Sabrina’s Money Madness

Since I’m not getting any responses from the job I applied for, I’m still looking for a position. It seems like there haven’t been any new jobs posted in weeks. Technically there have been, but I’m not interested in any of them. I haven’t gotten any call backs from the jobs that I really want so I started applying for jobs that are closely related to what I do now. I figure that the experience that I have will give me a slight edge in landing the job.

I want a higher job so that I can make more money. I need to amp up my savings in order to buy a house. I need to make sure I have enough for my down payment and closing costs in addition to having money left in my regular savings account. I also want new cell phones or at least a new data package. I don’t want to put out the money for it right now even though I can afford to. I also don’t want to spend more than 25% of the raise that I may get from the new job.

Hopefully something that I want will come up soon. Ideally I would like to start a new job by February of next year. Sooner would be better of course. I’m hopeful that I’ll find something soon.

In one of my previous posts, I talked about having new neighbors which I’m not thrilled about. That’s really only one factor though. I’m just ready to get started on the path to home ownership. In the past I wasn’t really ready but I feel that now I am.

Starting in the new year, I’ll start saving for my down payment, closing costs etc. Unless something spectacular happens in my life (like a great job with a big salary increase), my goal is to buy my own home in 3 years. That means no more dipping into my savings to buy silly stuff or take spontaneous trips. My house savings will be a totally separate account from my regular savings.

This is something that I’m committed to and I can’t wait to get started.

I don’t know why but I don’t have a good feeling. I knew that the manager wouldn’t be making a decision until this week so I’m not surprised that I haven’t heard anything. It’s taken so long because she did interviews 1 week then she had 2 weeks worth of vacation to take.

I should hear one way or the other by the end of the week but I’m not really hopeful.

My friend and I usually go on vacation every year. For the past 3 years I was in school so I couldn’t really go with her. I did take a spur of the moment trip to Las Vegas 2 years ago but that wasn’t the kind of vacation that we usually go on. This year she want to go back to the Bahamas, again. We’ve been there 6 or 7 times. I’m really just ready to go somewhere else.

I’ve suggested that we look into Aruba, the Dominican Republic or even jamaica hotels for a nice change of pace. I don’t think she’s biting. I really think her mind is stuck on the Bahamas. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to visit but I’m ready for something new.

If she doesn’t change her mind I have to decide whether I want to go somewhere by myself or totally forgo vacation next year. At this moment, I’m thinking of going on a solo trip. I really need a vacation and I don’t want to give that up. I guess we’ll see what happens in the next few months.

Today is Veteran’s Day. As a salute to all veterans and active duty military personnel, Applebee’s is giving you a free meal today only. I’m sure all you will need to do is show your military id. So get out there and enjoy your free meal.

And thank you for protecting and serving our country!

And I’m not exactly thrilled about it either. They just moved in a few months ago and they’re already causing trouble. The tenant in my building has given a key to her place to a few of her relatives. They come in and out all night long. I’m not interested in small business security systems but I am thinking about getting a personal system. I don’t like the idea of my neighbors lurking around the building at night.

Last week I went out with my friends and I got home extremely late (after 3am). There were 2 guys in the parking lot just roaming around. Now I have to put my car in the garage which totally obscures my view of the people. I wound up calling a neighbor outside to park my car and walk me inside. I talked to a few other people that live in the building and they feel the same way.      

I want the keyless remote so if someone tries to start something, I can still trigger the alarm. My apartment faces the garage so it would be within range for me to hit a panic buton. This way I’ll protect myself inside and outside of my house. I would rather be safe than sorry so I’ll kick out the few extra dollars per month to ensure my safety.

I really need a new pair of shoes for this upcoming season. I have a pair of flats that I wear every day but they’re summer shoes. I want to get a pair of shoes that I can wear in the fall and winter too. I’ll probably go to the outlet to see what they have. I may also look for a new MP3 players since the battery on mine runs out so quickly. There are a ton of stores where I’m going so I should be able to find something that I like.

I’ll go tomorrow in the evening since there will be less people out.

I didn’t really have a good sweepstakes month. Here’s my list:

1. 2 bags of M&M’s
2. $15 from Cheerios (I won $5 3 times)
3. Madden NFL 10 from KFC with a code that was on the box

That’s all. Like I said it wasn’t a good sweepstaking month at all. But I am grateful for all of the prizes that I did win. Let’s hope I keep on winning this month.

My apartment is pretty old and outdated. I’ve been in here several years and they haven’t remodeled since I’ve been here. I need to fix the pebbling on the ceiling from when I had a mini-flood. I also need new tiles for both the shower walls and for the bathroom floor. I thought I could just re-caulk but then I realized that it wouldn’t help unless I changed the tile as well.

Right now I can call my maintenance man to do the majority of the work. But I plan on buying a townhouse or condo pretty soon and I’ll have to learn how to do this stuff on my own. I have to admit that the prospect of doing it is pretty scary. On the bright side, I do have a year or two before I have to worry about that. 

Unfortunately I haven’t heard anything which is a bummer. Not only do I now have to go through the weekend not knowing anything, but I may have to wait up to 2 weeks to hear anything. If the hiring manager makes her decision today before she leaves, I’ll hear something early next week.

I really need this new job. It’s a better environment even though I would have to talk to customers. But I would get over that soon enough. It’s also more money. Since this is the time to think of turkeys and artificial christmas trees I could use all of the money that I can get. If I want to visit my mom over the holidays I need lots of money for airfare since the airlines have jacked up the fares with a holiday surcharge.

Hopefully she made her decision and I’ll hear something early next week. If I have to wait 2 whole weeks it’s gonna drive me crazy

But I don’t know what to spend them on. I have almost 900 points right now. I was trying to hold out for the airline gift card to come back. I haven’t seen that in several months though. And the really popular gift cards and prizes sell out very quickly. Right now there’s nothing on the site that I want. I can get a subscription to Club Pogo or a Coke t-shirt.

They do have a umbrella that I like but I need almost 250 more points for that. I may just wait for the Holiday Inn points to reappear and add them to my account. They don’t really have stuff like pet beds but I’m sure they have gift certificates to a store where I could buy one.

I’ll just keep racking up the points and waiting for the good prizes to come back.

It went fairly well. At least I think so. The recruiter called me on Friday and asked if I could interview today. The job is similar to what I do now but in a much more laid back environment. My job is starting to become toxic which is what prompted me to start looking.

The only downside to the job is that the lunch hour is shorter and the person would have to answer the phone. The calls all go into a que and they’re spread apart so you wouldn’t be the only one talking on the phone all day. The hiring manager will conduct interviews all week. If she doesn’t make a decision by Friday it could be a while before I hear something. She’s going on vacation for 2 weeks so she may postpone her decision until she comes back.

I’ll be on pins and needles until I hear something.