Budgeting B!tch

"Wow, I love how you're taking this so seriously" ~My friend Christina

It's ironic that I choose to go on a budget 2 months before I leave on a cruise. My mother (who I get my spending issues from, totally) thinks it's great that I'm putting myself on a budget, but the moment I told her I couldn't go shopping this past weekend because of my budget she wasn't so thrilled. In fact, she ended up calling my father, telling him what I'm doing and then he called me to say that he'd pay for anything I bought because I "needed good cruise clothes". *Sigh* Yes, I'm truly thankful to have parents who can do this for me, but I don't think they understand that the giving nature is what got me into the "Who needs a budget?" mindset. But I digress.

I bought a Suze Orman book (Women and Money, on clearance for $1.99 at Half Price Books) and the following:

Bitches on Budget by Rosalyn Hoffman. Seriously BEST BOOK EVER!! Just snarky enough to capture my attention while still acknowledging that budgeting is necessary.

Being a “bitch” means having fun, knowing what you want, not settling for second best. It means being savvy. Smart. In control. In other words it’s a way of living—NOT a way of treating others. Be a bitch without being bitchy. Be generous and share your money-saving tips with the rest of us. Pretty please? We’re in it together, after all

It's definitely not Dave Ramsey "Stop Spending ANYTHING"; it is more realistic for what I'm looking for. For instance, stop spending money on low quality pants (Hello, JCPenney Worthington Pants with zippers that always fall apart, I'm looking at you) because they are inexpensive. Rather pay for the quality pant that will last longer than 3 pairs of the cheaper pant. That makes sense on numerous levels. Because of some of the tips in the book, I've already thinned out some of my clothing and donated them to Goodwill. I'm going to take some of my suits to a consignment shop later this weekend.

I've also downloaded the Easy Envelope Budgeting Aid (EBBA) app for my Droid which is CRAZY helpful. If I'm spending something, I just pull that bad boy up and can see exactly how much I have left for the week (well, bi-weekly since that is how I set it up). The only negative is that one envelope I have is showing I've got a negative balance....when I don't. I'm confused what I did there.

Anywho, I'm trying and interested in seeing how this goes :-)

Son of a....

So apparently I'm out of the Diva Dash :-(

I've been doing my training and noticing that my feet were going numb. At first I just assumed it was because I was increasing my running activity. But then the numbness grew. Now I wake up every morning with numb toes that I can feel all the way up to my knee. So I got scared and called a doc. Apparently, I have neuroma's (2) in my right foot. I've been strictly instructed to not run.

Doc did recommend bicycles and swimming. Either option I can do in my area, but I'm having trouble finding a cycling group to ride with. Houston is scary for cyclist. I do own 2 bikes (mountain and a road) but given all of  the traffic....I just don't know that I can imagine cruising around the Galleria on my OCR.....

In other news, I've managed to lose 4 pounds in the past 2 weeks :-)

Financial Peace

The season of Lent is upon us and my little Catholic self has gone into a bit of overdrive and reflection. For 40 days and 40 nights, I have elected to give up fast food. This brought about a series of questions from friends who thought that was too severe of a restriction, but really people?! I believe Jesus died for us, I can do without a Whataburger (#7, no onions but with jalapenos) for a few weeks.

Anywhosits, as I was filing my taxes last night, I realized just how much money I made last year.....for a single woman with one small dog.....I should have craploads saved. And yet I don't. So this morning, despite some hyperventilation on my part, I tried to layout a budget. Honestly, I've lived on my own since I was 17, but never really had to budget before. I was on scholarships and parents dime(#fistbump to my pops for that debit card) in college. After college, the salaries that I've made have always been 'tight' but if I wanted to go do something I could. Every company I've worked for, thankfully, had 401k or 403b options so having a retirement has always been established and transferred as I switched companies. But actual savings for 'emergency situations' not so much.

And this is going to make me sound like the most un-American girl in the world, but owning a home has never really been a dream of mine. OR rather, it's something I always assumed would happen when I married someone. I never wanted to own my own piece of property...I never saw the point.

But when I saw my gross salary and all that last night. I got scared a little bit. I don't make millions, but I do make enough that there should be something left over at the end of the month to tuck away. But there isn't. So I logged onto my bank and reviewed their "Personal Spending Report" feature that I always ignore. I nearly choked on my Mr. Pibb when I realized how much I'm spending on "Restaurants" and "Retail". NOT ACCEPTABLE!! So.....I'm attempting to create a budget to get me on track. Will report back later with my outline!