The current state of the market has taken a toll on my mutual fund investments. Being only 23, I figure I can afford to invest in aggressive growth funds because, though they show much more volatility in the short-term, over a long period of time they have the potential to show high rates of return on principal. However, I’ve already gotten into a bad habit that just adds to my stress level: checking my balances daily. Obviously this is not the wisest decision. I’ve seen both funds go down over four percent in the past week, and it’s killing me! And because of this, it’s little reassurance that undoubtedly the funds will - fingers crossed - regain and surpass those losses eventually. I curse the advent of online banking. Bah.

I have one minor expenditure coming up in the next week, which would be buying a dress for my mother’s wedding. I figure I’ll limit myself to $120, and check out noted department stores rather than name-brand boutiques. After all, I succeeded in spending only $70 for my junior prom dress, and only $25 for my senior prom dress, and they were both stunning. Deals can be had; you just need to know where to find them.

It’s day two of no smoking, and I already feel as though my lungs are less heavy. I guess that’s how to describe it. Singing in the car en route to work this morning, I found my voice has gotten a bit clearer, but maybe that’s just my imagination. I’m still tempted to put the $5 I’d spend on cigarettes each day into a jar, but jars don’t pay interest, so maybe that’s not such a good idea. It’d be nice to see a wad of bills growing daily on my desk, though!

This week:

• groceries $67.12
• movie and munchies $19.50
• gas $25.00

That’s a total of $111.62. If it were a pre-budget week:

• food and drink $82.50
• cigarettes $30.00
• gas $25.00
• movie and munchies $19.50

Grand total: $157. That’s already a savings of over $45. Man, it’s so much better when you can see it in front of you! And I get paid on Friday. That just makes me smile even more.