I am surprised with how this month went. Definitely overspent on the Wedding (no regrets) but under spent elsewhere so it all evened out in the end. Let's hope November can be as successful!

Variable Actual Budgeted Remaining
Groceries $274.86 $325.00 $50.14
Eating Out/ $280.44 $275.00 ($5.44)
Insurances $166.00 $166.00 $0.00
Electric $126.07 $125.00 ($1.07)
Vectren $27.35 $50.00 $22.65
Water $84.17 $50.00 ($34.17)
Gas $26.02 $50.00 $23.98
Cats $92.45 $50.00 ($42.45)
Roof $869.00 $800.00 ($69.00)
Cell Phone $0.00 $75.00 $75.00
MISC $36.91 $300.00 $263.09
Renovation $100.00 $200.00 $100.00
IRA $458.33 $458.33 $0.00
Wedding $1,126.86$750.00($376.86)

We did some shopping this weekend and bought all of the things we needed to take pictures to make our AirBnB profile. My partner did that yesterday and then created the profile last night. Sidenote: our basement is so awesome, I wish we could afford to just use it as a Master Suite, I might never come upstairs again.

In the past 24 hours, we have two confirmed bookings and several inquiries. For the two weekends booked, the first week of November and then graduation weekend in the spring, we have $930 coming in. $930!!! In 24 hours! We haven't actually had guests yet, so a hard part is yet to come, but I think that this confirms we made the right decision to spend the money to renovate.

For the renovations, furniture and furnishings we spent approximately $20,000. Our mortgage is $649, plus about another $150 a month for taxes and insurance. It will still take some time to pay off the renovations, but it looks like we will probably be able to cover our mortgage every month. Ideally, I'd like at least $1000 coming in every month-$800 for the mortgage/taxes/insurance and then $200 to start paying down the roof/reno credit cards.

I am amazed that this is working out so well so soon. I am amazed that people will spend this kind of money in our town.

My Best Friend (of almost 20 years!) is getting married one week from today. I have had thoughts about what to get her since she told me she was engaged and I think I am finally done finalizing the gifts and will finish shopping tomorrow.

She and her partner are super into travelling and food. So I am putting together a "marriage adventure kit." It includes: a scratch off globe so they can track and display everywhere they've been, two passport holders (so they don't lose their passports like that time I did when Best Friend and I were en-route to Vietnam), an "anywhere travel guide" which is basically cards that tell you to do an activity to spice up wherever you are, example: ask a stranger his/her favorite street and go there.), I will buy a bunch of snacks the originate from different countries so they can "travel" through food. The big gift is a molecular gastronomy kit so they can cook cool, adventurous meals. She is an awesome cook and he is a science nerd so I think it will be fun for them to do together. Lastly, I will include a nice bottle of wine.

I am going overboard in terms of price but she and her entire family have been so so generous to me throughout the years (including inviting me on more overseas vacations after I lost my passport and diverted that vacation.)

I am reaching the point where I have to make a decision about my benefits at the university. I have the option of 3 retirement accounts-I can choose all 3 or none or a combination.

The first is the standard university one. The university will contribute 4% of my pay and will match up to another 4% of my own contributions. Downside is I am not vested until I've been here 3 years and I am almost positive I don't want to be here that long.

Second one is Tax Deferred Account (TDA) in a 403(b) with a recommended 5% contribution. I am 100% vested immediately. I chose to up it to 10% which will be approximately $56 a paycheck. It's not going to make me rich but it will help come tax time.

The last one is a 457(b) plan. Again, I am immediately 100% vested. I can't decide if I should save here as well. I am not planning on staying here forever and I do want to use this paycheck to pay down debt.

Advice? I think I am going to forgo contributing to the 457(b) but my mind can be changed...

Pre tax my paychecks will be 564. I'll have $56 taken out for the 403b, $65 in extra fed and state withholding and approximately $84 out in regular taxes. That leaves $358, which will go a long way towards the renovation costs.

I am getting towards the end of week three of working 60 hours a week. How does anyone do this long term? I thought I was young enough but I guess not

My job situation is...still not ideal. I interviewed for another part time job at the university (which would then make me full time and eligible for all those great benefits) but still haven't heard back. I am getting nervous because at the end of the interview (which was the most awkward interview I've ever been in because it was the same people who interviewed me just a couple weeks ago for the same job) the 2nd interviewer asked me to apply for her job (same job, different collection again) in case things didn't work out with this job. So I think I will be either getting an offer or interview but until I know.

Things with full time job got better after my partner said to me "You know, Conan didn't get the Tonight Show and he is still doing okay." Which is absolutely true. Maybe this is not the place for me. It's not the end of the world. He also told me that if I find a "dream job" fairly close by (two hour radius, appx) that I should go for it and then I can get a studio apartment (the areas around here have a much lower cost of living than our town-and even our town is super low compared to most of the US)and we will work out seeing each other on our days off. I am really so incredibly lucky to a have a partner that will sacrifice so that I can have a meaningful career. I'm not sure this is an option I want to pursue, but I am willing to explore it. And it does take some of the pressure off knowing it is an option.

I am going to try to work these two jobs in whatever combo (Uni FT, other job PT or Uni PT and current job FT) until I make a sizable dent in the debt. There is more to come, as well.

We are turning our basement into a guest suite. We will have a steel door separating the suite from the main house, to give privacy to our guests and keep us safe. We put in a full bathroom (with laundry facilities), a kitchenette (microwave and small fridge, no stove) and a closet. Our plan is to rent it out on AirBnB for $100/night. We are 1 mile away from the university, .8 miles from downtown, on a busline and in a historic neighborhood. We think it that price is realistic and that it will make us a good amount of money, eventually.

The renovations were estimated to be $16,680. We have spent about $12,000 and have just enough cash left to pay the remainder. But, we still need to furnish it.

Partner and I have gone back and forth on what we want the space to look like and what we need. We want it to be nice and compete with the hotels. So we are probably going to buy a bed, mattress and sofa bed from a furniture store in town offering 0% interest for 18 months. I want to spend $1500 on that. We might buy a small table and chairs for the kitchenette, but we might repurpose something we already have for that. We'll still need to get a TV-but nothing ridiculous.

We want to have 4 sets of bedding, ideally (2 for the bed, 2 for the sofa) but we'll start out with 1 and purchase it using Amazon.com gift cards. We'll also need shower curtain, towels, trash cans and dishes. The dishes I plan on getting from goodwill. The rest...who knows. I am beyond broke right now and we just might have to get creative.

Luckily October will be a 5 paycheck month for me- 3 from my FT job and 2 from the PT.

When we were planning for the renovation, I made sure we would be able to pay for it without taking into consideration any of the money we hope to make from it. Hopefully, we'll be able to use AirBnB money to pay for most of the monthly obligations If not, we always have the option of renting it out long term.

And just like that I am almost $20,000 in debt again! However, a large majority of it is 0% interest and I will pay it off before the no interest period is over.

Here's how it stands

Card Balance 9/25 Promo Rate Payment Paid off
Roof1 $1,174.23 0% until Jan '16 $750.00 11/1/2015
Roof2 $4,617.67 0% until May '16 $82.00 5/1/2016
Best Buy$748.99 0% until Sep '16 $100.00 4/1/2016
Reno MC $11,000.00 0% until May '17 $100.00 5/1/2017
Visa $624.25 pay in full each month
MC $1,382.55 pay in full each month


Once roof 1 is paid off, I'll send $750 a month to Roof2 until it's paid off. Then, once the roof is paid off, I'll start sending more each month to the RenoMC. If AirBnB takes off the way we want it to, then I won't be sending the whole $850 to the card. But if it doesn't then I can snowball what I have been paying and it will be paid off before any interest starts accruing.

We have about $5,000 worth of renovation left and that amount of cash left to pay for it. We are not anticipating any higher expenses at this stage (it should be done end of next week!) I also made planned paying all of it off before I had my second job, so once I get the first paycheck (10/9) it should be easier to see the light at the end of the tunnel. We still need about $2k to go to furnish the basement, but I have some ideas on how to pay and keep the costs down a bit.

I am not as young as I think I am. 13 hour days are rough. One good thing is that I am sleeping HARD through the night and not having problems waking up every couple of hours.

The first three days have been...okay. It is a very self directed job. My first day my boss set me up at my workstation and basically told me to go for it. So, good thing is that I can tailor this job to my interests. But it is hard for me to feel comfortable this early on without more structure. But, it is up to me to deal with that. I am already working on a really cool project and love researching it.

My first day AK (boss) asked me if I had applied for the other part time positions offered so I could be full time. I told him I had applied for one but didn't think I was qualified for the other (it is in a part of the world that my only exposure to is one undergraduate class and I visited one country once.) He told me I was definitely qualified and the Librarian in charge of the position was really interested in me.

I did get an interview for the other position. Next Friday. I am fairly positive I will get a job offer-partly because of how much AK is pushing me towards that job and partly because of how interested in me the librarian was when I was interviewing for this current position. Then today I did my orientation with HR and the HR specialist told me both librarians were fighting over me and she hopes to see me soon to go over my full time benefits. BUT as I know so very well, nothing is guaranteed.

AK also told me on the first day that what we needed to do was first get me full time and then use my tuition benefits to take a certain language and then I would be qualified for a certain position and did I know there was an opening at Vanderbuilt. It is nice to have a boss that is so into developing me professionally.

This job is a much slower pace than my current FT job and I think that is part of the reason I am not *in love* with it yet. When I think of leaving FT job I tear up. I don't think I want to go, but it is so hard to do my job now because I am angry and I dread coming here. I know the right step is to leave for awhile to gain experience and then come back.

Laptop still won't turn on and it is starting to bug me. I think I might try to buy a new one this weekend if I can't get it to turn on. If it does turn on then I will still be getting a new one, but not for a couple more weeks/paychecks.

So my laptop is out of commission. It worked fine last night but won't turn on. This same thing happened in July right before we went on vacation. By the end of vacation it magically turned on again. I know if I let it sit a couple days it will start working but what a pain in the ass. I found a solution online to fix it but will have to wait for the boyfriend's help to try it out. At least I have the tablet... The boyfriend put his laptop on !y zero percent best buy card. When that's paid off (probably about 6 weeks) I am going to get a new one and never,ever purchase a Dell again. I paid way more than I wanted to for this laptop and it has been awful.

New part time job starts Monday and so do my 13 hour days. I planned easy to make ahead meals for the week and did the shopping today. Tomorrow I am going to prepare as much as I can for the dinners. I am very concerned about how working this much will affect my relationship and my partner and have have decided we will go out to lunch more often just so we can see each other. I am willing to spend the money for that,but just not this week because we are pretty broke. Luckily we have plenty of food in the freezer and pantry and no bills due until after next payday :-)

Our renovation is in full swing and I really want to talk about it numbers wise but the spreadsheets areon the stupid laptop. Will update about that later.

I did not get the job. I got an email Wednesday night from the head of the interview team asking me if I had time for a chat the next day. I knew then it was the "we've decided to go with someone else" chat; job offers come from HR.

He began almost immediately asking me if I was going to quit because of my other job and asking me not to. I probably will, but I said that I am going to do both jobs for a year and then reassess.

He told me that I interviewed the strongest, had the most complete program package, and that everyone on the committee agreed I would do a great job in the position. He could not offer any feedback for me to improve my interview skills.

The person chosen had once already held a similar position in a different county. On paper she looks better than I do on paper. He told me I need a deeper resume. There is no way I will get a deeper resume if I stay put because they aren't interested in developing the talent they have.

He told me to keep applying in the future and I said "Will there be positions in the future? In the 6 years I've been here this is the first time we've had an opening." He acknowledged that and agreed in the 8 years he's been there it's the first time, but that he is pushing for more professional hours.

As much as I love my job I can't wait 6 years for another position to open up just to be told how great I am but they're going with another candidate with a "deeper" resume.

When I interviewed at the University one of the committee members told me he was going to be hiring for a similar position and that I should apply. So, I applied last night. If I get it then I will be full time at the university. The pay will be about 50 cents an hour less, but the benefits will be good and I will get to take classes again. AND the hours will be between 8am-6pm M-F with no nights or weekends!

It's a bummer and hard to go to work. But as long as I am there I am making some changes. I am being taken advantage of because I've been so flexible and so willing to help everyone else. I am going to be more vocal about which assignments I prefer, and choose projects that are my interests.

This isn't exactly personal finance related but I don't really have a place to vent about this and my boyfriend and best friend are going to get sick about hearing this soon.

Had an interview today for a better position at my current job. I killed it. They say they want to make the decision this week but we are notoriously slow at hiring so it might take awhile. I know two other co-workers got interviews so nothing is for sure. I heard through workplace gossip that one of them felt she bombed the interview, but maybe she was just trying to psych us out to make us feel like we don't have to put as much effort in. I don't really think she would do that, but I bet she did better than she thought.

I was upfront about the other position I accepted and they were jazzed for me and told me that other full time staff have part time jobs and they will be able to make it work. Especially because I asked for nights and weekends-the shifts EVERYBODY wants (sarcasm.)

If I get the job I plan on increasing my withholding. I should have about a $250 a paycheck more after all the different deductions and such. The biggest benefit is that my employer puts 4% of my salary in a retirement fund for me so that amount will increase with a new position.

I will be very disappointed if I don't get this position. But I still have a ton of options. It's a good place to be in.

I wrote a fairly substantial entry during the week but for whatever reason it never saved or published. Oh well.

This month I was trying to stick to a greatly reduced budget. I think I made a great effort and I tracked down everything I spent so I am more aware of where my money is going, but I am about $200 over budget and still have a couple days left in the month.

Expenses Actual Budgeted Remaining
Groceries $299.10 $300.00 $0.90
Going Out/Alcohol $297.12 $250.00 ($47.12)
Electric $97.55 $100.00 $2.45
Water $73.75 $50.00 ($23.75)
Gas $13.01 $25.00 $11.99
MISC $320.91 $300.00 ($20.91)
Pets $71.33 $50.00 ($21.33)
Insurances $164.09 $166.00 $1.91
Cell Phone $75.45 $75.00 ($0.45)
Roof $882.00 $750.00 ($132.00)
IRA $458.33 $458.34 $0.01
Savings $500.00 $525.00 $25.00
Total $3,252.64 $3,049.34 $203.30

We have enough food and leftovers so that I won't do any grocery shopping until Tuesday. We are almost out of coffee but my godmother sent me some k-cups for my birthday (oh yeah, I turned the big three-oh last week!) so we will use those up before I buy more coffee beans.

Going out it over big time. We started this month with my partner's mom in town so we treated her while she was here. We hosted a traveling song writer friend of my partner's for a house show and bought some alcohol and food for him and the guests. My partner's son is in a completely youth run theater production this week and we went out to dinner with friends last night before the opening show. Did we need to spend money on all of this? Probably not but we enjoy eating in the many fine establishments our town has to offer.

Pets was over because I had to take my old lady kitty to the vet; part of MISC is immunity boosting treats for her and a calming spray for both the cats (to the tune of $80). MISC also include cash to Chris Darby (songwriter friend- www.chrisdarbymusic.com if you are interested!) and gas for my car. It seems like $300 doesn't go so far.

Obviously I need to get a handle on my cell phone bill.

I made an early payment to the roof this month, and bigger too. My credit has taken a hit essentially maxing out 2 of my cards. They are 0% interest and will be paid off before they start to accrue any. But I wanted to get the smaller balance down to below 60% of the credit line, and the other card had a minimum payment of $82. These payments weren't due until Sept 2 and 3, so I probably won't make a roof payment next month and just try to sock whatever I would spend into savings, or more likely start paying for the renovation.

All in all this month has not been terrible. And most of the overspending is due to making an over payment early. And I still put money away into savings and retirement!

Next month I might increase groceries and going out by $25 each, just to give us a little more wiggle room. Insurance payments for the rest of the year will only be my car insurance and I have the option of paying it over 4 or 6 months. But if I keep the current payment amount it will only be 2 months.

I was having a hard time deciding what to do about a part time job I was offered. As Snafu said, it was a problem of timing. I decided to accept it and I start September 14.

However, August 31 I have an interview for the higher position at my current employer. Even if I get this new position I think I will still be able to swing both jobs, at least until the end of the academic year. My schedule will look like this: M-Th PT job from 8-12, FT 1-9, Friday: PT job for 4 hours; Sat or Sun FT job 7.5 hours.

To answer some questions: I work in the public sector. I make far less than I should for my education, but for where I live and what I am doing I am fairly compensated. This new position will add some breadth to my experience and give me more options for employment in the future, should I choose to turn to more academic jobs, or try for jobs overseas.

Money isn't a real consideration with this- I am doing fine money wise but I am not going to lie that the extra income will come in handy. We are going forward with the basement renovation (that is a separate post I have to write) and it will be nice to have a little cushion. The university pays on opposite Fridays than my current job so it will be nice to have a paycheck every week

I am not interested in obtaining a Ph.D. I might have been when I first entered grad school but after a semester I knew that path just was not for me.

There were two positions open at my current job but I only applied for one. I didn't apply for the second because it just wasn't the audience I wanted to work with. I am qualified and would have done an adequate job (to start with) and probably would have grown into doing a fantastic job, but it is not my passion. And I didn't want to pigeonhole myself into this type of audience for the future.

I have to add-when my new manager called my current manager as a reference (she was warned) he was absolutely glowing about me and said "How can you ever let her leave?" That feels pretty good. My current managers are absolutely fine with this new arrangement. For one, it makes it easier on them that someone wants to close every night (we are not a 9-5 M-F business, so it's hard to evenly share the least wanted shifts) and also they recognize that their staff has many interests and that a handful of us are being under utilized (in terms of education) in our current positions. They don't begrudge us the chance to further our careers. I did ask that they keep this quiet. I didn't want it to be a factor in the interview. The response I got was "I don't see why anyone has to know why your schedule has changed" so it's nice to know they'll be discrete.

So, job situation isn't completely cleared up, but I am feeling great about my decision. Working 60 hours a week will only be temporary, and I can do anything for a year.

I am not sure what kind of advice anyone can offer when I am going to be so vague but here goes.

I hold two masters degrees. My current job is full time benefited in a field of one of the masters, my position doesn't require me to have a masters, just BA. I have been here 6 years but have been in my current position only 1 year. When I was hired the position was considered paraprofessional, but in the past month has been downgraded to clerical. No changes in my day to day duties, but now I am no longer required to be certified by the state (but I am free to continue with certification if I want.)

I really enjoy what I do and feel like I am making a positive impact everyday-something I know doesn't happen in MANY jobs/careers.

A couple of weeks ago I saw that the university in town posted an ad for a position in an area that combines both of my Masters degrees. This is almost unheard of because my other MA is in something that not a lot of people go into, unless, of course, they go into academia. This position does not require a MA, only a BA, so it is not a step up necessarily, but it does get me a foot in the door at the university.

I applied for this other position, got an interview and found out that it is only part time (20 hours a week) and was offered the position yesterday at a higher rate of pay than the starting rate.

Back to current job. I have applied for a MA position at my employer. This is what I have been actively pursuing for the past 3 years and have tried to position myself the best I could- having a good working relationship with all the managers, showing leadership when it is needed, being flexible and a team player, looking for more responsibility, etc. It was originally posted in June, but then taken down, reworked, and reposted at the end of July. It doesn't close until Monday and then it will be AT LEAST a week, but realistically 2 weeks before interviews. I am confident I will get an interview, but as the position is open to everyone, not just internal, who knows if I will get it.

There are actually two positions open but I have decided against applying for the second one because I just am not passionate about departments it serves. I know there is one other staff member who is my biggest competition but I don't know if she is applying for both, or just the one I am. Either way, I know that I might not get this position.

In the 6 years I've been here this is the first time they've posted this position. People don't want to leave, and when they have they have just created more paraprofessional positions instead.

SO, recap: Offered a part time also paraprofessional job at the university, but I am holding out for the professional job at current employer.

My initial thought is this: Accept part time offer. Arrange full time work schedule to accommodate part time hours (very possible). Kick ass at interview and hope for the best. If I don't get the professional position I will be happy to have the other job and then I can see about going PT at current job so I am not working 60 hours a week. If I get the professional position then try to work it out so I can still keep PT position, and then quit PT position at end of academic year. If I can't work it out then apologize profusely and hope I haven't burned any bridges.

Thoughts?

It is just incredibly scary to think about changing career paths when I have been on this current one for so long. But I am so excited about what this part time job is, so I am trying to find a way to have my cake and eat it too.

My balance transfer initiated just fine-quickly and without any problems. Just like with most things in my life, I made it more stressful than was necessary

Last Friday I went ahead and just transferred the rest of the money that I wanted to get into savings this month. So I have met my monthly goal of $1100.

Next month I will take it down a notch or two. I am hoping to save $900. I will have to get ready to start paying on the balance transfer and more exciting-my best friend is getting married! The wedding isn't until October but I want to save and pay for things as we go so it doesn't put as much pressure on us.

The wedding is about 10 hours away. We are almost positive that we'll be driving. We'll have to rent a car there anyway, and with the cost of plane tickets for the both us it makes more since financially to drive. We'll probably drive straight through on Friday, spend Friday and Saturday night there and then stop part of the way back Sunday and spend the night somewhere. Hotels near the ceremony are about $150/night. I am sure we can find a motel 6 somewhere between here and there to break up the drive and lower the cost a little bit

Next up-figuring out a gift!

Other than that things are running on autopilot around here. I was really proud of us this weekend. We normally fall into bad habits on our days off and end up eating out waaay too much. I saw it coming on Saturday and made us both lunch and dinner. Both were new recipes but really easy and both were delicious.

*Have a yard sale by the end of the month.- Currently have made zero progress on this. It is not looking like this will happen this month.
*Transfer $100 to savings every Friday- initiated second transfer on Friday!
*Find cheaper cell phone plan- Have not worked on this, I just need to pull the trigger and go. Two things I am hesitant about- I really want, but don't need, a new phone but I am not jazzed about spending money on one. I want to keep my phone number but I am not sure it is possible (my phone bill is currently in my deceased mother's name)
*Put $1100 in savings- $200/$1100- Plan to do a big transfer next week.
*Stick to $75/week grocery shopping- Spent $68 last week and $65 this week. So far so good! Next week we'll have to restock on meat, so the $12 we didn't spend the past two weeks will come in handy.

We put the remainder of the roof on one of my credit cards with the intention to transfer it to two of my other credit cards that have 0% balance transfer offers. I have never transferred a balance before and need some advice.

Citicards is giving me two options. The first is that I can use the balance transfer as a personal loan and they will deposit the money into my bank account. I can use the balance transfer rate to do this and it will be 0% until 3/1/2016 for one of the cards and 10/1/2016 for the other.

The second is that they will send a check to the creditor.

For some reason it feels more risky to have them send the funds to the Southwest card. What if they don't make it in time? What if it gets lost and I have to track down the payment?

Has anyone had experience with the personal loan option? I'd feel more in control of everything if it was up to me to pay the Southwest card. Also, if the check was late, I'd have enough notice to transfer money out of my own accounts to pay for it. The Southwest card isn't due until the 28th so I would hope that would be enough time to deal with all this.

Is there anything I'm missing?

My net worth, like most people I am assuming, went down last month, to the tune of $6,712.83. But, I put the rest of the roof payment on my credit card last month which was $7432 so aside from that I was able to increase my savings a bit.

Right now my total debts (mortgage and credit cards I pay off every month) are at $75,696.95. I want to get that below $75,000 by Aug 1. I am transferring the roof debt to a 0% interest credit card for 12 months (aiming at paying it off in 10) so even though I pay my balances off monthly, this time I will be carrying one but for no interest.

Other goals:

*Have a yard sale by the end of the month.- Currently have made zero progress on this
*Transfer $100 to savings every Friday- initiated first transfer on Friday!
*Find cheaper cell phone plan- Have not worked on this, perhaps this week.
*Put $1100 in savings- $100/$1100
*Stick to $75/week grocery shopping- Spent $98 yesterday, but $34 was for alcohol for the 4th of July party we went to yesterday and the birthday part we're going to tonight. I am not going to count it towards our grocery spending. So basically on track.

I am getting a little nervous because I haven't received the rent check from my renters for July. I told them as long as it's postmarked by the first that it isn't late, so there is still time. Plus with the holiday, that might add on another day. If I haven't gotten it by Tuesday I'll have to call which I hate doing.

I was able to make my June goal of saving $1000. In fact, I surpassed it.

I sent $1000 to my savings account and $458 to my IRA. I don't know if the IRA should count but part of the reason behind my goal was to increase the percentage that cash makes up in my net worth (versus real estate) so I think it should count.

I could have sent more to my savings account but chickened out. I've looked at the numbers 10 times but I still feel like I am forgetting something, so I didn't transfer over about $750.

July savings goal: $1100.

A couple of days before we left for vacation, my laptop refused to turn on. I could see it was getting power, but the screen and the back-lit keyboard were not working. I have only had my laptop for a year, and let me tel you Dell: your laptops are waaay too expensive if I have to replace them every year. I brought it on vacation with me just in case there was time to go to a Best Buy and see if they could fix it, or at least let me get all my files off of it. The day before we left I tried to turn it on again AND IT WORKED. Hooray! I don't have to try to find the money to replace it (yet!)

Vacation was amazing. We had planned some ways to keep costs down and then didn't use them. But we mostly paid for experiences (whale watching, baseball games, hot air balloon rides, aquariums, etc) instead of food and stuff so I am okay with it. I have been going over the numbers and what is coming due and we are still in a great position so I am not too worried about the extravagant lifestyle we lived while on vacation-as long as we don't keep it up now that we're home!)

It looks like I am on track to make my $1000 in savings goal this month. I am just waiting to see the final numbers for the month before I go ahead and transfer the last bit of it. I will be lucky to have any increase in net worth- it looks like it will go backwards due to the second payment of the roof. But we have a solid payment plan so I will be able to make up for it in the coming months.

July Goals:

*Have a yard sale by the end of the month.
*Transfer $100 to savings every Friday
*Find cheaper cell phone plan
*Put $1000 in savings
*Stick to $75/week grocery shopping

Last night as we were making dinner (a nice salad with baked chicken) my partner asked if I wanted to go on a walk after dinner and stop for cocktails-his treat. I told him that since we don't have enough money in the joint account to pay our July 1st mortgage (we're about $40 short) that I don't think we should be spending money on alcohol out. He agreed and we came to a compromise- to go out and buy a bottle of wine to go with dinner. Cheaper than the cocktails and no temptation to keep ordering.

I signed up for the Sam's Club membership yesterday and did a little shopping. I am not sure we will use it much-we don't buy packaged food hardly ever, and fruits and veggies do tend to go bad. But I got some fruit for our smoothies and a bag of coconut flour (5 pounds for $8) We'll look at meat and take a tour together when we get back from our vacation. I don't want to load up the house with food if we're just going to leave it for 10 days.

Nothing else really going on. Still trying to keep expenses low while enjoying life.

It appears that Sam's Club thinks I am pregnant. They sent me a coupon for a free year long membership in the mail yesterday, telling me about all the baby stuff I can save money on. I certainly hope they don't have an inside info I am not privy to! I am pretty sure I am going to sign up. We are only a household of 2 so I don't know if we would ever buy enough to make the membership make sense, but if it is free then why not.


I received the rental check yesterday so I deposited $500 into my savings account.

Half way there! $500 to go.

Somehow I fell off the budgeting bandwagon,and my projections are waaay off.

June 1st's goal was to increase by $6,098.61. I only increased it by $4,607.80-but I will take any increase!

Rental house increased almost $1k, the current house increased 4k because of the new roof, retirement increased about $800, with $458 my contribution. Mortgage went down by $95, but all the credit cards were up by a total of $650.

Next month we'll start to see the other half of the roof on the credit cards (will transfer it over to a 0% interest credit card to pay off over 10-12 months.) I don't expect to see an increase in net worth, truthfully, but I will still try. Our California spending will be reflected on July's credit cards but the spending this month so far has been bare minimum.

July goal part 1: $6117.24 net worth increase.
July goal part 2: increase savings by $1000.

We have been spending too much money. And it won't stop! I am not sure if I am just unrealistic about my budget or if we just have no willpower or both.

My partner's son turn 15 this month. He wanted a banjo, so my partner paid for that. We also had 2 "family" outings (My partner was previously married to a woman who is not his son's mother. So it was Son's mom and her boyfriend, and partner's ex-wife and her boyfriend, then partner and me. We are a modern family.) We went to a movie one night and then dinner then next night. I paid for partner's son's portion of each so all told I spent about $100 on his birthday. Which isn't too bad. Oh! But we also had just a "us" family dinner and invited the couple that we have Sunday family dinners with, and I cooked the birthday boy's requested meal- Kraft Mac & Cheese, sausages and greenbeans. So, that was probably another $60 spent, but we had left overs for days!

I feel like we have spent an extraordinary amount of money on eating out but I added it up and its "only" $241. Not at all great, but my credit card seems super high so at least only a portion is eating out.

I replaced most of the clothes that I need for the year this month, as well. I needed new flats and bought 2 pairs, I got 3 new pairs of pants since I am down to my last 2. And I also found tank tops from Target that I love-they are long, not super clingly and not revealing. I bought 4 and wish I bought more. The only thing left to buy is new underwear (I got new bras last month) but I am going to try to wait another month for that.

I wanted to put $1000 into savings this month but it looks like it will only be $800, and even that might be cutting it close. $800 is better than nothing, though.

I am nervous because we are going to California next month (3 weeks from yesterday!) and I know we are just going to spend a shit ton (technical term) because there will be 3 of us and not just two. We have the money, but there will just be less to save for our next property. BUT experiences are worth it, I just don't want to be wasting money on baseball beers and In & Out (okay..not TOO much money on In & Out )

I am looking at ways to cut our bills but the rest of the household isn't as jazzed as I am about resisting the AC or turning lights off when we're not in a room (or at home at all!). I am about to pull the trigger of switching cell service to Consumer Cellular and I should be able to save $40-50 each month. I'll take it!

I'm going to try to get back into writing here. I feel like it might help keep me more responsible.

I guess the month really got away from me.

My goal for May 1 was to increase my net worth by $6,131.69. I managed to increase it by a whopping $8,811.25!

Most of the increase is artificial- my rental house's value increased by +/- $6k. My investments were up about $1300, with only $458 from my own contributions. So $700 appreciation is not bad at all!

Debt decreased by $3000, but again most of that is artifical. Most of it was the first payment on our roof, which I had been saving for for the past couple months and is reflected in the lower amount in my checking account. Only $90 went to (my portion of) the mortgage.

The goal for June 1 (Monday!) is $6,098.61.

Of that, I would like $1300 of it to be from saving/investing. This is cheating because I know I can do at least that much, but maybe July 1st's goal will be up to $1500.

I was very tempted yesterday to buy a cup of coffee at work, but I resisted and found a pot brewed in the building. Then I was tempted to have my partner walk downtown to meet me at work and go out to eat, but I went home and made us one of our favorite meals-a chicken plantain stew. We did go out for the baseball game and had a beer. I feel okay about that spending.

Our roof is supposed to be put on Tuesday. I don't know how long it will take, but we are super jazzed to for it to finally start. Then we get to pay for the rest of it

My partner is really unhappy at his job. It's not his dream job, he's doing it for the paycheck. He'd much rather be a musician, but he regular job doesn't leave much time for that. We are trying to get into a place where we are not reliant on his paycheck, or at least a much lower paycheck. I am okay knowing that this process will likely take 5 years. He would much rather it take 5 months. Everything will work out one way or another, but we've started again being very vigilant about the extras again.

The next two big purchases we would like to make are more soil for our garden beds and a modest building to house our new lawn mower in. It looks like we can get one for about $200, but I would like to wait just a little bit before spending that kind of money.

My credit score has taken a superficial hit in the last couple of weeks. My balances are high because of the first half of the roof and my partner bought a new laptop. We put it on my credit card because I have 0% interest for 12 months, and he'll pay over the next 4 months until it's at zero. I just scheduled the payments for the first half of the roof, but the second half will go on the cards soon. I hope to get my credit score stabilized by the end of the year.

I'm looking at ways to earn some "snowballs" to add to the next down payment fund. It would be nice to have $40,000, but it would also be nice to buy something next spring and it is impossible to have that about by next spring (unless we rob a bank. Which we won't do.) But every little bit helps, and who knows what will be on the market in a year. Right now we have 6070.75 saved. Not too shabby! I hope to add $1000/month, starting next month. We'll see how it goes...

My (very ambitious) goal for April was to increase my net worth by $6,112.98. I was able to increase it by a very respectable $4,578.63. My investments were down, but my rental property value went up. Plus there was a marginal decrease in the mortgage.

Next month's goal is $6,131.69. I am on track to increase my net worth by about the same as last month. I'll take it. If all goes well, next month should see my net worth reach the half million mark Pretty jazzed to see that number!

We had a planned spendy weekend Easter weekend. N's best friend's family visited us for the day on Friday, and then N's father visited Saturday and Sunday. I have no problems spending money to live the high life with friends and family, especially when we don't get to see them often.

But then we just kept on living the high life. We have eaten out waaay too much and have drunk waaay to much alcohol. I am more concerned with how this is affecting my waist line than my bank account, but we have really got to get back on board.

One big decision we made these last two weeks was to not renovate the basement. We have decided to saving that money so that we can buy an investment property. The first plan was to buy the next investment property in Spring 2016, renovate Spring 2017 and then buy a third property spring 2018. No it looks like we don't want to renovate the basement at all. Except maybe to put a second bathroom in. It would be nice to have another bathroom in the house.

We're still playing around with numbers for the next property. We can easily afford a single family house that costs $90-100k. The rent we would get would cover the mortgage, insurance and have about $200 left over. But if we can stretch our savings to cover a duplex in the $120k+ range, then the profit margin is by far greater. So we're really working on budgets and savings.

The plan is to purchase enough rental properties so that the profit after paying the mortgage each month will allow N to quit his job (or only work part time). I love my job and have no desire to leave, but would like the option to not have to work if I decide in the future.

There is still no ETA when the roof will be put on, so we still have some time to stock up cash for it so we have less to transfer on the balance transfer. We'll totally have it paid off in 10 months regardless, but it will be nice to have our only debt be the mortgage again.

Even though I am trying hard to cut the budget and save wants are creeping in. As long as we stagger them it will be ok, and we aren't in any danger of not meeting our obligations.

The latest want: softball.

The partner and I paid $60 yesterday to join the a softball team in the city's league. I am choosing to look at this as an investment-an investment in our health because we will be playing and practicing weekly and an investment in our relationship because it is something else we can do together. Right now I am able to use his son's mitt, but I will probably have to buy my own soon. Other than that I shouldn't have to buy anything else except maybe some new socks and pants to play in.

The next want I'll probably wait until May for. I want to get hiking boots. The partner wants me to come hiking with him in the many local places we have, and we're definitely going to do some hiking when we go out west. So I have time to make room in our finances for a pair. I also think the boots will be a two fold investment.

As it stands I'm about $500 short for the May 10th payment, and only have $200 on my credit card. Only 8 days left to try to keep it under $1000 (I am confident I will do it!)

Net worth went up last month, mostly because of the markets. This month's goal is to increase the net worth by $6,112.98. With everything that is going on I don't think I'll make it, but I should get close.

Roof

We're spending more than originally thought on the roof, but that's because we're also replacing the soffits and gutters. After this we shouldn't have to do a thing with the roof. We've paid half of the roof's materials costs already, and will pay the rest of the the balance once the job is done. We have $7430 remaining. That will all be put on the Southwest credit card and then I will transfer $2000 to one credit card I already have for 0% interest for 12 months, and the remainder to another 0% interest/12 months card that I already have. The plan will be to pay $675/month total to pay it off in 11 months. I will pay the minimum on the higher balance and attack the $2000 card until it's done, then pay the entire $675 to the remaining card.

Summer Travel

We're going to the West Coast to visit my family. This year we're bringing my partner's son and all of us couldn't be more excited. My partner and I each signed up for the Southwest cards spend $2000 get 50,000 points. We split the first roof charge on each of our cards and will use the points to book the plane tickets for all 3 of us. We'll stay at my family's house and they have already told us they'd pay for our rental car so all we'll be responsible for is the many baseball games we want to go for and fun stuff.

The Basement Apartment

This, unfortunately, is also going to be more than we were originally hoping and planning for. This is mostly because we have changed the scope a bit. We talked to a contractor on Saturday and told him everything we want to do (both for the basement apartment and also the entire house.) We gave him a range of $8-$12,000. He said he might be able to do it for $12,000, but then we'd be replacing everything next year. He thinks $15-$18,000 is more reasonable. Since we don't want to cheap out completely (we want things functional but that will last) we've revised our plan. The partner and I already have agreed on two things to scale back on that will save us $2,000. We won't completely replace all the flooring downstairs but use what is already there and we won't try to move the electrical box. If it becomes a problem we'll move it next summer, if not we'll save that money. The contractor is going to get us a budget and timeline this week, so we'll know better about what else we can cut out or save on.

I have written out a budget assuming this project will cost the entire $18,000. We can do it, but things will be way tighter than I would like for way longer than I would like. I worry if we have too many tight months in a row that we just won't be able to keep up the steam. But I would rather plan for spending more and be surprised when it's less.

Right now the plan to pay for the renovations is to get the discover 0% for 14 months card. I believe I can get a credit limit high enough for the project but since we don't all the information yet it is a little difficult to see how it will pan out. I did my best projections but they are only guesses at this point.

The goal right now is to keep spending low and really make every dollar work for us. We are trying to cash flow this whole expenditure and not take any money out of savings, but at least we have savings should we need it.

I have a spreadsheet where I have inputted all my know monthly expenses and income until December 2016. I estimate $1500 on credit card/unexpected/living expenses due on the 7th (because that's when my main credit card is due.) As I make payments from my checking account or make other credit card payments, I add them to the spreadsheet, as well as any unexpected income. Right now I am good until May 10th, when one of the roof credit cards is due. I am short about $400. I am not too worried, because my credit card that is due on the May 7th is only $100 right now, and I think I can easily keep it to until $1000 with 9 days left to go. (On the 2nd I'll switch my credit card use to a card that won't be due until May 28th-it's a juggling act but I never pay any interest and it works for me.) Worst case scenario is I rearrange some of the more flexible payments until after the credit card is due.

So, there we have it. I have a ton more to say/think out loud about but will leave it here for now.

As expected, my net worth took quite a hit last month. We closed on our house and were quite surprised that we had to come to closing with approximately $5000 less than we were anticipating (sellers paying some costs and refunded property taxes.)

Because of the way we're buying the new house, my net worth has dropped (at least on paper). I put down the money for the down payment and my partner is paying the mortgage and some other expenses until we are "whole," then we will split those expenses evenly. We are joint owners of this house so I will only include my half in tracking my worth, both value and mortgage.

Here's the damage: -10,892.95

I did not make my goal of $5,942.98 by a LONG shot but I am unconcerned. My rental house's value went up along with my IRA and work retirement account. One of my beneficiary accounts was down a tad and the other down about $2,000. But the house was appraised at $5,000 more than we paid for it, so that was a helpful boost.

Going into February I will need to increase my net worth by $6,143.41 to make my goal by 35. I do not anticipate hitting this goal, but I want to get as close as possible.

As for the January budget we did pretty good this first try at a hard budget. Our biggest budget buster is food and alcohol. We don't spend on clothes or gadgets or haircuts or entertainment. We like a good meal and something to drink. But we're figuring out how to do it on the cheap. January we went over our food budget by about $20, and our eating out budget by $100. BUT we did move into a new house and ate out the first two nights and I feel like that is partly justified.

Know that we came so close last month means I am motivated to get even closer this month!

The other bad thing this month was that my car needed an expensive repair. I went ahead and did it (for a tune of $458) because I knew the longer I left it the greater chance that it would turn into something far more expensive.

Luckily not needing as much for closing provided an excellent buffer for this month and for the start of the year. I feel good about how much I have in savings and hope I can continue to stock away as much as possible before we start the repairs and renovations.