Hey everyone sorry i've been away for a bit. I have been talking to people at work and they all said it's easier for them to save if they use direct-deposit instead of cashing their checks like i do (i think someone mentioned this either in one of my threads in the forum or in this blog) I think it's a really great idea.

this week i deposited my check into my checking account and i still have most of it, and its been 5 days! usually i spend half of it by now! my friend said "you cant spend what you dont know you have" i think it makes sense for my situation now but in the future when i have a real career and important responsibilities i will want to keep an eye on my funds.
my birthday is wednesday so maybe i will get some extra money to put aside for savings. i will be 24. still living at home still working my way through school. it is depressing the older i get knowing im still not on my own when all my friends are getting married and having babies, but i am enjoying life too much to criticize myself and life is too short to compare your life to everyone else's. just enjoy what you have and do your best to make it better!

sam's club matches 15% of my stock purchases (of sam's stock). i recently started studying about stocks and even purchased some shares of other stock, but i am not sure about buying into sam's stock. that means i will be having money taken out of my checks going straight into the stocks, sure i will be "making" 15% on whatever i am missing out on, but is that worth the trade off?

would it be better for me to pocket that money and choose my own stocks instead? what do you think? i am having trouble deciding. i love the idea of investing in stocks, but i'm not going to invest into a stock just because i get 15% of it matched. i would choose a stock based on its future potential to grow, and although i work there, i don't see sam's club (or any other wholesaler) doing anything new or innovative that might boost its stock anytime soon.

alot of people say its worth it just to invest because you get 15% more of your money back when you cash out, but isnt there a withdrawal penalty or fee of some sort that would cancel out the 15% anyway? i would have to strike gold on that stock for that to be worth it, it seems.

do any of you purchase into your own company's stocks and receive benefits for doing so?

Well I learned something about myself yesterday, and it cost me alot to discover it!! I was depressed and having a bad day, so I went out to buy a movie (i love movies I collect dvd's). felt a little better, so I thought I would top it off with some cold stone's ice cream, just a milkshake, but when i got there i said why not go the whole way so i ended up buying a $8 waffle cone sundae. Next to the ice cream store was a pet store, and i felt like my pet snake should get spoiled today too as long as i am spending money, so i bought a $45 waterfall for his cage.

when i got home, i felt better temporarily, and then emotionally crashed again later that night. the spending did NOT help me in the long term, it was temporary relief. I am feeling alot better now, I had to talk to someone (my girlfriend) to solve my problem. I am still enjoying the fun things i bought, but i also know i screwed up big time. i am going to try to prevent that in the future but i am having a hard time coming up with ways to avoid going on a shopping spree, because it does offer instant satisfaction. i am very active in sports such as running, lifting weights, and fishing, but it's just not the same as bringing home something NEW to play with. it gives me something to focus on and keeps my mind busy from the mood i'm in.

oh yeah, forgot to mention the most ironic purchase: a $25 book about how to control my moods.

Didn't spend a dime today, then again I was stuck at home all day, too!

I am on my lunch break from work right now, so I logged in to read some advice I received in my thread, to keep me motivated. One strategy I have been hearing a lot is to write down my goals. My goals starting from short to long-term are as follows: (I have other goals in my life but these are strictly financial)

Short-Term Goals:
1. Manage a working weekly budget for myself.
2. Begin to build up my savings account.
3. Create a retirement account/plan for myself, and deposit money into it weekly.
4. Learn about the stock market and mutual funds. (I am interested in it.)

Long(er)-Term Goals:
1. Move out with enough money to support myself and girlfriend so we can live together.
2. Start our own family.

To be honest, I am having trouble seeing my own goals beyond moving out...I don't know what it will be like, and I don't know what my new goals will be once I am on my own.

(rounded up to nearest dollar)

$11 breakfast
$10 blockbuster video
$11 advanced auto parts
$15 dinner

Total: $47

I think I overspent today because it was my day off, tomorrow I work 2pm-9pm, so I won't have a chance to spend any money, but my friends might want me to go out being Saturday night. I think tomorrow will be easy to save.