I started this project last year as a simple budget challenge but found that I got bogged down with both of my jobs and didn't follow through. For the new year, I'm renewing my challenge but with a major twist -- I'm currently unemployed (and basically out of money).
My new challenge is going a bit deeper than before as I intend to publish my daily spending, daily debt, progress toward a new job, and any other relavent thing I can think of to hold myself accountable and get back on track.
The new year has brought with it a new family catastrophe and as the "family clean up" person I have been dealing with it for the last two days. Today will be completely consumed by "cleaning" so I won't have a chance to work on this again until tomorrow, but hopefully I can get all the basics set up then.
Progress for today... Job hunting: 0% (although I did accept a volunteer opportunity last night), and I'll probably spend a tiny bit of my Christmas cash on some fast food today.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Well, I'm late in updating... Hopefully I'll get it in gear and start posting regularly soon.
As far as my budget goes, I completely blew it this week by getting a new smart phone. I jokingly told my bf that it's really just an expensive budgeting and blogging tool. Not to mention it has weather which is very useful since i never manage to see a forecast. This also adds an additional $30 or so to my phone bill each month because of the data package and phone insurance. I didn't get it on my last phone, but retail on this one is over $500 so I didn't want to risk it. I do like all the useful features of this phone, but I miss having real buttons to dial with.
I didn't need a new phone at all, but I had beenconsidering saving up to get a smart phone for a while. After reading a couple of articles about recent price changes and how the cell carriers are getting ready to up the cost of data packages, I decided that i should get one while rates were still low. I have a cheap voice plan because i got in on a great promo 5 years ago and I've been able to keep it this whole time.
As for the rest of my budget, I think I did ok overall. I was only $2 over for groceries and paid a couple of bills ahead of time. I did however spend almost $90 on misc. things, only $23 of which I needed. Oh, and the $270 for the new phone but I had that billed to my account so it will actually hit me next month.
As far as my budget goes, I completely blew it this week by getting a new smart phone. I jokingly told my bf that it's really just an expensive budgeting and blogging tool. Not to mention it has weather which is very useful since i never manage to see a forecast. This also adds an additional $30 or so to my phone bill each month because of the data package and phone insurance. I didn't get it on my last phone, but retail on this one is over $500 so I didn't want to risk it. I do like all the useful features of this phone, but I miss having real buttons to dial with.
I didn't need a new phone at all, but I had beenconsidering saving up to get a smart phone for a while. After reading a couple of articles about recent price changes and how the cell carriers are getting ready to up the cost of data packages, I decided that i should get one while rates were still low. I have a cheap voice plan because i got in on a great promo 5 years ago and I've been able to keep it this whole time.
As for the rest of my budget, I think I did ok overall. I was only $2 over for groceries and paid a couple of bills ahead of time. I did however spend almost $90 on misc. things, only $23 of which I needed. Oh, and the $270 for the new phone but I had that billed to my account so it will actually hit me next month.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Successes, failures, and the unexpected
I suppose I did o.k. for the week. It was my birthday and all... I ended up going over budget by over $100 on groceries, but that included a gluten free stock up and I hadn't gone shopping last week. I spent $15 at my b-day party and about $8.50 at McDonald's when I was running late for work. I really need to stop running late for work! It's expensive!
I was able to come up with a plan for more of my bills after receiving a couple extra that I had been waiting on. They have been added to my budget and don't seem to be a problem. In addition, my dad sent me 5 times as much birthday money. Yay! I was thinking of putting it in my Roomba fund but I may put it toward glasses because I need new ones.
Unfortunately I missed 8 hours of work this week. Well, technically, I missed 20 at my full-time job and 8 at my part-time job. My sick time will make up for my full-time paycheck, but I don't get anything for my part-time job. One of my clients is in the hospital (meaning I don't have to work, but I also don't get paid) and I'm not sure when he'll be back home. There's a possibility that I may have another day off. So far, my next check will be about $80 short... hopefully not more.
So, the annoying thing about life right now... autoimmune diseases.... as in like "Good morning! Oh, hello Floor! I didn't realize just how badly you needed vacuumed." Autoimmune diseases are a pain on the budget. You feel awful and in my case will sometimes introduce yourself to the floor but no one can tell how badly you are feeling and often doubt it. My supervisor called me tonight to make sure I was home a few hours after I called in... Like sure... I just spent the last 28 hours in bed because I feel happy and bright and sunshiny today! Altogether, chronic diseases can mess up a budget with trips to doctors, missed work, and worst case scenario -- an ER visit. Thankfully in this case, it seems to be a couple days of weakness and headaches that should resolve themselves rather quickly. It happens from time to time then goes away.
I intended to add photos and information about how I plan to go about tackling this budget but not feeling well put that on hold. I need to get the photos taken and ready to go. Hopefully I'll have them up on Tuesday.
I was able to come up with a plan for more of my bills after receiving a couple extra that I had been waiting on. They have been added to my budget and don't seem to be a problem. In addition, my dad sent me 5 times as much birthday money. Yay! I was thinking of putting it in my Roomba fund but I may put it toward glasses because I need new ones.
Unfortunately I missed 8 hours of work this week. Well, technically, I missed 20 at my full-time job and 8 at my part-time job. My sick time will make up for my full-time paycheck, but I don't get anything for my part-time job. One of my clients is in the hospital (meaning I don't have to work, but I also don't get paid) and I'm not sure when he'll be back home. There's a possibility that I may have another day off. So far, my next check will be about $80 short... hopefully not more.
So, the annoying thing about life right now... autoimmune diseases.... as in like "Good morning! Oh, hello Floor! I didn't realize just how badly you needed vacuumed." Autoimmune diseases are a pain on the budget. You feel awful and in my case will sometimes introduce yourself to the floor but no one can tell how badly you are feeling and often doubt it. My supervisor called me tonight to make sure I was home a few hours after I called in... Like sure... I just spent the last 28 hours in bed because I feel happy and bright and sunshiny today! Altogether, chronic diseases can mess up a budget with trips to doctors, missed work, and worst case scenario -- an ER visit. Thankfully in this case, it seems to be a couple days of weakness and headaches that should resolve themselves rather quickly. It happens from time to time then goes away.
I intended to add photos and information about how I plan to go about tackling this budget but not feeling well put that on hold. I need to get the photos taken and ready to go. Hopefully I'll have them up on Tuesday.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
A Brief Intro (My commitment to getting this started)
Way back in October 2009 I decided on my New Year's Resolutions. First and foremost was to create a budget... and I did... On paper in my spare time at work, on my computer in my spare time at home, and on paper just about every time I got a paycheck. I never followed any of them.
When I got my W2 forms, I realized just how much money I had made this year -- and how much I had wasted. My basic living expenses only amount to about 2/3 of my income so I wasted a lot of money in the last year. Not to mention all of the crazy money mistakes I have made in the last few years that have gotten me in the financial situation I'm in now. Basically, I have a lot of debt and it needs to get paid off.
The idea of this blog isn't to show anyone how to pay off debt or to follow a budget. Clearly, I'm working on these things myself. My goal is to be open and honest about my successes and failures and to hopefully help someone else find their own way through following a budget. I will not be focusing on paying off debt. It is a part of the budget, but not the goal. The goal is just to create a plan, a very detailed plan, and to follow it religiously. I believe everything else will fall into place over time.
The plan starts on Saturday... so here we go!
When I got my W2 forms, I realized just how much money I had made this year -- and how much I had wasted. My basic living expenses only amount to about 2/3 of my income so I wasted a lot of money in the last year. Not to mention all of the crazy money mistakes I have made in the last few years that have gotten me in the financial situation I'm in now. Basically, I have a lot of debt and it needs to get paid off.
The idea of this blog isn't to show anyone how to pay off debt or to follow a budget. Clearly, I'm working on these things myself. My goal is to be open and honest about my successes and failures and to hopefully help someone else find their own way through following a budget. I will not be focusing on paying off debt. It is a part of the budget, but not the goal. The goal is just to create a plan, a very detailed plan, and to follow it religiously. I believe everything else will fall into place over time.
The plan starts on Saturday... so here we go!
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