Payday Thursday..

So I don't know why I said I was going to start Payday Thursday's this week, as any bill that isn't going to get something turned off (electric, rent, car insurance, etc) isn't getting paid so I can finish Christmas.. 

I know, bad reason.. But I know I will be making enough in the month of January to cover it all and get back on track.. And my plan is that this won't happen next year..

Saving money, and even spending money, on a single salary is horribly hard.. Especially when I find myself spending money to have some fun, which is usually something like a movie.. While I don't usually buy myself clothes (I still hate shopping for myself, even after losing 106 lbs), I have no problem buying stuff for my house, or other people.. 

So this month is gonna be about keeping tabs on how much I spend (besides Christmas gifts) on a 'normal' month.. I will keep all receipts, and towards the end of the month, I will add up what I spent, and where, and use it for my budget for January..

I already have a preliminary budget done, but I'm intrigued to see if I'm accurate.. Probably not.. Lol

Short and Sweet..

Today is payday..

I'm planning on sticking with "Payday Thursday's" and posting about money on that day every week..

Only 21 days til Christmas!! Holy crap!! 

Gonna go soak my tired body in a bath and then go to bed.. Good night, blogosphere..

Good bye November.. Hello December!!

It's hard to believe it's the end of November already.. November is always an interesting month to me, mainly bc it's got my birthday in it..

November is usually my month to reflect on how my life has gone in the past 365 days.. Of course I do the normal resolutions in January, but November is usually when I try to make goals to change what I didn't like about the past year..

This year has been a huge learning experience for me.. I've found out that I'm only willing to compromise if the other person in the relationship is too.. And I've found out that saving money on a $23,000 salary is harder than I anticipated.. Just to name a few things..

This year should be full of changes.. I'm starting new hours at my job, so I should be able to find another way to earn more money, whether it be by getting a new job, making things to sell, or working overtime in another department..

Also, I'm thinking I'm gonna take time off from actively dating anyone but myself.. I have so much I want to do, and am sick of waiting to find 'someone' to do them with.. So I'm gonna do them by myself.. If 'someone' comes along, great.. If not, no biggie.. Lol

December is gonna start off with a bang.. I'm doing a squat challenge to start off my 'new booty, new body' fitness regime.. Time to get toned up like I keep talking about..

My main goal for this year will be consistency.. I will at least attempt to do what I say I'm going to do..

Now, here's to the next 365 days!! Let's do this!!

Online Dating: A Review of Zoosk.com

Alrighty, so I've been trying online dating for about 8 months now.. I (stupidly) subscribed to zoosk.com at the end of May, and while I've met a couple guys off of that website, I can honestly say I will never use it again..

Reason #1: You used to be able to reply once to a message without being 'subscribed'.. Now you can't even see a message sent to you without being a subscriber.. This doesn't make sense to me..

Reason #2: The Carousel?! You 'earn' coins by saying if you are interested in meeting someone.. You get a coin for saying yes, and don't if you say no.. Do you really think people are truly honest with this stupid thing?? Dumb, dumb, dumb.. 

Reason #3: Relationship Status-Separated?! Umm, red flag, right?! I've learned the hard way that divorce isn't that hard for a guy, paperwork-wise.. To me, putting 'separated' as a relationship status just means you are too lazy to get divorced, which doesn't usually mean good things for the future relationship.. Again, bad experience might be clouding my opinion on this.. Lmao, don't even get me started on 'Tell You Later'.. 

Reason #4: People can send you gifts, but you are never told about them, and you don't know who sent them.. UNLESS you read EVERY message you get.. Which can be a pain in the ass.. Just tell me 'A Zoosk Member' has sent you a gift.. Is that so hard?! 

Reason #5: This one is more about guys in general than this website/app.. Lol.. Why do I spend all this time writing things if YOU DON'T READ IT?! I specifically put in my profile that if you were out of my area (I even put TRI-STATE area), that I wouldn't respond.. One guy called me a bitch for ignoring him.. And don't get me started on the men that were old enough to be my dad.. Or grandpa! Icky!!

I can honestly say I won't ever go back to that website/app.. I may try a different website later next year, but for now I'm sticking with the 'If it's meant to happen, it'll happen' way and just put myself out there more.. Sounds like a good plan, right?! 

A Little Early..

So as I sit here (at work, shhhh) trying to figure out why my car payment didn't process, I realize that I hate auto pay..

Supposedly the account I used, which I've been using since I got this loan, is closed.. And since I know it's not, and they don't seem to want to admit fault (gasp!), now my car payment is considered late, and I'm the extra APR fees on the extra amount.. Grr.. I hate that my APR is calculated daily (so I've been told by the Capital One people)..

Most people SWEAR by Auto Pay for your bills.. I am here to tell you that a person with ANY kind of memory issues (I have ADD, and have an out of site/out of mind issue with money) should NOT have Auto Pay set up.. It just costs you more in bounce fees, honestly.. Which I barely have enough money to pay my bills, let alone pay the bank money.. lol

This time of year usually brings up people's goals (or that dirty word RESOLUTIONS), and I am usually one to MAKE goals, but not generally stick to them.. Something always happens, usually my own fault of course, and I get derailed and never get back on track.. Yep, that's me!  I can laugh at this because I know how I am, but in all reality I know I can't keep doing this, as I really do want to get out of debt..  So, here are some of my goals for the next 13 months..

My goals for 2015 (and December 2014) are as follows (as of 11/27/14):
** Stick to 90% of my goals (bc we all know shit happens)..
** Find one new way to earn money every month..
** Put as much money as possible towards Emergency Fund..
** Pay off Ivy Tech bill with tax return..
** Enroll in ASL program at UofL..
** Get down to my goal weight of 175 lbs..
** Pay off as many collections accounts as possible..
** HAVE FUN!!

That's just a few of them, and they have a wide variety of categories.. While I will work a lot at money stuff, I will also make time for crafting, having fun, and furthering my education..  This should be a great year, if I can just stick with all my plans/goals..

So, go enjoy your turkey and stuffing, and all that fun stuff, and try to have a good time with whoever you get to spend your day/night with..  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Changes Are Coming.. Again..

Lol.. So, I've been MIA for a while.. I hate to say that I haven't been inspired to write, as I have, but it's been difficult to find the time to do it.. Well, things are about to change..

New Layout

New Colors

New Title

New Feel to the Content

I look forward to starting this new part of my journey with you all.. Now, to go do some research for some posts that will start back up on 12/1/14..

So keep an eye out, okay?!  :)

Payday Thursday..

This is something new I'm hoping to keep going on my blog.. Basically to keep me accountable, and to show others how they can save money while I try to do the same..  And I will make mistakes, because I know I am a shopaholic (even if it is with coupons).. But I'm willing to work my booty off to save more money and get myself out of debt..

So, to put it all out there, I made a page of all my debt I owe, and then I will post a monthly tally up with what I have saved towards what..  I plan to use the Envelope System to save towards the bigger ones, because I've gotten burned by paying payments, then the bill gets sold to another company but doesn't reflect my payments..  And the list does include my car payment, my credit card payment and my student loan bill (which will thankfully be put in deferment now that I'm enrolled in school again)..

My budget for May:

• Rent (for next month)-- $550
• Phone Payment-- $100 (PAID)
• Electric Bill-- $200
• Credit Card-- $150 (PAID)
• Internet-- $25 (PAID)
• Car Payment-- $236
• Gas-- $200
• Disney payments-- $100 (PAID)
• Holiday & Garden-- $100
• Food-- $100

Total Bills: $ 1761/month or $880.50/paycheck

This budget is for the bare minimum of my bills.. For the month of May and June, my goal is to save for my vacations that are in June and July.. Any savings will go towards them and making sure bills get paid while I'm gone..  Yes, I will plan to save my change still.. Yes, I will put any extra towards my excess bills.. But the next two months are going to be about having fun, because after that, I will be working a lot and going to school full time.. So until then, if it's not in my budget, it's not getting bought.. :)

MAY IS A NO SPEND MONTH!!