High Class, Low Income

I'm still alive!

2010-10-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

..just in case you guys were wondering! :D School has taken up the majority of any free time I have. I'm only working part time but I do want to increase my hours soon for money and insurance eligibility.

Life for me is busy, busy, BUSY! I'm not complaining though.. and life in SoCal is better than I could have imagined. Any fun Halloween plans? For me it's just doing homework, studying, and watching the World Series. GO GIANTS!

I hope you guys are all doing well, and I promise to make a little better effort to blog more soon!

Happy Weekend!

2010-08-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Weekend everyone! I've been super busy with work and school stuff but it's a good thing. Work in itself has been feeling like school since I'm still in training and have a lot of extra reading/homework to do outside of work! I'm pretty happy with my job so far. This weekend, I want to get caught up on reading for school and work, tidy up my room and try my first crock pot recipe! Have a great one everyone!

Southwest Airlines Can Suck It

2010-08-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have seen my tweets yesterday about my flight booking confusion. On Sunday I booked a flight to go home for the weekend. Yesterday, I was searching my mailbox for the confirmation and couldn't find anything. I then logged into my Southwest account and there were no upcoming itineraries. I paid by paypal, and had a ton of paypal receipts from itunes and other things in my inbox so I didn't really look through them. I assumed that because I was doing a few different things at the time (transferring funds and booking) that I probably didn't hit submit on the flight and actually didn't book it. I was frustrated and bummed because the original flight I was booking was $207 and now the same flight is $313 and even more on other airlines! Since I already planned on going home and won't be able to go home until possibly October, I went ahead and rebooked the flight using paypal again. This time once I booked it, I checked my paypal account and saw that I had the new pending transaction for $313 AND the old one for $207! I still only had one ticket. So I called Southwest and explained the situation and tried to see what happened and if there was any way to get my ticket at the original price and this is pretty much the useless conversation I had with the customer service rep after explaining what happened:

Southwest: If it's showing as pending, we haven't taken the money out of your account. It hasn't come out if it doesn't say authorized.

Me: So why do I have two pending transactions and only one ticket?

Southwest: It says pending, that means the money hasn't been taken out of your account.

Me: So why didn't my original transaction go through?

Southwest: I don't know.. I would need to see what your screen looked like when you did it. If you didn't get a confirmation it means there was an error and you should have checked for the email.

Me: Ok... you guys ran my paypal account, so when is it going to come off pending?

Southwest: I'm not trying to argue with you, but we haven't taken the money out and cannot change the price of your ticket.

Me: So when will the pending transaction be dropped?

Southwest: I don't know. You need to call paypal.

UGH! WTF! So basically he just told me it's my fault, he doesn't know why it didn't go through and I need to contact paypal. You can imagine my anger when I called paypal and they asked me if I had spoken to Southwest already! Paypal said they were going to do a manual void on the first transaction but as of right now it's still sitting pending in my account!

I do agree that part of this was my fault with not checking my paypal account first, but since I didn't have an itinerary on my account I assumed I messed up and never tried finished booking it in the first place. It's frustrating to deal with a company that you spend your hard earned cash with that has horrible customer service. I have a free flight coming up after this flight and if I can I'm going to try to use other airlines for my flights in the future.

I'm Going to Work!

2010-08-16T07:08:00.000-07:00

Today is my first day of work at my new job! I'm super excited, I've been pretty bored all week long and it'll be good to interact with other humans again haha. Other than the fact of being bored, I'm getting paid a super low training rate but the sooner I can get it over the better. They think since I have so much experience I'll be able to finish it a lot quicker than most, so lets hope it works out!

I have a 2.5 hour gap today. I probably won't go home, but we'll see. I'm bringing my thank you cards that I still haven't finished with me so I can work on those. I'm also packing a lunch. I can't believe I'm actually excited about going to work! We'll see if this continues on Mondays in the future :)

Getting Settled in LBC

2010-08-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't been working all week and to say the least, I am actually bored! I guess I'm used to having access to friends to hang out with and waste time with that I actually forgot what it feels like to have free time and not have anyone to spend it with. It's definitely not a bad thing, and it will probably be best like this once school starts. Besides, I'm sure I'll meet more people once school and work starts for me. I've been having some pretty lazy days though, I usually am awake by 8am but I'm not moving and doing stuff until 12pm! Tomorrow, I'm determined to be mobile by 10am! I have a few things I'd like to get done tomorrow:

1. Take boxes and cardboard to a recycling center.

2. Check out the Farmer's market downtown.

3. Exercise!

4. Write thank you cards for all the generous gifts from friends and family.

On the upside, I'm feeling good about eating healthy again! I might even say eating more healthy than I did before I moved! Less socializing means less opportunities to eat out, so even though the food I've been eating has been the same and pretty boring, I'm happy to be saving money and eating food that's good for me (minus the occassional beer I've been having). We'll see how long my anti-socialness lives up for though.. hopefully not too long.

Unpacking my Life

2010-08-11T08:29:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I moved down to SoCal. I'm officially a SoCal resident! One of my friends helped me by driving the truck down and my two other friends had come down on Friday and helped me on Saturday. They mainly just helped me move the stuff inside the house which is fine. They were pretty much on vacation mode so we went out on Saturday with my new housemate and they went out on Sunday. I don't go out a lot and I'm definitely not on vacation mode, so on Sunday I stayed behind and napped, unpacked some more and did some shopping. I feel like from Sunday-Tuesday all I've done was shop! I go to Target or Walmart then realize I needed something else when I got home. So far I've gotten a shelf and chair from Ikea and an over the toilet bathroom rack from Walmart. I need to assemble those along with the desk my parents bought me. Luckily, I had some gift cards and money from my parents but considering that I don't start work until next week I should try to conserve a little more of my money.

The upside to not knowing anyone here is less socializing. I've been eating at home and eating relatively healthy. I finally made it to the gym last night and introduced myself to the instructor. Hopefully I'll be back in there teaching soon!

Packing + Purging

2010-08-02T22:22:00.001-07:00

The time has come for me to move! I've been packing up things and tossing A LOT of things. It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated! I'm definitely going to make the effort to not buy so many new things. My trunk is filled with a ton of clothes, shoes, books and housewares that I will donate tomorrow. I went through some boxes I never unpacked from the last time I moved and found a TON of knitting and crafting supplies. I will definitely be busy crafting away in my free time! Maybe I can even use less than the $300 I've budgeted for gifts and just make the majority of my Christmas gifts.

I still haven't rented a truck. I've been trying to get quotes for U-Haul online and it says I'm unable to make the reservation online, so I'll have to give them a call tomorrow. Luckily, one of my friends is going down to drive the truck. His return ticket cost $85, but the better news is two of my other friends are going to also drive down and help me move too! They are going to go a day before me and hang out, and they are booking their own hotel which is great! I feel really lucky to have some amazing and generous friends.

Happy Monday!

2010-07-26T06:31:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday everyone!

I'm spending the majority of today in recovery mode. I ran the San Francisco (first) half marathon yesterday morning. I originally signed up for wave 8 which had a start time of 6:42am, luckily I checked while getting ready at 4:30 and realized I was in wave 4 which started at 5:52am! Since I didn't get there as early as I would have liked, I didn't get to use the bathroom. I had to make an urgent stop at around 3 miles at a port-a-potty so I lost at least five minutes waiting in line and using the bathroom. The course of the first half was very hilly (definitely the hardest half course I've done, even in comparison to another SF event) and the run on the Golden Gate bridge had a gradual incline and decline and made up a large portion of the race. Even towards the end around mile 11 it started getting hilly again! All in all it went pretty well and even with my bathroom stop I met my goal of finishing in under 2:30! My finish time was 2:24, but I'm of course thinking I could have finished in under 2:20 if I didn't stop :). I can't wait to do another event! I just wish they weren't so expensive to register.

On a different note, I get to register for my classes today! I'm looking forward to getting my move over with and exploring a new area.

YAY for the weekend!

2010-07-23T18:13:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday all! I'm finally done with the majority of my work at my current job. Just a few ends to finish up next week.

I'm running a half marathon on Sunday, and having a going away get together in the afternoon. I'm relaxing today and tomorrow to keep my legs nice and rested, I hope I can break 2:30!

Cost of Moving

2010-07-20T16:44:00.000-07:00

I'm planning to move the first week of August and I'm trying to figure out the costs. I didn't really set aside money for this (tsk, tsk) but I will be getting my vacation/personal time cashed out once I am done working at my job so I'm planning to use this on moving. Here is my estimate so far of the costs:

Moving truck: $250 -
Moving Boxes/Supplies: $75
Gas for Car and Truck: $150
Ticket for friend back: $80

Total: $555 (approx)

Knowing my friends who have said they may be able to help, I'm pretty sure both of them will pay for their own ticket back, but just in case I would be willing to buy them a ticket. I've been looking online at used boxes and checking craigslist, and my friend can get some for free from the shipping department of his job.

Anyone have any recommendations for cheap moving truck rentals? I need a small truck since I only am moving a bedroom's worth of furniture along with kitchenware and a few small appliances. Obviously I'm also moving my clothes which might be crazy own it's own. I got a quote from Budget and it was around $230, but I'm sure the big name rental companies are not the cheapest. I have a small sedan but I can pull the back seats down to accommodate more stuff.

Now time to get rid of some of the smaller things so that I don't pack anything I don't need!

I Found a Place!

2010-07-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy I found a place to live in Southern California! I'll soon be a resident of Long Beach! Maybe Summertime in the LBC will be my summer theme song? ;)

Originally when I was planning on moving to LA, I figured the more frugal route would be to rent a room in an apartment or house. I also thought it would be good for the socialization aspect and since I don't know my way around LA or Southern California, it would be cool to know someone in such a big area. However, browsing CL ads of available rooms turned me off to this idea. For one, the rooms seemed to be going for almost the same price as a studio/one bedroom. I also posted a "looking for a room" ad and nothing really appealed to me.

Saturday I planned to view five studios. The first studio, the person who I called and made an appointment with flaked on me and I was unable to reach him by the phone number I had called. The second place was really old and kind of boring. Third was pretty cool, but then I found out that the studio didn't come with a fridge and they told me I'd have to get my own. When I called to view the fourth on my list (they told me to call when I got there) they told me they forgot to call me and tell me they sprayed for pests and actually couldn't show me the place! They showed me another one of their studios at a different building and it was pretty old and blah. Fifth was locked and I never got to view the studio. All in all I felt frustrated that I didn't really see anything that worked for me and time was running out.

Back in the hotel I started searching CL more for downtown Long Beach studios without any luck. I decided to see what was available in "rooms for rent" and came across two ads that seemed pretty nice, both under $700/month for the room + utilities which I thought was a great deal. The studios I had viewed were all $695 and up, but I still had to pay gas and electricity on all, and also pay for internet which would probably bring my rent close to $800 if not more. I set up appointments to view both on Sunday. I really liked the first house, got a good vibe from the owner. Second place was weird to begin with (when I called the contact number on the ad, it was a man that said he was her neighbor and helping her find a roommate) and when I got there, the room was so small, finding parking was super difficult and I would have to share a bathroom with her. I was also really confused because it seemed like the man lived there but I didn't really understand, she seemed kind of socially awkward so maybe thats why she had this man help her find a roommate!

I decided on Long Beach for a few reasons. My school is in Downtown LA but luckily I only have to go there every other weekend so I'm okay with driving a few times a month. My new job's office is in the South Bay but involves a lot of driving between clients. I actually would not be surprised if I didn't have any clients in the city that my job's office is in, as that has been my experience here. My job also covers Long Beach so hopefully I will be able to get some clients that are close to where I'll be living. The city that my job is located in has a really strip mall and track home kind of feel which isn't necessarily bad, but where I live now is exactly like that and I'm ready for a little bit of a change. I definitely cannot afford to live in any of the beach cities in the South Bay (Hermosa Beach for example) so Long Beach is perfect. It's an affordable downtown area of Southern California and has a feel similar to the Bay Area in my opinion. I think the transition from the Bay Area to Long Beach will be an easy one!

The room I'm renting is $650/mo with all utilities paid! I only have one other housemate and I get my own bathroom! The room is HUGE so I'm positive it can accommodate my bed, two dressers and a desk easily. There is a back entrance to the house close to my room so I don't have to disturb my housemate by walking in through the front. We work different schedules so we probably won't even be in the house at the same time. I got a good vibe from him from the start and like Money Maus suggested I totally went with my gut feeling. The area is close to downtown and if I wanted I can pretty much just walk to the Long Beach nightlife scene (not that I plan on doing that much partying) and I get full access to the house. Parking is easy on the street and there is a huge driveway that I can use, and also a pretty large back area that I have access to as well. I'm about a 3 minute drive to the beach which is exciting! My housemate also has a super cute dog that I'm also very excited about! All in all I feel pretty good about my decision and I'm excited about moving!

Happy Friday - I'm off to LA

2010-07-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

I'm headed back to So-Cal right after I get off work at one today. My friend is going with me again to keep me awake and alive while I drive. I have three appointments to view three studios, and I'm planning to view three others that are having open viewings this weekend. So far, I spent $112.33 booking a hotel for two nights on Hotwire. I don't have anything planned other than viewing the places and exploring the area a bit. I'd actually like to leave on Sunday as early as possible to make it home and maybe get a run in Sunday evening.

I have to decide on a place this weekend so I hope all goes well. I'll probably check out Craigslist one last time in our hotel room tonight to see if there are any new listings that might be worth checking out.

Have a fun weekend and enjoy the sun! (FINALLY starting to feel like summer in the Bay Area!)

On the Hunt!

2010-07-13T21:44:00.000-07:00

I'm on the hunt for a place to live in So-Cal. I'm mainly looking in the Long Beach area, and I'm headed down there this weekend to view some places. I've been mainly looking into studios. I was somewhat opposed to the thought of living in a studio but as a single person who will have a pretty packed schedule, a studio seems reasonable. Less $, less cleaning, less furniture to buy (since I don't own much) and less space to accumulate junk! I've been searching creative ways to decorate a studio and I've come up with some fun ideas! Besides, I need to get off my high horse and stop pretending like I have a ton of friends in So-Cal to entertain in my home! ;) The studios I'm looking into are ranging from $695-$750/month. Some have all utilities paid while others have partial utilities paid so I'll also have to check into that. Parking for most is street since I've been looking into downtown studios.

Wish me luck on the search! I have an appointment to view 2 studios Saturday, and 2 others that are having an open house. I'm making a few phone calls tomorrow as well and will continue to browse Craigslist.

July Goals

2010-07-03T07:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't really been setting goals lately (unfortunately) so I'm going to keep these pretty simple for July:

Find an apartment/place to live - I'd like to find a living arrangement is under $900. I'm going to look into rooms that are being rented, smaller apartments and possibly studios.
Pay at least $200 to Macy's CC - right now the balance is $550
Use a cash only system - put debit/cc cards AWAY!
Run SF half on July 25th under 2:30 - I'm a relatively slow runner, and it usually takes me a little over 2:30, so if I can finish this in 2:29 I'll be happy!!
Try not to stress out too much about my move :)

Good luck meeting your goals for July! What do you want to accomplish this month?

Happy Monday!

2010-06-28T07:27:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday!

Today is my last day "off" work with my school client. He's starting summer school tomorrow and I'm actually happy to be going back. Not just for financial reasons, but for sanity reasons as well!

I have some things I'd like to sell on eBay before I move, so I may try to take care of some of that today.

Have an awesome week everyone!

From LA to the Bay and back

2010-06-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I had a last minute confirmation for an interview on Thursday afternoon in the Los Angeles area. It's kind of annoying that it took them that long to confirm and I think the person in the office could have facilitated getting it confirmed a little better, but I have no other job leads in So-Cal right now so I was up for it. Also, my school client who makes up the majority of my work hours is off for a week before summer school so it was good timing for me to go. One of my friends went up with me which made the drive a little more tolerable.

I booked a hotel on Hotwire which came out to about $75. Food and gas for Wednesday and Thursday was about $100.

As for the interview, I think it went pretty well. It was difficult and the person I interviewed with was pretty intimidating. I think my current job has somewhat dumbed me down as far as knowledge on the methods used in my career field. They don't provide us with any training or check-ins so I thought I had some difficulty during the interview being able to share my knowledge. I'm sure if I start a new job with better continuous training and check-ins I will be fine. An old coworker of mine knows the person who interviewed me and emailed them prior to my interview so I think that may have helped my chances. Otherwise I think it ended on a positive note and hopefully I will hear from them soon.

The only downfall of my move is the decrease in pay I will have to take. Right now, I am getting paid $25-$30/hour . The pay for the similar position at the company I interviewed for in LA is $17-$20ish/hour. I expected this decrease already and I haven't heard anything from any other agencies so I would obviously accept a job with this company if they offered me one.

However, there are definitely positive things to this company. They have paid holidays, and also paid drive time and mileage. I'm almost positive it's illegal that my job now doesn't pay us for drive time, but I'm pretty checked out at this point and just happy to almost be done. Other than the pay, I think the training and supervision in the field I will receive at this company will be a great learning opportunity and give me a lot of great experience that I am not learning from my current employer.

I hope I hear something from this company soon. I sent out a thank you email today to the person who interviewed me and will be checking in with them some time next week if I don't hear otherwise. Wish me luck!

Lessons to teach your children

2010-06-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

As I was having dinner with my pregnant cousin, we started talking about how important it is to teach your kids the value of money and saving. Growing up, both of us were pretty spoiled. Neither of us learned from our parents the meaning of saving or the importance of money. We got a lot of things growing up that weren't really necessary to our well-being. We grew up in a world of instant gratification.Not to blame my parents for my money faults because I obviously can change but I do think it had a great affect on my spending habits and ways with money.

I'm still learning how to manage my money, but hopefully when the time comes for me to have a child, I'll be in a good place to discuss with them (when they are out of diapers, hopefully ;) ) the importance of saving and not accumulating unnecessary debt. My parents never really discussed anything with me it seems like and it's somewhat unfortunate. Maybe they were still figuring out how to manage their money and couldn't explain it to me when I was younger, but it's definitely something I want to make a point of discussing with my own children.

How many of you had parents that taught you about money? Do you think it affected the way you treat money now?

Happy Monday!

2010-06-21T10:29:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! I hope everyone had a good weekend. My school client has a week off before summer school, but I still have to do some other work with other clients. In the meantime I think I need to take advantage of the time off and apply to more companies in the Los Angeles area.

I've been waiting for the second owner of a company I had a phone interview with to confirm an interview this weekend, if they don't call by today I'm going to call tomorrow and kindly remind them that I don't live in the area so if they'd like me to interview this week I need to know ASAP because I need to plan accordingly. I'm planning to drive with a friend, but she needs to take time off and I need to sub my classes at the gym out if I'm going to go.

Free $30 Gift Card

2010-06-19T08:14:00.000-07:00

I got a nice little surprise in the mail the other day - a free $30 Gift Card from hotels.com! They had an offer when I booked a hotel back in April when I went to Santa Barbara and I totally forgot about it! I'd like to use it for something like Macy's, but I'm going to go ahead and use it for a Shell gift card.

Happy Friday!

2010-05-28T10:49:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! I hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day weekend. I am working only a few hours today so I'm looking forward to getting some things done! I just submitted my resume to three additional agencies in the Los Angeles area and just confirmed a phone interview for next Wednesday. Things are moving forward at an awesome pace!

This weekend I have some fun things planned. Tomorrow I'm going to a Giants Game and Brewfest before! Ticket was $20, and I'll probably bring a sandwich to eat at the game to stay semi-healthy with my beer, :). I got invited to watch Sex and the City the sequel tonight but I'll probably pass and just stay at home tonight. It feels like I haven't had a plan-free weekend in a long time! On Sunday a friend of mine from high school's son is having a birthday party. I cannot believe I have friends that have children that 5+! I'm going to a TRX class tomorrow and hoping to get some other workouts in this weekend including maybe a run or two.

Have a safe weekend everyone!

Paying off Insurance Quote

2010-05-24T07:17:00.001-07:00

I currently have my car insurance linked to the bank account I am closing down, so I need to switch it off. Since I only have 2 months left on this policy, I'm thinking of using my cc to pay it off. I just have to MAKE SURE that I pay off the balance as I have the money available. I think I want to do this so that if my gym paycheck goes through tomorrow to my Chase checking account, I can close my old bank account and transfer over the money to my Chase accounts by Friday.

Yay! Payday!

2010-05-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Feels like it's been such a long time. My job has these weird paydays where we have to go longer (about 18 days) in between one paycheck and only about 12 between the other. Yeah, I'm not sure why they changed it but it wasn't that smart of an idea. I'm feeling good about getting paid and knocking some bills out. I'm going back to a cash envelope system since my spending has been kind of loopy lately. I just finished taking out my debit card out of my wallet too.

I'm in the process of trying to switch to Chase for my Checking/Savings. I love my bank that I have now but they are a local Northern California bank and since I'm moving I need a bank where I can make deposits and have access to a branch.

Hope everyone's week is going well! :)

A sign I've completely fallen off..

2010-05-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

the PF Bandwagon - on Mint, I feel like my Visa balance has been magically dropping and I'm not sure why or how (as long as it's not increasing right?), it first started with what I thought was over $100, then went to about $700 and today it's at $450. I used this CC a lot for booking a recent trip to L.A. and all the fixings (car rental, hotel, etc) but just shows I'm not paying attention like I should. Maybe I got overcharged for something and it was pending and now canceled? I'll have to figure it out, but I guess it's just a friendly reminder that my finances are STILL there, regardless of how much fun I'm having!

Check in with 26th Year Goals

2010-05-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! So, as life takes hold.. I fall off blogging :/ so I apologize. Here is a quick check in with my 26th year goals.

6. Get into a graduate program - one of my more important goals, completed!! So excited.

12. Run a full marathon - I haven't RAN a marathon yet, but I'm signed up for Nike Women's FULL in October so I consider this done!

13. Get weight down to 130 - weight fluctuates but I'm here! Loving it, and shooting for 125 by 27!

Even though I'm kind of sucking on the money front, I'm feeling good about the direction my life is going and I think that's the most important.

May Goals

2010-05-04T06:43:00.001-07:00

WOW! I know I sound like a broken record, but I have definitely fallen off my PF game. Here are some small goals I want to achieve in May:

1. Finish updated resume and cover letter.

2. Pay at least $350 down on Nordstrom account - had to use this to make a tuition deposit and some other purchases, so I'd like to pay down at least half of the balance.

3. Switch over direct deposits to new bank account.

I'm also taking off my pay down debt by 10k off. In all honesty, I've somewhat lost track and also added new debt so I don't think it's that realistic of a goal for me right now. I still want to pay down my debt, I just won't be using that as a guideline.

April Updates

2010-04-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

So I had mentioned earlier, I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOOL! I'm so amazed that I even got accepted (and into a program I actually am interested in) words cannot explain. Only sucky thing is it's private school which will involve loans. My spending has been very loosy goosy lately and I know I sound like a broken record, but I'll have to start setting some goals for May soon. I've been having fun ad enjoying life but now in these last few months I spend in the Bay Area it'll be important for me to crack down.

Some things I'm going to have to do soon:
1. Start applying to an agency in LA/So-cal area
2. Start thinking about a new bank (I bank with a local bank) and transferring my direct deposits.
3. Start transferring over my gym club location, since our manager takes forever to do anything.
4. Considering where to live.

I'm excited for it all, and in the end my life will probably be a lot more stressful after the move/school/work but maybe I enjoy this level of stress. In the end it'll pay off, as long as I do it right now.

Genius I tell ya!

2010-04-09T08:21:00.001-07:00

For some reason, I didn't get my paper car statement in the mail this month. I went online to pay it through Chase, but it doesn't let you see the pending payments. So I went ahead and made a payment again, and now TWO payments went through totaling over $602! Chase said I have to call my bank and do a stop payment but that costs $27. The woman on the phone told me I can fill out a form at the bank so I'm going to go handle that today after I get done with work. I guess it's better the money goes to paying my debt off rather than losing it but I still have to pay some bills and such until my next paycheck!

Anyway, maybe it's a sign that I'm ready for the weekend? :) Hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

Where the hell have I been?

2010-04-07T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates! I've just been super busy and enjoying life (probably a little too much)! Spending has been out of wack but in good news, I got into a grad program! It was my top choice which means I don't think I'll be wasting any more money to apply any where else. It'll also involve me relocating to So-Cal, which means in these last 3-4 months it'll be even more important to get my finances in as much order as possible!

I have a light work week this week and am done with my class, so I promise more updates soon!

YAY! Prosper gone!

2010-03-24T15:32:00.001-07:00

I'm running low on cash, but I get my gym paycheck tomorrow and combined with what I got earlier this month, I'm paying off the balance ($217~) of my Prosper account! My spending looks a little high right now but I have been using my cc to pay for travel plans which my friends are paying me back for. Regardless, this is EXCITING! Now time to devote my extra cash to cc's! :)

Shady Business

2010-03-08T19:18:00.000-08:00

Last month while checking my 401k balance I noticed that I had been charged over $700 in fees on my account. When I called my 401k company they told me that it was an error and it would be resolved. Fast forward to a month later, they still have not reimbursed my fees so I called them today to find out what was going on. I was informed that I was charged the fees because my employer didn't pay their dues and such for over 70 days and so in the contract it states that if the company does not pay their fees then they will be taken out of the employee's 401k's! Seriously?!

So I emailed my office manager and she says she needs to check on it and she's not aware of them owing any fees. I had already been experiencing some shady business with them before when I noticed my 401k deductions weren't getting deposited in a timely manner. They flatly admitted to me that they don't deposit the money to our 401k's immediately because they have to make sure they can cover everyone's paychecks! Which is fine but that is money I earned and would have been paid to me one way or the other! I'm worried that they won't be able to reimburse me the $700 in a timely manner if they are at fault (which with their track record I'm sure they are) because if they are having issues depositing $100 every paycheck how will they have over $700! It's especially annoying because I know for a fact my boss is a designer whore and she spends like there is no tomorrow. Honestly, I'm pretty fed up with all the bullshit of my job. They are very unorganized and I've put up with it because the pay is decent but once I figure out if and where I will attend school I'm definitely going to go on a big time job search. We also haven't gotten raises for over a year so it's really time for me to move on.. and honestly maybe even looking into filing a lawsuit. Not that I know anything about filing one but I can sure in hell look into it if I get pissed off enough! I hope this is resolved in a timely manner.

I've refrained from ranting about my job until now but there it goes.

February Recap and March Goals

2010-03-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a recap of how I did last month!
1. Complete taxes - I did my federal taxes, still need to do state.
2. Get Prosper under $1k - got this WAY under $1k! Only 1 payment away from being done!
3. Eat out 4x or less this month - So I failed at this, I ate out about 6-7x!
4. Call Discover to ask for an APR reduction - Got my rate reduced by 2%!
5. Make $100 extra money - I also exceeded this which helped with getting my Prosper account down, after shipping and fees I made roughly $225.

1. Get weight down to 135 - Since weight can fluctuate day to day I'm just going to say yes, I met this.
2. Get letters of recommendations for schools - still waiting but they are working on them, hopefully.
3. Apply to the 5-6 schools I selected - haven't done yet since I'm waiting on letters
4. Daily pushups (15 a day/5x a week = 300 total) - I was doing good early on then I forgot. Some days I did A LOT more than 15, total (that I kept track of) I did 270!

Here are my goals for March (trying to keep them simpler):

Have application materials ready to send (statement, etc)
Do state taxes
Make $100 extra cash
Strength train 2-3x week
Take 2 more TRX classes that I paid for

That's it for now! Have a great weekend everyone!

Be Gone, Prosper!

2010-02-28T09:42:00.001-08:00

I just made a fat $659.40 payment to my Prosper account leaving about $215 left on the balance! My job is paying us a day late next week, so I wanted to leave $250 exactly in my bank account to cover the $150 in automatic savings withdrawals and $100 for gas and groceries. Woohoo! It's almost gone!

Happy Birthday Swagbucks!

2010-02-25T06:57:00.000-08:00

Today is Swagbuck's 2nd birthday and to celebrate they've released a new version of their site with some cool improvements. Now you get dollars in incriments of 10 instead of 1 at a time!

If you're not sure what Swagbucks is, it's a cool website where you can earn points for prizes for searching. You can download the swagbucks toolbar for your browser so you can maximize your points. You can also receive points for shopping at different retailers through their site. The points can be traded in for prizes such as apparel, electronics, and gift cards. 450 points can get you a $5 amazon GC and now you can earn them even faster with the changes! So far I've earned 3020 points.

If you want to sign up for a free account, click the banner below. :)

Discover APR Lowered

2010-02-23T19:12:00.000-08:00

So after this big runaround with Discover customer service and having to fill out a form and mail an APR reduction request to them, I finally got my APR lowered! I just got notice in the mail that it's going to be the prime rate + 12.99% which right now is 16.24%. Not that big of a step down from the previous 18.24% but it's still a decrease and I'll take it! I'm loving that thanks to new credit laws all of my credit cards hiked my APR's up before the new rules took place this year.

So now, once I'm done with Prosper I'm going to be tackling my biggest and highest APR card which is my American Express. It's curently at 17.99%, and the balance is around $12,998. I'd like to work on reducing this first to help reduce my debt - credit open ratio and also to lessen my total minimum payments since this one has a huge one of around $330 a month.

Weekly Goals 2/22 - 2/28

2010-02-22T09:58:00.000-08:00

Time to set some mini goals for the week!

1. No eating out for lunch/dinner M-F - I didn't meet my goal for only eating out 4x this month, so to lessen the damage I'd like to not spend any money on eating out this week!

2. Spend $15 or less on food this week. - would really like to eat what I have already, only need to pick up some basics (milk, veggies, fruit)

3. Catch up on classwork - I'm forever playing this game of catchup with my online class, so I need to do this and take my test this weekend.

What are your mini goals for the week? Hope you all have a good one, can you believe it's going to be March already?

A New Addition to My Debt Payoff

2010-02-20T11:42:00.001-08:00

From now on, I'm going to use my gym paycheck to go directly to my debt payoff. I'm sure it ends up there somehow but up to this point I've been just letting it sit in my checking account and it probably gets spent or applied to debt in one form or the other. Now, I'm going to just pay the amount I get paid the day it's deposited. It's not much, usually $20-$90 depending on how many classes I teach but I think it'll help!

I guess I'm applying this rule to all my extra income. I just sold some things on eBay. I only got paid for 4 items so far. After paying for shipping the items I have $60.23 in my paypal account so far. I'm transferring it over and since I have money in my checking account I'm going ahead and applying $61.00 to my Prosper account.

Every little bit helps! I'm ahead 2 months of payments on this account but I want it gone ASAP!

UPDATE:
Just after writing this post, I tried to pay an extra $61 to my Prosper account but apparently you can't do that anymore? You can only add an extra amount on top of your minimum payment! So.. I guess I will put it in my savings until I have enough for another full payment!

Girls Ride Harder!

2010-02-18T07:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend I'm going snowboarding FINALLY for the first time this season! With all the snow and rain in CA it's been a great season so far but I just haven't had the time to go! I'm getting paid tomorrow and just got my tax refund, but I still want to keep the spending within reason. Here is my estimate of my funday Sunday:

Lift ticket (w/ buy 1 get 1 free voucher, split in half) - $34.50 - $42
Gas - $45
Starbucks on the way - $5
Lunch - $12
Dinner - $12
Total: $108.50 - $116

My friend will probably give me some money for gas, and we don't always go to eat dinner afterwards so it might be less. We usually try to bring food for lunch and snacks but once there I always want something hot to eat like fries or a hot cocoa. I didn't really budget this in for this month but I'm so excited to finally be going! At one point I was going at least 4+ month so I can't wait! Also, it's a good thing I already own the whole collection of super expensive snowgear so I don't have to rent anything or buy anything else.

The Cost of Applying to Grad School

2010-02-16T21:28:00.000-08:00

The time has come for me to reapply to grad school. Last year I applied to a few schools and thanks to my mediocre undergrad record I didn't get admitted to any programs. I mainly applied to public CA universities last year, and with the state budget being so lovely and many state employees having to take furloughs, the school admitted very few students last fall.

This time around I'm going to apply to all private schools. I will have to take out loans to pay for my education but in my field of work it's a necessary means to have an education higher than a BA. I'm taking classes for a certification at a bachelor's level, but at my workplace (and at others) I'm pretty much maxed out with my education and training.

But even before I can start thinking about how to pay for my education I have to get in, and boy is applying expensive! I've decided to apply to 5 schools to be on the safe side. Eh, I didn't really think about the cost of applying until now. I would have probably not used all of my cash to buy my car but here is how it looks like it's going to breakdown:

Transcripts from CSU - $55
Transcripts from 2 community colleges - $50
Transcripts from post bach certification - $15
GRE scores @ $23 each! x 5 - $115
Application fees - $205
Mailing via USPS - about $25
cards/thank you gifts for letters of recommendation - $60
GRAND TOTAL: $525!

I seriously must have forgotten about how expensive this is. Now I'm wondering if I paid that much last year to apply? Or did I just completely space out about it and pay all the fees like a little spending zombie?

I'm almost rethinking applying to so many schools but at the same time I would really like to get in. My GPA isn't that great so I think I really had a disadvantage in that area and have to apply to a lot of schools to be safe. If I apply to five schools and don't get admitted to one.. well then I think I'll just have to find a new career or profession! Possibly a stripper or escort.. I'm only 90% joking. I really hope having a M.A. pays off for me in the long run!

Shoes Are a Girl's Best Friend

2010-02-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone that followed in Revanche's footsteps, I have also decided to spill what is in my closet shoe-wise.

Gym Shoes

Teaching at the gym is my side gig, so it's no wonder I have a lot of gym shoes. I've had more in the past but of course frequent use means these babies wear out quickly. Also have one pair of running shoes since I can't wear my regular gym shoes when I run and need a stability shoe.

Dressy shoes or "shoes you should only wear if you're going to sit down or get very drunk"
Since I have a pretty casual job, I don't have the need for dressy shoes. Therefore the ones I have are only for the purpose of looking hot or going out and for the most part are pretty painful.

Sandals and Flats
I suck in this department. I also have the wide array of flip flops but decided not to post them since they are all pretty much the same.

Boots
I need some non black boots in the mix. Well, I don't need but it would be nice :)

Casual Sneakers
Like I said earlier, I have a pretty casual dress code. Therefore, my sneaker collection is kind of crazy. It makes me feel better though that I know boys that have about 3x+ the amount that I have. Check out the hello kitty sneakers my cousin designed in the corner :)

So people, spill it.. what's in your shoe closet? If you want to know details on any shoes shoot me a comment. I should probably not buy any for a while!

Happy Friday!

2010-02-12T07:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you guys have a fun and fantastic President's weekend! Also, for all you lovers of course a fantastic V-day :)

For those of you that follow me on twitter, you may have seen my updates about my 401k being charged $750 in fees which left me with $428 in my retirement plan! When I called them they said it was an error and they would correct it immediately. Umm, that seems like kind of a big "Oopsie!" but I'm glad I actually pay attention to my accounts! Even more the reason to really keep an eye out for weird fees.

I just got the Discover form to reduce my APR in my email today. I hope it works!

All or Nothing

2010-02-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

I tend to have an all or nothing mentality when it comes to pretty much every aspect of my life. Whether working out, eating healthy, or saving money I tend to believe that if I've already messed up it's too late to fix it and might as well keep going for the day (or week, year, etc). I'm slowly trying to fix this in all aspects but especially on the personal finance end. Therefore, I'm changing my E-fund goal that I had on my sidebar to saving at least $1,500 by the end of the year. Since I used the majority of my savings as a down on my new car, I'd like to be able to get it close to what it originally was at (about $1,600). Setting this lower will give me an attainable goal to work towards rather than reminding me how I failed to meet my original goal of $3,000 by my 27th birthday.

I'm getting my tax refund the same day as my next paycheck but I hope I get it earlier because I'm pretty broke right now from using my money on a down and getting my own insurance policy. I may have to rely on credit (ack!) until I get paid and/or my refund so I can start to replenish some of my savings.

I'm debating which CC I want to tackle next. Once Prosper is out of the way, I will have 4 cards with revolving balances. The two cards that are battling it out in my head are:

Amex @ 17.99%/BALANCE $13,250/MIN PAYMENT - $327
Discover 18.24% + 1 month's interest rebate every 6 mo/BALANCE $4,679/MIN PAYMENT - $94

I'm not really sure how to calculate it, but I have a feeling they come out to the same APR roughly once I get the 2 rebates a year on the discover. I want to tackle the Amex first because the balance is so high and the minimum payments are so large. If I plan to go back to school in the Fall, it would be really beneficial to have the least amount of payments due each month. I also called Discover yesterday to check if I could get my APR lowered but they said they had to send me a form so I could ask for one. I've never really heard of that before but they denied me the last time so who knows. I just got the APR down on the Amex but plan to ask them again around June for another reduction. They seem a lot easier to ask for reductions and take requests via email whereas Discover told me they can't discuss it through email, and apparently can't help me with one over the phone.

Does anyone have any tips for getting APR's lowered on CC's?

I Bought A Car!

2010-02-07T19:21:00.000-08:00

I bought a car today! As many of you know, a few weeks ago my car didn't start and I started to consider buying a new car.

My previous car is 15 years old and being a German car, maintenance was not cheap. It didn't start that Friday when I was leaving for work but later on Sunday, it started. I didn't really want to risk missing work due to my car and dealing with the maintenance of the car so I decided to look for a new car. My parents bought me that car when I was still in college second hand so I figured that it was about time I bought my own car.

Originally I had planned to trade in the vehicle if I could but my dad decided he wanted to keep it. My mom was against it as they have 3 other cars, but I'm not going to argue with my parents over keeping a car that they purchased for me. Also my dad agreed to give me some more money for my down so why would I argue with them and be a brat over a car they gave me?

Being that I'm trying to be make financially fit choices, I was originally looking at 2008-2009 cars by makes such as Mazda, Honda and Nissan. However I saw that Mazda was having a 0% financing offer for up to 5 years in January. Well, they extended the offer to the end of March and I test drove a Mazda3 and fell in love! Okay, so I probably commited personal finance sin #1 by purchasing a new car but I'm happy with my purchase. If I purchased a second hand Mazda3 I would have probably been able to get a nicer one for around $14000-$15000 and still had to pay 6%+ interest on the term of the loan. I figured that it would come to being close to the same and hey, why not get a car that no one has had a chance to abuse yet?

In the end, I purchased a Mazda3i touring in a manual. I think it has some great features for the price. The salesperson kept trying to convince me not to put anything down (then my dad joined in..ugh!) because of the 0% financing but I didn't want to pay close to $350 a month for 5 years! My parents were generous enough to give me $1000 and I transferred the majority of my savings to put $2000 down. I ended up getting (conned into? ha) the 100,000miles/6 year warranty. Total my payments will be $301 a month.

Now it'll be even more important for me to pay off the Prosper account ASAP now that I have the car loan and my debt to payoff. I may be criticized for making the financially-unfit decision of buying a new car, but I'm happy with my purchase. Also, it feels good to finally own something in my name. I would have had to buy a car eventually with the condition of my old car and it's good that I was able to get it now while a lot of car makers are having great financing deals.

New Look

2010-02-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

I made a spur of the moment to change the look of my blog. I'm not sure how I feel about it overall just yet but I do like the three columns. It's a free layout I got online, and for whatever reason it wants to have my sections arranged in a specific way because every time I edit, then go back, all my sections are back in a different order?

We'll see if I stick with this.. maybe it'll grow on me :)

Federal Taxes DONE!

2010-02-06T17:32:00.000-08:00

After a day filled with some annoying car salesmen I'm glad to say that I just filed my Federal taxes! I did run into some fees using Turbo Tax but I still came out with a refund of $1392! Not bad, but I owe $192 to the state of CA. :( I decided not to file my state taxes through Turbo Tax since I would be charged an additional $37 and I know how to file those myself. So total after I file my CA taxes, thats $1200! Once I have the money in my account, the question will be how to allocate this extra money. Here are some ideas:

1. Pay down CC debt
2. (Re-)fund my savings
3. Pay off Prosper

Since I'm going to probably be using most if not all my savings in the next few weeks purchasing a car, I may want to use this money to re-fund my savings. However, debt payoff being a top priority, I may want to allocate it to Prosper or my CC debt. A goal for February is to get my Prosper loan under $1000, so if I can achieve that goal maybe I can pay off Prosper AND add some money back to my savings. We'll have to see how I'm doing on my goals when I receive the refund in a few weeks.

Are you getting any money back? If so, how are you planning to use your refund?

February Goals

2010-02-03T06:15:00.000-08:00

I'm going back to setting monthly goals for myself to keep me on task! Here it goes for February:

PF Goals:

Complete taxes - it'll be nice if I get some money back since I will probably be purchasing a car soon!
Get Prosper under $1k - this will involve doubling my usual payments
Eat out 4x or less this month - I have been eating out a lot and it does add up. Even if for the most part it's a bowl of noodles or something for $8 or less, I'd like to minimize it this month to 4x or less. Obviously, I won't count if I don't have to pay for it (aka, a date) haha.. wishful thinking!
Call Discover to ask for an APR reduction - I know I've been putting this off, but in all honesty I hate talking to customer service reps on the phone. So, I'd really like to take care of this and at least try to get a reduction!
Make $100 extra money - My plan of attack: eBay! I have tons of things I can sell on eBay so I'm going to give this a shot this month.

Personal Goals:

Get weight down to 135 - right now, I'm at 137-138, so if I'm able to go down 2-3 pounds that would be awesome!
Get letters of recommendations for schools
Apply to the 5-6 schools I selected!
Daily pushups - I want to try to do push ups this month at least 5x a week. I'm starting with 15/day, so if I do 15x20 days thats 300 push ups in February! 15 down, only 285 to go! ;)

Update On My 26 Goals

2010-02-03T05:46:00.001-08:00

Checking in with my 26 goals to complete by September 2010:

Personal Finance:
1. Research and open a Roth IRA
2. Save an emergency fund of at least $3000 - a little over halfway there, however I'm probably going to buy a car soon, and I will dip into this to use as a down payment
3. Pay down at least $10k in CC debt - 36% there
4. Save at least $300 for Christmas shopping - $60 so far, going to attempt to fully fund this w/ my tax refund
5. Pay off Prosper loan - next on my payoff list! I owe about $1400 to date.

Education & Career:
6. Get into a Graduate program - in process of researching schools and applying
7. Pass board certification exam
8. Look into jobs at other agencies (weigh out pros and cons)

Leisure & Fitness:
~~9. Get Cycle certification~~
10. Get AFAA group fitness certification
11. Run 3 half marathons - 2 down, 1 to go
12. Run 1 full marathon. - Hmm, not even sure if I want to do this one anymore!
13. Get weight down to 130 - in progress, currently 137
14. Do one full (unassisted) pull up - doing p90x, which is super hard! Doing 1 independently will be a great accomplishment
15. Snowboard 2x in Tahoe during Winter Season - I love to snowboard, but time has been an issue
16. Organize a party class or team teaching once every 2 months - so far, so good!
17. Incorporate more flexibility work. Take yoga at least 3x a month

Travel:
~~18. Visit one place I have never been before~~ - I went to NY last month!
19. Visit Pacific Northwest 1x in Winter to snowboard - again, time and money is an issue.
20. Go to Disneyland

Personal/Hobbies:
21. Read 22 books - I just finished 6
22. Volunteer 2x
~~23. Reorganize clothes, donate old clothes and shoes~~ - I did some reorganizing so I'll say this is completed
~~24. Start knitting again~~
~~25. Cut back blackberry use (maybe try to limit times checking phone, text messaging, etc)~~ - I don't have a Blackberry anymore but I have cut back on my phone use especially at work.
26. Take a class for fun (Cooking, physical education or arts/crafts)

Wow, it's good I checked in with these! Some of the goals I think I won't be able to complete and some I'm not even that interested in anymore. We'll see how it goes this month!

Cars Are Evil

2010-01-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

So on Friday as I was getting ready to leave for work, my car wouldn't start! Not that I'm complaining about getting out of work but it still won't start now! My dad has been helping me with it, and he thinks it's the starter. He's offered to take it to a shop this week and attempt to get it running.

In the meantime, I've been looking online for a new car. My car is 15 years old, and has 173,000 miles on it. My parents bought me the car back in 2005 and they think it might be worthwhile just to let me trade it in (if it is running and if somewhere will take it!) and use my savings to buy a new car. Since I'm working on paying my debt down, ideally I don't want to take on a payment of more than $250/month. I've been looking at newer used cars, and also new cars that aren't too expensive. I've been fixated on Mazda 3's so far, but I'm looking into other small-ish gas efficient cars that have reasonable maintenance.

I'll probably use all of my e-fund (bleh) to use towards a down payment. If I buy a car now, and continue to keep up with my automatic savings I still should have around $1000 or so saved up by the end of the year which I guess is okay. I also have a tax refund to look forward to which I can use to supplement my savings again.

Any ideas on a new car? So far I've been looking into Mazda 3's, Honda FITs, and I'm looking into Nissan Versas now.

Balance Transfer

2010-01-29T06:34:00.001-08:00

Happy Friday everyone! I went ahead and transferred the balance of my Nordstrom Visa to my Citi card, which has a 0% financing offer for 7 months and a 15.99% APR after. I'm going to call Discover today on my break hopefully to ask for an APR reduction.

If I do get the reduction, my plan is to tackle my biggest balance on my American Express. Right now the APR is at 17.99% but the minimum is pretty high because they also changed how my minimum is calculated. If not, I'll tackle the Discover. Either way I'm motivated to reduce my debt!

While I'm working on this, I should probably find some ways to make extra cash here and there! :)

Let's Hear It for New York!

2010-01-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

"Don't Let Debt Defeat a Great Nation"

I just got back from New York last night and I had a blast! It was fun even if it was overpriced! We stayed in the heart of Manhattan about 5 blocks away from Times Square. We didn't plan as well as I think we should have but I still had a good time either way. There was some drama between my friends which I won't get into the details of but I still was able to make the best of it.

I'd love to go again but if I do I think I'd do some things a bit different. First, I'd like to stay outside of Manhattan. As much as I loved the city, it was pretty overpriced. With easy access of subways and public transportation it might be worth the savings to stay outside of the city. Also, it's pretty touristy and I think it would be cool to get a feel for "real" New York. My friend that lives there said we can't really make a true comparison of New York to California while we're staying in Manhattan since the prices are so jacked up for tourists and many people that are in Manhattan aren't actually from New York.

Second, I'd like to plan a little bit better for my next trip. My friends and myself alike are all way too laid back and didn't really make any set plans. Now that I went, I wish we did. For example, we tried to check out the Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA and it was sold out for the weekend. I don't want a set in stone itinerary for every hour I'm on vacation but a little planning would have been nice.

Lastly, if and when I go again I'd cut back on the going out and partying. It was fun, but not that fun that I couldn't have done without it. Not only that, but this means we were going to bed at 6am and waking at 2-3! The time change makes for a big difference and wasting the majority of the day which I didn't like too much. Not to mention it's better for my health if I cut out at least 1-2 days of the nightlife scene!

Overall, I had a lot of fun! I got to hang out with some friends that live there and experience NY for the first time. Now time to get back to my regular, less spendy and indulgent life. ;)

Donate Your Cash Back Rewards!

2010-01-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

This weekend I logged into my Discover account to check something and I saw that I could donate my cash back to the Red Cross to aid relief in Haiti. I didn't even remember having any cash back rewards, but I had a little bit over $20 so I went ahead and donated $20.

Cash might be a little low at times for me while I work on paying off my debt but I feel great that I was able to donate some money to help in Haiti. I would recommend anyone who has a credit card with a cash back system to check and see if you can donate your rewards to the Red Cross.

Weekend To-Do List 1/15

2010-01-15T06:43:00.000-08:00

~~Pick up library book~~
Copy knitting patterns
~~Return other books~~
~~Finish reading The Sea of Monsters~~
Material Development for work
Study CBEST (focus on reading)
Organize books and magazines
~~Yoga 1x~~
~~Wash car or get it washed at gas station~~
~~Fill up at Shell IF having free lift ticket promotion~~
Get a haircut
Start packing! :)

I've been really into making these to do lists. They keep me on track somewhat better than I could on my own. I also use an application on my phone. Have a good weekend everyone!

Question About Balance Transfer Offers From The Financially Impared

2010-01-13T22:29:00.000-08:00

In the previous post, I mentioned that I got a new CC that has a 0% offer. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. It said "up to 12 months 0% transfers" but I got accepted for 7 months of 0% on balance transfers. So now my question is, if I transfer a balance to that card and once the 7 months is up, does the interest start accruing at the 7 month date anniversary or will they tack on all the interest I would have accrued during the 0% (at the regular APR) at the 7 month anniversary? I haven't gotten my actual card and transfer information yet, so I may be able to answer this myself but I'm trying to plan ahead.

For some reason, I feel like I think the latter is true. Or maybe that applies only to "0% financing for x months" offers that you would get when making purchases (such as on large ticket electronics, etc)? I'm trying to think ahead and how I may benefit the most from taking advantage of a 0% transfer offer, and which order to tackle my 3 main accounts I have in mind for payoff this year.

Take That, Debt!

2010-01-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

I just finished paying off my first Visa account today! Woohoo! With the help of some owed money and gift money, I was able to pay off the remaining $1474.87! Since some of it was money that was given to me, I'm only counting the $600.87 of my own cash that I put towards this account as part of my $10k debt payoff goal to be fair to myself and cruel to my debt. ;)

So, the question now is: Where to go next? I have the three following accounts in mind:

Prosper (-$1725.87) APR - 14.16% Minimum Payment - $288.24
Visa #2 (-$3231.31) APR - 18.90% Minimum Payment -$94
Discover (–$4,761.21) APR - 18.24% Minimum Payment - $94

I'm still working on hopefully getting my APR on my Discover card lowered. If that happens, I was thinking about transferring Visa #2 to a 0% balance offer for 7 months that I just got. However, since the Prosper is almost paid off and has such a high minimum payment, I'd want to pay that off first. I figure if I transfer the Visa balance when I'm ready to start knocking out the Prosper loan, I can hopefully do it in 2 months and have 5 months to pay off the transferred balance before the interest goes up. I'm still waiting to receive the new card and balance transfer stuff, so I still have some time to think of how I want to tackle this. What would you do?

2010 so far is off to a great start! I feel like I'm making some serious changes financially and otherwise! Hope everyone else is doing great on their goals as well. :)

Woohoo!

2010-01-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Another $700 down to the Visa! Cash might be a little low until I get paid but that's okay with me considering I'll be done with this card hopefully by next month!

It's a small step to a big change so I'm happy. :)

Weekend To-Do List

2010-01-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

Finish reading Eat, Pray, Love - had to return to avoid late fee
~~Pick up library knitting books~~
Copy patterns
~~Finish knitting blue scarf~~
2 loads of laundry - in progress
Study for CBEST (take practice exam)
~~Work out (P90x - chest and back)~~

Updates

2010-01-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

My friends and I are going to New York in three weeks and I'm super excited! I just updated all my sidebars and I am happy to see my Visa under $1,000! I'm hoping to get this paid off by the end of February. I had to use another CC to reserve flights and hotels, but as my friends have been paying me back I have been redirecting it to this account. So it's technically not paying down debt but I'm redirecting it to a higher APR card. Once this card is paid off I will be able to work on the other accounts. I will also probably use all my money in my travel savings to pay off my portion of the trip. My networth probably won't reflect an increase at the moment since I did make some purchases and had to pay for my last class ($800!), but I feel like I am making progress as far as saving and working on paying down my debt.

I recently asked my other CC that I plan on paying off after the Visa if I can get an APR decrease and I got denied! I may look into consolidation options soon.

Non-Cash "Envelope" System

2010-01-02T14:20:00.000-08:00

So as many of you already know, I had a mishap last month where I lost $280 at the ATM machine withdrawing my money for my envelope cash only system. I did end up getting back my $280 but I still lost $27 (non sufficient funds) and not to mention the time and effort filing for a dispute.

This month I'm going to test out using my debit card for purchases. I feel like this can get a little wild especially if I don't balance my checkbook ASAP. So, to make it feel like an all cash system, I'm going to keep an index card in my wallet with my debit card to track my spending.

Here's a pic:

I'll keep you guys posted on how it works for me. I'd prefer to use this system to prevent losing cash in the future, it's also more reasonable than carrying around over $200 cash at a time.

My Networth

2010-01-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

My networth starting in January 2010:

March 2010: -$24,282
February 2010: -$24,785
January 2010: -$24,901

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Hope you guys have a great year! In 2010 I will resolve to:

-pay down debt
-save more $
-not buy any new makeup (unless it's replacing a used up item!)

What are you guys going to do in 2010?

Dear Body: PLEASE Don't Get Sick!

2009-12-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

I am hoping until mid 2010, my body doesn't decide to do anything crazy which would cause me to have to go to the doctor. A few months ago when I went to go refill my birth control I was shocked to find out I was being charged $120+ instead of my usual $10. I immediately contacted my job and come to find out, (if I was paying better attention) they recently changed our health coverage. Sure, we are saving a little every paycheck but now we have to pay ridiculous amounts up front! The person I spoke with at my job agreed that it was kind of a dumb idea and most people weren't happy but to compensate they put some money in our HSA. Then she said that enrollment wasn't until May so basically I'm screwed until then. Needless to say, I stopped birth control since I was not using it for it's intended purpose anyway(using it to keep my skin clear.)

So come the week of Christmas, around the 22nd-23rd I had been feeling a weird burning sensation in my skin. Not the normal soreness from working out but a burning similar to if my skin were chafed or sunburned. The pain was concentrated in the center of my back but also on my side. I wasn't really sure what to think of it but did think it was odd. I was especially disturbed by the pain in my side but I was just hoping it would go away. About three days ago, a small cluster of rashes appeared on my side. I have pretty sensitive skin so this wouldn't freak me out normally but it was also paired with extreme pain. Pain similar to a fresh tattoo but worse. I finally couldn't take it and started browsing the internet yesterday and looking up skin rashes, and found that my symptoms sounded exactly like Shingles! Yes, leave it to me to get something that usually only shows up in adults over 50! When I emailed my doctor even she was hesitant to say it was shingles since I was so young and told me she wanted to look at it. Low and behold... I actually do have Shingles! An outbreak of Shingles can also be brought out by stress, but I don't think I've been stressed out more than normal unless it has been accumulating from my breakup in September to now? Anyway.. here comes the fantastic part of the story!

So since my job changed my insurance, my copay just to see the doctor was $75! Not to mention that I had to get prescription medication and painkiller, which came out to a whopping $270 since I have to pay all the costs of medication now! So let's review the cost of my lovely case of Shingles and how much it would have been on my old plan:

Old Insurance: around $100 deducted a month
Doctor visit copay: $30
Generic medication: $10
Name brand medication: $35
Total Cost: $75

New Insurance: $70 a month
Doctor visit copay: $75
Generic medication: $15
Name brand medication: $255
Total Cost: $345

Okay, now WTF. I'm not sure WHY my job thought it would be a good decision to do this. They did give us money in our HSA but I still had to pay $100, and not to mention they were giving us money in our HSA already which was better with our old insurance plan! I'm not sure if I'm the minority in my workplace but I don't think I necessarily take an obscene amount of medications or make a lot of visits to the doctor, but personally I'd much rather have them take out more money that I haven't even seen yet out of my paycheck than pay a crapload of cash up front! I'm definitely going to check in with my job's HR closer to because they aren't known for a very good follow through on what they say.

For the time being, all I can do is try to manage my stress better, stay healthy and have money available for situations like this! Also making light of the fact that I'm 26 with Shingles has made me feel somewhat better. My friends and I have been working on remakes to a lot of songs such as "Shingle Bells", and "Shingle Ladies". :)

(If your not sure what Shingles is, it's not something I caught doing something dirty. Basically, once you get chicken pox even after your better the virus stays in your system and in your nerves. Large amounts of stress or a weaker immune system can cause the dormant virus to come out again and appearing as a rash. Yes...lucky me)

Ultimate Outcomes

2009-12-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

While watching the lectures for my last unit of my current class, I was thinking about how the terms apply to my own personal life and goals. This unit was on selecting interventions and outcomes. I'm not going to bore you and give you a a full rundown of psychology, but here are some of the things I learned.

Ultimate Outcomes - statements about a how a person's life style change will change for the better. Ultimate outcomes are not behavior change but a change that has an impact in one's life and lifestyle.

Intermediate Outcomes - things that bring a person closer to achieving their ultimate outcomes. Intermediate Outcomes may be changes in behavior.

Short Term Objectives - measurable behavioral targets leading to the meeting of intermediate objectives/outcomes.

As far as how this applies to me and my financial goals.. here it is!

My ultimate outcome is to be free of credit card debt and to have an emergency fund that can cover at least two months of unemployment.

Intermediate Outcome 1: I want to pay off all credit card debt by the end of 2012.
Intermediate Outcome 2: I want to save at least $6000 by the end of 2012.

My Short Term (2010) Objective Statement:
I will decrease my amount of debt from $20k+ to no more than $14k that I owe to credit cards by Dec. 31, 2010. I will also increase my amount of cash saved from $1500 to $3500 in my emergency fund by Dec. 31, 2010.

I adapted this a little to fit my personal finance goals. Overall when selecting behaviors to focus on, usually it is important to take into account if the behavior is illegal, or if the person is a danger to himself or others. Also, if the behavior is something that causes an individual to be excluded from groups of peers because of it's nature (bizarre, disruptive, etc). Lastly, behaviors that are preventing an individual from independent functioning are focused on.

In my life, while being in debt isn't directly a danger to my safety or those around me and isn't illegal, I do feel that it excludes me from my peers who are saving more, buying homes, new cars, etc. Also it hinders me from living completely independent in the respect that I am always paying to my debt.

So here's to 2010 and reaching my goals! I hope all of you can reach your goals financial and otherwise in 2010!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone has a safe and fantastic Christmas!

APR Decrease!

2009-12-22T08:02:00.000-08:00

I mentioned earlier that I would start to try to get my APR's lowered and I just had my first success! Last year in December, I missed a payment on my Amex which left me with a HUGE interest increase to about 21%! In the last 2 months, they raised it even more to 27%! So in the past I had asked for an interest rate reduction being that it was a stupid mistake on my part and the only time I've ever forgotten a payment. They told me in a year I could get it reduced. Well I'm happy to say that I emailed them and got it reduced to 17%! That's still relatively high but A LOT better than what I've been paying in interest for a year now! Also, in addition they gave me a $100 credit against the finance charge!

I will try again in a few months for another reduction but I'm definitely happy to have anything lower than 20% at the moment.

Weekend To-Do List

2009-12-18T16:35:00.001-08:00

I like having these on my blog every now and then to keep me on task. Here is what I want to complete by Sunday:

- Watch 10 lecture videos
- Write Christmas cards
- Start Christmas shopping (yes.. I know :/)
- Laundry
- Make Mix for Cycle class

Update on Cash #2

2009-12-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

So as many of you know, I made a dumb move in the beginning of the month and lost $280 at the ATM. When I filed the dispute last Monday at the branch, the person I spoke with at the call center told me it could take up to ten days to process a refund while they complete an investigation.

So ten days has passed and I was wondering why I hadn't received a refund so I called customer service again. Turns out I was given the wrong information and that it can take up to 45 days! They have ten days to refund you if it was a mastercard or visa transaction, but since it was a cash withdrawal they have to go through all the fun stuff like checking the cameras, etc. I'm pretty sure I forgot to hit cancel, so I am hoping that their cameras can see that I didn't take the cash. I'm really hoping that I am able to get this cash back by January, the return of my lost $280 will be a nice little windfall to add to my debt or savings.

UPDATE as of 4:30pm
I checked my bank account today and I got my credit! I'm pretty happy I actually got it. I went ahead and transferred all the cash split between my e-fund, travel and my car fund. I was able to get my E-fund to $1500, which was the goal I set to have saved by the end of 2009 :)

2010 Goals

2009-12-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

I may be kind of late to thinking about what my 2010 goals are going to be, so here it goes. Since I made a pretty extensive list of 26 goals to complete in my 26 year, I think I'm going to keep it pretty simple on the 2010 goals. My birthday is nine months into 2010 so if I can complete most if not all my goals on that list, I will be a happy camper!

Overall, I've been thinking about me and my money. Around me a lot of my peers are buying houses and "growing up". I want to stop being a prisoner to my debt in 2010 and make a serious effort to pay down my debt while also setting aside some money to decrease the future likelihood of credit card use. Sure I've been making an effort to pay down my debt, but in more recent months and especially after becoming single in September, I haven't been making the same devoted effort as I was in earlier months. Also, if everything works out as planned and I (hopefully) start a master's program in the Fall of 2010, I want to have my debt at least paid down so that it won't be accumulating on top of the student loans I will have to get to pay for my education.

Luckily, I have the next 2 weeks pretty much free of work so I want to use that time to think up a plan to tackle my debt. Here are some things I will try to do:
1. Call ALL CC's and ask for a decrease in APR.
2. Look into consolidation loans if I am unable to get a lower APR.
3. Start thinking of other ways to make some extra money.
4. Look into ways I can save money and spend less.

Obviously these are things I was once doing but I think I've lost sight of my overall goals. This will be a good refresher and hopefully a good kick start to 2010. Here's to the New Year and wish me luck!

Falling Behind

2009-12-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

I was pretty ambitious making my 26 Goals back in September but now I'm falling behind. Not only that.. but I've racked up some more debt. I've used my card for some misc purchases and also to book some flights. I booked my friend's tickets, so once I get paid back I'm going to redistribute that to my debt so I can reach my goals. Also, hopefully if and when I get my $280 back that I lost at the ATM I can add that to my debt and savings goals.

Sometimes I feel really weak as far as spending goes but I am trying to stay positive so that I don't fall behind any further! I'm going to try to think of some motivators to keep me on track once the new year rolls around. Also finding some new hobbies and activities that aren't very costly.

Travel Fund - $50
E-fund - $25
(update to side bars and networth coming soon)

Book List

2009-12-11T21:30:00.000-08:00

Last Updated: February 12, 2010

I need a way to keep me on track of reaching my 22 books in my 26th year goal. So here is a list of books I am interested in, and I'll cross them out as I go. Will update as the list evolves:

A Million Little Pieces
Almost French
~~Angels & Demons~~
Change of Heart
~~Davinci Code~~
~~Eat, Pray, Love~~
Fingersmith
Grave Secret
I Dreamed of Africa
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series - read book 1 & 2
Starbucks Saved My Life
Super Freakonomics
~~The Almost Moon~~ - couldn't get into it so I returned it
The Art of Racing in the Rain
The Blind Side
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo
~~The Lost Symbol~~
~~The Lovely Bones~~
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Water for Elephants
Committed
~~Adventures of Diet Girl~~
~~Start Over, Finish Rich~~

Current Book Count: 10/22
As you can see my list isn't that extensive right now so I'm open to any suggestions!

Update on My Lost Cash

2009-12-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

So, on Monday I went ahead and filed a claim at the bank. They said it can take up to 10 days to deposit the cash while they finish their investigation, so I'm going to be on the lookout for it. I'm super paranoid to carry cash now! I may just start paying all my bills ASAP and use my debit card with the amount of cash for each category. I feel like I have less control when I use my debit card though, so I'll have to make some system where I can keep track of how much I spend for each category.

UGH! What a Fantastic Start to the Month...

2009-12-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, totally being sarcastic. Today I had a very very stupid lapse in my memory and may have lost $280 in the process!

My job had this stupid idea of paying us on new random dates. I thought we got paid the 2nd, but apparently not. I was going to withdraw the December's first round of cash for my wallet, and made a small deposit first of leftover cash from November. I was in the process of withdrawing the $280 when I looked at the deposit receipt and realized that my paycheck didn't go through. So, instead of canceling my withdrawal I just WALKED away from the ATM! I came home to check my bank account and realized I did in fact withdraw the $280, and checked my wallet and don't have the cash!!

I called the bank and spoke with a manager. She said that if the money isn't actually pulled from the ATM the ATM will take it back. Also, since it's pending it may just drop off my transaction list. However, if it does actually go through then I can fill out an ATM inquiry and they'll let me know in about 10 days if I can get my money back. Hopefully they can look through their surveillance cameras and see that I didn't actually take the money. There weren't a lot of people at the bank and I was in my car for a little while after going to the ATM and didn't notice anyone in line to use the ATM. I hope if someone did find the money they will do the right thing... UGH! I can't believe I did that!! Probably one of the stupidest things I've done so far!

Hopefully things will work out.. and hopefully my brain comes back to my head soon. I kind of need it, and don't want a repeat of today!

Success! (on the gifting end)

2009-11-27T21:49:00.001-08:00

Thanks for the responses to my post a few days ago about how I despise gifting. Simplelivin' suggested I speak to my friends about not doing a gift exchange and I decided to just go ahead and talk to all my friends that I would normally exchange gifts with. They were all open to it, so I'm excited that I have less presents to buy which means less money to spend! I told some of them that instead we can just get together when my best friend is in town for dinner or lunch together to celebrate the holidays. They were all pretty open to it and actually embraced it.

Did anyone do any crazy shopping today? The only shopping I did today was around 5pm when I stopped at Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy of The Lovely Bones. I also was able to get a gift for my neice. I got her a New Moon puzzle ball for 40% which came out to about $13. I hope I get to help her put it together, ha ha. I'm only kidding.. sort of.

Today's Spending:
Energy drink - $3
Movies - $7.25
The Lovely Bones paperback - $7.99
New Moon puzzle - $13~

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T08:18:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Enjoy the food and the leftovers for the rest of November LOL!

What are your plans?

Christmas Gifts

2009-11-23T08:58:00.001-08:00

Christmas shopping time is here! I don't know about the rest of you but I kind of despise Christmas. It's definitely not the fun thing I remember from my childhood. Not only is shopping for presents kind of stressful, but it seems like it's all about the presents and not about the overall picture of spending time with those who mean the most to you. Yes, it's pretty cliche that I just said that but it's true. A lot of the time I don't even know what would be a good present to get someone. Also this might sound a tad harsh but I get a lot of presents from family that I never even use and somewhat wish they didn't even give me a present at all. A lot of the things I get or give seem kind of thoughtless and all out of the act of just giving a present.

Anyway, I'm curious what you guys are going to give your family and friends? I wanted to knit people scarves but a. I don't know where my knitting needles are at this point, b. I don't think I remember HOW to knit and c. not sure how long that will take! I am still considering it. I would like to only give presents to my CLOSE family and friends but some people I feel like I have to give a present to because they give me one. Feeling my dislike of Christmas gift giving anyone??

On a different note, who saw New Moon? I think I fell in love with Jacob Black ALL over again!

When Life Takes Hold..

2009-11-15T19:05:00.000-08:00

My blog suffers! As I don't have anything TOO exciting to mention or bring up (finances = bleh) I thought this would be a good time to do a small overview of how my 26 goals are doing so far!

Personal Finance:
1. Research and open a Roth IRA
2. Save an emergency fund of at least $3000 - in progress
3. Pay down at least $10k in CC debt - (slowly) in progress
4. Save at least $300 for Christmas shopping
5. Pay off Prosper loan - in progress

Education & Career:
6. Get into a Graduate program
7. Pass board certification exam
8. Look into jobs at other agencies (weigh out pros and cons)

Leisure & Fitness:
9. ~~Get Cycle certification~~ - COMPLETED! 11/09
10. Get AFAA group fitness certification
11. Run 3 half marathons (Already doing 2 in October!) - in progress, 2 down!
12. Run 1 full marathon. If the event is after my 27th birthday, at least have registered and started training
13. Get weight down to 130
14. Do one full (unassisted) pull up
15. Snowboard 2x in Tahoe during Winter Season
16. Organize a party class or team teaching once every 2 months
17. Incorporate more flexibility work. Take yoga at least 3x a month

Travel:
18. Visit one place I have never been before - in progress! NY in January!
19. Visit Pacific Northwest 1x in Winter to snowboard
20. Go to Disneyland

Personal/Hobbies:
21. Read 22 books - in progress. Slowly, 1 down, 21 to go. ha ha ;)
22. Volunteer 2x
23. Reorganize clothes, donate old clothes and shoes
24. Start knitting again
25. Cut back blackberry use (maybe try to limit times checking phone, text messaging, etc) - eh.. don't have a blackberry anymore but I am trying to cut back phone use. So I'll say in progress!
26. Take a class for fun (Cooking, physical education or arts/crafts)

Feels Good

2009-10-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

It feels good to finally be coming back to my senses (financial and otherwise) and getting my life back on a track of normalcy. My spending has been off the HOOK lately. Being single can add up - social events, bars, keeping your mind occupied with something other than your ex. Now, it's time for me to get back to studying and preparing to achieve my financial and personal goals!

The second course for my certification started so it's back to studying. Also, I'm going to try to take the CBEST soon so I am going to start preparing.

I'm also back to brown bagging my lunch to work which will hopefully save A LOT of money that I have been spending on eating out! Also now that all the birthdays are over, it's back to eating dinner at home for the majority of the time.

I'm going to the Pacific Northwest this weekend for a pretty chill weekend with a friend, I have no plans for halloween other than hanging out and maybe carving some pumpkins and handing out candy at their house. I don't have a lot of expenses planned for this trip so hopefully I can keep it reasonable.

All in all, I'm back on a goal oriented mindset...

Birthday Season is OVER (for me at least) and some rants..

2009-10-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Wow! I feel like I got flooded with birthdays in October! Tons of close friends and family all had birthdays this month. Maybe I'm attracted to Libras? Not exactly sure but I'm glad because it means the end of big celebration dinner/happy hours and more money in my wallet!

Celebrating my birthday big time with all my friends has never been a big interest of mine. This year I celebrated my birthday with my family over dinner, and once with some of my close friends over dinner. Maybe I'm not as social as my Libra counterparts, but doing a big dinner at an overly expensive uptight restaurant with a bunch of people that I'm not THAT close to isn't really enticing to me.

My biggest problem I have with these types of events is when the tab comes, I'm almost positive almost half of the people don't put in enough money to cover their share. I know Debt Ninja did a post mentioning this, but I hate when people don't take into consideration the fact that they have to pay the tax + tip/gratuity. HELLO, just because your meal was $9.99 doesn't mean you can drop a $10 on the tab and leave! Also, I thought this was common birthday etiquette but shouldn't everyone pay a portion of the birthday celebrant's dinner and drinks? At the last two large dinner/happy hour celebrations I went to I'm almost positive that a lot of people did not contribute their even portion. I ended up paying over $50 at both when I know my food and drinks plus a portion of the celebrant's dinner did not cost $50! I'm not going to sit there and try to hustle everyone for their money, but I hate those idiots that come and just sit like a deer in headlights when the tab comes up short! Maybe this is why I don't have any interest in hosting BIG birthday celebrations, because I'd rather just spend it with those that I am close enough to and can trust won't put others in weird money situations!

Anyway...end of rant. Just saying people, don't try to party with the birthday celebrant if you can't put your fair share of money in! I'm glad all of those birthdays are over, now onto the holidays! :)

Working on Goal #11: Half Marathons (part 2)

2009-10-20T05:48:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday I ran my 2nd marathon, which means I'm almost to my goal of 3 by age 27! I did the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco, which is the largest women's event in the world! With 20,000 participants I feel lucky to have gotten in last minute! This race was a lot more enjoyable for me than the race I participated in two weeks ago. Aside from the awesome finisher's gift (a NWM Tiffany's necklace handed to you by firefighters) San Francisco is a beautiful city to run in with nice colder weather. My main concern going into this race were all the HILLS! If you're familiar with San Francisco then you know what I am talking about. I heard they changed the course a bit from last year and for some reason I can't remember running that many hills last year when I participated in the full! The hills were difficult for me to run not necessarily due to my lack of ability, but because a lot of them were very narrow and packed with tons of people and so basically you just had to shuffle behind the crowd all the way up! They had a lot of cool motivational signs all throughout the course and in a cheesy way it does make you feel strong and proud to "run like a girl"! They also handed out gatorade (which is my preferred sport drink), mini luna bars and moons, Ghiradeli chocolate, oranges and Safeway Rancher's Reserve Steak bites on the course (because what I really want to smell or EAT at mile 11 is meat??) Last year I think I tried to enjoy everything they had but this year I honestly wanted to try my best to run and get the thing over with!

The next half marathon I plan on registering for is at the end of March. I'll probably take it easy in the colder months on the running and try to work on my other fitness goals. I will however try to make it a point to do SOME running and not stop all together like I did last year after NWM, just to stay in the groove of things.

Here's a picture of the necklace! We also got a Nike Dri-fit running shirt as well.

I would definitely recommend this race to anyone (guys included)! Entry is on a lottery basis, and registration is sometime in the spring (March/April). However, Team in Training can put you in during their summer and fall training seasons since this is a race to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. My experience last year running with Team in Training was great but the main difficulty with doing that is fundraising the money. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, so the fundraising minimum to get into the event alone was $2100, which means it would be more if you live out of the area and have to fundraise for the event, hotel and airfare.

All in all, I had a GREAT run and I can't wait to do my next!

Updates (Finally!)

2009-10-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

Ok so my personal financing self has been in shambles. Seriously. I haven't been budgeting or watching spending for that matter (like you couldn't tell from looking at my networth?) I updated my side bars to reflect my birthday goal list and also updated my networth. Today I actually did some semi-productive things which were:

-Deposit $100 to E-Fund
-Deposit $100 to Car Fund
-Pay $100 to Nordstrom Visa
-Pay $100 to Visa #1
-Pay $66 to Discover

I'm going to withdraw my cash for my envelopes tonight, so I can get my debit card OUT of my wallet. I also went grocery shopping for lunch items since I've been spending money on food every day!

I promise...more productiveness to come soon :)

Working on Goal 11: Half Marathons

2009-10-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I ran my first of 3 half marathons that I am shooting to do in my 26th year! Last year I did a full in October but this was my first half! It went relatively well considering I kind of fell off my training in September. With school, work picking up full time and my breakup, running wasn't my top priority. The longest run I did prior was about 7.5 miles and that was at the end of August. I work out on a relatively consistent basis but my preparation could have been better.

Unfortunately, I found out the next day that 2 people died at the race. A 34 year old and a 35 year old which is crazy and sad. Any casualty is unbelievable but for an event with only 12000+ participants it seems even crazier! The temperature that day was only 68 degrees at it's hottest, so it's really unfortunate and shocking that 2 people passed away.

I'm doing another half on the 18th, so I think this was a good "training" run. Here are some things I learned (and re-learned) this past weekend:

Take it easy. In the beginning I think I ran a little too fast, considering that I wasn't warmed up it caught up with me a little around mile 3. I was trying to keep up with my friends that were with me but considering that they are faster runners and that I've been experiencing pain with my knee it wasn't the best idea I had.
DO NOT experiment with food/drink the day of the event! I don't even know why I tried this considering that I have done an endurance event before but here is my lesson learned. When we arrived at the event my friend had two 5 hour shots, and she gave me one. I'm pretty used to drinking caffeinated beverages but I've never had one and I drank it anyway. I'm not gonna gross you out here but lets just say I wasn't feeling too hot around mile 3-4. It did eventually pass once I started drinking my other regular fluids. Experimenting to find out what works for you is ok, as long as you do it PRIOR to your event! No one wants to puke (or worse) while running and no one wants to see that either!
Water is your friend, but in moderation. The causes of death for the 2 people that passed away have not been released but I have my speculations that if it wasn't due to a preexisting medical issue that it was probably either from lack of fluids (dehydration) or drinking too much water. Water can be good for you during exercise but in excess and without the right mix of sodium it can actually dilute your blood and be absorbed into your brain. Drinking water in moderation with electrolyte replacement sports drinks are your best bet (gatorade, cytomax, etc) Also, eating carbohydrate supplements such as gels or chews in combination with water and/or a sports drink to wash them down will provide you enough sodium and carbs for energy.
Don't take any pain/injury lightly, and treat accordingly. While training for this marathon I started experiencing pain in my left knee while running. The pain usually goes away while running and hurts after leading me to think it is runner's knee, which is a pretty common thing. Instead of getting a brace or learning to tape my knee, I just decided to "ride it out" and I was in a lot of pain after. Also, I had been experiencing some weird pain in my right calf the week prior to the event, and after my right foot has been hurting pretty bad. I'm assuming my arch either gave out or I have plantar fascitis. I will be using KT tape to tape up my knee and potentially my foot for the next event and taking all precautions to not injure myself completely.

The course I ran on Sunday was all flat which in my opinion is worse than a course with hills. The lack of variation in the course makes you use the same muscles the whole time which I think was in a way harder. The course I am running on the 18th is VERY hilly (in San Francisco - which has some of the most torturous hills known to mankind!) so I'll have to see if I still feel that way. I'm hoping doing the "test run" on Sunday will help me be better prepared for the 18th. Wish Me Luck!

On a PF note, I've been kind of bad lately... I promise to get back into frugal and financing mode soon (I JUST withdrew my money for the first half of October today...tsk tsk!)

September No-Spend Days Challenge Wrap Up

2009-10-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start out by apologizing for my minor disappearance from maintaining my blog. Here goes what I think are the current results, congrats to those who met your goals! I'm so proud of you guys! I didn't do so hot but I can always try again on my own this month. Here it goes:

High Class, Low Income - 7/18 days
Esperanza - 10/10 days
Hustler - 3/20 days
Ashley - 3/15 days
Serendipity - 8/12 days
Alicja - 1/13 days
Simplelivin' - 16/18 days
negative_net_worth - 2/10 days
Miss M - 2/10 days
Movin on up! - ?/12 days

Let me know if you guys have different totals so I can update them. Good luck with your goals for October everyone!

Being a Motivation to Others

2009-10-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was getting a haircut, and I was talking to the hairstylist about fitness and such and giving her pointers on staying motivated. Later when I was paying she saw that I had all my cash organized and she thought it was an awesome idea and said she might try using the envelope system! It feels good to be motivating and help others get small pieces of their life together, or provide useful advice for them to get started.

Thanks everyone for your kind words on my breakup! I'm off today studying for my final at 4PM but will definitely catch up on some blogging soon. :)

Break Up

2009-09-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know this from twitter but my boyfriend (now ex) broke up a week before my birthday. He broke up with me, saying we didn't have chemistry and that he wasn't emotionally involved. I mean hello.. you pursued me, and dated me for close to 10 months and it took you that long to realize we didn't have chemistry? I think I'm in the bitter phase right now because all I feel for him is anger. What's worse is he's being very nice to me. In a way I think it's easier to get over someone when you can't get along with them whatsoever. I'm upset that he never brought up how he felt and just out of the blue dropped me. We never fought or had any other serious issues so it kind of came up as a big shocker to myself and a lot of my close friends and family.

The worse part of the situation is that I work with him. He works for the school district and I work for an outside agency, but we both work with one client in mind. I knew this would be a horrible idea to begin with so I am partly at fault for that, but I think he would have thought this out a little better. Who knows what the hell is going through his head. It's just hard going to work every day and pretending to act normal. Ugh.

So I apologize for my lack of blogging, comments and updates. I know I'll find better but in the mean time I'm doing my best to cope, not feel like absolute crap or cry at work.

Tagged! 10 Things About Me

2009-09-22T14:11:00.000-07:00

Frugal Dreamer tagged me, this may be somewhat similar to my 25 random things so I'll try to thing of 10 other things. Here it goes!

1. I really used to despise cilantro (flavor, smell, seeing it ha ha) but I think it's somewhat growing on me.
2. I recently got addicted to playing Farmville and Sorority Life on FB. I have to admit they have gotten the best of me. I kind of like Farmville better right now because I keep getting beat up on Sorority Life...haha.
3. I sometimes enjoy watching teeny bopper shows on the Disney channel. I'm a 12 year old in a 26 year old's body.
4. I can understand most of my parent's native dialect but I can't speak it. I can say individual words but have never had to speak since I was born here. People can't seem to understand how I can possibly understand it but can't speak it. Who knows but others in the same situation as me can agree with me totally!
5. I have a slight obsession with eating and going to places that have been on TV (Anthony Bourdain, Man vs. Food, etc.) and documenting everything before it goes into my mouth on my camera.
6. I attended public school my whole life(which in CA right now, doesn't have a very good reputation in my opinion). I think it was fine while I was in K-12, but if I had kids of my own I'm not sure if I would want them to go to public school with the current situations.
7. I have a tendency to buy a lot of black clothing.
8. I never played any sports when I was growing up but I wish I did. I think it would have been good for my self esteem growing up.
9. I can be a very competitive person. It can be kind of hindering and stressful at times but it is a good motivational trait at times.
10. I am a believer of naps. I think they make for happier people.

I'm gonna try to my best to tag 10 people that Frugal Dreamer didn't tag already. Feel free to tag yourself too!
1. To Infinity and Beyond
2. Hustle Up
3. Livin' La Vida Broka
4. Serendipity's Guide to Saving
5. Simplelivin'
6. Negative Net Worth
7. Not Your Average Gen Y
8. TeacHer Finance
9. The Debt Chronicles
10. Learning to Save
11. you!
12. you!
13. and YOU!

So I cheated a little and used my challenge participants. :) Now it's your turn!

Week 3: NSD Challenge

2009-09-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I officially suck at Not Spending! ;) I'm still at 6 out of 18 days. At least now I know that there is no way in hell I could possibly do 18, especially in a month where I had lots of fun events planned. Anyway, here is how everyone else is doing:

High Class, Low Income - 6/18 days
Esperanza - 6/10 days
Hustler - 3/20 days
Ashley - 3/15 days
Serendipity - 8/12 days
Alicja - 1/13 days
Simplelivin' - 12/18 days
negative_net_worth - 2/10 days
Miss M - 2/10 days
Movin on up! - ?/12 days

Let me know if your count is different. Just got these from skimming everyone's blogs really quickly. Simplelivin' your rockin it out! As long as we're meeting our overall goals, no spend days are just a small piece of it. At least thats what I'm telling myself for September. :)

26 Goals for my 26th Year

2009-09-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last Updated: June 21, 2010

Life has been crazy and busy lately. Some of the goals overlap with ongoing goals but here it is. Here goes my 26 Goals for my 26th year as promised:

Personal Finance:
1. Research and open a Roth IRA
2. Save an emergency fund of at least ~~$3000~~ $1500 by end of 2010 (modified)
3. ~~Pay down at least $10k in CC debt~~ - not finishing this goal
4. Save at least $300 for Christmas shopping
5. ~~Pay off Prosper loan~~

Education & Career:
6. ~~Get into a Graduate program~~
7. Pass board certification exam
8. ~~Look into jobs at other agencies (weigh out pros and cons)~~

Leisure & Fitness:
9. ~~Get Cycle certification~~
10. Get AFAA group fitness certification
11. Run 3 half marathons - 1 to go
12. Run 1 full marathon. ~~If the event is after my 27th birthday, at least have registered and started training~~
13. ~~Get weight down to 130~~
14. Do one full (unassisted) pull up
15. Snowboard 2x in Tahoe during Winter Season
16. Organize a party class or team teaching once every 2 months
17. Incorporate more flexibility work. Take yoga at least 3x a month

Travel:
18. ~~Visit one place I have never been before~~
19. Visit Pacific Northwest 1x in Winter to snowboard
20. Go to Disneyland

Personal/Hobbies:
21. Read 22 books
22. Volunteer 2x
23. ~~Reorganize clothes, donate old clothes and shoes~~
24. ~~Start knitting again~~
25. ~~Cut back blackberry use (maybe try to limit times checking phone, text messaging, etc)~~
26. Take a class for fun (Cooking, physical education or arts/crafts)

I'm either going to add this list to the side bar and check them off as I go or do a monthly check in of my goals. Thanks Serendipity for the idea!

One Year Older, One Year Wiser

2009-09-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Today's my 26th Birthday! Here's to another year becoming wiser about my financial, and personal life decisions (and hey...a little more fabulous too!)

Still have to go to work today, and even get my yearly evaluation. Then I'm off to the gym to teach a special birthday party Turbo Kick class. :)

Soon to come.. my 26 goals for my 26th year.

No-Spend Days Challenge: 6/18

2nd Week of NSD Challenge, late but better than never!

2009-09-15T06:14:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Ok, so I admit I have been slacking a little on keeping track of everyone's No Spend Days and I apologize. If your following me on twitter, you might have seen my post about this weekend's events. Thanks for all your kind words, I am feeling a little better about it and may blog about it later. As life gets hectic, my blog takes a lower priority than other things. So anyway, here is how you awesome non-spenders are doing so far!

High Class, Low Income - 6/18 days
Esperanza - 5/10 days
Hustler - 3/20 days
Ashley - 3/15 days
Serendipity - 5/12 days
Alicja - ?/13 days
Simplelivin' - 6/18 days
negative_net_worth - 2/10 days
Miss M - 2/10 days
Saving Savy Pinkey - ?/17 days
Movin on up! - ?/12 days

If you guys have different updates for the second week let me know.

On the topic of challenges.. I still haven't posted anything on eBay/amazon/half.com for the Earn More Challenge @ MoneyFunk's.... must do ASAP!

No-Spend Days Challenge: 6/18

New Swag

2009-09-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, the No-Spending is going so-so. I did so some damage this weekend, and it doesn't help that I was hanging out with a friend that is a total shopping enforcer. Here is what I got this weekend:

The Sak Silverlake Flap Bag ($199 - $40 in GC)
Ok, so definitely did NOT need this, but I really like it and especially love the color I got it in! It's a good size for every day use and I love the crossover style. I can put my planner, book, wallet and other things I bring to work with me in it. Hopefully the Bohemian distressed look stays in style for a while!

Harajuku Lovers Paz Loafer ($70 original, got for $32.99 + 20% off =$26.40!)
This isn't a style I'd normally go for but I had been eyeing it on the Macy's website over the weekend because they were so cheap! I posted last month about needing a wardrobe makeover so I thought these would be okay to wear with jeans for a business casual look on days I have meetings with parents. When I saw them in the store they were regular price, so I figured they were only on sale on the website. Well, it just happened that my friend and I went to a different Macy's and I decided to asked a salesperson if I could get a price match and I showed him on my phone and he honored it! Also had a 20% coupon.
Jessica Simpson Hasher Peep toe Wedge ($75 original, $59.99 on sale + 20% coupon = $48)
Like many things I own, these weren't a neccesity but I thought they were cute! I usually don't like even like flats but again I figured I could wear these when I want to look semi-dressed up.

I also received an order I placed on forever21.com but I won't bore you with the details of that order! Just some plain t's, some business casual tops and earrings. I also got some other things that I don't really like so I will bring them back for store credit.

Whew! I should probably ban myself from shopping centers! On the challenge note, I offically have 4/18 No Spend Days under my belt! And also, I'm sending in an old cell phone I had hiding under my bed (literally) to one of those recycling companies that pays you to send them your old phones. I should be getting $34 to add to my Earn More challenge earnings!

One more day then it's the weekend!! Heeeyyy!! Have a good one you guys!

No Spend Days Challenge: 4/18

I Suck at No-Spend Days

2009-09-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm slowly realizing that I suck at not spending money! So far I only have 2 NSD days. Maybe shooting for 18 in the month of September was a little much especially considering I've never set a specific no-spend day goal for myself. Also poor planning has accounted for a lot of my spending days. For example, yesterday I went shopping and had lunch with a friend. If I had planned better I should have also gone grocery shopping last night and filled up my gas tank. So today, I realized that I needed to hurry up and order glow sticks for my class next week (yeah, I said glow sticks) so I went grocery shopping and filled up as well. I'm hoping I can make it to the weekend with no spending now that I seem set for lunches and dinner and gas!

I deposited my $125 from babysitting into my account today and finally opened and started my Car Fund and Travel Fund! I updated my bars to the right, as you can see it's not much right now but it's a start! This month might be a month where I just break even networth-wise, but hey I'll take it over a decrease!

How are the rest of you doing with your goals this far? I apologize for not making my frequent stops on everyone's blog...life has been busy in the past week. Hope everyone has a great week and let me know how the goals are coming along!

25 Random Things

2009-09-07T11:25:00.000-07:00

As I spend the last few days being 25, I leave you with 25 random facts about me!

I'm left handed.
I once had 14-16 piercings (Not sure if I wore jewelry in all at the same time) which included 2 in my tongue, various ear, lip, nose, navel, etc. Now I only wear 1 in each ear lobe, 1 other ear piercing, nose and navel.
I have 4 tattoos, all on coverable parts.
I can only wink one eye. Not sure why I have no control of the other side of my face.
I have lived in CA my whole life.
I am a Virgo.
I am the oldest of 2 kids.
I've been in 3 serious relationships.
I've only owned cars with manual transmissions. I actually enjoy driving a stick and would want my next car to be a manual!
I'm a shorty - 5'2" to be exact.
I have an extremely long tongue that grosses out most of my friends and my boyfriend (think KISS Gene Simmons).
I ran a full marathon last year.
I've been out of the country 4 times. I would love to increase this in the near future!
I own a collection of makeup and beauty tools (brushes, etc) that probably costs a grand total of $6000+! Yet, lately I haven't worn makeup?? Eh.
I'm a PC (Soon to be MAC, hopefully.)
I am addicted to my blackberry. Probably not the best habit I have but it could be worse.
The sound of Styrofoam gives me goosebumps. Styrofoam tearing, rubbing, EW!
I didn't go to Preschool. My parents taught me the basics at home.
I took piano lessons for about 10 years but probably can't play if my life depended on it now.
I've never been a picky eater. I was the weird kid that actually wanted to eat all her brocolli!
I've lived in 3 different cities in CA.
I've never been fishing.
I've never been stung by a bee, but mosquitoes and spiders sure do seem to love me!
I love food of different cultures, which is one of the great things about living in such a diverse area! My FAVES: Ethiopian, Thai, Italian, Filipino, Mediterranean... probably anything really!
It took me 6 years to graduate college. 3 years to complete transfers, one year off, then 2 years cramming at the University! Better late than never!

That's it! What are some random things about you? Do we share any common interests or traits? Soon to come..26 things I want to accomplish while 26 (Thanks Serendipity for the idea!)

Earn More Challenge!

2009-09-06T08:51:00.001-07:00

So I joined MoneyFunk's Earn More Challenge and got my first $$ hit last night! I babysat and made $125! $75 dollars to go to my goal, I'll update this post as I make more $!

No-Spend Days Challenge: 2/18

1st Week of the NSD Challenge: How did YOU do?

2009-09-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

So the first week of September is coming to an end, and I want to know how you all did on your No-Spend Days? Here is the wrap up from everyone's blog updates, let me know how you did!

HighClassLowIncome - 1/18 days (today will probably be #2)
Esperanza - 1/10 days
Hustler - 3/20 days
Ashley - 3/15 days
Serendipity - 2/12 days
Alicja - ?/13 days
Simplelivin' - 2/18 days
negative_net_worth - 2/10 days
Miss M - 2/10 days
Saving Savy Pinkey - ?/17 days
Movin on up! - ?/12 days

You guys are rockin out so far! For those of you that don't have an update let me know how your coming along. I hope you all have a fantastic Holiday weekend!

Hit Me On Twitter

2009-09-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

I caved. I joined Twitter. I'm pretty anti-Twitter for my personal use but I'm actually interested in what others in the PF world are doing. I also want a way of updating my blog with my random thoughts without writing a post every 5 minutes! So go ahead, you know you wanna follow me on Twitter.

August Recap

2009-09-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm doing this a little backwards. My life feels like it has been super duper crazy lately so here goes the recap of my goals last month:

Pay off majority of Nordstrom Visa - YES! I took out some of my E-fund to cover this, but it feels good to have it down to a more manageable amount ($300ish). I'm going to work on paying this down again this month, but I also have to register for class, again.
Pay $350 to other visa - YES! Paid exactly $350
Make extra $50 for Savings - NO. Umm, I completely didn't even try other than taking surveys.
Run 50 miles - YES.
Finish reading The Host - YES. Not a book I chose to read on my own.. it was okay.
Study, study, STUDY! - YES, but I'll say I've been slackin lately.

No-Spend Days Challenge: 1/18 days

September Goals

2009-09-03T10:29:00.000-07:00

I'm at work blogging on my blackberry, so I'll keep this post simple and sweet. Here is my list of goals for the lovely month of September!

1. Pay down Nordstrom Visa $200 - I usually don't keep a balance on this card, but I've accumulated one from using this card to pay for my classes. I'd like to pay down this balance by at least $200.
2. Pay down Macy's Visa $300 - I set a goal of paying this off at the end of the year, but it may not happen. I still want to try my best to pay it down by December.
3. Earn extra $200 - I joined MoneyFunk's Earn More Challenge, and set a goal of $200 extra money.
4. Run 50 miles - half marathon in October, I've been slacking so gotta pick it up!
5. Lose 2 pounds - not just for appearance reasons, but if I cut weight it would also be better for my knees when running.

No-Spend Days Challenge: 1/18 days

1st Day of NSD Challenge!

2009-09-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

How did everyone do so far? I have to admit.. I did some spending :(. Not how I wanted to start my NSD off and I should have gotten gas while I was at it! I spent $9 and some change on dinner ingredients. I got invited to a dinner party on Thursday which means more spending probably! I'll have to try to also get gas on Thursday as well as anything else I might need.

Hope everyone had a good first day of the challenge! Let me know how it went!

No-Spend Days Challenge:0/18

Let the Challenge Begin!

2009-09-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the September No-Spend Days Challenge. Good luck to everyone! Have fun with the challenge and let's keep each other posted.

I did some shopping yesterday for groceries and some other essentials (shampoo, conditioner, etc) so I should be good for a while. My next few paychecks from both my jobs are going to be pretty small so I need to really monitor my spending!

I'm also participating in MoneyFunk's September Earn More Challenge. I've set a goal to make an extra $200. I'm babysitting Saturday so that should bring in a few dollars.

Habits to Break

2009-08-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

I work for an agency that provides training and therapy to families and children with developmental disabilities in home and school settings. On Monday I'm going back to work full time. I have a client that I provide school support for and school is back in session on Monday. There are some bad habits I got into last school year that weren't great for my financial goals and healthy well being. Here they are:

Break the Starbucks/Coffee addiction - ok maybe not break, but at least stop buying it. I was teaching a morning class last school year on tuesday and thursday, so I always went on those days, plus some others. I'd say average of 3-4 days a week! Now that I'm not teaching in the morning I can drink coffee with breakfast in the morning. My boyfriend works at the school also, and so I'd end up buying him one too. He has an espresso machine at home so... he can make his own damn coffee! ;) I'd like to cut out my morning stop at the coffee shop all together, but to be reasonable, I'd say once a week for regular coffee wouldn't be horrible.
Bring Lunch (and actually eat it!) - The problem here is, I have the lunch thing down. Actually eating it is a different story! The second the teacher or one of the classroom aides says they are going to get Japanese, Mexican, soup, sandwiches, pizza, etc etc I don't even want to eat what I brought anymore and buy food, when I have food with me already! I need to find more interesting (healthy) lunches that I actually will look forward to eating. I usually bring leftovers, a frozen meal, or a can of soup.
Bring enough snacks to hold me over - Similar to above, I need to find healthy snacks that will hold me over through the day. I usually need a snack in the morning and another one after I get done at school, since I usually go see one of my in-home clients after. My usual routine is buying a snack or another coffee in the afternoon.

If any of you have any ideas for some lunches shoot me a comment! I'm open to ideas!

Weekend To-Do

2009-08-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

1. ~~Wash car (yes, I have put this off every time it's on my task list!! It is a top priority this weekend because my car is getting really bad)~~
2. Finish 3/4 of lectures
3. Finish 1/2 of readings
4. Get together all leftover cash and snowflake.
5. Get cash ready for September.
6. Buy food for work!

Will update as I complete each. Have a great weekend everyone!

Dumb Purchases of 2009

2009-08-26T06:28:00.001-07:00

Do you ever think about your past purchases and wonder what type of drug you were on when you decided to drop your cold hard cash on it? The past few days I've been thinking about what the dumbest purchases I've made for the year have been. I know it's only August but since I made my return to blogging in June I'm hoping that I don't make any more stupid purchases! Most were a waste of money and some are just plain out ridiculous. Here is my list for '09:

1. Hello Kitty by MAC vinyl doll (left) - $42
Sometimes I think I forget how old I am. Yes, of course I have idolized Hello Kitty from elementary school into adult hood, so when I heard that MAC was coming out with a Hello Kitty collection I went a little crazy of course. I mean who doesn't love MAC and Hello Kitty?!? But come on, did I really need the doll? The makeup is one thing, and yes she is an all-glammed out hello kitty of color (haha) but I did not need to waste $42 on this. Especially considering she is in the dust bag which is in the MAC shopping bag on the floor of my room as we speak.

2. Plethora of MAC Hello Kitty makeup and bracelet - $183
Both eyeshadow palettes ($38 each), both blushes ($18.50 each), beauty powder which is still in box ($22), lipstick ($15), and a clunky plastic bead bracelet ($43)... and yes, I mentioned in another post that I hardly wear makeup.

3. Gucci bag - $537 on sale (ha..on sale!)
Ok so I'm guilty. Over a year ago I said I would never buy designer again and as this shows... I lied. :/ I wasn't really in the market for buying a handbag let alone a high-end designer handbag..but one day my friend told me she got some awesome 40% off deals on 2 Gucci bags. I used the classic "I haven't bought anything expensive in a long time and I deserve it" reasoning and hey it obviously worked! It was $895 originally down to $537. I'm glad it's a classic piece at least but it definitely wasn't something I needed!

Total amount of stupidty: $762 ( +tax!)

I'm only going to entertain you with my stupidity for 2009 because in all honesty I could probably write a whole book on the dumb purchases of my lifetime! What are some things you could have done without? If your down to take a vow to cut back on dumb purchases, join my September No-Spend Days challenge!