Fabulous Financials

Between now and Christmas, I plan to post several gift ideas that I consider fabulous deals.  I don’t know how often I can do this but I will commit to at least one per week.  If you prefer to keep up with the fabulous deals I find more often, please read my post titled inside scoop.

For this week’s gift idea, first up is:

Baby Alive Doll

Kohls has the popular Baby Alive Learns to Potty doll on sale for $29.99 [reg $59.99]

Stack up to 2 coupon codes:

YOUR15EXTRA: save 15% off (expire 11/22)

HOLIDAY338: save an additional 10% off (expire 11/26)

MVC8337: free shipping with a Kohls card (expire 11/24)

Free Shipping for all orders $50 or more.

I just purchased this for the youngest babygirl in my adopted family.  The total was $30.62.

First of all, let me just say I have the most fabulous readers in the world. I love you guys man! Just like play cousins! LOL

Yesterday, I wrote about my post holiday season blues, and in that post, I mentioned BabyGirl wanted to attend the 2008 Teen Fashion Battle here in DC. Due to my ridiculous gift buying frenzy last month, my spend plan is out of whack so (theoretically) I can’t afford the tickets. In response to my mini rant, a fabulous reader sent me the following email.

Single Ma,

I’m a relatively new reader and I just saw your post today about your bah-humbug holiday season blues. I just happen to have two tickets to the Fashion Battle that I’m not going to use. I was going to look for someone to give them away to. So cheer up because they are yours – if you want them :)[personal info redacted]

We can coordinate for you to get the tickets either Friday or Saturday. Give me a ring at [redacted] as soon as possible so if you can’t use them, I can find someone else to give them to.

Look forward to talking to you!

Wow, wow, and wow!! You guys are soooo generous. I love it!!

But I have to be honest here. When I say I’m broke, I’m not really broke – just sorta, kinda, need to trick myself into thinking I’m broke, been a bad girl and spent more than I earned, your money aint THAT long, now suffer the consequences you fake baller, kinda broke. Nah’mean? LOL

Seriously, I have a fixed amount of money that I allow myself to spend every month and when I exceed that limit, my strict discipline kicks in. Maintaining healthy finances is a very high priority for me, so I create mental blocks and go on a spending fast until I recover. This is what I’m forcing myself to do in January – by choice. Single Ma loves to shop and spend quality time with her fabulous friends, but she aint crazy! I didn’t become financially fabulous by spending without plan, so don’t let the smooth taste fool ya! LOL I did a bad thing and spent more than I earned, now we have to suffer the consequences and accept whatever that entails.

With that said, I couldn’t accept those tickets in good faith, even if I wanted to. I will not use my blog to take advantage of other’s generosity. Especially for something we don’t need. So please, please, please give them to another family who is way more deserving.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

[edited to remove identifying information]

Lookie, lookie what I just received in the mail today…WineNotes.

–from the back cover–

What was that amazing Cabernet you had last week? How can you make sure you don’t fall for that overrated Chardonnay again? How do you turn all of those glasses of wine into well-honed wine tasting skills?

Write it down in WineNotes, the place to review, rank, and remember what you drank.

Ha! That’s what I’m talking about!

Now who would know to get me such a fabulous gift for my BORN day? None other than the ultra fabulous wine connoisseur herself – Ms. Serenity 30. She’s recently joined the ranks of the grown and sexy (age 30 and up) and now she’s trying to teach ME how to be grown (cuz I’m already sexy lol). Another PERFECT gift! :-)

Next time I’m out with with mapgirl n’em and they’re talking all that wine gibberish over dinner, I can participate in the discussions and act like I’m all smart n’ shyt. LMAO!

Thanks Serenity!

I sure get a lot of love from this here blogosphere. :-)

~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!

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As of 31 December 2007…

[click to enlarge]
My net worth is $132,857, a small increase of $2,445 or +1.87%. Nothing out of the ordinary that requires explanation, but if you have any questions/comments, I’ll be happy to address them.

Beginning with January, I will remove liabilities from the spreadsheet. All credit cards are paid in full when their statements close. IMO, I don’t track utility expenses every month so why should I track a temporary credit balance?

Also, as mentioned yesterday, my new net worth goal is $1M+ and I will achieve it in the next 12 years. See how I just made that definitive statement to the world? I didn’t say I’m going to try, I said I will achieve it in 12 years. Watch me run dat.

I will continue to provide monthly net worth updates, only for the sole purpose of monitoring my short term goals (and the “to do” list) that will help me achieve the long term goal. As each little milestone is achieved, I’ll have a little celebration. Then in 2020, it’s g’on be a mu’fuggin’ party y’all! LOL

December Income/Expenses

The holiday season is behind us (thank goodness) and I managed well with the “planned” holiday shopping budget. However, a lot of self indulgence, a few last minute gifts and two “single ma, can I borrow” phone calls were not part of the plan. Since I haven’t mastered the concept of delayed gratification or the art of saying HAYLE NO to broke azz people, December was extra tight on the purse strings.

Net Income: $6,491
Total Expenses: $7,313

• Saved: $750
• Bills: $3,968 (604 under est.)
• Necessities: $782 (297 over est.)
• Non-necessities: $1,813 (1,498 over est.)

Net Cash Flow: -$822 [oops, I spent more than I earned!]

Do as I say, not as I do. LOL

See what had happened was…I told mapgirl, Debt Hater, and HC that I aint have no money, right. But nooo, they INSISTED that we do brunch – and drink mimosas – and hit up Best Cellars for a quick wine tasting – and shop at Georgetown Park. It’s all their fault, they MADE me spend money I didn’t have! Such negative influences.

But…I did discover a new wine that I absolutely love: Moscato d’Asti from Italy. It’s a sweet dessert wine, light, and crisp with a slight fizz. Think I copped a bottle? Ya damn skippy! I’m learning that I have a preference for whites. And my girl, BK Diva, bought me another bottle for my born day. I luv her like a play cuzzin, but she better hurry up and bring it to me ‘fo I have a hissy fit. Thank ya kindly! :-)

Ooh, ooh!

I also scored a fabulous born day gift from mapgirl, “How to Invest $50 – $5,000″

With my new goals for 2008, how PERFECT is that. A handy little resource for people with umm…limited funds. Ha! All of us can’t be BIG BALLAZ – gotta start somewhere. The book reviews claim it’s “easy to understand and apply the concepts” so I look forward to reading it. Thanks mapgirl!Ya know, I may only have $1.81 sitting in my checking account (no lie lol), but my mortgage is paid, my fridge is full, I have no consumer debt, my net worth is growing, and I have fabulous friends. Can it get any better?Yep! LOL Check in with me next month…

As if I needed another reason to be happy, Santa came along and made my holiday complete. This here little gadget, the Mio DigiWalker C230 Portable GPS Navigator, is going to be a life saver. Thanks Uncle B!

Despite all things fabulous, I’m the most directionally (is that a word?) challenged person you will ever meet. Ask anyone who knows Single Ma. When it comes to navigating unchartered territory anywhere that isn’t part of my daily routine, I need turn by turn directions AND landmarks to find my destination or ya girl will end up in Timbuktu. Think I’m playing? I had to mapquest directions to the grocery store for almost 2 months. *if you repeat that to anyone, I’ll deny it*

My other saving grace is my girlfriend who I jokingly refer to as a walking map. This chic knows the DMV like the back of her hand. Whenever I’m lost, which is quite often by the way, I hit my speed dial #4 and pray that she’s available. Within minutes, she’s guiding me to the nearest major highway. I swear she has a photogenic memory. No matter where I am, if she’s been there before, she can tell me how to get home. Better yet, if she’s seen it before, she can tell me almost every surrounding landmark. I have no idea how she does it, but she’s definitely an asset on the Single Ma Fab Team.

Now that I have a GPS, I should be able to manage on my own. First challenge: find Target tomorrow – the same one I visit every other weekend – without missing my exit. Call me crazy, but 495 looks different every time I’m on it. Like the exit numbers move when they see me coming. LOL So if this thing doesn’t work, I’m calling Santa’s azz to help me find my way home.

~*~*~*~*~*~
Work to achieve, not to acquire.
And as always, BE FABULOUS!