This was an unusually busy weekend, but I don’t think we could have asked for a better one.

Friday night, the Girls Just Wanna Have Funds Meetup had their first happy hour in DC at Zengos.  Unfortunately, it will our last trip there as the customer service was horrible and many members have vowed never to go back.  Still, we had a great time, I almost want to say we didn’t want to leave.  I like being able to connect with new people in DC who share the same goals and ideals.  We laughed through the nonsense going on with the staff there at Zengos, but I’ve written a letter to their Corporate offices in hopes that they will be able to get a handle on how the staff there treats paying customers.  Here are some pictures:

We then traveled to NYC early Saturday morning to hang out with family and my husband’s fraternity annual BBQ.  For those familiar with BGLO’s, Omega Psi Phi.  As usual they put on a great show for us GDI’s and we took pictures for them and uploaded video.  They get together like this once a year so when they ALL converge, you might as well sit back and watch the show.

We then drove back to DC for the annual Jamaican concert down on Constitution Avenue today.  We ate, hung out and listened to the band play and carry on with the usual antics.  I’m surprised we weren’t too tired after driving six hours but hey, fun times!

Einstein and I hung out for a bit, great minds think alike, what can I say

Now we’re home relaxing on the sofa, vegging out in front of the TV.  Don’t worry, it’s lights out for me pretty soon.  Scotch missed his daddywaddy

In the mean time, please check out some of the posts from my fellow PF Bloggers:

$4 ice cream cone – frugal or not? @ Living Almost Large

*snicker*  I will confess that I have a serious love affair going on with Maggie Moos and their Mooberry flavor.  At least once a week I head over th Pentagon Row and treat myself to sushi and ice-cream with my girlfriend.  Not sure Im ready to let that go either because, well, I like it.  It’s one of the few things that gets me through the week.  So sushi and ice-cream it is.  I realize it’s not frugal though because as LAL puts it, you can really buy a tu of ice cream from t he supermarket for the same money.  But there’s something about hanging out with the girls, chatting it up over sushi knowing that a large double scoop of Maggie Moos Mooberry is coming up.  I know I know   The first step is admitting you have a problem and I know I do

What does your bank statement say about you? @ Wide Open Wallet

Interesting take as I’ve never quite thought of it from this angle.  Ours would probably say that we need to trim the summer fat!  Maggie Moos, $650 grocery bill (thanks to Yodlee for showing that on the monthly report!), Nine West…ZipCar…well you get the point…  But we’re back on track as of August.

We’re On a Rollercoaster Ride!

When I read this I kept nodding my head because I can totally relate.  Our property taxes went up which increased our overall mortgage payment, the bank screwed up on the escrow so they took the extra payment due to them unexpectedly, car repairs, Zipcar rental, random trips to the grocery store totaling $600+, travelling to NYC to meet with Meetup HQ and the list goes on and on.  Thankfully, we weathered that storm and now have a budgt back in place.

Can you really help someone?

Sometimes I think it’s best to show someone how to “fish” and then leave them to sink or swim.  Most recently I learned that it’s best to let people work out their own financial situations because in the end, they are the only ones who can fix it.  You can lend money, you can give advice and you can even try to help them out directly by retooling their budget, but if they are more concerned with keeping up appearances then there’s nothing you can do.

7 Ways Students Ruin Their Credit @ Master Your Card

Good information for those just getting started in the real of credit.  Boy do I wish this information was around when I started college.

How was your weekend?

• 8 Frugal and Cost Cutting Tips for the Newly Independent
• Gas Prices On The Rise To $5/Gallon: How Will You Cope?
• Things That Piss Me Off: Food stamp recipients pinched by high food prices
• Cooking at Home with Basic Kitchen Staples Saves You Money
• Guest Post: Why Every Woman Needs Mad Money
• It’s a Woman Thing: Men Are in Recession, Women Apparently Not
• Women, Men & Money: How Are We Different?
• Tricia Walsh Smith: Reason #1 Why Women Should Marry Smart
• Get Your House Together: African-American Women and the Foreclosure Crisis
• The Five Mistakes Married Women Make

Those of you in the DC Metro area may be interested in our Meetup group, Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, a women only group that discusses all things related to money such as debt, budgeting, frugality, wealth building, real estate etc etc.

Questions? Shoot me an email via the contact form.

photo credit: Ordinary Guy

Donna Freedman of MSN’s Smart Spending blog linked to a comment I made over at Pinching Copper: There Are No Victims In The Housing Bust. You’ll see that I am really passionate about the topics around the recent sub prime mortgage meltdown. I don’t think ONE person is to blame but I think all parties hold a certain level of responsibility. Still, I think the banks should have known better than to offer up such loans in the first place. Feel free to take a gander around the site and contact me if you have any questions or leave a comment.

Trent, at The Simple Dollar and JD at Get Rich Slowly linked my article 8 Frugal and Cost Cutting Tips for the Newly Independent. Trent added “A ninth tip goes along well here: swallow your pride a little. It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that you need to have the best of everything. You don’t.” I thought long and hard about that one and I agree. I’ll follow up with a post about it in a few days because so many times we think we have to have the best of everything when in fact we don’t. This is coming from someone who just recently lusted over a $3,000/month apartment with all the bells and whistles.

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