This will probably be a pretty anticlimactic post after yesterday’s post on stay at home moms (don’t forget to check out the huge Brazen debate that I took part in…), but I just wanted to let you all know what’s going on in my life! Things have been extremely hectic. I finished revising my dissertation and turned it in, so now all that stands between me and my PhD is paperwork. Awesome! I can’t wait to have the diploma…and my boyfriend can’t wait to call me Dr. Honey!
Also, as I mentioned, we’re moving. It goes down this Saturday…I’ve arranged for Friday and Monday to be furlough days but I am basically going to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off during that time and won’t be able to post (won’t even have internet!) for a couple days at least.
I go to pick up the keys and do the walk-through tomorrow, and I’m just hoping that the place is as cute as I remember. I think it will be – we saw it twice and liked it even more the second time around than we did the first time around. The only questions are a) how big will the second round of stuff to donate/sell be? (we are moving into a smaller place and a bunch of stuff is already on the chopping block, but is it enough?) and b) will our landlord hate us? (we drove a tough bargain on the rent and deposit, which she took because she is losing money on the place with it vacant, but I feel kind of bad about it).
So far we have made just under $300 selling things on Amazon, although that doesn’t count shipping costs, since the BF shipped from work and had it deducted from his paycheck, we will just have to see how much the total ends up being. We listed everything under the same account and are going to split the money (after shipping) 50/50 because while he sold more things, I sold more expensive things.
We have about 30 more things to sell on Amazon, but we pulled them until after the move so we can pack. I, at least, will also have a second round after my PhD is finalized because there are some things I know I won’t use again but was paranoid to sell until my degree was for real. So we are making a decent chunk of change doing that. On Craigslist, I sold a couch for $40, a dining room set for $40, a TV for $30, and the BF sold an entertainment center for $30 and a washer/dryer set for $300. There is also a desk that I think is not going to fit in the new place that I expect to be able to sell for at least $60.
I am using the cash instead of withdrawing my usual allottment per paycheck, which is going to be an extra $110 I can put towards my credit cards. I am estimating that my share of the Amazon sales is going to be about $130 and that is going to subsidize my rent payment, which is another $130 that can go towards credit cards. It’s very exciting! Plus my preliminary budget suggests that I’m going to be able to put more towards my credit cards on a monthly basis then I had been doing. So this is excellent! Already I have gone from about $13K at the beginning of this year to about $8K now…I know I expected to be under $7K but our cat dying cost about $1200 so that set me back somewhat. However, already the minimum payment on my card has been cut in about half, which (since I am not going to lower the amount I am paying per month) means more will be going toward the principle, woot!
In other news, the fact that I’ll be so much closer to work means that I’ll be able to feasibly get a membership at the ASU gym and cancel my LA Fitness membership. I have to check out the ASU amenities to be sure, but it looks like it is way cheaper and there is better equipment and more group exercise classes. I am also going to buy a bike, probably with my tax return, and do more exercise on the weekends.
Finally, some members of my unit and I joined this amazing pedometer research challenge. We are supposed to do 10,000 steps per day (which is a LOT…I started wearing my pedometer early and don’t do nearly that many…when I lived in Flagstaff I walked everywhere so it would have been EASY…). We are competing with other teams at ASU and the winning team gets a trip to Switzerland! Even if I don’t get 10,000 steps per day I am already evaluating my habits to see how I can easily fit more steps in. I figure every step is a good step, and we will be tracking our steps for six months so that is a good medium-term goal as far as fitness.
So that’s the news…Honey’s getting fit, saving money, and graduating! Fun times 
If great things have been going on in your life lately, leave a comment! If not, check out these posts: