New pet

As the wedding quickly approaching, and my fiance and I started teaching at the local university, things have been incredibly busy. On top of that, my fiance met a rat at Petco this weekend and decided he was going to get her because he said he could connect with her. The new pet ended up costing him:

Rat $12
Cage $120
Excercise ball $20
Hammok $20
Running Wheel $10
Water bottle $10
Bedding $25
Food/Treats $20
Mobile Cage $15
Total ~$270

I didn't think it was a good time to get a rat for obvious reasons, but I also knew that my fiance had a firm mind that once he has decided, it could not be changed easily. So there we go ~ a new member for our future family!

Recap of April

So I ended up having to pay the Feds $4xx, got a $5xx tax refund from the State, which meant I actually still got a little money coming in, which is great at this moment. I'd like to adjust my Fed Tax deduction so the difference is smaller, but at the same time, it is nice to have some extra bucks now as I do need every penny. On the other hand, I am considering adjusting the State Tax deduction also...I don't want them to hold onto to money more than what I am suppose to pay.

The incoming work I have is still spotty, but so far it has been a little better than March. My part-time job is going OK, and in fact I'm picking up two new students, so hopefully it can offer additional weekly income. I also thought of expanding my services to offer small group classes in a more organized way, along with compiling my own learning materials, as the demand is definitely there. But with a wedding coming up soon, my plan will have to be postponed until at least after the big day is over.

February is a money draining month

I went home in Mid-Jan and stayed for 3 weeks to be with my parents. The airfare was a bit under a grand, and of course I also spent additional few hundred dollars while I was there. Since I am saving vacation for wedding later this year, I took some vacation and some leave without pay to cover my trip. It was a bit rough with bills the second half of Feb, but I thought it would be OK until...

I was out of stuff to do one day at work.

This has happened before, but never lasted long. After I consulted with my supervisor, I was told it would be best if I took a sick day and wait until there are projects. I did that for a day, then another...but my sick hours are pretty much gone after two days. I utilized this time to take my car in for some repair work, then they found more things needed work, so my bill was at $1,150. Ouch! And I started to take days off without pay.

Yesterday I finally got a call to go into work, so for now, I am back to work. I haven't ran the Math but I predict Mar is another painful month because again I had reduced income.