well, this was a pretty good weekend for me spending-wise.
Here is my tally from Friday night to this morning, I'll highlight the things I maybe shouldn't have purchased in orange.

Friday
Gas for my car $30
Wine $31.50 (its my weakness, I enjoy it with dinner, I have decided not to give it up, but I did buy it in a box so I'm saving some money there!)
Wings & drinks with the boy & his Dad - $0 (his Dad treated us!!)

Saturday
Groceries - $87.29 (yikes)
Really fun concert at the local Casino - Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band!! - $0 (free tickets)

Sunday
I spent nothing!!

Monday
I had to mail a letter $1.82
Starbucks $4.26 (I caved and got a latte)

So, that's only 2 questionable purchases, and 2 things for free, so I think I did pretty well.

I left my debit card at home again today, so I will not be able to make any more purchases, and since I caved at Starbucks this morning, I'll likely not be able to get coffee again this week. I also found an ad in the paper over the weekend for a place that helps you consolidate your debts onto your mortgage, so I am thinking of calling them to see what I can do, as I know my condo has gone up in value since I bought it 3 years ago.

Overall, I am feeling much better than I was on Friday, although, my bank balance is still in the overdraft, so that depresses me, but its usually negative, so its not something new!

yum

In an effort to cheer myself up a little, I thought I should give you a HB update.

Today he is looking stunning in a faded black t-shirt like this one
and jeans like these...

I don't have my digital camera back yet, and I'm not sure how I'll take his picture anyways, so this is the best I can do.




Imagine these items being worn on a very well tanned, perfectly proportioned, man who works out every day and has perfectly white teeth and a great smile, that's what I'm looking at across my office right now.

Have a great weekend ladies!! :-)

payday :-(

well, thank god today is payday, but unfortunately due to bills/mortgage etc, I am back in the negative. It sucks being broke all the time. I made a hair appointment for next week because its been so long since I've had my hair done that I'm starting to look like a crazy bag lady, but now I'm thinking I may have to cancel it, I really don't want to, but I'm not sure that I'll be able to afford it.

On the plus side, I have been doing really well with the no spending, and I plan to leave my debit card at home all next week and not spend over this weekend. Next weekend we are going camping so luckily that won't cost much more than the price of a pack of hotdogs and some alcohol.

Being broke sucks, why oh why did I allow beautiful sparkly things to put me into such a shitty situation??

:-(

My new BFF... uggg

what do you do when your friend has a new girlfriend that you can't stand??

I have a very close male friend who the boy & I have been friends with for almost 15 years, and he has a new girlfriend who is clingy, needy, whiny & annoying, and I really have a hard time spending a lot of time with her. She is new to this area, and therefore really doesn't have a lot of friends, so lucky me, I have been designated her new BFF - great.

Now I'm all for pretending I like people to make my friends happy, I really have no problem doing this, what I do have a problem with is her complete lack of personal space and her constant need to tell me every gory detail of her life. Like the fact that she's constantly jumping from one bad relationship into the next and that one of her past relationships was abusive and another turned out to be gay. I also now am fully aware of her monthly schedule and what type of feminine products she likes to use - did I mention I've met this girl only 3 times!

The boy and our friend have now decided that we (me, the boy, our friend and my new BFF) should all go camping together next weekend. - did I mention that I don't camp under the best circumstances, now I'm going to be stuck with Little Miss. Clingy for 4 whole days!!! What am I going to do????

shopping

Now before you go getting concerned by the title of this post, let me just say that last night I went out for dinner with my Mom & my Grandparents, then my Mom & I popped into the mall to pick up a few things, I got a really cute new pink bra and some banana body butter, the grand total of that little excursion... $0!! My Grandpa bought us dinner and then my Mom bought me the bra & the body cream! They were having a sale of buy one bra, get one free, and she only wanted one, so she let me pick out the free one, and then in the Body Shop, it was buy one item, get the second half price. I was so excited, because I was starting to feel a little deprived at not having anything new for over a week, so this is the little boost I needed to get me through until payday on Friday.

Today at lunch I did spend a little because I had to go get my eyebrows waxed, but the girl I go to is a friend of a friend, and she doesn't charge me, so I just tipped her $5 - do you think that's enough?? - and then since I was thirsty, I stopped into the coffee shop next door and got myself an italian soda - $2.93.

I think that's not too bad, in the last 24 hours, I've had dinner out, gotten a new bra, some body cream, an eyebrow wax and an a delicious grapefruit-lime italian soda, all for the grand total of $7.93!!

Maybe I am getting the hang of this saving money thing after all.

I spent...

I confess, I stopped and bought a coffee on my way in to work this morning, I couldn't help myself, that delicious coffee aroma was calling my name, and I was in desperate need of caffiene, but instead of the fancy latte that I usually get, I just got a regular coffee, so I was quite proud of myself for only spending $1.58.

I like Karina's idea of having a spending journal for a week, so I am going to do that for a bit on here and see how it goes, maybe I'll be able to see where all my money is dissappearing to, I'll record it each morning for the day before.

I don't have a lot to update today, except to say that I forgot to tell you, HB called my cell at 8:00 on Friday night, I wasn't going to answer it, because it was displaying my work number, and I had been drinking and was hanging out with the boy, but I did, he was looking for my office key (apparently) as he had his motorcycle at work on Friday and apparently his work key was on the key ring for his truck. He was a little flirty with me on the phone, and then was sad when I said I couldn't come back in to work just to lock the door for him. I'm not really sure what to think of the situation, he is my boss, and I'm sure it was nothing, but maybe...

so far so good

For once on a Monday, I am glad to be back at work. the weekend is a very difficult time to get through when you don't have any money. Friday night I went to see the boy, and we ended up having dinner and watching a movie at his place, there was drinking and sillyness and I gave him a pedicure! - without the polish of course.

Then Saturday - which was the hardest day not to spend money - we went downtown to get 2 birthday gifts for friends, and I had such a hard time not shopping for myself. But, I'm happy to report that other than my subway tokens ($5.50) and a birthday gift for a friend from Lush ($17.59), I spent nothing. The boy bought us drinks and lunch and I did a lot of window shopping, along with a lot of whining, foot stomping and sulking over things I 'just had to have' like these super cute yoga pants that I could get a lot of use out of, but made no other purchases - YAY!!! It felt sad at the time, but by the time I got home, I was completely ok with it. Saturday night we went to a b-day party for a good friend and had a blast, it was so much fun, and there was way too much drinking, but all in all a great time.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day at home, I really wanted to go out, but I knew that if I left my house, I would spend money, so, instead I cleaned my entire condo, I even cleaned out my fridge and my oven, finished the book I was reading - The Undomestic Goddess - and then made dinner from what's left in my bare cupboards.

So, today, I'm glad to be back here where I am not tempted to spend. I did bring my debit card today, but will not use it and will leave it at home tomorrow.

Happy Friday!!!

Happy Friday to everyone!

I am happy to say that I have made it through this entire week withough purchasing anything!! I left my debit card at home every day, and it made a huge difference! There were a couple of times during the week when I know I would have shopped but because I didn't have my card with me, I wasn't able to. I think I'm going to make this a habit from now on and just live on cash.

Also today HB brought Starbucks in for everyone! And as you all know, there's nothing better than a free latte!

I don't have much else to report today, I'm spending the weekend hanging out with the boy and on Saturday we have a 30th birthday party to go to for one of our really good friends, so that will be fun! Other than that, just hanging out, I will have to do a small bit of shopping, as I have to buy a birthday card, as well as a few essential groceries like milk, and wine, but other than that, I promise to stick to my NO SHOPPING plan. I'll check in with you gals on Monday, as I don't have internet at home.

Have a great weekend!

oh, I almost forgot - today HB rode his motorcycle again, and he's wearing a blue t-shirt that says 'surfer's paradise' on it, very tight and very hot! He's also wearing light jeans with some rips in them, and brown shoes. I think he went tanning last night because he looks extra brown and yummy today.

I'm still working on a photo for you ladies, so be patient!

to wear or not to wear...

So today I have a fashion question for all of you fashionistas out there.
I work in an extremely casual office where flip flops, fashionably ripped jeans, short skirts and shorts are completely acceptable. However I am unsure about the tube top/tank top rules...

Today I am wearing this shirt ---------->
with jeans and flip flops, I have my hair down so it covers my shoulders and am wearing a cute white shell necklace.

Do you think that is appropriate??? I brought a cute yellow sweater to wear on top, but I can't decide if I need it or not. None of the other girls who work here are as fashiony as me, so they would never wear something like this at home/on the weekend, ever, so I have no one here to ask.

What do you think?????

WOW!!!

A HUGE thank you to Save Leighann for her extremely generous donation to me!
I really can't believe how nice that is, I honestly never expected anyone to donate to me, but being such a warm and caring person, she has!!! Its going straight onto my VISA card :-)

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, I really can't say it enough.

P.S. Watch your PO box, I'll be sending you a thank you gift for sure!!!

YAY!!!

a little victory for me!

I was very proud of myself yesterday I went to Chapters to just wander around and kill time before the gym, and I was tempted to buy some books as I always am, but since I didn't have my debit card, I had no way to buy them. So instead, I went to the Self-Help section, and flipped through some books about saving money almost all of them recommend living on cash only, so I think I'm going to work on doing that, it would help me a lot with the spending if I didn't have my debit card handy every time I went out into the world.

Karina has asked for a photo of 'HB' which I will work on, although I'm not really sure how to secretly take someone's picture and post it online without them knowing! If you have any ideas, let me know.

In the meantime, I will tell you that today, he is wearing a white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, light jeans with a couple of strategically placed rips in them and sandles, hot, hot, hot!! I will try to find a celebrity photo as a comparison to what he looks like, and post that for your viewing pleasure.

a little wine will fix anything!

Thanks for the encouragement ladies, I'm having a much better day today, I went to the gym last night, and did a yoga class which helped immensely - the 2 glasses of red wine that I had when I got home also didn't hurt!! - and today I am starting the day with a positive outlook.

I purposely left my debit & credit cards at home today so that I can't use them at all, and my goal is to not buy ANYTHING for the rest of the week. I figure if I can get through the next 2 weeks with only $60 to my name, then I should be able to always do that, and maybe I'll be able to pay off my bills that much faster with all the money I'll be saving.

I also had a look through my cupboards last night and realized that I do have quite a bit of food there, so I'm going to use my creative culinary skills and see what I can do with tomato soup, pasta, granola bars and frozen chicken breasts. Should be interesting!! My goal is to only buy the essential groceries on the weekend like milk and some lettuce for salad.

I also had a quick look around my condo for things that I can sell on ebay and I think I've got a few things, so will gather them together and post them sometime next week. - my digital camera is broken and is currently being repaired (yay for warranties!!) so when I get it back, I will be able to post all of that stuff, and hopefully some fun pics to my blog as well.

I think that's it for me today, 'hb' is here today and looks hot as usual! Today, he's wearing a light blue & lime green polo shirt, untucked, with light vintage jeans and black shoes. He also rode his motorcycle today, so that upped the hotness factor, I swear its like a commercial when he walks in the door, takes off his helmet, unzips his jacket... I could go on, but I'm at work and it seems inappropriate, besides, its getting a little warm here at my desk!!

well, my day just gets better & better...

ok, slight problem...
I just finished doing all my banking, aka bill payments, `nd at the moment including my overdraft on 2 accounts, I have $535.18 to last me from now until my payday on the 30th. That seems all well & good except for the fact that on the 28th, I will have to pay my mortgage which is $471.29 so that leaves me with $63.89 to spend on everything, including food & gas for my car, that I might need for the next 2 weeks.

shit...shit...shit, what am I going to do???

monday...

Well, I hate Mondays, and today is no exception, why do they have to be there to start out the week so badly?? This morning I was late getting up, so that threw off my whole morning schedule and then I was 15 minutes late getting in to work! And since Friday was payday, today is pay the bills day, I just spent $200 for the luxury of having hydro, gas, and water and then put another $200 on my line of credit, oh the joys of being an adult!

My weekend was pretty good though, the boy & I went downtown to the rib festival where we scored cheap ribs and $1 beers so that was a fun way to spend Saturday night, and then yesterday I spent most of the day lounging around my friend's pool in the sun, and then had dinner with the parents.

Saturday I totalled up my debts, oh what a sad number that is, how could I let this happen??

MasterCard - $156.27
VISA - $3,225.63
Line of Credit - $6,998.22
Overdraft on my bank account (which I go into every month) $500.00

TOTAL: $10,880.12

I almost cried when I saw it. I knew it was around that much, but until that giant ugly number is staring you in the face, you just don't believe it. I guess its not too bad, lots of people owe way more, but still, its scary.

On a happy note, today 'hb' is wearing a baby-blue t-shirt, dark jeans and sandles, mmmmm delicious!

adsense???

Has anyone used this, what's it like, I was wondering if its worth adding to my blog to help with the cash flow situation, or if it will look bad and clutter up my page??

thoughts??

how I got here, and where I'm going...

Wow, thanks for the great comments, I will totally check out your sites as well, and keep updated on your lives/debt etc. That's a great idea to set up a PayPal & a Debt tally. My debt is somewhere in the $10,000 range, although I'd have to add up each of my Credit Cards & Line of Credit to be sure - I'll do that over the weekend, and update you guys on Monday. In the interest of saving money, I don't have internet at home, so I can only get online while I'm at work.

How did I get here, well, I wish I could say that I had a good excuse like school, or an emergency, or some sort of fabulous trip or something, but unfortunately, its due to too many lattes at Starbucks, and my obsession with jeans, pink & sparkly things. I am a compulsive shopper, I shop when I'm happy, I shop when I'm sad, I shop when I'm bored, there's nothing that doesn't get me in the mood for a little retail therapy. I am also one of those people who sees something, and then has to have it. If I don't buy it right away, its all I can think about, it consumes me and the only way for me to stop thinking about it is to buy it. (I know what you're thinking, 'just stop thinking about it' but its not that easy, if it were, I wouldn't be here!)

So that's how I got here, the positive things about my life are, that I have a great job that I love, it pays just ok, I should be making more. And, I don't rent my condo, I have a mortgage, which I'm sure will be a good thing later on in life, but for now, it seems scarier to me that I am responsible to a giant bank every 2 weeks to keep a roof over my head, rather than just some regular person. Unfortunately, along with a mortgage come all of those other yucky bills like hydro, heat, insurance, taxes etc. so that eats up a lot of my money each month.

Anyways, that was a really long post, and I feel like I should stop now.

oh, updates, I almost forgot...
hb is not here today :-( very sad about that, so no updates on him or his outfit.
the boy called last night, and wants to spend time with me on the weekend. There's some sort of jump rope competition going on downtown, so we may go check that out for a bit, and then park ourselves on a patio somewhere and soak up the sun, its supposed to be really hot & sunny all weekend.

debt

ok, so considering I have a serious problem with shopping and a love of all things sparkly, add to that the fact that all of the blogs I am addicted to reading belong to people just trying to scrape by and get out of debt. I'm thinking I'll use this blog to chronicle my spending habits and my effort to get myself out of debt. - as well as of course of giving daily updates on 'hb' (who by the way is looking exceptionally good today in a tight black t-shirt that shows off his extremely toned arms and great tan, and vintage jeans with really great man flip-flops).

So, any advice, help, ideas, I'm open to them, this is totally an open blog, so please comment, add me to your favourites/links/etc. I'd love to hear from anyone out there with any ideas for me.

Thanks! - online blogging rocks :-)

my life

Well, here I am, my first post.

I live in Toronto, I work for a really fun design company, and I have a little harmless crush on my hottie-mc-hot-pants boss, let's call him hb (hot boss) for short. I have an on-again-off-again boyfriend, let's call him 'the boy' - who of course doesn't know about my obsession with hb. I live in a really cute condo, and have some very strange neighbours. I have the usual troubles of an everyday 20something girl, not enough money, too many handbags, a love of wine, martinis and anything pink. My life is average, I am average (I'd like to think I'm above average, but doesn't everyone!). Lately I've been really into reading about other people's average lives online, so I figured, maybe someone would like to read about mine.

I'll try to make this interesting and give you something to laugh about, so stay tuned.

k