Dreaming of Big Money....Is this a sign?

So I just woke up from the most amazing dream ever.  I dreamed that me and my close friend went to the casino and I won big.  I mean really big.  I went with only $30 and left with $800,000 just from playing blackjack.  Some type of way my friend was dealing, but she had no clue what she was doing.  It was kinda like how you play a video game against a guy and you are just pushing buttons and then all of a sudden you win.  (That's why guys don't like playing video games with girls)

In my dream, I surprisingly stuck with my plan.  I paid off my last 2 credit cards, paid off my car, purchased a home in the city where my school is (paid cash), and saved the rest.  I don't know why I didn't pay off school in the dream but thinking about it I would do that too.

I know I won't be balling like that this summer, but I do plan on cashing out my retirement accounts.  I know this is always the #1 think people tell you NOT to do, but doing so will help me stay afloat during school.  By taking out my retirement, I will be able to pay off my last two credit cards, pay rent for my current apartment (the remainder), survive the summer with my pay slashed in half, and pay for moving expenses.  After all that I may have just a little left over, but I won't be in the red from month to month once school starts.

Payday checkup

It's not quite Friday yet, but payday is tomorrow so I figured I'll check in with my progress so far.  To be honest, the past two weeks have been such a bust.  I eat out entirely way too much!  My total of eating out/groceries (mostly eating out) is...well...way over my budget of $120.  It's more like $320 or more!  I can't access my bank's website now to tell you.  Since I spent so much and exceeded my food budget within 2-3 days of receiving my paycheck, I've tried to do better this week.  I still went out some, but much less than before and I have been eating at home more.  Because I've overspent on eating out, I have to allot some money for groceries with this paycheck.  That amount will be $60.  I think that is very doable especially since I've had nothing to drink but water lately.

Another plan of action is to disperse all funds immediately.  What I mean is if I say I'm going to put a certain amount in savings then I'll do it instead of letting it sit around in checking.  I figure if I move all my money around, I won't be able to access it on food or other excessive areas of spending.

I had a little setback but the key is not to let it get me down.  Just keep moving forward.

100% Tuition Free (until August)

Well I said that I was going to do it and now it is done.  My tuition for both schools are now 100% paid for.  I hate I had to pay for classes I didn't take, but you live and learn.  I am so glad to have this monkey off my back.  Next debt hurdle to attack:  IRS.  Payments to them begin this month on the 20th.  I plan on rereading my paperwork to see if I can pay early.

Credit Report and Resignation

Today I decided to check my free credit reports through www.annualcreditreport.com.  If you did not know, this is the ONLY website where you can get your credit report (minus score) 100% free with no strings attached.

I am proud to report that besides my bankruptcy, there is only 1 negative item on my report.  I've come a long way because this number used to be much higher.  The negative item is from my truck payment being late one month in 2011.  Those were rough times.

Also...my payment history (besides the truck) is 100% green.  This means that I am paying everything on time!  Yay me!  Green sure does look good!

I checked my score on Credit Karma and it was looking pretty good too at 692.  I am really proud of myself.  When I started this blog I never imagined that I would be close to 700.

On another note, I finally submitted my resignation letter today.  My last day working for the school district is coming in 38 days.

Going on a Cash Diet

Payday will be here this week and it marks the official beginning of my new budget.  I must admit, I have been going super crazy lately with eating out and shopping, so this is going to be really difficult.  I must try though, because I will never know if I can if I don't.

I plan on using my Dave Ramsey wallet again in order to use the envelope system.

I must be disciplined if I plan to be successful.

On another note, I have determined that my rent for school must be $500 or lower, preferably with utilities included and in walking distance to the school.

Updated budget for April - June 2013

Here is my updated budget for the next three months.  I've been doing some calculations regarding pharmacy school and it is definitely not pretty.  I need to save as much money as possible and even then it may not be enough.  Some notes about my budget are listed below...

Income - This includes teaching salary only.  I'm using my paycheck from Walgreens to pay for tuition and a trip to my school, so I'm not counting it at all.  My salary is inflated due to my surgery and moving from a 12 month schedule to 10 month schedule.

Car Insurance - I just received a letter in the mail today saying that my payments have been reduced from $184 to $166 a month.  The new payments begin in April.

AT&T (TV and Internet) - Today I called cancel my TV service.  There were no penalties for doing so and my payments to AT&T have been reduced from $75 to $26 a month.  I'm keeping the internet and I can watch TV through my computer.

IRS - I have to pay back this year and I am paying $300 until June.  The first payment begins in April and will be direct debited each month.

Miscellaneous - This will include money for anything not included in the budget, like doctor visits, medications, clothes, etc.  These don't occur regularly enough for me to budget for them.

Savings - This should actually be $670.  I forgot to add my new funds to savings.


My short term goal is to save $2500 by June 14th.  I'm going to try my best to exceed that goal.

financial interruptions

There are three main things going on right now that have derailed me from attacking my debt like I want.  The good thing is that all of these will be done with by mid-May, I just hate I have to pay it all.

1. ( and #2) School Debt!  $679 and $330

When I set out to apply to pharmacy school I saved up a lot of money because I knew it would be hella expensive.  Because of those expenses, I ended up not being able to cover school completely.  I signed up for some payment plans and the last payments will be in April.  What really sucks is that I am paying for classes I withdrew from!  I found out after the deadline about getting into my school of choice that only required 1 of the 3 classes I was taking.  So I dropped the other two because I was super behind in them anyway and did not want to risk getting a bad grade.

#3 - IRS $1020

This is the first year that I have ever had to pay anything back on my taxes.  Last year I came close, but I received a refund after entering in my union dues and teaching expenses.  This year I entered my taxes twice because I just refused to believe that I owe over $1000.  I did not have enough to pay it all at once, so I signed up for a payment plan to pay as much as I could which is $300 a month.  This amount would be a lot more if not for school payments.  The last payment is May 20th.

After these debts are taken care of, I would really like to pay off my credit card debt but I must save for the future.  I know that I am going to have to pay rent twice for 3 months when I move for school in the fall.  I am about to be on broke college student status, so saving as much as I can will really help.  Also, because of my surgery earlier this year, my pay calendar changed.  My last paycheck from my main job is June 14th.  I should be able to work as a pharmacy intern this summer and get paid a little more, but not enough to replace what I am making now.  That is another reason I gotta save save save!!!