Last couple of days have been OK. Thursday I worked, made about $27. Slow day. Thursday night friends of ours came over for dinner. One friend is an amazing hairstylist. She dyed my hair and cut it for me...at no charge! The dye and supplies she needed equaled her half of the $ for pizza, so we called it even! I ended up with a $100 haircut/dye for $16!!! Yay!

Friday was a NSD for me. Felt good; haven't had one of those in AGES!

Yesterday (Sat) I worked and came home with a whole $13. REALLY slow day. Stopped and picked up about $100 worth of groceries for $45. Yay for discount grocery stores!!

Today I am heading to the movies with my best friend; going to see Angels and Demons. So excited! We're hitting the matinee so it will be cheaper.

Happy Sunday all!

I made it! I made today a No Spender! Yay! It was hard...at work my tummy was growling and I really wanted to go to DnD next door for a bagel. But I held out, and instead had yummy crab meat soup and wheat tortillas at home.

Other quick news, I brought home $68 tonight. Only 2 customers, but both were very generous. One gave me a $10 tip and the other gave me a $20 tip. I was definitely being looked out for by my angels tonight!

Before work I managed to list 3 items on Ebay. One is a little porcelain witch-doll, and the other 2 are brand new dressed, both with the tags still on them. I've listed the dresses before, with no bites, but maybe this time something will come of it.

Night all!

Well, I did it. I managed to make yesterday a NSD, and it was my 2nd in a row! Whoo-hoo! It was also my 7th for the month of January.

Today won't be a No Spender. My car is at the mechanics getting an oil change and check up. I'm praying to the car gods that it doesn't need any other work.

When Mums gets home from work, we are going to a local curtain and bathroom outlet store. They have the cutest stuff for bathrooms, plus curtains, rugs, home decorations, and even furniture. Oh, and Mums has a 10% off coupon on our entire purchase. I still need 3 curtains for the new dinning room. I have some from my current living room I can use if I don't find anything else, but they aren't the right length and look funny. I also need to pick up a small rug and maybe toilet seat cover for the bathroom. The ones we have now have been in my bathroom for 6 years, and are disgusting.

So, I will be spending, but I am going to try to keep it in check.

I made good money at work last night. Brought home $83, including $8 in tips. Two of the 5 clients I had said they were impressed and would be back to see me again. Go me.

I also just transferred $25.76 from my paypal account to my checking. I'd like to throw it at the EF, but I need to pay bills first. :P

Happy Thursday everyone!

I have to say, I am proud of myself. Today marks my 6th No Spender of the month. I know some other people have had many more, and even No Spend Weeks, but this is great for me. Go me!

Not much else is news. We are supposed to get 6-7 inches of snow overnight tonight, so if we do, tomorrow may be a NSD as well. I won't hit 10 this month, but I will aim for 10 next month.

Now that the reality has sunk in that we got the apartment, my mind is starting to whirl with what new things we want/need.

Some things we will be getting free are:
*a dining room set and matching buffet. This set used to be my parents and I LOVE it. When they got their new dining room set about 10 years ago, I begged them to store the old one in the shed for me so I could have it when I got a place large enough. And finally, I got a place large enough! It is a nice dark wood, and the table is round, but it has leaves you can put in to make it bigger. At it's biggest it seats 12!

*bakers rack. When we moved to this apartment, we gave ours to my sis because we didn't have room for it. If we have room in this new place (depends on how we arrange the furniture), Mums has said she will buy us a new one. Awww, such a great Mums!

*Apothecary Table. This is actually mine, but again, didn't have room for it in the new apartment. Mums and Dads have been so kindly "storing" it in their living room for me. LOL

Things that we will need to buy:
*a new couch. As I mentioned before, ours now is completely broken and pretty much only used by the cats. We found one we like at Ikea for just a couple hundred.

*garbage pails. Ones for outside, that is. This is the first place I will be in where we don't have a dumpster. Gotta get our own trash barrels. Also have to call the city and request a recycling bin.

Things I want to buy:
*A couple of area rugs. One for each part of the double parlor, one for the dining room, and one for each of the 3 bedrooms. Ha! I think we'll start with 1 and work up from there.

*More bookcases. Now that we will have more room, we want to get some more bookcases. It's crazy how many books we have between the 2 of us!

*Futon. I would love to have a futon in my office/library. This way I have a comfy place to read, and we also have a place for our friends to sleep when they come visit.

I'm sure there is much more, but I'm also sure I am boring anyone who is still reading this.


UPDATES:
Found a slightly used IKEA sage green rug on craigslist today. It was originally $30 at IKEA, and the woman is selling it for $15. She said it is 6 months old, like new, and she is only getting rid of it because the color isn't right. It's the perfect color for us! I'm just waiting for her to email me back and tell me if it is still available.

Other things we will need that I forgot about:

*new ice cube trays...using someone elses', oh god, my OCD just flares!

*shelf paper, kitchen sponges, tp.

*curtains. We have enough for the bedroom, my office, and the BF's game room. We need enough for at least 7 more windows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One another note, yesterday was a NSD. We couldn't get out because of the snow. I hate snow, but I love those NSDs.

Saturday I made $79 at the tarot store. Whoo-hoo! The store closed early last night b/c of the storm, so I didn't work.

Yesterday I had another No Spend Day. Whoo-hoo! Of course it was bitter cold so that just encouraged us to stay in the house and no go anywhere or spend anything. That makes 4 for the month. I would love to hit 10, but we'll see.

I made up for the NSD today by spending a LOT. Most of it was bills, and all of it was necessities. Spent over $220! But it paid the electric bill, gas bill, phone bill, and internet bill, plus included a few groceries (lunch meat, cheese, bread), Q-tips and allergy pills. I hate spending that much money, but I feel good that none of it was on wants.

Still waiting to hear about the apartment...

Today I met up with the woman from craigslist who was buying movies from me. She ended up wanting 4, so I made myself $10. Who-hoo! 2 others movies have sold on half.com, so when that DD goes into my account, I'll update my Challenge total.

I haven't decided what to do with this extra money. I would love to add it all to the EF, but I know in reality it isn't really extra since I am not getting a regular paycheck and I need to use it to live on. Most likely it will go into my everyday account. But I'll still track how much I make on here.

Yesterday was a NSD. That's 3 this month. Whoo-hoo! Today will be a low spend day. I bought 2 huge jumbo oranges for breakfast this morning. Spent $1.71 I also needed to pic up batteries for my camera to take pics for Ebay stuff. I bought 4 batteries, rechargeable generics from CVS for $10.49 Total for the day: $12.20 Hopefully this will be all I spend today.

It was a struggle but I managed to make yesterday a No Spender. When I was filling in my spending excel sheet, I saw that one day last week I also had a No Spender. I bought a coffee at DnD that day, but used a GC so it counts as a NSD for me. That makes 2 this month and it is only the 7th! Yay!

Would love to hit 5 this month, maybe even the long shot goal of 10...

Not today though. BF and I have been having a massive IHOP pancake cravings for a couple of weeks now. We have been holding off and I'm glad we did. They are now running an all you can eat pancake special, plus I found 6 coupons in the mail this week for buy one meal get one free! So tonight we decided to have IHOP pancakes for dinner. Yummy!

Last night I worked at the tarot store. Had a decent night. 3 readings, 2 over the phone and one in-store, and they were all 30 minute readings. Brought home $71. Yay! $6 of it was in singles, so they went into my personal allowance and the rest is waiting to be deposited at the bank.

Happy Thursday everyone and Happy Elvis Birthday!

Didn't go to work last night because I wasn't feeling good. Still felt poopy today but I went in since I need the money. I'm glad I did, too!

I had 4 readings. 2 were repeat customers of mine. One of those actually called in looking specifically for me and only wanted a reading with me. Of the other 2, one had never had a reading before and after it was over said it was great and he will definitely see me again. Yay, another client!

Now that I am working there 3 nights a week, it is really good to know I have repeat clients and am building a client base.

I made $70 tonight, and was given $14 in tips, so my total is $84. One thing I have started doing is taking any $1 bills I bring home and using that as my spending money (as long as it isn't more than $10 per day I work). It is the only money I use for my allowance and whatever I want, and also what I am allowed to use when BF needs/wants something. The rest all goes into the bank account.

From the bank account it goes to bills, groceries, debt, or savings. I had $40 left from last week I hadn't had a chance to deposit yet. I took $9 in singles, and put the other $75 to the deposit pile. This gives me $115 to deposit tomorrow.

Actually, I forgot. I also have $9 from BF, $18 in rolled change, and a survey check for $10 to deposit tomorrow. So I really have $152 to deposit. Not bad!!

PS, today was a NSD. Well, I spent $5, but it was with a gift card so I don't count it.

Yesterday was another No Spender! I seem to have them when I am not planning them.

Dropped BF at work then Mums and Dads came up adn we went to lunch. Had a great time with them, and Dads picked up the bill...Awww, thanks Dads!

Just spent time around the house yesterday and last night. And just hanging around today until I go to work at 5. It's snowing here, first real snowfall of the year, so it is a great excuse to curl up with th BF, kitties, and a blanket and watch TV.

Yesterday was a pretty good day. I had a No Spend Day, YAY! My first one in December.

I just hung around the house. I made a batch of brownies with vanilla frosting. Very yummy and cured my chocolate/sweet craving. Plus, the bonus is it was homemade and I didn't spend any money at DnD on donuts.

I also got some writing done, which I haven't done in a while. Not on my book, but on a piece of fiction based on an ex of mine (no, not the one I dreamed of) and an old friend of mine.

And I made a few pieces to put on Etsy! I made a quartz crystal pendulum and matching quartz crystal necklace. I'll put some pics up. Today I need to remake an amethyst necklace and make the matching pendulum.

I want to get some more up on Ebay today. I have a Lizzie Borden bobble head, 2 antique (early 1900s) beaded purses, and a bunch of Strawberry Shortcake stuff.

The only thing I have planned for today that will take money is to fax some stuff (2 pages) and head to the library (not sure if books are overdue or not).

So yeah, that's a peek into my Happy Thursday yesterday and my day today. Exciting, isn't it??? LOL

Hee hee hee, I get such a small amount in interest right now. But still, every penny counts! *smile*

Old EF Balance: $36.05
Nov. Interest: $.09
------------------------
New EF Balance: $26.14

Old House Fund Balance: $5.32
Nov. Interest: $.05
--------------------------------
New House Fund Balance: $5.37

Today was a pretty good day. I slept late, then watched the football game (Pats won, yay!), then headed over to the tarot store to work. I made $50 tonight. Happy.

$18 went to gifts for the BF for Christmas (one gift and 2 stocking stuffers). He's done now except a few small things for his stocking which I will pick up at the Dollar Store and with CVS ECBs. Left me with $32. $12 is going into my pocket to join 3 singles I had for my co-pay at therapy tomorrow, and $20 will be for other people's holiday gifts. Feeling good about how little I am spending this year, while stiff giving some fantastic gifts.

I also sold 2 of my 3 Ebay itmes. Yay! One went for $2.99 plus sipping and the other for $41 plus shipping (that was my Azteca Dunnys). I'll give exact totals when I figure in shipping and Ebay fees, but it looks like I should come out around $30 ahead in profits. More for holiday fund. *smile*

Although I spent for BFs Christmas gift, it was otherwise a NSD for me. And a hard one. We are really low on groceries and had to scourage for meals today. Would have been so easy to order out or just run next door to Quiznos or DnD. But, I refused. Breaky was left over Mac and Cheese, lunch was a giant salad with cottage cheese, and dinner was a grilled cheese sammy and a can of soup. But man, am I craving sushi! *smile* Tomorrow I'll pick up a few groceries (lunch meat, cheese, pasta, bread, milk) but it will be a small shop and shouldn't be too expensive.

Worked at the tarot store last night. Ended up bringing home $40. Makes me happy. This means while our checking is still at $70, my personal cash total is up to $50. BF gets paid tomorrow, so there will be another $25 or so in the checking. I have therapy today, so I'll use some of my personal cash to pay the $15 co-pay.

I managed to make yesterday another NSD. It was hard. I was craving coffee while I was at work so bad. But in the end, I ate the crackers I brought with me, and then had dinner when I got home. Yay me!

Today I have therapy, plus I need to put gas in the car, so it won't be a NSD. I might treat myself to a $2 coffee. Since I have to spend on necessary items today, it won't ruin a NSD, and it is just a small amount. Of course, this is the kind of dangerous thinking that got me where I am, but I think I can restrain myself. *smile*


PS, still waiting on the freelance check.

Yesterday before BF went to work I have him $5 of my last $10 in case he needed soemthing to eat. No big deal.

But yay! When he got home, he gave me the $5 back, plus 76 cents. Turns out he found $4 in his wallet and didn't need my $5. Then he gave me his leftover change from his purchase.

What a sweet BF! LOL

In other news, yesterday was a NSD for me! Yay! This is 2 this week. I haven't had one in so long, but it is a great feeling. *smile* Planning on today being one as well.

I work at the tarot store tonight. Hopefully I have a few good clients and a few good tippers. I'd love to come home with $50 or so.

Heading to the library this afternoon. Need some more books to read. *smile* Also, trying to enjoy all the free entertainment I can.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Walking to the car today, I noticed a pebble in the same shape and size and perfect roundness of a dime. Of course, I stopped to check it out, and was a dime! Pretty much in a pile of dirt, but hey, a dime is a dime. *smile*

Cash flow is OK right now. Gave BF $5 of my last $10 cash for him to get something at work tonight. I'll just have a few leftovers for dinner. Big imporovement, since normally when BF is at work I use it as an excuse to order out or get take-out. Not tonight, though. We have $70.11 in the checking account, and all bills are paid. I'm refusing to spend it on extra food, since I picked up about $60 worth of groceries yesterday morning and we have plenty to eat in the house. Plus, I am really enjoying the fact that so far for me, it has been a NSD and I am determined to keep it one!

Just waiting on that stupid freelance check now!

Happy Veterans Day and thanks to everyone who has severved!!!!

Well, I did it. Saturday was a NSD!!! NO donuts for me! LOL

Yesterday (Sunday), I did a bit of spending. Woke up Sunday morning with nothing for breaky in the house, so we went and got some bagles and coffee (4 bagels, cream cheese, coffee, $12). Then, I met up with a friend for lunch. Spent $15 there. Not a good day money wise, but it was a fun day and I got to see a good friend. Spent the rest of Sunday at Mums and Dads watching the game and then they treated us out to dinner. Awww, such awesome parents.

And today. So far, so good. Went to the bank, then went to the grocery store this morning. Spent about $60, but that will last us 3 meals a day for at least the week. There should be no eating out this week, at all!

Only other plans are looking for work (what else is new) and hitting the library for some books re: applying for disability. Hopeing to get some work done on my own book I am writing right now, but I just don't have the motivation. Maybe tonight.

Yay! Had my 2nd No Spender for this week, and this month. Whoo-hoo! Here I go!

Had my first No Spender of September! (HA! that rhymed!) Hope to have a lot more.

Looks like tomorrow at 10am I have an appointment with the temp company to get started on assignments again. Yay! And then at 3pm, I have a real job interview. Wish me luck!

Got off my butt yesterday and did a few things to make myself feel better. Thanks to everyone for all your advice and caring. I love you guys.

I called the temp agency I used to work with and am going to get set back up with them. I also called one of the places where I interviewed and never heard from to see if they were still looking at canidates.

I got the ball rolling by getting the forms I need to get reimbursement from my meds in June. COBRA is retro-active so I can get reimbursed for the meds I had to get before it kicked in. That will be a good amount I can throw on my CC when I get it.

Two days ago I had a No Spender and I am reminding myself that is a good thing.

As you all said, This too shall pass.

Yesterday was another No Spender. Two in a row...yay! I slept a lot yesterday, wasn't feeling too good. But hey, at least I got a NSD out of it.

Today we're just going to the library and that's about it. BF is craving McDonalds so we might stop there to get somehing off the $1 menu, but that's abou it.

Got some more freelance work from my old job.

And that's about it for now. I know, exciting, huh?

Yesterday me and Mums met up at the mall. Now, I know I have a challenge of not buying any new clothes, shoes, or purses until the end of the year, unless they are business clothes. But when I went out with Mums, SHE bought me a new shirt, new undies, and a new pair of pj bottoms. At each store I told her nope, I am good, I don't need it (well, except the undies and I was going to pay for those myself), but she insisted and would put her debit card on the counter before I had a chance to stop her. Mums really is FAB and spoils me way too much. She says she likes doing things like that and it makes her happy. So, I let her.

I figure since I didn't buy any of then clothes, and I wasn't going to, either (excpet the undies which I really needed), it counts as sticking to my challenge. Thanks Mums!!

After shopping, we went to lunch where she insisted on treating, again. I think she wanted to do it to thank me for all that Yardly Lavender soap. LOL At any rate, it was great fun to spend some one on one time with Mums. We haven't been able to do that a lot lately.

Oh, and it ended up being a No Spender for me. Thanks Mums!

And now here it is, July 1st. And, once again, I am going to try to track all my spending and stick to it for a whole month. And with my new positive attitude, I say...I CAN DO IT!(For one month, at least).


July 1st spendings:
$15 co-pay for Dr. visit

Today was a low key kind of day. We stayed in all day, and had a No Spender. Yay! We had a HUGE thunder and lightening storm tonight. It was beautiful.

Paid some bills today (July rent, July health insurance, phone bill, cell phone bill...). Earned no money. (Spent none, either, so I guess it works out).

Still waiting on word from the 2 jobs I interviewed for. I am going to call both places tomorrow, kind of like a follow-up to my follow-up.

In the meantime, I re-registered one a freelance website that I have gotten work from in the past and bid on one job today. Hopefully that will come through. (If anyone is interested (they have all kinds of work all over the country), let me know and I can send you a referral link.) I also applied for an Assistant Editor job I found today. And I ordered new business cards for my tarot readings. May not be much, or work out to anything at all, but at least I am trying.

And I got another short project this week from my old job. Will only be a few hours, but it is better than nothing.
(Can you tell I am trying this whole new positive attitude thing!?)

This weekend was fairly low key. On Saturday we went to an event held by the National MS Society for people newly diagnosed. It was a cookout at the zoo. It was OK. I didn't really get to meet anyone new, which I was hoping for. I'd like someone to talk to who is going through the same things as me. But we spent about 2 hours walking around the zoo and looking at the animals. I love the zoo. And the whole thing was free, which was a bonus.

We almost has a NSD but then Sat. evening I was craving ice cream, so we walked up to the local store to pick up a few things. Not really a need, but not toally frivolous either.

Then Sunday for Fathers Day I went to Mums and Dads for another cookout. Had a great time hanging with the faily. Mums cut my hair for me, so I saved about $20 plus tip. Came home and watched some tv, went to bed. No Spend Day!

Today I need to pick up a few things at the grocery store, go to the post office, the bank, little things like that. Should be a fairly low key spending day. I also need to do a bunch of work as my deadline is Wednesday. Happy Monday!

Old EF Balance: $683.10
NSD: $1.00
Eat at Home: $1.00
--------------------------------
New EF Balance: $685.10

Yesterday (Thursday) was a No Spender. It was hard, actually, to stay at home and not spend. The hardest part was when after dinner, we taked about taking a walk to the local ice cream stand and getting a cone. It would have been a nice walk, but we really wanted to have a NSD. We sayed in, popped popcorn, had a few beers, and watched a movie we had from Netflix instead. Yay us!

I've realized that when I do spend, it is never a small amount, like $1 or $2. I guess for now, keeping spending as low as possile is our mission.

Adding $5 to the Challenge today for the NSD yesterday. Figure that is about what we would have spent if we got ice cream. Of course, now we have to resist it again today.

Old EF Balance: $678.10
NSD: $5.00
--------------------------------
New EF Balance: $683.10

Thursday was a No Spender, and w ate all 3 meals at home. I am proud to say the same thing for yesterday (Saturday).

The Boy napped and was online for most of the day, and I watched some TV and did a bunch of cleaning in the spare bedroom. It's geting better; we can actually walk in there now.

Adding $4 to my $20 Challenge for the 2 NSD/Eat at home days.

Old EF Balance: $674.10
NSD x 2: $2
Eat In x 2: $2
--------------------------------
New EF Balance: $678.10

Not much going on the last two days. Looking for a job, cleaning out for a yard sale, stalking Bruce Willis. LOL He is filming a movie in the town where my sis works, so I went up there for lunch yesterday and we went by the set. Didn't meet him...yet. He'll be filming here all summer. Mark my words, I will meet him.

On the financial front, not much. Waiting for my first unemployment check. Calling places to figure out why I have 3 blls for 3 different amounts from the same place. Stuff like that.

Some bits and pieces from my last few days:

Day before yesterday was a No Spender. Yay us!

Found 11 cents when I was cleaning. Went to CITB. Whoo-hoo!

Had to pay $2.50 in tolls each way to my sis' yestday. $5. That stunk.

Had a major breakdown in spending yesterday. Went to the bookstore. Saw about 6 new books from some of my fave authors (and countless new authors). Bought 6 books. Ugh.

Found 2 pennies on my walk the day before yesterday. New Pennies on the Sidewalk total: 93 cents.

Requested new forms to apply for deferment on my student loans (again). Since I am unemployed, I am taking advantage of that. Of course, this means I'll be paying the damn things off until I am 100.

Speaking of which, made a payment to my mini-student loans. $120

Also going to apply to have assistance paying for my COBRA payments through the unemployment office. The $400+ a month takes up almost 2 whole unemployment checks. Crazy!

And that is about it. Nothing too exciting planned for today. Picking up another pair of trial contacts. Picking up a few groceries. Watching a netflix movie I got yesterday. Happy Friday!

On Friday we had a great day. We went to this awesome Mexican restaurant for lunch. HUGE portions and wicked good. Total for the 2 of us (plus tip) was $27.

Then, we went to see the new Indy movie. I had some money left on a gift card from X-mas, so we only paid $4.50! $2.25 each for the movies? Nice! And the movie rocked!!!!

On Saturday, Dads came up to help us with some things around the apartment. We went and picked up our new AC, and Dad installed it for us. Then he helped us hang some heavy framed pictures up. It looks a lot nicer now. (Thanks Dad!!) Then Dad and I went out for a nice father-daughter lunch. We are really close and we don't get to hang out too much anymore. It was a great time.

Saturday was a No Spend Day. And even though I had lunch out, Dads treated, so it counts as an all 3 meals at home day as well. And, I had a No Spender one day last week as well. $3 to add to my challenge.

Old EF Balance: $706.03
No Spenders/Eat at Home: $3.00
----------------------------------------
New EF balance: $709.03

Yes, another one. I'm thinking I won't make it to 10 this month, but even a few help.

February No Spenders: 3

Another No Spender this week! This is good, starting to get some of them in. I think today will be one, too.

February No Spenders: 2