This is what my friend said to me when I volunteered to help her save. I didn't add anything else after I said that. She probably took it the wrong way and she's quite stubborn.

She may know how to save but in a wrong way, by not eating breakfast or lunch. Whenever she has money, she spends it on friends, things for herself, food (breakfast and lunch),etc. The last time she told me what she is going to do with her next paycheck. She was naming me all the things that were pure wants. She even plans on what she will spend on her next next paycheck and the one after that. I was wondering, how will she save if she's planning to buy all these things. It might take her months to be able to save a 100$ and let it stays in the bank for a week or two.

Another friend was telling me that she doesn't know how to save. Most of the time, she can't spend on things that she really needs like googles for our swimming class. We have swimming class every Friday. When we first went into the pool, my eyes were hurting because the water has strong concentration of chlorine. I made sure to buy googles for the next class. After a few classes, my friend didn't buy her googles yet because she doesn't have any money.

Last class, I was worried about her eyes condition. They were hurting really badly so I told her that I'm going to buy her googles for her birthday in October. She asked me to buy her green ones. After school, I went to the same store that I bought my googles and I bought her one for her as a birthday gift.

To finish this blog off, I decided I'm going to help her save indirectly. I'm going to help her by influencing her to do things frugally with an excuse that I want to save more money for my trip which is true by the way. It will be helpful for her and I. I hope that my experienment will help her too.

I got 26$ as tips today.

I'm going to add it in my challenge money.

Old amount : 3530$ + 26$ =
New amount : 3556$

I'm quite surprise that the tip was good today. There were'nt a lot of customers today. XD

I got 0.24$ interest for what exactly? I paid all my bills on time. I think it's the avance in paiement that I have taken out in my bank account... Arg... I paid 1.50$ fee without knowing and I have to 0.24$ more for another fee. Man, it pisses me off... I learned my lesson! ._."

This month, I have spent around a thousand dollars mostly on things related to clothes,textbook, school bag and supplies. I even ask my brother to buy his stuff on my credit card and repay me back. I have the wanting result of getting more airmiles without digging money in my hole but it's awfully a lot lol... Anyways, I have to be careful next time. I should concentrate on putting my money in my challenge account. I'm planning to save 6000$ for my trip to Spain and Morocco. Hopefully, if I save now, I will get to the amount in no time.

I went shopping in a online forum. I was looking for a gift for my friend's birthday that is coming in three weeks and christmas presents.

I came accross a beautiful keychain from Korea and two horoscope cellstraps. I decided to give the keychain to my friend's birthday and one cellstrap to my cousin at christmas who is getting a cellphone soon. I'm going to keep one for my cellphone.

I'm thinking of buying a new cellphone next year because my old one of three years and a half is going to break anytime soon. I am amazed that it hasn't given up on me after so many falls. LOL! And no, I didn't do it on purpose to break it, I always carry a lot of things in my hand and my cellphone is one of those things but unfortunatly, it always fall first because it's so small. Well it has served me well. I'm quite surprise that I kept the same cellphone for three years straight where as my friends change their cellphone every year or two with many cool functions. My special function that I have in my cellphone is a cheap quality camera. =P I don't mind anymore but it's not impressive compare to the other phones.

So yeah, you guys might wonder how much I spend on three things online. I have spent 15$ CAD included shipping. So it's going to 5$ each. I'm planning to spend 400$ as my limit for Christmas present. If I spent lower than this amount, I'm going to put it in my challenge money.

Today, my friend wanted me to dress well with heels and tye my hair up. I look pretty nice but I don't have the confidence to do it because I will get attention from people, I wanted attention a long time ago since I was a kid, although, I don't know why when I dress normal, I wanted attention but when it comes to the other way around, I don't want any. Sometimes, too much is too much... I dunno. I guess I lack confidence with how I dress.

*sigh*... I'm such a confusing person. I felt like I have three personalities stuck in my body and I want the mature one to get out. The one where she is a little modest and simple. The two others are the one who lack confident in all and the other one who is overconfident. I hate myself most of the time. ._."

So yeah... I have to work in my confidence by dressing more nicely. I don't want to sound arrogant or anything but... By looking at the mirror,I do have a good body. ._." I don't dress revealing though. So yeah, I should embrace my form while I can. I'm only 18 and things started to change so quickly... @.@"

By the way, today I spent 10$. ^.^'. By repaying back my bro's 5$ and I gave 5$ to a friend so he can buy his lunch because he forgot to bring his and he finishes his courses at 4pm. I have never felt this generous. I don't spend on myself lately which I'm fine with that.

I made 38$ tips in total this weekend

Old amount : 3492$ + 38$ =
New amount : 3530$

I spent food on Thursday and yesterday on food mostly. I spent 7.92$ on food with my friend yesterday because I went to the library with her and yesterday, I spent 14$ on dinner with a bunch of friends. I think I'm starting to enjoy my college life with friends... Although, we went shopping yesterday with a couple of friends and I didn't buy anything.

My mind was on my challenge money the whole time and my clothes budget which I'm planning to buy winter clothes with. I'm going to spend it in Nov and Dec, around that time. So yeah, I think I've improved in my spending urge. I prefer to go out to eat with friends then buy clothes which one girl in particular bought quite some things in expensive stores. Most of them are girls. They don't work so they have money that was given by their parents.

So yeah, I manage not to spend for four days. I'm quite happy that I can go that far but one week will be a lot better ^.^". Well... this week, I spend around 22$ on foods alone with friends. ^.^' I enjoyed my time though. I also met a lot of people too.

As for my challenge money, I still don't know what I want to do with my 4000$ and my life in college is getting hectic... I would like to spend time with friends in college because it's my last chance before I start getting serious in my life. One of my college is in University and she was telling me she didn't see one of her best friends for a really long time and she's pretty busy with her homeworks. So... If I want to make my life in college memorable which luckily, I don't need to pay for my books and other things related to school, I can spend a little with my friends on activity. Like on Friday, we go out to have fun then eat and go on trips together in the holiday. Like Toronto where transportation will not cost much, probably 20-30$ because we're going by car and motel/hotel. I'll probably spend 200$ for food/accomodation/etc or less... Man, I'm happy to have friends who wants to spend time with me... ^.^'

Anyways, I'm planning to put 3000$ in my Spain + Morocco. If I plan to save all over again with 492$, I'm scare of breaking away from my friends. I will try not to spend on uneccessary things. I think I'm going to exchange my 1000$ Canadian dollars with the US dollars if it gets close to 1.00$, like really close... Which is yesterday but I'm planning to find a place where I can exchange my money to a better rate. I'm still thinking about what I'll do with the 1000$ left.

Old amount : 492$ + 3000$ =
New amount : 3492$

Yesterday night, my brother complained about the cellphone bill that he has to pay with his money which is around 300$ to 400$ next week and he can't figure out a way to pay it.

He was saying that dad is getting crazier and he doesn't want to pay the bill for him. I told him that he wants you to start paying some things for himself, then he said that a parent have to pay these things. Judging by the amount of the bill, it was a lot but that was because he recently bought a brand new cellphone with mps and camera in it. It cost around 150$ with a contract then he decided that he wants a black one(another 150$ spend) so he orders something to unlock it which cost 100$. The first cellphone, he sold it to someone for 300$. Okay yeah, he haven't even pay both cellphones, the unlock number and the contract which he has to pay per month. In total it will cost around 400 and up. I wonder where he put that 300$ that he made off selling to someone. I think he put it in his saving account where dad told him not to take it out but save it.

In general, I don't think he even put a penny aside for the cellphone bill and he was expecting my dad to bail him out if he doesn't pay the bill. Well... I hope dad doesn't give in. He even borrow my sister's money without asking to unlock his cellphone and to buy books (Which is around 150$). He even dip some in my dad's tax return money in his bank. All the money he borrowed, he was expecting to repay it in his next paycheck at my dad's work but the problem is... He doesn't want to work. I wouldn't be surprise if he starts taking money out in his saving account which now, he said he will not touch it because he wants to earn interest.

Other than the phone bill conversation we had, I tried telling him that he should start payig things for himself and he shouldn't expect dad to pay everything and I mean everything for him. My brother told me that the most successful people are the ones who never have debts and never work, their parents pay everything for them because they want him to study. Well in my brother's case, even if he has time to study, he will be going online to chat, listening to music and rent movies to watch.

I wonder if my brother is on the road of getting himself into debt...

It's my third day today of no spending and four days left. I hope I can make it.

I'm going to add my Saturday and Sunday tips from work to my challenge now.

Tips : 44$

Old amount : 448$ + 44$ =
New amount : 492$

Tomorrow will be my first try of no spending for a week. I'm going to challenge myself not to buy anything.

If I succeed, I'm going to try it for a month which will probably in October. My essentiels will be my bus pass,my cellphone bill and waxing which is 10$/month (I have swimming class this semester ._.')

I was looking for my favourite black tank top at home. I thought my mom took it so I went to her closet to find it and there was so much clothes that I had a hard time looking through it all. In her closet,I found two nice sweaters that still have tags on it.

I remembered a few years ago, my mom used to yell at me because I buy too much clothes... Geez, compare to my clothes to hers, it's like nothing... She hardly wear all these clothes! Sometimes, I don't quite understand my mom and her thinking, although, I knew somehow that she is pretty bored in her life and she needs something to entertain herself which is, shopping. Ah well... The clothes that she bought, there's bound to be something that I like =P !

I'm going to find my digital camera and I'm going to take the pictures of the two sweaters that I just found in my mom's closet.

Let me look at the amount I saved on those two sweaters ! ^.^'

17.99$ + 19.99$ = 37.98$

Round it up ~ 38$

I'm going to take it out of my clothes allowance.

231$ - 38$ = 193$

I'm going to put it in my challenge money :

410 + 38$ = 448$

I recently read an article "Could you stop spending for a month?" : http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/FindDealsOnline/CouldYouStopSpendingForAMonth.aspx

I want to try this experimente myself next Monday for a week. If I can do it a week then I'm going to try to do it a month... It sounds like mission impossible for me lol...

Today I went to buy some skin and shower products because I ran out recently this week. I also bought a wallet which cost 9.99$ included a necklace that I broke it while trying to open it. 10% of it will go to breast cancer. At first, I thought it was cute but I wasn't sure if I want it. Then, when I look at it more, I like it more. It has the same size as my old one.

I also went to buy travel pocket bag. It costs 9.99$ and there's a 24 months guarantee in it. It's pretty comfortable to put underneath my clothes because the back materiel is really soft.

I'm going to take a break on shopping this month and wait till the mid-December to buy clothes. I need to buy winter clothes because I'm lacking in them... Don't know where it all went @.@... I'm planning to check my closet to see what kind of clothes I like best when I have time.

I have 300$ for the fall/winter season. I spent around 46$ on boots .______." and I returned a pair of shoes where the money that I have back (23$) went into my challenge money. Now I have 231$ left and that money will be deduce again from my shopping online... Well the belt maybe won't be included because I want to give it as a gift for my cousin.

Anyways, I'm going to find good clothes that will last me a long time. I'm finding a way to change my clothes spending habit for good! This winter, I already have my winter coat still in very good condition and boots for winter. I might have to buy snow boots that don't have platform heel... .______." *sigh* Well, I'm going to make another category and this one in particular will be on clothes. I'm going to take pictures of the clothes that I bought and the price that I paid for it.

Oh yeah before I forgot...

I counted my piggy bank and I got 20$ change and I have 40$ tips from work.

Old amount: 350$ + 60$ =
New amount: 410$

My brother said yes to a friend that he'll come to Japan with him next year in May and Iwould like him to go to experience travel a little bit. So far, he has saved 0$ while his friend has saved 5000$. So I took the initiative to make him save now. I counted his change and he has 60$ in his little toy bank. He wants me to save his money in another way because that money in the toy bank is to buy something expensive. I was asking myself how can my brother save for his Japan trip if he is putting all 50 cents a day for something expensive like concert tickets,games,etc and he is using his weekly allowance to go out and buy stuff.

I told him that I'm willing to help him with saving but he needs to priorize one thing and that is Japan. He replied back and he said that he might be going to Hong Kong to visit his cousins... I think I'm helping him save his money so he can spend it later on more useless stuff... Now I just wonder, is it worth helping him save or it's better to let him learn ? He isn't willing to work harder though... He thinks I can help him save 3000$ in no time. ._______."

Yesterday I returned the shoes that I bought last wednesday because I didn't like it. The shoes were hurting my feet and I didn't feel comfortable walking with it. I saved 22.78$ by returning it and I'm not going to put that amount back into my clothing budget but putting it in my challenge. I'm going to round it up to 23$.

Old amount : 327$ + 23$ = 350$

I also went to sport expert to buy googles for my swimming class. I spent 27.34$ on a Leader brand. It's more expensive than Speedo but it's a lot more comfortable. I want a good quality one so it will last me a long time. I also went out to eat and I spend 7.66$ on a meal with my brother and his friend. At the end of the week, I have 15$ left from my 50$ allowance this week. I don't know if I should put it in my challenge or not. .___________." I'm still deciding where the money will go.

I spent around 285$ on books for my first semester and I have saved 235$ from people lending me their books for the semester. ^.^

Dad is going to give me the amount that I have saved.

I'm going to add my tips money from last week. I earned 60$ for three days of work.

Old amount: 32$ + 235$ + 60$ =
New amount: 327$

I look at my first budget again and I think it doesn't make sense anymore. I'm going to college and I don't need a budget for every categories because well... I don't need them. I have all the things I need and I could save more. I just have a problem with spending my money on clothes and food. Everything else is provided for me.

The reason why I feel like a spoiled brat is because my dad said he'll pay everything that relates to school and he'll give my brother and me 50$ per week to pay for everything like bus pass, phone bill, lunch,etc. because we're making our own money, mostly me. The reason he decides that is that he asks us to pay for everything for ourself because he assumes we make a lot of money.I told him that he got mad at us before because we are not saving our money and he wants us to save so badly but now, he is trying to make us spend our money. I told him to stop throwing us things that we need to pay for because he wants us to manage our money but his ways of making us learn is well... Not really well done. It sounds hypocrite from him to tell us to save our money and then tell us to spend it.

So yeah... I felt guilty when he decided (by himself) that he will give us money for everything that we want. My brother agrees and he said it's an okay amount and I think it's a lot...

I am so confused... One thing for sure, I want to save my 50$ allowance, I'm going to save my paycheck and I'm going to set a limit amount per two seasons on clothes (buying classic and good quality that will last me a long time). I can't help feeling selfish... And my brother feels no guilt because he is used to parents giving him things since he doesn't work outside of the family and I'm sure he will spend the allowance on stupid things. He is already digging money in his bank account.

I notice in my wardrobe that I prefer classic items over trendy items. From now on, I'm going to concentrate on building a classic wardrobe. I have decided to try to put 300$ in my enveloppe for the fall/winter budget for clothes. I need to control my shopping urge and stop buying things that I later regret. I went shopping with friends these days and it made me want to go shop so badly!! >.< I only bought shoes so far today which cost me like 65$. I bought flats to match with my jeans that I bought two weeks ago and boots to wear with my other jeans to fit most of the casuel clothes. A few days ago, I went to a site and I bought two belts and two nice shirts for around 34$ included shipping. God... I hope that I can fix this problem as soon as possible... *sigh*

I think I need to review my budget...

I finally switch my credit card reward to a 0.5% cashback on every 2$ spend and there's no annual charge. I don't like the airmiles reward on spending 40$ to get 1 point. It takes too long and the only reward that I'm interested is the plane ticket which cost 3 500 points for low season and 6 to 7 k of points. It will influence me to spend more and I don't want that to happen, also it's a pure waste of time! With the 0.5%, I can add the cashback money in my challenge.

I was cleaning my room today before work and to my surprise, I found 15$ in one of my shoebox. I don't remember what money was it for but I'm so darn happy!! I'm putting it in my challenge money. =P

Old amount : 10$ + 15$ =
New amount : 25$

Another surprise is that I found out that I have 7$ on my saving account along with my challenge money. I have 4017$ instead of 4010$!! I'm going to add it in my challenge too.

Old amount : 25$ + 7$ =
New amount : 32$


The third surprise is that I made 29$ tips at work today!! Woohoo!! I'll add the tips money later today.

Last month was my first year anniversary opening this blog and yesterday was my challenge money anniversary!

It been one year since I have decided to make a challenge to save 4 000$ for my trip to London. It's kinda hard to let go of that amount in two years... LOL It wasn't easy to save up until recently.

Anyways, I would like to save it for the future lol!! I dunno... I can't let go of that amount! My trip to Morocco and I'll probably visit Spain next year so I can start saving now. Wait... I have an idea!! I'm going to start a travel fund for 2008.

Challenge money #2 : Travel fund (Morocco and Spain)

Amount of $ to be achieved : unknown yet

Deadline : mid-June 08

Rules : Same

Recently, my amount of money put in there has went up pretty fast so I'm expecting to get to a nice amount next year before my trip.

By the way, I'm going to let you guys up-to-date on my budget by deducting the amount I have left on the left. So far, I have bought a bus pass for the month of september and I bought the Monteregie card (42$) which cost way less than the Montreal and Monteregie one (62$). I can't go to Montreal with my pass but that doesn't matter. I don't go to Montreal often and my school is located in my area.