the golden mean - TMMO check-in

Well, aside from the major expenses associated with buying a new laptop, I actually spent very little money this month. I spent the majority of my "fun money" the first weekend and decided that I was still going to stick to the budget and cut out any extra expenses the rest of the month to make up for it. As a result, I did pretty much NOTHING social the rest of this month (Admittedly, it wasn't all drudgery since I did enjoy playing with my new toy.) and the lack has been very hard for me!

I don't know how these diehards on the TMMO do it. I've seen very little of Jenn because our primary means of communication was lunch once or twice a week. At first she kept offering to pay which made me feel even worse so I started making up excuses as to why I couldn't go (meetings, etc). Nice, huh? Lying to my friends! Plus eating at my desk every day, while doing wonders for my job performance this month, has been depressing. If only I were a true introvert, maybe I wouldn't even notice these things. Of course, if I were a true introvert, I probably wouldn't have gotten into this mess to begin with!

Even once I hit paycheck #2 for the month, I still stuck with it because once I'm committed to a venture, I can't seem to rein in my spending to less than $40 a pop. I guess it's a pride thing but once I'm there, I feel like a killjoy if I say I can't do something or insist on separate checks. But all this obsessing about money has not been good for the relationships I have;  I feel like my soul is becoming small and stingy

Maybe that's the way to become a millionaire but if that is the cost, I don't think I want it.

Don't get me wrong; I really, really want to get rid of this huge debt hanging over me. I hate it and the sooner it is out of my life, the happier I will be. But in the meantime, I don't think it's a good idea to cut myself off from life to this extent just to get out of debt a month or two faster.

So my new goal is to strike a happy medium between this self-imposed asceticism and the free-fall spending of my past.  A big part of that for me is to cut it into a more sizeable chunk. When I think about the total amount, it's just so overwhelming - it feels as though I'll be condemned to drudgery for years.

So instead I'm just going to focus on paying off the "little stuff" (car, etc) and excluding the student loan, at least for the moment.  The student loan and the house are important but they will get paid off eventually and maybe once I get past the rest, they won't seem so overwhelming. The important thing is to stick to the biggest principle I've learned this last year: spending less than I make each month (still no credit cards!) and to just keep at it. In the meantime, a little more "mad money" and giving myself permission to spend for the right things - like time with friends - is in order,.

So here's the check-in for this month. Despite the lack of social interaction, lunches, etc the total paid off, minus interest payments, etc,  is a paltry $238.54 for a grand total of  $11,089.10 to date.  Which doesn't even budge my percentage on the tracker I'd been using! So just to make me feel better, here it is, new & improved, without the student loan.  There now, that looks much more do-able. :)

For all you northerners living in Florida....

From xkcd.com

New Laptop!

I'm not sure whether to report this as bad news or good. It is exciting since it's been 6+ years since I've had a new computer (and I am not someone who is usually satisfied with older technology). But on the other hand, it is another serious set back to the old debt payoff. :|

However, it's done now so I am enjoying it. I got an HP Pavilion DV7 which I had actually researched a while ago when I was first thinking about getting a multimedia laptop. That aspect of it is very nice because watching things from online on my tv is as easy as plugging in the HDMI cable. It does all the rest automatically (which is pretty cool).  So now I am really not missing having cable at all.

But the biggest thing I love about the laptop is NO MORE WIRES! Here's a picture of my new & improved "desk":

 

I moved the wireless router & cable modem over to the bookshelf and was able to get rid of SO MUCH STUFF that was taking up space. I thought about keeping the monitor to plug into when I'm in the office but the one on the laptop is actually bigger (and nicer).

(P.S. - Extra points if you can name the dog shown in this picture.)

End of Sept TMMO Check-in

Ugh. It feels like this is just SO SLOW. Of course, didn't help that I had a trip up to Boston this month that cut in to my "snowball"...plus living without a credit card means that I have to come up with cash for expenses that come up like 80k car maintenance (~$500!), termite warranty, heartworm prevention for the dogs, etc.

On the plus side, when I look back to when I started, I've paid off over $11k so far, I've taken the plunge into selling things (still haven't tackled craigslist yet but I did get some $$ for some books, DVDs and games)...and I've got a much more realistic budget going. I think that has been the hardest part for me so far. I didn't realize how reliant I was on using credit to hold me over until the next paycheck, etc. (The sales I have passed up this month alone!)  Even though I usually paid off the balance each month, it feels like I am in more control over my spending now. And I'm actually enjoying the challenge of stretching every dollar.

It's going to be slow-going here for the next few months as I'm trying to build up a little more cushion plus have Christmas with all those hidden costs. I've added categories to my budget for every big expense I can think of that could come up - from vet visits to car maintenance to my sweetwater membership so hopefully once January comes, these big expenses will stop sideswiping me and I can really get going.

i won a camera

we had a baby shower for ronessa today (who is having twins!) and I won the contest that had us identify the pictures of double/twin things (e.g., Minnesota Twins logo, Double Indemnity,...) and the prize was a cute little point & shoot camera (which I looked up on Amazon and is selling for $299!) just in time for my trip to Boston next weekend!!

Anyway, here are some pics from the office today (we are not getting much work done this afternoon...despite how people are pretending in the pictures):

The whole crew

Shari, here to help you

Kenneth

Keven & Joe don't like having their pictures taken

Revenge...

Audrey turns a blind eye

Margie!

Margie has some big shoes to fill

(she is actually wearing her shoes inside of these ones belonging to Joe)