fidgiegirl

I have made 30 petsitting flyers and am going to plaster the area. It really only pays to do it locally because by the time you add up gas and time to go very far, it dilutes your earnings so much you might as well forget it. I had one woman up the street call me about some cats but no dates yet because her trip’s not firm.

I am also submitting applications to two different REI locations. I checked part-time and temporary/seasonal on both . . .

My backpay comes through this time so it will go to my snowball plan. I will be bringing home about another $100 per check from my master’s raise. This is somewhat disappointing but I will work with what I have, I guess.

I spoke on the phone with Grandma for a record 7:55.

My aunt and cousin removed 7 feral cats from her property. There are about 10 left. This is how the conversation went:

Me: “Well, do you feed them?”
G: “No, I don’t eat them!”
Me: “No, Grandma, do you FEED them?”
G: “No, I don’t need them around.”

Yikes. She was happy, though.

I have in the past filled out two apps and always decided against it. This time I am going to go for it. If I am lucky enough to be offered a position (which at this point I am done assuming will be the case after three jobs have already not worked out this fall), I can say no – but if I don’t apply, I won’t have the opportunity to say yes. Plus, it’s seasonal, so it would possibly only be over the holidays. A good way to kick my snowball in the butt . . . if I could resist the gear discount . . .

I was doing really well at tracking for over two years. I had my system set up in Moneydance, a shareware program, and had lots of data to make graphs, etc. Well, my computer died, and since I’m focusing on my snowball, I don’t want to buy a new one. And I can’t install Moneydance on my work computer, or at least I don’t want to. Not sure which (that makes no sense except I know what I mean ;) ). So, at least I set up my checking account in an Excel spreadsheet on a flash drive that I can carry in my purse and update at work or at home on the checked-out laptop (as long as we can keep it).

I haven’t been doing the questions for a long time, though the lens is still in place, the lens the questions provide for examining all my purchases. To me, that’s the essence of doing the monthly questions, so I’m not too sad that I haven’t actually sat with my numbers and done them.

Need to figure out a cash tracking system, which has always been my downfall, anyway. At least with tracking everything I can still do my Wall Chart.

Dave Ramsey’s approach has captivated my interest more as of late . . . not that I think less of YMOYL . . . but I think YMOYL is a deeper transformation. I think in my case I needed that before I could be ready to try Dave Ramsey’s baby steps. I needed to have a mental framework for approaching spending, one that made me feel like it wasn’t deprivation to be frugal but rather me being in charge of my money and my life. So I am grateful to YMOYL for that. Plus, think of how much my expenses line will drop on my Wall Chart once I’m not shelling out hundreds in debt payments!! That’ll be a great day!

at the airport. It is always kind of an anti-climactic goodbye because she is so wrapped up in the whole airport get-to-my-plane-and-wait thing. But at any rate we had a chance to chat and I got to say goodbye. Maybe we will need to plan a long weekend out to her this year sometime. She was talking positively about next year’s visit but she is 85 and in declining health, so we just never know.

As far as my other Grandma, I have been doing dismally. Her hubby had a stroke and is now in the nursing home, so she is alone at her place. I haven’t even been to visit him and haven’t called her since it happened, though I saw her once at my sister’s bridal shower.

I feel bad that this goal has to be so overt and that my grandmotherly connections don’t come naturally, but they don’t. So I will just keep working on it. This week I will call my Grandma one night and she will be tickled pink.

I sold an item today on Etsy, one last week on Amazon, and will work extra at work next week. I can work either four or eight hours . . . if I stay for eight, they might put me to work doing something I don’t want to do. Or they might forget about me and let me work in my classroom. Either that or a colleague will cover my sole afternoon class that day. The thing is, I would get paid my hourly rate so that is good – it’s good to work hourly at my regular job. Worth it in the snowflake area. So I think I will stay and smile knowing I will be packing it onto my snowball.

None of the side jobs I’ve applied for have panned out. Bummer. One good thing is that I can be available to sub for a few days in November, again earning my hourly rate.

I will get backpay and my lane change will take effect on either the 15th or the 31st. That will help greatly.

It will work out . . . I just have to keep up my discipline.

I potentially have a placement classroom, all that is left is for the principal of the school to approve it. Goody!

Sooner than I thought . . . my EF will be replenished on the 1st, and then I can keep working on Hawaii. Yeah!

It is so nice to see my companions on this goal making it – reaching it – doing it. It motivates me, because I want to write a “how I did it” story too!!! Congrats to all who have been able to do it so far.

I keep working on my snowball and my hope now is that I can start kicking the debt wholeheartedly. First I have to come up with tuition money ($1000) and more money for my sister’s wedding in Hawaii (another $1000-$1500 total). After March, when I will have paid the tuition and gone to the wedding, those expenses will be behind me and the debt will suffer!!

Graduate school student loans come due soon, which sucks, but it’s the price I will have to pay. I did my first two years with loans but then had the revelation in my third year that I could pay cash and avoid more loans. So it could have been worse.

So, things are moving along, I am focused and continue to find lots of snowflakes to add to my snowball, so that is good. I WILL GET THIS DONE!!!!!

It is 5:45 and I have been up since 3:30. Usually I don’t suffer from insomnia, but when I do, it’s just awful. And it’s because I’m fretting over stuff I can’t do anything about at 5:45, or 3:30, or 4:22, or whatever time of the morning. I’m fretting about the fact that I have a meeting or something every morning next week at work. I’m fretting over McCain maybe getting elected. I’m fretting over my difficult students. I tried eating, drinking a tea, writing a letter to my Representative, putting on socks, using a different blanket, going to the bathroom, using a mantra, focusing on my breathing . . . nothing. I thought I would go into work early, but then I have to abandon my carpool partner (aka boyfriend, who is sound asleep in bed.) So I figured if I wasn’t going to get any sleep anyway (because now it’s so close to the alarm I was stressing out about what if I couldn’t go back to sleep), I might as well wake up and do some school work and go in at the normal time.

I have to believe this will be a good day. I am not at my best on a lack of sleep and so I need to do everything in my power to counteract my feeling that today will suck.

This goal should be higher on the list.

I have sold a few more books, got a $25 rebate check in the mail, plus the floral setup $$ will be just short of $200. If I put all that to my EF, then I am close to being back on my original track. Feels a lot better. There is a light!

as a Spanish tutor with an agency. We’ll see if anything results.

I now need to do the following:

1) Replenish Emergency Fund ($350)
2) Get enough for Hawaii flight or package ($500 more should do it)
3) Turn the energy of my snowflakes & snowball back to my tuition fund (need another $1000-$1100 by early Feb.)
4) Turn the snowball back to Hawaii (tax refund will help with this)
5) Reevaluate the snowball at that point, taking into consideration my new student loan payments, account balances, etc. (my car loan may overtake my small student loan in the “smallest balance” distinction by then)

Yesterday . . . $44 from helping BF’s sister set up a wedding. Will do another next weekend, solo! Should be fine.

that doesn’t really talk on the phone unless there’s a reason. And for my 30YO self and my 18YO brother, there’s usually not a reason . . . so I need to reach out and give a ring once in a while.

Though I didn’t have the buck! I need yoga! Starts next week.

I had the chance to go scrap, and I did it instead of sitting at home on my butt.

I spent a TON of money this week. Just a TON. Mostly on stuff that could have waited. First, I spent up all my cushion money on my odds and ends. Then my computer crashed and I had to buy an external hard drive plus pay for the repair. The good news is it’s fixed. Could I have gotten by without it for a while? Yes. I will also be on the hook for a bunch of medical bills, but at least they won’t come due for a few months. Plus my dog had to go back to the vet. And my EF is depleted from all this monkey business so that needs fluffed up again. Aaaaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhhh!!!!!!

It’s really hard to maintain the “gazelle intense” outlook – to keep up the drive. So many other things get in the way. I’m hoping this is a minor setback and I will be back on track with my snowball soon. But I am again thinking of trying to find a second job . . . at least in 2/3/4 checks I will see another raise plus a little backpay, the fruit of my three-year Master’s degree labor.

AATSP $65
MCTLC $165 (!) ($125 to be reimbursed)
NNELL $30
Passport Renewal $75
Roadside Assistance (Better World Club) $76
Mexico Album $48
Overdraft LOC $100
Visa bill, including some of the above

TOTAL: $559!!!! And I’m not done!!!!

CRAP!!

Ok, looking at this list now, I could have waited on some of it . . . but then it would just crop up again . . . oh well, it’s done now!!!

Lots of exclamation marks!!!!!!!!!!

Plus doggy is going to the vet AGAIN today. Geez. And more medical bills coming up. Bah.

And I didn’t get the evening Spanish teaching job. :(

• This stuff is done
• I got my annual raise and will get backpay in two weeks/one month for my lane change raise, so more money will regularly be coming in
• I have enough for tuition
• I won’t starve
• I will have a roof over my head
• I’ll have my album!!!
• I sold a book so the snowflakes keep coming even if they are small . . .

Sigh.

at a bridal shower for my sister. However I didn’t get to really spend as much individual time as I would have liked because of running around. Plus, my Grammy, who is leaving back to PA in three weeks, isn’t as deaf as my Grandma, who is very vocal about when she can’t hear (!) so I had to sit next to her to be available for the “what?” after every sentence. Oh well, that’s ok. She needed that to be engaged in the party (and not be a pain in the rear). Plus, I should make an effort to call her more because her hubby had a stroke last week and likely isn’t coming home. Really should go up each of the next two weekends because I can’t see Grammy off at the airport in three weeks (other plans that day) and who know if she’ll be back next year.