I got my work permit back from INZ today!! hurrah! They sent it back sans any of the envelopes I submitted it in, so i had to go to the warehouse and buy one. I also made more copies of it, just in case.
envelope: $2
stamps: $10
copy card: $5
I also bought a bagel with eggs, bacon, and cheese to celebrate. $4.90
My favorite soda is Dr Pepper, and they don't bottle it here anymore, but ever since i read that some convenience stores import it from australia, I've been on the lookout for it. I serendipitously found it in two stores today! I'll limit myself to one can a week. $2
and, I paid NZ $200 for the permit.
expensive day! but well worth it.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Birthday, Part II
Thanks for all the birthday wishes, everyone!! I appreciate it! Once BF got home from work, all I wanted to do was get thai takeout and cuddle on the couch (such as it is) to recover from a trying day. Since the water was out at all the nearby thai places, we ended up going out to dinner at a very nice thai place...it was sooo yummy. BF was extra nice to me all day, so that snapped me out of my funk pretty quickly. it's amazing how fast he can make me feel better about something crummy. or vice versa, for that matter.
today was a much better day, because it's my ACTUAL birthday back in the States, where all of my friends are. Everyone I love (well, almost), plus some, wrote to me to say happy birfday. it's nice to be remembered.
today was a much better day, because it's my ACTUAL birthday back in the States, where all of my friends are. Everyone I love (well, almost), plus some, wrote to me to say happy birfday. it's nice to be remembered.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
30 is the New 20
Spending on my birthday: $10.68 for water and cheese.
I needed water because the taps were cut off early this morning for some construction they are doing outside of my dorm. It's been off ALL DAY and water is all I drink these days. I can't believe a tiny bottle of water is $3.
the courier never came with my application today. I'm bummed.
i talked to my dad and he revealed he was diagnosed, on top of all his other problems, with diabetes recently. He is starting to lose his eyesight.
Sigh. so far it's not been a very happy birthday. i hold hope for this evening!
I needed water because the taps were cut off early this morning for some construction they are doing outside of my dorm. It's been off ALL DAY and water is all I drink these days. I can't believe a tiny bottle of water is $3.
the courier never came with my application today. I'm bummed.
i talked to my dad and he revealed he was diagnosed, on top of all his other problems, with diabetes recently. He is starting to lose his eyesight.
Sigh. so far it's not been a very happy birthday. i hold hope for this evening!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Spending 7/21/08
Laundry, $3/load, two loads washed, dryer, $6
total: $12 to wash two loads of laundry! the washer loads are about...oh, 8 pieces of clothing each, otherwise the washer spin cycle doesn't work and the clothes come out sopping wet. luckily, the dryers are much higher capacity, so I've been combining two washer loads into 1 dryer load. Not that it matters, financially speaking...it comes out as a wash.
I've been doing about 4 loads of laundry each week...i think my new place best have a washer/dryer to offset these crazy costs. At $24/week, that's about $100/month...just in laundry! I think getting a place with w/d that's $100 more in rent a month, and only the added electricity costs of a washer/dryer, will be more than worth it in time and cost and schlepping up and down the stairs with the laundry basket. Add it to the list!
(so far, folks, my new apartment needs:
1) full sized (or just larger sized, they don't have American sized fridges here) fridge/freezer.
2) washer/dryer
3) about $700-$750/mo for each of us in rent
4) 2 bedrooms
5) furnished)
Other costs:
$20 to top up my mobile pre-paid account. I've spent AT LEAST $60 this month in prepaid fees. I need to get off of my duff and sign up for that telestial call-back service. I just need to fax in a form...I think these fees will decrease drastically once i get my calls for 4 to 5 cents a minute.
$14 groceries (snacks, cream cheese, batteries)
total: $12 to wash two loads of laundry! the washer loads are about...oh, 8 pieces of clothing each, otherwise the washer spin cycle doesn't work and the clothes come out sopping wet. luckily, the dryers are much higher capacity, so I've been combining two washer loads into 1 dryer load. Not that it matters, financially speaking...it comes out as a wash.
I've been doing about 4 loads of laundry each week...i think my new place best have a washer/dryer to offset these crazy costs. At $24/week, that's about $100/month...just in laundry! I think getting a place with w/d that's $100 more in rent a month, and only the added electricity costs of a washer/dryer, will be more than worth it in time and cost and schlepping up and down the stairs with the laundry basket. Add it to the list!
(so far, folks, my new apartment needs:
1) full sized (or just larger sized, they don't have American sized fridges here) fridge/freezer.
2) washer/dryer
3) about $700-$750/mo for each of us in rent
4) 2 bedrooms
5) furnished)
Other costs:
$20 to top up my mobile pre-paid account. I've spent AT LEAST $60 this month in prepaid fees. I need to get off of my duff and sign up for that telestial call-back service. I just need to fax in a form...I think these fees will decrease drastically once i get my calls for 4 to 5 cents a minute.
$14 groceries (snacks, cream cheese, batteries)
Immigration Status Updated
...but not the way that I want.
I got an email about my updated status, and excitedly went to the immigration webpage. My mood quickly deflated when I saw that they had completely removed any trace of my work permit application. The only thing left on the page was my visitor's visa, expiring October 7. What did this mean?? Was I rejected?
I called the INZ, and they put me on hold for $7, i mean, about 7 minutes (mobile phone calls are 89 cents a minute!!). Of course, the hold up is financial--when I checked the fees to apply, I only checked the visa fees--these are free for US citizens. However, work PERMITS applied for FROM NZ ONLY are $280 NZD. Blah. I neglected to pay the fees with my application...because I stupidly thought that visas and permits were roughly the same thing. Why would one cost $$ and not the other?
Since i'm applying for both a permit and a visa (one lets me work in the country, one lets me stay in the country to work, and leave and come back if I want), I have to pay the fee. They are sending my app back by courier to my little apartment tomorrow. Of course, INZ closes early on Tuesdays, so I will have to bust my butt to put my application in on time, with fees paid. I'm hoping to do it by credit card, but if not, i need to find a money order place. or get cash.
This means I'm applying for my permit/visa on my birthday. tomorrow. and I'll be 30. I hope it's a good day...
I got an email about my updated status, and excitedly went to the immigration webpage. My mood quickly deflated when I saw that they had completely removed any trace of my work permit application. The only thing left on the page was my visitor's visa, expiring October 7. What did this mean?? Was I rejected?
I called the INZ, and they put me on hold for $7, i mean, about 7 minutes (mobile phone calls are 89 cents a minute!!). Of course, the hold up is financial--when I checked the fees to apply, I only checked the visa fees--these are free for US citizens. However, work PERMITS applied for FROM NZ ONLY are $280 NZD. Blah. I neglected to pay the fees with my application...because I stupidly thought that visas and permits were roughly the same thing. Why would one cost $$ and not the other?
Since i'm applying for both a permit and a visa (one lets me work in the country, one lets me stay in the country to work, and leave and come back if I want), I have to pay the fee. They are sending my app back by courier to my little apartment tomorrow. Of course, INZ closes early on Tuesdays, so I will have to bust my butt to put my application in on time, with fees paid. I'm hoping to do it by credit card, but if not, i need to find a money order place. or get cash.
This means I'm applying for my permit/visa on my birthday. tomorrow. and I'll be 30. I hope it's a good day...
Sunday Spending
After deciding to track my spending, I put myself on a budget and told BF about it. It's not a good thing 'cause now I'm restricted in the events that I can take part in...mainly, little to no eating out or doing touristy things until I get a job. It's sad, really, because once i get a job, when will i have the time to DO all the touristy things? Life is a Catch-22. time, money, money, time. one of 'em is always the limiting factor. for just about everything.
so, grand total of spending for today is $0. BF and I took a walk to the grocery store and he bought the groceries (it was kind of his turn since i've been buying them the past two weeks). i appreciated the gesture.
speaking of BF, we had kind of a...confrontation today. It was not fun. I DO NOT like being at the mercy of someone else's whims--I can't stay in the country without him, and so this puts undue pressure on our relationship. so any irritable words from him hit 100x as hard as they normally do.
As soon as I can, i'm applying for permanent residency that is NOT contingent upon our relationship. I'd feel safer that way.
so, grand total of spending for today is $0. BF and I took a walk to the grocery store and he bought the groceries (it was kind of his turn since i've been buying them the past two weeks). i appreciated the gesture.
speaking of BF, we had kind of a...confrontation today. It was not fun. I DO NOT like being at the mercy of someone else's whims--I can't stay in the country without him, and so this puts undue pressure on our relationship. so any irritable words from him hit 100x as hard as they normally do.
As soon as I can, i'm applying for permanent residency that is NOT contingent upon our relationship. I'd feel safer that way.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Just Out of Control
I don't follow a budget anymore. When i want, i buy. Well, that's not true...but I'm not tracking my spending, and I KNOW I'm spending more than I should on things like groceries and household items like toasters. I'm a little scared about what I'm going to realize about my spending when I start tenaciously tracking every penny again.
Last night BF and I went to the Warehouse (the nz wanna be walmart--it's pretty shoddy if you ask me) in Auckland to get some shelves that were on sale. 2 for $25 isn't bad...but when you buy FOUR of them, it gets a little pricey. Since we were planning on taking a cab back to the apartment (those shelves, even though made of particleboard, were pretty heavy to walk with 20 min back to the apt), we also stocked up on some larger items like toasters and a hair clipper kit and a few lamps. The cab back was $10 'cause of rush hour traffic. Then, we ordered pizza because BF just doesn't believe we can make edible meals from our two stove burners and dorm fridge. I think we absolutely can, and will be fine living this way for a few months...but he has some mental block against cooking here and wants to eat out every night. I usually have leftovers from the previous few nights of eating out, so he gets a little annoyed with me when I say I have leftovers and don't want to eat out anymore for the week. (we can't share leftovers, because i'm a meat-eater, and usually have beef or chicken incorporated in my dinners and he's a vegetarian).
Today I visited the local farmer's market, and was not impressed with the selection (although i WAS impressed with the quality of the produce--mostly pesticide spray free produce, lots of organic, and eggs from free range chickens ["chucks"] and meat.) maybe because it's winter...hopefully summer will bring lots more farmers in with their produce. I think there were only about 10 vendors when I visited at noon (they are open 8:30 til 12:30), so also maybe some of the vendors went home early.
I'm reading a book called animal, vegetable, miracle, about this family who only ate what their farm and local neighbors produced for a year. it's pretty interesting...even the WHOLE chapter on asparagus. :)
BF is inexplicably into eating beets recently, so I asked when they were in season--not til January (summer here).
Then BF and I went to a record store to pick up tickets for a band I really love. the tix are $47 each! but the tix are my birthday present from BF. i turn 30 next week...yuckiness.
We have been getting into battlestar galactica recently--downloading it from the internet. We looked at the 3 season dvd's, but they were $125 NZD.
So, anyway, the point of the story is, I have to start getting my budget under control. I guess I just feel like I don't know the point of tracking my pennies when I don't have any income...it's all stuff I can't afford right now, so why bother? But that is a horrible way to think of it. I can still have caps or goals for my spending even though i'm unemployed...in fact, i SHOULD. So I guess, starting today, i'm taking an inventory of my spending.
Last night BF and I went to the Warehouse (the nz wanna be walmart--it's pretty shoddy if you ask me) in Auckland to get some shelves that were on sale. 2 for $25 isn't bad...but when you buy FOUR of them, it gets a little pricey. Since we were planning on taking a cab back to the apartment (those shelves, even though made of particleboard, were pretty heavy to walk with 20 min back to the apt), we also stocked up on some larger items like toasters and a hair clipper kit and a few lamps. The cab back was $10 'cause of rush hour traffic. Then, we ordered pizza because BF just doesn't believe we can make edible meals from our two stove burners and dorm fridge. I think we absolutely can, and will be fine living this way for a few months...but he has some mental block against cooking here and wants to eat out every night. I usually have leftovers from the previous few nights of eating out, so he gets a little annoyed with me when I say I have leftovers and don't want to eat out anymore for the week. (we can't share leftovers, because i'm a meat-eater, and usually have beef or chicken incorporated in my dinners and he's a vegetarian).
Today I visited the local farmer's market, and was not impressed with the selection (although i WAS impressed with the quality of the produce--mostly pesticide spray free produce, lots of organic, and eggs from free range chickens ["chucks"] and meat.) maybe because it's winter...hopefully summer will bring lots more farmers in with their produce. I think there were only about 10 vendors when I visited at noon (they are open 8:30 til 12:30), so also maybe some of the vendors went home early.
I'm reading a book called animal, vegetable, miracle, about this family who only ate what their farm and local neighbors produced for a year. it's pretty interesting...even the WHOLE chapter on asparagus. :)
BF is inexplicably into eating beets recently, so I asked when they were in season--not til January (summer here).
Then BF and I went to a record store to pick up tickets for a band I really love. the tix are $47 each! but the tix are my birthday present from BF. i turn 30 next week...yuckiness.
We have been getting into battlestar galactica recently--downloading it from the internet. We looked at the 3 season dvd's, but they were $125 NZD.
So, anyway, the point of the story is, I have to start getting my budget under control. I guess I just feel like I don't know the point of tracking my pennies when I don't have any income...it's all stuff I can't afford right now, so why bother? But that is a horrible way to think of it. I can still have caps or goals for my spending even though i'm unemployed...in fact, i SHOULD. So I guess, starting today, i'm taking an inventory of my spending.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Retirement Funds on Hold
Kiwisaver: the 401(K) of the NZ world. I looked at the Kiwisaver website last night, and dangit, I'm not eligible for it since I'm not a NZ resident or citizen. It makes sense, since the government kicks in $1K and waives some management fees JUST for signing up. I understand why they wouldn't want to be giving that kind of money away to non-residents.
Even after I get my work permit, I won't be eligible for any of the awesome NZ benefits--their free healthcare system is only for people with work permits 24 months or longer. My work permit will be for 1 year, since it is based on BF's visa/permit, and his is only valid for one year.
This only further strengthens my motivation to get permanent residency here...I plan to apply as soon as I get a job and my work permit. (it can take a while, so I didn't want to chance it and apply for PR on a 3 month tourist visa. Better to have a year's worth of time to play with.)
So, that's where I'm at. For as long as I'm here and I'm not a resident, I won't be able to participate in a 401K. I can max out my Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA, but that's only $5K/year. And actually, I don't even know if I can contribute to any US IRAs if I'm not making U.S. money...does anyone know the answer to that?
For 2008, I have made over $5K, so I can contribute the max. But what about next year, when I'll only be earning NZ dollars? How does that work?
There are so many issues that I didn't even think of in my intensive research before moving here!
Tentatively, if I can contribute to an IRA next year, I think I'll go with maxing out the Traditional IRA, since I can save post-tax dollars myself and earn interest. I guess I will be skipping over my goal to max out my 401K and just save up for my house downpayment fund instead.
Goals for 2008:
1) Keep $9K as EF (SAVED and Done)
2) Replenish Mom Payback Fund to $5K ($2.5K to go)
3) Max out Roth IRA for 2008--in budget ($4,300 left)
4) Establish Travel Fund to travel back and forth from US twice--in budget ($5K/yr)
5) Other Savings Goals (Long-term):
House Downpayment Fund Goal for 2008: $4K
Ultimate Goal: $30K
Max out IRA each year: $5K+/yr
Wedding/Europe Fund Goal: $10K
Even after I get my work permit, I won't be eligible for any of the awesome NZ benefits--their free healthcare system is only for people with work permits 24 months or longer. My work permit will be for 1 year, since it is based on BF's visa/permit, and his is only valid for one year.
This only further strengthens my motivation to get permanent residency here...I plan to apply as soon as I get a job and my work permit. (it can take a while, so I didn't want to chance it and apply for PR on a 3 month tourist visa. Better to have a year's worth of time to play with.)
So, that's where I'm at. For as long as I'm here and I'm not a resident, I won't be able to participate in a 401K. I can max out my Roth IRA or a Traditional IRA, but that's only $5K/year. And actually, I don't even know if I can contribute to any US IRAs if I'm not making U.S. money...does anyone know the answer to that?
For 2008, I have made over $5K, so I can contribute the max. But what about next year, when I'll only be earning NZ dollars? How does that work?
There are so many issues that I didn't even think of in my intensive research before moving here!
Tentatively, if I can contribute to an IRA next year, I think I'll go with maxing out the Traditional IRA, since I can save post-tax dollars myself and earn interest. I guess I will be skipping over my goal to max out my 401K and just save up for my house downpayment fund instead.
Goals for 2008:
1) Keep $9K as EF (SAVED and Done)
2) Replenish Mom Payback Fund to $5K ($2.5K to go)
3) Max out Roth IRA for 2008--in budget ($4,300 left)
4) Establish Travel Fund to travel back and forth from US twice--in budget ($5K/yr)
5) Other Savings Goals (Long-term):
House Downpayment Fund Goal for 2008: $4K
Ultimate Goal: $30K
Max out IRA each year: $5K+/yr
Wedding/Europe Fund Goal: $10K
Note To Self
Taxes are due to NZ in October.
it hadn't even occurred to me that NZ would be on a different yearly schedule as the U.S. That is soooo American-centric of me, expecting every other country to be on the same program.
[EDITED TO ADD: no, they are NOT due in october. their tax year runs from april 1 to march 31. taxes are due by july. Where the H did i get this erroneous info?! ah, well, i guess it's good that the october data made me check...]
it hadn't even occurred to me that NZ would be on a different yearly schedule as the U.S. That is soooo American-centric of me, expecting every other country to be on the same program.
[EDITED TO ADD: no, they are NOT due in october. their tax year runs from april 1 to march 31. taxes are due by july. Where the H did i get this erroneous info?! ah, well, i guess it's good that the october data made me check...]
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The Personal Finance Treadmill
Most PF advice-givers talk about reducing costs and waste by buying items that will last a long time--the cheapest cost-per-wear, if you will. They say to get a budget, stick to it, pay off your mortgage early (or not), max out your retirement, and adjust your budget when the little ones come along. They say to start saving when you're young. The younger the better! While time is still on your side! Make good financial habits. Don't get in debt. Save up for a house. Save up for this, and that. But if you are young (like me, ha ha...oh God, I feel an early mid-life crisis coming on), you are going to move around a bit. You are going to quit your hated job and find another. Your salary is going to increase or decrease as your passions wax and wane. You may go back to school. You're going to change roommates, dump boy/girlfriends, learn some hard lessons. You're going to do this many times. That is what life IS in your twenties and early thirties.
How do we young folk get ahead when we're still figuring things out? For example, I've established lives in four different places in the past decade--at college, in Hawaii for grad school, in SoCal, and now in New Zealand. I've had to buy all new things each time; that's not good for saving money in any business. So, then, are we not to move around like that? Not explore our passions, not follow where life may lead us?
My greatest adversary in my financial life is CHANGE. If I had kept on my life treadmill in SoCal--that is, working the same exact job for years on end, increasing my vacation time and salary, moving up in the company, my financial life would have been spectacular! In the next year, I would have gotten a huge raise and promotion after taking my professional geologists' exam. I would have hit my 'target salary' shortly after that, I'm sure of it. (My 'target salary' right now is about $75K...it would allow me to max out my roth and 401K, and save at least $1K/mo while keeping the same lifestyle I was living when I calculated it.)
As a finance-obsessed, Type A, introverted person, it would have been so easy to just keep on that treadmill. It is very tempting to have those major goals fulfilled! But in the end, I couldn't. And I shouldn't have. That's no way to live.
So I have no solutions for this dilemma. Dave Ramsey doesn't even consider the younger folk in his plan--he assumes that his followers have already figured out stable, fulfilling careers, have saved up for a down payment for a house, have had a couple of kids, and are mature and ready to focus on their financial lives. Maybe we aren't meant to focus so finely on our financial lives when we are young, moving around, and not ready for the responsibility of a house or kids.
What do you think? How do the younger people reading this balance the need for financial stability with 'finding' themselves? Do you not take certain chances or risks in your life because you want to save money or avoid debt? How did the older, more established of you deal with it when you were younger?
How do we young folk get ahead when we're still figuring things out? For example, I've established lives in four different places in the past decade--at college, in Hawaii for grad school, in SoCal, and now in New Zealand. I've had to buy all new things each time; that's not good for saving money in any business. So, then, are we not to move around like that? Not explore our passions, not follow where life may lead us?
My greatest adversary in my financial life is CHANGE. If I had kept on my life treadmill in SoCal--that is, working the same exact job for years on end, increasing my vacation time and salary, moving up in the company, my financial life would have been spectacular! In the next year, I would have gotten a huge raise and promotion after taking my professional geologists' exam. I would have hit my 'target salary' shortly after that, I'm sure of it. (My 'target salary' right now is about $75K...it would allow me to max out my roth and 401K, and save at least $1K/mo while keeping the same lifestyle I was living when I calculated it.)
As a finance-obsessed, Type A, introverted person, it would have been so easy to just keep on that treadmill. It is very tempting to have those major goals fulfilled! But in the end, I couldn't. And I shouldn't have. That's no way to live.
So I have no solutions for this dilemma. Dave Ramsey doesn't even consider the younger folk in his plan--he assumes that his followers have already figured out stable, fulfilling careers, have saved up for a down payment for a house, have had a couple of kids, and are mature and ready to focus on their financial lives. Maybe we aren't meant to focus so finely on our financial lives when we are young, moving around, and not ready for the responsibility of a house or kids.
What do you think? How do the younger people reading this balance the need for financial stability with 'finding' themselves? Do you not take certain chances or risks in your life because you want to save money or avoid debt? How did the older, more established of you deal with it when you were younger?
How I Plan to Recover from my Job Embarrassment
So, I've established that I'm embarrassed about my showing last week at my pseudo-interview. I was just too casual, too lax about it. I NEED a job. This isn't a joke, and it's nothing to take lightly. Income = a way to stay in the country and eat food and have shelter. That's as simple and as basic as it gets.
The interviewer said in her email that she was going to advertise the research position for a short time--one week--and the ad went out yesterday. So, I should know by next Wed. or not if I have the job.
To hedge my risk, I need to take action today. I've applied for one job at GNS this week, and today I'll apply for another. Then, I will apply and submit my resume to all the consulting jobs I can find, whether I think I'm qualified or not, on the local online job board, Seek. My goal is to apply for 15 jobs this week. I've applied to 2 so far.
The rule of thumb has always been, if you don't have a job, your job is getting a job. Meaning, you 'work' 9-5 applying, calling, and shaping up your CV for employment. I need to start using that rule. My plan for today was to run around the harbor, find a NZ surge protector (do they make those, even??), post here, and buy milk. That's all I had on my docket, besides watching 10 second snippets of the finale of A Shot at Love 2, which I missed while traveling, and which I now watch for hours due to the slow downloading feature of my new internet connection. Unfortunately, I'm not going to get paid to watch Tila Tequila give people keys for hours on end.
The interviewer said in her email that she was going to advertise the research position for a short time--one week--and the ad went out yesterday. So, I should know by next Wed. or not if I have the job.
To hedge my risk, I need to take action today. I've applied for one job at GNS this week, and today I'll apply for another. Then, I will apply and submit my resume to all the consulting jobs I can find, whether I think I'm qualified or not, on the local online job board, Seek. My goal is to apply for 15 jobs this week. I've applied to 2 so far.
The rule of thumb has always been, if you don't have a job, your job is getting a job. Meaning, you 'work' 9-5 applying, calling, and shaping up your CV for employment. I need to start using that rule. My plan for today was to run around the harbor, find a NZ surge protector (do they make those, even??), post here, and buy milk. That's all I had on my docket, besides watching 10 second snippets of the finale of A Shot at Love 2, which I missed while traveling, and which I now watch for hours due to the slow downloading feature of my new internet connection. Unfortunately, I'm not going to get paid to watch Tila Tequila give people keys for hours on end.
Potential Salary Update
OMG, I'm so embarrassed. I now want the research-receptionist job pretty badly. The salary range is 45-50K, and I'd get to see some cool stuff and work with a nice boss. Money really does change everything for me.
I treated the pseudo-interview last Friday more like a meet and greet with the lady--since BF's boss wanted me to meet with her and I wanted to meet her because she knows so many of the same people that I do. It just was a very casual, let's talk about whatever comes up meeting--I didn't think it was an actual interview! The position didn't even get advertised until today. I didn't dress as sharply as I could have, and I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. Oh, man, I wore my sneakers. What was I thinking??
I'm kicking myself for throwing out my boring, black loafer 'work' shoes. The only other shoes I had were uncomfortable 'going out' shoes--for fancy dinners and the like.
I've already worked out a budget on that salary, and I would be very, very happy with that amount. I could max out my Roth IRA AND save lots o moolah (well, I'd have to figure out a way to convert NZ $$ to US $$ cheaply, or just use my US savings accounts and save up NZ dollars til the exchange rate became more favorable...as a plus, interest rates in NZ are around 8.3% (one 12-month CD is at 12%!!!!). I guess in US dollars, the salary isn't very impressive, but I can live on that, and save money--that would make me happy. I've been in non-saving mode for so long--while I was taking classes--that I feel just bloated and spendy and terrible about my recent financial habits. It's time to get back on the wagon.
I treated the pseudo-interview last Friday more like a meet and greet with the lady--since BF's boss wanted me to meet with her and I wanted to meet her because she knows so many of the same people that I do. It just was a very casual, let's talk about whatever comes up meeting--I didn't think it was an actual interview! The position didn't even get advertised until today. I didn't dress as sharply as I could have, and I was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. Oh, man, I wore my sneakers. What was I thinking??
I'm kicking myself for throwing out my boring, black loafer 'work' shoes. The only other shoes I had were uncomfortable 'going out' shoes--for fancy dinners and the like.
I've already worked out a budget on that salary, and I would be very, very happy with that amount. I could max out my Roth IRA AND save lots o moolah (well, I'd have to figure out a way to convert NZ $$ to US $$ cheaply, or just use my US savings accounts and save up NZ dollars til the exchange rate became more favorable...as a plus, interest rates in NZ are around 8.3% (one 12-month CD is at 12%!!!!). I guess in US dollars, the salary isn't very impressive, but I can live on that, and save money--that would make me happy. I've been in non-saving mode for so long--while I was taking classes--that I feel just bloated and spendy and terrible about my recent financial habits. It's time to get back on the wagon.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
It's a mobile, mobile world
Well, I've been in NZ more than a week now. I haven't ventured very far or talked to many people, other than other Americans. Whereever I go, I'm acutely aware of accents, and naturally seek out American ones as a comfort to my ear. I actually followed a group of 3 Americans the other day, because it was so nice to hear "my native tongue." Sigh--I am very excited about this move, but change doesn't sit well on me, and I take a long time to adjust to new surroundings.
BF and I had dinner with an American brother and sister the other night--they were fabulous to talk to and to get to know. They are my BF's boss's son and daughter, and they are about 7 and 10 years younger than me, respectively. Fortunately they are mature enough to talk politics and other wonderful American topics. I couldn't imagine being 18-19 yrs old and able to speak so eloquently at a table full of near-strangers that were much older than me, but apparently, people like that do exist. ...Shoot, at almost 30 (i have a week to go, I'm milking it for all it's worth!), I can barely carry a conversation like she does. Maybe I should take a cue from Revanche and check out Toastmasters.
Skype is working out quite well so far--free PC-to-PC calls! I may upgrade to get a local US number so my family can call me on the computer from their cell phones and landlines...and I also may get a plan so I can call them on their landlines and cell phones. The only constant there is that I have to be on my computer and have an internet connection to talk to them, and it's 8 hours to the East Coast of the US right now--not exactly convenient. So, when I get a 9-5 job, I won't be able to be available before people go to bed on the EC. That's a bummer. I'll wait on the subscription buying til I see how much I'd actually use it.
Speaking of phones and spending, I originally signed up for $20 worth of credit with vodafone. They gave me $5 for free, and then I got another $10 when I registered with their website. I only had $3 left when I checked it yesterday...that means I used $35 worth of credit in one week!! How did that happen? This is mostly a wait-and-see game, this New Zealand thing, so far. How much do I spend on ___, and is it worth it to change it to something else? Well, I think $35 in one week was definitely worth some changes. I signed up for a bunch of add-ons, such as a feature where if I use $5 in one week, I get free texts on the weekend, and if I spend $10 during the week, I get free weekend calls and texts. That, luckily, was free. However, I also signed up my BF to be my 'Best Mate'--unlimited texts and calls--for $6 a month. With my family calling from the US on Skype, and BF covered for $6/mo, I don't see much need to sign up for a contract plan. I effing HATE contracts! It's definitely a last resort here in NZ--I'm trying to hold off.
Here's a good "did you know?": Receiving texts in NZ are free...and so are incoming calls on mobile phones.
I just found this website about callback service for international phone calls. Since incoming calls are free, you call a computer in the US, hang up, and the computer calls you back and you enter in the number you want to dial. They charge you a rate based on your usage, in my case, about 4 cents a minute from NZ to the US. This will reduce my talk rate from my mobile to my family's phone to about 4 cents a minute, compared to 89 cents a minute currently. Hurrah! Also this website may help (thanks Mike Thompson!).
I feel like I'm finally figuring things out...
Thanks to Tasha, I signed up at HooHaa, where they pay you 10 cents to receive an advertising text message. The money you accrue can be used toward prepaid SIM cards (like I have), and I've already received one today! You can receive up to 4 messages a day. I signed up as interested in everything they had to offer--so let it rain free incoming text messages, is all I have to say!
BF and I had dinner with an American brother and sister the other night--they were fabulous to talk to and to get to know. They are my BF's boss's son and daughter, and they are about 7 and 10 years younger than me, respectively. Fortunately they are mature enough to talk politics and other wonderful American topics. I couldn't imagine being 18-19 yrs old and able to speak so eloquently at a table full of near-strangers that were much older than me, but apparently, people like that do exist. ...Shoot, at almost 30 (i have a week to go, I'm milking it for all it's worth!), I can barely carry a conversation like she does. Maybe I should take a cue from Revanche and check out Toastmasters.
Skype is working out quite well so far--free PC-to-PC calls! I may upgrade to get a local US number so my family can call me on the computer from their cell phones and landlines...and I also may get a plan so I can call them on their landlines and cell phones. The only constant there is that I have to be on my computer and have an internet connection to talk to them, and it's 8 hours to the East Coast of the US right now--not exactly convenient. So, when I get a 9-5 job, I won't be able to be available before people go to bed on the EC. That's a bummer. I'll wait on the subscription buying til I see how much I'd actually use it.
Speaking of phones and spending, I originally signed up for $20 worth of credit with vodafone. They gave me $5 for free, and then I got another $10 when I registered with their website. I only had $3 left when I checked it yesterday...that means I used $35 worth of credit in one week!! How did that happen? This is mostly a wait-and-see game, this New Zealand thing, so far. How much do I spend on ___, and is it worth it to change it to something else? Well, I think $35 in one week was definitely worth some changes. I signed up for a bunch of add-ons, such as a feature where if I use $5 in one week, I get free texts on the weekend, and if I spend $10 during the week, I get free weekend calls and texts. That, luckily, was free. However, I also signed up my BF to be my 'Best Mate'--unlimited texts and calls--for $6 a month. With my family calling from the US on Skype, and BF covered for $6/mo, I don't see much need to sign up for a contract plan. I effing HATE contracts! It's definitely a last resort here in NZ--I'm trying to hold off.
Here's a good "did you know?": Receiving texts in NZ are free...and so are incoming calls on mobile phones.
I just found this website about callback service for international phone calls. Since incoming calls are free, you call a computer in the US, hang up, and the computer calls you back and you enter in the number you want to dial. They charge you a rate based on your usage, in my case, about 4 cents a minute from NZ to the US. This will reduce my talk rate from my mobile to my family's phone to about 4 cents a minute, compared to 89 cents a minute currently. Hurrah! Also this website may help (thanks Mike Thompson!).
I feel like I'm finally figuring things out...
Thanks to Tasha, I signed up at HooHaa, where they pay you 10 cents to receive an advertising text message. The money you accrue can be used toward prepaid SIM cards (like I have), and I've already received one today! You can receive up to 4 messages a day. I signed up as interested in everything they had to offer--so let it rain free incoming text messages, is all I have to say!
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