"Don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life"


This has been my mantra since reading in on My Pretty Pennies last week.  I am going to come clean:  I have been majorly feeling sorry for myself lately.  Work has been very stressful and I am feeling burned out.  While I feel great about the progress we have made with our finances since our nuptials, I hate that we are not yet where I would like us to be.  T has been maxed out at work as well, and comes home late at least three nights a week.  And overall, I am just doing that horrible-no good-very bad thing where I look at someone else, ANYONE else, and just assume her life is infinitely more charmed than mine.  It is SO ridiculous, but nonetheless, a very dangerous place to be when it comes to mental health.


So how to snap out of it?  I thought about a mini shopping spree to pick up some trendy seasonal items to add to my wardrobe, and headed to Target.  I filled my arms with stylish little tops and dresses, and then something crazy happened:  I put them all back.  I couldn't bring myself to spend the money.  I knew the clothes weren't going to make my feel more content in the long term, since they had nothing to do with my funk.  I came home, made myself  a healthy lunch, and relaxed in the yard with my puggies.  I came up with the following truisms:


1. Instead of dreading returning to work, I am going to be thankful I have a job t return to.  It may be stressful right now, but it pays the bills.  Many others are not so fortunate.
2. I love my husband.  We have such a unique bond and I am grateful for him all the time
3. I have and emergency fund.  
4. We own our home. 
5. We will be debt-free in a matter of months
6.  I have wonderful friends, who came over friday night for a pizza and wine session that resulted in so much laughter, my cheeks were sore from smiling.
7. I am able to afford travel expenses to go home and see my sister & parents next week.  i am ready to relax with my family!
8.  I bought jeans (skinny jeans, no less!) a size smaller than my usual at the Gap
9. It is a sunny day and I am headed out for a long walk


And eventually, numbers 1-9 lead to...


10.  I have nothing to be blue about.  Life is good.  Get over yourself, A!


Am I the only one who gets into these funks from time to time?  If not, how do y'all beat the blues?
A

Am I addicted to shopping?! Eeeek!

So, weekend wrap-up has been sorely neglected the last few weeks.  I am chalking it up to the fact I am a new blogger and trying to figure out a format that isn't crazy tedious and that I actually want to write about.  

Today I am tallying up every penny I've spent towards debt for the month of March (I know, I know, it ain't over yet.  BUT...we have received all the paychecks that will contribute towards debt repayment for the month, so I can go ahead and add it up!).

And the grand total is.....$2575.00!!  Woohoooo!  Not to mention we added $500 to our EF, and sent a $425 payment towards our cottage rental for our trip to BH this summer!  Not tooo shabby!  That is obviously the good news.  And where there is good news, there is sure to be some bad news...

We fell off of the wagon.  Actually, more like plummeted off the wagon.  Hurled ourselves off the wagon, if you will.  Eek.

According to T's bonuses for the month, we SHOULD have been able to send more like $3175.00 to our creditors.  But, we totally caught the shopping bug.  I have recently lost about 13-15 (depending on the day) lbs, so my clothes are hanging a little (okay, more then a little) loose.  And T works in an industry where he needs to dress pretty snazzy, and has been on shopping hiatus for many months (like, pre-wedding planning).  I was feeling frumpy because my clothes don't fit, and he was feeling sort of haggard in his old clothes, so we decided to budget a little clothing allowance.  Okay, a big clothing allowance...biggish, anyway.  


I allowed each of $300 cash to hit the sales, and let me tell you what...it was SO fun!!!!!  And we used pre-budgeted cash, so the guilt was a fraction of what it wouls have been, had we dusted off our credit cards.  


Now here comes the UGLY...I totally had a moment of weakness.  I really think it was a blind, shopping addict moment.  One minute I was drooling over a gorgeous clutch and tunic on the Sundance Catalog website (sale items, of course), and the next thing I knew, my Amex had had been pulled out and the purchase was made.  Yikes!  I felt SO guilty and SO mad at myself.  But, it sort of made me think about myself and my spending patterns.  Am I addicted to shopping?  I was fine pinching pennies for weeks, months even, but as soon as I started spending again, I completely lost control.  If that is the case, what does this mean for my financial future??  Obviously, I got myself under control.  The credit card purchases ended there.  Whereas a year ago, I would've spent 3-4 times the money without blinking an eye.  That alone shows me that I have grown.  But it still made me nervous.


And the worst part?  I didn't tell T yet.  I am totally embarrassed and do not want him to know.  This is bad, I realize this.  But if I plan on paying the balance (and it will be all that is on that card when the next statement comes, as it has been paid off for awhile now), does he need to know?  Or can I quietly learn from this mistake?


For now, my shiny, new clothes (a few sizes smaller than my old clothes!) are hanging in the closet making me smile.  And I know T was thrilled to stock up on a few work essentials.  And we were smart about our splurge: we shopped the sales, we used coupons and offer codes, and we hit up Nordstrom Rack on a saturday afternoon ( how brave are we?).  


I just have to live with knowing there is an adorable little vintage clutch in my handbag collection that should not be there.  Question: Do I tell T the truth?

Saturday morning = love

This is one of those mornings.  You know the type.  You wake up peaceful and feeling accomplished.  I mean, for me, the best saturday mornings are definitely the ones following a friday payday.  Paying bills, allocating to our savings, and tossing money towards our debt makes me feel ridiculously content.

Today, T let me sleep til 8.  Well, actually I pretended not to hear my puggies howling because I reeeeeaaaallly wanted a few more minutes of bed time.  He's off to the store to get ingredients to make french toast for breakfast, which is his only go-to meal, but he does it well ;-)

I spent some extra $$ buying birdseed to fill out feeders because I've noticed a few mockingbirds and cardinals hanging around the yard.  Call me old-lady, but I seriously love me some birds.  So...the bird feeders are full of seed and cutesy little birds, our bills are paid and money is organized, and I am curled up on the sunporch with my little puggies, my laptop, and my first cup of coffee.

Now, if this little nugget would visit my feeder, I would really be a happy girl!  Seriously, where do birds like this live?!

Happy Saturday!!!

Free

I saw this today and LOVED it. Society definitely supports reckless spending and having the latest this, that, and the other thing, and it can be challenging to not keep up with the Jones'.  But, I am proud of T & I and know we are doing the right thing.  Even if we are doing it in last season's apparel ;-)


Being free, being truly free consists of not being bound by the opinions that others choose to display in regards to the decisions that one chooses to make on a daily weekly, or lifetime basis. In order to be free we have to be willing to think for ourselves, learn for our selves, and to live our lives as our real true selves. Being free is when you are able to stand up and speak in public spewing your beliefs not caring what anyone else will think of them. 

Being free is when you are able to go against the grain, when you are able to make a left when everyone else is going right, and not worry about why everyone is talking about you, or looking at you in a manner that is unfavorable, and with faces that blatantly say that they don't approve of your choices. Be free, live life how you want to live your life!

Weekend Wrap-up 2

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was pretty mellow.  T and I stayed in friday evening, made veggie quesadillas and sweet potato fries for dinner, and caught up on Grimm.  Saturday was a beautiful day, perfect for a long walk to catch up (sometimes the work week get crazy, and we feel like we don't have many chances to really talk without work stress or distractors) and errands.  We definitely spent some lazy time on the sunporch with the puggies, too!  Saturday night we headed to Dallas to watch the Mavs, for our very belated Valentine's Day date night.  


Sunday, we spent (and I am NOT kidding) at least 2 hours trying to figure out which picture to assign to which frame, and then, where to put it/whom to send it to.  Seriously seemed like a task that should have been completed in 30-40minutes, tops.  But, it was so fun to browse through our pictures and remember our wedding weekend.  It will be 6 months this month and it hardly seems possible!!  The rest of the day was all about Ryan Adams & weekly food prep for me, while T worked on a few manly (manly=tasks I abhor and beg my way out of) chores, like cleaning my car and working on the yard.  I think I am learning that a sunday free of obligations is the best way I ensure I am ready (readyish) for another work week.  I am such a homebody and really feel restless all week if I don't get some time to just be here without a schedule.  


The Damage

$96.15- Target (groceries and of course, pug treats)
$72- 7-11 (gas)
$84.60- Michael's (frames for wedding pictures)
$4.34- Starbucks
$15.00- parking at AAC
$27.00- food/ huge beers at the AAC
$18.32- Which Wich (lunch with T mid errands.  His treat, since he was too hungry to go on without food. wink)
$21.68- Home Goods (gift for co-worker, candle for guest bathroom)

For a grand total of : $339.09
Hmm.  More than last weekend.  I guess an unplanned $106 shopping trip will do that to the best of plans.

Breaking it down a little more and we spent:
1. $252.75 (our checking account)
2. $46.33 (A's blow money)
3. $40.00 (T's blow money)

The Good: We are on-track for our grocery budget for March.  And we spent less money on nasty, expensive, terrible for our wasitlines food than the previous weekend.  Also, my "blow" money expenditures went from $117.32 to $46.33!!!!  

The Bad: The $106.28 spent on frames for wedding photos (for our home and to give as gifts) was not really in the budget.  It was cash we had, don't get me wrong (no credit cards were swiped in the making of this weekend), but it was money we could have saved, or used as debt repayment.

The Ugly:  The AAC is a very expensive date night.  We love basketball, but it is pricey.

Monday Musings (in effort to eradicate weekend guilt):
I didn't meet all of my goals, but the week wasn't a total wash:

Move: Run three times this week with T, and work in a long walk or two on the off days.  3 walks, one run, and one kick-boxing class.  Good enough.

Eat: Eliminate daily stops at the grocery store to pick up an item or two.  We've created and shopped for a menu for the next 6 days, now I just need to muster up some willpower to stick to it!!  Woohoo!!  Not one extra trip to the grocery store for this girl!

Spend: My weekly blow money purchases shall not exceed $10.00 from now through Friday.  They just shall not.  No questions asked!  $9.47.  Whew!

Save: Add and extra $50 to our EF after friday's paycheck  Added $300!!

Acknowledge: I am thankful for a wonderful job in a tough economy.  Instead of boo-hooing about going back to work tomorrow, I am determined to be thankful for a job to go back to!  Hmmm.  I openly blogged about my miserable, long, shift AND was pretty anti-social/ipod wearing in order to ignore co-workers while frantically (and spazzily) playing catch-up wednesday.  Fail.

Anticipate: So excited for our belated Valentine's date...we have GREAT seats for the Mavs game this saturday night!!!  So much fun.  And bonus, my Mavs broke their 4 game losing streak!


Organize: My closet gives the appearance that we have recently been robbed.  It's time to straighten things up.  Didn't even pretend to attempt this.  Just opened the door and threw more crap on the floor.

Now, time to get all ambitious about this week:


Move: I'm going to be less specific and say I want to get in 4-5 work-outs.  Why make it harder than it has to be?


Eat: I need to track my calories for the week.  I have sort of fallen off of that wagon, and would like to climb back on before my favorite jeans become too snug again.  Because I WILL wear them, muffin-top or not.  And I would prefer not.  And I'm sure the rest of the world, who has to SEE me in those jeans, would prefer not as well. 


Spend: Less than $10 of blow money for the week


Anticipate:  Can't wait for bookclub with my favorite girls friday night!!  We just read Heart of the Matter, by Emily Giffin.  I was obsessed and finished it in less than 24 hours....


Acknowledge:  No matter how hard life is, there is always something to be grateful for.  This week I am grateful for my husband and a life we love.


Save:  T and I had a heart to heart last night regarding saving vs. debt repayment, and we decided to decrease our monthly savings (in our EF fund) to $100 a month so we can knock the rest of this debt out in 4-5 months.


Words: "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."  Emily Bronte 


It is a beautiful day and I am headed out for a long walk!  Happy monday!
A

Sunny Sunday (the numbers are in)

This morning I woke up (at 9:00, thanks to a sweet husband who lets me sleep in while he gets up to tend to our pack o’ pugs) to so much sun and warmth.  Finally spring!  And while I have plenty of coffee here, I was majorly craving a hazelnut latte from Starbucks, so off to the drive-through we went.  For the record, I think it is totally acceptable to make a drive-through run in your pajamas pants and a sweatshirt.  However, T does not think this practice is acceptable, but we agree to disagree ;-)  

Hazelnut latte, cozy sunporch, and the real deal, in terms of credit card debt.  Previous numbers were estimates, as I was waiting on the statements.  Of course, I underestimated.  Here it is:

Discover: $4,560.00

Mastercard: $4,852.34

Making our grand total $9,412.34.  The budget for March allows for $2,270.00 in debt repayment and a $700 contribution to our EF/new car fund.    I know, I know....I probably should be adding those 700 pieces to our debt repayment, but something about seeing our savings grow makes me feel very comfortable.  I just don’t think I would be able to sleep without a decent EF.  And since we are able to pay down 20% of our debt a month AND stock the savings, it feels like an okay move to me.  

Also, we are headed to Acadia/BH in August for 11 days , and will be making a $425 payment on our home for the week.  We typically make this trip every year.  We plan ahead, search for cheap flights and rental cars (our roundtrip airfare from DFW to Logan has already been purchased, paid in cash, and cost us $263 each!!!  Score!!), and rent a house on the island so we can cook at home 2 meals per day and save $$ and calories.  T’s family is from Boston, and my parents & sister are in NY.  We rent a house on Mt. Desert Island for a week and everyone sort of comes and goes and we get the opportunity to see our favorite people in our favorite place.  A week of hiking, kayaking, and the best seafood ever.  After our week in BH, we spend a few nights in Boston with T’s brother and his family, which gives T the chance to see his beloved Red Sox play at Fenway.  But I digress....moral of this rant is that next month, we will be rolling that $425 over into our debt repayment, making the debt chunk o’ cash $2695.00!!!

And, despite what financial guru's might preach, I really believe in a balance.  We love to travel and we want to enjoy our lives.  So, we plan ahead and allow ourselves the luxury.  And seriously, is this not the most beautiful place on earth?!?

I don't know about you, but we love having something to look forward to!

A

Oh, tuesday.....

Today was brutal.  I'm talking a 12 shift at the hospital with no lunch break and just a few minutes here and there to gulp a few diet cokes between patients brutal.  Ugh.  The pile of paperwork waiting for me in the morning makes me cringe.  BUT...the crazy hectic day made it impossible for me to stop at Starbucks during my shift to buy overpriced coffee, thus helping me stick to my "$10 or less" rule for the week.  Plus, T found out he will be able to include an extra $750 commission payment onto this pay period, which means more money to feed the credit card beast!!!  Woohooo!! And best of all, I got to come home to this sweet little face....

And, of course, we can't forget this little nugget: 

There is always a silver lining to the grayest of days!!  Happy tuesday!!

A