Day 3 Tracking Expenses

October 30th, 2011

Bills: $0
Necessities: $18
Extra: $0
Total: $18

I bought some ingredients for the week meal plan. Everything I needed added up to only $18 at Price Chopper. So far I only spend $33 on groceries for the week. If I don’t spend anything else on food I would say $33 for a weeks worth of groceries is great!

New Balance for November 2011

Month	Credit Card	Student Loans	Car	Net of Debt	Amount Paid Off
August	$979.96	$8,968.33	$13,836.81	$23,785.10
September	$0.00	$8,877.18	$13,455.70	$22,332.88	$1,452.22
October		$8,374.76	$13,100.83	$21,475.59	$857.29
November		$7,871.86	$12,752.27	$20,624.13	$851.46
			Diff of:	$3,160.97

Weekly Meal Plan Oct 29th- Nov 6

Date Meal Saturday  GF Corn Dogs Sunday  Ratatouille with GF garlic bread Monday  Quesadillas with salad Tuesday  Left Overs Wednesday Fish with steamed veggies Thursday Salad Friday Out of Town Saturday  Out of Town Sunday Out of Town

Gluten Free Corn Dog Recipe

1 pack uncured, nitrate-free 100% beef hot dogs
2 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix (no yeast needed)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp sea salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups warm water

Yield: 8 dogs

I had a lot of batter left over after using 8 whole hot dogs. I could have done a lot more mini corn dogs. I ended up keeping the left over batter and will most likely use tomorrow for lunch or dinner.

In a 12 inch skillet heat approximately 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees

Slice hot dogs into quarters and set aside

Mix dry ingredients together

Lightly whisk eggs and water. Add wet ingredients to dry, whisking until smooth. Started to get a little messy!

Heavily coat sliced hot dogs in batter (this gets really really messy and why I don't have any pics of this, lol). Place in hot oil for about 4 mints until dark golden brown. Drain corn dogs on cooling rack and serve.

FYI's- I learned some hard lessons while making this. I will share so you guys won't do the same. Really use a 12 inch skillet for this or a deep pot with high sides. I thought I would cheat the system and use a sauce pan because these were mini hot dogs. I thought since they were so same I could save oil and use a sauce pan. Don't do that. Also don't feel the pan up really high. Don't turn the burner on high and forget that it's on high. I dropped my first corn dog in the pan and started an oil fire, burn myself and my boyfriend burnt himself too trying to help me tame the fire. Below is what that corn dog turned out like and caused the fire due to the oil being way too hot and exploded once it hit the bottom of the pan;

Needles to say you don't want to eat something that looks like this or have a fire in the kitchen. It took awhile to get the fire out and clean up all the oil that got everywhere. I will say after the burnt one the rest turned out amazing. My boyfriend was really impressed on the taste.

Day 2 Tracking Expenses

Oct 29th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $15
Extra: $0
Total: $15

I bought some stuff to make gluten free corn dogs tonight. Everything I needed added up to $15 at Whole Foods. Spent nothing else for the day. I think it was a great day of spending!

Quote of the day

 “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend; And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry [economy].” – William Shakespeare

Day 1 of Tracking Expenses

Oct 28th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0

Worked until 5:45 pm and then hit the gym. After the gym went and picked up a free book to read from the library. Went home and cooked pork chops and veggies for dinner. It felt great to spend nothing! It's amazing how much money you can save from cooking at home! Day 1 was a success!

DIY- (Do It Yourself) Taco Seasoning

I just came across this on http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/06/diy-taco-seasoning-recipe.html and thought I would share!!!! I would love to save money by making my own instead of going to the store and buying these. Plus a lot of taco seasoning are not gluten free!



DIY Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup chili powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients above in a small bowl.  Keep fresh in an air tight container for up to 6 months.  

Double or triple recipe as needed. 

To use:  substitute 2 rounded Tablespoons for 1 packet of taco seasoning. 

**You can also kick up the heat a notch by adding in 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes!!**

Cell Phone Plan

I have read on several different blogs about cutting costs with cell phones. Right now I have a single line plan with unlimited text/web with 1,000 minutes. It costs me around $90 per month, ouch! I am trying to think of something to do to cut this down. Here are some options that I have read about;

1. Cutting out a cell phone all together
2. Getting rid of a cell phone contract and just use prepaid
3. Cut off internet and lower text plan
4. Lower minutes
5. Or a combo of 3 & 4

I am going to have to go back and look at how many minutes/texts I use a month to see what would help. Also I am a littler nervous to cut off or decrease these due to the fact of a possibility of having to extend my contracts. I think some cell phone companies make you resign if you change your plan… I will have to look into that too.

30 Day List- Have to wait 30 days before buying

1. Gluten free Nogii bars ( date: 10/27, 30 days: 11/27)

Pro's: They are a great snack that I can just pick up and go. They taste REALLY good. Also great for my second job. I can eat one on my 15 mint break incase I am hungry.

Con's: They are expensive ($3.30 per bar)

Price: $39.60 (box of 12)

November Goals

Some of the goals are from October and a few new ones

1. Monday-Friday no eating out
2. I will be using ONLY cash for all purchases.
3. EVERY paycheck I get from second job goes directly towards my debt.
4. All the change I get back from my cash purchases all go into a jar.
5. I will charge myself $5 for each of the following things

A.Use debit card besides getting cash from ATM for envelope system
B. Eating out M-F which includes any kind of drinks/snacks
C. Not fully funding my envelope system

6. Use 30 day list- When I want to buy something that is not a basic need/bill I will put that item on a list and wait 30 days before buying.
7. Start making homemade stuff.
8. Keep all receipts from all purchases

9. Write each day reporting recap of spending
10. Make a menu for each week in November.

Review of 7 Day Challenge

Let me just start by saying this challenge was hard!!!!! I have never pushed myself not to spend money like this before. Unfortunately I was unable to complete my 7 day challenge of spending $0 this past week. Looking back at this past week I think I could go 7 days without spending anything but with a better planned agenda. Here is a quick breakdown of my week;
　
October 17th - 24th

Monday- $0
Tuesday- $0
Wednesday- $0
Thursday- $0
Friday- $10
Saturday- $13.50
Sunday- $0
Monday- $0
Total: $23.50

 The week started off great! I made it all the way until Friday before I spent anything. I had a doctor's appointment late in the week to get stitches taken out. Because I was going back to get the stitches taken out I knew there was not going to be a co-pay. So I thought I was in the clear for spending money but unfortunately I was not. While I was there I was prescribed some medication. The medicine ended up being only $10 which could have easily been a lot higher (thank you insurance). On Saturday I woke up late for my second job and was unable to eat anything before I had to be there. I was working and hit a wall. I was starving, thirsty and started to feel really weak. So instead of buying food that would probably cost at least $4.00 I just got a soda for $1.50. After work I forgot I had plans with friends from out of town for dinner. That dinner was $12.00. I felt really bad about spending that money on dinner and I kept thinking about my challenge. But they were from out of state and felt like that would be very rude of me to not eat with them. I know I could have spent a lot less than $12.00 on dinner and I take blame on that. Next time I will plan out my week a lot better, make sure I get up early to eat before my second job and KNOW if I had any plans already arranged…

7 day challenge

I am wanting to go 7 days without spending a penny. I started tracking all my expenses since this past August and noticed there really are not many days I don't spend a dime. I may go a day or two without buying something but nothing more than three. I want to challenge myself to 7 DAYS without spending anything. I am starting today, October 17th. I will get back with you guys on Oct 25th. Wish me luck!

No more credit cards

I finally stood my ground and took the scissors to my credit card! I AM FREE! I will not be sucked into your vortex any longer! I was really nervous to do this but ever since I sniped that baby I was so relieved. If I can't afford things I just cant buy them.

Taking A Step Back

So after being upset the other day about the second job I took a step back. I told myself something could have happened and the manager just kept forgetting or he really could have been trying to take as long as possible. Just sitting around waiting is doing nothing for me. My debt is still here staring me in the face ($21,475.59). I have applied to so many other jobs and have yet to hear back. It is really hard to find a partime job right now specially when you have a full time job making ok money. So I decided to give this place one more chance. So I sucked it up and called again yesterday. I have learned in life being persistent could be a good or a bad thing. Most of my experiences have been good =) My luck the manager was actually there, yay! He said sorry for not calling back and rambled an excuses I couldn't really hear. But he told me to come in this Friday for training. Don't get me wrong I still think how he handled it was "WRONG" but I am starting tomorrow and keeping in mind how things have been so far. I am really trying to look at things positive no matter what. I have to realize everyone is not me and they don't do and handle things the same way I do. I have to get over that, lol… I guess that is part of being an adult. I am not afraid to leave if things don't improve or get worse with the management. I need to give them the benefit of the doubt. I need some extra income to knock this debt off ASAP. I am just excited to get my debt snowball moving even faster!

Very disappointed

So I thought I was suppose to start my second job this week but for some reason I am getting the run around. I am going to leave the company un-named but I don't get what is going on. So I had to have a background check to work for them which I am kind of shocked on because it's a little more than minimum wage and only working for 12 hrs a week. Maybe since I have been out of the second job working game maybe that is something everyone does. I am pretty sure McDonald's, Wal-Mart and others don't have a background check and a drug test. But any whooo, so the manager told me that he would call me after the background check came back. Okay totally cool. Well three weeks went by and I was starting to question what was going on. Three weeks really? So I called last Wed (Oct 5th) to ask if something was wrong. Spoke with the manager and he was like oh yea it has been in. SERIOUS??? So he got it in and never called. Ok I will let this go because he could have been super busy. I don't know how his job is and what has been going on. Give him the benefit of the doubt. He said everything looked good. SWEET! Not like I was doubting but ready to get to work and start bringing in some extra income for debt. He told me he would call me back the next day (Thurs Oct 6th) or following (Friday Oct 7th) to let me know what I will be working the next week (week of Oct 10th, this week). Well Thursday and Friday came and gone. No phone call, nothing. So did Saturday. Sunday afternoon I was pretty upset. I called the store to speak with a manager or to see if anyone could tell me if I was on the schedule since I was out of town. Just couldn't come in and look for myself. An employee answered the phone. I told him I was new and was told I was suppose to be working this coming week but the manager hasn't gotten back with my yet. I asked if there was a way he could find out. He asked for my name (which I thought he was going to go to the back and look on the schedule) and then told me he would let the manager know I called and then hung up before I could even get a word in. You have to be kidding me. The manager doesn't even call me when the background check came back or call me back when he told me he was going to but the employee working at the store was an ass!!! I don't know if it's just me but this is not how a manager/employees should be. To me that is lazy and irresponsible. If something is going on just call and let me know. Just pick up the phone and let the person know. I wouldn't be mad at all. You have to have communication. Today is Tuesday and still no word from that manager. I am really really mad now. I am sorry but that is not how you treat a new employee. Someone asked why I don't just call back again. In my opinion I shouldn't have to call three times in order to start working somewhere. I called twice and I think I have done my part to try to get this ball rolling. Not sure if this is a right way to look at things but if I don't hear back from them by Friday and they eventually call back I am going to tell them I am not interested anymore. Not even sure if I want to work for them now after everything that has happened. I want the money but I don't want to work for a manager that can't handle his job. I am totally venting but I am really upset about this. I was soooo excited to start working there. Something new and different than what I already do M-F from 8:30am to 5pm. I guess the week will come to show me if this is meant to be or not.

Great News!

My second job is going to start next week (October 10th). SUPER EXCITED!!! I will making some extra income to throw down on my debt. Like I said before, "ALL INCOME FROM SECOND JOB GOES TOWARDS DEBT". No if's, and's or but's! This is a must! Sometimes I wonder if it's normal to be this excited for a second job, lol.