Hello February

Oh hey!  Don't mind me, just over here blogging 2 days in a row!

I just wanted to pop in quick, mostly in hopes of getting the blogging mojo flowing, & share a few things that I am looking forward to this month!

-Officially moving

Even though our lease doesn't technically end until March 3rd, the last night Danny & I will be sleeping at the apartment is this Thursday & we'll be moving the remainder of the stuff on the 15th

-My friend Meg's "baby sprinkle"

She is due with her 2nd baby, 1st girl, mid-April

-Valentine's Day

Even though we don't have any real plans...I haven't truly been with someone on Valentine's Day in about 4 years...

-Doing my taxes

I'm actually sad I couldn't get them done in January this year but I'm a nerd about doing shit like taxes...

What are you looking forward to this month?

6 Ways I Plan To Save

1. Getting a roommate
Depending on what unit we end up with, this will save me anywhere from approximately $120-$230/mo on rent & utilities

2. Living closer to my job

I was previously driving 30 miles to work, ONE WAY!  While I'll still have a drive to work, I'll essentially be cutting it in half.  This will save me about $35-50/mo

3. Suspend/Cancel Audible

Currently it's just suspended for 3 months but I may end up just canceling it all together.  Between the purchased books & the free books, I have 12 unfinished books in my library.  I know there are ways to listen to books for free through public libraries, & because I have Amazon Prime, there are also some free books on there.  I do have actual hard copy books that I still need to read too.  Not paying for Audible will save me about $15/mo

4. Groceries

In theory I was setting aside $200/mo for groceries (more on this in a minute).  In reality I was spending $35-$50/week on groceries.  When I move back down I'm going to challenge myself to $25/week.  I plan on doing that for at least the first month & then seeing how it goes.  I definitely don't need to be spending $50/week though when it's just me.  This will save me $40-100/mo

5. "Fun" Money

So as I stated above I was setting aside $200/mo for groceries.  Without paying strict attention to what I was actually spending my hypothetical plan for post bills spending was $200 for gas, $200 for groceries, & $400 for fun.  As you read above I was spending $140-200 on groceries & my gas was really only $100-150.  And yet I was almost always left with $150 or less at the end of the month in my checking AND putting stuff on credit cards.  So credit cards aside that means I was spending closer to $400-500/mo on fun & unnecessary things.  That's absurd!  My new goal... no credit cards & $300 for "fun."  This will save me AT MINIMUM $100/mo

6. Cell Phone
I'll be done paying for my current cell phone in September & I don't have any intention of getting a new one until I absolutely have to.  That will save me $26.77/mo once it's paid off

Just these 6 things should save me anywhere from $336-522+/mo

I should also mention though that I will most likely be taking a pay cut because I will no longer be coaching.  I will hopefully soon be finding out just what my new annual salary is once I sign my paperwork for my new district.  Either way, saving money is necessary.  Even if I don't take a pay cut equal to my savings, I do have debt that I need to take care of!

What are different things that you do to save money each month?

In The Freezer

12,229.71

As of this past Sunday that's how high my credit card debt had hit.  That's high.  Now I know it could be higher, & lots of people do have higher CC debt, but I don't care it's still really high & I'm ready to be done with it.  I pay $600 a month on my cards, which is above the minimum, but it doesn't do anything because I turn around & put it right back on there.  So, I literally put them in the freezer.  Spending freeze for real y'all.  Next week I get my last check from my old district & then next month I'll get my first check from my current district.  After taking a much harder look at my spending, & seeing what my new checks look like I'll reevaluate how much I put into savings & how much I pay off on my cards every month.  At the current rate it will take me almost 2 years to get them all paid off if I put nothing else on them.  However, that's a whole lot sooner than it would be if I kept going with my current way of spending.

Besides apps, what are some ways y'all save money??

And because it's Friday:

Moments I'm Grateful For

4 - Meeting a cute guy at dance lessons

5 - Free tacos for lunch

6 - Incubus/Jimmy Eat World concert

7 - Making new social studies teacher friends

8 - How well my volleyball girls played

9 - Getting out of work early

10 - A 2.5 hour lunch break

Part 1 of My First Ever Spending Freeze

Three weeks ago I decided that I needed to do a big time spending freeze.  Even though I had more money than normal in savings, I wanted to be able to keep it that way.  Plus, I have a trip to Denver coming up in June that I wanted to make sure I could still afford come then.  I decided to do the spending freeze over 2 pay periods because I had hurt myself big time within the first week of the first pay period because of 2 concerts & because I wanted to come out ahead, not just break even.

So the first part of my spending freeze spanned March 30 - April 19 & allowed for 3 exceptions: Big Texas Beer Festival, my Houston trip, & eating out on nights I had grad school.  Here's how I did.

Week 1: 3/30-4/5

Thursday March 30: I spent $0.

Friday March 31: I spent $13 at happy hour & $7.57 on beer for kickball.  I spent $20.57

Saturday April 1: I spent $28.05 on Uber.  That's also all I spent at all of the beer festival.  I also spent $2 at the airport dropping my friend off.  I spent $30.05

Sunday April 2: I spent $18.40 on groceries.

Monday April 3: I spent $0

Tuesday April 4: I spent $0

Wednesday April 5: I spent $7.55 at Old Chicago because I won a free calzone but then felt bad not paying for something so I got a beer.  I also spent $21.83 on groceries & $30.44 on gas.  I spent $59.82

Total: I spent $128.84 (70.67 was on necessities, 28.05 was 100% an exception, 28.12 was questionable adjusted exceptions, & 2 was just unplanned.)

I had made eating out before/going out after class on Thursdays an exception.  I did not spend anything on Thursday so I justified the going out Friday & the beer with my free calzone Wednesday.

Week 2: 4/6-4/12

Thursday April 6: I spent $7.76 on supper before grad school

Friday April 7: I spent $21.35 on going out after kickball, but got $10 in cash for it from a friend, & justified it because I didn't go out after class on Thursday.  I also spent $33.47 on an oil change which was not planned but 100% necessary because I realized it had been 7000 miles since my last one.  I spent $44.82

Saturday April 8: I spent $25.27 on groceries & $ 11.41 on gas.  I spent $36.68

Sunday April 9: I spent $0

Monday April 10: I spent $0

Tuesday April 11: I spent $0

Wednesday April 12: I spent $0

Total: I spent $89.26 (70.15 was on necessities, 7.76 was 100% an exception, & 11.35 was a questionable adjusted exception)

Just like with the first week I didn't go out after grad school on Thursday so even though I did eat supper before class, I justified going out after kickball on Friday because I didn't go out after class Thursday.

Week 3: 4/13-4/19

Thursday April 13: I spent $0

Friday April 14: I spent $29.07 on gas, got $20 out of an ATM with a $2.95 fee, $2.21 at a gas station getting water & a snack, & $78.42 eating & going out in Houston.  I spent $132.65

Saturday April 15: I spent $28.84 on gas, $10.52 getting food & drinks at gas stations, $35.69 eating out & on souvenir type things in Houston, & $6.62 on groceries.  I spent $81.67

Sunday April 16: I spent $27.68 on groceries

Monday April 17: I spent $9.07 on eating out

Tuesday April 18: I spent $31.38 on gas

Wednesday April 19: I spent $0

Total: I spent $282.45 (123.59 was on necessities, 149.79 was for Houston which was an exception, & 9.07 was flat out not allowed)

Full disclosure: I also spent
$89.50 on a hotel room in Dallas (but it came out of my Houston Savings)
$296.40 on a plane ticket (but it was for a wedding I'm in & because it's over a holiday weekend I was too afraid to wait until the end of May to book it...it came out of savings)
$216.45 on new brakes which came out of savings

Overall I don't think I did too bad.  I didn't go insane with my exceptions, I ate out a lot less than I normally do, & spent less on eating out when I did go out.  Of course the brakes were definitely unexpected & the plane ticket is not a normal expense.  I know those are the things that my savings are for but it still hurts to pull from there.

It's Time To Freeze

I have never done a spending freeze.  Not for real.  I've talked about it plenty of times, but I've yet to pull the trigger.  Mostly because I feel like when I do think about it it's when I have a ton of stuff coming up where I'll be spending money.  However, yesterday I finally sat down & looked at my finances.  Normally I'm really good at tracking my spending right away but I hadn't done it yet for this pay period which started on the 20th.  I knew I had spent more than normal simply because I went to a concert on the 21 & again on the 25.  

I normally set aside 800/mo for gas, groceries, & going out.  As of yesterday I had just over $475 of that left...for the remaining 3 weeks.  Yikes.  Now luckily, I had also put way more in savings than I normally do too.  However, even though I had already planned on using part of that for an upcoming trip, I don't want to have to dip beyond that.  So starting today until May 18, I'm going on a spending freeze.  For someone who has never done a spending freeze at all, nearly 2 months might be a bit extreme but it needs to be done.

So here's my plan:

1)No eating/going out

**This is honestly my biggest problem.  Now like I said, this has been a weird pay period because of the 2 concerts right away, but within the first 10 days I spent almost $225 at bars/restaurants...**

2)No unnecessary purchases

Remainder of my current pay period (Mar 30-Apr 19) exceptions

1)Big Texas Beer Festival
**I already have my ticket purchased.  I wasn't originally going to get a hotel since I only live 40 min away but because it'll probably be the last time I see the best friend for awhile it just seemed smarter to get a hotel over there so I didn't have to worry about drinking & leaving late.  Plus, because I'm cutting my Houston trip short (see below) my Dallas hotel is basically in place of my 2nd Houston hotel so the money for that is coming out of my Houston fund.**

2)Houston

**I have had this trip planned for a couple of months now.  I was originally going to go down the 14-16 but for the past week or so I've been going back & forth or whether or not I wanted to be there for 3 days or just 2.  Well my finances decided for me.  I'll head down there Friday morning & leave Saturday evening.  That way I can save on eating out & the second night hotel can go to BTBF above.**

3)Grad School Class Nights

**I'm actually not going to class tonight so that I can work on my case study but the 6th & 13th I will be.  I'm also not entirely sure if we'll go out both or either of those days but we normally do go out after class & since my friend Katherine is moving at the end of April I'm not going to skip out on our last few chances to hang out before then.**

Exceptions for (Apr 20-May 18) pay period

1)Grad School Class Nights

**Only 2 actually fall in this pay period because class ends April 27**

2)Girls Night Out

**Like I mentioned my friend Katherine is moving at the end of April so we're having a girls night on the 22**

3)2 Non-Grad School/Girls Night Eating Out

**I don't even know that I'll actually use these.  I have no plans & would like to keep it that way at least until grad school ends.  This also doesn't mean I can eat out just because I feel like it.  But if a friend happens to invite me out & I'm free then I can say okay twice.  I honestly don't know that I see this happening just because the people that I would hang out with will either be gone, dealing with the same teaching & grad school balancing act as me, or works opposite hours.**

So there you have it.  Unless it's gas, groceries, or any of the above listed exceptions it's not happening.  Even in my exceptions I'm not going to let myself go crazy with how much I'm spending.

For those of you that have done a spending freeze before, any tips or suggestions??

September Financial Goals

I know September started almost a week ago, but my OCD makes me start certain things at certain times.  Sometimes it has to be the start of the year, or a season, or a month, or sometimes it simply has to be a Sunday.  My financial goals, at least this time around, had to be on a Sunday.

Spending Money

**No more than $50/week on groceries**

**No more than $30/week on gas**

**No more than $50/week on going out/eating out**

**No spending other than bills & what's allotted for gas, groceries, going out/eating out**

Saving Money

**Get all of my loans put on in school deferment**

Earning Money

**Donate plasma twice a week**

**Start subbing -- at least twice a week**

**Find a new/different serving job**

Money Money Money

About a year ago I put my student loan debt business online. I decided that I wanted to do so again.  I wanted to take a look at how far I had come on my student loan debt since this time last year.  I wanted to add something to it though this year, my credit card debt.  Why?  Because it's outrageous & I need to change my ways.  So not only do I want to make a note of it on the blog so I can look back on this next year & hopefully be happy with how far I've come, I also want to basically publicly shame myself in hopes that it'll give me a bigger kick in the butt to work on it if other people know just how deep I'm in.

Student Loans

Just in case you don't feel like reading the whole run down on how I got myself into so much student debt, here's a quick where I was a year ago.  This time last year I had $72,657.91.  I had paid down $5,143.19 cents in a year, & $10,875.55 since I had first tracked my debt in July 2013.  At the time I was about to start my 4th year teaching in a Title I school district & was planning on teaching a least 5 years in a Title I district in order to get $5,000 of my federal loans.

As of today I have $65,861.43 still out in loans.  When I got my refund check back in February/March I paid off my smallest loans so now I only have 4 out instead of 5.  It may not have had a ton left on it when I did so, less than $800, it still felt so amazing to have one out of the way finally.  Over the past year I've paid of $6,796.48.  My next smallest loan is $5,311.81 so I know my next refund check won't pay it off, but I have every intention of using at least part of it to pay that down as well.  On my current 101 in 1001 list I have a goal of having my student loans at 60k or less by March 24, 2018.  Seeing where I'm at right now I know I'll have no problems in doing that.  On the flip side, I won't be doing 5 years of teaching so goodbye $5,000 off my federal loans.  I'm also planning on starting grad school this fall, & while it has a pretty low sticker price as far as grad school is concerned, I know for sure I won't be able to pay for it out of pocket, at least not the first term.  I also know, because I've already applied, that I don't qualify for financial aid.  I also can't apply for any scholarships through the school until this fall, because of missed deadlines, so even if I apply/qualify for those, they won't apply until spring term.  I am applying for outside scholarships, but there is a very good chance that I'll have to take out a small loan to cover at least the fall term.

Credit Cards

Onto the debt that makes me so sad because, while I know people have way higher credit card debt than I do, it's still high, unnecessary, & 100% my fault.  When I was in high school I got my first credit card because I was going to Europe so I got it as a back up form of money in case my debit card didn't work.  I didn't use it.  I used it randomly in high school but always paid it off in full.  It also had a $500 limit & the first time that I used it & wasn't able to pay it off in full, was the last time I used it.  I paid it off in 2 months & then stopped using my credit card.

I didn't use a credit card again until I was 23 & I only used it because I was moving down to Texas & needed to buy a bed.  I was then moved to a $1500 limit.  I was pretty good with it for the most part.  I didn't always pay it in full but $1500 never really hurt me.  I also had a Target credit card with a $500 limit because I had used it to buy a camera & save that 5%.  I never really used that though.  I would randomly put stuff on that one but I think within a year I had decided to pay it all off & never use it again.  I don't remember exactly when I did it, it's been a year or better, but I also paid off that $1500 limit bank credit card & haven't used it since.  

So what got me into trouble?  Wanting to get miles.  In January 2014 I decided to apply for a credit card that would give me miles.  That had a very attractive into offer.  If you spent x amount of money in x amount of months you would receive a shit ton of miles.  (Sorry this was 2.5 years ago I don't remember the specifics.)  Now, if I had thought it through more I would have been able to get all of those miles.  What I did was put all of my bills on the credit card each month & then paid it off.  Unfortunately, certain bills obviously didn't qualify (loans/rent)  So instead of doing the smart thing & putting everything I was buying (gas/groceries/going out) & paying that off, I kept using my debit card for the rest so I never got the miles.  When I first applied for the credit card back in 2014 I had a $2,500 limit.  Still a manageable, not so scary limit.

By May, while I was still under $1,000 on the card, I was no longer just using it for bills.  I wasn't even just using it for my normal going out.  I had used it to get my hair done, concerts, etc.  It was at that point I was no longer paying it in full.  By June I was at almost $2,000 & the following month they raised my limit $5,000. (I knew that wasn't going to be a good thing but I didn't stop using the card.)  Around May 2015 they raised my limit yet again to $8,000.  I told myself I wasn't going to let myself ever max that out.  7 months later in December 2015 they raised my limit to $11,000.  I once again said I will NOT max that out or let myself get close to that limit.  7 months later I still have *only* an $11,000 limit.  However, I'm almost at that limit.  My June statement had me at $10,713.52.

It was at the end of May/early June that I finally decided I needed to do something.  I have not used my credit card since June 4.  It may not be a huge step, but it is a step none the less.  My current balance is only slightly lower, $10,468.21, but it is going down.  With one month under my belt, I'm in the process of trying to make a 2nd month happen.  Without knowing exactly what my financial situation will be when I move back down to Texas in August, I can't guarantee that I won't use it at all, but IF I have to use it it will only be for things that will keep my bills paid/food in my mouth/roof over my head.

In Case That's Too Much To Read

In case you looked at that & said OMG thats too much to read... I'll just give you the sticker shock...

Student Loan Debt: $65,861.43

Credit Card Debt: $10,468.21

Total Debt (not including car): $76,329.64

How I'm Trying To Save/Be Responsible
I have had Swagbucks for quite awhile now.  When I first got it I was all about it & then it got pushed to the side & I would forget about it & maybe randomly take the daily poll but that'd be it.  Within the past year though I've started using it more again.  It stared where I would just use it to book my flights & hotels but over the past couple of months I've started taking the surveys religiously.  I used to use it to get Amazon gift cards however now, I save up my points & every time I have enough I get the $25 paypal credit.  If you don't already have it, you can click the link above & sign up through me.

I also VERY recently started using Ibotta.  I haven't earned a whole lot simply because I'm still at my parents' for the summer & therefore don't have to buy a lot.  I only have $12.50 so far, but considering I've only used it to buy eggs & tampons once each, that's not so bad.  If you click the link above & sign up through me you'll get $10 after you apply your first rebate.  Just like with Swagbucks you can redeem either gift cards or pay pal cash.

In addition to trying to earn money through Swagbucks & Ibotta, as well as using my credit card as little as possible, I signed up for a free account on Mint.com so that I can see where I'm spending money, eventually set up a budget once I'm back in Texas & know what my bills will be/what I'm earning, & also set up goals such as paying off debts or saving for whatever.

When I Win A Billion Dollars

On a whim I bought 10 Powerball numbers.  I never play the lottery.  Partly because if I do play some type of lottery it's scratch offs, mostly because I never have cash.  However, with the jackpot being so high I thought "why the hell not?!"  So I did.

Random Fun Fact: If I hypothetically took the lump sum I'd get 71,303,750 more now living in Texas than if I was still living in Minnesota.

So when I win what's my plan?

Step 1: Call mama & daddy because even at 27 I'd need them to share with them as well as have them calm me the hell down.

Step 2: Call a good attorney.

Step 3: Call a good investor.

I would then try my hardest to wait a solid month or 2 before coming forward to claim it.  Having to go to work for more than a day pretending like nothing happened would be so difficult but I would do my best.

Mr. Midwest & I already agreed that if either one of us wins we'd split it

With my lowly (lol jk) remaining half of nearly 369,000,000 I would:

Pay of all of my debt, my parents' debt, my brother's debt.

Pay the remaining months of my lease in full, tell my roommate & her now husband bye, & move the fuck out into...

The house that I would buy.  I wouldn't buy anything huge or crazy fancy but I would buy a nice house with a decent size piece of land for my...

Cows...I'd finally buy some mother effing cows & horses.

I'd buy a 2011-2013 bright blue Ford F150 extended cab.

Put 99% of it in savings/investments

Travel the world

Follow Eric Church on a tour

Drop the mic & quit my job.

For the record 0, $0 is what I won...

140 days til summer...

My Archnemesis: Sallie Mae

When I was in college I was an idiot.  A lazy idiot when it came to how I paid for school.  

My senior year of high school I got one scholarship.  Despite having a high GPA & being involved in damn near everything I think I only got one for National Honor Society.  Despite the fact that you aren't supposed to put your name on the applications, you could tell I went to high school in a small town where who you are is everything.  The students that got the most scholarships?  The people who had parents with important names in town.  Funny how that works...  Of course it's also my fault that I didn't apply for outside scholarships & only those that the school told me about.  I also didn't apply for a single scholarship once I was in college.  Stupid.  I know.  My stupidity is why I have told every single one of my seniors since day 1 that I don't care if they think they'll get it or not, or even if they don't qualify for it, to apply.  The money HAS to go to someone if anyone applies to it.

There's also the whole FAFSA application that damn near every student fills out every single year that they're in college.  I have major beef with FAFSA.  Why?  Because it only takes into account what your gross income is.  Not what you make after taxes, not the fact that you actually have to pay for stuff.  It also, in my opinion, fucks over the middle class.  If you are dirt poor you get money like crazy.  If you are super rich your parents can in fact actually pay for you to go to college.  If you're like my parents, FAFSA tells you that you can pay for your child to go to college & gives you a $500 grant one time for the 5 years you spend in college when in fact, you cannot afford to help your child.

So how did I pay for college?  Loans.  Loans.  Oh, & more loans.  I will take half the blame because of my lack of scholarship applications.  I know that there is definitely more that I could have done to reduce the amount I took out in loans.  However, the other half of the blame I do place on the system.

I don't know exactly how much I took out in the 5 years I attended.  I know about how much I took out my first 4 years & I know that it was less my 5th year.  Without interest I estimate that I took approximately 70,000 out in loans...most of which are private.  Because my parents couldn't afford to pay for college they did pay the interest on my loans while I was in college.  I'm not sure what the starting amount was when I began repaying them in November 2012 because I didn't bother to check...I just paid every month.  The first time I really looked into it was July 2013.  At that point I owed 83,500.  I looked again last July & I was down to 77,800.  A little over 2.5 years into the repayment of my loans I am now down to 72,600.

Although I pay to 5 different student loan bills each month, Sallie Mae gets the title of Archnemesis because she holds 67% of my student loan debt.  Death to Sallie!

There are definitely days when I feel like I may never have them all paid off.  Within this past year though I cut one of my loans in half & now owe less than $800 on it.  I am also starting my 4th year of teaching in a Title I school & after 5 years I can get up to $5000 forgiven in federal loans.  There is also another program for teachers where if I stay in education for 10 years & make 120 consecutive on time payments, whatever is remaining in federal loans is forgiven.  The only real kicker that most of my loans are private but anything that they are willing to forgive, I'm willing to take.

If I Had A Million Dollars

Not sure how many of you saw this commercial after the Super Bowl...I didn't.  With 10 minutes left I gave up & went home.  I did however see an article about it this morning on Buzzfeed (in case you've forgotten about my love of Buzzfeed...).  So obviously I jumped on the bandwagon & literally everything I tweeted about yesterday had that hashtag attached to it.  Let's be honest my chances of winning are slim but it sure would be sweet if I did.  I spent all day Monday wondering what in the world I would do with 1.5 million dollars.  To be honest, I haven't a clue.  I even figured even if I only wound up with 400K after all the taxes & jazz I didn't know how I'd spend it all but I'm about to try for y'all...

Pay of student loan debt - $85k

Pay of car loan - $11k

2014 Ford F150 - $40k

Parents - 300k

Brother - 50k

Future Wedding/Honeymoon - 50k

Future kids' college - 400k

Credit Card debt - 2k

Charity - 50k

Favorite Cousin - 10k

Savings - 52k

New clothes - 10k

House - 300k

Travel - 100k

New Gadgets - 15k

Boom!  In all honesty, that was such a struggle.  For starters not only would my parents never accept 300k, I wouldn't wish the taxes upon them nor do I know what they'd do with it...same goes for my brother & his 50k.  There is no way in hell I want to spend 50k on my future wedding/honeymoon.  No way in hell.  I also don't know what I would do with 10k in clothes...I wouldn't need that many clothes & I wouldn't want super expensive clothes...  15k in gadgets??  I don't even know what kind of gadgets I'd want.  Right now I'm just pissed off at my laptop which is where that came from.  I'm not quite sure how people blow through that kind of money so fast.  The only things I would made sure happened would be that my loans, credit cards, & car would be paid off.  That right there would give me an extra 1300-1400 a month... I'd be livin the life with an extra $15000-$17000 a year.  So please, someone just give me $100k & I'll be happy...

Potential Government Shutdown

Don't worry, for those of you who don't live in Minnesota this doesn't affect you.  But with exactly 3 weeks to go, and no light at the end of the tunnel in sight, I'm really starting to freak out.  Besides the dozens of things that will be affected by the shut down, on a personal note, I won't be able to go back to school in the fall & my dad will get laid off from his job.  Not going back to school means that not only will I me another semester behind but also that I will start having to back back the mountain of student loans that I have.  And although my dad is not a state employee, his job does require him to go through state inspectors who would be laid off due to the shut down. 

Here is an article from a few days ago that basically outlines what is currently going on & some of what would be affected by the shut down.

Minnesota state workers girding for a shutdown.

Time To Start Saving

It's time to put myself on a budget of sorts. I can't really set-up a monthly budget or anything because my hours are never consistent. Also, I do have loan money so my bills are basically paid off through those. It's only the 15th & I've eaten out 5 times already. That's actually pretty impressive though. I used to eat out almost everyday. Eating out is definitely somewhere I need to cut back on. Because all my bills are paid off through my loans my paychecks are spending money which means I'm wasting a lot of money because I pretty much blow through my paycheck every two weeks. That's about $200 on unnecessary things. This needs to stop. 1)Because spending that much money is just unnecessary 2)I need to save for bigger things such as the new brakes I'm going to be needing & Ireland. Sure Ireland is still about a year and a half away but that's a lot of money I'll need saved up.

To start this little project off I am going to:
~Stop buying stupid tabloid magazines. Let's make that all magazines (sorry Cosmo you're out too)
~Make a weekly meal plan (starting by using up the stuff I already have before I go grocery shopping)
~Start cutting coupons again (I did really good with this for quite awhile)
~Bring a lunch to school (Bye bye Subway)
~Try to cut down on eating out to once a week (This is honestly going to be the hardest)
~Put $25 of each check into savings

That seems good for now. This is definitely going to take some getting used to but I am really going to try my hardest to stick to it. I've already spend just over $280 this month & that's not bills. Some of that was necessary: wedding present, groceries, & sending out a birthday present. But the rest wasn't: eating out, buying unnecessary things, going out.

I already have my meal plan for this next week (17-23) pretty much done. I also got paid today & put $25 of it into savings. Now I need to just resist those tabloids, cut those coupons, & buy a few groceries for lunches & to stop me from eating out.