Yuck..Monday right?? For most of you, it's the dredded day of the week. But.. for me, it's my day off today and I'm loving it more than you can imagine. Trust me.. It will be the reverse effect when I'm stuck working this weekend and next. I guess that's the ok thing about working shift work, the random days off.
So for those of you that know me, know.. that I cannot budget. I live paycheck to paycheck and that is how I've always been. I have some friends who are Saving Nazi's. They are inspirational to me because they can do it!!! I have a gf who had major school debt, lived at home, got a full time job and paid the whole school debt off.. like thousands and thousands of $$$. She told me she literally sucked it up. Limited going out, not buying things she didn't need, eating at home, buying a cheaper car that's great on gas... you name it, she's done it. She told me she sucked it up and did it because it's so much easier to ignore debt and visa/mastercard everything!! it's even way harder to give the money back to credit cards and school debt. I love getting money, but I don't like giving it back!!! I used to always love getting letters from visa saying "we have increased your limit" but now, I call them right away to cancel that. That would be a distaster waiting to happen.
Sharing a home with BF, having puppy and Avery, getting furniture, fencing our backyard this year and more... costs like a million $$$. Well maybe not that much, but that's what it feels like to me. I like.. have to shop! It's in my genes. For this past week, I told myself that this past paycheck, I am not goin to buy anything... I stayed home, I was very good, but I'm so antsy to shop!!! If I had money and wasn't living paycheck to paycheck, then it would be ok. But now I have bills, I have a mortgage, I have responsibilites, I feel like I am living to work, where I should be working to live right??
So, what I have been doin these past couple of days is Budgeting. It sucks galore, but kind of satisfying at the same time. I need to be more responsible with my money and not buy everything in the book, even though I want it!!
For starters, I am only allowing myself to go to the mall when I need to purchase a certain item. When I go, I'm usually browsing and I make silly purchases and end up feeling depressed because really.. I didn't need it.
First and foremost, I am setting up my bank account to automatically withdrawl all my bills on the day my paycheck is put into my account. That way, when I wake up, I can see what I'm left with. BF and I split on gas, so we are trying to be more efficient with how we spend our gas. So far, it's working with one vehicle, but sometimes I regret getting our SUV because it sucks the gas right out of us. I mean, it's a cross-over so it's not crazy bad, but it's still bad! Trust me though, I still really love it. Take a peek
All in all, the biggest reason I spend money is when I go places (drugstores, malls etc..) If i just be hardcore about staying home and finding things to do around here, I won't spend. I mean, I'm not a huge online shopper but if I find a good deal, then I'm all for it, especially if it's something I need.
One thing I have been starting to do, is purge stuff from my closet I'm not wearing, and selling it on Ebay. I have been pretty good with that so far, and all the money I've made from it, I put towards my debt. Don't get me wrong.. when I need to replace an item or again, find an awesome deal, then I'm totally down for it. I'm not going to go to the extreme and hermatize myself in the house forever, I'm just going to not go crazy overboard with spending. Actually, something I have been doing for awhile now is saving up to buy a good quality item that I've wanted. If I want something from Sephora or from a more expensive store, I've been putting $2 or $3 a day in my little piggy bank and it's really been working. I have also been using lots of coupons towards beauty products and asking for gift certificates from stores I love for birthdays, xmas, stuff like that.
Also, I've been using only bills to pay for items. When I get change, I put it in my change bin at home and don't ever touch it. I've been doing it for about 2 months now and I've already got $100, just by putting my daily change in the bin. Try it, it really works. I leave my credit card at home and never touch it. It's only used for my gym membership and that's it!!!
If you know any good saving tips that can help me out, please comment below or visit my formspring page at www.formspring.com/colbyavery
Speaking of saving up, I've been wanting good quality make-up brushes that I can keep for a long time. I love MAC ones, but they are just too pricey. I have been looking everywhere for ones that are good and not bad in price. I have finally found some that I just purchased online. I got like 7 brushes for a total of $49 tax included. I have actually been watching youtube videos of make up girls who do tutorials of different make up looks and I came across a girl who totally recommends these brushes for cheap. Her name is tiffanyd. I was skeptical at first, but her looks are incredible and I feel like I can totally relate to her. The brushes she always uses are called Sigma Brushes. Usually at the store, one good brush is like $15, so I know 7 brushes for $49 is a steal. She uses them in all her make up tutorials and I can see that they are fantastic!! I went to the website http://www.sigmabeauty.com/ and I purchased the Premium Travel Kit - Sweet in Pink
If you have any fav make-up brushes, tell me. Comment below or again visit my formspring page at www.formspring.com/colbyavery
I think everyone should learn to budget in their lifetime. I think now that I have a plan of action, I will be able to make better decisions when it comes to spending my hard earned money. I definitely have decided to buy more quality products and ditch the quantity of products because with the quality products, you dont' have to use so much so it will last a lot longer.
As for today, puppy, Avery and I are hanging out, spending some quality time together with No Spending! I am cleaning my bathroom today, tossing all the gross, empty bottles of stuff I'm not using and organizing my stuff better. I might go for a run today but it's kind of mucky out, so I might have a fun pajama day and relax before my crazy work week starts tomorrow. yuck!
Hope everyone has a great day and if you like reading my blog and want to support me, either sign up for my emails or if you have a yahoo or gmail account, come follow my blog on the right hand side. I would love that!!!
Hugs,
xoxo
Mel
