TV Junkie

A few weeks ago I suspended my Dish Network account.  This was in an effort to save money but more importantly gain some much needed time back.  I think I may have been slightly addicted to TV.  Probably still am.

I still watch some shows.  I have started watching Friday Night Lights on DVD while I'm on the treadmill again.  I also used the ABC, CW, A&E, and NBC apps to watch some of my favorites over the past couple weeks: Grey's Anatomy, Happy Endings, Duck Dynasty, Bates Motel, Heart of Dixie, and Saturday Night Live.  The apps all have ads you can't skip through and I am watching them on my tiny iPad mini, but it isn't bad! I watch them while I am on the elliptical at the gym or cooking in the kitchen.  So it's not like I am wasting time. (At least not on TV, but I may have just replaced that time waster with reading more books!)

It is a little weird not to be able to turn on the TV even just for some background noise, but I really think this is a good decision.  I lived without TV for one summer during college and it was the most productive summer of my life.

I don't know what I am going to do without Big Brother this summer though!  I love that show!

I'm going to give this a try for a few months and if it isn't bad I am going to cut the cord completely from cable and satellite.  I hate them all.  They start you out at the great introductory rate and a year later it feels like they are robbing you blind!

Have you ever cut the cord from TV?

10 Things I have been up to lately

I'm a bad blogger.  I have been so busy lately.  But I still don't want to give up on this little blog of mine.  So in lazy blogger form here is a bullet list of the top 10 things that I've been doing but haven't had time to blog about:

1. We had our yearly site kick-off event for work a few weeks ago.  This is like a pep rally for the year.  Usually we have a dinner at The Angus Barn and other fun team activities.  This year's was not as great as previous years.  But they did surprise us with a performance from Scotty McCreery!

2. Speaking of work, I got a mentor at work.  We are going to meet once a month and so far she has been great.  It's like she knew me from our first meeting.  She wants to help me build my confidence so she gave me an assignment to make a list of 10 things I am proud of accomplishing in my life.  This topic deserves a whole post later because I have done much pondering and researching on confidence in the last month.

3. One of my goals for 2013 was to pay off my car early...and I did last month!  A whole year earlier than schedule!

4. I am also in the process of switching my home and car insurance and refinancing my house.  All this was prompted by a notice that due to an increase in my homeowner's insurance  I had an escrow deficit and they are increasing my house payments by $50 a month.  I know $50 doesn't seem like a lot, but I have a very tight budget and need my bills to stay pretty stable.  Hopefully after all this my payments will be about the same as they are now or even less!

5. I am giving up TV at the end of this month.  This is in an effort to a) save money and b) not be so lazy.  I may supplement with Netflix, but I haven't decided yet.

6. With the money that I am saving from giving up TV, I got a maid.  They only come once a month, but y'all I am terrible at housekeeping and really needed some help!

7. On April 15, 2012 I ran my first half marathon.  On April 15, 2013 I started over with Week One, Day One of the Couch 2 5K program again.  Yes, that is how far you can fall in a year.  I am so out of shape, but at least I am taking steps to get back on the wagon.  (And yes the irony continues that the Boston Marathon Bombings were on that day as well!)

8. I'm going to the beach this weekend with my Bible Study girls and to Austin, TX at the beginning of May for work!  YAY for travel plans!!

9. I've spent a lot of time in downtown Raleigh over the last month and sometimes I think I wish I lived downtown.  It really has come a long way since I first moved here.  But traffic, parking, and one way streets stress me out way too much to make it my home.  I like the outskirts and being right between Raleigh and Durham just fine.

10. I got to get in a cash cube at work last week.  It was a disappointing experience and I only got $24.  I think this was mainly due to the fact that I went 7th and all the $100, $50, and $20 bills had been taken AND they dumped all the fake money the previous people had collected back in the cube right before my turn.  So unfair!  But I guess it's better than nothing.

Hopefully next time it won't be this long between posts! 

#bloggerproblems

I feel like my blogging life is on life support.  I have been so busy I barely have time to read posts, let alone write some.  Sigh!  I miss it.  I miss documenting my life here.  I miss interacting with other bloggers.  I miss feeling like I kind of knew what I was doing when it came to this blogging thing.

But now Google Reader is going away, sponsored posts have taken over, and there are so many other distractions like Pinterest and Instagram (you can find me on those (username: ncsuz) way more than you'll see me over here).

One of my Goals for 2013 is to become a better blogger and I really do mean that.  I upgraded my commenting section to use Disqus because one of my real life friends said she could never comment on my blog because she didn't have an account.  I tried allowing anonymous comments for a few days but I got so much spam.  So now I am trying out this Disqus tool.  But I have no clue what I am doing and it doesn't email me my comments anymore.  Ugh!  #bloggerproblems

Now my beloved Google Reader is retiring.  Google I am so mad at you!  I don't want to have to find a new reader.  I have heard a lot of chatter about bloglovin and feedly, but that is just another thing to add to my neverending to-do list.  #bloggerproblems

And what does that mean for followers of my blog?  Does that mean I am going to lose all my followers because that uses Google Friend Connect (which I thought was supposed to go away a few month ago) #bloggerproblems

I can't keep up with all this!

I also had two friends recently make their blogs private.  I only know because I got an email inviting me to their blogs.  I haven't had time to figure that out either.  Can private blogs be read through a reader?  Or do I have to do some new log in process and visit each of those individually? I have no idea.  #bloggerproblems

My own blog needs an update.  I will be 33 this year.  OMG!  So 30 Before 30 is very misleading.  Or maybe it is a good thing?  I'll just claim I'm 29 forever.  But updating the whole design and theme of this blog seems so overwhelming I don't even know where to start.  #bloggerproblems

And when did blogging become such a business?  I mean everyone seems to be a sponsor AND have sponsors.  So now I have to pay to play?  I don't even have a freaking button or ad or whatever it is people to pay to put on someone else's site.  #bloggerproblems

But being a better blogger is still one of my goals this year along with finally completing my 30 Before 30 list and making some upgrades to my house.  But there is one goal I can already cross off!  Yesterday I paid off my car!  Over 13 months early!  Now I am officially debt free other than my mortgage! YAY!

Hopefully I can make some progress on the other goals now...starting with this blog and all my #bloggerproblems

What are some #bloggerproblems you face?  And can you help me with any of mine?

Ten Ranodm Thoughts Tuesday

1.  I saw this movie on Friday and it was awesome.

I didn't think the torture scenes were too bad.  And I think Bin Laden would be rolling over in his grave if he knew it was a woman that found him and was the driving force behind his death!  Oh and I don't know how accurate the actual mission to capture/kill him was, but I loved watching the portrayal.  Seal Team Six was HOT!  Two thumbs up!

2. I tried out this hot new place Rise in Durham.  I had heard a lot of buzz about it and a lot of people had experienced 30 min.+ wait times just to order.  We went Monday for lunch and it wasn't too busy at all.  There were two of us and we each ordered a biscuit and a donut and split everything.  It was all yummy!

From front to back: Fried Chicken Biscuit, Peanut Butter Cup Donut, Myer Lemon Bomb donut, Apple Braised Pork biscuit

3. I listened to this sermon on how God made Eve to be a helper for Adam.  In it the pastor talks about how men and women interact in the workplace and how a lot of relationships and affairs happen in the workplace because when women and men are working together this reflects God's original design.  It makes sense to me because I do think when you are spending so much time together and working as a team it can form bonds and cause attraction.  Thoughts?

4.  I am loving The Bachelor!  But is it just me or does Sean seem too perfect sometimes?  I gave in and looked at the spoilers at who supposedly wins.  I can tell you she would not even be on my radar if it weren't for seeing that.  Here are my favorites right now:

AshLee- but really?  how can you make a living as a personal organizer?

Lindsay- I know she was a little coo-coo for wearing the wedding dress, but I like her and she's from NC!

Lesley- I loved her awkwardness with Sean during her 1-on-1 time because that would totally be me!

I also really like Kaci B. (although I don't think she is really out of the "friend zone") and Sarah (but I think she could find a better match than Sean.  She wants someone more exciting than him I think.)

5. I just got my first paycheck of 2013 and I want to cry.  I spent months working on my 2013 budget and now I have to figure out how to cut $80/month out of it.  I seriously hate taxes.

6.  I didn't think I would, but I am totally loving this Mark of the Lion series I am reading.  A friend had let me borrow the first book and last night I just ordered the whole series from Amazon because I think this series will end up being one of my all time favorites!

7. Apparently Scotty McCreery came to our church on Sunday.  I did not see him because I go on Saturday nights.  Our campus pastor wrote a blog post about how to respond when a celebrity comes to your church. I'm kind of glad I wasn't there because I probably would have been one of those to point, stare and whisper with my friends.  Who knows?  The closest I've ever come to a celebrity was one summer the guy that played Minkus from Boy Meets World came to work where I worked.  It was right when One Tree Hill had just come on the air so he wasn't too famous for being "Mouth" yet.   His dad worked there and he was on break from Wake Forrest that summer.  I actually had to train him and acted totally normal, but that didn't mean the day before I wasn't pointing and staring and whispering with my friends.

8. I need a maid.  But that will not happen anytime soon.  (see #5)

9. I feel very blah and "stuck" lately.  Frustrated.  I can't seem to get myself out of this general funk.

10. Yesterday we had most of my team and a bunch of people from Worldwide Marketing in a room at work testing some new webpages we are getting ready to launch.  One of the guys in the room said "this is definitely Susan in this video." and people started joking about "was I moonlighting as an actress??"  Of course my heart dropped and I was scared to see what this girl looked like.  Do you guys kind of freak out when people say you look like someone?  The video is below and I do see some resemblance but that girl is way skinnier, younger, and prettier than me.  I said "Haha yeah maybe me when I was 16!"

Sorry for the randomness today, but it's been kind of a random month so far.

  

How I spent my Christmas Money & Bonus

For Christmas the only thing I got was money, but that is a-okay with me because then I can pick out what I want.  I also get a portion of my yearly bonus in December and since I have such a small family and not many Christmas presents to buy, that meant I had a lot of extra cash burning a hole in my pocket.

I know I should save this money. But I had to splurge on a few things for myself.

I had been contemplating getting an e-reader for years!  Like ever since the very first Kindle came out.  But I kept putting it off.  I also had iPad envy ever since they first came out, but resisted because I thought "why do I need an iPad when I have my iPhone and a small, very portable laptop?"

Last summer I bought a Lenovo A1 tablet because I work there and they were having a awesome sale.  So combine that with my employee discount, and I was able to get it for like $100.  But sadly after just a week I decided to return it.  It's an Android operating system and I didn't want to have to re-buy all these apps I had already bought on my phone.  And it was a little bit too heavy to use for long time periods as an e-reader.

For months I was contemplating a Nook.  I almost bought the Nook with Glow Light a couple times.  Then the Kindle Paperwhite came out and I was considering that.  Then I heard they were coming out with an iPad mini, so I decided to just wait to see if I liked that better because it would be the best of both worlds and I wouldn't have to buy an iPad and a separate e-reader.

Well Sunday I had to take my iPhone to the Apple store because it was randomly losing connection to Wifi and/or 4G at least once a day and I had to hard re-set it every time it did it which got super annoying.  (For those of you who think Apple products never have issues like all other electronics, you must have never tried to visit the Genius Bar on a weekend.  That shizz was cray-cray!)  I had made an appointment for 3:30, but between parking hell and then waiting in line to check in, it ended up being 3:43 when I made it to the front of the line.  Well, their system cancels your appointment after 5 minutes so I had to wait for the next available appointment which wasn't until 6:10!!

I went and ran some more errands but there was no way I was going to lose my appointment again so I got there at 5:45 to check in.  This gave me plenty of time to get sucked in to "i want" land.  I of course went to check out the iPad mini.  I spent about 15 minutes playing with it and comparing the specs and finally decided this was the device for me.  So I finally caved in and bought one.

I did not get the AppleCare+ Protection though and now I am second guessing that decision.  After meeting with the guy about my phone (which they ended up just replacing with a new one) I am scared that I may have made the wrong decision.  Those of you with iPads...did you get the AppleCare+ Protection?  Do you think it is worth $99 for an extra year warranty and accidental damage protection?  (You still have to pay $49 to fix accidental damage and are limited to only 2 accidental claims.)

The other thing I splurged on:

Not one but two new Coach purses!  Now before you go judging me I got both of these purses with tax and shipping and handling for just $205!  A few years ago I either stumbled across or was invited to this Coach outlet site.  Every few days they invite you to these secret sales.  They usually have pretty decent deals but this was an amazing deal so I just had to get both.  

Earlier this year I got this awesome messenger bag for my work laptop for just $100.  I love it so much!  It is just big enough to fit the essentials and I love the pop of pink on the inside.

If you want an invite to the Coach Outlet site just send me your email address and I will send you an invite.  It took a few months for my other friends to regularly get invited to sales (apparently not everyone is invited to every sale and you can't access the sale if you are not invited.)  But now they get regular weekly or bi-weekly invites like I do.

Do you guys splurge on non-necessities when you have extra cash or are you more diligent about saving it?

New Year, Same Goals?

Here are the resolutions I made a year ago:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list before my birthday in August. (2 years late but hey at least I will finish)  In order to complete it here's what is left:

• Get in the best shape of my life (working on it)
• kayak 
• catch a fish
• kiss in the rain
• read the Bible all the way through (almost finished with the OT)

2. Run a half marathon (hopefully in April)

3. Pay off my car early.  (I am supposed to be done with payments April 2013, but I would like to pay it off early if possible!)

So I did make some progress. 1.5 out of 3?  In my defense, I thought my car payments would be done in April 2013, but it is actually April of 2014.  Saving up 4 months worth or extra payments is a lot different from saving up 16 months of extra payments!  So that will stay on the list.

Here are my goals for 2013:

1. Finish my 30 Before 30 list.
Only 3 things left!  The hardest is #1- get in the best shape of my life, so I think I will concentrate on that.

2. Pay off my car early.

3. Make some upgrades to my house.
I want to re-paint the downstairs, switch out some light fixtures, re-do the counter tops in the kitchen, get a new kitchen sink and faucet, and possibly replace some appliances.

4. Be a better blogger.
This year I have sucked at blogging.  I haven't replied to comments.  I haven't even commented much on other blogs (although I have been reading!).  I haven't been consistent with my posts and most of them have lacked substance.  I want to get back to being a better blogger because it is something I really enjoy.

The past few years I have also committed to start, stop, and keep certain things in my life.

Here are mine from last year...

I would like to start eating healthy on a more consistent basis.  FAIL!

I would like to stop complaining so much.  FAIL!

I would like to keep running.  FAIL!

I did pretty good with those for the first half of the year, but the second half of the year they all fell by the wayside.  I would like to try to improve on those again in 2013 but also...

Start getting up earlier and going to bed earlier.

Stop eating so many sweets and processed foods.

Keep  volunteering with Summit Kids.

So it sounds like 2013 is going to be a year to concentrate on my health and finances.  I wouldn't LOVE to have some LOVE show up in 2013 for me, but I have all but given up on that.  I am not good at the whole love thing and am totally leaving that in God's hands where it belongs.  If 2013 is the year for it yippee, if not I will wait.

Defining Character- Self-Control

Self-Discipline- the act of disciplining or power to discipline one's own feelings, desires, etc., esp with the intention of improving oneself

Self-Control- the ability to exercise restraint or control over one's feelings, emotions, reactions, etc.

Last month I declared the month "Self Control September".  Looking at the definitions above I should have named it Self-Discipline September, but I think they are pretty interchangeable.  Of all the fruits of the Spirit, self-control was definitely my weakest.  In fact I have even blogged about trying to get better with self-control/self-discipline here, here, and here. And I just remember my pastor JD saying in one of his sermons that you are only as strong as your weakest spirit.  So I am continually trying to work on this area of my life.

So what did I do to focus on my self-control in September?

1. I gave up soda (diet and regular) for the month of September.  I didn't drink a lot of soda anyway, but I would usually have a diet Mt. Dew, diet Dr. Pepper, or diet Coke just about every day.  All those chemicals can't be good for you (even if they are calorie free).  I did pretty good.  I had a cherry limeade that I think had Sprite in it, but other than that, no sodas.  Since the month has ended, I have kind of limited myself to just one mini (7.5 oz) soda/day.  I do notice that I get more headaches, but I also feel less bloated when I am not drinking soda.  I hope to keep them to a minimum from now on!

2. I had a virtual fitness partner!  I don't know what I would have done without Amber this month!  Each week we would send each other a summary of how we did the previous week as far as eating and working out.  At first I wasn't tracking my calories, but Amber was and she inspired me to get back on the bandwagon with that.  I thought I was eating pretty well, but it is different when you are tracking everything you eat!  I would often think before eating or skipping a work-out how this would look on my weekly report to her and it kept me from making some bad decisions.  I took this week off from counting calories and my 10K training program because I needed a break, but I hope we can continue our weekly reports because they have really helped me stay on track!  P.S. Go check out her blog!  It is one of my faves!


3. I started a 10K training program similar to the couch 2 5K program.  I'm up to week 6 and it is tough.  I'm up to over 4 miles/run and try to get all 3 runs in each week.  I think this helped me a lot too because I didn't want to get behind on the training program, so I would force myself to run on days even when I didn't want to.  I took this week off, but I had my 5K on Saturday and finally came in under 35 min!  My previous PR was 36:58 and I ran this one in 34:47!  I know it is still so slow, but hey it is an improvement!  Maybe one day I will break that 30 min. mark!

4. I've been using this app called "Home Routines" to stay on top of things around the house.  I have a morning checklist and an evening checklist and then a weekly checklist.  Here they are:

Morning:
- Breakfast
- 15 minute focus/devotional
- Let dog out
- water animals
- get fresh and clean
- make bed

Evening:
- Feed cat and dog
- Collect dirty laundry
- put away clean laundry
- shine sink (put everything in dishwasher and clean out sink)
- wipe down kitchen
- sweep floor
- run
- 100 sit ups
- swish and swipe bathroom
- take out contacts
- brush teeth
- pray

Weekly:
- Vacuum
- Mop
- Clean bathrooms
- Dust
- Brush Cam
- Go through mail basket
- Switch out towels (in bathrooms and kitchen)
- clean make up brushes
- clean out litter box

I didn't always mark off everything everyday/every week, but I aimed to get 90% marked off. 

5. Re-do budget.  I switched jobs this month.  I am still doing the same job, but I am a permanent employee instead of a contractor.  I used to get paid weekly, now I get paid twice/month.  I used to pay for my own health insurance and had no 401K, but now I have benefits through them and a 401K, so I had to re-do my budget.  I got my first paycheck this weekend, and I had to adjust my estimates a little (taxes are freaking outrageous!) but now I have my budget nailed down.  I am still doing envelope budgeting and I love being able to see where all my money is going.  Expect a whole post about budgeting later this week!

So there you have it.  I think self-control September was a success!

New Favorite Restaurant in the Triangle

Last month my team at work got to go to a fancy team dinner at my favorite restaurant in Raleigh- 18 Seaboard.  There are a ton of restaurants in the Triangle that I still have on my list to try, but they are all the types of places you need to save up for.  18 Seaboard has topped my list for the past few years though.

That night I got this:

Cracklin’ pork shank with blue cheese grits, spinach, and apple-onion compote

It was good, but not my favorite thing I've had there.  I also had a mojito which was delicious!  The atmosphere there is nice and I  found out in the summertime they have outdoor dining that I might have to try!

But last night we went to a place in downtown Durham for my boss' boss' birthday- 604 West Morgan.  First of all this place is not easy to find.  It is in an old warehouse district and the signs are hard to see and then parking is impossible to find and then you are confused about where to go in because it is the same building as some fancy loft apartments, but you can't enter through there and have to walk around to the back of the building.

But once you get in, it is really pretty.  It would make a great romantic date night spot.  And the food...OMG.  Everything I had except for the bread was so good!  The bread was just blah.  We had the crab cake and the tomato & mozzarella appetizers which were both good but I did not get a picture of. 

For my main course I had this:

Lobster cognac sauce- scallops, crabmeat, shrimp, mussels, cream, black squid ink pasta

It sounded weird and might not have been my first choice, but I had seen it mentioned in some good reviews of the restaurant and after I tasted the crabcake, I knew they could do seafood well.  It was sooo good!  Almost everyone got something different and all their plates were practically licked clean so I take that as a good sign that everything else is pretty good too.

But my favorite part of the meal was this:

Apple Cake with Vanilla Bean Gelato

I splurged and got dessert and I'm so glad I did because this was freaking heavenly!  I ate every last bit of it.

It's not cheap- my bill was $61 including the 2 glasses of wine, main entree, dessert, and tip.  But I definitely want to come back here again soon!  I think it has outed 18 Seaboard as my new favorite.

Some of my other favorites around here are:
The Flying Buiscut
Tasu
The Peddler
Firebirds
Twisted Fork

Places that get a lot of hype that I wasn't impressed with:
Angus Barn
Poole's Diner
Gravy
Humble Pie

Places on my ever growing "have to try list":
Magnolia Grill
Nanas
Four Square
Vivace
An
Flights
Coquette
Bloomsbury Bistro
Watts Grocery
Toast
The Federal
The Peidmont
Elmos Diner
Guglhupf
Bella Monica

Any other suggestions?

What is your favorite restaurant and why?  Is it the food, the atmosphere, the drinks, the service?

In other news I have been in bad form this week.  I have been moody, gossiping, putting my foot in my mouth left and right, lazy, down, thinking if only I were super skinny and super rich I would be happy (seriously what do skinny rich people have to complain about?)  I know this sounds so hypocritical from my Sunday Snippets post, but I am merely human and struggle with a lot of the same things we all do so, don't judge mmmkay?

Car Trouble

This might be long…

I hate car maintenance.  I know nothing about cars and I am really bad about making sure my car has regular oil changes and whatever else it needs.  I just want my car to be reliable and never have to worry about all those working parts.  

I’ve called AAA more than a few times- twice for a dead battery and twice for flat tires.  Both of my previous cars I wore holes in the tires.  Drove them so much and never looked at the tires until I ended up with a huge gaping hole in my tire.  Yeah, I suck.

For the past few weeks my car has been giving me a warning light that says “Coolant low”.  My thought process was “It’s winter.  It’s freezing.  Why would I need coolant?”  So I ignored it.

Sunday I was at Target getting toilet paper and groceries.  When I went back out to my car, it wouldn’t start.  I tried 5 times and the engine did absolutely nothing.  No noise- just the click of the key turning and the radio coming on.  I wanted to cry.  I don’t have AAA anymore.  I called my friend and asked if she had jumper cables.  She said no but she was on her way and to go in Target and buy some jumper cables.  I did, but then I remembered my uncle had bought me a car emergency kit that I had stored  in my trunk.  I checked, and there were jumper cables in there, so I was able to return the ones I bought.

When my friend got there, the car started for her without us having to use the cables.  But it started making a horrible chemical smell.  I told her about the coolant light and she told me my theory on coolant was completely wrong and I should not have ignored the light.  She said I should take it somewhere now because I most likely had a dead battery too.   

My regular shop was closed so we took it to the closest one.  They checked the coolant and it wasn’t that low.  But then they told me I needed new tires on the front.  I did.  There was hardly any tread left.  I told you about my problem wearing holes in tires.  So I agreed to get 2 new front tires.  Cost= about $450. And they would top off the coolant for free.  Wonderful. 

About 2 hours later they called and said there was a major problem.  My brakes were pretty much metal on metal apparently.  I not only need break pads but I also had to replace the rotors because they were too bad to resurface.  He told me it would be close to $900 more.  

What could I do??  I didn’t want my brakes to fail me.  So approximately 6 hours after dropping off my car I handed over my credit card to pay the $1250 bill. (He got it down $100 from the original estimate).

But it kept nagging at me that they didn’t fix the original problem that my car wouldn’t start and that horrible smell.  And how could my regular car place not have told me about the tires or brakes?  It was just in there for an inspection in December!

So I called and told them the situation.  They said all they could do was check to make sure the work they said they did was done and the reason they wouldn’t have seen that is because the NC inspection is not very thorough and it is mainly just to check your emissions level.   

I took the car in the morning and told them about a new knocking noise I noticed on the front driver’s side last night.  Three hours later I find out I do indeed need a new battery and they want to rotate the tires because the place I took it to on Sunday put the two new good tires on the back and put the old bad tires on the front which is apparently not good.  I told them my sob story and they said they would do the tire rotation for free.  But the battery, electrical test, and labor still cost me another $200.

So in the past 3 days I spent almost $1500 on my car!  $1500 that I do not have.  Now I am trying to figure out how I can pay this off before interest gets out of control.  Any money I had saved for my house is now gone.  I have no idea how I am going to afford Jamaica for one of my best friend’s wedding this summer.  I freaking hate money.  

And I still worry that I was just taken for all I was worth because I know nothing about cars.

I hope my future husband is good with cars.

Lesson Learned: Start a car maintenance savings fund.

Finacially Independent

One of the things on my 30 Before 30 list is to pay all my own bills with no help from my mom.  I know, I know..I'm spoiled right?  I just got in the habit of my mom covering my gas and my car insurance since I was 16 and I've just never been able to cut that cord because I was afraid.  I was afraid of failing financially and that was my safety net.  But starting July 1st I am going to try!  For the first time in my life I will be paying ALL my own bills on a consistent basis.

Money is a really tough thing in your 20s.  You aren't making crap and you suddenly have all these bills.  It takes a while to learn how it all works and it is so easy to get out of control in your 20s and spend the rest of you life paying it off.

You look around at your friends and feel like you have to keep up with what they have.  First it is the cute clothes and designer purses.  Then it is the car and the house.  Before you know it you end up in over your head thinking what did I do?

Then you have the fun factor to deal with.  Your 20s is when you are supposed to be living it up.  You have so much freedom so you should enjoy it right?  Drinks after work, dinner out with your friends, concerts, movies, and that big game you just HAVE to go to end up draining your bank account.

Then you have the trips.  I mean what other time in your life will you have so much freedom to just get up and go?  You want to see the world!  You take a cruise for Spring Break.  You trek across Europe after graduation.  I mean this is what happens in the movies to 20 somethings just like you, so why not you??

One other thing that I have not had to deal with yet, but could pop up in your 20s is children.  I can't even imagine the drain that puts on your bank account!

Soon you start to realize there are so many boring important things you have to cover as well like insurance- health, car, home!  Then you have 401Ks to fund and oil changes and then your dishwasher quits working and suddenly all your "fun" money has gone to boring grown-up stuff.

It is a lot to figure out and it has taken me over 10 years to feel like I finally have some control over my finances.  And that took a lot of falling into deep money pits and pulling myself out of them (sometimes with a little help!).  I racked up $2000 on a credit card in college.  I got laid off and after months of looking had to take a job at a 30% pay cut and figure out how too make ends meet.  But all that has taught me so much that I would have never learned without the unexpected and unimaginable actually happening to me!

I'm no financial expert, but I have got some things down now.  According to Charles Schwab's Financial Fitness tool I am in pretty good shape with a solid score of 76.  So here are some of my financial tips for 20 somethings:

1. Pay off your credit card balance EVERY MONTH!  If you are in debt to credit card companies, make a plan and pay them off immediately.  Go on a "spending diet".  Pay off the one with the highest interest rate first and work your way down.  Once you get them paid off only use them for big purchases (to get the points, rewards, or discounts) and then pay it all off when the bill comes.  I say only big purchases because they are not easy to forget.  If you use them on everyday things like a trip to Target or a dinner out, it can add up quickly and you might not have enough left at the end of the month to pay it off.  A big purchase ($100+) is not as easy to forget and you can just keep that set aside and pay off the bill when it comes (or even better, go right home and pay it off online before you forget!)  You want to use credit wisely like that so that when you need a loan for something big like a house or car, you will have the credit score that proves you know how to pay your bills on time!

2. Live more simply.  This one I learned over the last year.  I had to cut out everything I could.  I wanted to go on the annual ski trip with all my friends but I knew I couldn't.  I was in LOVE with my DVR but eventually I had to give that up too.  I didn't buy new clothes.  I was down to like 3 pairs of shoes.  I skipped dinners out and movie trips with my friends.  But, you know what?  It's not so bad.  Things you think you just HAVE to HAVE, you really don't.  I could probably afford DVR and cable now, but I don't need it.  I also did a big yard sale this Spring and it amazed me how much I WANTED to part with.  I want my closet to be less crazy!  I want to have less knick knacks to dust!  So before you buy something really think about how much you really need it and if you buy it and have buyer's remorse the next day or even THINK you won't use it as much as you thought, RETURN IT!

3. Enroll in one of those automatic savings plans at your bank.  I enrolled in my bank's automatic savings program a few years ago.  I takes a dollar out of my checking account and puts it into my savings account automatically every time I use my debit card- which is A LOT!  I never have cash!  It doesn't build up crazy amounts, but you can rack up a couple hundred in there over the course of 6-12 months and I can not tell you how many times that account has bailed me out when unexpected expenses pop up- like the AC repair I had to have this week!  In addition to that I would recommend getting as much as you can in to another savings account like a Money Market account.  If it wasn't for my Money Market account, I would have been screwed when I lost my job last year!

4. Set warning thresholds for your checking account.  I have a low and high threshold warning set for my checking account.  My low threshold is $500 and my high is $1500.  I set it for these amounts because I know if I hit that low threshold I am in danger of not being able to cover my mortgage payment if I don't watch my spending (factoring in the amount of my next paycheck) and if I hit the high threshold I know I should look at moving some of it to my money market account before I get the "I've got money" syndrome and blow it on something I don't need.  This is a system that took me a while to get right because of the way my bills come and when I get paid, so just play around with the threshold limits until you find what works for you.

5. Ignore the "Joneses".  It is so easy to get wrapped up in comparing what you have to what your friends have.  You want a big 3 bedroom house with a garage because that is what your best friend got.  You want a nice car because that is what you are surrounded by in the parking lot at Target.  You want the shoes everyone is wearing.  You want  the American Dream- a big house, or that killer apartment, with the 2 cars and maybe even a boat!  That's the way everyone lives in the movies right?  Ignore it.  It will drive you crazy and drive you into debt in a heartbeat.  Don't buy things you can't afford.  Don't think life is a race of who can get the most and best stuff the quickest.  It's not.  Figure out what you really need and then once you have those things covered start adding some splurges that make YOU happy.  Screw what everyone else has...it's NOT a competition.  And trust me, I know this is easier said than done, but it is the one rule that can make your life and your dealings with money so much easier!

So what are some financial lessons you've learned in your 20s?

Disclaimer: This post is part of the 20SB Blog Carnival: Friends & Money, sponsored by Charles Schwab. Prizes may be awarded to selected posts. The information and opinions expressed in this post do not reflect the views or opinions of Charles Schwab. Details on the event, eligibility, and a complete list of participating bloggers can be found here. 

Holy Moly Phone Bill!

Last night I sat down to pay my bills.  Everything was pretty normal until I got to my phone bill.  My phone bill is usually around $90/mo.  I opened this month's bill and it was over $200!  I though ok, they just haven't processed last month's payment.  Oh no, they had processed last month's payment.  I had went over my minutes!  I had never gone over my minutes!  I had roll over minutes and the two people I used to talk to everyday after work- witty guy and the BIFF both were AT&T customers so they were free.

What the heck had happened?!

I couldn't tell from looking at my bill so I called customer service. Apparently I had started to dip in to my roll over minutes in April. April is when all the crap with witty guy went down. Now instead of calling him everyday after work, I was calling my other best friend- who is not an AT&T customer. I spent so much time talking to her about all my drama before the 9 pm cut off for my night time minutes that I blew through all of my regular monthly minutes and my roll-over minutes over the past 2 months. Now I was getting charged $.45/minute and I had gone over by almost 400 minutes! That's $180 worth of complaining and whining!

Lesson Learned. Yes, talking to a friend to work through a break up might help, but do it after 9 pm next time ok?

Just call me a sucker

I had every intention of cancelling my cable and internet service today. I know, I know…I’m crazy huh? Well, the TV thing just got out of control. I sat down to catch up with my DVR last week and I had 14 hours of recorded TV to watch! 14 hours in 1 week! It was just insane. So I was going to go cold turkey in the hopes of breaking my TV addiction and doing something more productive with my time.

Plus I would save $120 a month! I rarely use my internet service from home so I was pretty sure I could live without it. $120 a month is a lot. All that extra money and free time would totally be worth it. I lived without TV and internet one summer in college and it was the most productive summer of my life! With all that free time I could concentrate on getting some things on my list accomplished like getting in the best shape of my life, reading the Bible all the way through and taking Cam to an agility class. With all the money I would be saving maybe I would be able to save up so I can travel abroad, upgrade a room in my house, pay all my own bills and invest in the stock market. It just made so much sense. I NEED to get crackin’ on this list because I only have less than a year left to get everything done!

Anyway, I called the cable company and of course I get a computer. I tell the computer I want to cancel my service. Twice, the computer transfers me to nowhere land. No hold music, no ringing, just dead silence is on the other end of the line. The third time I call back I decide to call the “sales” number thinking they would be less likely to lose a call to that number.

I finally get through to a person and I tell her I want to cancel my service for financial reasons. She asks which services I want to cancel and I tell her everything.

We spend the next half hour going down, down, down with the price. She is very persistent and despite me telling her at least 10 times I just want to cancel, she is not going to let me go.

First, she can get me all my services for $105/mo then she goes down to $100/mo then down to $95/mo. Now if I downgrade my internet, I can get everything for $89/mo and if I downgrade my cable I can get it for $85/mo. Now if I give up DVR and downgrade the internet some more, I can get it for $45/mo. Finally I just ask her what is the lowest I can go. She comes up with just the broadcast stations and “light” roadrunner for $28/mo. Keep in mind I started out at $120/mo.

I still want to just turn everything off for a while. But she tells me if I decide to turn it back on I will have to pay an instillation fee. I figure the $28/month isn’t that much to pay for keeping up with my TODAY show routine in the morning and catching some of the cable shows I like every once in a while and having internet to keep my I-pod up-to-date and for emergencies. So I agree to it.

I am a sucker. I cannot believe I gave in when I had my heart set on cancelling! But it is a really great deal right? Or do you think I should call back and try to cancel again?



P.S. Update on the mouth situation: It isn’t hurting anywhere near as bad today. I called my dentist yesterday to double check for cavities and he said he didn’t see anything. I cancelled my orthodontist consultation because I don’t think that is going to solve my pain issue. I called my doctor back and told her it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did this weekend. She wants me to start the Tegratrol, but I am holding off until it hurts again. They also made me a neurologist appointment but it isn’t until Nov. 3rd! So it is all good for now, but I will keep you updated.

Miss Thrifty

I've had to come up with some ways to live on less since my new job will pay less than my last one and I still have yet to get an unemployment check from the State (they better give me my money or I'll have to cut them!). I had to pull $500 out of savings (not to mention over $1000 has already been automatically taken out of my savings account for my new car payments) just to help cover my mortgage this month. After that payment I will be down to about $100 until I get a check from somewhere, so this has gotten serious! Downgrading sucks. It does, but you do what you gotta do right?

1. I am shopping at Food Lion and Wal-Mart. Two places I detest because of their small confusing ailes and crowds of people. I much more enjoy Lowes Foods and Target, they are more expensive on most items. So suck it up and go during on off hour like 11 pm on a Sat. or during the day during the week if possible. I may even hit up the dollar store for dish soap and stuff.

2. I don't buy books. I have been using Paperbackswap.com for a while and love it, but I would sometimes supplement it with a trip to Barnes and Noble every once in a while. But no more. I have a huge to-be-read pile of books so I am just going to add those "must-get-my-hands-on-now books" to my wish list on Paperbackswap and plow through what I've got on hand while I wait.

3. My new rule of no new clothes for me until I get to the size I want saves a lot, but new shoes are a problem. So I now shop for shoes at Marshall's and TJ Maxx. It will be hit or miss with them, but it's going to be cheaper when you do find something. And if I ever get another designer purse it will probably have to come from there too.

4. Look at those sales flyers you get in the mail! I was so in need of new kitchen items for cooking (all that eating out has to go) and I came across a Macy's 2-day flyer. They had a stainless steel cookware set (org.99.99) on sale for $29.99 if you got it before 1 pm and a Martha Stewart knife set (org.79.99) on sale for $37.99. I had a $50 giftcard I had been saving for my next designer purse so I used that and got all these great cooking tools for only $11 out of my pocket.

Plus I get lots of coupons. I go through those coupon mailers and when I do eat out it is probably at somewhere I have a coupon to. I used one this weekend at Baskin Robins to get a free kids cone and she gave me a whole stack of more so I have no need to buy sweet treats for a while now.

5. Eat in more (See #4 for my motivation purchase for this one)

6. Use plastic bags you get from stores (when you forget to take in your canvas ones) to pick up your dog's poop instead of buying them (or just take a whole bunch from your neighborhood dispenser if the have one)

7. DVR movies to watch at home instead of renting or use Redbox. Resist the urge to go to the movie. (Haven't done well with this one cause I went to see The Hangover and My Sister's Keeper in the past 2 weeks- but seriously it wasn't worth it...well The Hangover might have been!)

8. Find friends who have beach houses and pray that they will invite you. Also urge your mom not to rent out the timeshare and let you have it this year to get in some mini vacations. It's not the same as the legendary Cruise 2K8, but it will have to do.

9. Remember how I said I was a travel sized toiletries addict? Well I have a basket overflowing with them in my spare bedroom. I am going to use those up before I buy the real sizes again and ask any of my traveling friends to grab their hotel ones for me!

10. Ask for extras (or grab extras) when you eat out. I have tons of ketchup and mustard packets and I am going to start asking for extra salad dressing packets too. I may even try to get extra Splenda and Fat Free Mayo packets.

11. Attempt to do your own mani/pedis. It's nothing like the real thing when I do it, but I have resisted all summer and am saving my one splurge on that for right before a wedding I have to go to in July.

12. Stop going out. Stay in and make your own fun. Play a board or card game. Watch a movie. Play with the dog. And stop drinking so much. With the right people, these things can be fun just drinking water and that is free.

I may not officially be Miss Thrifty yet, but I am slowly finding my way!

I want my money

Remember how I said I felt bad about taking unemployment, well not anymore. The only problem is I haven't got any money from my unemployment insurance and it has been almost 2 months!

Here's the story. So, my former employer told me that I would get my last check from them May 14th. So that following Monday I filed for unemployment. There was a one week waiting period where I wouldn't be paid, but benefits should have started that following week. Well my former employer paid me again on May 29. I don't know what it was for because it was direct deposited in my account and I got no pay stub. I think it was for unused vacation time because it was a weird amount.

This however screwed me. Now the unemployment office says there is an unresolved issue on my account so none of my claims can be paid. I talked to someone a few weeks ago and told them the situation and they said they would note it my account. But since then I have heard nothing. I have been trying to get in touch with someone for the past three days and I can't get through on any of the three numbers I have for them. So I finally sent an email and they sent an automated reply that said it may take several days to get a response.

I would have been okay on money except that Volkswagen charged me $1300 for excess wear and tear on my leased beetle bug. That was like 6 month's worth of car payments! I got them to give me 15% discount, but only if I paid it immediately. So I did. Never ever will I lease a vehicle again and I sure as hell won't ever get a VW again.

So now my mortgage is due next week and I have enough in savings to cover it, but after that it will be really tight. The only good thing is I think I have a job and I should start the week after July 4th. I didn't get 2 weeks vacation like I wanted, but I can take unpaid time off if needed, so I figured beggars can't be choosers and decided to go for it.

I'm excited because I have always wanted to do something in real estate, but never had the guts to jump in to being an agent and pay all these up front costs and pray that I sell a house so I can get paid. This way I will be able to get a taste of real estate along with a steady pay check. Sure it won't be as much as I was making, but sometimes you have to sacrifice for your dream.

But note to the NC Unemployment Commission: I still want my money!

Budgeting

So I have a job offer. I am excited BUT it is about a 25% pay cut and has no benefits so I have had to take a close look at my expenses. Let me tell you, my expenses are way more than I even thought they were. Really if I was tithing like I should and paying all my bills on my own I would've needed to be making about $5,000 more than I was. And now I am going to be making $16,500 less than my break even point. Isn't that crazy?!

So how was I making ends meet before? Well, I wasn't tithing like I should. My mom was paying for my gas and car insurance. And I was only contributing 2% to my 401K instead of 5% like I think I should be. (Probably the 401K contribution should be even more than that, but baby steps people).

I want this job. It will be doing marketing and listing coordination for a local real estate office. I don't have to activate my license (which would have cost me about $350-$400) but I can still get a taste of the Real Estate career I have been craving! And I still get to do marketing which I love! And I wouldn't be sitting behind a computer all day. I would actually get to go out and take pictures of their listings and maybe even some other tasks outside of the office. And the head of this office is a really good agent in the area. I recognized her name immediately because I see her signs everywhere. She is really nice and straight forward which I love and I think I could learn a lot from her.

The only downsides are the pay (obviously) and there are no benefits so I would have to continue my COBRA coverage and have no 401K for now. And she only offered me 1 week paid vacation. When I call her tomorrow to accept the position it will be on the condition of 2 weeks paid vacation. I just cannot do only 5 days off per year. I have weddings and holidays, and I have learned I have to have at least one yearly trip to make it through working full time. At my last job I had 17 paid time off days and 10 paid holidays. So I'll be going from 27 days off to 10. That is if she accepts my counter-offer. I just can't do 5. It would never work.

Plus I had to do a lot of budgeting and make a lot of sacrifices to make this salary work. I'll have no money for savings. My mom is going to pay for my gas, car insurance, and yearly pet exams. I have to cancel my at home internet service and switch to Direct TV for my cable. I had to cut my food and miscellaneous expenses budget back to $425/month. I think that will cover my food and the pets food. I guess no more new clothes, haircuts, or pedicures for me. (By the way, I had no idea what I was spending before but I was estimating $725 and that includes pet expenses, so I'm cutting out about $300!) And I have to cut my tithe back to 2.8% (it was probably at like 5%. I have no idea how I am going to ever make it to 10%, but like everything else it will be a process. At least I am trying.)

I looked at a lot of different options when trying to figure out how to make this work. Another option was getting a roommate. That was the best scenario. It would have cut at least $600 from my expenses and I would get to keep my internet. But I just can't do it. No one I know is looking for a roommate situation and I wouldn't want to live with someone I didn't know. Plus, my house is kind of like a zoo with my dog and cat and it is very much my house- all my furniture, my pets, my style. I don't know if a roommate would feel comfortable here. I don't know if I would feel comfortable here with a roommate. You married or co-habitating people don't know how well you have it splitting those bills with someone!

But I think I can make this work with those other sacrifices, so yeah I am excited. Now I just have to see if she accepts my counter-offer with the extra week of vacation. Keep your fingers crossed for me!