Category Archives: 28 Before 28

28B428| #20. Start Saving $ in a Savings Account

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I’ve completed #20 on my 28 Before 28 list: Start Saving Money in a Savings Account.

What?! SAVE money and not spend it?! Psh. For most of my life, the word saving has not been included in the Shlee vocabulary. But because of my recent financial issues, I’ve decided that I need to save. That I need to be a more financially stable person and at the age of 27, I frankly need to lock it up and get my act together. It’s about time, eh? (oh wow…and suddenly I’m Canadian)

Anyways, I have a must-have savings account through a local credit union and by must-have I mean that they’ve forced me to keep a balance of $300 in the account to be a “member” of their credit union. Garbage, I tell you. So, I haven’t  touched that money in forever. But I also have a credit union on-campus at my work with another savings account. This credit union only requires that  you maintain a balance of $1 to be considered a member. Which is a bad thing for those of us that like to dip into their funds and have easy access to do so. I have funneled $400 into the fund but recently had to withdraw $300 to pay the evil Sallie Mae. Because I’m moving in a few months, I do have to really start squirreling away funds. Right now I have $100 afloat in that savings account and will continue to add to it over the next few months.

Fun, fun, fun in the sun

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The latest on my 28 Before 28 list was to take my 4 year old Miniature Pinscher to the dog beach/park to get some socializing skills under her belt. She’s a territorial breed and overly excited/anxious when she meets new people. She usually barks and charges people when she first meets them. But its really to say “Hey! I’m here!” and not to bite or be mean. However, she really freaks people out most of the time because all they see is a little black dog lunging for them.

I felt like Ella needed to be around people and other dogs and also exert some energy. So, we packed up mid-morning and headed to Montrose Beach in Chicago where they have a gated off section of the beach that’s dedicated to letting dogs romp in the sand.

Well, long story short but Ella wasn’t as excited and energetic as I thought she would be. Walking up to the gates, while she was still on the leash, she was barking at people as usual but as soon as I unleashed her (much to the disapproving onlookers) she didn’t make a peep at all. She didn’t do all the things I figured she would do. There was no running away from me, not listening to me, barking at people, etc. I couldn’t tell if she was overwhelmed and some owners suggested that this usually happens on their first time at the beach.

She tucked her little tail under her butt when other dogs tried to sniff her out and barely chased or socialized with the other dogs. She literally stayed next to me the entire time. When we went walking down the beach she walked ahead of me for a little bit, but stopped and looked back often enough to make sure I was with her. If I stopped for any amount of time, she ran right back to me. I even received comments on how well behaved my dog was. Ha! If they only knew!

We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours and when it was time to go and Ella was back on her leash, walking back up to the sidewalks, she was barking at other people and sniffing out other dogs, just like her usual self. I had to shuttle her away from the people/dogs coming into the beach and keep my head/eyes held low and away from the disapproving onlookers that didn’t know how Ella just behaved for 120 minutes of her life. Anyone have any experiencing socializing their dog/puppy in a new environment?

#3 of 28 Before 28.

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On August 30th, I went to my local credit union and deposited $400 in my “member” account as an effort to start saving money in my savings account. This is primarily for the need of extra funds in the next 6-7 months. I have a membership account that allowed me to get a debt consolidation loan in 2009. You only need $1 to open the member account…but now I have $401.54 in that account. This makes the third thing I’ve been able to cross of of my 28 Before 28 list.

I’m nervous because its easily accessible for me to withdraw cash if need-be and even considered creating a savings account in the middle of nowhere just so that it was inconvenient. I do think that I’m going to join the Christmas Club and have $20 deposited from every paycheck to an account that cannot be touched until November 15th. That’s genius, don’t you think? Not just for presents, but also for the satisfaction that you’re saving money and there’s nothing that you can do to touch it (without being penalized). You’ll have that money and all your family’s shining, smiling faces on Christmas to think about!

What do you want to accomplish before your next birthday?

[Eye] Can See!

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My latest accomplishment from the 28 Before 28 list was scratched off last week as I finally splurged and bought 2 new pairs of eye glasses. I haven’t purchased new glasses since 2007 and was in need of a new pair since I play sports with my glasses on and the lenses are severely scratched up.  For Eyes was running a special of 2 pairs for $99 and I was able to get a pair of regular glasses as well as a pair of sunglasses with prescription lenses. I’ve never owned a pair of sunglasses before because I figured that I  can’t see as it is, so why add darkness as well? Well, with the prescription lenses, I’m able to see crisp and clearly without burning out my retinas from the summer sun. Fantastic!