The Travel Jar

Two days ago I got a free haircut (bartered), and went to Savers and bought 3 work t-shirts, 1 "socializing" top, 2 plaid long sleeved shirts for Montana, and 2 tanks/undershirts for $37 with my coupon. Hoping I won't need to buy any more clothes until October. ... Except that my Montana trip is in less than two weeks, and the Glacier Park website has a few "recommended packing" things on it that I don't own. Things like: -Croakies (do people still call them that? On the list they called it an "eyeglass retention strap") -A sun hat (the only hat I own is a winter hat) -River sandals (my flip flops won't cut it- I need the strappy deal. Like Chaco's or Keen's or TeVa's). -Quick-dry shorts (can I just wear my running shorts for this?) So, I may have to make an REI run this week, and scour the sale section. Or if you peeps have other ideas, let me know. I could also borrow from pals. I applied for a Global Entry card, which ...

My buddy and I went out for Thai food (first sit-down dining experience since June, other than the time I used that Groupon at Winslow's)- Spices in North KC is quite good- get their sausage appetizer and their phad grapow! Then we drove to Donut King, which was open til late... And I got my fucking donut! Actually we got three, and split them. If ever you go, go for the Strawberry Cream Cheese. My friend went through her toiletries yesterday and tossed/donated a bunch, and told me to take what I wanted- I took a small bag of travel-size things, including a face scrub and 5 bottles of shampoo (my shampoo at home has an inch left in the bottle). Some are fancy brands and the switch in the shampoo means my hair has perked up. I exfoliated my face last night for the first time in 3 months? Today is my day off- I'm doing some office work in the morning, meeting with friends for my new writing group from 11-1 in Downtown KC, then getting my hair cut (for free- we're barterin...

Here's what I bought yesterday, on my day-after-the-Freeze: iTunes movie rental in standard definition ( The Edge of Seventeen - I liked it): $2.99. 2 pairs of underwear A pairs of arch support inserts for my sneakity-sneaks. A bag of dog food that will last 4 months, with Petri's small appetite. Yesterday at the end of my organizing session (with a client who knows about my Spending Fast), I stretched and said, "Now I can go buy chapstick !" in a sincerely triumphant voice. "Are you kidding?!" She said. Then we ran around to 3 different spots in her home, and she found SEVEN  unopened tubes of chapstick and gave them to me. Then she sat on the kitchen floor and went through her wine fridge and gave me FIVE  bottles of wine. Then on top of that she handed me two bags of healthy snacks, because she had bought the wrong size.   I was touched by her generosity.

My one month Spending Freeze is complete! In the last 32 days (I extended 2 days because I bought 2 "wants"), I have paid off $1,712.99 on my car loan, $1,000 on my medical bill, and about 2 grand on my credit card bill when I started on June 21st, which was all racked up from my LA and NJ trips last month. So I've paid off about $4,712.99 of debts in the last 32 days . My credit card balance is at zero. I used $1,000 in savings to pay for my medical bill, so I paid for $3,712.99 of my debt with straight up labor from this month. And this was a SLOW work month. In the past 32 days I've spent $62 on gas (what up, fellow hybrid owners!), $200 on groceries (bartering helps!), $34 on pet expenses, $70 on medical expenses that weren't my surgery bill, $14 on business miscellaneous, $0 on business supplies, $25 on utilities (Time Warner sent me a refund check last month, and now I have free Google Fiber- normally not this cheap!), and the rest was all fixed expenses...

Yesterday I dropped off the little one at doggie day care (Petri likes Woof's in Merriam), asked them for a nail trim (I'm too chicken shit to cut my own boy's nails for fear of hurting him), and headed to my chiropractor, Dr. Sara, who confirmed that the pain in my left heel is indeed Achilles tendonitis, and that it indeed is because of the fact that I am wearing unsupportive shoes, which is killer on my flat feet. How unsupportive are my shoes, you ask? Every time I whisper my hopes and dreams to them, they light another cigarette and calmly tell me that I'll amount to nothing. Dr. Sara gave me foam rolling, stretching and icing assignments, as well as her blessing for me to buy a pair of Reefs (see?! A DOCTOR said I could buy clothing!), and also some arch support inserts for my sneaks and my white canvas shoes (which are adorbs but are pancake-flat on the bottom). I bought the Reefs last night on the Reef website, and up popped a thing that said "sign up wit...

Today would technically be the last day of my Spending Freeze, except that I extended it for 2 days because of the two cheats (karaoke night, then Arby's). So Friday will be the last-last day. .... And then after a week of "here, now I can buy YOU dinner because you bought ME dinner during my Freeze," I will extend it again, until I am debt-free. Last night I went to a Taco Tuesday for Interfuse/Burner peeps (Burners = people who go to burns, like Burning Man. Interfuse is the big Midwest burn). My lovely friends in KCMO hosted. Everybody brings one taco ingredient, and we all share. Everyone also does it by the Burner rule of "leave no trace", meaning you bring your own cup/plate/utensils and don't leave them behind. I forgot my own stuff so I borrowed my friend Justin's. I brought lime wedges and hot sauce, and a little Bombay Sapphire for myself (can't buy alcohol on this Freeze, so I've been savoring this big bottle for weeks). I love...

Yesterday I called and cancelled my haircut that's scheduled for 10 days from now. I go to a fancy place- they always do a terrific job! But $80 it too much to spend on a haircut right now, even if it is technically happening after the Spending Freeze. Instead I've bartered with a friend, who is a pro, and will cut my hair in exchange for organizing help! The only money I spent yesterday was at the post office- I mailed out a pair of shoes that I sold on eBay. Profit was only about $17. But hey, it's money! Yesterday's BIG win was my tax refund- after I had submitted all of my tax stuff on time in April, I learned that I could write off all of the stupid credit card fees that I get charged whenever clients pay me with Square or PayPal. My accountant resubmitted my paperwork, and yesterday I got a check in the mail for $266! Hot diggity dog. On the downside, I need to up my medical budget this month by $35- tomorrow I need to see my chiropractor because my left hee...

I don't barter much, but there are 3 certain things I will barter for: Guitar lessons Haircuts & leg waxes Fresh veggies from the garden of my awesome friends Jen and James Petri and I went to J&J's house yesterday, and look at this gorgeous bounty that we drove away with: J&J were hosting their annual BBQ & Backgammon celebration, so I got hooked up with some serious BBQ eats in addition to the beautiful veggies. Did I score or what? Last night my friends Mike and Dylan (Mike is Dylan's dad) came over and we enjoyed the pool at my apartment complex (now reopened after the vandalism!), then we went back to their place and ate a caprese salad from a tomato and the basil from above (with a little sea salt and balsamic to boot), and then Mike put the green beans in his pressure cooker with some bacon and onion and chicken broth, and we enjoyed it while watching "History Of The World, Part I". I spent no money yesterday, nor ...

Last night my friend Stacey came over, and we soaked in the hot tub of my apartment complex for a good while before heading back to my place and drinking wine and eating cheese/grapes/charcuterie stuff and chatting. You really don't have to spend much money to have a great time with a friend. She brought the wine and a wonderful porter cheddar- it had cracks in it that were filled with porter beer. How fun is that? Petri would NOT leave her alone. He must have sensed that she was a cat person, and set out to change her mind with his doglike charm. All his efforts really wore him out, and he slept in this morning: My full-day client today cancelled last minute, but thanks to having an awesome cancellation policy in place, I am getting paid to take a day off. I take Sundays off too, so I will be spending the next two days enjoying some free fun: The dog park, prepaid yoga class, maybe a guitar lesson (I bartered), picking up some fresh veggies from my friends who have a huge...

Current debt: $5000 medical +  $4000 Prius = $9,000! I made a $501.55 Prius payment today which bought it down squarely to $4,000. My goal this month was to get my total debt down to $9,000! Rather than relaxing, I am going to adjust my goal, since my OVERALL goal is to be debt-free by September 29th (the day I fly to my high school bud's wedding in Jamaica). I've calculated that I have 10 working weeks between now and September 29th (2 weeks I will be on a family trip in August in Montana). If I'm to hit my goal, I need to put $900/week toward this debt. My only option is to extend this Spending Freeze until then 9/26 .  Also I have a quarterly tax payment due in September, so this should prove to be a serious challenge. It's possible... But it's going to be difficult. Not just difficult to keep not-spending, but I'm going to have to work my ass off. Also it's just plain fun to have a very challenging goal that I'm worried that I might not hit. I...

Current score: Same as yesterday- $4,001.55 owed on car, $5,000 owed on medical. Despite the unexpected day off yesterday, I was thrice productive: I cleaned out my contacts, wrote a lengthy blog post on my business website, and created and scheduled a MailChimp campaign. It will go out this morning. Let's get some work in the books! I remembered yesterday that even after I'm debt free, I need about $2,500 worth of body work done on my Prius. I was in a minor accident in May- I got rear-ended, then I rear-ended the peeps in front of me. Nobody was hurt (yay!) but I need body work done on my car. The insurance company of the person at fault (poor thing- new driver) paid me the estimate for the work done, which I deposited and used to pay off debt, which just means that I have to really pay for it in the fall when I'm ready to do it. So while my goal is to be debt-free by September 29th (the day I leave for my friend's wedding in Jamaica), I will still spend Octob...

Current debt score: $4,501.55 owed on the Prius, $5,000 owed on the medical bill. I got to go to a free concert last night- my friend had an extra Iron Maiden ticket and couldn't find any takers, so he gave me a "pity ticket" fo' free. :) I had never been to an Iron Maiden concert... In fact I do not know any of their songs. But they were incredible. Metal is definitely not my kind of music, but I appreciated the experience! My ears, this morning, do not. I have some anxiety this morning. I was supposed to be working today, and both sessions got cancelled last minute. Two weeks ago I changed my Policies so that I no longer offer one "freebie" the first time that a client cancels within 48 hours of session start time, but I can only require that with clients who have signed in the last two weeks- not before. My friend who gave me the concert ticket, who is also self-employed, said that because of similar problems, all of his clients must pay a $50 non-ref...

Today I went to Mud Pie bakery in Volker, because I had a Groupon from long ago, that expires at the end of July. So, free cappuccino and a vegan cupcake! Fine, not free... Just prepaid and discounted. It's so nice to be doing my catch up work in a coffee shop- I did this all the time before the Freeze- I concentrate better in public. BONUS: I ran into 2 friends from Interfuse! Prepaid stuff! Woot! That was my only active Groupon, so I checked my expired ones since you can still use them for the amount you paid since not the promotional code. I found one for Winslow's BBQ, and I headed that way for late lunch- without telling him my situation, the manager compted the entire meal. How nice was that? I would have paid any extra that went over the Groupon. What a nice guy. It was good food too, and there was live blues on the back patio. It was nice to be dining out again and for free  a prepaid amount. It truly felt like a privilege to be doing it. I have 4 expired Grou...

Even though I don't feel terrible for slipping the other night at karaoke, I think the fair thing to do would be to extend my Spending Freeze an extra day, which means the last day will be July 22nd. ... Except that I don't really want to end the Freeze. I want to keep going. I'm doing so well and I don't want to lose momentum. I want to send a big fat message to the universe that I am HYPER SERIOUS about becoming debt-free. And that once I am, I will put at least $500 into savings every month so that I never have to go into debt to pay for a car or a medical bill ever again. I am a spender at heart- I love to splurge on vacations and food- but I'm not an irresponsible spender. I try to remind myself of that. My back story with debt: This is my second time in debt in my life. Both times have been since I moved to KC in the fall of 2012. I moved here with a former boyfriend, for his job, and completely uprooted my own business in the northeast to start comple...

The current score of the game: $9,500 debt left to pay off - 4.5K car loan, 5K surgery bill. Now I'm down to 4 digits! I made a $500 car payment this morning. Yesterday my organizing client and I were going through her "command center" in her kitchen, and we found 4 Southwest Airlines drink coupons. She's pregnant/not drinking, and she offered them to me! I'm flying Southwest in the fall down to my high school bestie's wedding in Jamaica, so these coupons can help me get into the trip spirit. I've made good on my promise to do one thing every day to pay off this debt. Even on days when I can't make payments, I am doing little things to help- yesterday in addition to scoring the free coupons, I also spent nothing - not even on Needs. Didn't need to buy groceries or fill my tank with gas. For groceries I've been shopping at Sprouts since they have inexpensive healthy foods. I start in the meat section- they have neon orange stickers on ev...

Starting debt this month: $12,500. Current debt: $12,200 Goal of the month : Get my debt down to $9,000. This will require a lot of discipline and saying no to lots of things. Every day this month I will do one thing that contributes to my goal.   Yesterday I set my budget on Mint.com for the month (love that site!) and today I sent a $300 payment to my car loan. Spending freezes always remind me of how much I have at my disposal. When I have plenty of money to spend, I barely touch my pantry ingredients- I go out to eat instead. I brush off my puzzles- I go to the movies. I ignore my already purchased audio and ebooks, because I can just buy new ones. I don't make the most of my wardrobe because I can just buy a ne w top. Spending freezes put everything in perspective for me, and I feel more appreciative of my things. It's nice to actually put them to some use, since I spent good money on them in the first place! Instead of deprived, I feel abundant. I cancelled m...