All is fair in love and Real Estate

First of all, let me say, that I love my job. It's great. I do something different everyday. I get the privilage of meeting new and different people from all over the USA and they let me be part of their family as we strive to find them the perfect home. I get the prividge of working with family and living in a community that I am coming to love (Go Zoo-town). Unfortunately the real estate business does not come with a steady paycheck. It is either FANTASTIC or like it is now...not fantastic. No certain paycheck makes budgeting and paying of debt a challenge (at least for me). There is a bit of guess work involved and while I might want to put an extra few hundred towards paying off the credit cards it might be better to put it in savings incase I have a bad month. This month will be interesting...

August
Total cash available: $1862.92

Expenses
Rent: $500
Utilities: $60
Credit cards: $364.46
Health Insurance: $122.88
Car Insurance: $132.26
Cell phone: 87.69
TV:$60
Vehicle Registration/New license/MT plates: approx $300?
Food/Necessities: $150

Total: $1777.29

Ok, it will be a tight squeeze but it's do-able, right?

I am trying to save for two airline tickets to fly my cats from California to Montana so all extra funds will go to that goal, at least for now. I need two tickets because the vet said I should take my pets as carry-ons and I need two seats for them to be under. If anyone knows of any ways to get cheap airline tickets please, let me know. My dates are extremely flexible.

The Beginning of a New Era!

After a move to a new city, new apartment and new job I have decided that now is as good a time as any to create a new budget and a new way of living. While my debt is not substantial it is enough to effect my overall happiness and my day-to-day life and correcting it now, once and for all, while I am young and can handle giving up a few of life's luxuries (like two-ply TP), seems like the best plan.

I accumulated my debt in away a lot of 20-somethings do. I was in college and had my first credit card and bought items that seemed necessary at the time but now, with two credit cards near their maxium and no emergency funds available I realize that maybe..just maybe those super cute purple flats weren't as important as they originally seemed. After surviving the last month on $20 and what remained in my fridge I decided that it was time for a change, time to stop spending every dollar I came in contact with and time to accumulate some real savings, if only so I never have to eat rice and lentils for two weeks again. This is not going to be an easy change. While I don't consider myself a shopaholic there is something therapeutic about going out and buying something. I love grocery shopping most of all...

I will post my proposed budget for August soon, I hope ya'll are ready for a crazy ride...

<3 Sarah