Mission Impossible, Days 13 of 26: Midpoint!!!!

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 13

Well, I hardly got a thing done yesterday--my girlfriend dragged me off to her family's cabin right after I last posted, so the day was a bit of a loss. My girlfriend's mother has a strong dislike of me, however, and I'm slowly trying to mend that. Her dislike doesn't have anything to do with me, personally. It has to do with the fact that my girlfriend's former boyfriend was a PhD student in London, running a successful political science journal. And a bit of a prat. He flew in from London when I started seeing my girlfriend, and tried to win her back over a couple of weeks. We had some run-ins and I finally told him I thought he was a selfish bastard, and he was stressing people out needlessly, and he should go back to his damn country. Anyway, he was staying with my girlfriend's mother, and spent the entire time painting himself as a martyr and me as an asshole. Her mother didn't talk to me the first TWO times we met. And on, and on. Yadda yadda. My girlfriend's sister and I get along great, and BBQ all the time. I played some scrabble and hung around with the family, yesterday, and things seemed to be alright. I think my girlfriend's mother may be reconsidering her original "stone-wall until they break up" tactics.

Eh.

So, no money spent yesterday. I'm writing all day today. Wish me luck.

MISSION REPORT
Total Spent: $91.01
Total Remaining: $93.65
Percent Spent: 49.3%
Percent Time Elapsed: 50.0%

Mission Impossible, Days 11-12 of 26: Taking Vacation To Write

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 12

I'm taking a four day weekend to get some writing done. Yesterday was a success--I finished off about 1400 words, getting about halfway through a chapter (or section, whatever it falls to). Today I got sucked into Desktop Tower Defense on the internet, of which I'm not even going to put a link, because I know if I see that link when I re-read this blog post, I'll start playing again.

I have an idea for a WIKI. It's a wiki where people just put all their ideas for improving products, adding features they want to see on cars, phones, etc.

Someone make one of those, would you? :)

So I spent a decent amount of money the last few days. I spent $15.50 at dinner with friends on Wednesday. On Thursday, I purchased about $17.00 in groceries, and $1.50 in coffee. So, that makes:

MISSION REPORT
Total Spent: $91.01
Total Remaining: $93.65
Percent Spent: 49.3%
Percent Time Elapsed: 46.2%

Mission Impossible, Day 10 of 26: Very Tired. Presentation Today

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 10

I drove in this morning--I had to dress up a bit for a presentation, and I need to do some grocery shopping tonight. I also need to withdraw some cash from my work ATM/Account and deposit that into my Wells account.

And I'm tired. Part of the problem with my get-up-and-go is the desperate need on my part to do some laundry. It's piled up to the sky. Laundry has always been my bane. I need to clean the ol' room.

I drove around looking for lakes last night--I'm trying to find a good place to move. Ideally, I would stay someplace near where I am, but I want a lake with a nice running/biking path, and a decent swimming beach. My favorites are Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun, but they're on the south side of Minneapolis, and my work is north-east of the city. My girlfriend is in St. Paul, so if I move to Uptown (near the lakes) I spend half my days commuting. I've done it, it sucks.

So, I didn't spend any more money yesterday. This is the report for today... Hmmm.... I know this isn't really accurate, because I always report on the day during the morning, before I actually spend or don't spend any money, but whatever.

MISSION REPORT
Total Spent: $57.01
Total Remaining: $127.65
Percent Spent: 30.9%
Percent Time Elapsed: 38.5%

Mission Impossible, Day 9 of 26

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 9

This morning I really dogged the bike in. It was only three miles, but it was hot. Added to that: last night I biked home, realized I forgot my keys on my desk, so I had to bike back to work to get them, then bike back home again. I was STARVING by the time I got back--my arms were shaking. I'm hypoglycemic, so it really sucks for me when I hit a sugar low.

At least Paris Hilton is finally out of jail. I can let THAT stresser go. Poor girl.

I'm behind in work--I have to get a presentation done in a few hours, so I can run it by a coworker. I give the presentation tomorrow. This is supposedly going to make or break my promotion.

I'm really excited about how fast my debt is getting paid down. I was looking at the numbers yesterday, and I can potentially have my car, my credit cards, and my high-interest school loan paid off by next February (I usually get a bonus in February), leaving me with two low-interest school loans. I'm starting to think about a celebratory (pre-paid!) vacation.

Eh, dreams for now. I mostly just need to get this presentation done today.

I got a solid 1000 words written last night--I have a scene in my novel that involves a circus, and last night we had a great parade come by, about a block away from my house. I went out with a notebook and just started scribbling down details. It made writing that bit SO much easier.

Anyway, I spent about $2.50 on breakfast this morning.

MISSION REPORT
Total Spent: $57.01
Total Remaining: $127.65
Percent Spent: 30.9%
Percent Time Elapsed: 34.6%

Mission Impossible, Days 7-8 of 26: Monday, Bloody Monday

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 8

I biked to work every day except for last Wednesday, when I was getting my wisdom teeth out. Last week, I only burned through 1/2 a tank of gas. I ended up spending more than I should have this weekend--$3 for icecream on Saturday, $13.52 for a burger and beer (and a coffee), and probably about $6 for coffee with my girlfriend.

I'm trying to get the second draft of my book done by end of July, so I've scattered nine vacation days between then and now. I finished a few pieces this weekend that seem to be holding their own. That's about it for now. I'm a little tired--I didn't sleep well, and I biked in.

Yawn...

MISSION REPORT
Total Spent: $54.51
Total Remaining: $130.15
Percent Spent: 29.5%
Percent Time Elapsed: 30.7%

Mission Impossible, Day 6 of 26: Writing Today

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 6

I'm 17 floors up, looking out over St. Paul from the balcony of my girlfriend's apartment. The St. Paul Cathedral is in front of me, the view partially blocked by a construction crane that's been there forever.

So, this week was pretty good, actually, spending-wise. I spent $8 on a bottle of wine last night, bringing my total to around $31 so far. That's about 17% of my remaining cash spent, but I've made it through about 23% of my 26 days, so I'm doing pretty good. I'm actually $10 ahead!

That's all for today. I'm going to write all weekend, whether in St. Paul, or at my girlfriend's cabin, about 45 minutes away.

Enjoy the long days...

MISSION REPORT
Total Spending: $31.99
Total Remaining: $152.67

Mission Impossible, Day 3-5 of 26: Wisdom Teeth and Agents

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 5

So my top wisdom teeth were removed on Wednesday. I probably had the easiest extraction ever, and my friends who had much worse experiences tell me I should feel guilty. I was in and out of the office in under thirty minutes, I have no pain, and no swelling. I was given nitrous oxide, so I enjoyed the actual extraction.

Last Friday I passed the first 100 pages of my book to a friend, who passed it to her agent at Writer's House. The agent got back to me on Tuesday and said he liked it and wants to see the whole thing when I get the second draft finished. I'm blowing all my vacation to get it finished (HOPEFULLY!!!) by the end of July. I know it's not a guarantee, and I'm not getting hopeful, but I feel incredibly validated right now.

Anyway, wrt the spending: $2.00 cup of coffee and $15.00 celebratory drink. I know, that put's me a little behind, but screw it. I went out with a friend who was just promoted to editor at her paper, and we both had something to celebrate. I drank cheap beer, if that makes a difference :)

MISSION REPORT
Total Spending: $23.99
Total Remaining: $160.67

Monthly Roundup

Becuase I spent so much before I had a chance to budget this month, I'm just going to summarize my debt for my usual monthly roundup (see my last two posts for my living conditions for this month).

Debt Roundup

SCHOOOL:
$12316 @ 3.875%APR - Wells Fargo (my account)
$3325 - Wells Fargo (my father's account -- money he took out for me that I pay back)
$1860 @ 8%APR - Mac Loan (money I borrowed from the school itself)

CAR:
$2680 @ 9% APR

CREDIT CARDS:
$0 - Wells Fargo Visa (wohoo!)
$0 - Chase Visa (wohoo!)
$3516 @ 0%APR – Discover
$1460 @ 2% APR - American Express (life of loan)

GRAND TOTAL DEBT!!!
$25157

$4976 in credit card debt.
$17501 in school loans
$2680 for my car

I have paid of 35% of my remaining car loan ($4095!) in 2 months!

Mission Impossible, Day 2 of 26: Biked In, Company Picnic

MY MISSION
To survive 26 days off $184.66. This is Day 2

Last night I bought some Kielbasa for $2 and two boxes of ready-rice mix, each for about $1.20. Combine those two ingredients and I get about five meals for $0.88 apiece. I also bought some spray starch for $2, as I obviously can't afford to take my shirts to the cleaners.

Today my group had a cookout, so I ate for free. I biked in this morning and had a Cliff Bar and a protein shake for breakfast, which I'd bought a while ago, so they don't impact my money. I paid $0.59 for milk to mix the shake. I left some rice/Kielbasa in the fridge at work (I forgot about the BBQ, so I brought it to eat). I'll have that tomorrow for lunch.

I have about five steaks in the fridge that I have to eat up, so I'll have 1/2 of one for dinner, and 1/2 for breakfast tomorrow. Again, no money spent, as I've had these for a while (they were on sale for about $3 apiece, which is why I have a freezer full of them). Pasta to go with that, and probably some canned corn.

It honestly feels wierd to not spend money. It's pathetic, but I feel lost.

Oh, tomorrow I get my top wisdom teeth out, so I can't bike, as I'll be driving to the big event. I'm not looking forward to it...except for the nitrous oxide, which I insisted on :) My insurance is covering 1/2 the procedure, and I set aside the rest in a tax-free flex spending account.

MISSION REPORT
Total Spending: $6.99
Total Remaining: $177.67

Mission Impossible

It's been a bad month :)

I've been away for a long time, and honestly, it shows on my accounts. I feel like an alcoholic who stopped going to his AA meetings because he thought he could handle it...

I obviously couldn't. I'm in a bit of a pinch right now. I didn't pay attention to my checking last month, and I didn't follow my budget. So, the grizzly details? I spent a lot of money in Milwaukee, because I was covering for my sisters. I put the expenses on my Wells Card, and they each wrote me a check at the end of the weekend. Then I proceeded to spend their checks, and not pay off the card. The damage?

Substantial.

My autopayments went out, as they were supposed to. Remember how I put that $720 autopayment on my car? Yeah. I essentially have $700 in my accounts, now, and I have a $438 CC bill with Wells Fargo, AND my insurance is doubling up on me this paycheck, so I'm going to get hit with an additional $180 from them this month.

As my expenses are normally $120 gas and $550 food, that means I'm pretty screwed. Events for June/July? Camping in a few weeks, but that's the only biggee.

This is the math, just so I know what a mess I've made:

Total Expenditures:
$438 (CC)
$180 (insurance)
$120 (gas)
$550 (food)
$1288

Total Money On Hand
$700

Deficit
$588

Okay, so here's how we'll try to cut it:
I think my second insurance payment is going to land late, after I get paid--it usually does--so I'm going to keep my fingers crossed wrt that $90. Well, I won't actually keep my fingers crossed--I'll keep an eye on my account, and if I see the insurance is coming in "on time," I'll just have to forward myself some money.

So. I'm going to try and do the impossible. I'm going to park the car, for real, bike into work, and make the cheapest meals possible. I don't really need to budget for the camping trip, because it lands on payday. I don't really need to buy anything, because I own all the gear. I'll schedule free events with my friends, so I don't have to worry about those expenses.

MY BUDGET (working backwards)
+$920.35 (checking)
+$280.00 (work savings)
= $1200.35
- $500 (rent)
- $90 (car insurance)
- $437.69 (cc)
= $172.66
+ $12.00 (back pocket)
= $184.66

This is impossible, but I'm going to try anyway.

Here's some things I have to do:
- Plan events (picnics in the park, stuff like that)
- Plan meals
- Get my bike in gear this evening

I'm going to check in EVERY DAY this month, to let you know how things are going. I know this is almost impossible, but I'm going to try. I always like a challenge.

In other news:
I had a blog up for my writing but I'm going to abandon it for now. I'll just keep you guys up to date. I'm slugging through my re-writes. I've gotten a good bit done, and it's in an agents hands right now--he's promised a read. I have no idea how I feel about that. I'm not going to let myself get excited. I expect to get some news back in a few weeks.

Cheers. I'll get back (often). I'm off to read up on good nutritious (and cheap) food.