I've Moved - It's Official - Check me out at http://edotpizzle.wordpress.com/

Hey guys - I'm sure this is totally unexpected to my huge loyal fanbase of this blog, but I've moved to http://edotpizzle.wordpress.com/ and combined this blog and my "regular" blog.

I've been thinking about it for the past two months and decided to make it officially official -come see me!

Why does everyone want my money, Part 2

So...it's Christmas (fa la la la and all that jazz) and I have to get many gifts. I've gotten a ton of bargains thus far, however, I have two major bills to pay. Actually THREE.
$799 remaining for my LSAT prep course, $500 deposit for my 2nd reception/party and $132 for my LSAT test.

Yay....

Why does everyone want my money, Part 1

I'm SO frustrated with this dumb wedding planning right now and I'm not even doing any of the work.
Here's the issue. We want to have a party to celebrate the wedding. Not a reception, we're already having a brunch reception AFTER the wedding. You know, catered menu, guest headcount, price per person, all of that crap.
Supposedly, there's no place in Richmond that will do what we want, except the Richmond Convention Center.
We thought we'd found a gem in the Crowne Plaza hotel - but these bamas think we're having a RECEPTION there, no matter how many times we tell them we're having a PARTY!!
I MET with the sales manager IN PERSON to relay the information. She was suppoed to communicate what I told her to the catering manager.
Here we are two days later and the freaking catering manager writes my wedding planner: "
The food you have listed here is for the Pre-Reception? Are they then going to have a sit down dinner or buffet?"
Are you FREAKING kidding me?!?! Didn't we tell you that we're having a PARTY, with appetizers and a bar??? The freaking party from 8pm to midnight - why are we having a plated dinner or buffet later?!?!

I hate these stupid people

and why do they all want my money?!?!

I'm Soo Good ;)

Since I've last spoken to you all, I've successfully paid down a nice chunk of debt. Instead of spending the $700+ on myself (or for gifts on other people)...it put it RIGHT towards the wedding credit card :) YAY!! So I'm excited that I put my nose to the ground (is that the right expression) and made it happen!

I made some minor tweaks to my Christmas budget and my parents gave me an unexpected birthday gift (yay) and confirmed that they would give us our normal "Christmas gift"/money - I can't believe it! I just knew since I was engaged they would officially CUT ME OFF...guess I'm blessed that they still care - yahooski!

In other news, my fiance and I are meeting with a financial counselor Dec. 20th, 2008. Hopefully, she'll help us to get our minds right. Its hard to figure out whens the best time to put your money together and when we should start being accountable towards each other for spending (and not spending)...

Oh tis so deep to be engaged and merging two lives as one.

In other news - our wedding budget is going SO great! We're meeting with the DJ Friday who assured us we wouldn't be charged the regular rate (YES SAVINGS!!!). Me and my pook completely over estimated how much our second party/reception was going to be (like we over estimated some thousands more)!

We've committed to read "Think and Grow Rich" together....in fact we read to each other last night...I love that I can grow with someone. The next book we're going to read is "Smart Couples Finish RICH!"

Things are heading in the right direction!

In other GREAT news...

I won $250 worth of awards at work...and I have a very slim Christmas budget. Mostly because the people in my life require one "decent" gift, a piece. So...with this award money, I plan to put it towards my gifts and then I'll to pay only a whopping $300 for the rest of my gifts!! YAY!!!

I think I'll put the rest of my unused/saved money toward the wedding budget/savings.

I was excited. I also found the main gift that my boo wanted for Christmas for $10 less than I anticipated :)

I'm about to find all types of deals and sales - who knows...perhaps I'll come SUBSTANTIALLY under my budget!

YAHOOSKI!

Back to budgeting!

How many times have I meant to write this blog???

Ooooooooooooh 16 hundred million times!!!

The SPBFF sent me a blog today, "The Hustle of Sistah Ant"...or something like that. Let's just say, it was like going to church, when the preacher is talking DIRECTLY to you and you're like, "hey? how did you KNOW that!" grrrr...and then you think, "sheesh, I gotta do better." Two major things I've realized, I got to start budgeting and STICKING to it. I mean really, I have entirely too many things going on in my life to just "watch"the my money go, on my on-line banking account and check the balance!

And #2 - I have to start making better groceries.

Random I know - only not really....

The main reason is because, we compared our budgets at my investment club meeting and I vastly outspent our group, by approx. 5%! So...what the heck am I eating? I think I just go to Harris Teeter and spend spend spend...never truly mindful of the sales items. I also like to cook - it's my joy and I share with my family and friends. Especially my fiance, who has a big appetite and sometimes likes to take food in his lunch the next day.

So...I'm committing to shop the sales for an entire month and see if my groceries improve. If it's not on sale - then I'm NOT buying it. PERIOD. And I'm not eating out anymore. I refuse. Unless someone else is paying, then forget it. I'm bringing lunch every day to work and I'm putting my "savings" on my credit cards...which are getting slightly outrageous now.

I'm just going to put all of my business out there.

My wedding is taking over my life and every time an unexpected expense comes up, we put it on our 'wedding credit card' and vow to pay it off, in Never never land. NO MORE!!

I'm committed to paying at least the MMP, PLUS $400 each month on my credit card until its lower than 30% of my credit limit. It's now, dangerously over 50% and I will have no parts of it anymore.

I'm angry with myself...but this is good. I do good when I'm angry. I set goals, I'm passionate...I'm just like I was when I first began.

So - I'm taking control over my finaces - among other areas of my life.

I make entirely too much money to be this careless and not have more to show for myself.

So...I'm making a 'new' networth page - which I may provide the link (I don't know if I want yall ALL up in my business).

But I'm a pretty public person. I'm a blogger, for crying out loud....

And I like to put myself on the altar...so that I can be forgiven, accepted for my honesty and appreciated :) then I can repent and move on for the better.

So, I'm naked - judge if you will - but i'm making a change back to the old me!

BUDGET ON PENNY PINCHIN' SISTA :)

tee hee...

update....

Updates -
Well...In good news, I got a raise at my job. And I've definitely noticed the difference in my checks - so that makes for happy times.
In other news...I SO need to get back to budgeting. I haven't been actively WRITING out what I have to do.
A good thing is that I'm over 50% to my January wedding goal. YESS! I cannot WAIT to pay that credit card OFF :) Not much longer to go.
In bad news - I acquired two additional expenses, LSAT prep course and the February LSAT.
I guess I'll be happy in 4 years, after I pass the bar, graduate law school and I'm RICH...LOL.
This adult thing - not so cool. It's takes an UBERLY LARGE AMOUNT OF DISCIPLINE to manage your money. I'm glad I realized this at an early age though. I'm listening to some adults around me and I realize no one has really taken the proper steps to make sure they don't end up in the welfare line after they retire....craziness, I tell ya. Perhaps ignorance earlier on in life...but what a horrible way to learn a lesson.
I think I still have friends who don't invest in their 401(k).....what do you think will save you? Pension?
Well...that's enough of my rant. I'm going to go look at my bank account now...

lol

Spendin', not Pinchin'.....ERRR!

I've been pretty bad with finances lately. I'll be honest. I got this unexpected bill and needless to say, I had to pay it off quickly and I wasn't counting on it. So I've been charging more than I normally do - even my fiance noticed it and was like, "hmmm - credit??"
I wanted to punch him in the face...then I figured it wasn't his fault that the bill had piss poor planning in it's arrival, lol.
I blog all of that to say, you never know exactly when bills are going to come out of nowhere, so it's always better to be prepared and have "extra" money just in case....which leads me to another point.
I've been an advocate of budgeting down to zero for quite some time....ever since I was introduced to Dave Ramsey - but now my budget has been SHOT for the past month b/c of an unexpected bill!
I guess I could now factor this new bill into my budget for the next two months.
Either way, I'm still annoyed.
Perhaps I will go back to not accounting for approx. $100 - or I'll put it to the "blow" category. I don't want to get caught in this situation again. Grrr.....

And I seriusly need some new clothes - like yesterday. I think I'm going to hit up the mall - I haven't been shopping since the summer. It's time for a fall wardrobe!

That's all....