Success!

In my last post I told you my goal was to spend as little money as possible. Well, I think in the past 2  1/2 weeks I’ve done pretty good. I only spent $122.84 on eating out and that includes drinks at The Roxy and a movie at The Landmark Theaters. I had some unexpected expenses, like a couple of co-pays for doctor’s appointments because of my stupid tummy. And my hair dryer exploded this week. Seriously…it made this huge booming sound and sparks shot out of it…twice! I was like, “Is my hair on fire???” Totally freaked me out. Luckily my hair is fine. And I’m out another $40.00 for a new blow dryer.

The rest of September

So, I met all my goals for September except the one about saving money for my girls trip shopping extravaganza. So here’s my plan for that:

Live as cheaply as possible. I’m talking major lock-down mode. No eating out, no spending money on clothes or earrings or anything else. Gas and groceries. That’s it.

I made UCLA Med my *beeeeeep

I told you that another goal I had for September was to pay that stupid medical bill that was not my fault, right? And I think I also told you that my plan was to have my insurance company call UCLA med and tell them why they weren’t paying the claim. (Because UCLA med failed to provide the right paper work). So, I finally got up the courage to do this.

Travel Win

So I just booked my ticket home for my brother’s wedding. If you recall, this was one of the goals I set for myself for the month of September. Here’s the fail first. I thought I was living frugally, but turns out my money was walking away from me. I thought I was going to have a little over $300 to be able to buy this ticket at the end of this pay cycle. However, I have no idea what happened (I think this could be a theme for my blog, because it isn’t the first time it’s happened). I ended up with only $162.00 at the end of my pay cycle. That will absolutely not buy me a ticket to SoDak. It wouldn’t even pay for half. Guh.

September Stats

I just did a little crunching and after I pay every single bill this month, I have a little over $650.00 left. This is fantastic, because it means my next paycheck can pay for October rent and car payment. So this extra money is a fantastic opportunity for me to save a little to use for all of my random expenses.

My tummy is going to make me broke

UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH This is how I feel about my entire digestive system. If they did intestine transplants, I would take two.  Here’s a tiny disclaimer. I am super comfortable talking about the #2. So if you aren’t, you might not want to read this one.

Momma said knock you out

So, I joined a gym again. I needed to find an exercise that I actually enjoy doing, because slaving away on the elliptical at my office was not cutting it. And I have become a serious whale. I wouldn’t be surprised if barnacles started attaching themselves to me. It’s ridiculous.

Money Freeze

So I am officially putting myself on a money freeze for the next 4 days. I had to pay my car registration and went a little overboard on the eating out. I could probably rationalize it all away. But in the end, I just really failed at having any sort of will power in the month of August. So I officially have about $200.00 left until I get paid.

I feel like I should make some goals for the month of September. So here it goes:

1. This looming medical bill for $450.00 …I should pay it so I’m not worrying about it anymore. I’m going to call to see if they will reduce it a little, since it’s really their fault my insurance won’t pay it.

2.Save up a shopping budget for my girls trip in October! My VP gave me a $250.00 giftcard to Banana Republic, so I’m saving that for the San Antonio outlets. I’d also like another $300 to set aside. Don’t judge me. I’ve done a really good job of not buying new clothes since I started this money journey.

In reality, I won’t have an extra $750.00 this month. So we’ll see how it goes. I have part of October to save too, and my birthday is earlier that month, so maybe my parents will send me a little birthday money. I mean, they didn’t last year, but a girl can dream.

Anyways, that’s all I have to say for now!

Setbacks?

I have about $200.00 left until I get paid. This is because I have been eating out a ton. My justification is that it’s been too bloody hot to cook. But this heat has cost me a crap ton of money. It’s gotta stop. I did go grocery shopping so I have plenty at home. It’s just that I have to cook it all, and that brings me back to my original point of it being too bloody hot for cooking.

Anyways, if I want to keep the money that I just put in savings, in savings, I have to get my act together!

Also, I think I mentioned a bill for a procedure I had done like 2 years ago, and just got a bill 2 months ago. Well I’ve been fighting stupid UCLA health and I am losing. Those bastards. I should have only been responsible for my co-pay, which I paid at the time of my appointment. They forgot to file a claim to my insurance and since it’s been so long, my insurance is like, no dice. So now UCLA thinks I should pay it! I’m sorry, what? It’s for $450.00. I just think this is incredibly unfair.

So if I end up paying this, it will set me back considerably. I also have to pay my car registration, which is about $200.00.

It’s always so frustrating to me when I feel like something will be easy (ish) and it’s not. Oh well…I’ll get there.

One year down, a lifetime to go.

Hello dear readers,

I’ve kept this blog for about a year. August of 2012 marks my 1 year anniversary since making my commitment to becoming debt free and taking control of my finances. I can truly say I’ve made a lot of progress when it comes to checking my bank account and working through the fear and anxiety I’ve had in relation to my money.

Over the past year, I’ve had a lot of people reach out to show their support of my blog and my financial journey. And I have to say, it means the world to me when someone tells me that they read my blog. To  me it’s like they are telling me, “I am cheering you on! Keep it up!” I’ve also had people tell me, “Wow, I can’t believe you put all of it out there.” or “I feel like I know too much.”

Well, that makes sense. I knew the only way I would be able to keep myself accountable is if I kept people informed. And the only way anyone would read this stupid blog is if I kept it honest and genuine. I think that’s why it’s been so successful this far. And I understand, money is really personal. Not everyone is comfortable discussing their debt in such candor. There are a lot of emotions attached to money, including shame, guilt, anxiety, etc. I have experienced all of them at multiple times in this journey.

And I also understand that because my blog is so open, someone could probably figure out how much money I make in a month, or what my monthly expenses are. I am not embarrassed by this at all. I work hard for my money. I don’t spend extravagantly. Could I have made better decisions in my past? Absolutely. But I can’t take it back now. I can only control how I handle my finances moving forward.

At any rate, for those of you who are simply appalled that I could discuss my money matters in such an open forum,  I say to you, don’t read it.

And to everyone else who has called, texted, emailed, commented or subscribed, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I could not have gotten through this first year with out the overwhelming support I have received from all of you! I am just as committed to this difficult and scary journey as I was the day I started it.

Financial Freedom – you will be mine.