Monday, August 31, 2009

Summer Goal Update 2

If at first you don't succeed, try again, and again, and once more. Yep, that's what I'm going to do. I set a goal to run 100 miles by the end of August. It can be argued that I failed miserably. Seriously, from the looks of it I wonder if I even tried?! Oh well, I'm lacing up the running shoes and striving to accomplish the goal again through the end of September. Even though I didn't come close to my goal, I did better than the sidebar reflects. Somewhere along the way I stopped updating my tracking sheet, thinking to myself "I'll remember how many miles I ran and update it later." Yeah, NOT! So here I go once again, 75 miles to run by September 30th. Can I do it, yes; will I do it, hmm, we'll see. Here is the infamous crossroad that often eludes many, the intersection of desire and discipline. We often have desires for a preferred end but lack the discipline or stamina to see it through. The way I see it, desire is the vehicle and discipline is the gasoline, you can only run on fumes for so long. Someone once told me to never let my car get below 1/4 of a tank of gas because garbage can get into your fuel line which will eventually cause your car to run badly. The same is true with our goals, when we become less and less disciplined, "garbage" begins to fill the gap and before you know it, we're off course and heading towards a different destination - the repair shop to get retooled and refocused, if possible. Now that I'm refocused, let's see if I can keep the tank at or close to full.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

How Did That Happen?

Yikes ... how did that happen? Wow, remember when I said I would let my hair down a bit and take a break from frugality (here)? Well, now I remember why I budget in the first place. You see, I didn't just take a break, I broke the budget! Yes ma'am, yes sir, I just lost my ever loving mind. In the words of Sophia from The Golden Girls, picture this ...

Georgia, summer 2009, warm weather, extended daylight hours, cheap flights, new restaurants, the euphoric feeling of life that summer brings, yes, all the makings for a good excuse to loosen the budget just a tad. A tad indeed is what I hoped for, but as it's been said, give someone an inch and they'll take a mile. According to citibank, I have a balance of $711.99 on my credit card! What, huh, just for the month of July?! Funny how those little $20 and $30 transactions added up to a number much bigger than I imagined. Please believe me, $712 is way outside of my comfort zone for frivolous, unaccounted for spending.

Since the majority of the transactions were less than $30, I'm not going to spend too much time trying to add up each and every purchase. There is one culprit that I think requires me to be in the financial hall of shame for July. You'd have to really know me to understand the gravity of what I'm about to say ... I spent $201.60 on freaggin costume jewelry last month! Yes, $201.60. Now, I'm not even a jewelry kind of girl, definitely not costume jewelry. You know what happens, a friend invites you to their "party" and if you're like me, you want to show your support so you buy something (my friend is not the type to pressure you, she actually hates that I feel this way). Because you want a good deal, you offer to host a "party" as well, giving in to the gluttony of getting something for free or darn near free. Then you have a party and of course, you can't have a party and not purchase more stuff because you're getting all of these great deals, right?! Granted, I have some fabulous pieces that I absolutely love, and honestly, I'm happy that I have them. It's a good thing for Lia Sophia that I was on a frugal hiatus or I wouldn't have purchased any of it. I have them, I love them, it was a weak moment, I'm over it. Oh yeah, in case you're interested, you really can't beat their return policy and yes, I am very happy with my selections - 9 necklaces and 4 pairs of earrings.

The remaining balance consists of an airline ticket for $139.40 and a bunch of this and a little of that. Wow, so how did that happen, yeah, I think we all know.
P.S., I primarily use my credit card for online purchases, travel and recurring monthly expenses such as the gym and netflix. It's paid off every month.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Reality Check

Intentions are great but I can't seem to convert them into executable actions as it relates to this blog. Honestly, a day doesn't go by without me thinking about typing a post. Most of you are fully aware that I'm working on a career transition. It's been bitter sweet because things have picked up at the new career (the sweet) but they've also picked up significantly at the existing career (the bitter). So, my reality check is this, regardless how much I desire to blog consistently, that may not be a reality for the next few weeks or months, while I'm juggling two careers.

Remember the
proposal that I submitted? It's in the final stages but guess what, I submitted another proposal to a new potential client last week and now I'm waiting on the verdict. If this proposal is accepted it would yield 50 - 95% more than the first proposal. Go me!!

Since I hope to transition soon one thing that I need to do immediately is apply for health insurance.
This site has been helpful in providing options and quotes. If I'm not successful going at it alone, I'll try an insurance broker. My first preference is to go with a high deductible health plan so that I can continue with my health savings account. I soo don't like HMOs so I'm definitely trying to stay with a PPO. Something about getting permission to see a specialist just doesn't do it for me.

Until next time,