Saving Like a Crazy Person

Soooo, I've become a bit obsessed with saving money. This whole earning money while I'm still receiving severance from my old job is SUPER SWEET for the bank account - and for the widdle saving's ego I have inside. However, I know THAT ride is about to end - and I've been shoving everything I can into our "high-interest" savings account (HA).

In fact, I've been such a penny-pincher that this month's credit card bill looks like it'll be about $50. Yup. $50 for the whole month - including GAS. Yippie!!! However, this lack of spending has caused moi to feel very down in the dumps. I'm used to going out and at least LOOKING at pretty things, and until last weekend I hadn't gone shopping (even the window kind) in a long while. For someone who grew up travelling to the mall, with mom-in-tow, at least three times a week - this was nutty.

It was my mom who helped me realize it was nutty. We were in Sephora and gazing lovingly at Urban Decay eyeliners. I helped her pick out one and she told me to get one. I deferred, telling her I didn't need one. Her response? "It's $16 Dani!! Seriously. Buy the eyeliner."

And it's true. It only WAS $16. And that $16 is not going to break us. But it will make me feel less like a reclusive hermit...so I bought it. I also made a hair appointment for this weekend - HIGHLIGHTS. I am beyond excited. This is my reward for getting into nursing school. WHAT UP.

Anyway. Back to saving. Do any of you feel like a I-don't-get-to-do-anything-fun loser because you're trying to save money??

A Bit Grumbly

Sooo I got an e-mail from my Micro. professor with my most recent test grade included - 79. Yes, this is better than the last test (77) - but not as stellar as I had hoped...or expected. I'll be the first to admit that I didn't study as much as I should have, but when I was walking out of there I really thought that I had made at least a B-. So, I've e-mailed her so i can see my test and maybe have a chitchat with her about how to study for her frakkin' tests (sorry, just watched TWO episodes of Battlestar Galactica on Hulu.com)...

So, I'm a bit grumbly. And, sort of worried - this is my first difficult class since I started my pre/co-reqs...and I'm not doing that well. Does that mean I'm not going to do well in Nursing School either? Sigh.

On a happier note, our school savings continues to increase, thanks to my deposited tips. However, I always feel awkward walking into the bank and depositing hundreds of dollars in cash. It seems skeezy!

That's all for now peeps.

So Close.

As of today...we only have $270 left on the credit-card-of-doom. FANTASTIC.

Ummm my credit card bill was kinda out of control this month. I didn't realize why until I did a little breakdown: $200 for school tuition, $100 for M's bday, $150 for groceries, $250 for shopping and haircut, $100 for going out (to eat and out on weekends...)...and then a bit extra thrown in that I can't remember. However...does this stop me from buying a $14 dress at Old Navy last night? No. Does this stop me from going to a movie last night with friends? No. BUT FOR MY DEFENSE, the movie was only $5 thanks to a lovely AMC special, and my popcorn and drink was only $5 thanks to same said special. Hey, $10 for popcorn, diet coke AND The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (Oh yes, you bettah believe it - it was awesome!!!)? I'm so down.

There's always next month to be frugal...right?? Sometimes you need a tiny splurge...Anyways, I told M that all my shopping last month and this one still didn't equal ONE of his car payments. So there!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

I updated my savings toolbars! This needed to happen for several reasons:
1. We resigned our lease. Soooo we're not looking for a house for another year. Which is cool, because we really need to save for school!
2. We are SO CLOSE to paying off our credit card debt. Which is supersweet. And awesome. And great.
3. Preparing for nursing school expenses is priority NUMERO UNO. Do you KNOW how expensive medical textbooks are? First semester Screw travel. We can take a tiny trip!!!

The End is Near

Once upon a time, a cute boy from California moved to the East Coast for job opportunities and a lovely lady named Doris. The cute boy moved in with two of his friends...and proceeded to rack up some credit card debt as cut boy was finding his way.

Later on down the road, cute boy marries type-A Doris...who is obsessed with eliminating said credit card debt because she has never had such debt, and remembers her father telling her that credit card debt is right up there with selling your soul to the devil.

LONG STORY SHORT - the credit card debt will BE GONE at the end of August.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS! M's two friends (the ones he initially moved in with when he came East) are shocked...not knowing what to DO without their protective coat of debt. But M and I are thrilled. Thanks to our stimulus checks, a check from M's parents and M's raise we will be DONE. And then we can reallllllly concentrate on saving. =)

woot!

I'm SOOO impatient. I want it to be gone NOW, so we can start saving NOW. But I shall sit on my hands...try not to check the online account 300 times a day...and wait. And breathe. And be happy.

Guest Post by Myrtle

Wow! We already have a guest blogger, which is very exciting. Myrtle is a fab 20-something with a good financial head on her shoulders...and she has some great stuff to say - let's hear it for Myrtle!!

Hello. I am Myrtle, Guest blogger #1.

I am completely in line with Doris’ idea of being Zen about money. I am a true believer in the Jedi way, thus think we have the ability to use the Force (=$) for good or evil. We sometimes get so obsessed with how much we aren’t saving and the money that we don’t have that we forget the positive things on which we choose to spend our hard earned cash.

I look at the lives that some of my friends and I live and I wonder why we spend so much time and energy fretting over our financial situation. I don’t think that it’s a bad thing to splurge every once in a while. As long as you avoid constantly splurging, I believe we’ll be ok.

A travel opportunity recently presented itself to me. The trip was unexpected and thus presented unanticipated expense for the month. For this reason I contemplated not going. After some deep thought I realized that the cost of the trip isn’t really prohibitive. ($250 for a plane ticket and a long weekend of fun.) While this is perhaps steep it’s not outrageous. I am young and unattached. If I can’t pick up and go now, then when will I ever be able to do so? It’s summer and I have no real vacations planned, so why not spend a little extra money for a little bit of fun.

Some of us are reluctant to jump on these types of opportunities when they arise because they throw off our budgets. I believe many of my cohorts and I are not strapped financially. Yes we are battling school loans and rents/mortgages and car payments and insurance on salaries that are much less than we deserve. Despite the occasional financial hiccup, we’re doing alright. We don’t yet have to worry about children and we are fortunate in that we don’t have any REALLY serious chronic health issues that require attention. We DO still get to go out and have fun with friends on occasion. We have some car payments and phone bills, but that also means we have cars and cells to use. Yes, loan payments suck… but it’s largely educational debt, which is not necessarily a bad type of debt to have.

I think we get caught up in micromanaging and we forget the big picture. We ARE doing ok. There are millions of people who are worse off than we are and we’re certainly feel fortunate to be in the position in which we find ourselves. I also recognize that by using the phrase “we” I am making some presumptuous claims, but I do believe that there are several readers who can relate. Yes we’d all like to save more and perhaps spend less, but maybe what we need most is to step back and breathe.

Thanks to Myrtle for her guest post!! I love advice from Myrtle because she always is so logical, even-headed and wise about most things.

If anyone else wants to be a guest blogger, or if you want to hear more from Myrtle...let me know. Happy Wednesday!

Silver Lining

So. I was freaking out about two hours ago - about my car, about the insurance, about a ridiculously high credit card bill that just showed up. But...I talked to a reputable Honda guy, who says he can fix the car for $450 (after I drive home to see him). Insurance is obnoxious...but I think we'll survive this. I just need to yell at some people to fix everything. As for the credit card bill - M put his real estate classes on there (and work is supposed to be paying him back), which were more than $600.

So. We WILL be fine. I just need to breathe.

And, some great things have recently happened that I need to be grateful for:
- Our State and Federal returns are already in our checking account
- Our kitty got a clean bill of health at the Vet on Saturday
- I bought a shirt on sale for $19.95 (down from $88!!!) on Saturday
- We finally opened our online savings account
- I saw my mom, dad and brother on Sunday
- my annual review is in one month! (Hopefully this means a RAISE)
- I'm (hopefully) seeing a couple AMAZING college friends this weekend

That last one is a a bit iffy at this point. I was all about the trip to Charleston, SC - until my car decided to poop out on me. Now I'm thinking of taking it up to my parent's house so it can go in the shop.

I don't know... Anyway. The point it - I'm fine. M is fine. Kitty is fine. I just need to breathe, and it'll work out.

Postscript

I really want to put some art on our dining room wall. And I want it to look like this. Right now we are about 1/6th of the way there…with one photo (bought off etsy.com) nicely framed and hanging smack dab in the middle of the wall. Sigh. Sometimes my mom’s Martha Stewart compulsions just take over and I want to decorate…too bad it’s so expensive to do so.

It doesn't help that I recieved THREE home-decorating-and-general-prettiness catalogues yesterday. Boo hiss. We still have a few hundred dollars left on various Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma gift certificates (left over from the wedding), but I really wanted to save them and put them towards a console table. Alas, that dream is quickly fading.

The Savings Itch

All of you peeps may (or may not) have noticed that I increased the number of “savings bars” on the right side of the page. Well, I have the savings itch and I just can’t help it! Watching your savings grow is sooo delicious – it’s like eating a warm Krispy Kreme right off the conveyor belt (trust me, it’s awesome). There is just so much to save for!! I really want to have my own little house one day, and I am missing Europe SO MUCH right now – I can’t believe that it’s been nearly four years since I was over there.

::sadness::

Now…you may also notice that several of the bars are at 0%, and that is for two reasons:

1. M and I are doing really well on our budget this month…but as we all know, you pay for last month’s bills when you put everything on a credit card. SO, we won’t be able to start our savings binge until April.

2. I have no clue what savings account(s) to open. The house and travel funds will start with minor funding and eventually be emptied out, so it needs to be an account without a balance requirement. AND I want both accounts to be those loverly “high-interest online savings accounts.”

Does anyone know what is the best online account to open? One of my co-workers has one with e*trade, but that’s because she already has an e*trade account. Well-Heeled and some other PF bloggers seem to like ING, but I’ve also heard good things about HSBC. Anyone have a suggestion? M and my dad really haven’t looked into these kinds of accounts, so I’m on my own figuring it all out – which is fine, I just want to be pointed in the right direction! So, advice welcome.

Anyway, that’s it for now. Last night I went over to a friend’s place for “craft night” – we watched Enchanted and knitted, painted and quilted. Amazing! I love those feel-good (and cheap) nights with friends. So much fun. Tomorrow M gets paid, and I’ll see how well I planned out the end/beginning-of-the-month finances. Hopefully it’ll go off without a snag. We’re going to carry a little bit of my credit card’s balance over, just so we have a cushion. Not my favorite thing to do, but oh well. Like I said, we’re doing much better this month.

So, if anyone has any advice or experience with online savings accounts, please leave a comment! Thanks!