'tis the season...

...to break the bank! An unprecedented 2 blogs in one weekend...I might just stomp with the big blog dawgs in 2008. So after being down in the dumps and dumpy-looking on Saturday, I was angry at my orange-level alert of procrastination on Sunday. 'Tis the season to break the bank and I headed to Target for the next episode. I had a To.ys for To.ts luncheon and a small group Secret San.ta to shop for. Considering that my SS group chased down mexican food with a quick trip to the next door porno shop during lunchtime last week, I'm HOPING...seriously HOPING...that whoever pulled my name didn't wake up stupid and buy me a vibrator for Christmas. There were a lot of jokes being passed around the table that day, which led to my own private showing of this dude in accounting "dropping it like it's hot" at my cube. Since he had no shame on company property during company time, I shudder to think of the things that we all will unwrap during our break THIS week. I am somewhat making my gift, so we'll see how it comes out.

'Tis the season to ATTEMPT frugality. So I was in luck, my cuz's shoes will go well with the dress that I bought for the Gala. They're her wedding shoes though...I had to make sure that they weren't so sacred that I couldn't even breathe on the heel but she willingly through them my way...along with the red shoes that I had let her borrow about a year ago.

But I didn't just drop by for shoes...I went on ahead and invested in some real estate. Money, for me, has been tight this month...key words being "for me." I don't necessarily HAVE to live check to check, but I choose to forego transferring funds out of my savings accounts to compensate for everytime I overspend. So whereas my checking and savings account balances at my main bank are probably quite laughable by whoever views my statements, my other balances are far less as embarrassing b/c I refuse to pull from them. I am trying to train myself to live within my means and if that MEANS I'm down to $5.00 on the 20th and don't expect to see a check until the 1st, then it's time to get creative. That other money is only intended for emergency purposes.

'Tis also the season to hustle and flow. I had been debating making this new investment for a couple of months now and so I finally bit the bullet and entered into a contract with my cuz. We'll see how this plays out. For a second, my 401K was giving me heartburn after I decided to make 3 major trades. I got slapped with some market timing warning...I'm not sure what that means besides "chill." My mutual funds are pretty steady since they are far less aggressive. Real estate is another attempt at diversification and higher returns, I guess. I'm no shrewd business woman but I got to learn something, somehow. For now, my goal is to keep reinvesting for a whole year, so that by this time next year, I can pay off my student loans. Again, we'll see.

So maybe I need this break from a man in order for me to focus on streams of income. Lord knows that when my attention is divided, I'm less calculating and more cuddly but cuddling ain't never paid no bills.