welp...

last night was not awesome.

got home from work, opened the mail, and had a letter from one of the lenders for my student loans letting me know that my payments would be doubling in march. for the next 216 months.

so, basically, i'll be about 43 when i'm done paying this loan back.

also, THE PAYMENTS DOUBLED.

when i first graduated from college, i went through the 6 month grace period and then opted for the "graduated plan" where they lowered my payments for a few years, but after that time was up, they would increase signifigantly.

i knew it was coming, i guess i just hope it wouldn't?

i had a breakdown.







but of course d eventually calmed me down.

its just so disappoiting. even if i completely eliminate two of my monthly payments by paying off the balance of my credit card and my gap card, i won't be ahead because the doubled loan payment makes up for it.

so my grand plan of having extra money to save is not so grand now.

i'm not going to give up, and as d pointed out, this would have sucked even more than it already does if i hadn't made a committment to do this spending fast already. i made the choice on my own volition..not because i had to.

timing is everything right?

so, the project continues, and i have all the more reason to live simply and spend wisely...because unless i make smart choices and pay more than the minimum, this stupid loan is going to be hanging over my head until i'm in my 40s...and that is just totally unacceptable to me.

gah.

chin up, right?

special thanks to d, the man of my dreams, who makes everything ok when it seems impossible.

xoxo

Recipe Review! Loaded Vegetable Beef Stew

well, i made this one the other night after a long day. i was in a pretty foul mood, so i was afraid the bad joo-joo might ruin the recipe.

i was wrong, though!

it was a good one...although, i learned an important lesson about really reading the ENTIRE recipe. this one had a few more steps than i thought, so it took longer to prepare than i had really wanted to spend on it.

8 bacon strips, diced
3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 in. cubes
6 medium carrots, cut into 1 in. pieces
6 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash
2 medium green peppers, chopped
2 tsp dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14-1/2 oz each) beef broth
6 cups chopped cabbage
1/2 tsp pepper


1. in a large skillet, cook bacon over med heat until crisp. remove to paper towels to drain, leaving the drippings in the pan. brown beef in batches in the bacon drippings. refrigerate bacon until serving.

2. in a 5-qt slow cooker, combine carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, green peppers, thyme, and garlic. top with beef. pour broth over top. cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

3. stir in cabbage and pepper. cover and cook on high for 30 mins until cabbage is tender. sprinkle each serving with bacon.

so, i didn't get the butternut squash, so ours went without. i also used red potatoes, which are a lot smaller and took a lot longer to peel and cut. they were good in the stew, though.

also, peeling tomatoes is hard.

in the end, it was really flavorful and we have a lot for left overs. i think it will be good served over rice or noodles, might try that tonight.

i wish i had known that i was going to need to make bacon, then brown beef, and then cut up all the veggies...it took a while to prepare. definitely not what i wanted to do when i got home from a long day at work and advising "stuff" in bee gee. it was worth it, though. and we'll have this recipe again!

splurge?

welp, i gave in to the girl scout mom here at work.

but, i mean, it's food...so it's like groceries.

plus, no one wants to be the only person in the office who said "no" to a girl scout...right?

last night i made some delicious spicey peanut chicken with brocoli and rice. no recipe, just use a frying pan, some chicken breast, peanut sauce spicey thai sauce, red curry paste, ginger powder, (all 3 found in the asian food at the grocery store) soy sauce, salt and pepper and butter.

d made chicken and brocoli the night before that was equally as good...and i'm starting to think that it's extra delish because it's a higher quality. we bought a giant package of chicken breast and another of brocoli at costco, and they're both just better than anything else we've bought before. and at a better price.

also, i'm going to pass along some advice i read once about cooking. there was some article about "what restaurant cooks don't want you to know" on cnn.com. one of the factoids was this: if you ate something at a restaurant, and thought it was delicious, the secret ingredient was salt and butter. whether it was steak, fish, vegetables, whatever.

so, now, i add salt and butter to everything.

and i'll tell you, it's the truth. real butter. and salt. makes everything taste good. i never claimed this was going to be a food about healthy choices.

i didn't get a chance to put the beef stew together last night, so i'll be doing it this evening instead. and, of course, you'll get to hear all about it.

xoxo

my first week!

well, it's been a little over a week, and i'm happy with how things are going. i'm usually completely tapped out at this point in the month, and it's nice to know there's still a chunk of change in the bank that i haven't touched.

since i started the project, i've spent money on:

groceries last weekend
costco membership
small donation to my sorority (that was promised prior to this project)

and a few items i feel need a little explaining.

i think most of my female readers were probably greek in college, so you all understand the need for "ritual whites." as an advisor, i'm in the same boat and, of course, my old ritual whites are out of commission--don't even know where my white skirt IS. so i had to get a new white skirt this weekend. i was a little unhappy about it, but i cut costs! headed over to savers (big, giant goodwill style thrift store for those who aren't familiar) and got one for $5.

i was VERY proud of myself, though, because i walked right in, picked up what i needed, and walked out (after paying for it, of course.) i didn't puruse the books or anything else...and that's a big deal for me.

also, went out to dinner on saturday night.

here's what happened. my very good friend and "aoii little sister" jackie came up to visit the area for the weekend. d and his friend brandon had been planning on taking over the living room/dining room for about a week to finish filming puppet monster massacre so it was just bad timing to have a mini-dinner party.

i didn't want to miss out on some quality time, and hanging out in my apartment was out of the question so we went to schmuckers on my dime. it was tasty, but i feel pretty confident that i have not fallen off the wagon as a result of our dinner date. it helps that we went to schmucker's which is a great (and pretty cheap) dining experience, especially if you're into kitschy, diner experiences. oh, and pie. yum.

anyway--things are going well. in the near future, i will be spending some money on a gift for my sister for her birthday (again, something i promised her before the project started.)

but dad's birthday is just around the corner and i'm struggling to come up with something crafty he'd enjoy...any ideas? crafting for dudes is hard. especially because most girls just end up making something THEY would like, giving it to a dude who's like, "aw! now what am i supposed to do with this?"

tonight we're getting the crock pot ready for beef stew that will cook all day tomorrow and be ready when we get home from work. of course, i'll let you all know how it goes. :)

xo xo

recipe review: pizza in a pot!

welp, i have to say, a recipe MUST be successful if there aren't any leftovers...and that was definitely true of this one.

1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 med green pepper, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 jar (14 oz) pizza sauce
2 tbsp. tomato paste
3 cups spiral pasta, cook and drained
2 packages sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. in a large skillet, cook the beef, green pepper, and onion over med. heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. stir in the tomato sauce, pizza sauce, and tomato paste.
2. in a 5-qt slow cooker, layer the pasta, beef mixture, pepperoni, and cheese. cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours, or until heated through.


tips: there was really only enough to do two layer of the ingredients. i did: noodles, sauce, cheese, pepperoni, noodles, sauce, cheese, pepperoni.
i used way more than 2 cups of mozzarella cheese becuase it's delicious and i think everything is better with more cheese. also, i didn't use quite 2 packages of pepperoni. i probably could have even gotten away with just one.

the mixture of beef, and the assorted tomato sauces was really hard to mix in the frying pan and i used the biggest one i had. next time, i'll probably drain the beef, pepper, and onion and transfer it to a big bowl to add the tomato sauces.

i cooked mine exactly 3 hours and there were some blackened bits around the edges--so i think 4 hours would be WAY too long. then again, my crockpot is new and pretty powerful, so that might not be true for everyone.

the end result was really good, and we will definitely be making it again. dustin and his friend brandon demolished the whole pot in just 2 meals, so i know they'll probably request it again in the future. :)

upcoming challenge!

in just 2 weeks, i'll be headed to nashville to perform my chapter advisor duties at an aoii conference.

looks like i'm going to need some cheap travel tips soon!

the plane ticket, a few meals, and hotel are already covered (not out of my pocket thank goodness). however, tips for the doormen, transportation and snacks/entertainment are not.

luckily, this time around, i don't think there will be any real opportunity to head out in nashville and splurge...but i do know there will be a makeshift aoii store set up...and that is going to be hard to resist. especially since a lot of the items are reasonably priced...and, of course, darn right adorable.

this is going to be a true test of how successful this project is actually going to be. honestly, the day to day hasn't been too challenging just yet. i'm fine eating in for lunches and dinners...and keeping myself busy at home instead of wandering to the mall or target.

but travel is a different story altogether. growing up, vacations were limitless. no restraints on how much we'd spend on meals, souveniers, etc. in my own travels as an adult, and even just on weekend trips, there's still a sense of entitlement or maybe just of excitement. hey! i'm in a hotel! or in an airport! time to splurge!

time to rethink that...because ultimately, restraint will free up more money for the basics of a trip (flight, hotel, etc.) and make more frequent getaways more realistic.

espcially if i'm not dropping $300 on aoii tshirts, bags, and jewelery...so maybe it's not cheap travel tips i need for this one...maybe it's just restraint and self control...

bye bye gap card...

so long, gap card.

it was nice to know ye.

plan of attack! rawr.

i've spent some time thinking about how i can measure my success with this project--and, without even realizing it, miss emily (one of my oldest and dearest friends)gave me a few helpful tips that i think will make reaching goals and feeling successful more tangible.

in addition to calculating what an item will REALLY cost (when you consider the interest you're paying each month) she provided a really great explaination of another technique:

i live off of the snowball effect. i'm sure you've heard paying off the highest interest loan first is smart, and it is. but what is smart for your motivation and effort ... is making your biggest payments each month to the loan with the smallest balance. pay the minimum amount due on anything else and every other penny to that smallest one. when you see that zero balance, it gives you such a thrill that you just want to keep going, and you take what you had put towards that loan and you now add it to the payment on the next highest loan. eventually you are putting all of your money to the same loan and then eventually you are debt free.


now, obviously emily didn't come up with on her own, but i know she's a smart, responsibly lady and to me, this makes the most sense.

so, the plan now is to attack 2 credit cards and 2 student loans--where all my debt comes from.

the first victim will be my gap credit card. once that's paid off, i'll shift my focus onto my visa, then finally my smaller of 2 student loans. if i'm successful, i will knock all three of those out this year and can focus my attention on the mother of all student loans--the big 5 figure balance.

eliminating those 3 payments will free up just about $400 each month (on average.) and that would be kind of amazing...dontcha think?

tonight i make my first move against the gap card...it's going to involve a pair of scissors and, of course, you'll all get to see my handiwork.

bwa ha ha ha!

more tips for the beef bbq

special thanks to momma mills, d's mom for the following ideas for the bbq leftovers:

shredded bbq beef leftovers can be frozen for later. either in a container or in a ziplock (generic) freezer bag. might even be good in homemade veggie soup, would give it a little different taste (remember i said "might" LOL!), or roll a spoonful of it up in a crescent roll with tad bid of shredded cheese and bake until the rolls are done!


i've already got a container in the freezer for later...and i think the crescent rolls might make an appearance some time next month.

yum! thanks momma mills! :)

recipe review: texas beef bbq

hi kids!

i'm writing with a very satisfied stomach...the beef bbq was delish!

1 beef sirloin roast
1 can spicy hot v8 juice (5-1/2 oz.)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground mustard
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. pepper
kaiser rolls, split

cut roast in half, place in 5 qt. slow cooker. combine seasonings, juice, sauce etc in a separate bowl and pour over roast. cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until roast is tender. remove meat, cool slightly. shred with 2 forks and return to slow cooker. cook through. serve on kaiser rolls

my tips:
d prepped everything the night before and put the crock pot insert in the fridge over night. this morning, he set it up on low and we let it cook all day--it had been about 10 hours by the time we got home and got dinner ready. the meat was really tender and perfect for the sammiches. we added some bbq sauce and a slice of american cheese and they were perfect.

this recipe make a LOT of food--so we'll be eating it for the next few days. good thing it's tasty.

i will say, this one set us back a little more than usually, cost-wise, because we didn't have some of the kitchen basics (seasonings, etc.) but i'm glad we got them b/c i know they'll come in handy down the road.

we got lucky when we were looking for the roast--i was about to get 2 separate sirloin tip roasts that were about $15 each to total the 4 lbs called for, but we spoke to the butcher and he said the english roast (which was buy one get one free!) would work just as well in the recipe.

in the future, if there isn't a sale like this one, i'd probably just cut the recipe in half to avoid spending too much on the beef.

anyway--the recipe was really good...definitely making this one again.

enjoy!

wow!

so, yesterday i posted the link to this blog on twitter, facebook, and in an email to a few close friends/family members. the response has been so positive and encouraging!

i had no idea so many people would be interested in this project..but i'm glad they are because it's only going to help keep me going. there will definitely be a higher level of accountability to follow the 9 rules and to keep the blog as fun & interesting as possible.

i'm particularly excited to have some "guest contributors," if you will. a few people have provided recipes to try, saving techniques, and coupon websites. so, keep an eye out for those in the next few weeks.

(if you're reading and have any tips/tricks/feedback, etc, feel free to pass them along!)

it would seem that target is a common enemy...a temptation to all the over-spenders out there. i mean, it has it's own rule for this project, for pete's sake. it's definitely the aspect of this project that people are most interested in.

so far, so good. i will say, though, that this morning while getting ready for work, i had a hankering for a new pair of tights...which would be just fine if that's really what would happen. but i know if i walk into any store (target or otherwise) with the intention of buying a pair of fashionable, warm tights, i'd walk out with 6 pairs. and shoes. and a skirt. and maybe some nail polish.

anyway--the tights i have are just fine. and i spend another lunch hour saving money..and not spending any.

last night, d got the crock pot ready for our dinner tonight...shreaded bbq beef sammiches. i sort of skimmed the part of the recipe that said how many servings it would make...so we're going to have a whole heap of leftovers. hopefully it's tasty...tomorrow i'll provide the recipe and the review.

once again, a hearty "thank you!" to everyone who's already following along...

recipe review--white chicken chili

howdy kids!

last night, we tried a new recipe for white chicken chili. it turned out really good! mom got us a fancy new crock pot for xmas, so a good majority of my recipes will require one.

ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1 med onion
1 jalepeno pepper
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano leaves
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of chicken broth
2 cans of white kidney beans, drained

cube the chicken breast, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. combine with olive oil, chopped onion, chopped jalepeno pepper, cumin, and oregano leaves in large frying pan. cook for 4-5 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown. add garlic, cook for another minute.

transfer to crock pot (at least 3 qt size.)

in a small bowl, mash one can of drained kidney beans. add 1/2 cup of broth, mix until combined. add to mixture in crock pot with remaining broth and kidney beans.

cook on low for 3 to 3-1/2 hours.


i added 3 cubes of chicken boullion because it needed a little "something." i also added a can or sweet corn, drained and poured the chili over white rice. final touch was a dab of sour cream and some shredded cheese. it was delish and there was enough for a second serving and leftovers for tonight.

simple, cheap, delicious. what more could you ask for?

i'll definitely be making this one again.

first big grocery trip

yesterday, was my first big grocery trip of the project.

d and i sat down to figure out what we wanted to make for bfast, lunch, and dinners, itemized all of the necessary ingredients, and made a pretty long list. the goal was to ONLY buy items on the list...and nothing else.

the "extras" are the killer for me...things on sale, treats that sound good, etc. i think my biggest weakness is in the beauty aisle...new shampoo, soap, mascara endorsed by zooey deschanel (i'd buy just about anything that sweet baby angel tried to pimp out.)

so, that was our plan.

i had also been thinking about getting a costco membership for quite some time, and i thought now would be the perfect time...hopefully the annual $50 membership fee will be worth it.

we headed there first, then aldi, and finally kroger. i'm proud to say we stuck to our list and didn't stray.

we spent...alot, though. more than we usually spend on groceries. so i'm a little concerned about that. we spent the most at costco, but my hope is that the stuff we bought will last a while. same with some of the ingredients we picked up for specific recipes (seasonings and the like.) we'll be using those for a while and aren't items we'll be buying a regular basis.

also have to consider we have dinners planned for the next 3 weeks, and won't be spending any money on additional meals (eating out, i mean.)

i'm eager to see how the costco membership works out though...i'd only ever been one other time, but they have EVERYTHING. definitely going to avoid going on a saturday afternoon, though. it was a freakin' zoo.

unruly kids all over the place--and we overheard a super awkward exchange between a mom and her kid who asked, "are you my real mom??" i was way too tempted to sneak up to that kid and whisper, "that's not your real mom...you're adopted! she's lying to you..."

but, i mean, i don't want to get kicked out on my first day being a member of the bulk food club.

plus, the samples are pretty fantastic.

yes, please blue-haired lady.

the rules

1. i will spend money on items i need:

rent
utilities
gas
groceries
credit card payments
student loan payments

2. there is absolutely no reason for me to go to target.

my online banking has the ability to create a report that organizes your transactions. in doing so, i have the opportunity to see where i'm spending most of my money.

this made the "wants vs. needs" list a little easier to make...especially when you consider that i spent approximately $4000 at target last year.

target is my guiltiest of pleasures. i over spend...and there's a sense of addiction involved when it comes to target. it's like an alcoholics favorite bar...the place you feel the most comfortable getting trashed because you know no one will judge you while you're inside those walls. i walk in intending to just pick up the essentials--maybe i'm out of shampoo or face wash--and i walk out with $100 worth of crap.

but now i'm quitting. cold turkey. and i know target will be the biggest struggle for me throughout this experiment.

3. i will cut back on my use of make up/hair product.

my job requires me to be well-groomed, so i can't cut these out completely. however i plan to use them less, and eliminate them completely on the weekend. the intention is to make the purchases last longer.

4. i will not buy shoes or clothes.


this is a big one. but i have plenty. i have no need for new items. this is going to be h.a.r.d.

5. i will only see one movie a month in the theatre.

dustin and i are big movie goers. and in discussing this project with him, i made it clear that while i can't keep it from affecting him, i'm trying my best to make sure this is my project...especially since he opted out of the spending fast.

however, movies are our "thing" and eliminating them completely from my budget is simply unrealistic and would probably put a strain on our normally peaceful, happy life.

but there are ways for me to do the 1 movie a month and still save--matinee only and no movie theater treats.

6. no eating out

now, this is really going to be a toughy because dustin and i live together and my decision to only go grocery shopping and eat what we have in the house definitely effects him. and this project is a fast from spending, not an attempt to see how much i can get other people to pay for. no, i'm not going to turn down dinner invitations from dad, but in my world, food will come from the pantry. and we'll only go grocery shopping when our cupboards are bare.

7. gifts don't need to be extravagant

i love giving gifts and because of that, i find myself spending way too much on loved ones. i'm sure they're not complaining, but over spending is over spending--even if it's on someone else, not on me.

so, from here on out...i'm going to come up with craftier ways to say, "happy birthday!" or "i love you!" that will come from the heart and probably mean more. i'm not eliminating gifts all together, but i'm going to spend time re-thinking ways to give gifts. i think this one is going to be fun.

8. when travel is necessary, travel cheap

i'm not going to nix road trips all together. the movie biz requires us to head out to weekend-long conventions and we have family we love to visit in indiana. but i think it's time to explore ways to cut back on our adventures, when possible.

9. i will update the blog regularly to keep myself accountable.


so those are the rules.

the trick to this whole ordeal is to save money...and to create habits that will stick around for good. so, at the end of this year-long project, we'll see how much i have saved. emphasis on SAVED...not "saved til the end of this year-long project and then used to buy some fancy new presents i've wanted for a few months."

i'm going to use this blog to explore ways i've found to cut back, discuss my struggles and failures, and brag about my successes.

stick around...this is going to be a good time.

the start of something good

if you had an extra $1600, how would you spend it?

i might go on a bit of a shopping spree. or get a new laptop. or maybe i'd take a trip someplace i've never been and buy oodles of souvenirs.

turns out, last year, i spent approximately $1600 at mcdonalds.

embarassing? sure. i should have been making healthier choices.

and even though i could sit down and think about how terrible those nuggets are for me, the feeling that REALLY plagues me is what i could have spent that money on.

friday at work i was bopping around cnn.com and came across this article. and this line hit me:

"i know what it feels like to be completely convinced that the debt will never ever, ever get paid off, and that if it did it'd only be because i won some random game show or some mega lottery jackpot that i don't even play."

the lottery fantasy enters my mind every time i make a payment towards my student loans or credit card, and i don't even PLAY the lotto.

but the reality is i've done nothing to fix the situation. sure, my payments are on time, but it's always the minimum. extra cash is spent on fast food ($1600!!?? at ONE place?) and stuff i simply don't need.

and so after investigating her site, and then she saved, i was inspired to do the same...make a list of needs vs. wants. stop spending. start saving. set rules for myself and find some sort of financial stability.

and i'm gonna blog about it too.

the more i think about this project, it really isn't all that complicated. i'm not talking about 401k's, investments or high return savings accounts. i'm talking about eliminating trips to target and bringing lunch to work everyday.

i hope you'll follow along as i give this project a shot...stay tuned for the rules...