Yesterday, I...
- updated my budget and debt payoff spreadsheet and discovered if I stay on track with my business goals (which are not extreme), I can pay off all my remaining student loans within 2 years (SUHWEET!);
- paid all my personal and business bills for the month; and
- ran my business financial reports to find I'm on track to meet my goals this year.
Armed with this information, last night I decided that come December, after being responsible and contributing to my SEP-IRA, I will indulge in a modest splurge of either some new bedroom furniture or these shoes.* Oh, and though not really a "splurge" in terms of the pleasure factor, I will have my timing belt changed and front brake pads replaced, so yeah, goodbye to another $700 to $900. My car has just gotten to that age, poor baby. I've already spent $600 last month for the 90,000 mile maintenance and service, new windshield wipers and to repair an oil leak, and another $1,200 last December for maintenance and some more repairs.**
Anyhow, back to the main objective of this post... I decided to go the IKEA route if I get some furniture, because a) I don't want to spend a lot right now, b) when I move, I don't want to have a heart attack if my furniture gets scratched up and c) when I buy a place, the furniture will eventually be the guest bedroom furniture.
So, plan in place, I spent the better part of the evening last night looking through the IKEA catalog, and discovered I can furnish my entire condo for approximately $500 (Okay, this may be a slight exaggeration - but only slight). Thus, I waded in hip deep into the bedroom section.
I chose the following pieces:
I want the room to have a slight vintage/romantic feel, and I think I'm going to look for some cushions, lamps and a chair at garage sales and flea markets to go in the room.
For now, however, it's time for a little update on the knitting front:
I'm finally putting the Queensland Collection Kathmandu Aran to good use, on a zippered cardigan for my niece. My nephew is going to get the same cardigan, but I didn't have the right colored yarn on hand, so I have to pick that up ASAP.
Unfortunately, after my sister (FINALLY!! Gah!) gave me the correct measurements, I had to frog it and start over, as I had overestimated the size by about 2 inches. I'm now about halfway through the progress shown in the shot above.
However, I'm well into the second Retro Rib Sock for mom. Here's a shot of the completed first sock:
Also, I can't recall if I ever posted (and seriously, like it would kill you to look at socks you've already seen, right?) a shot of the finished socks for Dad.
Please ignore the glare from my big, so-pale-it's-almost-transparent leg.
Next on the needles are Christmas projects for my brother, Mike, my brother-in-law, Steve, Jeff and a couple of others. I also still have to get the socks done for my Grandpa. The likelihood that these will all be done by Christmas? Zero to ten percent. But I'll forge ahead, nonetheless. What is life without grand plans?
*Just kidding about the shoes, Dad. Sorry for the heart palpitations. While I covet them, I cannot justify wearing shoes like that until my debts are paid and I buy a home, and maybe not even then.
**Yes, the dealership prices blow chunks, but I know my extended
warranty is kept in check, they send emails to remind me when
maintenance is due (which, when it comes to my car, I sorely need), and
I've used other mechanics in the area and can't find one who does a
comparable job. There used to be one guy I used years and years ago,
but he always took forever to fix my car and was way out of the way.
