Update

I know that I haven't posted about myself in a long time. So here it goes...this is what has happened in the last year or so:

1. Updates on the dogs
Both Penny and Nickel are excellent. They have gotten over their destructive streak and have stopped chewing on the furniture (but my socks are still fair game). It has been really cold at night, and I was worried to leave them outside since my classes get out so late, so they have been staying inside. I am happy to report they have been perfect angels....we shall see how long that lasts.

2. I became unemployed
This summer, lay offs hit my office. Instead of being afraid, I embraced the change. I would be able to spend more time with my family, spend more time training my dogs, work on my house, and most importantly spend more time on my school work. Do you think any of this happened? Of course not...but I try. And for those who are wondering, I can afford my mortgage and utilities on unemployment with a little to spare and my savings is what is keeping my happily afloat.

3. I fell off the saving wagon
Of all the times this could happen this is probably the worst time! All the frugality became a little overwhelming I guess. I still use coupons, but I'm not an uber-shopper the way I used to be. I don't follow the blogs anymore. I know that this needs to change. My grocery and food bills are terrible. This is something I need to work on.

4. I gained 20 pounds
I could blame this on unemployment, but this started happening before I was laid off. Honestly, I think it happened because I was so unhappy. I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel and felt torn between who I was at that moment and who I was working to become.

5. I became a vegetarian
I am not going to go into all the reasons I made the change. If you want more information you can watch the movie Food,Inc. or read Eating Animals. This does make it harder to shop and eat out, but I am still managing to spend a lot of money on both.

6. I am still in law school
Nothing much has changed here, but this summer will be the first without any classes. Next year I will have a reduced class load too.

Plans for this year:

1. I will loose 25 pounds
With the help of a personal trainer I will attempt the impossible! Okay, so I know its not impossible. Heck! I've done it before. I just know that this time will be much more difficult.

2. I will run a 5K with the dogs
There are at least 4 of these in my area over the next year. I plan on running them all. I will probably take Nickel with me (he's my cattle dog mix with loads of energy) but I feel bad for leaving Penny out. She's my beagle that seems to love laying on the couch more than anything else. I will try to do a little training with her and see how she takes it I guess.

3. I will save more money
I know my weakness is grocery shopping and eating out. I don't make lists or plan meals...even though I know I should since my weight loss will benefit from that as well. Coupons can be better used if I planned better too. I did buy a freezer, a very large ticket purchase made in the spur of the moment, but I hope that this will help me make food and save it for later.

4. Do I need a job?
I mean, I am looking. But most law firms are not looking to hire a paralegal in law school, especially a year and a half away from the bar. But...when summer comes, I will be bored out of my mind. I have the option of interning, working for free essentially. I guess I will decide on this a little later.

Still leaking money....

I realized last month that my biggest spending leak is in food. Okay…so maybe I’ve known for a while that this was a problem, whatever, at least I’m doing something about it. Right? So instead of just idly tracking this budget and watching it as it crosses over into the red each month, I decided to try going cash only for food expenses. This actually worked, for the first few weeks….and then I realized my trips through drive thru windows went up. I guess this had an opposite effect on me, when I have cash I want to spend it.

So, now I am trying to reign in this spending with new rules…no more drive thru windows. If I have to get out of my car then there is less of a chance I will stop for fast food, and more of a chance I will run into a grocery store instead. At least that’s what I am hoping. I will still try using cash only and see how it works out.

My budget for food is still really high. I need to lower that number as well...but that will come later, one step at a time for now.

But then again, maybe I am going about this all wrong. Can I really modify my behavior by enacting rules against myself? What do you think?

Net Worth October 2009

Assets   $ Diff % Diff Cash $18,136 - - Stocks $0 - - Bonds $0 - - Annuities $0 - - Retirement $3,728 - - Home $135,000 - - Other Real Estate $0 - - Cars $4,665 - - Personal Property $0 - - Other $0 - - Total Assets $161,529 - -

Debts   $ Diff % Diff Home Mortgage(s) $134,004 - - Other Mortgage(s) $0 - - Student Loans $21,267 - - Credit Card $268 - - Car Loans $0 - - Other $0 - - Total Debts $155,539 - -   Net Worth $5,990 - -

+$1262

Not bad...not that great either, but I will take it! Check me out at NetWorthIQ.

Increasing my Net Worth by Going Cash Only

I'm getting fat while loosing lbs of moolah!

No wonder I'm gaining weight...I'm spending a small fortune on food! Well, in my defense there are three days a week I am away from home for 15 hours, making dinner especially hard to anticipate. Yes, I know I could take something with me and nuke it before class, but come on now let me have some joy in life! This is why I actually have a budget for coffee. I don't really eat dinner when I have class, I find it makes me sleepy right in the middle of the lecture.

Instead I stop by Starbucks. There... I said it... the "latte factor". Honestly, I think I spend less by going to Starbucks three times a week (four if you count Saturdays) than I did eating dinner on school nights. That.... and I need caffeine.... its a necessity. (ask any other law student and they will concur). I bleed java.

So its time to cut back and stay on budget and maybe even loose a few pounds while I'm at it. And, in order to do this efficiently I think I will attempt a new strategy....cash only for food. This is very scary for me because I never carry cash. I am more afraid I might be tempted to throw down my card, or even that I might do so out of habit. My plan will have to wait until next month, when the my evil genius plan kicks into action. Okay, so its not an evil genius plan, its not even my plan really...check out all of these other posts on it:

Need a good reason to go cash only? Try 6! Check out this wisebread post on reasons why cash only ROCKS!

Ramit at IWillTeachYouToBeRich is one of my PF heroes. He challenged his readers to save $1000 in a 30 day challenge. Tip #23 of the challenge - go cash only for 30 days!

A guest post by Danny Kofke at GetRichSlowly explains why cash is king!

Trent at the Simple Dollar shows that once we recongnize we have a spending problem, and I think I do when it comes to food, using a cash only system keeps you honest about your spending.


So, I am starting tomorrow, payday Friday. I am going to start with $380 for the month, or $190 for two weeks....that's $80 a week for those who need it broken down barney-style. This is for all food..... for lunch, going out for dinner, groceries and coffee. This seems a really high, and I am hoping the sight of so much money in my grips will make me re-think spending it....or give me an anxiety attack...seriously =\


Would you ever consider going cash only?