have a 3 month emergency fund

Moving to a new state, has forced me to use a majority of the funds I had spent the last two years trying to save. Amazing how without an income, you can spend in one month what has taken so long to save. I have a job interview tomorrow, but I am ever grateful that I started working on this goal.

Perhaps by the end of another month I will be employed and be able to start on this goal once again.

I have probably made half the money over the summer that i would normally make during the school year. It annoys me that people think I’m so well suited for this job, but I hate the fluctuation, and I get so annoyed with how humans sometimes run their families.

Anyway, so It’s gonna take me another 6 months, to build back up to where I was at the end of the school year. What a bummer. I wish I could just stop wishing for things.

I am grateful that I have had the buffer, though. I’m not “broke”. I just don’t feel like I have the sort of savings I want.

How will I make any progress acquiring my other financial goals, when I can’t even keep my savings above 2,000?

a new (newer than my 1998 jetta that has something wrong with it every month) car? not a chance.

How do I improve my credit enough so that I might one day own a house, when I can’t make enough money to pay myself, much less pay down student loans or any extraneous collections from the past?

Will I always have this worry on me?

I want to go back to school, but I’m between a rock and a hard place.

and I still haven’t bought my glasses.

pay checks are decreasing again b.c it is is summer. I did get a raise… so in august, and with the new school year, I hope to make more progress.

still hovering around $1500.

Although I haven’t been spending much, My last two paychecks were smaller than I’d like, and so more has come out of my savings than gone into it.

I did deposit another $50 into savings which I hope will start the upward climb again. I am going to work as many hours as possible the next two weeks, to see if I can have a better deposit with the next pay period.

I made $70 friday night when I babysat, so that is at least cash I’m not going to have to pull out. I hope that I can make that last for the next two weeks… but we are getting low on groceries again, so we shall see.

but, I’m not chomping off too much. I am just evaluating what my priorities are. All with the intent of reserving as much in savings as possible.

we bought a bed frame sunday, should come any day, but It is really time to replace the mattress, too. I don’t want to take a chunk out, but I’m trying see how long we can wait, and what other smaller purchases can be taken care of, while keeping savings high.

but mine was only $300 just enough to cover the glasses I so badly need. I will be looking at walmart this week, to see if I can find something less, so the rest can go to savings.

I was disappointed that I only got half of what I expected. I don’t know why I thought I would be eligible. It really emphasizes that I do not earn enough where I work. I don’t necessarily want more tax liability, but there are all the other things. And, I’m still hoping that my taxes will one day pay for my medical care.

So, I really haven’t made any progress… not even breaking even. I had to take $ out of my savings account and put it in checking. So, I’m still over $1000 in savings, but it is nowhere near where I want to be.

I have limited my spending, and I haven’t drained my checking account. I need to try writing a “real” budget, now that I have something to work with. I’ve wanted to do this forever!

My energy was spent on saving, and now I have the money to do a few things. The vacuum has been a very important purchase… I’ve used it every day! but It set me back $300.

Gotta go grocery shopping, too, so I feel like my efforts at saving are going on hold till the end of the month… I shouldn’t have to touch my savings for any reason… but it’s gonna be hard to squeek by on what’s in checking right now.

I’ve been putting my efforts into decluttering instead of shopping, but we are still out of cheese, and laundry detergent, and dog food, and a whole lot of other things I wish I didn’t have to buy this weekend… at least it’s not really extraneous shopping… just home maintenance.

gotta plan for getting some new glasses… maybe for the month of may. perhaps by the end of summer we will be in good enough shape to replace the mattress, without tapping into savings.

trying to keep it simple… but it is so hard to balance all of these goals. I just wish I got payed more, so I could do it all!

so I could buy a vacuum. It means I’m still doing well, but I really feel like the vacuum might help with allergies, so I have more energy for everything else.

I think if I continue to eliminate clutter, it will help me to be more focused on my financial goals. It feels good to buy something that actually helps maintain my home instead of making it more difficult to manage.

Next pay period, I will continue to put money in my savings, but I have to remember that I still have expenses to take care of, so I shouldn’t feel like I am failing myself if I occaisionally spend outside my fixed expenses.

I am not by any means condoning excess, but rather, a level of respect for needs and wants while still working (even slowly) on my goals. I don’t want to set myself up for failure, so I am going back to the $50 out of each pay check goes to savings, and then I won’t feel overwhelmed, and ashamed if I need to use some money for improved my quality of life.