In celebration of the very first payday at my new job (yeah!), I…paid bills.

• $129 Costco
• $933 rent
• $84 Sprint
• $490 car payment – Prius
• $285 Capital One (paid in full monthly)

I did get some treats at Costco (flowers, a new book, and some froufrou shampoo and conditioner) and I got hit on by the manager, so things aren’t all bad, right?

How was your week?

• $35 gas
• $19 Target
• $157 State Farm – car insurance
• $47 internet
• $350 Chase
• $82 utilities
• $95 grocery

The next month is going to be tight. My husband has been off work for three weeks and my new job only pays once a month (which will be fine once I get the budget in order, but stinks for the time being).

We’re headed to Vegas with family at the end of the month, and I think we’re going to need to dip into savings. Not much, but I’d rather not, you konw?

How are things looking financially this month for you?

Can you believe it’s almost May? This year is flying so I thought I’d give an update on how I did reaching my financial goals for the first quarter of the year and share some adjustments I’ve made going forward.

Here’s what I had planned for January thru March:

• Increase emergency fund balance to $5,000
• Pay Banana Republic in full
• Pay Bill Me Later in full

Here’s what I accomplished:

• Increased emergency fund to $2,000
• Paid Banana Republic in full
• Paid Bill Me Later in full

Not too shabby, right? Since I’m back to being employed fulltime and my husband and I have made some decisions regarding our future, I’ve updated my goals for the rest of the year.

2011 Q2 Goals

• Increase emergency fund to $4,000
• Pay Chase (1 of 3) in full
• Begin regular contributions to Roth IRA

2011 Q3 Goals

• Pay car loan (Corolla) in full
• Begin regular contributions to emergency fund (amount TBD)
• Continue regular contributions to Roth IRA

2011 Q4 Goals

• Pay Chase (2 of 3) in full
• Continue regular contributions to emergency fund (amount TBD)
• Max out year Roth IRA contribution

So, how have you done reaching your financial goals this year? Do you have any goals for the rest of the year?

• $113 grocery
• $161 Sprint

Wait. What?

Even I can’t believe I wasn’t nickel and dimed this week. Going back to work really curbed my spending! And the free vending machines are a nice perk.

What did you spend your money on this week?

• $72 grocery
• $95 vet visit
• $32 gas
• $490 car payment – Prius
• $376 car payment – Corolla
• $165 Sallie Mae
• $120 Chase
• $62 Whole Foods
• $50 Target
• $3 Sonic
• $1,340 ING

I have some happy news to share this week – I GOT A JOB!

After nine months of looking to make the transition back to full-time employment I was offered a position in Marketing with a local company that’s on the fast track in an industry I personally enjoy and am interested in learning more about.

Yes, I know that’s all very vague, but I have a no-talking-about-work-on-the-internet rule and I’m sticking to it.

What did you spend your money on this week? Do you have any good news to share?