month 9!!!

month 9 was super abnormal. like, super abnormal. so don't think that i went strolling through life finding $100 bills on the sidewalk every 20 yards :)

i paid off a whopper in january. $2,821.39 to be exact. and i put $6.00 in savings :)
(the $6.00 is because i really took out $50ish and then put $56.00 back in)

so where the hell did i come up with that kind of cash in a generally financially funky month??

welp, i moved. and got free rent the first month. i had to pay a couple hundred to the movers, and a couple hundred for my first month because we got into the space a couple of days early, but it wasn't my entire $815 i would have normally paid in that month.

i got my whole deposit back! $785.00! which went straight to the student loan.

tails job over new years didn't hurt. instead of going out and spending a fortune on a dress, makeup, hair, bar entry, cocktails, etc etc etc, i opted to take a house sitting job to not only save the money i would have spent but also make a couple hundred dollars on top of it.
it wasn't the greatest idea from a stress perspective (with traveling for the holidays, moving, etc) but it paid a good little chunk-that also, went straight onto my loan.

christmas money. i didn't get hundreds of dollars from santa, but i had a few extra bucks to through down on those loans. **correction, santa gave me a $300 mastercard, which i used to buy a bed. i likely would have used some money that i put on the loan to buy the mattress, so...ultimately, that cash from santa could be considered a loan payment.i also got about $150 to target which was KEY for getting the new place! you never realize how many 3M hooks and storage boxes you need until you move!

it was the way the cards fell this month that helped me put all that cash down on the loan! that and my serious dedication not to go crazy buying everything under the sun at the after christmas sales, like i normally do!!

the amazing news...only $2,917.96 left on my student loans! when i started may 1st trying to get that bad boy paid off i had $14,059.09 to pay down. i can't hardly believe that now i am just a couple of months away from it being gone forever!!

hip-hip-hooray!!
xoxo ashleycolean

month 8!!

8 months! duuuude!

december had the same expenses for me that it has for everyone else. holiday gifts, travel, party dresses :)

i managed this month to pay off $1,098.14 on my student loan, $360 on my car, and put $536.14 in savings!! and yes, i still got a party dress!

i realized about half way through september that december was going to hit me hard. i love gift giving, but i knew this year i would have to scale WAY back. i still bought for my family-i just scaled back a bit, and started shopping in september! not because of my type A-ness, but out of necessity. that way, when december came, i didn't get blasted with all of the gift expenses at once.

i also started looking for sales for a dress for my holiday party at the end of october. i got a (nearly) $250 dress for less than $100! i could have probably worn something i had, but i didn't. i regretted it a bit, but it is what it is, and i learned from it. luckily this little number will come in handy for a bunch of other events, occasions, and can be worn in every season-so i didn't do too terrible.

i also had to fly home to kc. i kept my eye out-starting in about august for that just right sale, and frontier provided. they offered a $14.00 one way ticket! my total travel for chirstmas was about $200.00.

i also moved this month. i watched my spending big time. i used old boxes, got boxes from friends, and my boss. luckily, moving around the holiday was kind of a good idea, as it saved me box costs with all the online shoppers i know! total spend on moving materials was $78.54-not bad when you consider the tape alone was $23! i did hire movers. i googled 'cheap denver movers' and found always moving and relocation. for three hours of work i paid $222, and tipped $60.00. total move cost: $360.54-and about 3 months of stress, but who's counting.

i also made a bit of extra cash this month with side jobs, tails jobs, selling a bunch of stuff on craigslist.

so total pay down on debt in december was a whopping $1,458.14! and total savings was $536.14!

in 2012, i am reformatting a bit. i'm going to add a little emphasis to saving...so my total from here on out will reflect not only 'total debt down,' but also savings!! a little like this:

month 8 total: $1,994.28

happy new year!!
xoxo ashleycolean

i'm off

{cred}

i'm outta here for the holiday. heading back home to kansas city for 5 days to drink coffee, do the flying squirrel with my sister onto my parents bed, sleep in a cozy bed, wrap (and OPEN) gifts, see my best friends for a brunch or two, and relax. i could not be more excited.

i'll hook you up with a december recap when i get back!
hopefully i will get some cash to put down on those loans! :)

happiest of holidays to you and yours,
xoxo ashleycolean

a night to cocktail

{cred}

tonight's the night! the good ol' company holiday party. i love this night. it's the greatest. we have a small company so the conversation is good, the laughs are plenty, and the wine flows like...well, wine.

we celebrate each year at the gorgeous, and amazing st julien hotel....with a fab dinner at jill's. lucky gal (both thumbs pointing inward)!! this year is much smaller than normal, so going solo made the most sense but its always a fun night, and recapping all the antics from the last year at the office is always pretty funny.

i have three outfit options. still no idea which i will go with. bbe always looks like a freakin' rock star so it 'ups the ante,' if you will.

good dinner, good company, and good times. the only bad part about it is the rockin' hangover i have the next day, and having to roll out of that amazing bed at the julien in the morning. blah.

here's to the cogs in the machine.
xoxo ashleycolean

side job extraordinaire

i have a disease...it's called inabilitytoturndownanythingicouldgetpaidforitis. it's pretty serious. despite plans, commitments, daunting tasks (like moving) i can't say no to a side job. can't do it.

this weekend i have two lined up! friday, i have a 1 night tails job while some clients head out to what i can only assume is a rockin holiday party. saturday, i am bar tending for bbe and her hubby's holiday party. it'll be pretty great people, and i will make some money-double bonus.

even though its pushed all of my packing back to sunday i am pretty excited about it!

makin' money! makin' money!
xoxo ashleycolean

month 7!!!

seven months!!!
you have got to be kidding me!!! i can't believe it's been seven months!!! CHEERS!!!

this month was weird. i decided to move-no really, actually do it-not just talk about doing it.

i gave notice and then got screwed and had to stay an extra month.

i spent my first thanksgiving without my parents and my sister-which was really weird and not my favorite. it kept me from gaining 10 pounds in two days, but still-not my favorite.
i had a fun time with my future roommate and the cousin, of course. it was a fun day for sure, just not what i'm used to. not going back did help me save a decent chunk of change on travel though, which is a big positive with christmas around the corner.

i had a tails job for 10 days with one of my favorite pups, nutmeg. she is so fun and so sweet. the money from that will show up next month.

my total paydown in month 7 is $1500.00.

$360.00 on my vw
$1,140.00 on my student loans

i actually paid a bit more ($127.93) on my loans, but it came out of savings so technically i just borrowed it from myself.

the great news is i only owe $2388 on my high interest student loan after this month!!! so exciting.

december will be tricky with all the craziness i am going to have coming.

a. moving costs (not cheap and so annoying)
b. christmas gifts. i'm going lean this year....very lean. like mom, dad and sister only lean. don't take it personal friends. buy yourself something fantastic with the money you would have spent on me! :)
c. travel to kc for the holiday-although, thanks to my mom the ticket is paid for
d. holiday parties

i'm sure i'm forgetting things.

regardless, i'm proud of this month, looking forward to next month and just dying for TYOA to start in january. TYOA being, THE YEAR OF ASHLEY! more on this later.

did i mention that i only spent $33.08 on black friday!?!? man, i'm good.
xoxo ashleycolean

hoho...ho

holiday party attire is kicking my thrifty ass. i don't have anything to wear. no really, i don't. not festive, cocktail attire. i need to buy something new.

the bigger problem-i need to buy something pretty. and classy. and snazzy.

pretty, classy, snazzy things are expensive.

{cred for all 4}

what to do?

go bush league or go big?
xoxo ashleycolean

boom

{cred}

hope everyone had a rockin', poolin', bombpopin', bangin', sparklerin' good time this weekend! details on my adventures de la fourth will be up soon! nothing too out of box, but my skin got darker and my liver got a workout, so i say.....SUCCESS!

xoxo ashleycolean