Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween, all! Enjoy the weekend and have fun/be safe tonight!

I wore my Halloween outfit to work (cavewoman) and got a lot of compliments on it. I've worn it once before and it's fun. I also had to go to the gas station and the bank after work, so I got strange looks and some laughs. :)

Tonight I am going out with my roommates and some friends to one of the local popular bar areas. I'm excited that Halloween falls on a Friday! I'm also driving, so hopefully that will save me some money - but I'll budget $30 anyway. ;) More posts this weekend.

The Money Maus Budget

Below is my standard monthly budget. My take home pay is about $1,900 a month after taxes, health insurance and my Roth 401k contributions are taken out.

Rent: $812.50
Utilities: $50
Internet: $16.65
Groceries: $150
Dining Out: $150
Gas: $125
Entertainment: $50
Shopping: $50
Toiletries: $20
Charity: $25
Other/Misc: $30
Savings: $200
Roth IRA: $200

Under the Weather

I was not feeling good yesterday at all. I seem to have picked up some sort of head cold/congestion. I went to bed early last night at 9pm and woke up at 6am when my alarm went off. Feeling slightly better, I had a shower and went to work - but didn't make it through the day. After 5 hours I left and went home. Thank goodness I have some sick time! Slept from 1pm-4pm, took some TheraFlu ($8.07 at the drugstore!) and now I'm feeling a bit better. Still have a stuffed-up nose.

In a short re-cap, my weekend was fun. Went out on Friday/Saturday night with the roommates, spent $31 at the bars on Saturday (purchased 2 drinks for friends), went to a work-out class on Saturday morning and spent all of Sunday being sick/doing laundry/cooking. I did spent $6.67 on a few groceries on Sunday - zucchini and ice cream. My roommate J bought a pumpkin and I gutted it and baked the seeds with some nutmeg & cinnamon, while he carved it. (Doesn't look exactly like that... but close enough, lol.)

Pizza Delivery

One of my roommates (T) had his sister, brother-in-law and 7-month-old nephew stop by tonight for dinner. We decided on pizza since it would be easy and we could do delivery. Then we decided to do Round Table since they were closest in proximity.

So, we ordered 2 large specialty pizzas from Round Table and the total was...

$50.00!!!

Outrageous! For TWO large specialty pizzas?! There were no prices listed online and my roommate didn't bother to ask when he called. The pizzas were $11.00 each for a large, and then they charged us for Every. Single. Topping. (There was sausage on both and that was listed as $4.00 per pizza.) Don't you only get charged for each individual topping if you create your own pizza? Not if you order one straight off the menu?

Ridiculous. I don't even know what to say.

Oh wait... how about a $5 pizza from Little Caesars instead?!

On Heels!

I love heels. More specifically, 3.5"+ heels, since I am very short. Here are my favorites that I currently own:




For the past few months, I had been dying to own a pair of fancy heels, ones that would be appropriate for parties, going out and perhaps the occasional date. Something other than just a pointed-toe, since I own a few of those already and they are my favorite. I finally found a pair that I wanted: BCBGirls "Famous" sandal. However, it was NOWHERE to be found in a size 5, online or at a store. Last week, when I read Well-Heeled's shoe posts, it inspired me to keep looking for them. Lo-and-behold, they were on sale at Amazon! With one left in a size 5! I immediately ordered them, spending $76.97. They arrived yesterday. What do you think? (I'm in love! They go perfect with my little black dresses. And yes, those are my feet. I am not the best photographer, though...) :)

Big Day!

I officially opened my Roth IRA with Vanguard!* I did not think this would occur until at least the beginning of 2009, but I had $2,000 saved up and my parents gave me the $1,000 difference to make the minimum initial investment of $3,000. Another small step towards retirement by way of an index mutual fund! This means I have completed one of my main goals for the year.

I also purchased my 2-year membership to 24 Hour Fitness, which is scheduled to arrived on Friday. (My 7-day free trial expires on Saturday.) Total cost: $298.99. I am so excited for this and I hope the other classes I try this week are as fun as the kickboxing one I took last Sunday.

A good day in the world of personal finance for me. I am excited about my new investments: equities and my personal health/well-being. :)

*Per one of my previous posts, I did a bit more research and found out that if I invest in open-ended mutual funds and not individual securities, I am allowed to open an account at Vanguard. What a relief!

24 Hour Fitness

I have been keeping up with my weekly work-out routine. I had written a post a few months ago on working out. The apartment we live in now is right across the street from a mall in which there is a 24 Hour Fitness. Last week, I found a fantastic deal through Costco where a 2-year membership to 24 Hour costs $289.99 (+ $9.00 s/h), which comes out to approximately $12.45 per month! (Of course, it is all paid up front. But compared to the $40/month plus $30 initiation fee that the club would charge, this is a phenomenal deal.)

Since I am more interested in exercise classes than actually using the machines at the gym, I went online and got a 7-day free pass to that 24 Hour Fitness across the street. I used my pass this morning and took a Turbo Kick Box class at 10am. It was a very intense, extremely fast but an amazing workout. The instructor was very encouraging and the class was packed. I really enjoyed it, and I plan on trying a few other classes this week to make the most of my free pass. Based on this kickboxing class alone, however, I am going to purchase the 2-year membership from Costco. I am the type of person that will definitely use it and not let it go to waste! I look forward to trying out other classes like hip hop, pilates and maybe yoga. :)