Unexpected Travel Expenses

My mom called to tell me my great-aunt passed away this morning. She had had some form of Alzheimer's/ Dementia for the last several years so it wasn't that surprising, but I would still like to attend the funeral. She never married or had children, so growing up she was like a second grandma to me. So, I decided that it is well worth it to spend the $180.79 on a plane ticket to OH tomorrow and will drive down to WV with my mom for the funeral on Weds.

Buying a plane ticket last minute like this made me realize just how difficult it is when you have to buy something right now and can't really wait for a cheaper rate. I compared several different travel websites including Expedia, Priceline, and Orbitz as well as individual airline websites. I got the best deal on Orbitz and was happy to see that they offer a Price Insurance guarantee which means if someone books the same flight at a cheaper price, they will send a refund check. I also paid using my Discover card, so I should get some cashback since I purchased my tickets through "ShopDiscover."

Happy Holidays!!

So I know Christmas shouldn't be all about the gifts, but I did make it out with some nice stuff.
Here is the lineup of what I received:

1. $25 Borders
2. $20 Starbucks
3. $25 Khols
4. $50 cash
5. $20 cash
6. $35 check

Because I ended up receiving the gift cards before Christmas, I have to admit I used some for other gifts. I used part of the Border's gift card to buy some half off Christmas cards and the entire Khols gift card (+ $4)to buy my boyfriend some new shirts for Christmas. I intend on putting the cash and check into my savings account tomorrow and see how long the rest of the Border's and Starbucks can last me.

I am looking forward to the New Year and realize that I should probably start thinking about my 2010 resolutions so I should be giving an update of that soon.

Savings update

$1740 saved, $260 more to go in just under a month. I am trying to convince my boyfriend to use the majority of it for a car down payment, but we'll see.

I did it: $1700 + $300=$2000!! The only thing is I'm actually hoping to put aside $300 more so that I don't have to close the account with $300 as that is necessary to keep it open without a fee.

Future Fund: Almost There!

So I decided to put the majority of my "extra" December check to this so now my total savings is:
$1897.70!! Once I get my paycheck from my part time job on Friday I will have succeeded in saving $2000 before my goal.