After Bill Pay

Ugh, right now my finances suck. Not really terrible pleased with where I'm at currently.

What I have
Checking: $17.68
Savings: $1823.94

What I Owe
Student Loan: $83.750.71
Credit Card: $165.86

I realized something the other day. My spending freeze is like an extreme diet. Instead of going slow and steady, hitting the gym and watching my intake I'm starving myself and running marathons. I'm really proud of how much I've paid off on my student loans but right now I need to work out a livable budget.

I've tried to balance too much on too little. My budget is perfect when things are going right but when they're not or when something comes up (car issues, birthdays, computer problems) it leaves me scrambling and without any money (example: I have $17 bucks to live off of for the next two weeks).

When I get paid again on the 15th instead of immediately paying a huge chunk payment and living off the rest, I'm going to pay off my credit card and pay any remaining bills (I think my utilities should be due around that time) with the remaining I'll then get food and maybe a tank of gas AND THEN I'll pay a chunk towards my student loan. I'm bummed because I won't see the huge decrease I like but I'm getting so tired of being so stressed and broke. I realized the other day that I'm not really broke at all, I make awesome money and I'm causing myself financial hardship by living outside of my means with my student loan repayments. Living within your means doesn't just refer to spending habits but saving habits and debt repayment habits.

In happier news: Can you believe how freakin' close I am to paying off 10k in principal on this loan?!?!?!?! Realistically I consider myself only in repayment for this year (I think the first year I only knocked off something sad like $900 in principal). In 6 months I have paid off $6,250 in principal!!!!

DIY: Pillow Fix

I have a junk back. Always have pretty much. I have slight scoliosis and the twist plus my usual routine of running/weight lifting don't help. I have an awesome back support pillow that I got from target years ago. It wraps around my body and has arm rests and even a cute little pocket for your remote. Over the years it has deflated from overuse and offered less and less support.

Instead of buying a new one I figured out that with a little love I could bring it back to life.

Pillow Before:

Pillow After:

Please excuse the light saturated photo :/

This was the easy DIY // up-do that I have ever done. I've been spring cleaning my house top to bottom and I have 3 assorted pillows that have come to the end of their little pillow lives. I cut a small hole in the bottom of my back support pillow and used the stuffing from my old bed pillow to fluff it up. It took 1 full bed pillow plus an Ikea couch pillow to re-stuff my back pillow but it feels amazing and looks so much better. The only cost of this project was around $2 for a little thread and needle kit. 

Need Some Inspiration

There comes a time in everyone's journey (towards whatever) that you need a little motivation/inspiration/fuel for your fire. I'm about to end month one of a two year journey towards financial freedom. I keep looking at how far I have to go instead of looking at (and appreciating) all the progress that I've made. So while I sit here and enjoy my morning coffee and eggs here are some easily Googled stories of other people who have faced the student loan debt monster and survived.

Paying off $22,000 in debt in 18 months

Paying off $15,000 in Student Loan Debt
Does it make me a monster to sort of eye-roll when people talk about "debt" that's under $20k? I'm pushing triple digit debt over here and would KILL for some itty bitty amount like that.

Advice for those with Medical School Debt
Apparently it is not uncommon for those with Medical School Debt to make student loan payments of $3,000 a month. I'm sure they probably look at my debt situation and eye-roll, haha. Also, in order to keep things in perspective this article talks about how there are still senators making payments on their student loans.

I had found other articles but I've already featured them before, there's the crazy kid who ate rotten food to save money (don't do that, just buy fresh food, paying off debt isn't that important) and then the jerk face who managed to pay off $90,000 in student loan debt in one year (and he just happens to make $100k a year).

This isn't the greatest blog post of all time but every once in a while it's important to remember that you're not alone in debt. Millions of people have money problems and there's so much inspiration and good advice out there. I'm going to make it through this mess, it's not going to be easy and it's going to take some time but in 2 years I'm going to be in such a better place.

More Attempts at Pinterest

OKAY. So I'm back from bum-outs-ville and I'm feeling so much better. Honestly, that brief period of sadness did me a world of good. I realized that almost every protagonist in feel good movies goes through some sort of down swing before they realize their true potential. I'm not saying that I have everything figured out (I doubt I ever will) but I'm definitely realizing what is important to me and what I want out of life.

This post is dedicated to my first attempts at self lead crafting. My grandmother is a crafting God and when I was a child she taught/ helped me with all sorts of projects. However, I'm 26 and it's been a few years since I broke out a glue gun. But you gotta start somewhere, right?

First thing first, my attempt at a sea shell souvenir frame!

My boyfriend and I went to the coast a month or so ago and I wanted a cheesy souvenir to remember the trip by. Unfortunately, cheesy souvenirs can cost a pretty penny. While strolling the beach I collected some shells and when I got home I figured I could hot glue them to a frame that displayed one of my beach pictures. 

I ended up picking up a couple of super cheap frames from Ikea that had a beach-y feel to them. They were around $3 bucks a pop.

I'm sure I could have done this project better or more professionally. My plan of attack was just to glue beads and shells on the frames until I ran out of space or beads. If you look really closely you can see a few strands of hair like glue from my hot glue gun. I didn't create a beautiful piece of art but I did make a cute little frame that will always remind me of a fun trip. Also, it does look better from a distance and surrounded by other frames.

I posted a few weeks ago about some homemade sugar scrub. It was seriously so easy! I made two mason jars full of scrub for $0! I had all of the ingredients for the scrub (brown sugar, white sugar, oil) and I had some mason jars and ribbon laying around my house. And the labels I used? They came with my crock pot. So easy.

A few weeks ago on Pinterest I saw a recipe for Cheesy Quinoa cakes. I could have sworn I pinned them on my DIY I Want to Try but alas I'm not seeing them. Either way, they were incredibly easy to make and so delicious. The recipe can be found on Spoon, Fork, Bacon:

Their picture is so much better than mine (did you notice how my dvd remote is photo bombing my cakes?)

Trust me, if I call a recipe easy, it's easy. Plus it's super cheap, all I had to go out and buy was lemons for the aioli and green onions (both were less than $1). I made them for Girls night and for my boyfriend and they were a hit. Plus, its the kind of recipe you can easily modify with success. 

Fell Off the Wagon: Shopping

This whole blog is about me being broke and trying to find a way to live/eat all while paying off my ridiculous student loans. I've been going strong for a while now but I am only human and not only am I human, I am a girl and there's only so long I can stay strong when it comes to shopping.

Some things you should know about me; I never throw clothes away. EVER. I have clothes from high school. If it still fits and is basically clean then it's mine forever and ever and ever. Unfortunately I am in an interesting period of my life. Adult puberty. I am going from a teenager/early 20-something to a 26 year old professional woman. The way that I dressed when I was 19 no longer reflects the person I am. Me at 19 = slip on ratty vans, tight cigarette pants, and Obey t-shirts. Think this:

Now, there is nothing wrong with this outfit or style of clothing (although, it could be argued that a pear shaped chick like me should stay away from cigarette pants but I digress) but it no longer is what I'm about. I still have these clothes but as the years go by I don't wear them as much and while my closet is filled with clothes my actual wardrobe is very small. I can't really pin point my style but I'm starting to drift more towards classic clothes and finer fabrics. Sometimes I border on preppy which is an entirely new thing for me. Here's some examples:

Photo courtesy of A Well Traveled Woman.

Photo from Pinterest

Due to my non-exisistent shopping budget I've just worked with what I've had and dealt with feeling unfashionable and sad (cue sad female drama). But I finally broke and my busted old cardigan is all to blame.

Despite living in Texas and dealing with unimaginable heat 9 months out of the year I am in love with sweaters. Cardigans, boyfriend sweaters, hoodies, and pull overs I own and love, love, love them all. I have one black button up cardigan that I wear constantly that is as near death that a piece of clothing can be. I've owned it since high school, it's missing a button, it's faded and peeling (is that the correct term?), and at one point I dropped it in my parking lot on a rainy day, ran it over with my car, and found it 8 hours later.

One day last week I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I chucked the old sweater in the trash and dragged my boyfriend to Highland Mall. Now, if you live in Austin you know Highland Mall is on it's last leg. I think there are like 5 stores remaining in it and there are constantly riots there (charming, right?). I figured I could swing by the mall, pick out a cheap sweater from the clearance Dilliards, and move on with my life. But like most things in my life this didn't go as planned. The only store left that had anything CLOSE to what I was looking for was Wet Seal. I  haven't shopped there since high school but beggars can't be choosers and it turned out to be a treasure trove of cheap, awesome finds.

Wet Seal is apparently so hard up for customers in this sad, empty mall that half the store was on clearance and they had a special deal where you buy one clearance item you get another for only a penny. I lost my mind a little. I bought a brand new black, lightweight button up, a thick gray cable knit sweater, a boyfriend style long striped cardigan, a striped flowing tank, a pair of southwest style slip on shoes, black strappy sandals, 2 pairs of panties, and silky gray camisole. All for only $32.48. That's 9 pieces of clothing for less than what my boyfriend and I spent at Taco Tuesday at Quality Seafood (best day to go IMO).

Now, I know I can't go shopping like this all the time but being able to pick up some new items for cheap made me feel so much better. My next plan of attack on my wardrobe is to buy a sewing machine and try to jazz up what I already own.

Here's a fashion show so you can see what I bought (all images from the internet because I'm too fucking lazy to take pictures).

Photo courtesy of Color Me Blue.

Tiny screenshot of sweater (but in black).

 I love this little slip ons so much. Comfortable and perfect for Texas summers. 

Haven't worn these yet but I'm excited to pair them with a fun summer dress.

Follow me on Pinterest so you can keep up with my future projects and inspiration. I have a bunch of new DIY in the works (it be coming sooner but I have to spend money on lame things like the dentist and car parts).

SXSW Photo Update!

Finally got back from the beach and I feel amazing! It's been years since I've been on a vacation and spending a few days enjoying a sunny shore with my boo was exactly what I needed. It is hard to adjust to being back but I'm slowly getting back into the swing of things.

As promised, here is another photo update and this one is still (relatively) current! For those of you who don't know each year during the middle of March Austin hosts a GIANT festival called South by Southwest (or SXSW or just South by). Shit gets cray. People are everywhere and bands are playing where ever (the street, door ways, retail shops, on the backs of trucks driving through town). Due to a major case of being broke (aka my life) I couldn't afford the $150-$200 for a wrist band to get into shows, let alone the $500 or whatever for a badge. BUT, the great thing about SXSW? So many free shows you don't even need to drop any money to enjoy music. Websites like do512 or Austin's free paper The Chronicle listed (almost) every party, event, and showcase and there were so many free one's because labels and companies want to splash out their band or product in a big way.

I worked a ton of extra hours at my second job because it's a retail shop that focuses on music and it's located in the heart of downtown. We were crazy busy but the money was awesome. I did manage to get Saturday (St Patrick's Day) off from both jobs so I wanted to experience a bit of music fun. First thing first, I had to buy some Irish whiskey (I'm Scot-Irish so I gotta rep my roots). There was a free afternoon/evening show on Auditorium Shores that I went to. The only thing I paid for was a pint of Fosters ($9!! But, honestly, can you really enjoy a beautiful Texas afternoon and wonderful music without some beer? No.).

There are sometimes I am so blown away by my town. I saw an amazing line-up of bands while standing on the shores of a river with the gorgeous Austin skyline in the background. Also, besides kick ass free parking because of my job I also enjoyed free food; Sabra hummus and Sun Chips were handed out to everyone. Can't really beat free music and free snacks.

Even though they don't have to, Auditorium Shores provided a ton of free porta potties which was awesome because a pint of beer can cause some gotta pee NOW issues.

As the sun set The Cult took the stage. The screen had a giant, really cool looking, skull on it but my iPhone obviously didn't manage to catch it. But look at that crowd! Thousands of people lined up to enjoy the show which was great and also featured a surprise cameo from Matthew McConaughey on the bongos (seriously, I can't make this stuff up). Don't believe? Here's a YouTube video.

Even though I'm young and fun and a giant fan of music after a 60+ hour work week I didn't want to deal with crowds or downtown or even people anymore. So I did the only thing I wanted to do:

I went home and enjoyed frozen pizza, bread sticks, whiskey, and yogurt pretzels with my boo. Sure, it's not as cool as some Vice or Perez Hilton after party or pre-party or whatever but my feet were the size of a beast and my sunny disposition was fading real fast.

So, there it is, my SXSW 2012. I managed to fit in work and fun and spent less than 10 bucks on everything. Now, obviously, if you were coming into town for the fest you would spend more (flight, hotel, etc) but for those of you that live close it's incredibly easy to not waste money or spend a lot.

March 2012 Link Roundup

I just want to roll in a pile of money......and then use it to pay off my student loans

So I wanted to start a new feature where I gathered news articles, hot topics, and current trends about savings, debt, and money in one easy post. Not only will this save time and stress in trying to keep up to date with everything, hopefully some great advice can be gathered and spread :)

In "You've Got to be Fucking Kidding Me/Rich People are Bastards" News

Banker Complains his $350, 000 bonus isn't enough This banker has the audacity to complain about being cash strapped and possibly not being able to afford private school, multiple homes, and fancy home renovations. SHUT THE FUCK UP. I buy dollar store toothpaste you do not know the meaning of poor or broke or strapped for cash. The article discusses how the poor can't understand the stress of the rick. Puh-lease. This banker is fretting over whether he might have to pull his kids from private school. I fret over weather I can turn on the heater when I'm freezing my ass off in my apartment.

Rich Woman Enslaves Illegal Immigrant for 6 Years: This woman lived in a mega mansion. MEGA. Helicopter pads, gold gilded ceilings, 35 rooms, etc, etc and she can't bare the idea of paying the woman who is raising her children a minimum wage. The mansion has 35 rooms and she forced this human being to live in a closet (granted it was probably a fairly large closet but still)!! Then she had the audacity to try to convince the woman's son to lie so she won't get in big trouble. I hope the illegal immigrant only identified as V.M. gets a hefty pay day and can live happily while rich whitey gets what she deserves in prison.

In "Oh, So I Just Suck at the Internet" News

Man Makes $10,000 off of Ebay Now I've mentioned in a few posts about trying to sell items on Ebay (if not please visit my store and buy my things so I can eat!). But, at the most, I've made $100 bucks. This dude makes thousands. THOUSANDS (why do I keep shouting?!?!). While, at first, this article just made me feel pathetic it also offered up some great tips on how to up your business on Ebay. The tip about using your smart phone while at thrift stores to check to see if an item is selling is great and I would have never thought about even looking into sports jerseys. As of right now, selling is sort of low on my list of priorities but it's something that I can always fall back on.

In "Saving Money the Old Fashion Way" News

Wash Your Hair Less!!: I have a ton of hair and it costs so much time and effort to up keep it. I started saving money by switching from expensive salons to beauty schools and I've gone a step further by decreasing how often I wash my hair. I usually wash my hair every other day, I've been dying my hair for years and I need the extra oil. However, now I try to go every two days or 3 times a week. Some people can go longer however, I'm in the process of growing my natural hair out and it's far greasier than the dried out dyed out I'm used to dealing with. Now, I know what you're thinking, walking around with greasy hair is gross, unprofessional, and unattractive. Yes, that is all true. BUTTTTT, there is a product that saves the day. Dry Shampoo. It is the most glorious invention ever. Just a few sprays and oily hair is transformed and appears clean looking. TRESemme just came out with a new line of dry shampoos and conditions. For less then $3 bucks you can improve your hairs health, save time on washing your hair, and save money on expensive shampoos and conditions.

6 Ingredients You Don't Really Have to Buy: I love this article. I tend to eat the same thing so I have only basic ingredients in my house. Now instead of fretting and feeling the need to run to the store if I don't have something I can just whip it up in my kitchen. Also, subbing plain yogurt for sour cream is heaven on your waist line.

6 Simple Changes that can Help You Save $2,997 a year on Groceries: I really like this article because it points out how small changes can add up to big results. Something as simple as cutting out meat a few nights a week can reduce spending (as well as improve the environment and your figure!). This article touts the wonders of the slow cooker which I feel that I have mentioned more than a few times on this blog. Best investment and so easy to use.

Myths About Car Repairs That Cost You Money: I love this article because I don't really now much about cars and it's nice to have an easy to use guide on car repairs. I don't know jack shit about engines or transmissions but I can just add a few thousand miles in between oil changes. That's more than easy since I often suffer from extreme laziness. It's insane how we become so convinced that there are things we have to do (wash our hair every day or be dirty, change oil every 3,000 miles or hurt the car, etc) that are simply ploys to get us to spend and waste more.

In life news I'm going on vacation at the end of the month!!! Woo-hooooo!!! My boo is in desperate need of a vacation (he's been working 6 days a week for a while now) and wanted to hit up the beach. Because I've obviously died and gone to heaven he wants to take me along. He's rented us a cabin on the beach. Whose life am I living right now?? My main worry is obviously spending too much so I'm coming up with great tips and ideas to save money on vacation. Until then I'm hitting the gym to get my bod beach and bikini ready.