Travel Fund

My very best friend's birthday is December 11th. And she is turning the big 30! Therefore, I withdraw $900.00 from my travel fund to help her celebrate. We are going to Asheville for the weekend. All money that is not used will be replaced back into the travel fund.

Emergency Fund

I have been saving religiously in an Emergency Fund, and I am now thankful that I did. This past weekend in Memphis, I had an unfortunate accident and ended up breaking my thumb. (yes, you read that right, my thumb). I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon in the emergency room for a temporary split and made an appointment today to see a orthopedic doctor. I am not sure what this little accident is going to cost me, but I am sure it is not going to be cheap. I already had to pay a $50 co-pay at the ER yesterday.

The worst part is that I am in limbo as far as insurance goes. I am covered but with starting a new job I don't have all the paperwork processed or any insurance cards. I am not sure if I am going to have to pay out-of-pocket and then try to get the insurance company to reimburse me or what.

I had a great 4th of July at the beach. We got to the beach late Thursday night and went out and had a few drinks with some friends. The bf bought most of my drinks so I only spent about $15 at the bar. We got up early Friday morning, the bf went and got the boat out of dry storage while I made sandwiches and snacks for the afternoon. We headed out to Crab Island for the entire day and got back to the condo just before the fireworks started at 9. We were so tired from the long day on the water, we went to bed early. The next morning we did it all over again. But Saturday night we went out to eat at a really nice restaurant for dinner. Afterwards we headed to the bar for a few drinks. My total at the bar was $33.
Gas for the trip - $76.37
Ice for the boat - $6.14
Drinks for the boat - $20.82
Drinks at the bar Friday - $15
Drinks at the bar Saturday - $33.00

Grand total for the 4th of July weekend - $151.33. That means that I only went $1.33 over budget for the long weekend. Not to shabby.

July Expenses

We are starting off July with an expensive meal out. My bf's college roommate, his wife, and their new baby are coming into town today. We are planning on meeting them out for dinner. With food and drinks, we are probably talking about $100.00. Which I am sure will be well worth it. The bf rarely gets to see his college roommate because he lives 6 hours away and they just had a baby. We went and bought a baby gift last night, but the bf paid so I will probably try to split dinner with him.

Besides tonight, this weekend is also going to be pretty expensive. We are leaving tomorrow after work to head to the beach until Sunday for the 4th of July. It is a tradition for the bf and I to go to the beach, spend all day out in the boat, and then watch the fireworks. I am pretty excited! However, we tend to eat out every meal except for breakfast. So, I am budgeting $100.00 for food and $50 for my share of the gas.

Other expenses for the month include:
a $200 registration fee for a convention which I am attending July 15-20.
gas and food while at the convention.
two birthday gifts.
several happy hours to celebrate friends birthdays.

The good news. . . I have two free weekends when I will be in town and don't have any plans. Hopefully during those two weekends I will be able to recoup the money that I am spending.

Getting Back on Track

The bf and I made it back from 7 days in the Bahamas with his family late yesterday afternoon. I have to admit, it was the best vacation that I have ever taken. The most relaxing part was not having to make any decisions and just being able to go with the flow of things. It did take all of my travel fund, but it was worth every penny. The Bahamas is absolutely the most beautiful place. If you haven't been and ever get the opportunity to go - DO NOT miss the trip.

While there we ate some of the best food. We went to the only 5 star restaurant on the island, tried the local cuisine (conch), and even cooked out one night. We went snorkeling, visited Atlantis, and soaked up the sun on the beach. We were there for their Labor Day - June 6th and got to attend a parade. We even shopped a little downtown. It is hard to believe that the week is already over. I guess the saying is true - Time flys when you are having fun!

I wholeheartedly agree with all the pf bloggers who have mentioned that spending their money on experiences rather than things means more to them. I wouldn't give up this experience or memory with my bf for anything. This is a trip we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

With that week behind me, it is time to get back on track with my budget. As I explained in an earlier post, I am not very good as keeping receipts on vacation. And this vacation was not any different. However, because the money came out of my travel fund and not my monthly budget - it does not make any difference. Starting today, I am going to keep track of the rest of the month. NO excuses.

Also, now that I am back I hope to make more regular posts.

Time to Deplete the Travel Fund

The time has come to deplete the travel fund. My bf and I officially leave on Sunday morning at 7:30 to head to the Bahamas. Thus, I will be taking my $500 and some odd dollars with me for our vacation. And you know what, I don't even care that the travel fund will be empty. I am so excited to be able to experience this vacation with my bf and his family that the money means absolutely nothing to me. In fact, this was the whole reason I started a travel fund to begin with - to travel. The best part about it. . . I am not creating more debt to accomplish this trip. I will not be putting another cent on my credit card. I will actually be able to afford the whole thing with CASH.

Memorial Day Weekend

I had the absolute best memorial day/birthday weekend. The bf and I went to Destin and stayed at his parent's condo.

Now, we are off to the Bahamas on Sunday night.

We have been traveling a lot lately, and I feel very fortunate to be making so many fond memories/experiences with the bf. We have been doing very well this 2008 and I couldn't be happier.

My finances have been really coming together this year also. I am working very hard to pay off all credit card debt and starting a Roth IRA for retirement while still saving in an emergency fund. I am hoping to get all credit card debt paid off before my current job ends in July and I start my new job in August. That way, I will have a little leeway in spending.

Travel Fund

I have applied for a passport at a grand total of $160.00.

Passport

At lunch today I am going to apply for a passport. It is going to be rather expensive since I will have to have it expediated before our trip, but oh so worth it.

I updated my sidebar for my digital camera. Only $26.41 left to go! This is going to be a great buy before our trip. I am so glad that I was able to find things to sell on Ebay.

Bahamas

Yesterday, the bf came home with some extremely exciting news - his parents want to take us to the Bahamas. Nassau in particular. I have never been to the Bahamas, so this sounds absolutely wonderful to me! I guess some of that "fun in the sun" money is actually going to come into use this summer. There are several things that I need to figure out:
1. Do you need a passport to go to the Bahamas or just a birth certificate? I currently do not have a passport, but need to apply for one as soon as possible if I need one.
2. When we are actually going so I can make sure I have the vacation time put in.
3. How much a plane ticket will be. (I am sure that his parents will pay for mine, but I think this is the least that I can do).
4. And what to pack. (Ha!)

Have any of you ever been to the Bahamas? I would love any tidbits that you might know.

I have decided I am not going to adjust my debt repayment. I am still going to put $566 towards cc debt reduction every month and $334 into my "fun in the sun account." I know that this means that I will probably not meet my goal of $6000 into my ING account this year, but it will definitely be worth it. And you never know, I might come up with some more cash somewhere. Plus, once I get the cc's paid off I can snowflake the remaining money until I reach the $6000 mark then start putting extra on my student loans.

Bikini Time

The bf's parents own a condo in Destin, FL which is about a 5 hour drive for us. It is absolutely amazing. Not only can we go to the beach regularly during the summer (at least until we feel the strain in our pocketbook because of the gas prices), but we have a FREE place to stay. And with going to the beach comes "the bathing suit". I just purchased a new bathing suit with a VS gift card for $25.00. I searched online and found a coupon for $5.00 off, a free beach bag, and free shipping. Hey, you cannot beat that. I cannot even believe that VS has $25 bathing suits. Cute ones at that. My purchase is displayed above! (Hooray for me figuring out one function of this blog).

Needless to say, the bathing suit purchase was the easy part. Now, for the body that goes into that bathing suit. A much bigger dilemma. Don't get me wrong readers, I am not FAT. I don't refer to myself as FAT. I just have a few extra non-toned areas from winter that need to be taken care of since we are planning on going next weekend. So, my short term solution is the Lemon Detox Diet. Have any of you heard about it? Beyonce did it before filming the movie DreamGirls. She lost 20 pounds in two weeks. While I am only hoping to lose 5 pounds in a weeks worth of time, I am going to give it a try. Basically, you eliminate food entirely and drink a concoction consisting of:

2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon. Do not use concentrate or a drink mix, as these contain preservatives.

2 tablespoons of Organic or natural maple syrup. Again, no maple flavored syrups, for reasons above.

1/10th of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, more or less to taste.

Mix above ingredients in 8 oz. of fresh spring water, hot or cold. Enjoy!

I definitely think this is going to a challenge. Especially, since the bf will be eating regularly and I will probably be making his meals. I have willpower and know I can pull this one off. I will post results afterwards.

Let me know if any of you have actually tried this diet, and if it works or if you know someone who has tried this diet. Am I crazy for basically starving myself? Because that is what it seems like I will be doing.