My Expenses, 31 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 8: $334.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 4: $140
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Internet: $44.99
Panera: $6.55
Verizon: $59.52
Power: $31.73
Baptism Gift: $13.18
Metro Pass: $10.00
Soda at MCM: $2.00
Rent/Water/Fees/Cable: $1055.83
Dinner at RC’s house: $5.00
Estimate for CVS: $15.00
Income: $2775.60
Expenses: $2315.10
Net Effect: $460.50
I’m going to Mass tonight (I think) for the All Saint’s Day Vigil Mass, so I’ll be giving even more money to the Church! I don’t know yet how much (well, I kinda do), but I’ll wait until I’ve actually done it to record it here.
Though I’ll count it for November, today is a day I’ve been waiting on for a long time: the day I pay my parents $5000 and bring my car loan total down to $2366.34.
After I resigned from teaching at the end of the 2006-07 school year and remained unemployed (except for working at my father’s office for a week or two) for six months, there were times when I wondered if I’d ever get the $5000 in time for 1 November 2008. For the longest time I kept $3000 in my Vanguard Money Market account and I knew that if I had to dip into that money, I would feel really broke. Instead, I got a job just in time to not have to do that. Then in May I received my tax refund and my stimulus check and was able to put those into my Vanguard account, too. Soon I built up the $5000 that I needed and then I ignored it. I let it sit until I pulled it out so that I could have it in my checking account, ready for this day.
So I’m pretty proud of myself. Even though my net worth isn’t increasing, my debt is decreasing. And $20,000 in debt is so much better than $25,000. I THINK that my new total of debt after today’s payments clear will be: $19,789.91. And that thrills me.
My Expenses, 30 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 7: $299.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 4: $140
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Internet: $44.99
Panera: $6.55
Verizon: $59.52
Power: $31.73
Baptism Gift: $13.18
Metro Pass: $10.00
Soda at MCM: $2.00
Rent/Water/Fees/Cable: $1055.83
Dinner at RC’s house: $5.00
Income: $2775.60
Expenses: $2265.10
Net Effect: $510.50
I also bought a few things at CVS for B before his marathon, but I paid cash and I don’t remember how much it was. It was less than $15, though; I know THAT. I don’t have the receipt in my purse, so I’m going to have to look at home for it. I hope that B didn’t throw it out or take it with him because there were some Extra Care Bucks on it and I need toothpaste!
Also, I’ve been looking online for clothing and shoes like crazy. I found two dresses for $22 each that I was going to buy from New York & Company, but a few hours (HOURS) after I saw them online, I checked again (so I could get R’s opinion) and they were already gone! I was so bummed. I’m still bummed, actually. Back to online window shopping!
My Expenses, 27 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 7: $299.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 3: $105
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Internet: $44.99
Panera: $6.55
Verizon: $59.52
Power: $31.73
Baptism Gift: $13.18
Metro Pass: $10.00
Soda at MCM: $2.00
Rent/Water/Fees/Cable: $1055.83
Income: $2775.60
Expenses: $2225.10
Net Effect: $550.50
I had a great weekend even though I’m completely sore from trekking around DC and Arlington for yesterday’s Marine Corps Marathon…as a spectator, not a participant. In his first marathon, B did very well getting in under four hours; his goal was to be under five hours, so he was really happy and I was SO proud of him!
As you can see, my net effect changed a bunch over the weekend. I wanted to spend less than $20 on the baptism gift (yay! I did it!) and I didn’t plan on spending so much on the metro. Here’s what happened: I arranged to meet B at the West Falls Church Metro and the arrows for the Kiss & Ride made me end up in the parking lot! Since neither B nor I had a Smart Pass, I gave him my credit card and told him to buy one (since I lost my old one over a year ago) for $5 and to put $5 on the card. We wound up paying $4.50 for being in the lot less than ten minutes!!!! I felt completely dumb. Anyway, yesterday I took two of my old farecards and transferred the money from those onto the Smart Pass and I was set for the rest of the day, so that was good.
Even though I brought a bunch of my homemade biscuits to the MCM, I never brought anything to drink. After a grueling walk up the broken escalator steps at the Rosslyn Metro (ridiculously tall steps) and carrying a backpack and a duffle bag full of B’s stuff, I needed something to drink and the closest thing was a snack stand where I got two 20 oz. sodas for $2.00. Not ideal, but it was better than one soda for $1.50.
Expenses, 24 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 6: $260.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 3: $105
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Internet: $44.99
Panera: $6.55
Verizon: $59.52
Income: $2775.60
Expenses: $1073.36
Net Effect: $1702.24
Sigh! I love paycheck Friday! This is my last paycheckfor the month and I still have a few more expenses for the next seven days (like my rent for next month), but overall, I should be saving a good chunk of change…thanks to the bonus!
This weekend B and I are going to my cousin’s baby’s baptism so I need to get a gift after work for that. Then Sunday B is running in the Marine Corps Marathon, so we have to get to DC at the buttcrack of dawn and I’m going to have to Metro to a few different spots along the way to provide fresh socks. I’m going to do my best to not let it stress me out; metroing anywhere that I’m not familiar with…heck, GOING anywhere I’m not familiar with stresses me out, usually. I’m just going to try to relax, though, because I’m just so glad that I have the opportunity to do something nice for him, even if it’s just providing fresh socks and sticking sweaty gross ones in a plastic bag. My friend, H (of the clothing swap!), is also running, so maybe I can hang out with her boyfriend. I think that the only thing he and I have in common is the Redskins, but that should be enough, right? I hope so!
In other news, I got gas for $2.44/gallon yesterday at Costco…I figure that just this week I’ve saved about $8 just by going there instead of the next cheapest station close to me.
My Wardrobe
After reading Finance Girl’s post this morning on “Must Have” items for your wardrobe, I started thinking about all the things that I “need” to buy.
Since I’ve lost weight, two pairs of pants that I bought back in November/December do not fit anymore. They’re entirely too big, but I still wear them because I have so few things that fit now, especially since it’s started getting cold here and I can’t wear my cropped pants or my single work skirt without freezing.
I also don’t have a light jacket. I have a heavy sweater, but it won’t keep me warm in weather below 50 degrees. I need something that’ll work for fall and spring when I don’t want to pull out the heavy winter coat.
Shoes are a big thing. I wear three pairs of shoes to work; gold flats, brown flats, and cream/brown heels. The heels I only wear once or twice a month because they’re open-toed and they pinch the heck out of my toes. By the time I walk several minutes downhill to get to my car in the afternoons, my feet are screaming to be free. The brown flats I only wear with my brown pants, my brown skirt, or a pink/brown dress that I have (but rarely wear as it’s a couple inches shorter than I’d like), so that averages to 3-6 times a month. Otherwise I wear my gold shoes. I adore gold flats because I can wear them with navy blue, brown, and black, but mine are falling apart. It’s getting embarrassing. I know that I should buy new shoes, but I just never go shopping anymore because I don’t want to spend any money. It’s also because I don’t know what to buy first. Do I go with shoes, pants, jacket, or what? I need more than just one more pair of shoes, too. I need heels that don’t make me want to die after wearing them for eight hours. I have a ton of shoes, but most of them are flipflops, dressy shoes that are inappropriate for work (freaking bridesmaid shoes), or they don’t fit anymore…or never fit well.
So here is a short list of the things that I’d say that I want to get for this fall/winter:
2 pairs of winter work pants
1-2 winter dresses, appropriate for work/church/weekend
1 fall coat/jacket (goes with black or brown pants)
1 fall/winter skirt
1 pair of winter work shoes, appropriate for black or gray pants
1 purse/satchel bag that goes with black, gray, blue, or brown pants/skirts
I’d say that even with discounts, all of this stuff together would be over $300. I currently have a $50 gift card to Gap (remember those pants I wanted back in August? They sold out before I could get them), and money leftover on giftcards to Kohl’s and Macy’s. I also have not bought any clothing items for myself since the end of June. For the year, I’ve spent $274.22 on clothing/shoes/accessories. So that’s averaging to almost $28/month (I round up) even though in my mind I usually budget for $35-40/month for these things. It’s one of the few categories that I haven’t really gone over in this year. I need to suck it up and buy a couple things, I think, hopefully using the giftcards to make it hurt a little less.
Before I go shopping, though, in two weeks my friend H is hosting a clothing swap party! I know that I have a bunch of things that I no longer want/wear that someone else might like. I’ll go with my list in hand and see what I can get to fill in my wardrobe blanks. After that I’ll look at shopping for the things that I still want/need.
My Expenses, 22 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 5: $231.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 3: $105
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Internet: $44.99
Panera: $6.55
Income: $1541.80
Expenses: $984.84
Net Effect: $556.96
I kinda like doing this daily expenses thing. It’s really helping me to see where my money is going exactly.
So on Monday I went to Costco and walked around with a notebook, pricing things. I’m glad that they have most of the things that I normally buy, for less than I’d pay at the grocery store. I was disappointed that they didn’t have my shampoo / conditioner because that is something that I have to buy all the freaking time. I have really long, thick hair…like, super thick. It’s thicker than anyone else’s that I know. This requires more shampoo and conditioner than the average person uses, so I go through it rather quickly. It would probably save me time and money if I were to cut it, but I love it long and B always freaks a little when I get a haircut. I might cut it when it gets to my waist, so that I can donate it to Locks of Love again. I did that back in college, but my hair hasn’t been long enough since then to remove 10-12 inches and still have my hair at a length that I like (past my shoulders).
Either way, Costco has some AWESOME deals despite not having my normal hair stuff. I can get a 24-pack of Sugar-Free Red Bull for about $1.40/can…since I rarely drink them, a 24-pack is a 2-3 month supply for me. At the gas station near my apartment, I can get them for about $1.67/can, so this is a better deal.
I was pretty good about not writing down prices for things that I don’t normally get, except for a few things that I know B likes, so that I could let him know how great this place is. Now I’ll have prices to compare to the local grocery stores and their deals. I expect that I’ll be going to Costco often, especially as long as they have the cheapest gas in the entire state of Virginia (as of this morning, $2.44/gallon).
My Expenses, 21 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 5: $231.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 2: $70
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Internet: $44.99
Income: $1541.80
Expenses: $943.29
Net Effect: $598.51
I filled up for $2.50/gallon at Costco yesterday!! $35 for approximately 14 gallons of gas. Yay!
My Expenses, 17 October 2008
Up-to-Date Expenses:
Gas x 4: $196.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 2: $70
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Gas bill: $25.28
Income: $1541.80
Expenses: $863.30
Net Effect: $678.50
Still sitting pretty! Also, I was excited to see gas for $2.99/gallon today until I saw that I can get it for $2.69/gallon at the closest Costco to where I live. Awesome!
My Expenses, 16 October 2008
Up-to-date expenses:
Gas x 4: $196.00
Car Tax and Decal fee: $89.38
Bank fee: $25.00
Maryland Renaissance Festival: $48
Parking: $1.50
EZPass x 2: $70
Car Loan: $88.71
Student Loan: $174.01
Church/Charity: $130.00
Groceries: $15.42
Income: $1541.80
Expenses: $838.02
Net Effect: $703.78
Groceries bought:
1 gallon 2% milk: $3.99
8-pack of eggs: $1.29
Whole Wheat flour: $2.19
1 quart buttermilk: $1.59
Chocolate syrup (24 oz.): $2.19
Whipped cream (tall can): $3.79
I want to start to do a little more cooking / baking at home and I started with the biscuits last night. For that recipe I needed buttermilk and whole wheat flour which I don’t normally buy (never actually bought either before) so I didn’t have any on hand. With the rest of the buttermilk, I can make 2 1/2 batches of the same biscuits again (22-23 biscuits), or find another recipe.
The chocolate syrup and whipped cream? Well, sometimes I’ll buy ice cream and these are good to have on hand, but the real reason is coffee. I don’t like coffee. But I DO like blending coffee, milk, ice, and chocolate syrup to make something like a Mocha Freeze (something that I used to get at Borders ALL the time when I was a senior in high school, working at an Old Navy next door). Then I put whipped cream on top. I like it and it’s a good way to use up all the coffee after B makes a pot while visiting and doesn’t drink it all.
I had a bunch of leftovers from last night because one fewer person came than originally expected, so I’ll have that for lunch today and tomorrow. I might be able to have some left after that, too! Also, I have a ton of biscuits left because I made a double batch, intending to have extras.
It was funny when R and A came in last night because I had my hands in the biscuit dough, flour everywhere, pasta cooking, and cut up chicken breast waiting to be cooked. R said that I looked like something out of a movie or TV show. I’m terrible at keeping things clean while I cook…especially if I’m doing multiple things at once. Next time I try making biscuits it’ll have to be when I’m not cooking, or cooking something simple like spaghetti.
Anyway, I have my updated totals above. I got gas for $40 yesterday! It was a full tank minus a couple gallons, maybe, so it was definitely below $50! I hope that I can wait until Monday afternoon to get more gas, but it’ll depend on B and what we do throughout the weekend.
My Cookbook Review
I feel like I should preface this post by saying that it is NOT sponsored. As of now I’ve never done a sponsored post and have no plans to do so in the future…but…you know…maybe I will one day. I have no real problem against it.
Anyway, I checked out The Everything Meals on a Budget Cookbook by Linda Larsen and I really dig it. Firstly, I checked out the book because I’m trying hard to find cheap meals that I can make without eating Ramen all the time (though we established in my last post that I love Ramen). This is also beneficial to me because every two or three Wednesdays, I cook for myself and 2-3 friends and I don’t want to break my bank just because I’m serving more people than usual.
Larsen’s book is great. It’s broken up into categories like breakfast, breads, appetizers, soups, salads, and entrees by type of meat, to name a few. Then each recipe puts an approximate cost per serving on the title line. Tonight I’m going to make the flaky biscuits which are estimated to be 16 cents a biscuit/serving, but there are recipes for as little as 3 cents a serving (pita chips) up to $2.39/serving (Shrimp and Grits).
Most of it is good for families and not a single gal like me. I rarely cook for myself though I’d like to get into the habit of doing it, so I don’t keep a lot of staples on hand knowing that I’ll probably use them on a given day or week. This makes buying in bulk a little hard for me unless it’s for something that won’t go bad for a long time, or something that I can freeze. Presently I’m starting a list of items that I go through constantly (food or no) so that I can make my first Costco trip (using my card…I’ve been there with my parents before).
The book also has a guide at the beginning on ways to cut corners and ways to save more money on things. There is a handy dandy “Actual Yield” chart that tells how many ounces of meet you’re getting once it’s been cooked, and comparing that to it’s original price. I was surprised that because of the actual yield, boneless chicken and pork chops could wind up being cheaper than the bone-in variety. It’s important to note that she used average prices, so recipes will be cheaper/more expensive depending on where you live.
I’m definitely going to keep some of these recipes on hand before I have to return the book…and I might ask for a copy for Christmas, too. It’s right up my money-saving alley.
