Apartment Dweller

*James Bond music playing* I have been missing in action. Life has been crazy. I have been stocking up on everything (EVERYTHING) needed to start a home. Is an apartment really a home? Well duh...sure it is :)

Wanna see a few shots of  the new place?

Front door - entryway

Kitchen

Living room & Sunroom

Bedroom

OK, so there's not pictures of everything yet. Consider this a sneek peak {in the dark apparently}

Now for a completed super-cheap project!

That my friends, is "project board" from the Dollar Store {yep, it was just a dollar!} Along with fabric that I heart.

That's chocolate & rust colored print

Tada! An easy way to add big color to any wall! Its not going to go over the couch - I'm thinking I'm going to add it to the wall in the entryway along with other goodies.

The BEST part....the project cost a whopping $4!

We found one!

We met with a lady who was an apartment consultant today! It was wonderful. She really made the search process easy, and the best part it was free. I told her the price range, exactly what we were looking for, and she put the day together. She researched all of the specials and knew our style so well that she picked the best apartments for us to see. That saved us SO much wasted time.

We found one that we are in LOVE-LOVE with. It is perfect. The residents are our age, the inside of the apartment is very unique - perfect size, vaulted ceilings, HUGE closets. It is fabulous.

It has a movie theatre, tennis courts, and a pool (with palm trees and Cabana boys). It literally felt like I was on vacation the moment I walked up to the place.

We have to make a decision fast though...and I think we are going to put in our reserve tomorrow. This is scary and exciting all at the same time.

Raman noodles for supper every night :) But it will be worth it!

 

Sickling

Do you know how uncool it is to be sick for a solid month? Well, that's me! Walking pneumonia early march - and symptoms again (but worse) starting this week. I had to go to the Doc again and received another steroid shot and more antibiotics (stronger this time). Sure hope I prevail this time! I've been asleep for 3 hours after work, now I'm going to watch Army Wives and go to bed.

Glad its almost the weekend. I'm gonna try to get all kinds of crazy rest!

The Hunt is on Again!

Ok, for real this time....my best friend and I am looking for an apartment. I soon realized a few months ago that I don't want to do this on my own, mainly because I want to be able to eat! So, we've already looked  at a few - and this Saturday we will look ALL day. Rental houses are also not out of the question. This is going to be F.U.N.

I'm sick too. Horrible. I mean, horrible.

Photo sharing on the WWW

With all of the networking sites now-a-days you never know what will resurface about yourself. Sometimes it can be good...sometimes bad. Someone can just post a picture of  an incident without your knowledge for all the world to see. Makes you want to be REAL careful about how you portray yourself.

This time it was a GREAT find. One of my friends uploaded some college cheerleading pics that I never got to see before. I don't have many pictures from that time so it was a lot of fun to bring back some memories.

I love being able to photo share :)

I am Alive

Oh my gosh. This feels good. I just got a computer battery in the mail FINALLY and have internet access. I have realized that in the year 2009, it is almost...absolutely, positively, necessary to have internet access. I have felt obsolete & out of the loop for what...a month now?

I wanted to post and announce that I am alive.

My last post announced that February was a month of financial discipline. It was actually doable. Very hard and very limited though.

It was easy to keep a budget with cash. Every Sunday I retrieved my allowance from the atm & could only use it to buy food & entertainment. This kept me in check because when I was out...I was out.

I also quit contributing to my 401K (not cool but necessary), and reduced my student loan payments.

March must come in like a lion. Already I haven't used cash once, and caught walking pneumonia. I spent over $200 on meds and insurance copay. Also bought some summer sundresses and a flat screen tv (oops!).

A surprise this paycheck is that not as much was taken out of my paycheck for taxes because of Obama's plan. So that was really sweet :)

Lets just hope I get back on track and March goes out like a lamb!

February: For Love & Money

February is the month for me to get my finances in order. Right now it is a train wreck. Truth is...I have no budget & no limit. I'm a slacker & I am gonna go ahead and shoot straight with you. By carelessly keeping track of my money flow - I am setting bad habits that could really hurt me in the future. This is going to stop...right now.

My GOAL: To only spend $100 a week. This is to include food, gas, misc fun. Everyone's situation is different. I hate to put a number on it - but I just have to. I am allotting myself a Benjamin per week.

I sat down and figured out my spending from January. I cringed as I was looking at my swiping. This month was a little different because of my vacation. The good news is that the money spent on it should automatically go to my savings account this month (which will be nice).

Now, I am to get an apartment soon - so my bills and due outs will significantly increase. 

No questions, the misc. area is going to have to decrease immediately.

The rules are simple...

1. Every Sunday I will withdraw $100 cash out of my account ( I NEVER carry cash which is mistake numero uno)

2. I will not go into Wal Mart unless it is a serious emergency. If I do...I CAN NOT buy anything.

3. Groceries will be bought carefully. I am not a coupon clipper - but if I see something I must have then I will.

4. All toiletries will come from the Dollar store. Anything from dishwashing to toilet paper can be found there. No excuses.

5. I will transfer all unused funds weekly to my savings account.

6. I will save all receipts for reporting purposes.

OK, so most people may already do these things, but since I do not have a lot of bills to pay - it is really easy to not pay attention to the details. I am entirely too old to be acting like this!

What kind of financial goals do you set?