My new roommate and I are going shopping for the few things we actually will need when my current roommate moves out. Dishes for one, Target has a set on sale it's a white service for four for $10, and a big skillet for another. There's a couple other odds and ends but considering how much we don't have to buy it's not really that bad.

I don't really have money to go shopping right now. I get paid Sunday/Monday for child care that will be about $70 total. In my dollar jar where I've been saving what's left over in cash from my grocery and gas at the end of the pay period I have $68. So I'm taking that with me to spend and I will pay it back from my childcare money. I don't plan on spending a lot, hopefully no more than $40.

I am excited though to spend time with the new roommate too.

I went to my aunt's last night for dinner because another aunt and her new husband were visiting. Dinner was wonderful and if I didn't already have a bunch of leftovers in the fridge, I could have come home with more. Instead I insisted she send as much as possible home with my brother, the one who's out of work and who I'll be supporting for the next three months (or rather from now until three months after his GI bill paperwork gets sent in). She also tricked him into accepting $75 by palming him some cash with a $5 on the outside so he accepted thinking it was just a couple of bucks, but there was $50 total in hand plus $25 in a card she'd already planned to give him.

I got $25 as well in my card. Sweet! I was talking to my best friend on the way home and she mentioned that I should hang onto it for my Zoo Pass that I really wanted but no one got me (well I didn't want any one person to get it for me but rather said I was accepting donatations towards it). The other thing that I really wanted was a set of Denise Interchangables (knitting needles). I have a $25 gc for a local yarn store and they sell the needles there for $50. So that would make up the difference. However, the way my friend was acting on the phone I have a feeling she >might< have gotten that for me for Christmas. I haven't gotten her gift yet but she said it'd be showing up after Christmas. And it's one of those things you can't take back so I'm going to wait and see before doing anything.

I decided I really wanted the Zoo pass but I don't want to pull the rest ($34) out of savings. So I'm sticking the $25 in my dollar jar and any time I babysit and get cash for it (instead of a check) then I'll add it to the $25 til I get to $59. I should have it all in time for the Summer Concert Series.

I'm planning a trip to Costco on Saturday. I realize that it's probably a suicide mission but I have things I need to get, staples for lunch that I'll be running out of. There's only $5 left in grocery money so I'll be using my $50 Costco Cash Card to stock up as much as possible. I did a quick inventory of breakfast and dinner items and I should be good til the 5th. Plus some of the items I'll be getting at Costco are dry goods and will help future grocery budgets since I wont' have to buy those items for a while.

I have a list of items to buy with my 'extra' money this next check instead of putting it into savings. Why is it that savings is so much harder to push paying into than credit cards? Anyway, I knocked one thing off that list this week. I was talking to someone about wanting to get a wireless card for my desktop and how since I have a $20 gc for Best Buy maybe I'd pick one up there. I started looking on eBay and found a new Linksys card for $19.96 after shipping with BuyItNow and decided to just get it now. Then when I went to pay, I was reminded that I had $9.99 sitting in PayPal that I'd forgotten about. So it really only cost me $9.97. I took it out of my 'Personal' money. The rest though will probably cost more than I'll have coming in so they'll have to wait til the next month. The list is:

- Oil Change (sucks because I still have one that I've prepaid but I can't find the card that shows it, who knows I might find it before the 5th, $20)

- Concert tickets (I'm restraining myself and not spending $40+gas to go to the Seattle show and only going to the Portland one which is $14 but I'm taking my dad and buying his ticket so he can't back out of it so that'll be $28)

- Home Depot (Damp Rid refill and container, and a staple gun about $30 total I think)

- Classmates 3 month membership (I have this strong desire to reconnect with people I knew before leaving for college, someone on there is trying to contact me but I won't know who without getting a membership so I'm getting the lowest level possible. $15)

- Yarn store. (If I do get the needles I wanted then this will actually come out of my gift card and I'll just get yarn for the socks I want to make, otherwise I'll be buying the needles I want. $25)

All told that's $118. And I'll probably only have about $87 extra. But I also changed my withholdings back to 1 so that might change too. So we'll see what gets held over for February.

I'm anxious for Monday, I really want to see how things look for the end of the month as far as Net Worth is concerned. I was hoping I'd get my uncle's check for the concert tickets I bought for him before the end of the month since I pulled that money out of my savings. But I don't know that that'll happen. There's still three more mail days though so it's possible.

But I'm not panic'd. Not yet. The reason I spent most of it was for Christmas Eve dinner and I'm expecting there to be plenty of leftovers to get me through.

I have $17 out of $100 left. I do still need to pick up some green beans for Sunday and fruit for lunches. But the fruit I usually only buy a little at a time so it doesn't go bad before I can eat it.

I'm really excited for the meal on Sunday. I bought an 8 lb ham and I think there's going to be 7 of us eating. Ham, a stout and cherry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with toasted almonds and garlic, rolls (gluten free), pumpkin pie, sparkling cider. I think someone's bringing a salad.

I also got gas. I figured that as long as the price hasn't hit $3.079/gal then I'm still safe telling them to 'fill'. Unfortunately I only got 19 mpg last tank. I do a lot of city driving...ah well.

I was able to stash away $6 for my trip to Seattle in March. That makes me happy. We'll see if I can actually hold onto it...

I took my change into the bank today. Came to $18.72. That's not a year's worth, I know I took what I had collected in a couple times over the past year. But I do want to see how much change I do save over a year so I'm starting with a clean slate. Mostly.

Deposited $50 that went straight to my Emigrant account. I'm pleased to say that my EF balance has grown a fair amount, even with paying cash for something that I'm waiting for a reimbursement check on. My new credit card statements should be available tomorrow so I'll have a better idea of where everything stands then. I'm really excited to see the results.

Deposited $11 to cover the excess I spent for last minute baking. I have $6 left in my wallet, about $2 of which will be spent tonight picking up one last skein of yarn to finish a blanket I'm knitting. The rest will go to my Dollar Jar which is money I'm trying to save for a trip up to Seattle in March.

Dr's apt went ok. I paid my co-pay while I was there, the way they do billing annoys me so if I have it I'd rather pay it then. They had me take a trip down to the lab for some blood tests. I'll find out tomorrow if I'll be starting on a new med or not. I've been having random dizy spells and the new med may just enhance that so they want to check the levels of a few things. No new appointment has been made yet, it all depends on the results of the bloodwork. If I go on new meds that means I'll be going in more often for appointments while they work me up to the right dose.

I got my balance transfer check in the mail yesterday. It's how I'm going to be supporting my brother til his GI Bill kicks in. I won't be depositing it until it's actually needed, which will be before it expires in about 80 days. I don't want to incure any more interest than necessary. His last day of work was Friday, the contract ran out officially. School starts January 8th. He works at a bar when needed on weekends, last weekend he made $80 between the two nights he worked. He is going to be filing for unemployment today and he had an interview on Sunday. I feel confident he'll have me paid back in short order, once his GI Bill kicks in that is. Now if we can just make it til then on whatever I've got and whatever he brings home in the mean time.

Phase One. Eliminate CC2.

Statement balance difference: -$398.71
Total Payments: $650.00
Total charges and fees: $251.22

The charges were expected and extra was paid from EF to cover them. I expect that the New estimated payoff date will actually be correct. I am hoping to pay the entire balance off before the next statement, but there'll still be a little interest that had acrued so it will be January before I see a $0 balance.

Prior estimated payoff date: 3/20/2006
New estimated payoff date: 1/20/2006

Phase Two. Build up EF to $1,000

Between the three accounts, taking out the expected expenses and adding in regular budget amounts my savings has decreased by $177.96. However I'm not that dissapointed in that number considering I spent $273 so it's bouncing back nicely.

Phase Three. Pay off as much of CC1 as possible by 4/15/2010.

Statement balance difference: -$317.08
Total payments: $523
Total charges and fees: $205.92

I am no longer using CC1 to pay bills.

Previous potential balance by 4/15/2010: $6,665.47
New potential balance by 4/15/2010: $6,096.99

Only $1,309.74 to go before things get back to normal on this card.

---

CC2 update.

This week so far I have the following in hand:

30.00 friend paying me back for something
26.00 Certified check
30.00 babysitting
-----
86.00 Confirmed payment

25.00 Childcare on Sunday
60.00 Brother making a payment
-----
85.00 Potential

171.00 Possible payment. This makes me Very Happy since the balance is about $258.

I will be requesting a dividend check for $58.39 on Monday. But I don't kow how long that will take to get here.

---

Old habits die hard. Today we're supposed to all get together to celebrate our birthdays. All four of us were born in November. Plus one of my SIL's has an October birthday that I missed. Well, SIL's debit card number got stolen and $500 was charged to it before it was caught. Then Brother P's check was $300 less than they were expecting. They get paid weekly. They bought a house this past year that's about 50 miles one way into town. So it's quite a hike for them to come. So they won't be joining us. Then I talked to Step Bro and they're not doing so hot either, but they're still coming. Other Brother is the one I've been bailing out recently so I know he's not doing the best, but he did just get paid so he's ok right now. All told, I'm the most financially stable of the four of us. So this morning the thought entered my head, I'll just pick up lunch for everyone. Which of course, means charging it. Then I stopped, stepped back and realized, that's part of the reason I'm in debt to begin with. Not the entire reason, but definately a good chunk. I will Not be doing that after all. I have $12 in my wallet for lunch (I pulled the $7 out of the dollar jar to make it be $12), shouldn't be a problem since I always drink water and I know I can find something on Red Robins menu that after tip won't be more than $12. I will probably be going out to lunch tomorrow after church. I have $7 in my bank account that should do nicely if the occasion arises. If it doesn't, I'll go home and eat. I'm meeting someone for coffee today and I'm going to suggest Starbucks because I have a $5 gc for there. I get paid on Monday, the pending deposit already shows up in my bank account today so I know how much it's going to be. Looks like just enough to cover everything. Unfortunately, nothing really extra to throw at CC2 but I can live with that.

Or maybe it's 4 days. I get paid on Friday so however that works out.

Gas. No worries there. I do have a dr's apt today to drive to and a couple other meetings during the week but not so much that it'll use up what's left of the tank. I have a $10 Shell card in my wallet which is good since I used my $10 cash last night that was left over from my gas budget this month to pay for my roomate and I to go to the movies. So I still have $4 in my wallet for gas at least.

Food. I used the last of my food budget, just barely squeaking by. I had $25 in my wallet and my total came to $24.22. Unfortunately, I left the sour cream out (I pulled all the to be refridgerated stuff out of the bag, set it on the counter, but then when I actually went to put it away somehow I didn't notice it and it stayed out all night) and I need some for a recipe. So I'll need to dig into the last $12 in my bank account to get a tiny bit of sour cream and probably some oil for my car too.

Extra money earned last week. I didn't get paid last night because the pastor forgot to bring a check with him so I'll get paid double next week. No big deal, just means that the $25 won't get applied to the credit card before the next statement. As far as I know, I'm doing child care tonight which should be at least $25 possibly $30. I'm expecting a PTR check for $25 and a Pinecone survey check for $5 at some point, however if it doesn't show in the mail today it won't get applied til next week as I've decided to only visit the bank once a week on Tuesdays before work. I need to put my paperwork together and mailed off today for the theater check I did so I can get paid for that.

Money from step brother. Still hasn't shown up in my account yet. But I don't know if that's because the wrong information got submitted or because I'm impatient. He says the money has been taken out of his paychecks already so that part is working. I'm going to wait til tomorrow after I get to work, if it's still not deposited I'll give him a call and see what's up.

Dollar jar. I borrowed from that this weekend because I knew I was going out to eat with some friends and to the movies with my roomate. I had $8 in there. I spent $5 on breakfast after church and $3 at the movies for pizza. Perhaps not the wisest expenditure of money but I didn't charge it.

I was totally lowballing my guess of what my paycheck would be. I actually like it when I do that. Anyway, here's the breakdown this paycheck:

Income:
1347.06 Paycheck
221.00 Saved from last check
20.41 Left over in account
350.00 Roomate's portion of bills
-------
1938.47 Total in

Outgoing:
45.00 Charity
575.00 Rent
275.52 Consolidation Loan
173.00 CC1 payment *
100.00 Food
10.00 Wells Fargo Savings
10.00 ING Direct Savings **
259.38 Student Loan
29.00 Curves
155.00 Medical
40.00 Gas
30.00 Personal
216.00 CC2 ***
-------
1917.90 Total outgoing

20.57 left in account as cushion.

* They say only 57.62 left for minimum, but I'm still paying the amount in my budget. Plus my step brother hasn't given me $100 yet towards this statement's payment.

** I actually had $4.48 left over from my 'personal' allotment last paycheck that I also transferred to ING

*** I'm waiting til Tuesday to pay this because I can only make 2 more payments this statement period (statement runs on the 20th) and I have two more weekends of childcare still to add into the mix. Plus I think my brother gets paid tomorrow so that'll also increase my payment.

I had $5 left over in my wallet, so that goes to the Dollar Jar. A friend of mine just moved up to Seattle. When I have $70 in my Dollar Jar I'm going to go up and visit her. That'll allow me $40 for gas and $30 for whatever we do while I'm there. Fortunately I don't have to wait that long to see her since she's coming down at the end of the month and will be sleeping on my couch.

Today is payday. I expected that my timeshare transfer would have processed by now. I called and spoke with Owner Services and they said they had the paperwork, it was being processed, and they verified that I had submitted my email address to be notified as soon as the transfer was official. The problem I have is, the money I set aside to pay for the timeshare is out of this check that I received today. I don't want to spend the money in case it doesn't process and I get charged. But since it's in the works, I should be safe right? At any rate, I am just going to hold off spending it right now just in case. Until things are final at any rate. The person I spoke with said I'd be notified within 72 hours of it going through.

But that sucks for me because I was hoping to use that money for other things, like actually pay my cable bill instead of charging it. [side note: I pay a couple of bills with my credit card, take the cash I would have used to pay those bills to help make up the minimum payment on my credit card. Not pretty, but it works. However once the transfer goes through I shouldn't need to do that anymore.]

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do at this point. I guess just stick with the plan of pretending I have to pay it like normal until I hear otherwise.

In other 'news', I pulled cash out for my grocery and gas budget instead of using CC2 like I had been. Since they're changing the cashback bonus to not be as favorable for grocery/gas purchases, I really don't need to have that temptation in my wallet. Now to just work on getting it paid off like it's supposed to be.

I had $3 left over in my wallet from last pay period. I put it in my dollar jar for use later in case I need extra cash for something imediate.

I'm babysitting tonight, it was a last minute thing. The gal originally slotted to do it couldn't so I got the call. I really don't mind calls like that, I'd prefer not to be someone's primary sitter since my schedule is so crazy sometimes. Though it does mean that the paper monster will have to be dealt with another night.

Whatever I make from tonight, if anything, I will put in my dollar jar for emergencies. I say if anything because the couple I'm babysitting for lost their home to a fire a couple weeks ago, fortunately no one was injured. At any rate, I would gladly babysit for free but if they choose to pay me I'll take that too.

I've also offered to babysit for my church on Monday nights for a couple of months. They've got some classes that they need sitters for and they pay $20/night. Its only for a couple of hours and I can totally do that. Every little bit helps no?

My roomate left me with her bus pass when she went on vacation since she won't be back until the new month starts and therefore has no use for it. I was debating going home and getting my car, or just heading over from work via the bus. It would save on gas but then what about dinner? Well, my friends just called to say they were making extra mac n cheese so I can eat there tonight. So even though I don't really have anything with me to keep me occupied once the kids go down (no book, etc), I think I'm just going to hop the bus and save on gas. Might as well. Especially when the bus I take to their place is the same that goes by my place making the ride home simple.

As much as I tried not to touch it, it's pretty much empty now. I have $13 in my wallet. And no way to replenish it since I'm not using cash so much for purchases. I think I'll still have the container around for the rare occasion that I babysit or I sell something. But for now, I'm done with it.

Went out to dinner tonight, spent $9 on food plus $1 on tip. Ugh. Unplanned but I haven't seen my friend in forever so it was a good thing in the end.

Argh! I had a nice post ready to go, clicked something on accident and now it's gone. Anyway...

I am ditching this hot weather and going to the beach tomorrow, carpooling with friends. I'm borrowing $20 from the dollar jar because it's already in the form of $10 and 2 $5s. I'll pull $20 out of the atm and put it back in it.

I picked up a couple extra items while at the store picking up my meds. Spent $35 on meds and $10.74 on other stuff.

I'm buying some face wash (that will last me at least 3 months) from a friend who sells Arbonne. She's giving it to me at the wholesale price so spending $14.63 of my Personal budget on that.

Totals at end of week:
$30.00 for gas (in bank)
$64.09 for food (in bank)
$20.00 for food and gas on beach trip (in wallet)
$15.37 for Personal (in bank)
$35.91 for CC2 (in bank)

I'm also planning on packing snacks to take with me so I only spend money on one meal out tomorrow (that's what the other $10 is for)

I took a total of 58 books into Powells. 14 were rejected, 44 sold. I got $45 for them. Ok so perhaps not the best but it was the fastest. And at this point, I didn't feel like dragging it out by pricing them individually and trying to sell them to my friends, etc. I'd still debating about putting up a mix box of books on eBay. We'll see.

I am debating about getting rid of my car and just using the bus and getting a good bike. I budget $80/mo for gas, though lately I haven't been using it all. And I spend $94/mo for insurance. Plus the little incidentals like it not starting that I have to pay for. I need to find out if my ins covers towing. Either way, it needs to be towed to the shop. Unless it decides to start tomorrow morning. It wouldn't start today either. I'm just going to charge the service fee and pay it off asap. Which also means I should call Citibank on that card as well and see if I can get the interest lowered. I wasn't going to bother since I wasn't using the card, but now I am sort of.

Anyway. Lots to think about.

Went grocery shopping today for just fresh fruit and some lunch meat. Came to $7.85 or so, saved $2.67 by having a club card. $2 goes into dollar jar.

This is all I have left:
Gas: $15 (in wallet)
Gift: $20 (in wallet)
Concert: $20 (in wallet)
Bank account: $5.42

I am still hoping for the MyPoints gas card to show up. Friend offered to pick me up for a couple things we have going on in the morning, that'll help too. Right now it looks like I only have to drive out to my cousin's graduation.

I'm making slow but steady progress on de-cluttering my room. Need to find a better place to start putting the items to sell. I cleared off my bookcase and have three paper bags full of books that I'm going to take to Powell's to see if they'll buy them from me. Whatever they don't take I'll try to sell later. If Powell's gives me cash, it'll go in the dollar jar. If they give me a check, it'll go straight into savings. The books aren't in stupendous shape though so I'm not expecting a whole lot if anything. I think I'll take them by on Sunday, I have more time that day. And I'll hit up the one closest to me first before trudging into downtown.

Met a friend for coffee this morning. I'm not supposed to have caffiene so I would have just ordered a house decaff but when I got there, he was already there with his order and there was a line at the counter. Knowing he was on a tight schedule I just sat and we talked for almost an hour. I walked out of there without spending a dime! Of course I was exhausted by 11 and had a small cup of regular coffee from the breakroom, free but I shouldn't have had it. Though once in a while is ok.

At the Pampered Chef show I decided to spend a little more than I was planning on. And then I saw that the shipping had gone up by $1.25. Sheesh. Ok whatever. Anyway I ordered two items, it came to $18 including shipping. There were other things that were tempting but I didn't want to spend more than $20 total and I didn't.

I didn't pick up TP when I was at the store yesterday because Safeway doesn't have any 12 double roll (or 24 roll) packages for less than $6 and I know I can get MD 12 double roll for $4.99 at Fred Meyers. Silly to hold out for a dollar but the chances of me driving by a Fred Meyers at some point before we run out is great so it's not like I'm going out of my way for it. On my way home from the PC party I passed a Fred Meyers so I stopped for bread, tp, baby carrots, and salad mix. Came to $12.28. Change goes in my sunny day coin bank and $2 goes into the dollar jar leaving me with $5 til the 20th.

I need to go shopping on Friday for more fresh stuff. Argh! I'm trying really hard to eat healthier, and I loose weight when I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. But it's so expensive! It's driving me nuts. I might see if I can go with my friend to Costco and possibly fare better there. I try not to buy too far ahead with fresh stuff because it goes bad before I can eat it usually. But now that I'm intentionally eating more of it perhaps it's not so bad. Work is offering a business membership for $40 but I think I'm going to pass on that and just hit up my friend to take me along next time.

We'll see. I may have to break into my dollar jar to finish out the month. Or my gas money. I'm not going to my brother's after all and I'm trying to make the gas I have stretch til my $10 Shell gascard from MyPoints comes in the mail.

As I was getting ready to head out for the mystery shop I got a call from the same company about doing Trailer Checks. I've never done a trailer check before but it's pretty simple. You talk to the manager and let them know why you're there (you also have a letter of authorization stating that you're legit), they let you in the theater for free, you write down what trailers are shown (sometimes there's different versions of trailers that you need to look for) and if there's any response form the audience. Then you walk out, get the manager to sign it, and head home without watching the movie. Other checks involve actually watching the movie but that wasn't what this was. Normally it pays $7.50 for the first screen and $2.50 each additional screen. But since it was past due the first screen went up to $10.

Beaverton Theater, 4 screens: $17.50
Portland Theater, 1 screen: $10.00
Mystery shop, small purchase: $19

So for roughly 3 and a half hours of work I got paid $46.50. Of course I spent $9.99 at the mystery shop (had to spend at least $3 but found a pair of shoes I was looking for anyway) and I bought myself some Coldstone when I was waiting for the first showing $3.25 + $0.75 tip = $4. But still think I more than broke even. It'll all go into savings when the checks come. I need to find out if I can mail in my paperwork all in one envelope or if I have to mail it seperately. I've never done more than one job like this before. Well not more than one different types of jobs.

So personal fund -$9.99 leaves $20.01 and grocery fund -$4 for Coldstone and -$1 for dollar jar leaves $35.

Trader Joe's: $45.90 A tad higher than I had expected. However that did include vitamens ($11.99), shampoo ($1.99), and conditioner ($1.99). I still took it out of my grocery budget though.

Fred Meyer's: $20.66 (plus $10 for Rx but that's already accounted for elsewhere). Granted I did also buy three quarts of oil for the car ($5.07) and snack bags ($3.79)

That means I have $23 left over for groceries til the 20th. With $3 going into the dollar jar that makes $20. I might just hang onto the babysitting money I earn tomorrow night and use that for groceries if need be since I'll be picking up more fresh produce at least once, possibly twice before the 20th. And after all, I did spend $24.83 on non food items.

$0.46 going into the change bank.

I still have a $20 in my wallet for gas. I've been driving a lot more this week than I did last week. And with the current plan being to go out to my brother's on the 15th, I'm fairly certain I'm going to spend it. Ah well, perhaps next pay period will be the one I only spend part of my gas budget.

Today I got an email asking me to babysit tomorrow night. I love babysitting for my friends because it usually involves me showing up after the kids are in bed and just being an adult in the house while they're gone. I love their kids anyway and would watch them during the day too but it just never works out that way. So yay for more money towards the dollar jar, should it in fact happen. Plus I don't necessarily charge them, they just pay me whatever.

I've gotten more nibbles for selling my timeshare than I have the previous times I've posted it. I'm trying really hard not to put the cart before the horse and dream about how much simpler life will be with that money directed elsewhere. But it's hard. And usually means I check my 'junk' email every time the little notifier tells me I have mail on the days I get those nibbles.

Tonight was our second German class. My friend that I'm taking it with remembered to give me money for the book. I decided to just add it back into my cash on hand so +$12 to grocery fund and then -$5 for eating out after class and -$2 for dollar jar. Leaves me with a grocery budget of $90. I go shopping tomorrow for fresh foods and staples. I need to make a list so I don't buy too much extra stuff. I also need to call in my prescription so I can pick it up tomorrow after work.

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. I thought I had done well with practicing German but when I got to class it all dribbled out my ear. I picked up (at the library) the cds that go with my book so if I can just find the time to listen to them, perhaps that will help.

I have much to do still to de-clutter my room and my storage area. My goal was originally by September to be completely de-cluttered. Now it's by the end of July to have everything out of my storage unit so I don't have to pay $60/mo for it anymore. I don't know if that will happen or not but I am feeling the need to try. Hopefully I can come up with things to try and sell.

I went ahead and pulled food/gas cash today since my roomate's check cleared at the bank already. Figured it'd be handy since the area I was driving out to for the BBQ usually has cheaper gas. Not cheap enough to warrent the drive but since I was already out there...

I realized too that I probably won't be able to save any gas money this pay period, even if I walk to work every day. I'm supposed to finally go out to my brother's house on the 15th and that's 100 miles round trip. We'll see though. It might still work out.

I treated myself to lunch out, $3.99 at BK. Not the healthiest lunch but *shrug*. Then stopped at the store and spent $8.96 on stuff for the BBQ, some produce, and some index cards for class. That left me with $85 for groceries, $2 to go into my dollar jar (ok so it's an old checks box not really a jar but it seems cooler to call it a jar) and 5 pennies to put in my sunny day coin bank. (In Oregon we get so few sunny days that we save for that instead of a rainy day). I also put in $20 in gas, at $2.799 gal.

I'm walking to work tomorrow, but I'll probably be driving to class. And the gym as well, unless I actually wake up when my first alarm goes off which would give me enough time to walk to the gym. I know I'll be driving on Thursday, too many errands to run after work including some grocery shopping. We'll just see how it goes. Chances are I'll end up putting in my second $20 just before my next payday which will make the next check's gas budget stretch more than this one's. Ah well.

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days and here's what I've come up with to challenge myself.

Every night, whatever dollar bills are in my wallet get stashed away.

On the rare occasion that I babysit, whatever I earn will get stashed away.

At the next payday when I pull out the cash for Food and Gas, anything still in my wallet from the previous pay periods Food and Gas allocation will get stashed away.

At the end of the month if the amount stashed away is $100 or more, put it into savings towards building up emergency fund of $1000.

Any checks that come in from silly things like surveys, etc, go straight into emergency fund savings.

Change will still be saved and sorted in the usual manner, not to be touched until absolutely necessary.

We'll see how that goes. Especially since I'll be draining my savings account on the 5th to try and pay off recent charges I made on my newly paid off credit card. So I want to try building it back up as quickly as possible.