$100 dollar bills = less spending?

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I had a really nice antique armoire that I had acquired when I lived in England. When I moved to my current home, I sold it because I simply didn't have the space. The woman I sold it to was amazingly sweet so I was pleased that my piece of furniture was going to be in her care. Anyway, when she paid me, she paid me in $50 bills. It has been almost a year now and I still have one of the $50 bills. It's not easy to spend. If boyfriend and I need some quick cash for pizza or a few groceries, I just don't even consider using it. What is my point here? Well, there is an article in TIME magazine about carrying around $100 bills in order NOT to spend money. Sound bass ackwards? Yeah, a little bit. But from my experience, it does work. Heck, even $20 bills aren't fun to break because you know once you break them, they're easier to spend.

I'm all about what TIME is trying to say here, but at the same time, I'm not all that comfortable with carrying large amounts of cash on me. If you can apply this to your home though and keep some cash around (in a secure place) for emergency purposes, I think you'll find that the theory works.

Let me know: Do you carry around large bills so that you won't spend money? What methods do you use to avoid spending money?

Wow. Drama.

Lots of things have transpired in the past couple of days and so I have been majorly stressed out. Luckily, things are getting better and back on track.

Tuesday I had a meeting with my boss about going over numbers. I'm in education but my job is sales. I hate sales. I was not supposed to be here as long as I have been but I've stuck around, job searching in the process, waiting until my probation officer job got the funding. With my current job, you either get it or you don't. More specifically you either are a top performer or you're not. I'm not. I don't like my job, I don't enjoy my job, I don't like what I do. I tried real hard when I started but I've never clicked with what I do. I'm okay with that, I know I won't be here much longer anyway.

Anyway, I had to go meet with the Boss of the school and talk about my performance over the past year. She's new in her position so we don't know each other very well. I got written up about my performance and my low numbers. Eh. Doesn't bother me, it's business. If you don't do well, you're going to get written up. I'm fine with that. In the mean time, I'm required to do some training modules (easy stuff) and they told me I needed those completed by Monday. Ok, not a problem I told them. What DID bother me is that the Boss proceeds to patronize me, talking to me like I'm a 12 year old who doesn't know the importance of finishing homework on time. I wanted to punch her in her face. This is basically how the conversation went:

Her: "Now, you know you have to have those training modules done by Monday, right?"

Me: "Yes, not a problem"

Her: "Now you you know that it's your responsibility to have those completed. Your boss isn't going to be here on Thursday or Friday, if you can't get logged in for one reason or another, come to me and we'll get it figured out. If you can't get logged in and don't ask for help, you are responsible for having them completed by Monday, and that's not a good excuse."
Me: "I'm aware of that."

Her: "Now, if you work until 7pm on Monday, don't wait until 5pm to start them."

REALLY? REALLY? I'm 26. Not 12. I've had six years of post-secondary education. I've been on my own since I was 19. I've lived in Europe for six years. I think I know how to handle two little training modules. I think I know time management thankyouverymuch.

In any event, they're going to monitor my numbers and if they don't improve after 30days, they are going to figure out what to do next. I'm not too stressed about it. I guess that just means I move to Texas a few weeks earlier. Not a big deal. I'm debt free. I have a nice amount of savings. I was over my job a month after I started it.

Anyway, later that night, I called my mom and told her about what happened at work. I told her that I am thinking about moving to Texas when my lease is up at the end of May, but quitting on Good Friday (what a GOOOOOD Friday that will be!!!). With my job, when you give your two weeks, they say thank you very much, today is your last day. And you get two weeks of pay. :) So I'm just going to bank that and relax until my move. Nice, huh?

My mom proceeds to hound me about the dogs. This has been a major issue with her; my parents have never had dogs. They don't know what to expect. They feel that they'll probably pee or chew up everything and I've told her that they're well-trained, house trained, and they're lap dogs. They're excited when I come home and then they want to cuddle. They're like toddlers in furry bodies, don't worry, it will be fine. We got in this huge argument about her materialism and how when I say that I finally want to move home (after being away for over 8 years) it's what about the dogs, what about this? Instead of, come home and we'll figure it all out later. "But we've spent $150,000 fixing up this house so that it is where we like it. We're protecting our investment."

I see where she is coming from. I do. I'm not stupid but at the same time, I'm their daughter. I'm asking for help for the first time ever. And she's creating all of these obstacles in her head and it makes me sick. It makes me want to just say forget it and stay here. Boyfriend said I could move in with him (because without a job, surely I can't afford rent!) and then I'd put my stuff in storage. I don't know what to do at this point. Right now my focus should be on the AFOQT, not this crap. Ugh, I don't know what to do.

At this moment..

I have a week from Thursday until I take the AFOQT. I have so much stress and anxiety, I feel like I'm going to take it tomorrow...I also feel like I want to cry, scream, and vomit. I have been studying for this for almost a month now. I want to get it over but at the same time I want more time. This will be the hardest part of the journey of getting into the Air Force and I don't like this much anxiety; at the same time, is it healthy? When you want something this much, I suppose it's natural to stress and freak out. I'm taking next Wednesday off; I'm going to treat it as a normal day (exercising, walking dogs, etc) except the TV will be turned off and I'm going to do last minute review. At 8pm, I'm DONE studying. No more. Thursday morning at 7am (ACK!) is testing day. I'm going to eat a healthy breakfast and remember to breathe at the same time. I can do this...

In other news, I've lost 3lbs thus far! I haven't been 100% with the Nutrisystem so I think this is a good accomplishment. I bought some running shoes yesterday and went running today with the girls. I can't wait to get over that beginner's run..ugh, not fun! I can't wait till I'm just soaring along on a runner's high. I'm mentally preparing myself for becoming an officer in all different aspects--health wise, and projecting for the future.

I'm scared as hell, but that's just because I want this so bad. I'm just so grateful that God has shown me that this is the path He wants me on.. I'm not going to let Him down. Pray for me please! :)

Catch-22

So I've been on Nutrisystem since Saturday so this is my 6th day on NS; I'm getting increasingly frustrated because it is making me extremely bloated and I do not like this feeling at all.

This is how i feel

I don't know how much weight I have (have not) lost since I started, I guess I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning to see if this is worth the effort. I don't mind the breakfasts and lunches at all since I'm working, it's nice to keep a schedule, but when I get home from work, the last thing I want is to heat and eat an NS meal. I think I may take weekends off to give myself a break. I figure if I'm 100% on during the week, I can take a little relaxation on the weekends but we'll see. If by the end of the month the results aren't there and I'm still bloated, this is done and done.

Holy crap. I did it. I paid off my entire debt before the end of March. Thank you Jesus! I'm just so grateful at this point in my life! I was able to really watch my spending and buckle down and get my debt paid off earlier than I had expected. Today is a day of celebration and freedom!! :)

Now I'm going to really hit my Emergency Fund HARD and find a charity to tithe to. I'm so blessed!

Cost/benefit analysis of moving to Dallas without a job

My mom is kind of freaking out about me moving to Texas (she's more excited than freaked out for the record...) and she's just concerned about my animals. "Where are they going to go?" Really mom? Where do you THINK they'll go! If I don't have a job then obviously I'm not going to rent an apartment yet so they're going to go to your house.

My parents never allowed us as kids to have a dog. We had the "one pet in the house" rule, so, we had cats. My mom had dogs when she was younger but she grew up on a farm so they were outdoor dogs, I don't think my dad ever had a family pet. In any event, my parents don't know what to expect of dogs. I try to reassure her that she will love them, that they are small (11 and 18lbs!) and that they're way better than cats. She's still nervous.

If I leave Arizona for Dallas I will have my Emergency Fund plus my $600 deposit from my duplex that I currently rent. Obviously I'd be saving on rent since I would be living with my parents until I find a job but I would still have expenses. Asks my mom: "What would you do for money?" Well duh, I would get a job and use my EF.

I would be close to my family and be able to spend time with my sister and nephew but I would no longer have my own place and boyfriend would be back in Tucson. I don't know what I want to do at this point. I need a sugar daddy. LOL.

Yay

My Nutrisystem is here! I'm going to start tomorrow so I think boyfriend and I are going out to eat tonight because it's going to be a LONG time before I can do that again!!

I'm working tomorrow (boo) so I'll throw out some updates then...

The Good and The Bad

The good:

Today I'm off work because I have to work Saturday--it is a nice break to get a day off during the week for sure, so I'm just going to take it easy today and get some things done around the house and take the girls out for a Mommy/Daughter day.

I called up Credit Card Company #1 to cancel my card prepped and ready to say NO to the offers to keep me around, well...needless to say, it didn't happen. Why you ask? Well, as you know, this credit card had a 0% interest introductory rate for 12 months and I've paid it off in advance (that's the only reason I got this card in the first place!). What I DIDN'T know is that I can have a 0% interest BALANCE TRANSFER for 12 months. What? Balance transfer on less than $300?? You might be thinking...Well, the thing is, I haven't been completely honest with you all. Where as I am about to be debt-free technically, legally, I won't be. I let boyfriend use my credit to get on his feet with some things and so now he owes me money for credit card debt and for a truck loan. He helped me get on my feet when I was unemployed for 6 months, so I was more than happy to help him get on his feet as well. What can I say? I don't regret it at all and he is amazing with making payments far exceeding the minimum balance and never late. (And yes, we have a signed, written agreement between the two of us).

In any event, since Credit Card Company #2 decided to raise my APR by 2 percentage points because of the recession, I figure this is a great way for boyfriend to save on the APR and stick it to CCC #2 and their ridiculous increase. This really is a great deal and while he's getting his credit card debt paid off, it's nice he won't have to pay any more interest on it!

The bad:

I took my cat Toddy into the vet today to get checked out...while the vet didn't feel any tumors or anything abnormal, she said he has some arthritis in his right knee and that he could have one of a number of things wrong. She took some blood from him ($121.00) and is going to get it tested so we will have results by tomorrow; here are the possibilities:

1. Thyroid disease--treatable and manageable
2. Diabetes--same as above
3. Cancer--treatable
4. Kidney disease--incurable/untreatable

She said as far as things go, we're going to hope for #1 because that's the best that could happen at this point. She said if his blood work comes back clean then we have a problem; he's been losing weight but eating like a pig and there is something going on. If it comes back negative we'll have to do ultrasounds or x-rays ($$$$$$) and then go from there.

So, please pray for my kitty that nothing serious is wrong and that it can be treated immediately.

I'm off to enjoy my day (and meet with my AF recruiter!!) Hope you enjoy yours!

Quote of the Day

“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” - Bruce Lee

Sweet

My Nutrisystem food was shipped out yesterday and is now in Illinois on its way to Tucson. Awesome. I worked out this morning and took the girls on a walk. Trying to get on track! I gave up sweets for Lent and so far I've lost 2.5lbs--only 33.5lbs to go for my goal weight.

Unfortunately, I'm still sleep deprived from yesterday. I had to work 7:15am-8pm when my normal shift is 11am-8pm. I tried going to bed at normal time, tossed and turned for an hour, finally got up, marched in the living room (with all animals in tow), put in some I Love Lucy and then nodded in and out for 2 more hours before I finally got up at 1:30am and went back to my bed...until boyfriend calls me at 5:45am to make sure I was awake. Yeah, thanks...didn't really sleep.

Exhausted, I went to bed last night at 10pm and didn't sleep well at all and then Ruby starts pouncing all over the bed and barking trying to get Juno to play with her. Juno is really great when she sleeps next to me, never wakes up until I'm ready to get up..Ruby on the other hand thinks when I shift it's time to wake up. Not so much.

Anyway, sorry, I'm a little out of it. Tired tired tired and I have 7 hours more of my shift. I hope I can last!

In other news..(and another long post)

Since I am getting prepared mentally for the AFOQT in a little less than four weeks, I decided I need to get PHYSICALLY prepared as well. Back in the day, the AF only required Airmen to complete a bike test (I think it was like 30mins riding a bike) to test their level of physical fitness, it was a complete joke! A few years ago, the Air Force finally decided to get on board with the other branches of the military and change their annual Physical Training test (PT); Airmen now have to have their abdominal section taped to make sure they're within their limits, they have to run a mile and a half in a certain time frame, do as many push ups as they can in a minute, and do as many sit ups as they can in a minute. Depending upon the level that they fall in each category, they have a certain number of points designated. You have to have a score of 76 or better to pass. You can find the fitness standards here.

After doing research on Officer Training School, I found that they have strict weight requirements and if you show up at OTS and you're overweight, see ya! There are no waivers, no "oh, you'll lose weight while you're in school and you train." Nope, they just say goodbye and all of your hard work getting into OTS is now gone. I weighed myself last Wednesday (and I always weigh in the morning right after I wake up with minimal clothing on to get a consistant idea of how much I weigh). As of today, I am 14 lbs OVER the max weight limit for my height. :( Yikes. I figure when I get weighed at OTS, it will be mid-day with clothes which will probably bump my weight up another 3-5lbs or so. So I figure I need to lose a MINIMUM of 20lbs before I can join.

So what's a girl to do? Well, I ordered Nutrisystem, ah yes, THE Nutrisystem that you see Belinda Carlisle and Marie Osmond plug everyday on the TV. Yup, that's the one! The reason I went with Nutrisystem is that back in November of 2005, I was sick of my weight. I was eating soo poorly (thanks to a number of burgers, fries, and LOTS of sweets) and needed to get a handle on things. After 2 weeks, there was a dramatic change in my face, and after 2 months I had lost 20lbs and my body was looking pretty tight. Well, I quit NS because I did a bunch of research on vegetarianism and decided that it was the route to go with my life. (Yes, NS has a vegetarian plan).

Now after a good month of just depression and anxiety over my life, my weight has gone back up. And I need to get a handle on things. NS really does work and I've seen results in myself and my friends. You really have to be disciplined with the program and not deviate, otherwise you won't see results. My mom tried to do it, lost 10lbs her first week and then couldn't stand the food and gave up. The food isn't that bad but it isn't that great either. I'm not looking forward to eating a ton of processed food but I need results right now to help with my training.

I think when I get my NS (which I ordered last night and it has already been shipped!) I am going to think about the end result of becoming an AF officer and this is just going to get me on complete track with things.

I'll let you know how it goes and keep track of things on the side of my blog.

I am REALLY worried...

My 13 year old cat Toddy is losing weight. This is not good. Last June my sweet baby Duke had a major attack of some sort and after rushing him to the ER and $900 later, I found out that he had lymphoma. :( The tumor was so big at this point and after doing major research on the Internet, I decided it was better for nature to take her course as opposed to putting my sweet angel through the treatment. I put him to sleep 08/08/08 and there is not a day that goes by that I do not miss him--some days are easier than others--other days I just yell, scream, and cry.

Toddy and Duke, in their normal position.

I adopted Toddy, Duke, and Nadine (who lives with my sister) at Cat's Protection in Stowbridge, England in September, 2001 when they were six years old. They were in a group of approximately 30 cats that were from a food tasting plant (cool, huh?) that has recently closed, and the ex and I picked Duke out because he was so big and beautiful with amazing green eyes and a white mustache. We picked Toddy out because of his gorgeous grey color, the fact that he looked like Christopher Walken, and chased bugs around and ate them.

My sweet angel, Duke.

From the beginning, I always knew that despite that fact that Duke was my favorite and seriously like my child, he was going to pass away first. It was a hard reality to come to when I found out he had cancer and when I had to finally put him down. I had an amazing night with him the night before--he had slept with me on my pillow (as he normally did) and I cuddled and talked with him all night telling him how much he meant to me and how much I didn't want to do what I had to. When I went to put him down, I was prepared and it wasn't as hard as I thought (although leaving him at the vet's was the worst part). Luckily boyfriend was with me and that made it a little easier. I had my baby cremated and now he is in an amazing green urn (to represent his eyes) in my living room.

Now Toddy is displaying the same symptoms of Duke; he has an increased appetite (this was due to the fact that the tumor was taking all the nutrition) and has lost weight quite rapidly. I think I can feel a large mass in his rib cage as well. I'm really scared and I don't want to have to deal with watching Toddy go down like Duke. Up until the end, Duke was in such good spirits and was so loving and cuddly, it made it difficult to finally say, okay, he needs to go. But the problem was Duke was having bloody diarrhea and his gums were turning white, so I knew enough was enough.

I made an appointment with the most amazing vet in Tucson, she deals only with cats (and helped me with Duke), so I know he will be in good hands; I'm just worried she's going to tell me the same thing as I already think--he has a tumor. Since Duke passed away Toddy has become so increasingly clingy (he was always used to having another cat around to cuddle with and always was curled up with Duke) and sleeps with me, lays with me, and generally just wants to be loved.

Despite the fact that I have Ruby and Juno, if Toddy passes, I'm going to feel like the house is empty; that all of my cats are now gone and I'm moving onto a new stage in my life and I don't know if I'm ready for that. I've had Toddy for almost 8 years now, he such a significant part of my family, I'm just really upset about all of this.

Please pray for my sweet kitty, that he will get well and that he doesn't have cancer. Thank you for your thoughts.

So..

This weekend I'm stuck at work for 4 hours (only 2 hours and 13 mins left, but I'm not counting!) so I'm just catching up on some blogs and other sites since I have nothing to do! At least I got free breakfast and 4 hours of overtime! :)

Did I mention that my number 1 credit card has a zero balance? I'm so excited I could almost pee. Almost.

I told boyfriend that I wanted to go bowling tonight, so he's going to get some of his friends together and we're going to go bowling (which we haven't done in a year and a half!). I will fail miserably but that's okay, I'm sick of sitting on the couch and fighting over what we want to watch on TV. It's getting old...

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend and enjoy your days off. Monday is going to be a crazy-long day (715am-8pm) and I get overtime so I'm going to survive one way or another!

Um yeah...

So I'm slotted to take the AFOQT next month, the 2nd of April actually. I was talking to one of my coworkers whose husband is going into the Army and she told me he took the AFOQT. I asked her that if he's going into the Army, why did he take the AFOQT (which is just for the Air Force)? Simply put, he failed. Apparently he said that the test was different than what the study guides say and that it is all about speed. So now he went from the Air Force to the Army...

I guess this means I'm going to study extra hard and focus all my energy to studying. I have four weeks from today, I can do it! :)

Heck. Yes.

Today I paid the LAST payment online to my number 1 credit card. Although it says it was paid off to the right, it was boyfriend's balance that was paid on the card. Officially now I can say that number 1 credit card has a ZERO balance. That's right. $0.00. :) I'm going to let the payment go through and then call on Monday to cancel that card. The sweet thing about that card is that it was 0% interest and we beat the deadline to pay it off so that bank got $0 out of us! Haha suckers!!

As of today, I now have a measly $339.47 in credit card debt. That's it! :) I'm so excited. Yay me! :)

This doesn't make me feel right..

Okay, just a quick question for you all. The blogs have been buzzing about how to save money in today's economy and the typical suggestions always pop up:

*Ditch the landline
*Cut the cable
*Stop eating out

A lot of people are suggesting calling the cable companies to "cancel" their cable just to get a really good money saving offer; I've seen people who are getting $30-$50 off a MONTH just by doing this...that's no small change in my books. So my question is this:

If you plan on keeping your cable and it's affordable at this point, would you call to "cancel" just to get a deal out of the situation?

Obviously the cable company wants to keep you on as a customer and you just want a deal, is there something wrong with this? I don't know how I feel about it. One part of me (the frugal, coupon-clipping, neverpayretail part) says HECK yes, let me try to snag my own deal and the other part of me (the honest, I-don't-ever-tell-a-lie, trying to be good a Christian part) says nope, not such a good thing since you knew how much it was when you signed up.

What do you think? Do you think it's ethical to try and get a better deal from your cable company if the money isn't that big of an issue at the moment?

Must read...

The Non-Consumer Advocate started her book selection this month with Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle by David Wann. I'm not one for book clubs so I just decided to check this book out and read it on my own time. I reserved this book at my library and picked it up last week but last night was the first that I had a chance to start the book. Wow. This book is fantastic so far; granted I'm not that far into it, but reading it, I couldn't put it down. And yeah, I got to bed around midnight last night. Oops. The reason why I found this book so fascinating is because this book focuses on what I've been preaching since I started this blog:

Advocating non-consumerism and focusing on a life rich

with experiences and relationships.

During the whole time I was reading, I was nodding in agreement, making mental notes, and thinking about how much more stuff I could get rid of to really purge my house down to the things I need and love. Friday night I really buckled down and went through all of my books and all of my DVDs and took them to my used bookstore for credit and cash. Let me tell you how freeing it is to have all of that stuff out of my house! I got rid of over 50 DVDs and numerous books, now I can use the store credit for books that I want to keep for good or even for buying gifts for family. Some of those movies I hadn't watched in years and it was just stupid for them to be sitting in my house; I'm grateful that there are places like that!

Anyway, back to the book, this morning I was reading some of the passages to boyfriend and he agreed that this book hits the nail on the head. I've decided to take things a step further with my purging and if it's in storage, it probably is there for a reason and it needs to go. (This includes my beloved original Nintendo and game collection that I haven't played in over 2 years).

This book just really brings a greater awareness of how Americans are making more money than ever before, have bigger houses and more things, yet, we're not any happier than we were 50 years ago. Scary, huh? Why are we such a consumer-driven culture? What can we do to overcome this?

Please, if you get an opportunity, check out this book and if you wish, participate in The Non-Consumer Advocate's book club. Let me know what you think! I've already put in request at my library for Mr. Wann's other book, Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic. Can't wait!

Please excuse me

If I'm flaky for the next couple of days, please excuse me. Right now I'm trying to do a LOT of soul searching in order to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. I'm so stagnant and unhappy right now I have to get things sorted.

Boyfriend made the comment to me this morning that I'm not happy in any aspect of my life: physically, emotionally, spiritually. He's completely right. I'm not. I'm trying to be positive, I'm trying to remind myself that this is a transition and that it is temporary, but each day becomes increasingly harder. I've honestly never been so completely unhappy in my life than I am right now. I'm frustrated by the lack of job opportunities, I'm disappointed with some of my personal relationships, and I just need a major change.

Sorry to be Debby Downer on Monday, but I'm just preparing you all in case you're wondering, "What the heck is her problem lately?"