Mind on my money and my money on my mind...

Yesterday was a good day. My tax refund hit my bank account AND it was extra paycheck month. I nearly pooped myself with glee when I saw my balance.

Anyone who has been paid on a biweekly basis is familiar with extra paycheck month. Right? If not, you are really missing out.

Generally speaking, people on a biweekly pay schedule are paid twice a month (you know, four weeks a month, divided by two) on, say, a Wednesday. This year, there are five Wednesdays in April, July, September and December. Two of those months, your paychecks will grace your bank account three times instead of two.

It is glorious.

Of course, extra paychecks usually leave your account as quickly as they come. Sigh.

Mine paid for my semi-new, shiny, refurbished laptop, the new Adobe design software suite, some basics at gap.com, my boyfriend's bday present (Rockband 2), my mom's bday present (shiny new jewelry making supplies) and my little brother's bday present (clothes).

An aside: what is it with April birthdays?! The one ex I'm still good friends with also had his birthday, as did my grammy and ultra awesome cousin. And don't even get me started on all of the Facebook birthday reminders that kept popping up. Yeeeesh.

Before you get mad at me for making too much money in a recession, my paycheck wasn't what paid for most of this stuff. It was the tax refund. The huge tax refund. That's what paying for school out of pocket will get you.