CVS Shopping Trip: August 26- Sept 1

Yay! The gas card deal is back at CVS this week!

I had some ExtraBucks to spend and I converted them into a gas card, which is sorely needed. The Biore products are part of the Buy $30 in Participaing Products, get $10 Gas Card deal going on this week and I love their nose strips but they are way too expensive full price ($1.00 a strip at full price). The Dawn dish liquid is also part of the gas card deal.

Here's my trip:

Biore Combination Skin Cleanser- Sale $6.99 (Reg. $8.29)
2 Biore Nose Strips, 8 ct- Sale $6.99 (Reg. $8.29)
Biore Pore Unclogging Scrub- Sale $6.99 (Reg. $8.29)
2 Dawn Dishwashing liquid, 9oz- Sale $.99 (Reg. $1.67)
2 Stayfree Regular Pads With Wings, 18ct- Sale $2.00 (Reg. $4.19)

Total: $33.94
Coupons Used:
2 $1.50/1 Biore Nose Strips Facebook coupon
2 Buy Biore Pore Strips get Cleanser Free, Smart Source 8/12
1 $1.00/2 Dawn, P&G 7/29 or 8/26
2 $2.00/1 Stayfree products, Smart Source 7/22 or 8/26
$11 Extrabucks

Final Price: $.96
Tax: $1.38
Amount Paid: $2.34
Got Back: $10 Shell gas card!

You can find great deals at CVS this week at the Krazy Coupon Lady.

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Budgeting Ahead

I’ve always been frugal. I’ve also never been flush with cash. Most importantly, I’ve always budgeted and made sure that my income, no matter how big or small, can work for what I need it for. Following a budget reigns in my spending and gives me peace of mind so that I feel in control of my financial destiny and know that I have money allocated to pay the bills and buy groceries as well as for fun nights out or a trip to the mall. I like budgets and spreadsheets and keeping track of my expenses. It works for me to have a detailed spreadsheet or the Easy Envelope Budget Aid (an amazing free app and website) which I can use to track every penny.

But not everyone likes budgets. When my husband and I were dating he never budgeted. He paid his bills and when the money ran out it was gone, even if it was gone before the fridge got stocked. He didn’t worry about where it went to and would just look forward to the next paycheck to pay for things he needed. He lived in the now and spent in the now. One day I stopped at the ATM and he saw my account balance printed on my receipt. “But you have money! Why do you always say you can’t afford things?,” he exclaimed. I explained that I had my budget set up so that I was two paychecks ahead (my April paychecks made up my May budget) so I had a buffer in case I needed to float an expense. That gave me security because I wasn’t actually out of money in case of an emergency. He didn’t get it and thought I was just being overly cautious and a pinch penny.

Three months before our wedding a few years later, he unexpectedly lost his job. We had rent to pay, groceries to buy, bills to pay and, suddenly, half the income. To the budget spreadsheet I went and I manipulated the numbers until we made it work. Granted, a lot of expenses had to be cut and we had to dramatically reduce our expenses, including food and entertainment (that’s when I learned how to coupon), but it worked. We didn’t have any money in savings but because of that two paycheck buffer, I had the cash on hand to pay our rent in full because not being homeless is a priority for us. Then we pushed ourselves back onto the month-ahead budget. All the bills got paid, we didn’t go hungry, and we had a plan for the future, all because we budgeted ahead. My husband thanked me for my plan-ahead budget and was grateful that we weathered that crisis. Now he gets why I budget so aggressively and tries to be more frugal himself. He’s not a penny-tracker and probably never will be, but he understands the importance of a well-managed budget. With the month-ahead budget, because we had the entire amount of that month’s budget up front, it allows us to pay the bills at the beginning of the month and still have money available for groceries so there’s no more worrying about whether we can eat cause we just spent our entire paycheck on rent (in the DC area that’s a frequent problem because rents are so high).

So how do you get on a month-ahead budget if you’re not already? It seems impossible if you are living paycheck to paycheck but it’s not.

First, make a good budget. Identify what your fixed bills are (rent/mortgage, utilities, cell phone, gym membership, debt payments) and what your floating bills are (entertainment, groceries, gas, anything that doesn’t have a fixed amount). A good way to determine how much your floating bills amount is to track your receipts for a month and use that as an estimate. You can always adjust it later. And don’t forget to include a category for savings. Having cash on hand for an emergency is priceless.

Second, make sure that the budget is lower than your monthly income. If it’s not, call the cable company and drop HBO, coupon more and cut your grocery budget, cut that entertainment budget dramatically. Do whatever you have to do to make your monthly expenses fit into your monthly income.

Once you get used to living inside that budget, push onto the month-ahead budget. This is easiest on those months where you get three paychecks rather than two. Leave that extra paycheck aside and allocate it for next month’s spending. See this monthly chart below? That’s how sticking to your budget can allow you to budget ahead painlessly if you get paid every two weeks. The circled dates are paycheck days and the colors correspond to the months which the paychecks will be budgeted toward.

If you don’t get paid every two weeks, then save up so you have an extra paycheck amount. Save your entire entertainment budget that month if you have to. Then once you are used to being one paycheck ahead, save up for the second paycheck amount.
Budgeting on the month-ahead plan is really easy. You have your current month’s income derived from the previous month’s paychecks so when you get those paychecks leave them in your account and just work off of the money in your current month’s budget. Then, when the next month rolls around, allocate those previous month’s paychecks into your budget and you will have all of your month’s budget money at once up front. This budget changes how you think about your bank account balance. Now the number you see in your balance will be your current month’s spending money plus next month’s spending money.

The month-ahead budget may not work for every family but it sure has worked for ours. Having a set amount every month keeps my budget on track and any extra income (“leap” third paychecks in a month, money from mystery shopping) gets funneled into savings or debt payoff, or to cover any unexpected over budget expenses. Most importantly, I appreciate the security that not living paycheck to paycheck brings. Yes, we are still broke and are barely keeping our heads above water financially, but we are making do with what we’ve got and I don’t have to wonder whether I can buy groceries this week or if I will have to wait until my next paycheck. And that’s financial security I can budget for.

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Safeway Coupon Matchups: Aug 22-28

Remember, coupons double at Safeways in the DC area (except for ecoupons) so final price includes doubled coupon amount.

In-ad coupons can be added electronically as eCoupons to your Safeway Club Card on www.Safeway.com. Go to Just4U in the Coupons section. The Just4U section also has lots of ecoupons which you can add to your card. These ecoupons will not double and according to Safeway's coupon policy a manufacturer ecoupon cannot be stacked with another manufacturer's coupon, but occasionally I have noticed that the ecoupons will stack automatically. Ask the cashier to tare the transaction before you hand over your coupons to see which ecoupons come off. If you have the same printed coupon as the ecoupon, it will sometimes scan the coupon but won't deduct from the price. Be sure to check your receipt to make sure that your coupons went through.

Here's the best deals for this week:

Fresh Express Salad bags- $.99
*Look for Safeway's Fresh Idea magazine in produce section for $1.00/1 coupon making it free!

Red or Green Seedless Grapes- $.99/lb

Rancher's Reserve Boneless Beef Steaks- $2.99/lb

****Buy 4 General Mills Cereals, Save $4.00****
Cheerios, 8.9oz- $1.49 wyb 4
Use $.50/1 printable
Final Price: $.49

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, 12.2oz- $1.49 wyb 4
Use $.60/1 printable
or use another $.60/1 printable
or use $.50/1 printable
Final Price: $.29- $.49

Nature Valley Granola Bars, 6.7-8.9oz- $1.49 wyb 4
Use $.50/1 SS 7/15
or $.50/2 General Mills 8/5
or $.50/2 printable
Final Price: $.49- $.99
*There is also a Nature Valley catalina promotion which will print a coupon for use on your next purchase. Buy 3, get $1.00 back; buy 4, get $2.00 back; and buy 5, get $3.00 back. So, if you buy 4 boxes at $.49 each, you will get $2.00 back making them free!

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Lucerne Large Eggs- $1.79 with in-ad coupon, limit 2

Snackwells and Nabisco 100-Calorie Packs, 3.7-7.5oz- $1.99 with in-ad coupon
Use $1.00/2 Snackwells Bars, SS 5/20 (if bars included)
Final Price: $1.49 wyb 2

Welch's Grape Juice or Fruit Fizz, 64oz or 4pk- $1.99 with in-ad coupon, limit 3
Use $.75/1 Welch's Juice or Fruit Fizz, RP 6/24
Final Price: $.49

Ken's Salad Dressing, 16oz- $1.19 with in-ad coupon, limit3
Use $1.00/1, SS 8/12
or $1.00/2, SS 8/12 (depending on where you live)
Final Price: $.19 - $.69

Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies, 5.5-16oz, selected varieties- $1.99
Use $.55/2 Keebler Cookies, RP 7/29
use $.55/1 Keebler Cinnamon Roll Cookies, RP 7/29
Final price: $.89- $1.44

Barilla Meals- $2.00
Use $1.00/1 SS 8/12
Final Price: $1.00

International Delight Creamer, 32oz- $2.99 with in-ad coupon, limit 3
Use $1.50/1 printable
Final Price: $1.49

12-pack Coca Cola Products, Buy 2 get 2 Free Plus Free Snack Artist Chips

Palmolive, 10oz- $.99
Use $.25/1 Palmolive Ultra Dish Liquid SS 8/12 (if included)
Final Price: $.49

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How I'm Saving Today

Well, it's been a very busy week. I flew out to California for my Grandpa's memorial service, a family reunion, and my sister's wedding.

I had a wonderful time on my "working vacation" and enjoyed spending time with friends and family even though we were quite busy preparing for all the festivities. My husband flew out and met me in California and wore a dashing seersucker suit to the wedding to boot. Plus, he got it on sale at Jos. A. Bank. Awesome :)

Vacation and travel is tough on the budget but we managed to stick close to it. I pulled out cash to take on the trip and that really helped me to watch my spending. When the money ran low, I knew we were running out. One way we saved some money was getting yogurt and granola from the nearby Safeway and keeping them in a mini fridge in our room so we had a cheap and healthy breakfast. Way better than overpriced room service (which I admit we did order the first day cause it's fun and easy). I had to use the card to get gas for the rental car and pay a baggage fee which put us over budget, but it could have been much worse.

Yesterday I defended my master's thesis and passed!!! Woohoo! So I am done with grad school and only have to make minor edits to the thesis and get it bound. Super sweet!

It feels good to accomplish something that was two tough years in the making, with semesters back to back and through the summers. Phew!

Now back to focusing on paying down medical bills and trying to crawl out of debt. Slowly but surely it will happen.

How are you saving today?

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Frugal Fashion: Where'd You Get Those Shoes?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Famous Footwear. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ah yes, the universal compliment. You love your shoes and that woman that just got into the elevator loves them too. So she asks, "Where'd you get those shoes?"

So where do I get those shoes? Famous Footwear.

And I got a great price too. I love getting compliments but I love even more when I can say, "Thanks! And I got a great deal on them!"

Then I feel smart, frugal, and chic.

 

Take for example these cute flats. Chic, comfortable, perfect for fall, and only $39.99 on sale at Famous Footwear.

In fact, you could even get two pairs of shoes right now for super cheap during Famous Footwear's Buy One Get One 50% off sale plus you can save 15% on your entire purchase (or save 20& if you are a member of their new Rewards program) during their back to school promotion. Good thing they carry Nike cause that's all my husband wears :). Print out this BOGO + 15% off Famous Footwear Coupon to get this great deal in store now through August 18th and snag those end of season and back to school sales!

You can easily snag great deals for your whole family since they have kids, men's and women's shoes and carry a huge variety in store and online. You can get in, grab your shoes, and get on with your errands. Or you can browse the shoes in store or online to find just the perfect pair. Either way they've got you covered.

If you don't find what you want in store, or they are out of your size, Famous Footwear will ship it to your house or another store. You can shop online at www.famous.com and pick up your order in store to skip out on the shipping fee.

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for their Rewards program (you all know how I love rewards programs!) where you can get one point for every dollar you spend and cash them in for gift certificates to Famous Footwear for up to $100 a year. Plus they have loads of exclusive discounts for Rewards members only.

This is a sponsored post for Famous Footwear but all chic and frugal opinions are my own. I wouldn't rep a product that's not worth reppin'.

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Safeway Coupon Matchups: Aug 8-15

Remember, coupons double at Safeways in the DC area (except for ecoupons) so final price includes doubled coupon amount.

In-ad coupons can be added electronically as eCoupons to your Safeway Club Card on www.Safeway.com. Go to Just4U in the Coupons section. The Just4U section also has lots of ecoupons which you can add to your card. These ecoupons will not double and according to Safeway's coupon policy a manufacturer ecoupon cannot be stacked with another manufacturer's coupon, but occasionally I have noticed that the ecoupons will stack automatically. Ask the cashier to tare the transaction before you hand over your coupons to see which ecoupons come off. If you have the same printed coupon as the ecoupon, it will sometimes scan the coupon but won't deduct from the price. Be sure to check your receipt to make sure that your coupons went through.

Here's the best deals for this week:

Save $5.00 instantly when you buy $15 of any frozen items

Mix & Match Sale: Buy 4 Participating Items, save $4.00 instantly
(more items listed in circular)

Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, 4.5-8 oz, select varieties $1.99
M&M sale price: $.99
Use $.50/1 Sunkist Fruit Snacks, Smart Source 7/8
or $.75/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, General Mills 8/5
or $.75/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks printable
or $.60/2 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks printable
or $.75/3 Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks ecoupon
Final Price: Free - $.39 each

General Mills Selected Cereals 12.2oz- $2.49
M&M sale price: $1.49
Use $.50/1 Original Cheerios, Smart Source 7/8
or $.50/1 Original Cheerios printable
or $.50/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch printable
or $.60/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch printable
or $.50/1 Rice Chex, Smart Source 7/15
or $.50/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch ecoupon
Final Price: $.29- $.99 each

General Mills Lucky Charms Treat Bars, 6 ct $2.49
M&M sale price: $1.49
Use $.50/1 Lucky Charms Treat Bars, General Mills 7/5
or $.50/1 printable
or $.60/1 printable
Final Price: $.29- $.49 each

Fiber One Chewy Bars and 90 Calorie Bars, select varieties $2.99
M&M sale price: $1.99
Use $.50/1 Fiber One Chewy Bars, General Mills 8/5
or $.50/1 Fiber One Chewy Bars printable
or $.50/1 Fiber One 90 Calorie Bars printable
or $.40/1 printable
or $.50/1 printable
or this other $.50/1 printable
Final Price: $.99- $1.19 each

Nature Valley Thins, 10 ct $3.00
M&M sale price: $2.00
Use $.60/2 printable
or this $.60/2 printable
or another $.60/2 printable
or $.50/2 printable
Final Price: $1.40 - $1.50 each

*********************************************************************

Mix & Match Sale: Buy 4 participating items, Save $2.00 instantly
(more items listed in circular)

Skippy Peanut Butter- $2.99
M&M sale price: $2.49
Use $.50/1 Skippy printable
or $.75/2 Skippy printable
or $1.00/3 Skippy Printable
Final Price: $1.49- $1.74

Dole Fruit Bowl, 4pk- $3.29
M&M sale price: $2.79
Use $.55/2 Dole Fruit Bowls printable
Final price: $2.24
************************************************************************
Seedless Grapes- $.79/lb

Safeway Chicken Extreme Value Pack- Save 50% off Club Price
Final Price: varies

Fiber One Cereal, 14.25-17.25oz- $2.99
Use $.75/1 Fiber One Nutty Clusters or Almonds Cereal, General Mills 8/5
or $.75/1 Fiber One cereals printable
or $1.00/1 Fiber One Cereal ecoupon
Final Price: $1.49- $1.99

Kix (12oz), Reese's Puffs (18oz), Cookie Crisp (15.6oz)- $1.99 w/ in-ad coupon (limit 4)
Use $.50/1 Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese's Puffs, or Cocoa Puffs printable
or $.50/1 Cookie Crisp ecoupon
or $.50/1 Reese's Puffs ecoupon
Final Price: $.99

Motts Apple Sauce Cups, 6 pk- $1.79 w/ in-ad coupon (limit 4)

Red Baron Pizza- $2.99 w/ in-ad coupon (limit 3)

Almond Breeze Milk, 64oz- $2.99 w/ in-ad coupon (limit 3)
Use $.55/1 Almond Breeze Milk, Smart Source 7/22
or $.50/1 printable
or $1.00/2 printable
Final Price: $1.89 - $2.49

Pillsbury Crescent or Cinnamon Rolls, 8-13.9oz- $1.69 w/ in-ad coupon (limit 4)
Use $.50/2 Pillsbury Crescent Rolls printable
or $.50/2 Pillsbury Sweet Rolls printable
Final Price: $1.19 each wyb 2

Yoplait Go-Gurt or Trix Yogurt- $1.88 w/ in-ad coupon (limit 3)
Use $.75/2 Go-Gurt or Trix Yogurt, General Mills 8/5
or $.35/1 Go-Gurt or Trix Yogurt, General Mills 8/5
or $.75/2 Go-Gurt or Trix Yogurt, Smart Source 7/8
or $.75/2 printable
Final Price: $1.13 - $1.18

Stayfree Pads, 16-24 ct or Carefree Pantiliners, 36-60 ct $2.49
Use $2.00/1 Stayfree Product, Smart Source 7/22
Final Price: $.49

Totino’s Party Pizza, 9.8-10.9 oz $1.00
Use $1.00/4 printable
or $1.00/5 printable
Final Price: $.75- $.80 each

Pillsbury Toaster Strudel, 10-11.5 oz $2.50
Use $.75/3 printable
or $.85/3 printable
or another $.85/3 printable
Final Price: $1.93- $2.00 each

StarKist Chunk Light Tuna Pouch, 2.6 oz $1.25
Use $.55/1 Starkist Tuna Pouch, Smart Source 7/15
Final Price: $.15 each

Smart Balance Peanut Butter, 16 oz $3.99
Use $.75/1 Smart Balance Peanut Butter, Oil, Mayo or Popcorn printable
Final Price: $2.49

Progresso Recipe Starters, 18 oz $2.00
Use $.50/1 printable
Final Price: $1.00

Dannon Light and Fit, Activia or Pure Yogurt, 4-6 pk $1.88
Use $1.00/1 Facebook printable
Final Price: $.88

Odwalla Juice, 32 oz $5.49, Buy One Get One Free
Use $.55/1 Facebook printable
Final Price: $2.19 each wyb 2

Ragu or Francesco Rinaldi Pasta Sauce, 16-24 oz $2.79, Buy One Get One Free
Use $.50/2 Ragu pasta sauce, Red Plum 7/29
Final Price: $.89 each wyb 2

Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites, 8.5-11.5 oz $2.00
Use $.55/3 Lean Cuisine printable
or $1.00/4 Lean Cuisine printable
Final Price: $1.63 - $1.75 each

You can find more great Safeway deals at the Krazy Coupon Lady.

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How I'm Saving Today

So let's get back to accountability shall we?

This week had me realizing a few things:

1) As soon as I reach one goal, I am looking for another. I don't stop to savor the moment. Instead my brain rushes on to the next project or, more appropriately, the next thing to worry about. I need to work out more so my arms aren't so flabby for my sister's wedding in a few weeks. Argh! I need to get a gift for them too and bring my dress to the tailor. That reminds me, I have to book a rental car and the hotel for my friend's wedding in September. And remind my husband to order his books online rather than paying full price at the school's bookstore. That reminds me, I need to schedule in some worrying about money. Yep.

2) Then there's the age old question: how the hell am I going to pay for all this? Well....I don't know. I keep going over the numbers and I keep coming up short. My husband is going to look for a part-time job at school and I will keep mystery shopping and trying to squeeze as much out of our budget as I can. And I guess in the mean time I will pray. We will be ok through November. We split up his tuition into four payments, half up front then three parts over three months through December. But I have no idea how we will get all of the money for the December payment. So, that's where planning ahead (see point #1, also known as my crazy busy brain) comes in handy and I hope that we can squirrel away some money over the next few months to pay for tuition in December. Yes, squirrel can also be a verb.

3) I drive too damn fast. I got yet another ticket this month. This time it was in the mail from a speed camera. DC must be hurting cause they charged me $125! Add the speeding ticket from Montgomery County from last month ($40) and another street sweeping ticket from me not remembering what day it is (Thesis Brain Syndrome) and forgetting to move my car ($30). So that's $195 to shell out. This time it's my fault, unlike some other times, and I see no need to try to wriggle out of an offense I committed. So now I have to figure out where this comes from. See point #2.

4) I have to cut back on couponing stockpile trips. For food, that's fine. But I have reached my limit on shampoo. I'm running out of space. My sister and her soon-to-be-new-husband will be moving halfway around the world in October to Papua New Guinea and they need to stock up on stuff to take with them, so in my last trip I got stuff for them. And good body wash and shampoo will probably be super expensive on a small Pacific island. So I can help with that. But otherwise, I need to just use what I have. Couponing is a hobby because it's fun and saves me money, but right now things are so tight that cutting out some trips to CVS can save me even more...$10-$20 a month which we sorely need to save. So I am imposing a partial ban on myself and only couponing for food, or if something is actually free and I need it.

4) I have to have faith. Things have worked out for the last year when money has been especially tight and I have never been homeless or hungry (well, sometimes hungry but I always rustle up some grub). Things sometimes look really bleak. Despite being a personal finance blogger and super thrifty, our debt numbers keep going up as we take out loans for school, get medical bills in the mail, and took out a vacation loan (at a good rate at least!) to solve some immediate cash flow problems for traveling to California for my sister's wedding. I get discouraged and think that it should only be going down, but that is not our life right now. Beating myself up won't help but finding out where I can make the wisest decisions possible and cut unnecessary expenses can. Also, focusing on the non-spending things in life that make me happiest is the key to pulling through these tight times. Things will work out. They always have as long as I keep trudging.

5) I want to focus more on having non-spending days and focus less on what great deals I can score at the store and focus more on spending time with friends, getting a great book from the library, or walking my dog. Thinking about money a lot is really tiring. Yes, I have to be vigilant about saving and watching my spending, but it drains me. Focusing on the positive rather than the negative is the name of the game.

And speaking of happy things, this just makes me smile.

Source: tumblr.com via Alice on Pinterest

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5 Hour Energy Review

Smiley360 recently sent me two bottles of 5 Hour Energy to try and review. Great timing since I got them in the mail in the last week of writing my Master's Thesis.

I drink energy drinks pretty infrequently and usually choose coffee over anything that's too strong or I'm unfamiliar with. Usually when I need an energy drink it's for a long drive or when I am exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open at work. I've tried 5 Hour Energy before but I have been skeptical of it since it worries me that it may be too strong or concentrated. So when Smiley360 offered to send me their Pomegranate and Berry flavors to try out, I thought this would be a great way to give this product another shot.

In reading over the information about 5 Hour Energy I was happy to learn that there's as much caffeine in it as in a cup of coffee, plus there's lots of B vitamins. That was a relief because I was worried it was too much caffeine but one cup is perfectly fine with me. Also, 5 Hour Energy has been around for 8 years and it's used over 9 million times a week.

The flavors are good though they taste artificial, but since there's only about two sips in a bottle it isn't a big deal. At least I don't have coffee breath :). True to their advertising, when I drank 5 Hour Energy I immediately felt more alert and awake. I needed to get a lot of writing done but was getting sleepy by late afternoon and my creative mojo was depleted. But after I drank a 5 Hour Energy I felt it coming back and was back to my normal, alert self. I liked that I didn't feel caffeinated or excited, just awake. I finished my thesis and was able to go to sleep that evening without the extra caffeine keeping me awake. Thanks 5 Hour Energy!

P.S. Want to help me win $500 just by clicking on a link? Of course you do! Click here to vote for me to win Smiley360's contest. All proceeds will go to my credit company to pay off debt. American Express thanks you.


So what's Smiley360? They are a product review company that wants opinions from people like you! Sign up with them to test out and review products for free!

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Fin

Oh thank God. I just finished writing my Master's Thesis and today I am going to turn it in.

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Two years in the making and the bain of my existence, but I am pretty proud of myself.

I couldn't have done it without my husband's encouragement and talking me down from a ledge when I would panic that I wouldn't be able to do this. And for keeping me on task when I would much rather watch So You Think You Can Dance. Besides, he hates that show and would want me out of the living room so he could watch NFL Network.

My study buddy Julius kept me company by snoozing next to me while I typed furiously. Dogs don't help write your paper but at least keep you company.

Huge thanks go to my parents for their support and for giving me the gift of education without student loans.

I'm so relieved that I've reached this point. Now I await comments from my thesis review board and then defend it on August 22nd. Wish me luck!

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