39 days down, 59 to go.

So far on the summer spending challenge I have spent $101.00 of my $300 limit with an average of a little over $2.50 a day. The majority of my spending as you can imagine has occurred on Fridays and Saturdays.

My biggest qualm about the challenge was not also ruining my husbands summer by making him pay for everything. So i decided that if i paid for us to eat out or for popcorn at a movie i would only list my have of the spending since this is my challenge not his. so far i think it’s working pretty well and for the most part i don’t feel deprived.

In two weeks I leave for vacation which means a whole week of being able to spend whatever I want without feeling guilty.

So far I have been able to save $1000. with only minimal effort.

Only 59 days left? I can handle that.

 

For the love of Money

It is Day 3 of the Summer Spending Challenge. I have been joined in my challenge by the lovely Kate at www.katesullivanblog.com. So far in 3 days I have not spent one dime. I have been craving Starbucks, bagels, and frozen yogurt but I have not given in to the pressure yet. Actually I have not even had a chance to go pull my cash for the challenge out of the bank. I did try to be good and put library books on hold (which if you knew me you would know i am not a library kinda girl) but they said i had an outstanding balance for over a year which is only like $.80 but when i tried to pay it last time the machines were down and now i can’t check anything out. ugh!

As of tomorrow we will have 96 days left in the challenge, which for me is the hardest part. I am grateful that my vacation is almost in the middle of the challenge and i have a business trip to break up each half of the challenge which is great cause i can eat out on the company dime!  My challenge spread sheet is working great and i’m even keeping track of what i am eating on it. Perhaps this summer i will get skinnier and my wallet will get fatter.

All my shows are starting to wind down which is bad because that means my evenings will be wide open so i am hoping to find some good summer shows. My new favorite show is The Best Thing I Ever Ate on the Food Chanel. I am patiently waiting for True Blood and Dexter to come back, but until then what are all of you watching this summer?

 

 

 

 

 

A Minimalist Summer?

Well i know it’s been forever, and i’m still not entirely sure that i want to get back into blogging, but i have given myself a challenge and by blogging about it i will be able (hopefully) to keep myself on track.

We recently bought a new car after months of searching, and although i am very happy with my new Jeep Patriot, i now find myself very poor.

So to combat my loss of funds i have set a goal to recoup my losses by drastically lowering my spending for the summer.

On Memorial day i will begin a challenge that gives me $20 a week to spend on myself. Whatever is not used will roll over to the next week until Labor Day. The one reprieve will be my family vacation during the last week of July.

I will give myself an extra $20 to round up to a total of $300 for the summer.

I can still spend money on groceries and gas, and things needed for the house, but things like Starbucks and clothes will have to be saved up for or will have to wait until fall.

I will be taking Starbucks card donations if anyone wants to feed my addiction during my time of need.

As much as i am excited to start i am terrified that i will spend my entire summer inside on the sofa watching TV so i need to find cheap ways to entertain myself this summer. I already bought a bike which i am very excited about and plan to purchase a helmet for it before the challenge so i can ride it around, who knows maybe i will even use less gas this summer, and if i lose a few pounds doing it, even better. There are free concerts on Friday and Saturday nights near my house all summer, i still have a gym membership which is already paid for, and of course there is the neighborhood pool. Maybe i should get a part time job to keep me for getting bored.

Any ideas for cheap fun would be much appreciated.

 

A Question.

OK i’m back. Not sure for how long i’m still not really in the blogging mood but i have a question.

What would you go back and tell your 18 year old self when graduating high school, and your 22 year old self when graduating college about money and finances? what do you wish your parents would have told you?

I know it’s random but i’m truly curious what you would go back and tell yourself. i read an article awhile ago that said that parents are more comfortable speaking to there kids about sex than about money and i think thats really sad.

I am so glad my parents taught me about money at an early age and will be eternally grateful to them.

 

 

 

on hiatus

well…i’m married, and have been for one month today. people keep asking me if it’s different and the truth is, no. we have lived together for several years and i already felt married. it’s nice that it’s legal though.

i have been in chicago since sat and will be here for another 2 days. i’m so ready to get home.

on Sunday i leave on my honeymoon and will be spending my week on a beach drinking margaritas with my husband. i’m very excited.

that is all for now.

 

Blogs i’m loving

Lately i have found a few new blogs that i have to share.

First up is A Veggie Venture, now i am NOT a vegetarian, but i was getting lazy when it came to veggie side dishes. i will most likely be making a veggie venture side of Brussels sprouts tonight. i am very excited.

Also i am totally in love with Joy the Baker, i found her while looking for a bacon waffles recipe, i’m going to try them on Friday morning i think.

And for something totally different try Fabulously Broke in the City, although i am not nearly as frugal or minimalistic as she is i love a girl who knows how handle her money.

Not in the mood to read another blog? i just watched Bottle Shock on Netflix and enjoyed it, but maybe it was because i spent my whole day at a winery and had grapes on the brain.

 

 

Eureka!

If things stay this way we are golden!

 

Promising…

But could still go either way. T minus 9 days and counting.

 

Ummm….

The weather is shifting.  THIS IS NOT GOOD!

 

Rain or Shine?

This is what Weather.com is currently showing  for next week. My Wedding is the 30th.  I have been praying that it won’t rain or be too terribly cold but i have this sick feeling that it’s going to pour.  Yesterday the outlook was warmer with less rain and now it looks like a wet week.

I really do not want to move the wedding indoors but don’t want to make 150 people stand in the cold in the rain.

Fingers crossed that next weekend won’t be gross.