Money In, Money Out

I had blogged (in a tired daze, apparently) at how broke I am.  Well, I have gotten through the worst.  I can't cat around with my parents are here, so I'm not going to as many stripper parties.  I had worried about how much money I was going to make working the Final Four for a week; turns out that not only was my compensation fair, I was kind of surprised how much money I made.  When I get a stratospheric hourly rate compared with working for these guys for Vikings games, I cannot complain.  And even though doing this night test project will catch up to me (probably as I doze off on the road), I am getting a little more money -- and, if I overheard correctly, my biweekly payday for at the test scoring place will alternate with that of my day job, meaning I will be collecting money every week for the next six weeks!  Yippee!!  No more feeling as though I'm unemployed every other week!!!

I guess that's a good thing, because I still have massive bills I need to pay.  I still have, somehow, a $1,700 bill on one credit card, and I've built up a $500 bill on the other.  Though the money is coming in, it'll still take me two, probably three months till I am done with the charges I am responsible for right now.  And that does not take into account some big charges I either just made, will make soon, or want/need to make in the future:

• tabs for my car;
• insurance for my car;
• new tires for my car (aside: owning a car is very expensive);
• putting aside money for my alumni club's scholarship;
• a vacation in the fall;
• Mother's Day;
• Father's Day;
• putting aside a lot of money to change my car's timing chain, which I know will come next year at a cost of around two grand;
• and still using some money to rock out with my cock out -- a man has needs, after all.

I am glad that I have the extra money to pay for this all; it makes me feel like I can get ahead of this, even if I'm just deluding myself.  Plus, working evenings takes away chances for me to spend money.  Like I say, oftentimes I either am making money or spending money, but rarely doing both at the same time.  I just hope that I have enough money for all of this.

Maintaining a budget -- what's that???