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I managed to fit a satellite radio receiver into my budget for next month. Excitement!! As much time as I spend in my car these days, I’m sick of all my CDs and every local radio station and the lame-ass local commercials. Plus, Sirius isn’t too bad - $6.99 a month for an a la carte plan - whichever 50 stations I want.
So, when I get my next paycheck, I’ma order me one. And I’m gonna try to be completely rockstar and install it myself rather than paying Best Buy $70 to do it. (Plus, I’ll just suction-cup it to my dash. No need to rip the thing apart, especially since I’m getting a dock-and-play radio and MAYBE one day I’ll get a home docking kit too, or an extra car kit for Mark’s truck if he wants it or something. <—He’s been generous with loaning me his GPS so I can return the favor.)
I’m also trying so hard to stick to a budget. After month 1, I went over in a number of areas. :) Parts of that are not my fault so much. I went ahead and paid off the next three months’ worth of car insurance. I also underestimated the cost of my gas. I had to replace a tire that got a nail in it. And I shopped too much. :) (But I got two REALLY cute, REALLY comfy pairs of shoes for work. And some flattering shirts because I was having an I-feel-fat day when I bought the shoes.)
But I did put exactly what I wanted into savings and ALMOST exactly what I wanted toward my credit card, and I’m going to make up what I didn’t put toward the credit card.
Goals=paying off the credit card by my birthday, 2010. Then, as a present to myself, LASIK!! (Yay for flex spending!) And possibly a new laptop at that point too, but I’m trying not to have to get that until the credit card debt is gone.
And for this month, I want new jeans and another pair of flip-flops, and probably more work-friendly shirts. (Work wardrobe is casual, true, but my wardrobe leans toward WAY casual - like ripped jeans and smart-ass t-shirt casual. Or too-low-cut-for-working-with-children casual. <—hey, I’ve got it, I flaunt it.)
And for Mark’s birthday in May, we’re going to Cleveland for the long weekend. OK, so it’s not a hugely glamorous trip - haha. But we’re going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and staying at a bed and breakfast. That also needs to fit into the budget…or I can dip into savings for a minute. Maybe. (Savings is savings but it’s also vacay money, I decided.)
Balancing my own budget, decreasing the deficit, AND stimulating the economy. I’m damn good. Obama needs to make me his financial advisor.
