonalds (my fave), but then I decided that I wanted to complete a whole week of my goal.

So I ate oatmeal for breakfast, and decided to make myself lunch, even if it was just me and the pets. I ended up with a concoction of chicken breast cut into chunks, a chopped up red apple (skin still on), small pieces of spaghetti, and a little vegetable oil & curry powder. I wasn't sure how it was gonna turn out, but it was actually pretty decent! Plus, I had everything already in the fridge to make it, so I didn't have to buy anything.

There was enough left for me to take to work tomorrow, now I just have to find something to go with it...

Now if I can just finish cleaning and doing laundry, I will feel pretty good about starting a new week.

I have to go in early tomorrow, which means I don't have to close. I like the early shift better, except when the alarm goes off at 6 AM! My only fear is that my car won't start again. The first time it happened was about 2 weeks ago, it wouldn't even try to start for about 10 minutes, and then finally it tried, I slammed on the gas, and it started. I ended up being about 25 minutes late for work (but I had called to let them know). I thought it might be dirty fuel injectors again, because the only time I've ever had a problem with it not starting was when the "check engine" light would come on and I'd have to put fuel injector cleaner in with the gas, and then it was fine. But now the engine light isn't on, so I don't know.

Anyway, I went that day before work and filled up with gas, and then put the injector cleaner in there. It started fine the rest of the day, and hasn't faltered since, until yesterday. Once again, I went out to go to work and it didn't even try to start the first few times. It's like the battery is dead or something, but I just got a new one about six months ago, and it's not even really cold here now?

Normally I wouldn't worry about it so much, but because I'm two states away from my family & boyfriend, and 40 minutes away from my work, I honestly don't know what I'd do if it just quit on me. It's a '99 model Toyota, and has always been very dependable, so I REALLY hope it's not going to be a downhill spiral from here. I really can't afford a car payment right now! Here's hoping the problem will be solved...

Okay, for those of you that commented on my post about paying debt versus saving for a wedding, I really appreciate it! We are still not completely sure what our plan will be, mostly because there are so many variables still to work themselves out. Like what type of job he'll be able to get when he moves up here, exactly how much I'll have left of my bonus to pay on my credit cards, etc.

We actually haven't even decided what time of year we're going to get married. There are times when I think I want to wait about a year and a half after we're engaged, so that it is during the Fall and we have time to save & plan, especially since I will have to move again before then, and I have no real idea where I will be. But then there are other times when I am almost overwhelmed with the feeling of just getting engaged, that I can't imagine waiting any longer than I must to be married! Times like that, I just want to rush everything to Fall of this year!

I think the whole being away from him (for three weeks now) has really affected me that way. I keep telling myself that this is a small amount of time to wait, compared to the rest of our lives that we'll be spending together. But it seems like it just drags on!

In another area, I have the day off of work tomorrow, which is nice. Even though I normally have Sundays off, I think I will get a day of overtime pay this week because of the holiday & the fact that I'm still working 5 days. THe depressing part is that it will be the first Easter I haven't spent with my boyfriend and family, watching my siblings & cousins hunt for eggs and eating a big dinner at my grandmother's. As of right now, my Easter plans include cooking myself the best meal I've had in a while, cleaning the apartment, and celebrating Easter with the dog & cat.

On the horizon, D (my boyfriend) is coming to visit on Thursday and staying through Saturday morning, so that gives me a little something to look forward to.

Oh, and I had another NSD today. Every little bit helps, right?

I just balanced my old checking account, and paid my electric bill online. Actually, I enrolled in the online billing, but they couldn't upload this month's statement. It still gave me the option to pay it online, which I did, but I just hope it doesn't get screwed up somehow. I need to make a note and check it in a few days.

Electric Bill = $12.82 (part of a month)
"Other" Life Insurance = $28.02
Cell Phone = $187.99

The Life Insurance is usually $14.01, but in the midst of moving the last bill was late, so I paid them both at the same time. The same thing happened with the cell phone bill.

I am trying to make sure I have everything in for this month. I've paid all 3 credit cards, my electric bill for both my new apartment, I got my first month's rent free here so didn't need to pay that, and my car/renters/life insurance is paid.

I think the only things I have left are my personal loan, which my brother deposits money into my account for usually, and finding out how much I owe my old apartment complex for my last water bill and breaking the lease. Oh, and I will have to pay this month's electric bill for there, which shouldn't be much, and I'd like to go ahead and send my ex-boss what I owe her ($638).

Okay... I think I have a handle on it now. Things will be much simpler when I only have one apartment to worry about!!!

Forgot to add yesterday that it was another No Spend Day! It wasn't too hard because it was my day off, but I did have to resist the temptation to sneak off to Walmart or run to McDonalds.

I am really impressed with myself and my goal of cutting back on the amount of money I spend on eating out (especially lunch while I'm at work). Starting on Monday, I haven't eaten out once this week! Thanks to bringing my own lunch, and some free food at work, I have saved probably $20.

In other news, I finally got my debit card for my BBT account, and my boyfriend got his too, so I think it's finally opened! I am debating now on whether I should order checks, depending on how much they cost. I really only use them to mail a few bills, but I guess I should have some just in case, before I close my other checking account.

Today I stopped to get gas so that I wouldn't have to in the morning before work, and that was $20. At least I could use my debit card and not have to worry about putting more on the credit cards! So far that is the only expense I've had, but I do have a few bills I need to pay online or put in the mail tonight. I'll have to update later when I figure out what those are.

I left a message for my old apartment manager this afternoon, she is supposed to be getting back to me on the total amount of my last month's water bill, and the total amount I'll have to pay for breaking the lease. I have been estimating $2,000, but it would be great if it was less!

Another good thing happened today, I got my first paycheck from my new job! Actually I just saw that it was deposited into my old checking account. I had about $525 for the first week, and then about $1050 for the two weeks after that. I still haven't seen the signing bonus I am supposed to get "the first full pay period" after I started. I assumed the first full pay period would be considered the full two weeks that they paid me for. Apparently not though, I guess I need to call or ask someone about that.

Also, when I checked the mail today, I had an Easter card from my grandmother (my dad's mom), with a $20 bill inside. Usually she just gets us one of those little boxes of candy for Easter, so I was surprised. I have the feeling she did it because I am two states away and I won't get to go home for the holiday. It's a nice little extra either way.

Okay, so I am at a crossroads with my financial plan for this year. I just started a new job, where I make $11,000 more in salary a year (plus overtime) than the job I was going to take right out of college, but the cost of living is also more here.

If any of you have looked at income and then the expenses I have, then you'll know that I don't have alot of money to spare these days. Now there is one more complicating factor.

I expect to be engaged within the next 2 months (it's an odd situation, I've been dating him for 4 years, I know he has been saving for a ring, and he's planning to move in with me in a month). I never thought I would actually see the engagement coming, but that's the way it has worked out!

So this brings to mind the question of how we are going to pay for a wedding/honeymoon. I am fiercely independent (have been since I started working at 16), so I refuse to go the traditional route and expect my parents to pay for the wedding. Honestly, my parents couldn't do that anyway, and I would rather know that I paid for it myself. My boyfriend's family will probably offer to pay for our honeymoon, since they paid for his two older sisters' weddings, but I don't think it's fair to let them pay for the honeymoon if my parents aren't paying for the wedding.

However, I know they (especially my mom because I'm her only daughter) will insist on helping some way. If it unfolds the way I think it will, we will probably let my parents pay for the limo & my brothers tuxes, while his parents can pay for part of the catering, etc.

We are not really hard to please, but I have no experience with wedding costs. I would think that we can have the wedding & reception for about $15k-$20k, and the honeymoon for probably $2k. I really have no idea, so theses are estimates!

I don't want to have a riduculously expensive wedding, but I also don't want to look back later and wish that we had splurged a little more, since it is only once in a lifetime (or it had better be, wink wink), and you can't have a re-do later when we have more money!

Okay, that went a little longer than I had planned, but the question I have been getting to is this: Should we be focused on paying as much of our debt off as possible, or should we be paying enough to stay current until the wedding is over, using the rest to save towards the wedding costs?

If it helps, here is a breakdown of our income & debt right now:

*Me*
Credit Card Debt: $12,000
Personal Loan: $850

*Him*
Student Loans: $4,000
Car Loan: $6,000
Credit Card Debt: $300

I would estimate that once our finances are combined, we will have about $300 a month to use for either paying off more debt or saving. This does not include what I have automatically taken out for my 401K.

Should I pay off as much as I can, and then get a fixed personal loan for the wedding expenses, or start saving for the wedding and wait until afterwards to start really working on the debt?

ANY HELP WOULD BE APPRECIATED! Sorry for such a long, rambling post

So, I think today was what I've seen posted on other blogs as a "no spend day". I didn't have to get gas, so there was no expense there.

The dog woke me up extra early this morning, so I used to time to make something different to take for lunch. I ended up having mini pizzas (tortillas with pizza sauce, pepperonis, and shredded cheese melted between them & cut into wedges) and celery with cream cheese. We also ended up having a meeting at work, so there was food there as well.

I am kind of excited about the little changes that I've been trying to make. Even if I only look at the last 3 days, I have saved probably between $10 and $15 by taking my lunch and not eating out. Add to that the $2 or $3 I would have spent stopping for cappuccinos on the way home, and it starts to add up!

If only I had something I could work on when I'm off work that would create some money. I used to dog & house sit for neighbors, but it's hard to do when you are in a new place and don't feel comfortable volunteering for that!

So I stuck to the whole not eating out for lunch thing again today. I took a turkey sandwich again, but then one of our vendors brought pizza, so I actually didn't eat the sandwich until later anyway. I am definitely going to have to take something else tomorrow though... the turkey sandwich is getting old.

So the only money that I spent today was another $40 on gas, $18 on dog food/cat food/cat litter, and $4 on paper towels.

I've found that keeping this blog and tracking my expenses really helps to keep me honest about where my money is going to begin with. It also helps me resist those evening cravings for a cappuccino on the way home!

I have come to the realization that most of my money mistakes come from little things, not big ones. I'm not the type of person that buys big screen TV's or a new car every other year. Most of the time, it's the random trip to Wal-Mart where I spend $16 at a time. Might not sound like a lot, but when it is once or twice a week for things that I might not necessarily need, it adds up.

That's not to say that I don't splurge every now and then. I have a rather expensive phone that I probably didn't really need. However, it has come in very handy since I've moved, and I had to replace my old phone anyway. I guess the key is to keep the small expenses down and the splurges very rare.

Another of my weaknesses is fast food. Because I live by myself with only the pets right now, it's hard to get motivated to spend time on making dinner. However, I am happy to say that today, I took a sandwich & apple for my lunch at work, so that I wouldn't be tempted to buy fast food. Tonight, I resisted the urge to stop on the ride home, and am currently eating chips & salsa (I will probably fix something more substantial later).

So the only money I ended up spending today was $20 for gas, which I ended up putting on the credit card because the gas station didn't take checks and couldn't accept a $100 bill.

The good news is that I got my debit card for my new checking account today, so hopefully I can begin the process of transferring the money from my old checking into my new, and then have a debit card to use for purchases! YAY!

Okay, so I just realized that I hadn't ordered my graduation cap/gown or invitations yet. It's kind of weird to be graduating college in May, when I was officially done in December (but they only do the whole ceremony once a year, so hey). Anyway, I got online to see if I could order from there (because I'm two states away from the school I'll be graduating from), and luckily I was able to order everything from the bookstore there. It should be shipped to my parent's address (not sure how I would get a box here).

The bad news is that it was $195 on my FFB credit card. I would have used my checking account, but I have no debit card for it, and they couldn't do a check for online ordering. Since alot of people will send me graduation money when they get the announcements, maybe I will be able to recoup some of the money!

That reminds me of some more info that I wanted to add into the equation:

As far as bank accounts, I have a few.

"Hometown" Checking Acct: ~$2,800
BBT Joint Checking: $50
Roth IRA: ~$450

The Hometown account is in my home state, and as soon as the BBT account is officially open and I have checks for it, I will transfer all of my money from the Hometown account into the BBT account. I have stopped the automatic deposit into the Roth IRA for now, because my new job is deducting my 401K. I also have about $200 in cash right now, which I will use for expenses until my checking account money is transferred here.

In case anyone is wondering why I have a joint checking account, my boyfriend is also on it. He is moving to this state to join me in about a month and a half now, at which point we'll both be using the same account. (It's one of the only banks with branches in both states!) Right now, if I want to buy something, I have a choice between writing a check from my Hometown account (if the place accepts checks), or using my Discover Card or FFB Card. I do not have my State Farm credit card with me, or a debit card for the Hometown acct.

So I guess my goals for now are:
1) Check the status of BBT acct & order checks for it (hopefully using the money that's already deposited into the acct).
2) Finish my first project for my new job and submit it.
3) Balance my Hometown acct checkbook.
4) Pay my cell phone bill.

I guess I should begin by outlining my current financial situation.

*INCOME*
My Current Salary: $36,000 (Yearly)
or ~$2,220/Month (After Taxes)
Signing Bonus (One-Time): ~$3,000

*ESTIMATED MONTHLY EXPENSES*
Rent: $875
Utilities: ~$100
Gas: ~$400
Cell Phone: ~$100
Internet: ~$55
Car Insurance: $55
Renters Insurance: $7
Life Insurance: $33
Other Life Insurance: $60
Groceries: ~$150
Pet Supplies: ~$50
Health/Dental/Vision Insurance: ~$130
401K Contributions: ~$85

=== +$120 For Debt Payments ===


*DEBT*
State Farm Credit Card: $6,473.54
FFB Credit Card: $2,042.62
Discover Credit Card: $2,043.69
Owed To Former Employer: $638.00
Owed To Former Apartment Complex: ~$2,000
Bank Loan: $803.56

=== Notes ===
The "Bank Loan" is actually my brother's expense, but I put it on here because the loan is in my name, so if by chance he couldn't come up with the money for the payment, I would pay it myself. Some of the amounts are estimated because the exact cost will be unknown until I get my first paycheck or the last day of the billing cycle closes, etc. Once these one-time payments get out of the way, I can budget more accurately.

As for the debt payments, I will have an estimated $120 (maybe more) to put towards them every month. The State Farm Credit Card will need about $90, The Discover Card about $15, and the FFB Credit Card about $15. That equals exactly the $120, which means I need to pay down these credit cards as quickly as possible!