It's been...

swell, fun, amazing, and life changing. Okay, maybe not life changing.

It's been a challenging semester; as always working full time and attending full time. A balancing act, you never quite learn. This blog has helped me in more ways then I originally thought.

My very first post. What have I accomplished over the course of the semester?

1. Stop impulsive spending - Yes. I can say with confidence this is under control. I now take the time to evaluate whether I need what I want. It's really helped my spending, and honestly I find myself getting more creative. That's the best part, the creativity.

2. Get 3 months worth of bills in savings - No. I had a few hundred dollars in my savings account, but my damn car needed repair for new registration. But I am working on building it again. I'm confident that I'll be able to bulk it back up here shortly.

3. Reduce budget - Yes and No. I've saved on my grocery budget since I've started cooking more. But gas for the car has gone up with recent prices, and the constant commute; however that will also reduce over the summer, and again once fall semester starts.

It's been a struggling semester, but another step closer to graduation.

Thank you for being a part of this. I plan to keep this blog going throughout the semester, although it might merge with my personal blog.

Cheers,

Ms. Manda

Retirement here I come!!

I got a letter in the mail last week from Fidelity Investments, it was a introduction to my option at a 401K. ::squee::

Knowing that I love this position, the job I'm doing and where it will tak

e me; I decided to take the plunge and sign up for my 401K. I weigh the pros, cons and how much it will take out of my already thin budget.

Solution - I'm not attending school during the summer which means working FT which means 10 more hours of work a week, an extra $540 a month!!

My 401K doesn't take effect until May 20th and will be $52 per check or $104 a month. I know it's not much, but it's a start and as my salary increases so will my contribution.

In May 2012 (when I'll graduate) I will have $1248 or so in my 401K.

Not a ridiculous amount, but I opened it and I can take with me to each job. Or change it to a savings or IRA.

Do you have a 401K?

Cheers,
Ms. Manda

Swimming in dough....

Not. I did save some money over the last 2 weeks with cooking, and only cooking one meal.

I made chili 2 Sundays ago, and still have 2 servings left in my freezer. Who knew chili could be so versatile, yummy and filling? Oh everybody?!

I usually go grocery shopping weekly, but this week I only had to grab a few items; cheese, bread and juice. I didn't spend more then $10. It was awesome.

I'm going to continue tracking my food spending for the whole month of March; compare it to February and see. I'll be doing this manually and with the help of Mint.com; I love Mint.

Every time I save money, this is what I think of. Scrooge McDuck. :)

While, I'm doing this, I also want to focus on getting to work 30 minutes early each day; might not seem like much, but trust me that's 30 more minutes of sleep. Why you may ask?

30 minutes x hourly wage x 5 days = $32.50

That's about $65 before tax extra per pay check. Or about about $100 extra a month. A hundred extra dollars. Count me in.

So those are my goals for March; they are a little late. The month caught me by surprise.

Cheers,
Ms. Manda

Tips, tips and more tips.

I spent probably 3 hours on Saturday looking for the best money tips to help me manage my money. I've tried a lot of the usual tips; separate money into envelopes, only spend what you have, don't use credit cards, only carry cash, freeze credit cards, etc. Any many, many, more but nothing has really stayed with me long enough to see some change.

But I'm giving it another shot, and here are 3 tips that I will be using for the remainder of the blog. And hopefully many years after. I picked 3 because I didn't want to overwhelm myself, or feel too constricted. That's when I spend the most.

1. Track my spending. I've been tracking my spending on Mint.com for over a year, but I still spend. I spend a lot, all the time.

• Pink mini notebook? Check
• Pen? Check
• I, Amanda, hereby solemnly swear to track my income, spending, deposits, every transaction. Every day. Every.single.day.
• Beginning the day February 15, 2011 and continue for the length of this blog.
• Each week I'll recap here.

2. Eliminate temptations. Grocery shopping and that's it. Never meet friends for shopping. Okay, that's a little out of control.

• Don't go to Target. Ever.
• Or the mall. Ever.

3. Reward Yourself. This one is really important to me. I can be really strict with my budget and then splurge. Over and over. So the idea of a little reward is nice.

• Buy a nice watch after 3 months of $100 below budget (and buy the watch under $100)
• A new thrifted desk for my "office" after paying off Capital One card

Me, me, me!!

Hi! I'm Amanda and this is my 6 month journey to spend less and save more money.

I've always been bad with money; spend more then I make, impulsive shopping, frivolous spending, and never saving for a rainy day. I want to be better with my money, especially since I'm graduating in December. I need to learn how to save money, budget better and more.

As a princess, I want the biggest, best and brightest things, which won't be fun to give up or reduce. But the whole point is to cut back on my spending and save more.

I have 3 goals to accomplish this...

1. Stop impulsive spending

2. Get 3 months worth of bills in savings

3. Reduce budget

I'll be challenging myself weekly, keeping track of it here, and reflecting on my progress. I won't lie, I'm nervous as hell to stop spending so frequently. I can't think of much to do without money. Life of a princess, I guess.

And away we go...

Cheers,

Amanda