Happy List

I found a delightful post on my google reader today. Heather at the Greenest Dollar posted her Happy List. This was very timely for me because the boy and I had a talk last night about he is decidedly unhappy about some things in his life (not me... I think!). I've really been trying to see the positive in things lately and Heather's list of "simple things that make me devastatingly happy," was a reminder that I need to keep doing that even when it gets tough.

My 13 Happies:
1. the smell of rain
2. mac and cheese
3. the sound of waves crashing on the shore
4. playgrounds
5. my bed at the end of a long day
6. flowers when they first start to bloom
7. black and white photographs
8. chocolate
9. vanilla-scented candles
10. tiny puppies
11. silly nicknames
12. seashells
13. nachos with lots of guac


What are your happies?

Energy usage

Energy usage for the last 6 months of this year*:
March $23.98
April $21.96
May $22.81
June $23.76
July $22.60
August $33.35

Compared to the same months last year:
March $21.63
April $21.55
May $20.55
June $23.03
July $28.27
August $38.67

*Note that I list when I pay the bill, so I pay the bill in August which is for July's usage. Maybe kind of confusing, but it makes sense to me to track it that way.

So most months are pretty consistent or less than the previous year (minus May and I'm not sure why that is the case). I'm trying hard to unplug things and turn off the lights when I leave a room (not that I have so many rooms in my 1-bedroom apt...) or leave my house. I'm 99.5% good about turning off the lights when I'm not home, but there have been a handful occasions where I've accidentally left the light on and not realized. It's not often, like maybe once a month or once every 2 months, but I always feel kind of stupid after I get back and realize.

I have window air conditioning units, so most of the time I don't let them run. I usually only turn the one in my bedroom on when I'm sleeping and the one in the living room on when I have guests (pretty infrequently). I can definitely see that the AC use made my bill spike in the summer. I don't pay for heat, so that makes the winter nice and cheap. This July was able to be less than last July because it stayed cool for longer and I was able to sleep with the window open and just a fan. It's too hot to be able to do that now.

I also think it's helped that I usually spend weekend nights at the boy's house. No AC or energy use on 8ish of 30ish days a month probably helps a little. He wasn't in the picture last summer, so that's a new varriable in the equation. :)

I don't know how my energy bill compares to others, but I think it's relatively cheap. I'd love to make it under $20 one month, but that's definitely not happening in the summer! I don't know how much more I can do (aside from being more consistent with unplugging stuff) to lower the bill further. Do CFLs really make a big difference on your energy bill? Does it make cost effective sense to trash my light bulbs that still work to buy more expensive ones? I rent and the window have been replaced in the last few years and are pretty energy efficient. I try to use a fan instead of the AC when it's possible. I use sunlight during the day instead of a light switch. I probably should be more consistent with shutting off my computer and unplugging it, but I really don't know what else I can do.

Do you have energy saving tips?


Today I'm grateful for: my parents. The more I see other people's parents and their relationships, the more I appreciate mine.

Get Rid of Stuff Sunday #3

I got rid of a bunch of book today, more than 7 for sure! A lot of them were textbooks from college that I don't ever look at anymore. They're probably outdated anyway! A few of the books were novels that I had finished and won't read again. I'll probably drop them at the library or possibly Goodwill.

And I realized that I DO NOT need to buy any more books (or even go to the library) for a very long time. I have a bunch of books that are sitting unread on my shelf. I NEVER pay full price for books and I pretty much always buy them used, so I don't feel too guilty for having so many unread books. But I do need to actually read them!!!

I just don't seem to have an attention span for books anymore. I've spent a ton of time recently reading blogs and the newspaper, but I haven't read a book in quite some time. That makes me a little bit sad because I do love to read. I just feel as though I haven't found a book recently that has really captured my attention. At the end of the summer I'm going on a beach vacation with the family. I resolve that I will make some progress on that unread shelf of books!!!


Today I'm grateful for: growing emotionally as a person and being able to let things go.

June Spending

I just got my credit card bill in the mail from June, so here is my June spending update:

Quick Snapshot:
Total Income: $2,757.35
Total Expenses: $1,637.79
Total Saved: $1,119.56

Breakdown on income:
Wages: $2,555.80
Medical Reimbursement: $85.00
Rebates/Free Money: $116.55 (includes money I got from selling clothes and gold jewelry, plus two gift cards I got for transferring prescriptions)
Monthly Total: $2,757.35


Breakdown on expenses:
HOME EXPENSES
Rent $850.00
Electricity: $23.76
Cell: $78.15
Cable/Internet: $0.00 (paid for two months last month)

TRANSPORTATION
Gas: $75.44 (drove more than last month because I took a trip to visit my parents)
Bus/Taxi/Metro Fare: $27.00

DAILY LIVING
Groceries/Drug Stores: $119.16
Dining/Eating Out: $90.77
Clothing: $0.00 (I'm really proud of myself on this one!)

HEALTH
Rx/OTC: $178.28
Co-pays: $20.00
Gym/Exercise Class: $111.00 (paid for the summer's worth of yoga classes)

ENTERTAINMENT
Newspaper: $18.00 (this is paid about once every three months(
Netflix $9.44
Gifts/Donations $3.30 (a card for father's day)

MISCELLANEOUS
Cash $33.49

Total Spent: $1,637.79


I was able to save a lot of money in June which was really good since May was such a spendy month. Two things that really helped with the bottom line was not paying cable/internet this month and not going clothes shopping. There were also not any irregular big expenses (like the car insurance paid last month).

I think a more realistic goal is saving closer to $600 per month which is what I'm going to try to aim for in the future.


Today I'm grateful for: adorable children to play with... and that I don't have to take home at the end of the day!

Get Rid of Stuff Sunday #2

It's been a struggle lately to find the time to do everything I want, hence the lack of recent posting. I've been mostly good in my saving/spending, but I'll try to update on that soon.

Stuff I got rid of this week:

1) Throw Pillows. My former roommates and I used these 3 black throw pillows on the futon in our college apartment. I thought I might use them again, but if I haven't used them in almost 4 years, I probably won't. Disposal Method: possibly consign, probably Goodwill.

2) My "boyfriend box." I have a box that I kept items given to me by an ex. It's taken me a long time to get past this relationship and it's a HUGE step for me to purge this (and the memories of him) from my life. Disposal Method: trash the items, reuse the box.

3)Empty (and slightly broken) expandable file folder. I don't know why I was keeping this around. There really was no good reason at all that I kept it.

4) Photo Album (empty of pictures!). I've never used this cheap-o album I received in my college days. I never will (because who really prints pictures nowadays??), so it gets trashed. Disposal Method: trash.

5) Misc. wires that I kept in a basket. I think it's safe to say that I haven't used any of them since I moved into my place over 2 years ago and I never will. Disposal Method: ??? I plan to ask the boy (who knows about these technological things more than I do) and maybe he'll know what to do with them. Or maybe I will just throw them in the trash (is that okay to do?).

6) 2 baskets. With all the organizing and getting rid of stuff, I was able to consolidate what was originally in the baskets into other items. Also, the baskets don't really match the other baskets I have around and they still had the tags on them (which I never took off). Disposal Method: hopefully consign, possibly Goodwill.

7) Keroppi pencil/pen holder. I've had this for a loooong time, but it's a little juvenile for me now. I switched to an old mug that I don't really use for anything else. It looks much more grown up. Disposal Method: Goodwill.

Today I'm grateful for: all of the learning I've gained from reading blogs. Also, this article which is a little old, but I recently came across. It's given me some stuff to think about ;).