My first day of school was awesome.
I did hurt myself though. I was trying to get into my car in a parking lot where spots are small and cars are big. I ripped my earring out of my ear and lost it.
It was actually quite painful.
But besides that, I have two classes on campus and one online. My professors are both fun and talkative, which I am too.
I feel that I will have a ton of fun this quarter.
I have been stupid with my money.
I spent $158 to a stupid fitness thing online. I didn't have to spend that much to get the info that I could have gotten for free. Hell, that could have paid for a year at a gym.
Boy I feel dumb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have bought my chest freezer that I began saving for so long ago.

It was under $120.00 total with tax and all. It was also a 5.0 CuFt freezer. The 3.5 cu ft units were on sale for $138.00 after $10 mail in rebate.

I went to the scratch and dent section and found one with some dirt on the front.
I came home and my magic eraser cleared that right up. Brand spanking new!
I love it. I will fill it up tomorrow.

I wonder if I should pay myself to walk and do my exercises.
I have walked 1.5 miles four days this week. Thursday I didn't because my neighbor had her grandchildren that morning.
How much would be enough for a mile?
and should I have to pay extra for when I don't walk? I wonder how long it will take for the snow to get to me and I not want to go.
So far, So good.
Next week is a real test though.
School starts at 9:30. I have been getting back from our walks at about 9:10.
Does that give me time for a shower? NO.
But, I can't start any earlier because I don't go until the boys get on the school bus.
I am going to buy a chest freezer tonight. I have waited over a year and that was my first goal on Smarty Pig.
I found one for $168 and it will suit my needs fine.
I believe with a $10 mail in rebate card, it's a good deal.

Ten things that helped me to...

Rack up Credit Card Debt.

10. I spent way too much money on clothing on my children when they were small. I should have been doing what I do now. Buying second hand and perusing clearance isles.

9. I cared about what other people thought about me. I spent money on things I didn't need. I didn't try to impress, but I didn't want people looking down on me.

8. I had a love affair with the dollar store. I went when I was upset, sad, bored, or didn't want to go home because it was nasty and full of clutter. Why was it full of clutter and hard to clean with two toddlers there? Due to my love affair with the dollar store.

7. I lost my job. That means that gas, groceries, cigarettes, and everything else that wasn't a bill went on my card. I opened up card after card, knowing that I didn't have the money to pay it back.

6. My live in partner and baby daddy didn't have a job either. There's more gas and expenses that I couldn't keep up with.

5. The ease of ordering things online. I could click and get. That is very tempting to do when you are sad about your situation.

4. Therapy shopping. That is the base of 4 or 5 of these. When I couldn't afford it anymore, what did I do? I spent time with my kids. They made me more happy then for some reason. Not that they didn't make me happy before, but they would upset me more often in the past. I think we were all going through some stress, with bills, clutter, and school issues to deal with, it's surprising they didn't take up smoking.

3. I thought if we had it all, we would be happy. How wrong I was!

2. Interest rates on maxed out cards are outrageous. I was buying $300 worth of stuff and paying $500 for it. DUH

1. I blame myself, but also the way I was raised, people I hung around, and way I looked at myself. I had to take a class in college that told us that our self esteem has a lot more to do with our lives than just your teen years. If you constantly tell yourself that you will not be able to do something, guess what, you can't do it. I told myself that things would make me happy. I told myself that people liked me because of what I had or how much money I had. I didn't want to instill that into my children, so I changed.

I bought an exercise machine. I spent $200 on it and my supped up pedometer. I have set a goal to use it 4 out of 7 days a week. How many times do you think I used it? Twice. Once when I built it to make sure it worked, and IT DID, and once to show my cousin how cool it was. She wanted one. I told her to use mine. Maybe then it would have been worth it.

She laughed.

I didn't.

I will use it tonight after folding laundry. I promise. I will even put my results on my weight loss page.
That will insure that I do it. I can't log on here until I do.
What motivation!

Well, I haven't found any money on our daily walks, but I can tell it is helping me with my energy for the day.

I bought Christmas yesterday. I walked into Target to buy some $1 nail polish remover and spent nearly $300.00
I did buy some furniture that I will give myself, along with 75% off clearance clothing for my boys and my BFF's daughter.

I feel good about the money I spent, even if it was a little much.
I just don't have to buy much when the season comes around.

Halloween costumes are next on my list.

We told pepole that we walked 3.2 miles today and they all laughed. One person said that there is no way it is that far.
We got in the car and retraced our steps, litteraly.
It wasn't 3.2 miles.
It was only 1.4 miles exactly.
I think my pedometer was set to killometers. It had to have been. It says miles on it now, but I have reset it since then.
So, 1.4 miles in 30 minutes.
Not bad for us who are just starting out.

Today is the day! Me and my neighbor started our walk. It took us exactly 30 minutes to walk 3.2 miles, taking 3376 steps and burning 188 calories. I am looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully we can add to the calorie side and the step side. I am glad that it only took 30 minutes too, since I am starting my fall quarter at school next week. That will give me just enough time to get the kids off to school, walk with her, come home, take a shower, and get dressed for the day. So far so good!

My neighbor was on the ball too. She found a penny and a nickel while we were walking. She kept her money, and I found a good CD someone lost out of their car. She said something that made me laugh so hard.
She said she was going to tell her husband that she made money being a street walker with me. 6 cents isn't a lot, but is more than I found.

Add some money to my $20 challenge balance!

$.20 found while drinking with my cousin last night. It was my DS2BH's birthday Saturday.

$82.55
+$0.20
-------
$82.95 balance since June of 08

I added some financial goals to my pages and weight goals to my weight page.
I found out some cool stuff on a web site and wanted to share. When I can do these things, I can see myself as financialy fit.

* As you take your next vacation, you know that it is completely paid for before you
leave.
* The next time a major appliance needs to be replaced, you have the money already
set aside.
* You never need to worry about checking the account balance at the bank before
you pay a bill.
* You look forward to making decisions regarding the education of your children,
because you are actively saving money for this purpose.
* You spend time planning and anticipating retirement, because you are debt free and prudently investing money to fund the lifestyle you want to have.

Okay, now when my younger cousin came over today to get out of her house, I expected her to keep me company while I did my house chores. I certainly did not expect her to do my dishes for me. I used that time to do laundry and picking up my living room. I told her that I would give her some gas money, as she did not have any gas. I also told her that I would buy her daughter's soccer team some Capri Sun drinks for their game this weekend.
When I tried to give her $10, she refused it. I did end up giving her two bucks and she was happy. She said that if I was going to pay her for doing my dishes, she would come over every week. I asked her if she vacuumed too. She said yes.
Would it be so bad if she made some much needed income? She doesn't have a job.
I need my house clean and I go to school full time and have a part time job.
I don't see who gets hurt here. I may get the house clean and not need to pay her anymore, and she will have to find money elsewhere, but for the time being, this is a win-win for everyone involved.
Right?

I won a game of Mahjong today!
Add another dollar to my $20 challenge money.

$82.55
+$1.00
-------
$83.55 total for $20 challenge since June

I found two nickels and one dime in the washer today. Woo Hoo.
That is my payment for doing everyone elses stuff before my own. I wouldn't have found money out of my clothes.

$82.35
+$0.20
-------
$82.55 Total for my $20 Challenge

I went to my mom's today since she had stuff to show me on her computer.
I was leaving her house and on her step, under some bushy flowers, laid a dime.
Now, I didn't say my lucky phrase, but something much more mean.
When I received my check from land, I knew I wouldn't be on easy street, but that it would help. Now that I have dug myself out of the hole, I am tottering on the edge.
I reached out to that dime and said "Dime, I found it, it's mine!"

That's a little different from usual. I realized that I do need every dime I can get and I will stop at nothing to save every found cent!

$82.25
+$.01
------
$82.35 $20 challenge total from June 2008

I bragged about selling my textbooks online at Amazon. I made a good hunk of change.
$365
I have not received my funds that were due on 9/11/08.
I understand about waiting to clear. I remember the pending transactions of $1.00 from amazon but there was never a clearing from them. The transaction was a debit of $1.00. I figured that it was to verify my account. No problem.
Instead of me seeing money in my account, I receive an email that states my account info is not accurate due to a mis-key. Not likely. I double ch3ck all of my letters, numbers, and passwords. I cannot log into my amazon account to figure out what is wrong. It keeps saying that my password is wrong. I know it is right.
I request a new password sent to my email. It says wait for one. One never comes. I called the company who sent the email, they stated they are the company who accepts payments for amazon. I read her the email word for word to let her know this is the number it said to call. She gives me another number anyway.
I call it. She has no idea what I am talking about and keeps telling me that she is not the company I want. I tell her that the company I want gave me her number.
She transferred me to an Amazon.com Customer Service Representative.
This person can help me as little as possible, and is from the original company!!!
She cannot log into my account because it is on hold and under review. Why would it be under review? She doesn't know why they do it.
She will forward my issue to an account specialist. They will email me.
No. I am talking to a real person about this. Transfer me or give me another number to call. I will not wait another three days to figure out what you are doing with my money.

Due to the nature of their jobs, the account specialists do not have phones.

Are you fricking kidding me???

No.

Why is this happening to me?
I just want my money that I get for selling my books. You made your money off of me, since you get a commission off of sales, but no charges until a sale is final and paid for. It sounded perfect. One could say it was too good to be true. And you know what they say about something that sounds too good to be true don't you?

I finally played a game of mah jong!
I won of course, so I will take a page from IMA and count it towards my Challenge total. I believe it is a dollar a game when you win, is that right?
I will put it in the bank tomorrow.

Previous $20 Challenge total:

$81.35
+$1.00
-------
$82.35

Thank you to the person who fixed the control panel button.
I was stressing, but found out that the new entry button worked the way it should.
The people who put this site together and run it for people like me are saints in my book, if that stands for anything.
I do appreciate all you do for us.
I look forward to thanking you again when you help me to get my financial life in order.
To all of those who were lost and are now found, make sure you thank people along the way. They do help and like to hear that they did!

I don't want to take any online classes and they are making me. I figure that I am paying the school to teach me, not for me to teach me. I also have to pay an extra $90 for my online class, which means I am losing twice. I am trying to keep an open mind, but as my meeting with financial aid didn't go as well as I had planned, and that is where I found out about the online class, it is getting harder and harder to do.

Does anyone have any suggestions for dealing with college personnel in getting what you want out of them?

Money Saving Tip


Don't purchase gasohol if possible. Some areas require gasohol (a mixture of gas and ethanol for your car. Ethanol is alcohol made from grain) because using it for fuel is considered a way to help farmers as well as help cut pollution. The problem is that ethanol contains only about two-thirds the energy of gasoline which means gasohol forces you to use more to go the same distance.


I did not know that, but it is a good thing I don't use it, huh.
I figured that the alcohol would burn faster anyway.

It's finals week. I was stressing all weekend. I didn't have my final projects ready to go and I was worried about the tests tomorrow and Thursday. I can swing it, and I did with my papers. I had to finish typing it last night and do a presentation today. I have such faith in myself that I winged two presentations and did great on both of them. It helps that I can make the class and teacher laugh, and I think that is what bumps my score up.
With my first presentation, we just sorta talked about why we picked the topic we did and threw out some facts that we had on some charts. I also had some extra charts that were printed in black and white that we passed around. PLUS
The presentation I did today was about psychedelic drugs and I talked about how they could help people and how I don't recommend using them without a DR supervision. When I told them that there was nothing in my paper about the street usage and where to obtain, but they could see me after class. The teacher even laughed, knowing that I was joking.
I love the fact that I have a year under my belt and my second year doesn't seem that it will be that hard.
School is going great. I love the challenge it is giving me too.

On my thrifty Tuesday, I have gone over my financial aid with school, checked on sale prices at the grocery store, and I plan on clipping coupons later tonight. Woo Hoo. This thing is really coming together for us. It's a good thing too, since I am back to having enough for the bills and that is it. I will have to break the news to the boys that there is no more out to eat or what are you buying us to eat. Casseroles all around!!!!!

I have spent and/or saved all of my money that I got from selling my land. I didn't expect it to last long anyway. I am glad that I managed to pay off some bills and that I can worry a little less, but this really didn't help me with my money management skills any.
I did save half of the money. Maybe it was a little less than half, but it was a size-able chunk anyway.

I can't wait until I can post all of my interest from Smarty Pig. I have gotten over $2 on one account already. That is amazing. My mom told me to be careful though. All of these big name banks are going belly up and I need to watch it and get my money out in time.
She was telling me that Wachovia and Merrill Lynch is where her 401(k) is and that I will need this info when she dies so I know where to get it. I told her to have that stuff ready to go before she dies.
I am sorry to talk about that so lightly, but eventually, you, me, and everyone we know will die. I think that it doesn't affect me as much since I have dealt with death at a young age. I was 16 when my dad passed away and that really hurt, but I was never one to let my emotions get the best of me and I always try to joke my way around tough things. That is what helps me get around those feelings, just joking about it. Taking death lightly is what gets me through it. I don't mean to be rude about it, but I am sure that if someone over heard me, they may be offended. I would never say anything to purposely to offend, but like I said, that is just me.
You're welcome for the bring down, about death and me spending all of my money.

My computer has a virus. I bought a new one. It was $399 but total for all I walked out of the store with was $569+$69.
He forgot to add my service plan on there so I had to pay again.
I paid off my son's tuition so me and the secretary who writes the receipts is happy.
I also will have to get gas in my vehicle, so that will be a major purchase too.
I have paid enough on my credit card and I am happy to have gotten extra money on there. I am also looking forward to my credit clearing up in 10 years. THANKS FIRST PREMIER BANK! [sarcasm intended] I was yelling it.
Check out the amount of interest on my monies at smarty pig.com. I am very happy!

I previously posted about my weight loss and how reporting to you, the public, I could get better results. My money issues have since cleared up and I have focused on fixing my credit and saving money for my family's future.
My neighbor, not my cousin, came to me today and offered to walk the road with me every morning when our kids get on the bus. She is very skinny and is trying to build muscle. I am trying to quit smoking and lose weight.
Her idea of doing it everyday, at least every weekday, and recording the info: how long we walked, what our pedometers say, time and date, was a great idea. The fact that she asked me to do it with her makes me feel good too. She cares about my health and I do hers too.

We are very good friends, have been living next to each other for over four years, and have made a connection between our families.
We will now step into another demention together: Health.

I believe I will start a new page on the side bar to track our progress too.
Thanks for all your support!

If you hadn't noticed on my side bar, I have added a weight loss ticker. I figured if the facing up to other people about my finances worked in keeping me under control, maybe that would too. I also only weigh myself four times a year, when I get my birth control shot. I added the ticker before I went so that I could see what I had lost since three months ago. Good news is that I gained 0lbs. Bad news for me is that I loss nothing.
I will continue to lessen my portions and drink less pop.
I will try to watch what I am eating and the boys too. I don't want them dealing with weight issues when they are growing up. Neither is in risk, but I know that the older you get, the pressure you feel from peers looking at you and what they think about you is strong.
I look forward to updating my ticker in December, and I will not weigh myself before then.

I found a penny on the ground and said out loud, "It's my lucky day!"
I was in the parking lot, getting the boys in the car, and found money.
It's just that easy folks.
You find money, you feel good, and you say it out loud.

Challenge Balance
$80.12+$.02=$80.12

My cousin did use my shower 3 or 4 times, but I don't think that I will ask her for any money. She is the type that would always make things even. She did use my dryer this morning, but we talked about that a week ago; How she would give me money on my light bill, since my dryer is electric.
I don't mind either since she is family. If I had a new neighbor move in and asked for these things, FORGET IT. But, I love her and would do anything for her. I offered her to sleep on my couch when her sister told me she was tired of her.
Thank goodness she didn't stay with me for three weeks, only one night.
I would have asked her for money then. Things like food, water, and lights are expensive, but how do you ask someone for money for these things if they obviously have nothing. She was squatting for a reason. She doesn't have a job since she is going to school full time. She still has to pay her other major bills, like car payment, insurance, cell phone, and the like. She also had to shell out a lot of money to move in next door and get the utilities up to date at her old place to change them over to here.

I am still happy she is there!

Today, I had cable hook up internet and I am at my home computer!YES!
As soon as the guy left, I helped my cousin pay her gas bill online.
She said she tried to do it at home, since she had cable 3 days before me, and didn't know her account number.

"Do you have any old checks with the account number on it?"

"Yes."

"Go get them and we will try it out."

"Ok."

She then left to go get it and get this, it was from 2004. Whatever, it worked.
She then went downtown to have them turn it on. She will be showering in her own house by tomorrow(hopefully).

Tuesday, I forgot to leave my door unlocked for her to shower. She said that she couldn't go anywhere since she didn't shower. I laughed at her and said, I saw that when I pulled up and your trash can was still sitting there. Couldn't even get the trash can without showering.
LOL
(I have never ever used that before. I thought is was kinda stupid, but it makes for shorter typing.)

I just paid another $130.00 on a credit card. Woo Hoo!
With this extra money that I was needing for so long, my life is easier.
I just don't want to depend on it too much, as it won't last too much longer.
I am glad I saved some of it, but I am spending a little less discretionarily.
I do hope that with my cards and utilities paid up in full, I can breath a little easier at night, even if my balance in my account is low like before.
The interest that I earn on my savings will be worth it!

I solved my cousins problem with having no place to live. She was squatting on her sisters couch and driving her and her family crazy. I offered for her to sleep on my couch instead of theirs. She only took me up on it for one night. Now she is living in the other side of my double, has her own couch to sleep on, since she doesn't have a bed yet, found her a fridge and stove for cheap, and moved some heavy stuff in.
Now I have a problem. She is always using my shower, adding to my gas and water bill. Should I charge her? She asked if she could dry some clothes at my house and wanted to give me $10 for my bill. But she hasn't done any laundry yet, only showered. I do want her to get on her feet again, and I know she is having problems with her ex and an old gas bill, along with a car payment and such, but I have two children I have to pay for and all the bills they incure.
I don't want to be a bi@#h, but I don't want to say no either.
PLEASE HELP