It's almost December

I'd say that I did pretty well reaching my goals for November.

1) Stop buying superfluous things: YES! (mostly) The only extra things I bought this month that I didn't need were some clothes that I got on clearance at Kohl's, so it only put me back about $20 bucks. Not bad!
2) Try to have money left over at the end of the month: NO I came closer than usual though, and I would have had some cash leftover if I didn't have to fix my flat tires (yes, plural, I had yet another after Friday night...).
3) Read at least three non-school books: YES! I read four!

ETH

Tonight I went to an Enter the Haggis concert in Philly with a friend. They haven't been in our area in such a long time, so it was cool to see them again. It was a really great show, and they played a bunch of my favorites all right in a row. Of course we were right up in the front row, being the little groupies that we are. Brian was even posing for me to take pictures during the show, which I thought was pretty cool. And the even better part was that my friend paid for my ticket for a Christmas present, so I had the extra money to spend on dinner and drinks. Don't worry, I bought her some as well. :)

Got a Nail in my Tire

Yesterday I drove more or less the whole way home with a flat tire (in a snow storm too! eeek). It was super low when I started my trip, and I didn't fill it because (yes, this is embarassing) I don't know how. So three and a half hours later, it was flat.

My dad filled it this morning, and then informed me that there's a nail in it. I panicked for a split second until he said I'd only need a patch, not a whole new tire... phew! This is another close call-- I have had some crazy luck when it comes to flat tires this year!

Good Day

Today was the first time I bought gas UNDER TWO DOLLARS in over THREE YEARS. It's a monumental day. Gas at home only costs $1.91!

Also, I got a free hug today. There was this guy standing out in front of the hub holding a sign that said free hugs, so I got one. It's funny how something that simple can put you in a good mood. It makes me happy when people do random acts of kindness like that. :-)

Busy Busy

Sorry I have been a little bit crap about updating, but I am really busy lately. I'm currently in the middle of the last stretch- I have so much to do in the last few weeks before the semester is over. Including this 20+ page monster of a paper about some topic in literary theory & language philosophy. It scares the crap out of me to even think about it at this point, because I have yet to figure out a topic, let alone begin researching. I am heartily anticipating Thanksgiving break, when I get 10 days of luxurious vacation from the craziness that is my life. Unfortunately, most of it will probably be spend doing work, but at least I will be away from classes and my roommates and all the other stresses.

9-1

Wow, Penn State's loss made front page Yahoo news. Thanks for rubbing it in, Yahoo, it wasn't embarassing enough when it happened. :-(

We did it!

Congratulations to Obama!!

I went to a party last night with some of the students here, and it was awesome. I love how they do it, with each state's votes coming in one at a time- it makes the night even more exciting. Plus we had toasts for each big state that went blue, with blue jello shots, which was a cool idea.

I am so relieved that he won... it was so cool to watch and be a part of it. I don't know if this usually happens, but I've ever seen so many people start crying from happiness when someone was elected. Both people at the party and on tv were crying (and I'll admit, I got a little bit choked up at times). It was just such an important night for a lot of people, and he brings so much hope with him. I hope he really can help our country and the world, maybe things will finally start going right. Plus it will be cool to tell my kids that I voted for him. :-)

I just voted :)

Well, I finally got to vote, after a combined total of 3 1/2 hours waiting in line (1 this morning without having time to vote and then 2 1/2 this afternoon)!!! What made it worse was that I had to listen to hours of mind-blowingly ignorant talk from the two boys behind me. I know everyone has the right to vote, but I'm not sure that people with the mentality of a 12 year old should be allowed to help decide the fate of our country. It was hell; I don't even feel excited about having voted anymore. I'm just tired and cold and cranky. Oh well, at least I did my job (and got fed free food in the process). Now I just have to sit back and see what happens!!! I have my fingers crossed...

It's November already, folks...

Here are some goals for November:

1) Stop buying superfluous things: I seem to constantly spend money on things I don’t need. I don’t spend a whole lot at once on big-ticket items, but a bunch of little purchases still adds up. My weaknesses include: clothing, shoes, books and dvds. From here on out I’m going to try my best to stop buying these things. If I want something, I can ask for it for Christmas or just do without. Maybe I will post things here to be more responsible for them and also just to keep better track of how much I’m spending.

2) Try to have money left over at the end of the month: The last two months I’ve been scrounging around for money towards the end of the month. In November I want things to be different. I want to have at least a little bit of money left over so that I can put it towards something useful- saving for a new car, my IRA, or putting it towards my student loan. This kind of ties in with goal numero uno, above.

3) Read at least three non-school books: True, this is not a financial goal, but my personal reading has suffered since school started. I am so bogged down with readings for classes that I hardly do any outside reading anymore. But I’m going to try to read at least three books this month, including at least one nonfiction book. Any recommendations?

October in Review

Well, since October is now over, I thought it would be good to do a little recap of how well I did in achieving these goals.

1. Don't spend more than $40 a week on entertainment/dining out. YES! This was more or less successful!!

2. Try not to waste so much food. YES! I tried some new recipes, but they were very delicious this time around and so I didn't waste the food. I think maybe I am getting better at guessing what will taste good or what won't.

3. Have some money left over at the end of the month to put into my IRA. ...not really, no. I don't really have any money leftover at all.