Too Groggy To Post

Man, I was going to write a bad ass blog about how one week down my budget is going perfectly. All my planned bills are paid, the amount I wanted to put in savings is in there, and I still have a good deal of leftover cash that should more than last me until the next payday as long as I stay smart (I was almost dumb last night, BTW).

But holy hell am I groggy. During the last hour of work today I got duper drowsy, and when I got home I laid down and fell asleep. Let me tell you so you will better understand, I never nap. Ever. I woke up some time later, thinking it was time for me to go to work, not realizing I was still clothed. When I saw Holly, I was super confused because I thought she was at work. I honestly had no idea what time or even day it was. I was seriously just lost, and it was a freaky feeling.

Well, I got through my thursday night television programming, but I don't feel like I have properly recovered. I am still groggy as hell. I don't know what's wrong with me.

I Messed Up

In my spreadsheet, I forgot to include under the "Paid for by card" section a couple of bills that come out automatically. This plus the next two bills that are to come out this pay period, would put me negative 16 bucks. Lucky for me, one of the bills is DirecTV, and does not come out automatically. Hell, it's not even due until the end of the month, it would just be more convenient to come out this pay period. So I'm in no danger of coming up with an overdraft fee. I just have to take a twenty from my cash amount and deposit it in the bank tomorrow. That's what I get for fucking with Mondo Tees. I just have to spend wisely, which shouldn't be too hard as long as I don't leave the house and succumb to movie temptations (I so want to see Zombieland). I underspent on groceries, and I have plenty of food. I have plenty of gas. Probably the only thing I may need to spend money on is my pets. I should be fine.

For now.

Damn You, Mondo Tees!!!

You got me!

Holly and I went to the Drafthouse South Lamar last night, which is connected to Mondo Tees, to see Paranormal Activity. I'll talk more about that movie over at NILBLOG. We got there super duper early because this movie sold out like 6 showings instantly and has some major buzz, so getting there early makes sure we get a good seating spot. It also means I have time to wander over to Mondo Tees to have a little looksie.

In my last post on Mondo Tees I talked about how much cool shit they have. In person, they have even more! Unfortunate for me, the Antichrist poster I loved so much was super sold out. I did chat it up a bit with the guy working there (I can't remember his name, I'm terrible with names), but he was a super cool guy. He showed me a copy of that Antichrist poster (not for sale) but so I could see all the little details I couldn't in the online version. But then he took it away. Later, talking to Holly about it, I had to force myself to feel myself to feel better by telling her "What if I paid the money to buy and frame the movie, see, the movie, and it sucks ass?" (God I hope not).

But I did see the variant Troll 2 poster I wanted, and was talking to the guy about it. I showed him my last blog post about Mondo Tees, and after laughing about "I Love You, I Hate You", he did let me know that the copy of the Troll poster that he had out was the last one left. He said it normally is 50 bucks, but he would sell it to me for 30. I checked my cash, and barely was under the amount, so out came my debit card. So yes, I now have the last Troll 2 variant (although it is still listed for sale on the site for some reason). But yeah, I spent about 33 bucks on my card, not cash. The only reason I even had my card is because you need it to show the Alamo people when you buy your tickets online.

DAMN YOU MONDO TEES!!!

But check this shit out. He also showed me this bad-ass poster all the Fantastic Fest attendees got for free. But then you put on 3D glasses and the badass-ness of the poster triples! Yeah, an awesome giant monster poster in 3-D! And he threw one of those in for free! Thank you, man.last one. That was like a fuck fifty. Two tolls on the trip to the Alamo and back. That was 1.50, with the remaining fifty cents going to the Graceland bucket. Then another ten-ish for food and drink during the movies, Come on, it was past midnight when the movie started and I'm freakin 35! I can't do these midnight movies so much anymore. Hell, I almost fell asleep during one of the most freaky moments of the movie, and the only reason my eyes shot open was the gasps/yelps/freaked out cries of the crowd. But then I'm sure eating those fat nachos didn't help with my sleepiness.

Amount spent: I'm not even going to bother counting right now.

And since it's sunday, GO GIANTS!!!

Bummer

See, I'm not the only one who thinks Mondo Tees has the best posters. That Antichrist one I showed you the other day is no longer on the website. More than likely this means it's sold out.

What are you gonna do?

Well, I am on the strictly cash part of my budget now. I did check DirecTV and they should be sending me an invoice during this pay period, so I do have it set up right. Everything is just getting paid as soon as those bills go out. Nothing wrong with that.

I did get the email about paying the 50 dollars now for the YouNeedABudget software. See, I really would like to use this software. It is getting amazing reviews and results. Problem is 1) I don't currently have 50 bucks, and 2) it isn't Mac compatible. Oh, but wait! YNAB version 3 should be coming out by the end of the year with big improvements, and most importantly, Mac compatibility! Here is where they get you. Right now, YNAB is 50 bucks. When YNAB3 comes out it will be 60 bucks. But if I buy it now at the 50 dollar price, when YNAB3 comes out, I get to upgrade for free, saving 10 bucks. I'm hoping I get into a beta test so I can figure if it is worth it.

I am starting to think I may have come up with a system that will work great for me as long as I stick with it. I do like that YNAB has classes and a message board for support, not just of the technical variety either. A whole group of people with the same goals giving each other help and support. Though, honestly, I already have that in my girlfriend who has been nothing but awesome about me doing this.

Bottom line, do I spend money to save money, or trust myself with my own resources? Holy cow, when I typed that "trust myself" part, and knowing it concerned money, I almost right away went to YNAB.com and gave them my 50 bucks, just because I have always been notoriously bad with my money. But NO! I WILL BE GOOD!!!

But for everyone else who hasn't created a crazy, whacked out Excel spreadsheet, you should at least check out www.youneedabudget.com.

It Has Begun.

I am way too tired to tell you all I have done today to get my master plan started, but it has begun. I'll just mention two quick things that I find are important.

1. I transferred 75 bucks to my savings today. This may sound like nothing to you, but to me this is huge. The only reason I have a savings account to begin with is because they required I start one to open a checking account. So it has been sitting there with five bucks in it forever. Today I made my first ever transfer of money into it. And I plan on staying in a financial situation where I won't have to touch that money until I am ready to touch it. And yes, I plan on adding to it every paycheck.

2. After getting paid, I paid my cell bill about an hour before they sent me a text saying my account balance was ready to be viewed. I filled my car up with gas, and that should be enough to last me until my next pay period. All I have left is Insurance and DirecTV (which I have to check, but I may have already paid that). Come to think of it, I don't think Netflix has come out yet. Regardless, I left enough in my account to cover the bills I have left to pay, and I took the rest out in cash. I put my debit card away, and all my extra spending will be strictly cash only. I think when I can see how much I actually have, I will be more careful with how I spend it.

October is the beginning of what I know is going to be a great time for me and Holly. She's saving. I'm saving. We'll definitely hit Graceland next year for my birthday. Also, with any luck, we can put a down payment on a house in the distant future.

I'm just excited.

And Like That I Blow It

For real, this HAS to be my last irresponsible crazy shopping excursion. I have a problem, and it's going on at this moment. No, it's not compulsive spending. What it is is that I get wacky ideas in my head, and they fester until I act upon them. I am not an interesting person. Not knocking myself, but I'm not a painter, or a lumberjack, or Carson Daily.

I know I have a lot of people who love me and I love them right back. But I somehow feel the need that I have to rant, not only in print, but in audio and video, especially for the other blog I (re)started, NILBLOG, where I can rant about stuff like how everyone completely overhyped District 9. Yeah, it was a good movie, but not the greatest thing since string cheese.

I have also wanted to try to do a video podcast every week where I rant about whatever. I am fully aware that the only people who will care or watch would probably be my Super Awesome girlfriend, and my mom, who shouldn't watch because there will be harsh language.

Where am I going with this? I drove around to the only place that was open, Walmart (you may kill me in comments, yes), and bought a microphone for the computer. I already have a camera. I also figured this would be a cool way I could communicate with my brother who lives in the Ukrane, especially if he doesn't have a Mac, where we could just use ichat.

While I was there, I noticed they had a very affordable 2gb sd card for Holly's camera. She just got it working, but she has no card. So I got her one. It was a good amount of room for a very affordable 10 bucks.

I also got a new 2 gig memory card for my PSP. For crying out loud, people! My current card is so small it can barely hold a save!

Here is how I see this. I am about to get married to a strict personal budget. It will take a bit of work at the beginning . There will be speed bumps, temptations, all kinds of things I am committing myself to. I KNOW what Holly is getting for her birthday. I am 90% sure what she is getting for Christmas. Oh, she'll cry , "no, no, don't get me anything!", but it's already settled. I know we will be going to Graceland for my birthday in May. It will be a great financial marriage.

Having said that, tonight was the bachelor party.

Amount spent tonight: 47.24

You Have Been Put On Notice

What I am writing and saying is me. If you are a family member and are afraid you may be offended by my language, be aware I will probably be dropping more F-Bombs than that chick in that lame SNL biker chick skit this week (even though it was only one F-Bomb). If you want some tender shit, visit McBroke. I am a very crass (yet still nice) individual. Get used to it.