Still a little shaky.

It's been a hard week for me, moneywise. I just found about about $2,000 in unexpected expenses, and I'm worried that it will further damage my schedule to get rid of the credit card debt. I'm already about two months behind.

I signed up for a ton of extra shifts at the second job, and hope my tax refund/relief check will also help.

I've been looking for other areas to cut spending, and since I really didn't want to get rid of my cable, I've decided to cut out alcohol entirely. I've been drinking alot lately, and I think it will be better to just quit all together for right now.

I got Suze Orman's "Women and Money" free from that Oprah show, so I've been reading alot of that lately, but so far it's nothing new.

My Frugal Weekend

I had such a frugal weekend!

Friday my friend was having a concert, so I got a free ticket to that, and went to the reception after, which was also free. He even gave me a leftover bottle of wine!

Yesterday I stayed in and did some cleaning, and then I went to the store and got all the ingredients to make tasty valentines day treats for my friends.

I worked at the second job today, and then stopped by one of my old jobs to see my former boss's new baby (!) and make plans to meet for tea next week.

Tonight my friend is coming over to watch some reality television with me, and I think we'll split that bottle I acquired on Friday.

Horray for a cheap weekend!

Fell off the wagon...

When I was a little girl, my mother would always know when I was up to trouble, because I would get unusually quiet. It seems this habit has followed me into adulthood. I fell off the wagon and stopped posting!

I started seeing a new man last month and my spending just went crazy. I bought new clothes, I got my hair cut, my nails done, and various areas waxed. I even bought a new rug and stocked my fridge with tasty treats. He lives a few hours away, so my travel costs went through the roof.

He's VERY well off, and he had been paying for all our activities, so a few weekends ago, I decided that I'd pick up the tab, and I ended up spending over $200 on just two meals! I'll never do that again. Sorry feminism, but I'm in debt!

Also, I signed myself up for a long weekend out of town this month!

Despite my best efforts to sabotage myself, February is a three paycheck month! And I've been picking up shifts at the second job, where I just got a raise. I'm back on the wagon!

Happy New Year, everyone!

I feel pretty solid on the financial front. I threw $400 at Credit Card #3 before the new year, and hopefully another $1000 this month. All the other bills are up to date. I still haven't figured out how to solve the loan from my parents. I told my mom that I've been paying down my debt, and that the money was still on my list but that I was taking care of things with high interest rates right now. She seemed genuinely shocked to hear that I've paid off thousands this year.

So my plan for the new year is to get rid of the rest of the Credit Card debt, currently at $8228, and then find a way to convince my parents to take their money back.

I met someone new over the holidays, but he lives 4 hours away! I hope this doesn't mean my transportation costs are going to skyrocket.

Family loans and stress.

My Family hung out yesterday and the first thing my Mom said to me was, "I decided to make that loan from last year a gift so don't worry about paying it back, ok?"

No, Mom, not ok.

Backstory: I borrowed $1500 from the parents last January when I moved into my first apartment. Little did they know, ALL five of my credit cards were maxed out. I also owed another family member $1700, but I paid that back this June.

I have borrowed money from them before, but not this much. I know it's a lousy excuse, but I find it hard to talk with them about payment plans and deadlines because they are really laid back and say, "Oh, just wait til you have it and give it to us all at once. No rush."

I was really just trying to be smart and throw my money at the high interest rate stuff first and then pay them back next summer and add some interest or give them a thank you gift with it also. I'm not sure what my parents are thinking, but I'm guessing that they think I'm in bad shape and I feel like a jerk!

I got my mom to agree to "revisit" the topic...in five years!

I'm really uncomfortable with this whole thing and think that maybe I should just pay my family next week, push my credit card payoff back by two months, pick up shifts at the second job, and try to put as few xmas purchases as possible on plastic.

Suggestions? Would you let someone "forgive and forget" a loan?

I'm dreaming of a Light Christmas.

Here's the breakdown of my "'Tis better to give than receive"s:

FAMILY:

The parents have declined gifts this year. They just want me to pay them back. Ouch.

My siblings and I are all pinching pennies so we've e-mailed each other short lists (with links to online retailers!) of a few gifts under $50 that we'd like. I've got a bro and a sis to shop for- that's $100.

Close friends: Crafts, crafts, crafts. $100 for 6 or so.

Not-so-close friends: We have a Yankee Swap. $25 limit. I hope I find something under $20.

The kids in my life: $30. I only babysit for two, but I really love shopping for them.

Coworker: $15. She loves chocolate. I'm sure I'll get some in return.

That's $265. I'm picking up a shift at the second job tomorrow. And the day after xmas. and hopefully a few more before the new year...

I heart my friends.

A few friends and I gathered (from the various ends of the earth) in NYC for the weekend. It was exactly what I needed (minus the extraordinary hangover). I had good laughs, good food, good culture, and (one too many) good drinks.

At some point during the haze of the weekend, one of my friends looked at me and said, "You look really sucessful." I love those moments, when I'm in my $7 clearance H&M dress and my $50 clearance coat and I feel desperately in need of a haircut I can't afford, and someone says something that makes me feel like I have the whole world fooled.

I told her that I am sucessful, but only in the sense that I'm living super cheap and throwing over 50% of my income at my debt and I can finally breathe when I bust out my check book.

Then I took my $15 Greyhound bus back to my chilly apartment and made myself some ramen.