New Grad RN

It is finally Tuesday and after forgoing a trip to a local small amusement park that would have cost 50 dollars we decided to go visit my boyfriend's friend at his apartment complex that has a wonderful outside pool. I am less than 5 hours away from making my 65 dollar challenge a success. I currently have four dollars in my little coin purse I bought in Peru a few years ago where I have been keeping my allowance for the week. And that's after I just splurged on an Iced Latte from Dunkin Donuts that I have been putting off getting all week in order to stick within budget. I am very proud of my accomplishment I know it might not seem like much to a lot of people who are so amazing with money on this site but it is a big step for me. I relocated to NYC less than a year ago and with a boyfriend who works most days that I am off and very few friends (as most of my coworkers do not live near my job as I do) I tend to end up at the mall shopping and buying things I don't need to pass the time so I do not end up bored and feeling homesick. I spent my days cleaning the house, prepping dinners, working, walking to work which is 1.9 miles away 2 out of the 3 days I worked this week, and lounging quite a bit. I am thinking next week I might try to get my budget down to 60 dollars and seem if I am able. Well just wanted to update everyone.

Tee.

Last week as I was sitting down analyzing all I had to pay in the next few months... School tuition, Disney Trip, Conference Costs etc. I started to get nervous. I would love to keep a minimum of five thousand dollars in the bank while being able to keep my credit cards with no balance and paying all of my bills on time. Truly it seemed impossible unless I started to get really good with money better than I've already been. So I had to set up some new boundaries. One I tried was giving my credit card to my boyfriend, taking 65 dollars in cash, and leaving my bank card at home. The 65 dollars was my allowance for the week for everything parking at work, food, anything I needed. I started last Tuesday after I arrived home from Providence and knew I was not going to get paid for another week. So far I've made it from last Tuesday until today which is technically Monday and still have 15 dollars left. Tomorrow is a day off and since it's supposed to rain I'm thinking I'll be spending most of the day at home if not all of it. I don't know if 65 is a reasonable spending amount or not for one week but I had to start somewhere I'm hoping I'm going to get really good at this and get it down to even cheaper but I guess we'll see. And hopefully I'll be able to reach the goals I made for myself.

: ) I'll let you know how it goes.... Tee.

Honestly if you asked most of my coworkers, my boyfriend, my family, or friends. They would tell you I manage my money well... but in all honesty I am looking for improvements. Just a couple days ago I started walking to work because it costs 2-4 dollars to park in the parking garage depending on the day of the week the weekends are cheaper. I do not have direct deposit because I like to deposit my checks one week later than I am paid so that I am always one week ahead of my finances. I am trying to come up with more ways to save money but I am drawing a lot of blanks. I was wondering if many people have tips on how they save throughout the week. I also tried this week to give myself an allowance of 65 dollars that I carried in cash so I would prohibit spending. I am going back to school this Fall and just had to upfront $4050 for that bill and have been planning a trip to Disney which I am still currently $1000 dollars short on. I know people have such creative tips for saving money and I want to know what you do. Please any and all tips are much appreciated.

A comment on my last entry sparked some interest... What does everyone believe is the most important thing to do with their paychecks? I don't know about anyone else but after I started educating myself on finances my paycheck looked extremely measly when I learned everything I was supposed to be doing. Paying debts, saving at least ten percent, adding to a 403b, contributing to an IRA, saving for a house, developing an Emergency fund, and the list goes on... So just curious what financial goals are on the top of your list?

I cannot even believe how fast life flies by when your having fun (and by fun I guess I mean working). It will soon be a whole entire year since I began working as a RN in nyc. Since I began I have been working diligently to pay off my debts. To put my financial world into perspective I graduated college last year in MAY (2010) with a grand total of about fifty thousand dollars ($3000 in credit cards, $30,000 school loans, and $17,000 car loan) in debt if I had that now I would probably be sick but at the time it didn't really bother me. Yes I wanted to get rid of it but I knew I had time and I prayed that I would get a job. I was lucky enough to get my job very soon after graduation with an amazing starting salary of around $80,000 I can't even believe how lucky I was. After taxes and setting up my 403B(a ten percent decuction) and union dues my take home pay is around 3500 dollars a month. I live with my boyfriend luckily and only really have to spend a grand total of about 1500 dollars in living expenses not including little things like gas etc. Almost 12 months later I have completely paid off my credit cards and 5 of my 7 school loans (down from thirty to just ten thousand), and have paid off almost ten thousand to my car leaving me with about 7900 dollars left on that loan. In total I have about $18,000 dollars in debt remaining from $50,000 thousand. I have almost 5 thousand in my 403B and almost $10,000 dollars in savings. I am on a mission to eliminate the rest of debt in just eight more months before me and my boyfriend sign onto a new lease in possibly a slightly nicer apartment. Hopefully I can make it any tips or advice would be warmly welcomed!

Tee[/font]