Breaking Down - The Dress

Weddings Weddings everywhere!

Loveyy and I are getting married June 23rd. His Brother is getting married in March! How exciting.

So with all that being said I have gone ahead and purchase the dress already.
I bought :
-The dress
-A crystal necklace with pearl
-A veil
-Undergarments

All for the grand total of $1,085 (Alterations not yet factored in)

I know the number seems a bit scary, but in all honesty, if you've ever been through a wedding, you know its a pretty darn good price for the dress of my dreams. I'm frugal in every category but this one. You only get married once (hopefully).

So mom is splitting the cost with me right down the middle, and luckily we have an amazing dress shop, so they are allowing us to make payments on the dress. Every two weeks mom and I each pay $30. So that is roughly $120 a month towards our dress.


We have made 3 payments on it so far - so we are down to  $905. 
That means we have 15 more payments - with our last payment being $65. We will officially be finished paying off the dress by the first week of February! 
Which is amazing. And a lot easier on our wallets. No one is touching their savings this way and going a trillion dollars into debt.

If you haven't gotten married yet - I seriously suggest you find a place that allows you to do this - Interest free.

Time for a Check-In

Its been a while since I posted last.
Honestly, sometimes life just gets in the way!

We have been busy since we moved to New Hampshire, mom and I have been planting gardens, and tending the yard harder than I thought possible. Between getting the vegetable garden going, and putting in two new gardens (one for pumpkins and one for flowers).  And I have been enjoying every minute of it.


Now, getting down to the "Personal" finance aspects of things.

I am up to 32 hours a week at work! FULL TIME BABY. It happened much, much quicker than I had anticipated. In two and a half more months I will be eligible for company health, dental, and vision insurance, and I have to be honest, I could not be happier about it. As of right now, I am accruing my PTO. I also get PAID holidays. Never in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would be receiving Money, to sit at home and enjoy the fireworks on the fourth of July. On top of it all I Love My Job. 
Not that it's not tough. I work with disabled adults, so it has its challenges, but at the end of the day, I feel like I have accomplished something really meaningful.

I also have Money in Savings!... Not much, and most of it will be depleted shortly, when Auston goes back to Florida to get his car. But still, we steadily add to it each week. And that is something I have never been able to do before. So I am proud.

We are also sound enough to take $50 out of each paycheck (every two weeks) and put it towards a date night. So we get to go out and do something small every weekend, which is lovely.
I got the idea after seeing my grandmother go out every Friday night with Grampy.

We take $100 every two weeks and go grocery shopping, so the food has been good! In Florida we went maybe once a month, and food in the house was scarce to say the least. And we definitely didn't have Snacks. So that has me stoked too, we hardly actually spend the $100, so leftovers gets put aside for later.

All in all, things are looking up. Its still tight for us, and we are about to enter into some more bills as we take over the house this month, but we are making it. We have room to move too, I can cut back on things if I have to, like date night, so I'm not to panicked.

Now, A briefing on my up and coming wedding! AHHHH.
We set the date for June 23rd, 2013.

A few weeks ago I bought my dress. And my Veil. And a beautiful necklace made with crystals and pearls. And my Sexy Undergarments. All for $1,085. Can you Say heck yea?!
The dress is truly beautiful, and I couldn't be happier with it.
The best part is that they are letting us make payments. We put $100 down and my mom and I are splitting the cost, so I pay $60 a month, it will be paid off by January. Which is awesome.

We are going simple for the wedding, we are having in the yard. And paying for things as we go throughout the year. That way the financial toll won't be too bad.

And there you have it! I will try and update more often. Shame on me :)

Hand Crushing Peppers.

So I have been shadowing at my new job for two days now.
It been pretty good thus far.
And thats pretty much all I can say.
Because I work with disabled clients, talking about my day at work is pretty much a Huge No-No.

I am so excited for my paycheck though!

Mom and I have been getting the yard ready to garden, and I am so excited. I have already started a bunch of seeds inside.
My main goal is to grow enough herbs to maybe sell a few on the side. (one can hope)
Yesterday I crushed up some dried hot peppers. We had tons leftover from last year. I filled an alfredo jar full!
I have a mortar and pistol I hardly ever get to use so I was excited. It would be safe to say that was a fairly large mistake. The pepper dust filled the air and I was tearing up and coughing, and I thought I might die. It was fun though. And now we have home grown crushed hot peppers.
So excited.

Closing out March.

I haven't posted much lately. Mainly because I haven't been working, so I haven't had anything financial to talk about.
I had orientation for my new job on Friday though, so hopefully the financial chats will be rolling in soon!

Since its the first of April I thought I would do a recap on my goals for March.
Here they are -

I must warn you though, it isn't pretty.

March

-Do some exercise 3 times a week.
My original goal for the year was to walk 3 miles a week. But finding the time to walk was difficult. So I'm changing it to exercise. Any kind. 3 times a week.
Uh. Well here's the deal. I haven't been tracking this. But I can tell you that I have been very active, taking walks and raking, and so I cant say whether I passed or failed.
-Attempt to put $200 in my emergency Fund.
I haven't put anything in here yet, but if I'm going to get to $2,000 by January, I need to start being more aggresive with it.
Done. wonderful. $200 smackaroo's sitting in the bank.
Its a wonderful thing.
-Show Auston the awesomeness that is New Hampshire.
I grew up here. He is moving from Florida for the first time in his life. I just want him to understand the beauty and coolness of where we are going to.
We have driven around, and sight seen. and over all he is very happy. So I consider this a success.
-Donate $90 to a charity of my choosing.
A little more than last month, but I can't skip out on a month, or else meeting my goal for the year will be near impossible.
Hmm, well. It took longer to get into my position than I had anticipated, So I wasn't able to put this money in.
Also because I was let go of my last job earlier than anticipated lat year I wasn't able to Donate the $80 like I wanted. So I am really far behind in this. We will see how it goes.
-Sew 3 baby bibs.
I want to start sweing and selling different items to help pay for our adoption fee's in the upcoming years. Hopefully I will be gitting a machine shortly.
Not even one.
-Write another Chapter in my book.
I have been neglecting my story :( And it is off to such a great start. So this month I want to sit down, and really focus on it.
Fail. Fail Fail.

There you have it.
My not so success for the month.
After some careful thought though, I think I just had to much planned for such a stressful point this year. We just moved to a new state.

This month has simple goals:

April

1.) Cash. Pay for things in cash, so I will have change to stick in my sealed pot.

2.) Pay for May & Junes Rent in advance.

3.) Start running. I really want to and I am just to chicken to try.

Old school, but still awesome

So the other day mom and I were talking about the new bills we were going to have to pay once her boyfried moves out and the house becomes ours. There were so many things that I just couldn't keep my head straight and I was trying to tally it up and come up with a rough estimate of what our monthly bill total will be and I just couldn't. Mainly because we still aren't sure about a few things. Like whether or not we would have cable or Netflix, or whos name would go under certain bills.

I was getting a bit anxious. I've been waiting tables or bartending for over two years now and the thought of living on a paycheck instead of tips is a bit strange. So I was thinking and thinking about how to keep the bills straight, so I wouldn't overspend and be caught off guard.

This is what I came up with -

I went to the store and bought a big sheet of bright colored poster paper. On the top of it I wrote Month, followed by Bill #1, #2-10, EF contribution, Car Savings and finally the total of it all for each month. Then I made lines for each column, wrote the months going along the left hand side and proceeded to fill it in.

I am really happy with it because now I have a way to keep the bills straight, and I made sure to include enough columns so if a random bill we don't typically have like gifts, or a trip to the vet comes up we can factor that in for the month as well.

I'm going to post it up in my kitchen, where I can be sure to see it everyday.

I know this idea isn't new by any means, but for me it seemed to be the easiest way to keep up with it all.

The board isn't beautiful. I'll probably make a new one and lamanate it and make it SUPER awesome later on, but for now this works.

What about you? How do you keep the bills straight?

A little of this and that.

I swear to you you'd think I was applying for the CIA.
All the paperwork that goes with the job I'm hoping for. And the real kicker is, I havent even technically been accepted yet!
NUTS!
Its a bunch of faxing things, and e-mails, and basically making sure I'm not a creep.
I am so excited to start work but in the mean time my money pot is dwindling FAST. Its got me a bit on edge.

On the upside though, I managed to put $200 into savings this month! Woo-hoo. Now the challenge : to keep it there!
I also was still able to add money to my car Fund, which brings it up to $90. :)

On the downside, I was let go from my last job sooner than I had hoped so I wasn't able to give my charity money last month. I know it sounds bad, but we really needed it to get by. Hopefully this month we will be able to do something.

Sorry this is so spuratic.

I was really hoping to go for a run today, I was so excited. But alas, life got in the way and I had to fill out some paperwork and go fax it, and then I had to make dinner, and now it is cold, and dark and I have resided to blogging instead.

I need to start getting more organized with my posts again.

I swear I am all over the place!

WE'RE HERE WE'RE HERE WE'RE HERE!

So after three days of driving we ended up here at about noon on Tuesday. I have so much more money left over  than I had anticipated. It's awesome!

The drive was alright, dad convinced me to take 95 all the way up so we could avoid hitting snow in the mountains and we hit so many ridiculous tolls! I picked on him, because my route would have avoided them all. I swear I didn't realize ho high they had gotten!
We only hit snow once driving through Virginia, and it came out of no where so there was no salt on the roads and our smooth sailing slowed down for a bit.
We made it out though, and now we're here!

I have talked to me new boss, and hopefully will begin work within the next week.

Other than that it has really just been a whole lot of family time. My entire family (mom dad and brothers) haven't been together in years so it was interesting. I'm wiped out from the whole thing.

Hopefully within the next few days things will start to mellow out and get into the norm. I still feel like I'm on one big vacation.

I am going to crash now.

Hello Lent.

Lent is traditionally observed and taken in part by Catholics.
I grew up in a big old Catholic family. I, however, am not. My mom never was either, its only my dads side. I'm like the one cracked egg in a carton full of perfect ones. Whenever religion is brought up at family dinner I just kind of bow my head and concentrate real hard on my food.

This Sunday all the kids are talking about what they've given up for lent - Their Nintendo DS's, etc. one of the smartass little ones said he has decided to "give up giving something up" I coulda smacked him.

My cousin asked me what I decided to give up in which I replied "Uh, Not Catholic. Remember" He then decides to announce it to the world. Annoying. They all know, but no one likes to be reminded of it. Not that most of them attend Mass ever anyways.

I got to thinking these past few days though, maybe I will give something up. Why not? I like a challenge. So I have decided to give up Coke for Lent. I have been trying really hard to cut back on this anyways. So there you have it, I am giving up Coke for Lent, wish me luck.

Are You Giving Anything Up?

Yearly Goals Checkin #2.

1. Walk 2.75 miles a week.

This has just not happened yet! I find it incredibly difficult to find the time to do, and when I find time it either rainy, or cold. So I have decided to change the perameters on this one. This challenge was all about fitness and health, so instead of walking I am changing it to exercise. From now on I will Exercise 3 times a week. Hopefully this challenge works a little better.

 

2. Save $1,000 to donate to a charity of my choice.

So far we have $80 saved up which will go to the charity of my choosing sometime this week. I am so proud of the fact that we managed this.

 

3. Put $2,000 into an emergency fund!

Total : $0. BUT next month I plan on putting $200 in. It just seemed silly to save for anything other than our move right now. Silly and impracticle.

 

4. $5.00 a week into a new car fund.

Check! This month we actually put $10 a week in to bump it up a little. So far I am very happy with this challenge and the way that its going. I wish I had started it sooner.

 

5. Start an IRA.

Not quite. But I start my new job in March, so hopefully after that I will be able to open up a retirement account.  

 

6. Finish writing my book.

I didn't open it once this month. Shame. On. Me.

 

7. Volunteer once a month in my community.

Okay here's what happened - we planned on volunteering at this one place. Then the woman got sick. Then Auston got sick. Then we were two months away from our move and it all seemed impossible to find time. So this month we failed. But we'll go twice next month to make it up!

8. Read atleast one book a month.

Done! I read The Help. which was awesome, and I suggest everyone reads it.

9. Use coupons for every BIG grocery trip.

I have been using them more! We went out to eat and saved $10 with a coupon! I'm just having the hardest time finding them!

 

10. Reduce eating out to no more than twice a week!

Lets not talk about this. Safe to say this month - that didn't happen.

 

11. Call my family atleast once a week.

I have been doing really well with this one.

 

12. Make and give away atleast 3 blankets.

I am halfway done with my crocheted one! And I just recieved a sewing machine from my Aunt, so I  should start sewing some soon!

My Dearest February, Thou art always the Worst.

Financially Speaking that is.

I don't know what it is about this month, I start off strong, still reeling from bringing in the New Year with a bang. Then two or three weeks go by, valentines day, my Birthday and all of a sudden I've lost track of my spending and my budget for the month is shot to hell.

Maybe you've noticed my lack of spending? Well thats the reason.

Today Marks the first day of our last week as Floridians. These next few days are going to be hecktic and I don't know if I will have time to post. So I figure this is as good a time as any to review my monthly goals.

-Double up on my Car fund : Put $10.00 each week instead of $5.00This thought donned on me the other day, I figure, why not? So instead of putting $20.00 aside, I'll be putting $40.00 aside this will bring my total to $80.00! Woo - High Roller. Its getting there - a little at a time.
We were laggin here in the middle (all of that mindless spending) but assuming all goes well this week we nailed this one! :] And I am that much closer to a new Car!
-Put $80.00 in my Charity Fund
I guess this is my magic number this month! So far I haven't put anything in my charity fund and that's a little upsetting. Now $50 seemed like to little, while $100 seemed like A LOT so I'm sticking to $80 this month.
Almost there! Once I work on tuesday I will be there and we will be writing our check. I am so happy we managed this!
-Comlete 1/2 of my first blanket.
I am slacking! I swear to you I will never crochet another blanket again. it takes WAY TO LONG!
Probably my best accomplishment! I was on a roll! then I slowed down, but I am deffinately about halfway there. I can not wait to see this puppy finished.

Whats next you ask?
March Goals:

-Do some exercise 3 times a week.
My original goal for the year was to walk 3 miles a week. But finding the time to walk was difficult. So I'm changing it to exercise. Any kind. 3 times a week.

-Attempt to put $200 in my emergency Fund.
I haven't put anything in here yet, but if I'm going to get to $2,000 by January, I need to start being more aggresive with it.

-Show Auston the awesomeness that is New Hampshire.
I grew up here. He is moving from Florida for the first time in his life. I just want him to understand the beauty and coolness of where we are going to.

-Donate $90 to a charity of my choosing.
A little more than last month, but I can't skip out on a month, or else meeting my goal for the year will be near impossible.

-Sew 3 baby bibs.
I want to start sweing and selling different items to help pay for our adoption fee's in the upcoming years. Hopefully I will be gitting a machine shortly.

-Write another Chapter in my book.
I have been neglecting my story :( And it is off to such a great start. So this month I want to sit down, and really focus on it.

There you have it!
Agressive, but imprtant to me! <3

Little car and I visited the Jiffy Lube :]

So my little 1994 Honda Civic is once again responsible for transporting Loveyy and I from one home to the next.
Almost two years ago I was packing her up and driving her 1,500 miles down here. I never thought she'd have to make the trip twice.
With the big move just 11 days away we decided to bring her to the car doctor for a check-up.
They filled up all of her fluids, and changes the oil. They also convinced me to flush the radiator. I haven't done this since I got her and I have put a good 100,000 miles on her since momma gave her to me after graduation in 2010.
All of this should have cost me around $130, which was steep but if it needed to be done, then it needed to be done.  However, with coupons, and discounts it only came to $70! I'd say I got a good deal! Proud? I am. We also bought some fuel injector and filler her up so hopefully her gas mileage will improve a little.
I LOVE when we take her in and get her tuned up, she always drives so much better afterwards.

Just 11 more days!!
I can not wait.

Yes, I am still here.

Sorry! I've been pretty scarce these past few days! I was working, and now Auston is out of town, so I've been having some time to myslef lately.
I thought about working tonight, then decided I really needed a Me day.

I promise to be back tonight with something financially relevant!!

Nineteen to go!

In exactly nineteen days I will be packing up the last little bits of my belongings loading my two cats and my dog and Loveyy into my itty bitty 1994 Honda Civic, while my dad gets into the 16 foot budget truck I have reserved and we will all be pulling out of Austons moms drive and heading for our new home in the mountains.

This has all happened rather quickly. When I started planning this trip 6 or 7 months ago it seemed like it was going to take forever! Even as soon as 2 months ago I still could hardly see the end of all the moving, and packing and planning and stress. Now its basically here at my doorstep and I am still a little shocked by how quickly these past 6 months have gone by.

I am amazed by my ability to pull something as large as moving 1,500 miles awway in just a few short months. Auston has never made a transition like this. I however, am all to familiar with starting fresh. I have moved to many times to count! The summer before I started high school I moved from New Hampshire to California. Talk about scary. Maybe the fact that I'm callous to moving now is why I have such trouble trying to talk to him and comfort him. He is after all leaving everything and everyone he has ever known behind, and I am headed towards my mommy. I know its tough.

Here are a few pieces of advice when planning a move such as this:

• Give yourself Ample amounts of time! Like I just said, these past six months have FLOWN by, and honestly I'd be okay with staying and saving for another month.
• Let those who will be most affected know EARLY on. That way everyone has a chance to say their piece and get used to the idea of not having you around. It will still hurt when the time comes, but atleast everyone feels as though they have put their best foot forward and said what they needed to say.  - When Auston's family found out, I thought they would never get over how upset they were. but they did. It just took some time. And yes It is still going to suck, but atleast they were able to give us their input.
• Check, then check again, then RE-CHECK your budget. Make sure every last thing is included. Don't forget food for your trip, or the fact that your car will need a tune up if you're driving. Are animals coming? You might want to factor in fees at hotels for having animals with you. Gas is a big one - for my car its going to cost around $200, but the truck will be around $600, thats $800 in gas alone!
• Downsize. Do you need everything in your house? We got rid of tons and tons of stuff and still require a 16 footer to move it all. The less you move the smaller the truck, the less in gas. Its really a chain reaction. So look at your things and think "is this really worth paying to ship?"
• Ask for help! I don't know how this trip would have been possible without the help we have recieved from friends and family. Some helped us move, some are storing tings for us while we are in a transitioning phase, some are caring for the animlas, and some are housing us during the transition. Help is key! Trust us.

Thats all the advice I have for now. After the big day I'll probably do a big breakdown of everything involved.

Not a Valentines Post.

Maybe I will tell you all about that later.

Today's post is about my birthday!

In exactly one week I will be twenty years old!
Wow, crazy. I am so excited.

Lately I have been thinking about things that I may like for my birthday, however, nothing really comes to mind. In all honesty I have most anything I would want or need. So with the exception of a few things from family members I was stuck, I didn't know what to tell people when they asked me. It's not like I'm a child anymore who wants to have more barbies, and more toys.

A thought donned on me a little while ago though. To be honest I thought it was a spectacular idea. Here is what I truly want. And if you dear readers want to participate, I would be forever greatful.

As most of you know, Auston and I plan to adopt. In roughly a year from now we will begin the process. I am asking the everyone I know donates just $5.00 towards our goal.
This adoption means so much to the two of us, I can hardly explain it in words. My mother grew up in foster care, so I grew up knowing about the dark side of being in the system. If I can just help one child find a loving home, I feel like I will have done something truly spectacular with my life.
Shortly I should be getting a sewing machine, and then I will be coming up with some crafty ideas, I plan to try and sell to raise more towards our goal. I won't go to in depth today because I have already written a rather lengthy post on this subject.

And if you could share this post with your readers, or your friends, I would be so thankful.

Happy Valentines Day

Sorry if this post seem Choppy today.

Hidden Fee's really upset me.

Today is my Valentines Day!
It is also the day I had to take my cat to the vet.

The new Vet we tried today has left me a little miffed. here's my story:
(And yes, it is totally financially relevant)

Ellie has been loosing a lot of hair recently, so we took her in to get looked at. Everyone in the office was so friendly. I was excited to try this new place. Then we went into one of the back exam rooms. The Dr. did some poking and prodding and told us she thinks that it might be Staph. So She was given a steroid shot. The vet was also going to give her a shot of antibiotics, but I just didn't have the money for it. Here's the part where I started to get upset. After telling her that I couldn't afford it she lets me know of a pharmacy who will fill the antibiotic prescription for FREE. Free? So she was just going to let me pay th $45 and not let me know of the alternative?
Every doctor I have ever seen, be it pet or human, has always let me know of a low cost solution if there was one. I have saved a couple hundred dollars in prescriptions this way. So needless to say I was a bit irratated by that. She informed me that since Ellie was past due on her rabies shot she was going to give her one of those as well, not offering to explain any price to me. At the end of the visit I looked at the bill that the super sweer receptionist gave to me and there were things on there that I had thought were just normal in the initial office visit. You know what I'm talking about, right? All that poking and prodding they do when they are first in the room. I was already paying $35 just to have the doctor look at her, now I had to pay $14 for a "special" poke that she did? Something that had nothing to do with ehr condition.
I was furious. I paid and left, wrote a nice review on google, and will not be returning.
I tell you, if I didn't love that cat so darn much...

Now the rest of my day has to be better, because Loveyy and I are going on our Valentines Day Date.

Look at our new toy!

This came in the mail for us yesterday . . .

Isn't it awesome?
You know the best part? It was free!
Auston donates blood frequently at the Blood Alliance, and his donations gave him enough points to claim this bad boy for his own.

I am so stoked. It records up to 1 hour, and the usb connector is built in, so you dont have to go searching for cords! It also shoots really nice quality.

If I can figure out how, later I will post a video!

And the winner is ME!

A couple of days ago I posted about bidding on a laptop power cord on E bay.
The starting bid was $.99, and no one else put anything in. So including shipping in handeling, I bought the cord for $7.98. Which ultimately saves me about $50. 

I am so excited about this. Loveyy really needs a new cord because he likes to write, and all of his information is on there.

So. I win, I win, I win! Yay!

Also, today I went to a friends baby shower. We all had a blast. I think she was so genuinley appreciative too, which is always nice. I won one of the games there, so I came home with some body was, and a tea candle set.

I bought  her a pack of #3 diapers, as well as some rubber ducks, a onesie, and this really neat contraption!

Its a rinse cup. The little half circle in the front is a rubber piece, when you are rinsing your childs hair you put that part against their forheads, and it forms a seal, so that water can't get in their eyes!
I know it seems silly, but I thought it would be neat. So I bought the pink one and stuffed it with littler gifts for her.

I get so excited when I go baby shopping, I can't help it, I want to buy everything for them. I can't wait to have one of my own! Just a couple more years.

What an expensive day!

Today was a very productive day in our household!
It was also a rather expensive one!

It all started with a trip to the vet...
I thought today was the day I booked Ellie to see the vet, I guess someone wrote down that it was for NEXT Friday. So basically I woke up early for nothing. Next Friday was not going to work for me either. My cat has been loosing hair rather rapidly these last few months, and I need to get her in! So I called around to a few other places and now she has an appointment for Monday! Which is great news.

Then I had to go and pay my car insurance. Which is just a few pennies shy of $100. The insurance isn't due for four more days, but I fugured what the heck, I have the money today.

Austons prescriptions needed to be picked up, and that one cost me a whopping $24.30. Thanks to an excellent medical plan.

My car registration is due this month, and I need a new ID so I figured, while I'm at it I should just renew those as well. Equaling $84.35 together. Plus a $1 donation to Child Sexual Abuse Prevention.

I stopped by the store to pick up some baby shower gifts as well. I bought a co-worker of mine some diapers, as well as a onsie, and some rubber ducks, and a rubber rhino! Because honestly, every child needs awesome bath toys (at least that's what Auston convinced me of.) This was around $22.00

We bought a few groceries as well, and now we are baking some red velvet cupcakes and relaxing!
Gorcery spending wasn't too bad today, it only cost about $12.00.


NOW, you put all of this together, and I spent a whopping $250 today!
Holy Smokes.

I am actually a little flustered, because I spent the money I had set aside to take Ellie to the vet. Hopefully I make it all back tomorrow. if not, I can always take a little out of savings. I just REALLY don't want to.
I hope this hasn't bored you to much. I promise to be more entertaining next time!

Its Official.

I recieved my tax return yesterday!Which means that I am officially ready to move.

Of course, all the money I have saved up only covers "the moving" part of this new endevor, but I should be recieving plenty in the next couple of weeks to help with the transitional phase as well.

I also recieved another W2 that I wasn't expecting, so now I have to go file some ammended taxes. All that really means is a little more money for me though! Seriously, who's going to be upset about that? Not this girl.

My car insurance is getting paid tomorrow, and that is our last official bill, so my last two paychecks should be going towards fixing up my 1994 civic for the long haul. Poor Baby - she's going to hate me. I'll have to buy her a new bumper sticker.

Not a whole lot has been going on here, just a lot of working. And Planning.

We have been eating out a ton! because we aren't in our own place anymore. I didn't think this would upset me as much as it does, but I am really not happy. I will have to make more of an effort to buy easy meals to cook here. I can't wait to get back into my own place, with my own kitchen.

I also plan on participating in Carla's mini challenge this week. I just have to figure out who to send something special to.

Oh E-Bay, don't let me down.

Today I placed my very first bid on E-bay.

Loveyy needs a new laptop charger, as his has officially died. Those things can cost an upwards of 60 bucks! Now I don't have that just floating around right now. So me, being the savvy girl that I am decided to poke around amazon, and E Bay a little. The starting bid on this puppy is only $1.99. I think I can swing it.

Thus far there have been no other takers, so I am hopeful.
Tides can turn rather quickly though, so cross your fingers that this doesn't turn into an all out war!

Honestly, I know I can find one on Amazon for like $15. So If all else fails, thats where I will be headed next. But these days, I'll do anything to save a dollar.

He's not to thrilled at my deciding to bid. He's one of those, I want it, I need it NOW, kind of guys. In the meantime however, he is free to use my laptop. It'll be good for him to learn some patients.

February Goal Check in&My Weekly Money Check-Up(MPP)

Weekly Money Check-Up
Courtesy of My Pretty Pennies

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on Eatin Out. And I am not happy about this. Although, I realize it is the consequence of not living alone anymore.
2. Today I am thankful that I was able to pick up an extra shift at work. It was a little more money than I had to start with.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was Watching the Superbowl with my family. It was a great time.
4. I will consider this week a success if I Keep our eating out costs to a minimum, and call the rental truck company to make adjustments to our truck.
5. I can’t start my day without Checking my messages. I wake up every morning and sort through my e mail.

February Goal Check in :

-Double up on my Car fund : Put $10.00 each week instead of $5.00Success. So far I have added $20.00 for the month of February.
I like this challenge because its giving me a whole extra month of savings! I really can't wait till we have a substantial amount in here, so we can buy a new car.

-Put $80.00 in my Charity Fund
Check! We have put $40.00 in so far. I am proud of this goal, and happy that we have managed to stay away from it. In two weeks we will be writing a check out to our chosen organization this month!

-Comlete 1/2 of my first blanket.
I am rocking this! I have been crocheting whenever I have a free minute and it is coming along nicely. Maybe next week I will post a picture.

How are you doing this month?

Superbowl Financial Facts

Being that I was raised in New England, it is no suprise that I am a fan of the New England Patriots.
I love it when we make it to the superbowl :]
In honor of the superbowl today I thought I would share a few financial facts about it with you:

1.) One superbowl commercial running 30 seconds costs 3 million dollars.
And that does not include what it takes to actually make the commercial.
(Read more here)

2.) Each superbowl rings costs approximately $5,000 dollars.
When you multiply that by 150 players, you are looking at roughly $750,000 in just rings alone.
(read more here)

3.)One ticket to the superbowl can cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $23,000 dollars each.
In the 1970's you could easilt get one for $20.00
In 1995 one could be purchase for just $300
In 2008 one could be purchased for $700!
(See more prices here)

4.)For decent parking at the Superbowl, you could easily be paying $200.
Talk about crazy!
(read more here)

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about the financial aspects of America's favorite game!

So I have decided that today I will share with you some of the blogs, and posts I love.
There are so many its hard to narrow it down, but I'm going to!

Here are my five favorites this week:

1.) Live Simply- Live Well : Friday Confessions
I swear to you I live for these things, they always make me laugh. And its nice to have something so open and honest to read.

2.) SFT : Her Sealed Pot Challenge
Who knew saving change could be so fun? It is. Its like a new game in my household. How much change can we throw in today? We are tempted to dip into it sometimes, but we never have, thanks to the top being sealed off to us.

3.) My 1/2 dozen daily : Challenges
I love Carla's challenges. Sadly, I can't participate this month, but they are so encouraging, and bring the whole community of PF bloggers together.

4.) $12 a day : On waiting for baby
I think it may just be my fascination, and eagerness to have one of my own, but I love reading about her throughout her pregnancy. She is so open and honest about everything, including having way to many hooded towels! If you haven't already, check her out.

5.) Edward Antrobus : $3,000 challenge
This is a new blog to me, but I have willingly joined his challenge. This is for those of us in the minor leagues, and I think it is great. I love the encouragement we give each other.

I have so many blogs and posts I love, its hard to pick just 5, but those are it for this week.

ENJOY!

Finally, I can breath again.

I am stoked.I have made it to the point where I could be fired today (Lord, please don't let me get fired today!) and still transition nicely during my move to New Hampshire.

Here's how :

I Have:

$761 in savings

$325 Coming back to me from the electric company deposit I made a year and a half ago.

$643 from my Tax Return

$250 coming from my mom for my birthday.

This gives me a grand total of : $1979

I only need $1630 to move.

So that gives me a cushion of $349 to survive the month.

Granted, I would really like to have more than that before my move. I want to add atleast $100 more towards my savings for it.

However, I had to lay this all out because they are doing perfomance reviews at work. Now I know I am a good employee, but not all my managers care for me. So the thought of loosing my job has occurred.

Today I got paid. My check was so itybitty and shameful that I couldn't even pay my car insurance with it. Which is what I really wanted to do today. Thats what happens when you only work one day last week. Oh the joys of not having a permanent schedual and a 9-5 job. (sarcasm)

I will probably end up paying my insurance on monday, because I work tomorrow and that will give me the rest of the money that I need – hopefully.

My real goal for tomorrow is to make enough to pay my insurance, put gas in my car, put my $20 aside for charity, and my $10 aside for my new car fund.

Which means I need to earn atleast $60.00.

Cross your fingers for me!

I suppose that's all for today ladies and gentlemen.

book #2 Check.

I finished The Help last night. This book is amazing, and I reccommend everyone reads it.

I am a terrible book reviewer, so I'm not going to get into it to much here.
Just know that you won't regret picking it up. The souls portrayed in this book are so real, and so sincere, you can't help but love them.

Go ahead - Give it a shot.

Hello Birthday Month, its nice to see you again.

Yes, Finally! February!
This is always the best month. Why you ask?
Well only because Valentines day AND my birthday take place just a week apart from each other!
What a week of fun it always is.

This is a picture from my 18th birthday! I had a princess Party.

Here is what I hope to accomplish this month :

-Double up on my Car fund : Put $10.00 each week instead of $5.00This thought donned on me the other day, I figure, why not? Its only $5.00 more a week. So instead of putting $20.00 aside, I'll be putting $40.00 aside this month bringing my total to $80.00! Woo - High Roller. Its getting there - a little at a time. I don't plan on buying a new car anytime soon, so its okay that progress is slow.

-Put $80.00 in my Charity Fund
I guess this is my magic number this month! So far I haven't put anything in my charity fund and that's a little upsetting. Well, honestly I had a little, but then shamefully, I took it out. Now $50 seemed like to little, while $100 seemed like A LOT so I'm sticking to $80 this month. Which will then be donated to The Old Dog House.

-Comlete 1/2 of my first blanket.
I am slacking! I swear to you I will never crochet another blanket again. it takes WAY TO LONG! However, this month I will be staying with family, and I will be looking for things to do to stay out of the way and this will be one of them.

I know its not a whole lot to accomplish, but honestly, I don't think I can handle much more this month without exploding.


Now to wrap up January :

-No Spend Month. Outside our fixed bills and a few other things listed here, we will not be spending any extra cash.
PASS
Okay - I did go out a couple of times - but the goal for my No-Spend was to be able to put aside $400 for our move, and as you can see below we rocked that goal
We had a total of 15 no-spend days!

-Read atleast one book
One of my goals for 2012 is to read one book a month, here's to hoping I get off on the right foot.
Pass
Finished my book in one night!
So Proud.
Now I'm reading The Help - Which is awesome.

-Set aside $400.00 for our move
This is a big amount, but I we only have two more months and so I really NEED to set atleast
$400 aside.
ROCKED IT - More than a week ahead of schedual!
1-08-12 : $20.00
1-12-12:  $65.00
1-13-12:  $80.00
1-14-12:  $75.00
1-21-12: $131.00
1-22-12: $60.00
Total: $431.00


-Contribute daily to our sealed pot
We started this in December, and my Pot is already getting heavy! So far so good, I hope we can keep it up!
Pass - After this month, my pots tummy is nice and full! I do enjoy adding to my pot daily.

-Start maintenence on Austons car
Auston's car is going to need a few things done before it will be able to make the 1,500 mile drive up to NH.
Change of plans. His car is no longer going. It needs a few major repairs that are just going to have to wait.

- Drink 64 ounces - roughly 6 glasses - of water a day.
I don't drink enough water. My day is full of milk, and tea, and soda. The thing is - I LOVE WATER. I just don't drink enough of it.
Fail-ish - I did ignificantly increase my water intake, but I didn't always make it to 6 glasses.

No-Spend January Wrap up:

We had 15 no spend days! While I do wish that number was higher I am still proud of myself. We also managed tosave $431 towards our move. Which is awesome.
I won't be participating in Februarys No-Spend because it wouldn't be practical. This is our last month in Florida, plus My Birthday, Plus Valentines day, plus we are no longer in our apartment so eating out will be significantly increased. Therefore No-Spending is silly.
Also, because we just moved out we have already decluttered, and gotten rid of everything that was junk in our house. So I can't participate in that half either! Oh shame.
Hopefully somthing will be cooking up in March!

Just give it away.

One of my goals for 2012 is to save $1,000 to donate to a charity. At  first I thought I might save it up over time and donate it all at once, that didn't work out so well though, because I kept fiding myself dipping in there for what I called "emergencies" but were really just me wanting something I didn't really need. So I have decided to change the plan.

I plan to save a good chunk of money each month (This month it will be $80.00) and each month, I will find a deserving local organization to give it to. By the end of the year we will have given away $1,000. I think everyone should attempt to do this, or something similar, even if its just $10.00 a month - thats $120.00 a year, and that really is a lot when you think about it. The feeling you get from giving, and the amount of joy you bring by suprising someone with a gift is unbelievable. Think about that pat on your back you give yourself everytime you throw a dollar into the salvation bucket each time you pass. Now picture yourself dropping $60.00 in that bucket. Awesome, right? All of a sudden your Merry Christmas turns into a big hug and maybe a few tears from a stranger.

I like to give to smaller organizations for a couple of reasons. The most obvious being, they need the money more. The Red Cross, and Breast Cancer Research are constantly getting donations. They really have a steady flow of cash when you think about it, but the soup kitchen down the street may could take that $80.00 and feed 100 more people right in your own community. (Not that I'm saying the Red Cross and Breast Cancer don't deserve it, I support both causes.) Also, I can see the immidiate impact for them. I ike to get to know a group before I give them my money, I want to know that I can trust the people in charge to do whats best with it.

If you have never done something like this before give it a try. I chose to donate $80 because it comes to $20 a week. $20 that I would otherwise probably end up spending one something foolish. You can choose however much you want. be it $25 or $100. You could even get a jar and just throw all your loose pennies into it, and at the end of the year give the jar away. Every little bit helps out.

This month we will be helping to support The Old Dog House.
Its an organization in my hometown that really tugs on my heart strings. Auston and I volunteered there this month, and I promise you will will be going back a few more times before the big move.
Here is a description from their website :

"The Old Dog House is a nonprofit, charitable organization located in Jacksonville, Florida, dedicated to giving older and senior dogs a second, sometimes third, chance at a new life. At so many shelters, the age of a dog determines its chances of reaching the adoption floor to find a new forever home. As a result, many wonderful dogs are denied the ability to live out their lives in dignity, surrounded by love. The Old Dog House aims to enlighten the public to the joys of owning an older or senior dog through educational programs and to place rescued dogs into true forever homes through adoption programs. The dogs that come into the care of The Old Dog House will remain in our care until adopted."

Check out their website for more information.

If the joy of giving isn't a good enough reason, think about the tax deductions later in the year. I'm always bad about keeping track, but if you hold onto your reciept your act will also benefit you come tax-time.

Have you ever donated a large amount of money?
Who was it to?
Did you regret it afterwards?

Weekly Money Check Up (MPP)

Courtesy Of My Pretty Pennies!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on Groceries. No fun, I know. But a girls gotta eat!

2. Today I am thankful that we are finally all moved out of our apartment, and settled into our temporary home. Also that we have people who are able to care for our animals while we cant.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was going out with the family on Saturday night. I had a blast!!

4. I will consider this week a success if I am able to work 3 shifts, and save $20 of the $80 I have allotted to go towards a charity in February.

5. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher, I actually wanted to be a teacher all the way up to senior year in high school. All of a sudden though, the dream faded. I think it has something to do with the waking up early everyday.

Yes - I really am still fun.

Sometimes I feel like I spend so much time talking about money, and bills and all of this grown up stuff that people might forget that I am still just a young woman.
Last night we went out to see some family, and drop my dog off with the people who are watching him for the month and we had a blast! I might of had one to many beers, but I wasn't driving, and I knew I was with family, and people who would look out for me. It was just what we needed after a week of stressful moving.

Here is a montage of our evening:

So Yes - I am still fun.
My life is not just about saving, and working.

Just incase you forgot.
(Because Honestly, I was starting to forget)

Weekly Spending Update

Once again I had 4 NO SPEND DAYS!
I am proud!
The rest of the month will be spend free since I'm broke now, and don't get paid until next week!

So here we go, Last weeks spending.

ANIMALS

2012-01-27:  Cat Litter - $3.28
2012-01-27 : Dog - $34.25
TOTAL FOR ANIMALS $37.53

EATING OUT
2012-01-25:  Dunkin Donuts - $4.30
TOTAL FOR EATING OUT $4.30

FIXED BILL
2012-01-25: laundry - $12.00
TOTAL FOR FIXED BILL $12.00

GROCERIES
2012-01-23: Grocery Trip - $49.95
TOTAL FOR GROCERIES $49.95

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
2012-01-27: Trash Bags - $1.00
TOTAL FOR HOUSEHOLD ITEMS $1.00

TOTAL $104.78

Animals - I had to buy dog&Cat food this week! I also had to buy their vitamins (Yes, my animals do get vitamins). I decided to go with the monster sized cat food bag this month (because Austons mom is watching them for us and we dont want her to run out!) so the bill was a little higher than usual, but in the end it will pay off.

Eating Out - Auston and I grabbed bagles before volunteering this week. We weren't going to, but we were late and needed our fuel. We did however save a little money by bringing drinks from the house. That way we wouldn't be tempted to buy coffee or Orange juice.

Fixed Bills - We have to go to the laundry mat to do our clothes. Its awful, and boring, and I really wish that place would get wi-fi.

Groceries - We did our second big trip of the month. And I am really pleased with the outcome.


This brings my monthly Spending total to : $839.48
Not bad?!

Call me cheap if you want.

So heres what happened -

We are at the tail end of moving out of our apartment. Most of our things went into trashbags, because boxes can be difficult to come by.

Trash bags are not the sturdiest thing. Today I found that some of them were holey. Now, most of you would grab a new trash bag at that point. But no, not me. Instead I grabbed the tape, and fixed those suckers.
My logic - Why on earth would I throw away an otherwise perfectly useful bag? Trashbags are expensive these days!

So, if you must, go ahead and call me cheap. I think I'm just being econamically savvy.

So the next time you are going to throw something out because of a minor flaw, stop and think. Do you really have to?  Or can it be fixed rather easily?

On a brighter note, tonight will be our last night in our apartment. That means our move is only 39 days away!
I am so excited.

How I plan to make more in 2012 ...

This year I made 14,722 dollars.
(problably really around $15,00 when you factor in unclaimed tips)

Not bad for a 19 year old, right?
that means I am in the top 12.4% richest people in the WORLD - Check out your number.

Next year I hope to bump this number up to $20,000. Yes, I know this is still considered lower class. But a $5,000 increase isn't to shabby in my mind. Plus Auston will be working part-time by then, which will bring in another big chunk.
     I plan to do this a couple of ways.First off by having a a stable job. Once I move next month serving will not be my primary job any more. Even though its fun, its just not practical as far as steady income goes. Some weeks I make $400 and other I make $95 -That is just not cool. Hopefully I will be working for Easter Seals full time by the time 2013 rolls around. Thats my main goal. Its a great company, my mom also works for them and she loves it. I Still plan on serving on the side though, probably 2 or 3 days a week. This will supplement my income in the begining, until I gain full time at Easter Seals. I may not give it up even after getting full time, because the truth is I love serving. I know thats strange, but its true. I love the rush, and the atmosphere, and meeting new people. Call me crazy if you want.
     I also hope to generate atleast $3,000 with my blog this year. I know its a long shot and I will probably make much less, but a girl can dream right? I am making a small profit with adsense so far, and my pagewiews have increased from an average of 20-30 a day to 50-60 a day. I know thats still small fry, but an increase is an increase.

     What do you think?

Good Morning!

Today I am Guest Posting over at Making Sense of Cents.

Check it out :]

She is awesome.

Our Adoption Dream.

Lets get serious for a moment.
Auston and I are planning on getting married in September. It is going to be a small intimate back yard affair, surrounded by our closets friends and family. I am so excited.
But that is is not what today's post is about. Being that we are getting married we have started talking about the more important things in life. Like children.

Now this year I have been having some health problems with my lady parts. I don't really want to get into the nitty gritty with you all, but it has caused me to re-evaluate whether to have my own or not. In the past six months we have sat down and really talked about adoption. There are a lot of children in this world who need a home. We have decided we want to adopt. 1.) because I realy don't believe my body can have children. 2.) It is a wonderful thing to help a child in need. 3.) Even if I could have children, I don't see a point, because there are already so many out there.

Now came the important questions, Who to adopt? Do we stay in our own ethnicity? Our own country? How old do we want them to be, open or close? Special need, or not? Do we want to go through an agency or through a foster program? So many Questions!
They are important questions though.

Here is what we have decided thus far -
We want to adopt within the US, there are plenty of children right here in our own country looking for a loving home. Ethnicity was a tricky one, I think we'll let the fates decide. If we love them, we love them, and thats all there is to it.

I want a child preferably under 2, but 3 is the oldest. I want to raise them as our own. Also, we are young ourselves, I don't want a 10 year old when I am old 22.

Closed adoption is mandatory. My Aunt was the first open adoption in the country. Mom say that this has really helped them in understanding why they were given up, and who they come from. From that stand point I could understand why a person would choose an open adoption, but I really don't feel it is for us. Honestly, I'm just not good at sharing. I'm the momma, and thats that.

Now came the daunting question over whether or not to adopt special needs. We talked, and talked, and talked about this. We came to a decision. Yes. But with restrictions. I want to adopt either blind, or deaf. Thats it. Those children need a home just as badly as every other child. There were several reasons behind us choosing to not adopt other needs such as Autistic or Down Syndrom children. I will go into that in a later post.

And lastly did we want an agency or a foster program? This one is still a little back and fourth with us, but I do believe we are going to go through a foster program. This means the costs of adopting will be significantly lower, and we can see if the child is a right fit for our home. When children are in foster care they don't expect to be adopted, they hope for it, but they know that it could very easily just be a temporary home. So when you do decide they are right for you, and you want to keep them its just a bonus.

We are going to start the process next year, when I turn 21. Hopefully by the time I hit 22 we will have our own little addition. I AM SO EXCITED.
Seriously, this is all I think about day and night any more.

We are setting up a fund, completely seperate from all of our money to help finance the process. As well as help us pay to take sign language courses. Which is abviously going to be mandatory to adopt a deaf child. And I have decided that every penny I make off of this blog will go towards that fund. As well as any money I make selling crafts this year. I have set up a page on Discovering adulthood where you can find out about ways to help support us. Shortly, once we are settled in NH I will begin the process of crafting, and if you find anything you like feel free to purchase it, knowing you are helping give a child in need a home!

If you could share that page with as many people as possible I couldn't begin to tell you how much we would apppreciate it. Adoption is an extreamly expensive process and I would hate to have a lack of funds hinder our decision.

Lets dream for a minute...

Lets live on cloud nine for a minute.

Not my dream bathroom ^^ but I love the mirror. And the chandelier!

Auston thinks I'm a freak sometimes, because I talk about my dream bathroom so much. Basically every time we are both crammed into my way two small, way to blah bathroom I tell him about it.

So I thought I'd let you in on the dream too...

First off my bathroom has to be BIG! I'm talking huge. I think I could have fit a bed into my aunts bathroom at her old house. That was part of my inspiration. I don't want to feel cramped when I go in there. I want it to be so large, I could have a party in there! Okay, I think you get the picture.

I want to have a nice spacious stand up shower, one that can easily fit 4 people, don't ask. I just have a thing for big showers. It will have one of those awesome built in seats. So I can sit and be lazy in my shower. Just in case I ever break my hip. I had one of these at my old house, the shower was all tile and the seat was convienent for holding things. Like my Bum! Sorry, couln't resist.

Also – and don't you go judging me – I want two shower heads in my shower. That way I don't have to share the water when- well. Lets just stop that sentence where it is. It would just be much more convienent to have two! I am a huge fan of tile showers also. So tile, is a priority in my dream shower.

There will be a jacuzzi in my bathroom. That is slightly elevated from the rest of the bathroom. I want a TV built into the wall next to it!. (I saw this at a house we viewed in St. Augustine) With some awesome speakers, so I can rock out whenever I am in there getting ready!

We will have to have two sinks. Loveyy is terrible about cleaning out his sink, so I don't want to have to look at it any longer than absolutely needed.

Cabinets! Lots and lots of space to store the hundreds of towels I will procure! Because seriously, how many times have you gone to get in the bath to find out you are out of clean towels? Happens to me all the time. These will preferably be built into the wall, so they aren't sticking out off the wall like in the kitchen.

Now the toilet – This is probably more Auston's thing than mine. I'm not really into toilets all that much. Who is? But then again I am not a man who sits on the toilet for 30 minutes reading a book while pretending to use the restroom. Yes- he really does that. I want a cushy potty! Thats about the only requirement. I want it to be comfy to sit on. What else does one need with a potty?

To finish off my bathroom, it will be decked out in turqoius and white. I love that color pattern, I think it looks clean and fashionable. It will have big mirrors, and open windows (with shears of course).

What do you think?

Am I the only one who dreams this elaborately?

Weekly Money Check-up

Courtesy of My Pretty Pennies

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on Household Items (cleaning supplies and paint supplies)
2. Today I am thankful for the friends and family who are helping us with our move. We couldn't do it without them.
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was Family dinner.
We watched the Patriots win!! And ate some great food!
4. I will consider this week a success if I Get everything moved out of our apartment by friday!
5. The craft I am currently interested in right now.. There is no time for crafty in my immediate future.

$3,000 blogging challenge.

Today we enjoyed a lazy day at home.
We went out later at night for a grocery trip we spent $49.95, which is about what I had planned.
At the end of the week we will be moving out of our apartment and in with family for the month of February. I can not believe our move is so close.

Today I decided to join in the $3,000 challenge.
For me this will be a huge challenge. But it will be worth it if I succeed. I think I would be over the moon if I made $1,000.

Anyone have any advice on how I should go about doing this?
I don't want to spam up my blog with advertising, maybe one or two relavent adds, on top of my adsense but other that that I want my blog to stay true to its origins.


______________________

Ellie wants to make sure we don't forget her when we move :)

My 25 Before 25 list...

This is the second of a Two Part Series..

Next month I will be turning 20. I don't know why this number is so daunting to me, but it is. I feel like it officially makes me an adult. Even though I have been living as one for the better part of the last two years.
Because of my excitement to turn twenty I have been doing a lot of thinking, and planning.
I have come up with a list of things I want to accomplish in the next five years!
In a little bit I will add this list to the top of my page, so you can keep an eye on my progress.

Here is my list, and a brief description on why I have listed each of these thing:

 25 before I am 25 :

1. Master another language - Auston and I want to adopt, either a blind or deaf child, and because of this we want to master sign language.
2. Buy a house - Who doesn't want to own their own home?
3. Visit Italy - I come from an Italian family, I also have relatives who live in Italy still so I would love to go over there and meet my family, and see where we come from.
4. Start a small business selling crafts - I just think this would be fun!
5. Have a Sangria Party :] - Well, I tried sangria for the first time a couple of months ago. I am not a big wine drinker, but I loved it. And I just think it would be a blast to do this with friends (once we all hit 21)
6. See a Broadway Show - Auston and I met in drama class, and I grew up on stage. I miss it so much sometimes, and I have never seen a big professional production like this.
7. Go to Las Vegas - Come on guys, this one should explain itself. 
8. Learn to drive a Stick - I just think its important to know how to do. What if an emergency happened and that was the only car available? I'll be damned if I'm stuck.
9. Buy a new car - Preferrably an eco friendly one. I REALLY want this one, but that may not happen.
10. Read the Bible, cover to cover. - I grew up in church, I know a lot of the stories, but I have never actually taken the time to read the bible all the way through.
11. Go to see a Patriots Game - <3 Love them.
12. Go to a Red Sox Vs Yankee's game - Huge Red Sox fan, and I think just seeing them would be awesome, but seeing them against the Yankees would be a dream come true.
13. Get three New Tattoos That mean something Special - I must admit, I'm addicted. But they all mean something to me.
14. Visit Canada - Can you believe, I grew up right outside, and still, I have never been?
15. Start a Career in Finance - Even if its just something small on the side.
16. Spend New Years Eve in NYC - I have wanted to do this ever since I was a little girl. I think its magical.
17. Visit 15 Museums - Auston and I both love museums. But we have a habit of going to see the same ones over and over again.
18. Participate in a charity Walk - I'm always down for a good cause.
19. Go Rock Climbing - This is on my bucket list, and I want to do it before I get to old.
20. Visit 3 amusement parks - WOO roller coasters!
21. Spend a weekend in Amish Country - I wanted to do that this year, but things happen, and they got in the way.
22. Start and maintain a vegitable garden - I have been talking about this forever! It would save me money, and I would know there were no pesticides.
23. Watch 100 classic Movies I have never seen before - I'm a chicken when it comes to classics. I always think they're going to be lame.
24. Find and buy a perfect black cocktail dress. - Every girl needs one, and I would totally spend a small fourtune, if I found the perfect - Could wear for years to anything - one.
25. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans - I am so excited to do this!!

There you have it - 25 things I will accomplish before I hit the age of 25.

What do you think?