One of Those Faces...

I took a few things to the dry cleaners today and the owner was convinced he'd seen me before, even though I had never stepped foot into the store until this afternoon.

Last week, the instructor who teaches yoga before my kickboxing class, asked me if I worked at a bar in a specific neighborhood of my city.

A few weeks before that, someone at the bank asked if I had a sister who lived in the area because they swore my look-a-like had come in earlier that day.

Apparently I have a twin (or multiple!) wandering around.

Or I just have "one of those faces." It's sort of entertaining. And it got me a $2-off-per-item discount at the cleaners today! :)

Economic Stimulation

I went a little crazy with my spending this weekend. But, I did not go overboard - good thing I didn't find work-out clothes that fit me! In the end, though, I decided that it would be nice to stimulate the economy. Plus the money I spent shopping has been budgeted thanks to my bonus. :) I saw He's Just Not That Into You which really isn't like the book at all, more of a movie based on the concept of the book. I did think it was hilarious! I used an AMC movie pass I had so that was free.

Friday
$16, Dueling piano bar with my roommates

Saturday
$150.80, New Asics sneakers to replace my 4-year-old Adidas ones
$31.25, New earrings (I can only wear expensive metal, so I buy white-gold at Macy's)
$5.81, Dinner at Taco Bell (we were running late to the movie)
$0, Movie :)

Sunday
$59.56, Wal-Mart (I bought way too much. Lots of essential toiletries that I was out of plus extra items like Crest Whitestrips, chips and VitaminWater...)
$17.23, Trader Joe's (I try to spend under $20 a trip here and go every few weeks, but I fell in love with one of their Indian soups-in-a-bag... and they had 2 new varieties so I bought those as well)
$11.89, Henry's (local supermarket which is fantastic for its produce... I stocked up on fruit like blackberries, apples and green grapes plus couscous and other things from their bulk bins)
$2.99, Whole Foods (If I could shop here regularly, I would! I bought a large on-sale bottle of Kefir, my new indulgence)

Total: $295.53

Finished My Taxes!

I successfully filed my taxes for the first time ever! In the past, my Dad has always done mine since I was a dependent. Turns out I am getting a fairly large refund for 2008. $1,039 from federal and $332 from state. However, since my state is California, I'll be waiting on that money for a while!

I've decided to put my entire state refund and $500 from my federal refund into my E-fund, so it will get a nice $832 boost this month. I also plan on putting $200 into my Travel Fund, $50 into my Car Maintenance fund (my 60K mileage check-up is approaching quickly) and $39 into my Gift Fund. The remaining $250 will be for whatever I feel like. :)

What are you doing with your tax refund, if you are getting one? (I know next year I will owe some taxes based on my withholdings.)

Spoke Too Soon...

We are doing a salary freeze. No increase in April. This article that I read today really makes a point, too, especially since my company is also doing a hiring freeze.

I'm just glad I got a slight salary increase with my promotion and I'm getting a tax refund.

And, of course, that I still have a job. Good luck out there. It's scary!

Net Worth & January Month-End

My net worth increased by a ridiculous amount last month... 45.04%! This was almost completely due to my bonus and a lot of savings from December that were allocated throughout the month and some gift exclusion money from my Dad. What a nice surprise! (The majority of the increase was in cash as opposed to retirement or anything else, and some of it will be spent.)

I also updated my sidebars and have reached $5K in my E-fund! That gives me approximately 4 months worth once I cut out going out to restaurants and such. Now time to start pushing towards my 2009 goal of $8K. :)

In terms of month-end, I had $250 leftover from my January budget. I have decided to put $200 into my Roth IRA and $50 into my E-fund.

Weekend Spending!

Between getting my bonus and the Superbowl, I really enjoyed this weekend! I went out on Friday to the bars with my roommates and some friends, went shopping on Saturday and we threw a mini-party yesterday which was a blast. :)

Friday
$8, Drinks at the bar

Saturday
$16.05, Khaki pants (so I can wear them when I start taking golf lessons again!)
$24.14, Victoria's Secret (5-for-$25 new underwear minus about $2 from an old giftcard)
$5.98, Lunch

Sunday,
$0, I baked home-made fries for the game and our friends supplied way too much alcohol/food!

Total: $54.17

January Review & February Goals

January felt like a very long month! It started out with my birthday and ended with Superbowl weekend. I have been splitting my time at work between my old position and training in my new position, so the days don't go by as quickly since half of it is now a learning process. It was also a difficult month with relationships but a good month in terms of income - my raise went into effect and I got a bonus!

January Goals Review
1. Review my budget and adjust accordingly with my pay increase, most likely allocating a bit more to savings each month Fail - I had some OT in for my first new paycheck, so I'll have to keep this for February!
2. Keep reading/knitting/working out Pass - I finished Water for Elephants and am now reading Freakonomics and The Secret. I didn't knit, but I did work out 3-4x per week, so now it's a great routine.
3. Get renter's insurance (my roommates & I keep putting this off) Fail - We put this off AGAIN!
4. Get my license changed to California Fail - Turns out the DMV closest to my place is booked until mid/end of February and I don't want to go without an appointment since the wait is FOREVER! I might try to go on my half-day on February 13th.
5. Figure out what I need done on my Civic for the 60K service & estimate costs Pass - I checked out some nearby places and looks like it will run me about $200 for the service, which isn't too bad and MUCH better than the dealership!
6. Learn to use my new food processor and my crockpot that I received for Christmas and my birthday Pass - I used my crockpot for a few snacks/meals and it worked out alright. I used my new food processor to make soup and it is fantastic!

February Goals
1. Review my budget and adjust accordingly with my pay increase, most likely allocating a bit more to savings each month
2. Splurge a little on myself (using some of the money from my budget) - earrings, manicure/pedicure, a spa day?
3. Complete my taxes

I'm keeping it short this month.