There's a Light

At the end of the tunnel, that is.  And it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down there.

Notice how I haven't bitched and moaned about money recently?  It's not because we won the lottery (I WISH).  Actually, things are still tight, but we've had a better handle on where our money needs to go which, really, makes all the difference.  I have a spreadsheet on my computer which goes all the wayt o the end of the year and basically tells me which bill I'm paying each week and how much (i.e. we split up our cell phone bill just 'cause we can and it's our largest bill...).  It's definitely helped us be more diligent about who we need to pay and how much we're going to set aside for rent and our car payment.

But at the end of August, Jerome's car needed $400 worth of work.  Money is still tight and we still aren't contributing ANYTHING to savings so we had to pull that from our rent money for September.  Luckily, we have amazingly forgiving landlords and were able to pay them half on September 5 and half on the 12th.  But now we're stuck in a hole.  That set us back a little bit on saving for NEXT month's rent.  Which could snowball into a lot of other issues.

I need a money tree.

Luckily, Jerome is putting in a LOT of overtime and I just finished a pay period at the bookstore with a LOT of hours so there is money coming in.  AND Jerome just got a new position at work; it's not necessarily a promotion but it does come with a decent pay raise.  That money will be nice once it starts coming in.  Yeah, you read that right.  Jerome has been in this new position for almost 2 months and hasn't seen a dime of that raise.  No, in case you were wondering, that's not legal.  But he will be getting retro pay for all of the hours he's put in since then without this pay raise.  This raise is like $2-3 more than he currently makes (or so we're expecting), so the retro pay should be very very very nice.  It's just a matter of being patient until then, LOL.

Just thought you were interested about where we stand on all that.  We're looking forward to being able to pay off a huge chunk of debt once that retro check comes in.  Until then, though, I feel like we're hemorrhaging money.  (Especially when I realize that I didn't click the "finalize" button on 2 of my payments I made last week... and we lose another $150.)

BUT don't think that I have forgotten about my pledge.  There's only NINE DAYS left of the 30.30.30 campaign and only NINE DAYS for you to comment on this post.  Do it.  Do it.  Do it.  Especially since Kait is matching whatever I donate.  And seriously $4 seems pretty wimpy right now...

Cars and Toenails

Thursday Jerome and I bought a car. it's a 2005 Nissan Sentra (oh, how I miss MY old Sentra... sniff...) with 76,000 miles on it. And, Jerome is always quick to point out, a stick. We got a great deal on it and it was a pretty quick and painless procedure. We test drove, we said we like it but we're only willing to pay $x amount per month, any higher and we walk. So they gave us the price we wanted (which was actually about $20/mo less than we could actually afford!) and we (well, J) got a brand new car. It was so nice being a two-car family.

Yes, I did say was.

Remember the fiascos I was having back in June with my car? how I had, like, 3 starters put in within a week?? Well, my car decided last night that it didn't want to start. Again. And it's 6,000 out of the 12,000 mile warranty on the part. Well FML.

Well, it started this morning so we drove it the 1 mile to the South branch of the shop we always take it to and dropped it off, then J drove me to work. My grandma was supposed to come pick me up at 3 for a doctor's appointment to remove and ingrown toenail, but they sent my home at 10:30, so J has to drive and pick me up, then take me home, then go to work ('cause I can't drive a stick yet!).

After I get my nastiness removed off of my foot, I called the garage for an update.
Diagnosis: Lagging Starter

BUT

He said he didn't care that we were 6,000 miles outside of warranty, he knows how much trouble we've had with this starter before, so he's replacing it. FOR FREE. And the diagnostics test he had to run? On the house.

MLIA

So Nice to Breathe...

It's payday. Typically on payday, after I pay the bills, I have a slight panic attack: "How in the HECK are we going to make it on X amount of $$ for the next two weeks??"

Not this time.

Because I get paid next week.

Almost as much as we got paid today.

So nice to be able to breathe!!

(PS: I'm pretty proud of my new layout, so you should come out of Google Reader and check it out!)

My mom didnt let me watch Roger Rabbit when I was younger...

Because she was worried I'd get the wrong impression from Jessica Rabbit. Ha ha. (It's on TV right now, so I thought I'd share that little tid bit.)

J is cashing in a mutual fund that has been losing money for a few years now because he hasn't put anything in there. We're using it to pay off our smaller department store credit cards. This helps a LOT because we'll have about $100 more a month for expenses and my student loans kick in in June (blech) so as long as I find steady employment soon, there really IS a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Hee hee.

He also needs a new car. We're trying to push the one he has as long as possible, but I'm just not sure it's going to last very long. He's bee looking at cars online and has found a few he likes, but I worry that he's going to find something he loves and get his heart set on it but we won't be able to afford it. And with my employment being up in the air right now, I really don't need the stress of $150+ a month in car payments.

In other news, my graduation ceremony is on Saturday. I'm not too keen on going, but my best friend and I graduated high school together, so she wants us to walk in our college ceremony together. Plus it's her birthday, so what are you gonna do? J has to work and can't find anybody to come in, which I don't really mind. I wouldn't want to sit through a graduation of a couple thousand people. (Oh, and for those who were wondering, I WAS able to order my cap and gown. Yay!)

Our youth kids are planning the service for May 17. It's an annual thing and it's always a hit with the congregation. This year, like every year, I'm working with the kids ont he music. The other night went so well and I'm so proud of how hard they are all working! In the past, I've had trouble getting them to listen to each other and to not be afraid of the mics. This year I don't have that problem. They are all for the most part confident and listening to themselves and to each other. And the band is more youth than it has in years past. Our drummers are in 6th and 7th grade, our guitarist is in 10th grade, and our bass player is in 9th grade. Our piano player is our regular piano player, but you're only as young as you feel, right?! It's going to be a lot of fun and I'll be sure to post pictures.

I'm also going to the Cedarledge open house on Sunday the 17th. It'll be nice to go back to visit and give tours to families. And I'm pretty sure I"m to a point where I can handle being there without getting too emotional. It's werid, though. K asked me to lead worship on the 31st because she ad the woman she usually asks to fill in will be out of town. I told her I could do it, then realized that if I were going to camp this summer, I would have been gone! So weird!! I'm making plans for the summer and looking for a summerr job.... I'ver never had this kind of liberty with my summer. (Not that I'm complaining, because camp was a huge part of my childhood and made me who I am.) Should be interesting...

So excited...

I just logged on to my school's portal where I can check my grades, financial aid, etc, and I had a nice surprise waiting for me.

The school owes me.

A lot.

Like, $300+

And that's BEFORE I get my housing deposit back.

Woo hoo!!

Ha. In other news, J and I are almost completely moved in. I say almost because there are still boxes to unpack and my room at my parents' is still in shambles. But it's starting to look like our home. :-)

I had Christmas with my mom's family yesterday and I got the coolest present EVER. My uncle gave me a bass guitar. Well, technically, he's indefinitely loaning me a bass guitar, but still. I'm psyched to play it at rehearsal tonight. :-D

In case you were wondering, there's only 82 days until I get married!!!