Monday came way too fast. Luckily it’s only a 4 day work week. I hope everyone’s week went great! Our vacation went by way too quick.
Above are 2 more pictures from our vacation and it’s the beach that is right in front of our hotel. I’ll try and do a recap before the end of this week. I took around 400 pictures though, so deciding which ones to put up will be super difficult!
Thanks to everyone who guest posted for me and those who commented on their stories! I’m still trying to go through my reader and catch up on everything and everyone. If there’s anything new I should know, please share! Leave a comment or an e-mail.
I don’t mind this at all, because I love planning and dreaming about vacations. Yes, I’m a loser. Make fun of me now. However, I hate the stress of worrying about whether or not people enjoy what I’ve chosen.
The cheapest flights I can find for people start at around $500 for a round trip ticket. And that seems like a TON. Where do people buy cheaper airfare than that? HELP!
My updates:
Getting rid of my work outfit laziness: I’m just going to leave this blank. Didn’t work last week of course, so we’ll see how this week will be especially since it will be around 90 degrees each day this week.
School: Only 5 more weeks until the semester is over. I have another exam today and two papers due this month. One is only around 10 pages, and the other is around 20 (I think). Both are single spaced of course and are on relatively super boring topics so it will be difficult.
I really cannot believe that this semester is almost over. I have an advising appointment set for today so that I can do one last graduation check with my adviser to get the OK to graduate in the summer. WHOO HOOO
Extra Monthly Income: I didn’t have too much extra income while on vacation. I did some quick secret shop phone calls but I’m honestly starting to get sick of these and don’t know how many more of these I can willingly do. The pay for some reason is lower than usual and they require more work. Not sure if the secret shop company just got a bad deal or something. Either way, not worth it.
Budget Cutting: Didn’t cut anything out this past week of course.
Spending: I will definitely need to do a recap of our spending for the past week. Lets just say I splurged and rented a Jeep instead of an economy car while on our trip and it was super expensive. Much more than the $250 that I originally quoted. I’m ashamed of how much we spent on a rental car.
We definitely need to control our spending this month but without a car loan (since I paid it off completely whoo hoo again!), we are still paying off a lot of my student loans. Our bills, mortgage, food, etc are all around 50% of what we make every month. So the other 50% is getting aggressively thrown at debt and savings. Very very nice!
I also bought a couple of things with Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks. If you haven’t signed up yet, then I definitely would. You get points for different things such as searching (just like on Google). Points add up kind of quickly and I always redeem for $5 gift cards to Amazon.
I bought an underwater camera, Hunger Games and some dog toys. I do want to start saving some of this and get something bigger though. I think right now I have around $10 left in gift cards. Sign up!
Food: We went grocery shopping right after we got home and bought a ton of food in order to stock back up. Spent around $118, but it should last us quite a bit. We don’t think we will eat out for awhile, we are tired of restaurants and want actual good food. Yay for cooking at home!
How’s your spending going?
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Miss T @ Prairie Eco says
Yay, 5 more weeks. That is going to feel so good once your are done. Just in time for the nice weather. I am so happy it is a 4 day week. Some extra time to get things done will feel great.
Michelle P says
I know it's going to feel great!
Joe says
Now I'm on vacation this week til next Tuesday. It's so mind-numbing to have to go back to work.
End The Insanity says
I know you don't care…but not very well.
Michelle P says
Don't say that, I definitely care. Taking control of spending is not always easy, one day it'll be easier.
End The Insanity says
It has nothing to do with SPENDING. I have no proper income.
Darrell @ Debt and B says
Great pics! Look like background images for wallpaper. Jealousy ensues….. now.
debtntaxes says
Our spending was ridiculously high last month due to some refinance expenses and other one-time purchases. This next month should be quite a bit better though. Glad you had fun on your Hawaiian vacation.
Alyx says
Wooo! Our spending has been pretty good lately! With our tax refund we were able to pay off all debt (except student loans) and pay for a weeklong trip to Scotland and a weeklong trip to Ibiza AND put a bunch of money into savings, which was nice. Thank goodness for tax season!
A.Marie says
March was a pretty decent month spending-wise…..March was a big-spend month, so I'm trying to save some money!! 🙂
Neely says
You are so motivating!!
Live Simply- Live We says
It was terrible last month, be we decided to do a spending freeze for april.
SavvyFInancialLatina says
I know we are going a little over budget. I haven't had time to go over our spending for February and March. I just know the total missing from our savings. As far as trying to stay fit, I find that if I am working toward a goal its easier. I am planning to run a half marathon in May, so I am working hard to lose weight and train hard. I have lost seven pounds so far, and have five more to go to get to my weight goal.
Modest Money says
That first Monday after a vacation is usually tough. At least you came back to a short work week. That should help.Those are some awesome looking beach photos. Don't worry about spending too much on vacation. Isn't that what vacations are for? Sometimes you need to kick back and forget about pressures like budgeting.
Tabitha Mahoney says
Love those pictures. Welcome home.Tabmy-cliffnotes.blogspot.com
Shortroadto says
Airfarewatchdog.com is a good site for cheap airfare. Vacations = no stress. Worrying about spending = stress. Don't worry about spending or you won't be on vacation!
Michelle P says
Thanks! I'll have to check that site out.
Anthony Thompson says
Five weeks are going to by fast. Just hang in there, and focus on getting all of your schoolwork done. I'm glad that you had a nice vacation, and thank you for posting those beautiful pictures. As for my spending, it's the same ole thing. I'm doing fine with it now, because I do a weekly budget. Thank God!
jefferson says
Those ocean pics are fantastic.. I wish I was there!How was the water?
Michelle P says
It was great! Warm and clear.
Nick says
Very nice pics! And I love the 50% life / 50% debt/savings mix. You're kicking some serious butt w/ that. Congrats on unplugging, too. The beach looks amazing!
Vanessa says
Vegas is on my Must-Visit list!50/50 ratio is good. Once you know that you can live on so little, it makes life much less stressful (also, you'll know that once your debt is paid off you'll have a 100% increase in salary :P)My spending is emotional spending 😛 Glad to see yours was better
Young Professional F says
Beautiful pictures! I'm hoping you're going to do a big vacation post which will include where you stayed and how much it was – so I can start planning a Hawaii vacation. 🙂
frugalportland says
I put just about 50% of my income toward rent/debt snowballs/etc and it is awesome. I feel like I'm chipping away at something major.
That Brunette One says
I love those beach photos!!Im actually getting better at budgeting now which I'm so proud of and seeing as Im on a shopping ban my savings have somewhat Increased.. I just dread when I "know" that Im not on it i'll go nuts w shopping?! haha fingers crossed I dont.
Holly says
Glad you had a great vacation! The photos are beautiful! Congrats on paying your car loan off!
Counting all my star says
The pictures are breath taking. Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Can't wait to see more of it. $500 for round trip is a little much. It's going to be hard to find any good deals right now, being that spring break is in full swing and summer coming up.
katie says
Welcome back from your vacation. Those pics are beautiful.
Economically Humble says
love the photos!
MyMoneyDesign says
The pictures look great! Congrats on almost being done with school! Graduation will be a big deal!
Kari@ Small Budget B says
Welcome back, I hope you had such a good time The photos are gorgeous. I use Kayak for cheap airfare.