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Weekly Roundup

Last Updated: May 23, 2013 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hey everyone! Hope you’re having a great weekend. Lots of birthday festivities going on for me this weekend which means that I’m doing an absurd amount of dancing (ok not really since I love to dance even if I am a bad dancer).

Lots of dog pins this week! Just loving them. We are dog sitting and have three dogs at our house this week (and next week). I LOVE the dog that we are watching. He’s a hound and just so good and cute.

Oh yeah, LESS THAN 1 WEEK OF CLASSES LEFT.

Posts I loved this week:

  1. Out of Control Transportation Costs @ When Life Gives You Lemons
  2. Why I Don’t Usually Use Cash @ Frugal Portland
  3. RIP So Over Debt @ So Over This
  4. You Can’t Change Me Overnight @ bogofdebt
  5. A Great Friend that I have never even met @ Live Simply – Live Well
  6. If you died today, would it be okay? @ Newlyweds on a Budget
  7. Tomorrow @ See Debt Run
  8. Why I Travel @ Money After Graduation
  9. Working When You Don’t REALLY Have To @ TeacHer Finance

 

Have a great weekend!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Roundup

Spending, Life, Income and Food updates…

Last Updated: September 8, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Happy Monday everyone. The weekend went by quickly and summer is flying by.

Went out to eat everyday this weekend (yes I know, bad), had a dentist appointment on Saturday morning, cleaned around the house and a bunch of other stuff. It’s still way too hot to do anything outside. These 105 degree days (which have been everyday for over a month) are getting very annoying.

No pictures this week so here’s a picture from our Kauai trip
My updates:
School: Only 2 more weeks until I’m done and then I’ll have my MBA.  It’s getting so very close! I only have three projects left and that is all. 2 of them are due tomorrow (which are already complete!), and then I have a paper. I think

I decided not to walk at graduation. We are just going to go out to eat and celebrate that night instead. This is what I truly want, I’m just not that interested in walking since I already walked for my undergraduate degrees. 

Spending: I bought a shirt from Urban Outfitters yesterday. It was originally $54 and I bought it on sale at $21. It was something that I’ve wanted for awhile though, so don’t hurt me.  I also did buy a shirt from American Eagle. I had a gift card and signed up the for the free shipping service that they offer. so it was FREE.

I did sell $50 worth of things to a consignment store as well. And I sold my Versace purse. I didn’t sell it for as much as I’d like, but I didn’t want to deal with the hassle so I sold it directly to Bag Borrow Steal. And I also know that they will sell it for 4 times the amount that they are giving me which is a little disappointing as well.

Extra Monthly Income: I made a little last week. $50 from clothes, $50 from 2 purses that I sold on eBay, over $100 from my blog, around $50 from secret shop phone calls and a little bit elsewhere. So around $250 last week (not including my Versace purse, because they still have to inspect it and if they send it back then I don’t won’t to include it as income just yet), which is definitely not bad at all.

I also signed up to be a staff writer for another blog. That will be fun and I will finally get my name out there on another blog.

I’ve also started thinking about getting into blog button sponsorships. Does anyone else do this? How is it working for you? I sponsor a couple of other blogs and donate things for group giveaways,

Also, check out See Debt Run’s $40 giveaway!

Budget Cutting: I didn’t cut out anything. Not sure if you noticed on my twitter, but the other day I noticed that AT&T charged me $10.50 for asking them to discount my internet. No one told mw when I asked for a discount a month ago that I would be charged for asking. They gave me a $4 discount, and charged me $10.50 for asking. I asked them to take the $10.50 charge off because that is possibly the dumbest charge that I’ve ever heard of, and they did.
Food: We are doing better, but still not the greatest. We went out to eat way too much this past weekend. BWW, Applebees, Sushi, Subway, a Mexican restaurant. I don’t know what got into us this weekend.
Being healthy: I have done nothing lately. That is all… I need to start doing more Blogilates! What good healthy websites and food websites do you look at? Share them with me 🙂
How’s your spending, working out and extra income going?

P.S. Check out my blog sale and my blog post titled “How I Make Money Blogging.” Also check out my post on My Multiple Incomes.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Life

Spending, Life, Income and Food updates…

Last Updated: May 18, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hey everyone! Hope the weekend was great for you. Lots of stuff happened in the past week (all for pretty much the better).

Those that follow me on Twitter already know, but I passed my work test! I found out last week. I’m super happy. This means that I’m for sure going to DC in August. Who wants to meet up? 🙂

We are still extremely happy that we kicked out our roommate. Even though he doesn’t live with us, he is still giving us a huge headache. Think about the biggest idiot you’ve ever met, and then multiply that by 1,000 and then you have our old roommate. It’s really just his stupidity that is getting to me. Yet he thinks he’s a genius, don’t you love people like that?

We also did buy a new Jeep on Saturday. I’ll be making a post on that soon. We are super happy with our purchase. I know a lot of you said this is a bad idea, but we got a really good deal and Jeeps hold their value very well. We found the same Jeeps (used and new) with many more miles (ours was brand new) that were going for more than what we bought ours at. In the end, we are just very happy and it’s so nice.

My updates:

School: Only 3 more weeks until I’m done and then I’ll have my MBA.  I’m so excited. But I’m not excited about the insane amount of homework and projects that I have to do right now. Time is definitely ticking and I need to get on it. Procrastinating has gotten the best of me. Hopefully my idiot partner that I talked about last week will actually start doing something since me and the other girl did the first 2 projects all by ourselves.

Spending: I bought these heels this past weekend also. Still a part of my Vegas/summer budget. These are pretty much one of the last things that I plan on buying for the summer.  I also returned a lot of the items that I bought last week. Returned 2 dress and 1 of the necklaces. They weren’t needed.

Extra Monthly Income: I haven’t been making too much lately. I did a secret shop at Urban Outfitters and that was pretty much it right there. I was already going to the mall with my sister, so the drive wasn’t a waste. Made money while hanging out with my sister, it was a win-win.

I do have a ton of things to sell as well. I have two huge bags of things to sell to the consignment store, a Versace purse that I’m going to try and sell to Bag, Borrow, Steal (has anyone ever used them?), and if they don’t buy it, then a consignment store near me said they will buy it as well. I’m just trying to get the most money for it. And then I also listed 2 things for sale on eBay. The sales closed yesterday and made $50 from purses that I didn’t even know that I had in my closet!

I would sell it on eBay, but I keep hearing horror stories of sellers who sell their bag and the buyer claims it’s fake and they get their money back. They buyer either tells eBay it’s fake, or they send the seller back a fake which looks extremely similar to the one they bought. Then the seller is out all of their money. This actually happened to me a couple of years ago when I tried selling my Seven for all Mankinds online, I was extremely upset that I lost all my money and didn’t even get my pants back.

Budget Cutting: I haven’t cut anything out lately. I have noticed that everyone I know keeps talking about switching to AT&T U-Verse, however, I just can’t justify the cost in my head right now. Right now we’re paying a little less than $100 for cable, internet and home phone, whereas AT&T U-Verse wants much more. So I don’t see that happening anytime soon.

 

Food: We are doing better but there is definitely still room for improvement. We ate out a couple times last week (still pretty cheap) when we could’ve just ate at home. I’m not even sure if I have gone grocery shopping at all this month except for yesterday. So that is good! Less wasted food and money.

Being healthy: I haven’t been working out a ton, but I have been doing little things when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed. Could be improved though.

How’s your spending, working out and extra income going?

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Life

Sunday Meal Plan

Last Updated: May 18, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

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Happy Sunday everyone. The weekend went by too fast yet again. Our meal planning is going good, but could be going better. I haven’t gone grocery shopping in awhile and definitely need to do that today.

Here’s what I plan on making as our main course for each dinner:
  • Monday – Bacon Pasta Carbonera
  • Tuesday –  Chicken Ranch Enchiladas and Rice {Slow Cooker} 
  • Wednesday – BLTs
  • Thursday – Steak
  • Friday – Lasagna
  • Saturday – Out to Eat
  • Sunday – Fajitas
What’s on your menu? Share any recipes 🙂

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Dinner

Being Positive

Last Updated: May 18, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Happy Friday everyone. This month seems like it’s flying by. I love summer, but I’d rather be done with classes. Anyways, I’m mixing things up today and I’m not going to talk about money as much as I usually do.

Everything seems to be going really good in my life, and I’m happy about that. Between my great job, great family and that we are getting our new car today. Yes we found one, more on that in another post!
I do believe that looking at the positive about things is good. Even if you’re having a horrible time, thinking positively can change everything. I know that not everyone believes in this, but it works for me.
Also, other little things that you can do help. Smile at the next person you see. Help someone with their groceries. Tip someone maybe a little extra. Buy an unsuspecting stranger something. Jen at the Happy Homeowner did this and I LOVED all of her stories. Or just do a random kind act for someone.
What I’m thankful for in my life:
  
My dogs. Of course they come first 🙂 Even though my littlest dog barks so much that sometimes I want to rip my ears out, I still love him. And of course my big girl is still perfect.
 
The boy. Of course I’m thankful for him! He is wonderful and does so much for me. It’s been over 6 years and we’re still great 🙂
My sister and my family. Living with my sister has been definitely going great so far. Of course we still have our sisterly fights and she thinks I’m evil, but it’s been good. We been going out to eat at restaurants, hanging out, and she helps out around the house. Before she lived with us, I would hang out with her maybe once or twice a year, and that was it.
My job. My job is great. Everyone that I work with is nice and I’m extremely grateful for my job. One last certification exam and then I’ll be moving on up!
My education. I’m almost done with my MBA. Sick of hearing that yet?
 
 
What are you thankful for?
What good things are happening in your life?

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Life

What to do with all my free time

Last Updated: May 18, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

As you all know, I have a countdown every Monday for when I’m finally done with my MBA. It’s probably very annoying for all of you, but it’s nice to watch the weeks go down and across cross each week off on my blog.

I’ve been working on my MBA since January of 2011. And worked full-time as an analyst the whole time also, so I haven’t had much free time (pretty much no free time).

I work from 8 am to around 5 pm Monday through Friday (of course since it is a financial job), but after that I will have nothing to do. Whenever I have a break from classes, I am usually extremely bored after work.

I asked some of you on Twitter what you would do, or what you are doing. A lot of you kept telling me that I just need to relax! A lot of you did the same thing as me, and now you’re just living life. This is something that I definitely need to do.

But, I do like to keep busy. I’m crazy!

Part-time job?
Getting a part-time job or something on the side could help in many ways. Now, I wouldn’t work the same amount that I had classes (12 credits a semester, plus homework easily averaged out to 25 hours a week dedicated to my MBA at least). But even if I just found a part-time job for one or two evenings a week could be helpful.

I could pay off that car that we plan on getting this weekend. I could also pay off my student loans faster. And of course that mortgage, etc.

Of course there are other things I plan on doing when I first graduate.

I’ll come home after work and watch TV for hours and hours, work out more, play with my dogs, hang out with friends more than once a week, work on the house and finish decorating everything and so on.

But I do think there will be a point when this will just be too much free time for me.

I’ve talked about this PLENTY of time. But this time I’m serious. What should I do with all this free time? I’ve had another blog in the works for months now, but haven’t really even thought about it in awhile. Only the concept is there so far 🙂

What jobs would even work though? I’ve thought about bartending, retail (maybe, I don’t know if I’d want to get into that again!), and well I don’t know what else. I have friends who are bartenders, so that’s possible, and they make decent money.

Or just enjoy it?
But on the other side, there is a certain point as to where I should (and do) value my free time more than a little extra money. Having a part-time job definitely will not drastically affect my life.

I’m guessing that a part-time job, depending on what and how many hours of course, might bring in around $500, but likely no more. Would $500 be worth my time, or would I be better working on myself (the house, working out, hanging out with friends, etc)?

What would you do with all of this time?
Or what are you doing with your free time?
I know there’s a lot of you in my position!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Life

Spending, Life, Income and Food Updates…

Last Updated: May 18, 2014 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Happy Monday everyone! Definitely another hot weekend. It’s supposed to be “cooler” this week, but cooler means mid-90s with high humidity still, so it’s still hot.

I didn’t end up taking my business pictures that I talked about on Saturday. I had to reschedule because of the roommate situation that we’ve been having. Long story short (a lot of you know about it from Twitter), but we had to kick him out. It just wasn’t working. He was engaging in lots of illegal activities in our house and also hadn’t paid us rent.

Anyways, enough with that. I’m really hoping that I find out TODAY about my work test that I took a couple weekends ago.

Watched a lot of movies this weekend. Rented 21 Jump Street (HILARIOUS! and who would think that Channing would be the “nerd”?), The Devil Inside Me, The Grey and Safe House.

Did something really stupid on Saturday. Went to a new car dealership (they were closed because it was after hours) and looked at Jeeps. I don’t know why I want a new car so bad (except for the fact that my car now is a “sports car” and does not look professional). Someone stop me from this stupid temptation!

My updates:

School: Only 4 more weeks until I’m done and then I’ll have my MBA. WOOHOO! So who is sick of my countdown? Hopefully classes 4 nights a week right after work won’t kill me. Last semester of doing this though.

Also, group projects really suck, as you all know. They just never work out well. I have a 3 person group and one guy in my group hasn’t done a single thing yet. But oh well, my professor said if he continues to do nothing, then I can give him his overall group grade (which is worth around 50% of his whole class grade), so if he doesn’t start helping then he will not be getting his MBA. This kid doesn’t work, only has 1 class this semester, and doesn’t have kids, so I don’t know what he does with his time.

Extra Monthly Income: I didn’t make anything from my blog last week. And I only made around $10 from secret shop phone calls. It was a very uneventful extra money week.

Budget Cutting: Nothing cut out of the budget this week. Not really sure what else I could even cut out. This section of my updates just might be disappearing soon.

Yes another dress I bought. Not feeling guilty though!

Spending:  I did go shopping a couple times last week, but it was all budgeted for. Spent a little less than $100 on 3 dresses and 3 necklaces. I plan on returning one of them though because I don’t really like it anymore. This is all for the Vegas vacation with my friends of course. Still looking for a cute pair of summery heels/wedges, but can’t find any that are cute enough.

I can do without though. I really shouldn’t be spending any more money on clothes and shoes. Also, I went through my closet yesterday and listed a couple of items on eBay and have around 2 big bags of clothes to sell. I still plan on going through the rest of my closet and want to sell a lot more.

Food: We are doing pretty well with this still. I am starting to get sick of what I’m making, so I need to find some new recipes. I know I made my Meal Plan yesterday, but I’m craving tacos for tonight. Does anyone have some really good/different taco recipes?!

Being healthy: Ehhh this section has been average for me. Way too hot outside (yes I know I’m complaining yet again about the weather). I should probably run outside because I could lose 1,000 pounds in heat, but that just doesn’t sound pleasant.

How’s your spending, working out and extra income going?

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Life

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Hello and welcome!
My name is Michelle and I'm the author/owner of Making Sense of Cents. Learning how to save money and make more money changed my life. It allowed me to pay off $40,000 in student loans, start my own business, and I now travel full-time.

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