April 2009 Budget BlowOut

Ladies and genteelmen, as we can see here, I am AWESOME. Not only did I spend less than one paycheck, but I'm on target in every category except for one!

Rent: $840, budgeted $912.50. Rent averages out to $912.50/mo. This month, I happened to only have to pay for one fortnight ($840). Obviously, I'm saving the rest of the $$ for when I have to pay for TWO fortnights in one month (kind of like the reverse of a 3-paycheck month!).

Groceries: $284, budget $400. Last month I was waaaay overbudget at $487. This month, I'm slightly higher than I would like, but I'm still counting it as a success. I'm getting in a good groove of cooking once and eating the same thing for dinner all week. I've also cut back on buying snacks every day--I only went about twice a week (9 times) this month. I spent about $80 in random convenience store stops, and the rest is groceries. This category is a work in progress, for sure. Baby steps. Next month, I'll be generous to myself and set my goal at <$350 ($50 less than April 09 budget). I will also try to cut back on the snack mission to once a week.

Electricity: $95, budget $115. This went up from $88 last month. As all my friends in NZ were out of town this month, I was at home a LOT, using the lights, fans, etc. I also started using my mini heater about once a week this month. Use is surely going to go up as it gets colder and colder...next month it will hopefully be less than $115 (no change to April 09 budget).

Eating out: $85, budget $160. Last month I spent $115. Again, there were no friends to go out with this month, so I ate at home or got takeout only. I'm expecting people to start arriving back to NZ in May, so I'll try to keep this under $125 ($35 less than April 09 budget).

Charity: $50, budget $50. Last month I spent $0 on charity. :( This month I re-used my Kiva loan that had recently been fully repaid, and donated it again. I also donated $50 to UNICEF NZ. I expect to donate the same amount in May.

Cell phone: $92, budgeted $30. The only category I'm over budget in. Last month I spent $20 and was underbudget. I had some traumas in April, and my Skype and cell phone accounts were the only ways for me to talk to people that care about me. Worth every penny! I also still have 800 minutes on my V8 calling card (for calling the US from my mobile), $15 in my vodafone account, and $20 in my skype account. Next month I will be more vigilant about calling people back on my V8 calling card (3.9 NZ cents a minute) vs having my calls forwarded through Skype (30 US cents a minute)! Keeping the budget at $30 next month. Hopefully those stockpiled accounts last me a while.

Medical: $0, budgeted $100. Last month I spent $105. I went to the eye doctor and dentist last month. I don't plan on seeing a doctor in May (unless I start feeling worse from the hypothyroid and get tested again, but that should be free for the checkup and the blood tests). I will keep this at $100 for emergencies in May. Or in case I need travel insurance for an Australia trip (crossing fingers...).

Misc: $21.19, budgeted $120. I only bought vitamins ($17), toilet paper ($3.29), and had to pay a library fee of $1 for recalling a book (Bitter is the New Black). Pretty awesome! I'll keep the budget at $120 for May, just in case something comes up!

Allowance: $0, budgeted $300. In the absence of friends, I don't really spend money on fun activities...I was content just to take walks and go running (free), read books from the library (free), and hang out on my laptop (internet paid by XBF). My dance classes were paid for in March, and I continued to enjoy them through April (I think I have three more...). Consequently, this category got a big fat zebra-striped ZERO.

Saving: $1523.09, budgeted $855. This category is reported incorrectly in the spreadsheet above, where I report saving as zero to show that my total expenses added up to less than one of my paychecks! This is the great triumph! My checks were $1523.08 and $1523.09, or a total of $3046.17, in April.

So, as a reward for spending less than one paycheck, I'm taking the difference between one of my checks and my total expenses for April ($56) and using that as my allowance.

*Disclaimer: This month, I also bought a ticket to the US to go home this summer ($1272.37 USD, or $2121 NZD). That, as well as the Australia trip (if it happens) will come out of my travel fund.*

Jumping the Gun...

Even though the month of April isn't over yet, I'm going to tempt fate and schedule a payment to put half of my monthly salary in my savings account ($1,523.09). I get paid this Friday, so I should be able to make it til then, no problem.

I can't believe I reached my goal of living off of half of my salary! Actually, with 2 days left in the month, I have over $100 leftover from that goal. I'm pretty happy with that. Half of that is budgeted for a charity I have yet to decide on, and I will take the rest ($56) as my allowance. I think that is a good idea--making my allowance whatever I have leftover from half of my salary. It is pretty guilt-free, and it will encourage me to reduce expenses even further.

I didn't include the plane ticket to VA that I bought this month in that calculation, though. It costs $2200 NZD, if the exchange rate holds. Believe it or not, this is a GOOD price. Not the best out there (i'm still pining for that $1128 USD/$1880 NZD ticket that I saw about a month ago...), but I am still satisfied. Now just to clear my vacation time!

May is a 3-paycheck-month for me, so the extra paycheck will go straight towards the cost of the plane ticket. It won't totally cover the cost of the ticket, but if I can again live off of half of my salary, it shouldn't be a problem.

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Total April spending so far: $1,416.89
Total left to spend/save: $1,629.28

Expected to save: $1523.09

Yikes, Grocery Monster Attack!

You guys, I was attacked by a maniac holding my debit card in the grocery store this week.

I just can't help myself in there. I'm such a bad cook that i think i need EVERYTHING. I go in with a list, and come out getting all of it and more. i am hoping that as i get more skilled in the kitchen, and start knowing what i like and don't like in food that I cook, and the bill will go down.

I honestly had really good intentions. I needed a few things for the Mexican BO-nanza! Culinary Extraordinaire I had planned for this week's dinners--guacamole, salsa, peppers, tomatoes, beans...but somehow i got all caught up in the excitement and bought stuff that I already had in my cabinets, and things that i don't normally ingest. things like...tomato soup, of which i now have 3 cans, and cottage cheese, pita bread, and hummus, which i never ever eat normally. It seemed like such a great idea when I passed by them in the store--and I wasn't even hungry when i went! I think the cold weather that we've been having affected my brain, so I started craving peanut butter and grilled cheese/tomato soup--not together, of course. it feels like it's already winter! and my alleged hypothyroid stuff is kind of bugging me again.

eh, well, all the rambling in the world won't delay telling you how much i spent this week. i didn't even buy lunch or breakfast things...ick. so, here goes...

$50 groceries--Asian market
$46 groceries--New World today

total spent in april so far: $1285.09*
total left to spend/save in april: $1761.08*

*doesn't include the plane ticket I bought to the US this summer, post more on that later!

On the bright side, i made 6 burrito-fajita tacos (froze 5 for this week), and they are DELISH! I browned the tortilla, filled it with refried beans (canned old el paso), rice (uncle bens veggie pilaf), sour cream, guacamole, and lettuce. i also cooked some chicken breast pieces, added onion, tomato, garlic, dashes of chili pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper, and red and yellow pepper strips to the mix. And then I added all of that to the tortilla with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese. woo-ee, yummy!! I rolled the extras up in foil and put them in a freezer-safe plastic baggie. viola, dinner for a week!

I'm a Twit

That can't be right...

Anyway, I joined twitter, finally, and my name is sensetodollars on there. i've also posted a twitter widget on the sidebar of this blog.

I really don't know what i'm doing, and i can't tweet from my phone, so...don't expect too much from me!

No Spending is Good Spending

I'm proud of myself! i haven't bought any stupid little thing in a few days. this bodes well for my Australia trip (if it happens).

I'm loving having my grocery bill so low this month...$170 so far, and there's only a week to go! part of it is because of emotional trauma (er, not eating), and because last week, i went to the cheap Asian grocery, bought veggies, and made a pasta casserole that fed me dinner every night this week. I froze three portions of it, too. I was thinking about some sort of bean/pepper/chicken/cheese fajita type of meal for next week. i have some leftover sour cream, a pepper, rice, 1/2 onion, some cheese, and tortillas stashed. i'd just need to buy some beans. Any other ideas? what else could i add to a mexican/fajita-type meal, am i missing anything? man, I've only been out of SoCal for a year and I'm already forgetting...

This weekend i'll probably spend some $$ on smoothies, beans, some veggies, and go out for thai...LOVE thai.

i just read that i can freeze pesto in ice cube trays--i have a lot left over so I think i will do that for future meals.

On another note, i didn't buy my plane ticket home this summer last week when it was cheap(ish), and prices just jumped up 150 bucks (USD). Argh.

Australia?

Remember how I was jonesing to get outta Auckland? My previous choices were Hawaii, Tokyo or Shanghai, possibly a tropical island somewhere in the S. Pacific, or London. Kind of all over the place, and kind of desperate.

However, another option just opened up today--I may be taking a trip to Oz! A friend is going to Australia; her sister works for Qantas, and might be able to get us cheap flights from NZ. I'd be stoked if this actually happens! I don't know how long I could actually go; I'd have to look at my vacation time. Not only that, but I really want to go home for another month in the summer to see my family. I'll have to do some really fast talkin in order to swing that, AND this trip.

I was hoping to get somewhere warm, and with beaches. Brisbane is the most northern (warm?) city in australia that is also cheap, beachy, and quick to get to. Most people would go to Sydney--and I still want to do that. The trip destination will be controlled by my friend's schedule--she may be looking for work over there, and obviously, the major cities are where she should base herself. I won't say no to Sydney, but I'm pulling for Brisbane. I really want to pet a koala. Queensland (the 'state,' I guess you would call it, that Brisbane is in) is the only one that allows people to handle koalas--and even then, only for 30 minutes a day, and the koalas get every fourth day off.



oooh, i'm excited!

My savings this month is going straight to my travel fund...

I expect to spend less than $500 on my plane ticket, another $700 NZD on lodging and food? If I go for 9 days (Friday through Sunday), that's about $60 AUS per day...which should be do-able if we're staying in hostels. Why oh why does the conversion factor always work AGAINST me??

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spending:

chocolate! $4.50 groceries

April 2009 spending: $1,164.48

Left to spend/save: $1,881.69

Back to Work...

Today I'm looking forward to getting some work done! YEAH! My boss gets back into town today, so I need to start impressing her further with what I can do, and how capable I am. All I have left in NZ is my job.

Yesterday, I was still recovering from the Cheating Debacle (TM), so I didn't spend any money. Today I plan on buying some snacks (chocolate?).

I also have my pussycat dolls dance class starting up again today. They took a two-week long break. I looove dance class, so that is also something to look forward to today!

Off to make my lunch...

Spending

Yesterday was a beautiful day to be outside. I walked downtown and bought myself a breakfast sandwich and some other yummy treats ($13.80, eating out). I then tried to catch the bus to New World, but the bus driver just drove on by me! Even after waving at him frantically! There were seats available, too--I could see empty seats on the bus! I am going to lodge a complaint...

I walked to NW instead. I didn't end up even buying anything; by the time I got there, I didn't have time to run in before the bus left. So at least I got a free ride home out of it.

I then went to the asian market near my home instead ($37.84, groceries), and walked down the street in my neighborhood and browsed all the stores. I had read really good things about this one Thai restaurant that is about a half hour walk from my apartment, so I decided to walk down there.

The neighborhood that the thai place is in is SO CUTE! I mean, I love my neighborhood--it's edgy and a little gritty, and has real character, but this neighborhood was bright, clean, and fun. If it weren't so far from my workplace, I'd probably move there! All sorts of people--young people, families, tourists, artists, etc.--were out shopping at all the funky, cool shops. I had a blast just checking out each store, and dreaming about owning my own house one day, and decorating it with all the stuff.

The thai food was pretty cheap, for NZ, anyway--$11.60 (eating out) for curry. That's the lowest I've heard of here! If this place was closer to me, I'd probably go every other day (it's a really good thing it isn't closer, then, huh?!). I ended up buying some mozzarella ($7.95, groceries) at a specialty cheese shop in the neighborhood, too--I was planning on making a lasagne-type dish for dinner this week, and the asian market is sadly lacking on the dairy products (that is what happens when most of your population is lactose-intolerant...oh, how I pity them. a life with no cheese??).

But that's all I spent; I didn't buy anything at any of the shops, but I stopped in a cute t-shirt store on the way back. I've been wanting to buy a fun NZ shirt for a while. The shop had this t-shirt that I want in stock, but it was $59!! For a t-shirt!! that is crazy. I also know that I can get this t-shirt online for $29.95...what a rip-off for the tourists.

By the time I got home, I was really, really tired--i'd been lugging my groceries and my dinner around for over an hour.

I spent the rest of the evening watching tv online, reading, and doing a little bit of work. The thai food was pretty yummy, but not the best I've ever had. For the price, though--it was very, very good.

Today I'm still reeling from a recent shock, so I will probably just hang low. I feel awful again. Maybe I'll take a walk; try to concentrate enough to do some work; and call my parents. I may cook dinner (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Pasta-Casserole/Detail.aspx) if I feel up to it.


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Spending so far in April 2009: $1159.98
Left to spend/save: $1886.89

Categories:
RENT: 840/840
Food 161.79/400
Internet 0/0
Electricity 0/115
Eating Out 75/160
Charity 0/50
Cell phone: 62/30
Medical 0/100
Misc 21.19/120
Allowance 0/300
Saving 0/855
Total: 1159.98/3046.16

Ignorance WAS bliss...

Thrown for another loop by the XBF situation. There was MAJOR cheating going on, MONTHS before the breakup. Feel sick to my stomach. Need to regroup...and the things I want to do to get him back and work this out of my system? I won't do them, because I won't let myself be self-destructive or damage my self-image. Unlike SOME people...

I guess I do feel good that he turned out to be such an awful person. Just need to keep telling myself: He'll never be happy with what he has and how good he has it; he'll always F things up for himself; he'll always be moody and hurtful; I was always too good for him (and he knew it); I'm so much better off without him (I wish I really felt that way).

Dmmit, I was really just starting to get myself back together, too.

Relationships? They Suck. This calls for a smoothie. ;) Wish I had my girls to rally around me right now!

Saturday!

It's the weekend! Hurrah! Saturdays are the BEST. I never feel guilty about not getting something done on a Saturday.

Today, I'm getting back on the wagon. Last holiday weekend was a really difficult time for me. I was doing SO well before that setback. As Trent from The Simple Dollar recently posted, and I'm paraphrasing here, one must never give up. It is always worth getting back up and trying. That is a good reminder for me.

Before the setback, I was settling into a groove--one where I was readying my emotional, spiritual, physical, social, and financial health to twist together in a strong, sturdy vine. If one broke, the others would catch my fall.

I'm not sure I have that analogy correct, but it's a good mental image, right? A rope or vine with many different strands, all interwoven, making my life strong and solid.

Recently, my life has gone somewhat of an overhaul. The strands had come apart, each breaking individually. I would spend all my time repairing one, only to have another break right after. Eventually I just stopped trying to repair them; I was and am currently just barely hanging on. Some of those strands, I've neglected altogether in previous years--I've just ignored them, letting them fall by the wayside and decaying. It is baby steps, but I'm trying to pull those strands back into the fold, and nurture them into something of a semblance of a happy, healthy life.

I don't want to get too much into this, but my motivation is back on track and I'm ready to do this thang.

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Today, I'm looking forward to a yummy breakfast sandwich (eggs, bacon or sausage, cheese--yet again...I'm addicted!). I'm also looking forward to some grocery shopping, getting some thai takeout, and cooking a meal to last me (hopefully) the rest of the week. I may do a little clothes or blender shopping. I'm also excited about working a few hours, and preparing for next week's training sessions on equipment I've been dying to learn how to use for years. Have I mentioned that I love my job?

Yesterday: spent $7 (eating out) on a breakfast sandwich. I'm pretty sure it had all the calories/fat I needed for the day, because other than that thing, I only ate a banana and some oatmeal, and a few pieces of chocolate. I wasn't even hungry the rest of the day after that. (hey--I told you it was baby steps!)

Total spent in April 2009: $1063.79
Total left to spend/save in April 2009: $1982.37

Would You Ever Refuse Money?

Well-heeled's post caught my eye--she refers to another blog author who refuses to take unemployment benefits because she doesn't want a handout and doesn't need the money--she has savings and her husband's income to live off of. This post isn't about that controversy (people are getting pretty angry because she apparently sounds elitist); this post is about what memories and feelings that situation brought up for me.

When I was in college, in my fourth and final year, I was walking across the street with some groceries in hand. I had to park my car pretty far away and down a huge hill from my dorm, so I was really dragging and tired. It was early evening, still light out, but at the end of the workday for most people. Traffic was horrible. I had to cross a single right turn lane and then cross a major road to get to the stairs that would take me to my dorm. The guy in the car in the right turn lane was looking left in order to guage gaps in the traffic; I was looking at him before I walked into the crosswalk from his right. I thought we made eye contact, and I thought I saw him give me a little wave, so I started walking in front of his car.

The next thing I knew, I was watching the chrome bumper of his car inch forward towards me in slow-motion. I couldn't react; the car hit me just above my left knee. My groceries went flying, I went flying, I did a somersault over the guy's hood and one of my Birkenstocks flew all the way into the major highway that the guy was trying to merge into! I honestly don't remember much of the accident. It happened SO FAST!

As I picked myself off of the ground, I noticed that all of my canned groceries were rolling all over the road, my shoe was missing, and I was MORTIFIED. There were a few people on the other side of the road that I was trying to cross to, and I knew some of them! Everyone started shouting and running over to help me, and the guy in the car just looked at me, completely dumb-founded.

I wanted to be on my way; I had an exam and an essay due the next day and had a lot of work to do. I also had a semi-formal to attend the next evening, and wanted to get my dress/accessories together. However, the guy driving the car eventually got out and talked to me. He had a Scottish accent and was really, really cute--I think that just made my embarrassment worse. The cops came, got my statement, and filled out a police report--I still have it somewhere! The guy driving the car wouldn't hear of me not going to get checked out, so I let him drive me to the hospital. I made sure my friend and the cops knew who I was with...

I ended up waiting in the hospital ER for about 5 hours with the scottish guy. Even more embarrassingly, I ran into more people I knew in the waiting room. It was so mortifying to explain, over and over, that I was hit by a CAR. So, so lame. (To this day, my college friends do this HILARIOUS exaggerated rendition of me getting hit; in it, i'm eating mcdonald's french fries, and scream like a crazy person and chuck my shoe across the road in a frenzy as I fall down. To no avail, I keep explaining that I WASN'T EATING FRENCH FRIES. or screaming, for that matter...)

Eventually, the doctors checked me out and concluded that I'd be sore and bruised, but I was ok. The next day dawned, and I had humongous bruises on my left thigh, hip, shoulders, scrapes on my elbows (everywhere that I'd landed on during my tumble over the guy's hood and eventually to the ground). The guy couldn't have been going more than about 6 mph, but I was totally wrecked, could barely walk. I can't imagine what would have happened at a speed higher than that!

I got out of my exam by explaining what had happened.

Unfortunately, my semi-formal plans were messed up. My best friend and I had been taking swing dance classes, and in the classes, he threw me in the air, twisted me around on the floor, helped me do flips, etc--it was SO much fun. The semi-formal was where we planned on debuting our new dance skillz. Wasn't happening...I could barely walk. The bruises kept me from doing any hip bumps or whatever, too. We ended up just hanging out on the dance floor and drinking all night instead.

My bruises and my ego eventually healed, and I graduated and headed home for the summer break. About halfway through the summer, I received a phone call from the scottish guy's car insurance company. They asked me what I wanted in compensation for the accident. I told them that I just wanted my ER bills paid for. Flabbergasted, the insurance rep said, 'and what else? is there anything we can do?' I stumbled, not knowing what to say. I could ask for MORE??

I should have handed the phone over to my mom or dad to handle it, but I didn't.

The rep then said that they could offer me $500 to make up for the accident, and that I should take my friends out for dinner with it. I said ok to that.

However, I felt really guilty. After all, I didn't do anything to earn the money--up until this point, I earned about $6.50 an hour selling shoes or sunglasses, or working for my dad's plumbing business. So $500 in one phone call was A LOT to me (still is!).

I used the money to help fund my flight out to grad school later that summer.

Looking back, I wonder how much more I could have gotten from them? What if I demanded thousands of dollars? Would they have paid up? What was their limit?? If they offered me $500 and thought they were getting deal, I wonder how much more could I have gotten? Enough to pay off my student loans at the time (~$3000)?? Free car insurance for life? I feel bad just thinking that...it seems opportunistic.

After I got off the phone, I explained to my mom that I didn't want to punish the guy that hit me--he had been really nice to me, called me multiple times to check up on me (to my mortification), and stayed with me the whole time I was in the waiting room. he didn't mean to do it; I put myself in his position, and hoped that if I ever hit anyone by accident, they would be nice and not demand money from me, either. I also didn't want to be like one of those people that sued McDonald's for the hot coffee--I didn't want to get something for nothing. (DUDES, i'm not being paid by MickeyD's for this post, I SWEAR.)

My mom then explained how it REALLY worked--no doubt the guy's rates skyrocketed after the accident, no matter how little I took from the insurance co. That $500 was probably his deductible! At most, I probably got that insurance rep a good mark on their performance review, and slightly boosted the stockholder's earnings that quarter.

However, even though I'm certain that I could have gotten more money out of the company without further punishing the scottish guy, I'm glad I didn't. I really didn't feel that I deserved money for it--no major damage was done! I was fine! It was my own stupid fault for walking into the middle of the road!

I'm a huge proponent of personal responsibility. Part of that accident was my fault, and I own up to it, even though I was in a crosswalk and legally had right-of-way.

This whole situation is not to say that other people shouldn't feel like they should get money for an accident that happens to them--these are purely my feelings about what happened to me.

So, what say you--have you had a similar experience? Would you have asked for more $?

Friday!

Today is Friday! Today I'm looking foward to being done with the workweek (and all the people in the office), and watching the RR/RW Duel 2 (I am obsessed with the Diem and CT drama, let me tell ya), and the Office, if it is new this week!

I will hopefully have the office all to myself this weekend. I have decided that I will be going into work every day and volunteering to take on more tasks. This is my dream job, and if I don't get PR, I will have to leave it in August. I may as well focus on it as much as possible to get the most out of it! (and the best references, yes?)

Yesterday I did some stretches, took a long walk, bought a breakfast sandwich ($6.80 eating out), and picked up Bitter in Black. I didn't realize that recalling a book from the library cost $1, so I ended up paying the $1 fee (misc). I then caught the free bus to campus where I work, and stopped in the local shop to pick up vitamins ($16.90, misc). On the way into work, I bought milk for the office, as well as a few snacks for myself ($12.40, groceries). I then came home early to work from home, and went to bed really, really early.

Total April 2009 spending: $1,056.79
April 2009 left to spend/save: $1,989.37

Bitter Is The New Black

Today, I'm picking up Jen Lancaster's 'Bitter Is The New Black.' I recalled it at the public library (scanty selection of books there for a major city library, let me tell ya) and it's in!

(The author has a good blog, too--it's on my blogroll sidebar --------------->)

As well as getting some work done, doing some stretches, organizing one of my email inboxes, and eating a yummy bacon, egg, and cheese croissant this morning, that is on my to-do list today.

What are you looking forward to today?

The Opposite of Lifestyle Creep

We've all heard of lifestyle creep: you hear of something new and fabulous, HAVE to try it, and before you know it, it's the norm, and you're paying for bigger and better.

But what about the opposite of that? I know I, for one, am trying to try cheaper things to incorporate into my lifestyle. Yes, that's called 'cutting expenses,' but that's a very different way of looking at it. What about FB, for example, going chemical-free by washing her hair with apple cider vinegar instead of shampoo? It just so happens that vinegar is cheaper than shampoo, and also chemical-free, but it's a nice added benefit that her life actually got a lot simpler and less expensive. [Apologies for not linking to FB's site, her site shuts my home internet connection off every time I check her blog for unknown reasons--(It sounds like this is specific to MY internet connection, so don't be shy, go on over). it's ok, cause I check it at work! Her blog link is in my sidebar: click on 'Fabulously Broke in the City!']

It's interesting that lifestyle creep, and its opposite (whatever it is called), basically involves the same psychology: you try something new, something different than your normal routine, and it eventually becomes your way of life.

My example is that I no longer have a dryer. Boy, was that a tough idea to acclimate to! I loooove warm, fluffy clothes straight out of the dryer! But honestly, it hasn't been that horrible to get used to...the idea of it scared me and put me off more than the reality. I now go about my business without really thinking about a dryer (we'll see if this changes as the wet Auckland winter approaches!). All of a sudden, I've reduced my needs: I don't HAVE to have a dryer. That is liberating!

I couldn't think of a word to describe the opposite of creep--I'm a scientist, and as one, I know that systems get MORE chaotic, not more orderly, as time goes on. So when I think of 'creep' i think of an unstable slope that is slowly displaced by gravity. I don't like that analogy to lifestyle creep--because that implies that you can't reverse the effect, it's permanent and inevitable, and without shoring up that slope, it's doomed to fail someday. I don't think that's true--I think we can all try to fend it off, and make our slopes even more stable with time!

What have you done lately to combat lifestyle creep?

Spending

$5, groceries. powerade and bananas to help add electrolytes into my bloodstream...wish they had Brawndo! It's what plants crave... :)

$17 on skype phone recharge. I've been calling alot of friends lately...

Total spent in April 2009: $1012.89
Total left to spend/save in April 2009: $2033.27


Wow, I'm almost half way through the month and still have the majority of my income intact! There is a silver lining, after all.

Boy Talk

Can someone tell me how, "Please leave me alone." translates to, "Please call and text me multiple times a day."?

I'm really curious as to how that gets twisted around! I also love it 'cause then he tells me that I'm annoying him, chides me for never answering my phone, or questions why I haven't 'let go' yet. :) I love it, simply love it.

Vacation Time

I just found out that a friend of mine is going to Hawaii to visit next month. I need a vacation something horrible, and something to look forward to, so I may end up flying to HI to meet her! haven't bought the tix yet but they are about $950 right now (USD). Not sure if I'd end up staying in a hotel (prob not, with all the people I know there, but they are dwindling in numbers) or renting a car (probably yes).

That is a lot of money in NZD. However, I don't have friends here and vacationing alone just sounds...lonely. So I may jump at the chance to go if she gives me the heads up that she'd want some company.

I need something to look forward to...if this doesn't work out, I'm going to see if one of my other friends wants some company--he works for Apple and is always traveling to Shanghai/Tokyo/elsewhere. Tix to Shanghai and Tokyo would be about the same cost, and I could stay in his hotel room. I could be all 'Lost in Translation' while he is at work! (hopefully he'd have the weekend off, though) oooorrrr, maybe he could meet me in Tonga or Bali or somewhere in the middle? oooh, Tahiti...ahem, getting ahead of myself here.

Another back up plan is to go to London to visit one of my other really good friends there. He's in school, getting his post-JD, and apparently has loads of free time. I would looooove to see him. London is freakishly far away from NZ, though, so that would be my far-fetched plan.

I'm also planning my vacation home this summer. My best friend is moving closer to my parents, so I will get to see him! Also, I'm trying to get a 'girls weekend' together with a few of my very close friends from grad school. The three of them live about 5 hours away from each other, and I think a beach house vacation would be amazing! (or even just a river or lake house vacation...). I also want to stop in San Diego to visit some friends on the way home (or back). I have men all over the world just waiting for me to be single, so why waste any time? :)

Hmmm, it seems that I am going to need to extend my summer vacation (probably by getting unpaid leave) and plump up my vacation fund! F this noize, I'm getting outta here.

You Make Me Sick...Literally.

So I met with XBF tonight, and he neither confirmed nor denied the dating thing. He just said that it was none of my business, and that he would do what he wanted, when he wanted to, at the office and in my face, if he felt like it. I don't know what that it is all about, since it's obvious from the third party that it IS happening, and frankly, it IS my business if you bring it into my work place.

Ouch.

I told him he needed to move out of the house. I can't afford to pay the whole month and a half of rent that is left on the lease by myself, though, and I don't want to waste my hard-earned EF $$ on HIM, so hopefully he will still make rent payments even if he is not staying here. He is bound by the lease as well as I. I also told him that if he needed to come by to let me know so I could be out.

Is it possible to MAKE yourself sick? because for the past day or so I've had a mysterious stomach illness that will most likely keep me out of work tomorrow. VERY suspicious, that. psychosomatic, even. Well, the vomiting is real, so I guess as long as that is going on, I'm gonna work from home. I kind of feel like that is wimping out. Maybe I will go in and see if I can force this to go away. XBF had a similar illness a few weeks ago, though, so maybe this is just me catching his bug? Very unclear.

I also decided that I am not mixing any work with personal stuff, ever again. I will talk to people about work at work, and that is it--no friends at work, no dating at work (that was already a rule), no talk of family or extra-curricular activities with anyone from work. It may hurt my career to be anti-social, but it shouldn't matter too much, as long as I get my work done well and correctly. With no personal matters brought into work, this should be accomplish-able. I obviously can't handle the mixture of the two, so it just can't happen again. I brought this on myself by working at the same place as BF, and making friends with this girl from work. It's really unfortunate that my 'dream job' was attained through BF!

I'm currently also applying for jobs back home, close to my parents. It's amazing how much sense it makes to move back. I could buy a house (housing there is CHEAP!), hang out with my best friend (he is also moving back this July), get a dog, save LOADS of money on traveling back and forth to see the 'rents...finally settle in somewhere. If my dream job could be transferred there, I'd do it in a milli-second.

Happy Easter Spending!

I want to thank those of you that commented on my last post. Aww.

WHO'S feeling loved and supported? (or, 'HOO's', if you went to UVA)

THIS GIRL (with accompanying thumb waves in my direction)!

Right now I'm feeling capable and classy. I know that is fleeting, but if I can feel this way NOW, so soon after the trauma, it bodes well for getting that feeling back, and maintaining that feeling in the future. And it's partially thanks to YOU GUYS. So thank you.

I will be back with my tentative game plan in a moment.

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Spending:

$840 on rent, arranged automatic payment for 4/24

$20 on cell phone to add my friend's number to my BestMates with Vodafone ($6/mo talk and text all you want)--she's in Utah at the moment. And I really, really needed to talk to/text her for some advice.

This not-eating thing is really good for my wallet...I don't even need groceries this week! (but I WILL see if I can choke some nutritious calories down, I promise ...back to the smoothies!)

Total April spending thus far: $990.89
Left to spend/save (2 paycheck month): $2,051.61

Happy Easter, all!!

Should I Quit?

Ok, folks, maybe I will be showing my weakness, but really--I want to quit my job and move back home. Part of me really,really wants to. Given the situation (XBF of only a few months is dating one of my coworkers), the pain I'm in every day is excruciating. I'm barely eating. I dread my coworkers asking about me and him. I dread working with the girl he's now dating, who I have to work closely with, and who was supposed to be a friend.

I'm just so mad because this is my DREAM job. I love it. It's everything I've ever wanted in a job, and it just keeps getting better. But I don't know that it is worth all this. My daily life is so horrible and lonely, I'm barely surviving.

Does anyone have any ways of coping with this?? ANYthing?? I'm pretty desperate. I think I have to go home. I need to get away from this.

Self-Control

Apparently, humans are not supposed to be good at self-control. This is bad for our waistlines and wallets! What do you think? Is this a cop-out or are our genes making us self-defeating?

Personal Messiness

My head is out of sorts these days. To clue you in: found out my XBF of only a month or two--who I still live with due to immigration issues--is dating a girl from work. He's been staying at her house all the times he's been gone at night. Not only that, but he didn't have the decency to tell me about it upfront, and I had to find out from a third party. I've been working with this girl, and actually considered her somewhat of a friend, too. We have been going out for drinks and lunch recently, and had plans to go out dancing.

So I feel betrayed, sad, angry, and a whole host of other emotions due to this really awful situation. I feel like my personal life has invaded the workplace, as well. It's one thing to feel awful at home, but to have to see that at work, too--well, it feels like I can't get away from it.

What makes it worse is that all of the friends I've made here in NZ have left the country. So I have no support system here to pull me out of my funk or distract me. Seriously, the best option I had for a new friend was this girl.

If my job wasn't my dream job, I swear I'd quit. The pain is that bad--I would regret it later, but there's no way I can have this roll off my back. It's going to show at work, it is going to affect the quality of my work, and now I need to figure out a way to not work with this girl, because I know that I won't be able to be nice to her. I'm usually pretty even-keel, but this is really awful. I really don't know how I'm supposed to work with my emotions like this!

I'm really angry that XBF chose someone i work with to date first. It's one thing to deal with that hurdle--I know it's only natural and was bound to happen--but the fact that he's messing with MY MONEY, my income, my career? Ugh. That is really what gets to me. I had one safe, sane place to get away from my personal life messiness: work. And now I don't have that anymore. I don't get a say in who he dates, but seriously, he could NOT have picked a worse person. Ok, maybe my sister, but besides her...the WORST person.

So anyway, I'm dealing with this the best as I can, which, at the moment, isn't very well. This blog is one thing that helps, for sure.

I know I'll be ok after a while. But I wish that time would hurry UP! I want to be happy again! :( Thanks for listening to the rant. Deep breath: Everything will be OK.

Called In Sick Today...

Just needed to do it, after yesterday's emotional decline. although--i'm a weirdo, and kind of a workaholic, so i ended up going into work around 8:30 tonight, and just got back now at 4:30 am. It's kind of bad that work is so close, because whenever i want to not think about personal stuff, i hole up there. I have a lot to do lately, which is actually kind of good for my sanity, although it comes with its own stress (but i know i'm lucky to have a job right now--I don't ever take that for granted!).

I have a 4 day weekend ahead of me. Instead of going somewhere alone and feeling alone, i will probably end up working most of that time. I hate the emptiness, I gotta stay busy!! I totally get alcoholics and druggies now--the idea of medicating pain and forgetting it for awhile is really enticing! Too bad (er...good) I am waaay to practical to actually do that--i know it would end up making things worse and that i have to feel it to get over it. But it would be nice to be able to shut if off for a while, until I think I can handle it a little better. work definitely helps with that.

In other news, my Kiva loan has almost been paid back. I'm excited to be able to donate again with the same money! I will probably use this month's charity budget on Kiva, as well. However, I've been thinking that I want to help out in the US with the layoff situation. Perhaps Angel Food Ministries could use a donation? Do you have any recommendations?

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$15.60 on snacks. it's true, i've become a spender!

Total Spent in April: $130.89

Want to Come to a Pity Party?

Today was a really, really horrible day. One of those where you know you should pick yourself off the floor, dust off your shoulder, and keep soldiering on. But instead you break down, crying in a little ball, until you fall asleep. That's what I'm planning on doing tonight. I'm hoping I just need to get it out of my system.

...I'm getting a little bit worried for my mental health these days.

Oh well. Onward and upward. May tomorrow be a better, brighter day!

(sorry for the negativity...it's a really bad habit.)

Turning Thirty

Flirty Thirty? More like flirting-with-disaster-thirty. All of a sudden, the blind panic that I felt about turning 30 on my birthday last year has crystallized into a few main thoughts that make me imagine a terrible, bleak future, most of them finance-related and in direct conflict with one another:

Panic-Inducing Thought #1) I'm 30 and I have ...less than $6K in retirement. According to MSN's retirement calculator, I will have about $34K at 65, IF the market returns 8% from now on (pshaw, riiiiight). If I retire at 65, live for another 20 years drawing on my retirement, and use $30K of income a year, I will leave behind approximately $750K of debt. I will be able to retire for one measly year before I run out of money. FREAKED OUT.

Solution: Since I can't legally save for retirement right now in NZ, my best bet would be to move back to the States and get a job where I can sock away as much as possible.

Feasible? Not really. I could go back to my parents' house and live pretty cheaply, but the job market there right now is crap. Like, I couldn't even find a job listing in my fall-back career kind of awful. Plus...I would be pretty unhappy being 30 and living in my parents' house. and living in the South. and leaving the job I have now and going back to something I pretty much hated.

Interim Solution: Save NZD in a liquid vehicle until I can save USD in a retirement account. Hope to get permanent residency, at which point I will be able to save NZD for retirement.

Panic-Inducing Thought #2) I'm 30 and I have $0 saved for a house downpayment. Sure I live in another country and it's awesome and I'm really blessed, but a part of me is whispering to me quietly but insistently that I want a garden. I want a yard for a dog. I want a dog! (that one is screamed at me) I want to decorate the walls of my hard-wood floored house with my photos. I want to be settled. I want to know where I'm going to be in 5 years. I think my moving all over the world days are OVER.

Solution: Move back to the States in a place where I could live for more than 5 years at a time. Get a job where I can not only sock money away in retirement, but also save for a house downpayment. and seeds and vet insurance, and ....and.

Feasible? Again, due to the job market, and the fact that I have no idea where I'd want to live, not really.

Interim Solution: Save NZD until I can save USD.

Panic-Inducing Thought #3) I'm 30 and I don't have a boyfriend and I don't have any prospects and my long-term relationship which I thought was going to turn into a life-long relationship is OVER. It's odd how an entire portion of your future can be blanked out like an infected hard drive. Just wiped away, never to be seen again. Yuck. I'm starting to read things about 'The Panic Years.' I hate to become a cliche, but yeah, I want companionship and to not be alone forever. That retirement mentioned in #1? and that house and dog I want in #2? I want to SHARE it with someone. I really thought I'd be ok with being alone. If you had asked me 3 years ago, I would have said I expected and wanted to be alone! What on earth happened?

My dad asked me on the phone yesterday if I was dating anyone. WHAT? dating anyone, i've only been single for a few months! It took me over 3 years to find a relationship with anyone else after my last boyfriend! I can't believe I'm getting this question...already. Why do people think it's any of their business, anyway??

Solution: get over XBF, start dating. Like a madwoman.

Feasible: in theory, yes. in reality? i'm a picky, picky lady and who i share my time with is a really touchy subject. I am not ready, nor will i be ready, to share my life with someone again for a very, very long time. I will know when I'm ready for it, I always do.

Interim Solution: Wallow in misery at home. Just kidding. Try to get out and make new friends in NZ (all 3 of my closest friends in NZ have left the country) to fill my time and the loneliness. Take dance classes, join clubs and do activities. That's more like it!

Panic-inducing Thought #4) I'm 30 and if I get my PhD right NOW I will be 35 and almost past child bearing age before I'm done. I'm bossed around by 22 year olds just out of college who are getting their PhD's. I have no idea if I even want a PhD, but it's kind of degrading to have 23 year olds do more meaningful work than you do. And to get tea and coffee and snacks for them while they are having their meetings.

Solution: Spend the next year as a Research Assistant (offered to me yesterday), learn as much as I can about the various facets of my field in which I could get my PhD. I have narrowed it down, but I'm not sure which route want to go. Make as many contacts in the field as possible. After a year, if I have a better idea of what I want to do--start looking for PhD opportunities if I'm still interested and still keen on the idea. I would love for that PhD opportunity to be in Auckland. However...

Feasible? Given the fact that I want to be settled, I want to have a house, and I want to retire--No. Getting my PhD is in direct odds with my emotional and financial wants and needs. I can't spend 5 of my most marriagable, retirement- and house-downpayment-saving years stuck in a lab or in the field doing research 20 hours a day, making less than $25K a year. This may have to come later.

Interim Solution: Enjoy the job I have. While keeping an eye out for amazing opportunities.

So there you have it. I'm in a dilemma about what I should focus on for the next 5 years, what would benefit me the most in the long-term? Part of me says, just do what makes sense for your career (ie get your PhD), since you don't have any prospects for dating, etc. I can't force the relationship thing, so why bother? Then I think, do what's best for your finances (ie DON'T get your PhD), because you don't want to be broke AND alone later on--you'll be too busy to date or meet someone special for the next 5 years during the PhD.

...I'll have to finish this post later, my thoughts are kind of a mess right now and as usually happens when I think about this, I am going round and round all of the options in my head. Please excuse the dust from my pre-mid-life crisis!

Spending

$2.80 on a smoothie. it seems I can't go a day without stopping and getting something in one of the convenience stores I walk by on my way to and from work. MUST. STOP. It didn't help that as part of my work today I had to go to the store (i was tasked with getting milk for everyone's tea).

Today at work I was asked to do more science oriented tasks, rather than admin work. It's EXACTLY what I've been fighting and asking for since I started last August.

However, our admin person is gone and the work is piling up on me. SO--I'm kind of doing triple duty, with my normal science project, admin, AND the assistant workload. I'm excited about the new role for myself, but it will be stressful. I haven't left work before 8:30 pm this week, including working last Sunday, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon, as our admin person is gone for the next 2 weeks.

More XBF drama, apparently I annoy him, but I'll spare you the details!


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APRIL 2009 Spending: $115.29 spent; expected $2,930.87 of income left to spend/save.

Spending

$4.40 today on some dark chocolate. It wasn't really necessary spending, but...in other ways, it totally was. XBF told me I was looking 'really good' out of the blue today, to which I totally didn't know what to say. Where was that kind of statement six months ago?? He (sigh) makes me ANGRY. Grrr.

I've spent $112.49 in April thus far. I'm on target with my spending goal for groceries in April, having spent 20% of my $400 budget, and being 20% of the way through the month. Let's hope I can continue the trend!

How Do YOU Save For Your Goals?

I'm more of a 'tackle one thing at a time' kind of girl. So, with the advent of my new goals, I've been planning on putting my savings money into one goal each month til it gets filled, then move on to the next one. But it occurred to me that that probably won't work, as my long-term goals like a house downpayment and retirement really shouldn't wait til everything else is done to be paid into. And eventually, I want to add some longer short-term goals (ie more than a year away) like that Europe trip.

I've noticed that other people tend to put a bit of money into each pot when they get a paycheck or a windfall. My question is, how do you decide how much to put into each goal? Do you focus on one mainly (say, 80%), and partition the rest of the money throughout the remaining goals, do you switch the main goal up each month, or do you focus on each equally every month? Is there a strategy?

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spending:
I was pretty bad today. Got some thai food, and went to the big grocery store to get toilet paper and pesto sauce (the asian market didn't have pesto, and the concoction I made from basil leaves didn't really work).

$30 eating out (thai)
$50 groceries (New World)

Total spending for April thus far: $108.09

New Goals!

You will notice that I've updated my 'Goals' section of this blog. Now, this is all dependent on me staying in NZ for the next two years after getting Permanent Residency, but I may as well use my time wisely, eh?


New to the Goals section:

A New (to me) Car!
$5K should do the trick for license, registration, AA insurance, and some minor repair work on a beater car. I'd just use it mostly next summer for tooling around the country. I wouldn't even need it around the city or to get to work--it'd be purely a pleasure car, and for quick trips.

Mileage and the like wouldn't matter--it'd just have to be good on gas, reliable, automatic, and have some sort of radio or cassette hookup for my mp3 player! Parking wouldn't be a problem, as I have a garage in the apartment.

Alternatively, a coworker and i had thought about going halfsies on a car. She doesn't know if she can stay in the country, though, so I may be out of luck and have to go in on it alone.

Travel to the US!
This is in addition to the money I'd normally be saving the month I bought the plane ticket. Tix right now are about $3.2K NZD roundtrip; half of that would come from what I'd normally save. So, this fund would be there to make up the $1.1K difference. Wow, travel to see my family is costly! (Lucky that seeing them is priceless...)

A new laptop!
Sarah WIR Racer just bought a new laptop, as well as a couple of others around the blogosphere and in my own home (XBF bought a SWEET macbook). I spend SO much time on my laptop, I've started to get a little bit scared that it is going to leave me too (I'm having some abandonment issues with the XBF leaving me, my grandparents and uncle dying, my sister getting sick and basically changing personalities, etc.). How odd is that? That I've come to rely on a piece of machinery so much that I'm afraid it's going to die on me? Do I have some major issues here? (um...I can answer that for myself, thanks, no comments please.)

Anyway, $1.6K is enough to get a new one in NZ, although I'd probably just buy one online in the US and have my parents keep it for me til I came home...if I could stand it. A laptop in the US is probably about $500 or so, saving me a few hundred bucks, depending on the exchange rate.

[ETA: Changed this to $1.1K NZD after doing a little more research online. For the specs I'd need in a laptop, I should be able to find one for around this price.]


Long-Term Goals: House and Retirement Funds

House Fund:

This is understandably a long-term goal, because I have NO IDEA where I'm going to end up semi-permanently. I can't depend on being in NZ long-term (plus housing prices here are INSANE), and I doubt any salary I could make in NZ would be high enough to sustain a mortgage and everything that comes with it. So I'll probably tuck money in here once all my short-term goals are met.

$60K as a 20% downpayment is probably the max I'd want to spend...it's probably a lot more than what I'll need, but what can I say, I was conditioned by the CA market at the time when I actually started to think about owning property ($300K was the MINIMUM you would pay in SoCal for studios, condos, etc.).

Retirement Fund:

Ouch. I only have $6K tucked away for retirement. And that's not changing anytime soon, unless the market decides to suddenly rebound. My hands are tied here--I'm legally not allowed to contribute to my Roth or Traditional IRA's since I do not have US taxable income. I'm not a resident of NZ, either, so I can't participate in their retirement schemes. Hopefully I get residency and this changes--I've had my eye on the Kiwisaver, and its $1K governement kick-start and mandatory 2% employer match, for quite a while now. In the meantime, once my short-term goals are met, I'll sock away any extra moneys with the hopes that one day I'll be able to contribute again. My goal of one million dollars isn't based on any calculations. It just has a nice ring to it, and well, it's probably not too far off from what I'll need...

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In other news, my old goals are still intact: NZ 6 month EF (done), US 3 month EF (~2.25K to go, I'm just letting interest do its job until the exchange rate gets a little better), and living within my means! I may add another goal in here if money/time allows: $$ for a round-the-world ticket and travel! ...I've always wanted to go to Europe. Now that the wedding fund is...well, not needed, I should get a replacement for that.

Attacking My Grocery Bill

Got out of the local Asian grocery store today having only spent $20.84! I bought some chicken breasts, two bell peppers (capsicums here in NZ), some sour cream, a basil plant, bananas, some pasta, and garlic (guess what I had for dinner...). I'm not sure that will cover all my meals for the week, but I feel like I got a heck of a lot more mileage out of $20 at the Asian market compared to New World!

Given my insane grocery bill last month, I am definitely trying to make more of an effort to keep it down in April. I haven't found many coupons here, so the Grocery Game is pretty much out. I just have to be smarter about what I do buy and what's on sale when.

I decided that I not only need to make weekly menu plans, I need to also start cooking at least one new meal every two weeks. So...if anyone has a recipe to suggest (Revanche's mac'n'cheese delight is definitely on my list!), leave it in the comments! Keep in mind that i'm a cooking newbie, and have absolutely no patience or skill in the kitchen...

How's this for a menu (warning: variety is NOT my forte):

Breakfasts: instant oatmeal with milk (milk provided by my company), a banana

mid-morning snack: Milo drink and... [need something else here] (milo provided by my company)

lunch: bread, ham or tuna, mayo, lettuce, mustard sandwich, a few nacho cheese corn chips on the side

afternoon snack: apple and cheese, or cashews, milo drink

dinner: salad with pinenuts, feta cheese, and honey mustard dressing; leftover pasta/chicken/sour cream, basil, and bell pepper-garlic sauce mixture for a few nights, and ??? something else...rice and chicken? i have lots of pasta leftover that i need to do something with, but I will be SO tired of pasta by then...

late evening snack: this is where i fall off the wagon, stuffing chocolate, cheese puffs, popcorn, cheese, crackers, etc into my mouth with reckless abandon. anything ready-made, easily reached for with no prep time, and already put into bite-sizes calls to me...

I have, in stock, all the ingredients listed here. I just have NO imagination when it comes to cooking, though--so I don't know how to throw new things together in a different way. I end up eating the SAME things all the time.

I also decided that if I get PR, I will buy myself that spiffy new blender and some protein powder, in order to make smoothies.

WooHoo! Better Than A Raise!

Today I got the normal fortnightly email notifying me that my paycheck had been deposited in my bank account. Thanks to some changes to the NZ tax rates starting April 1, my checks will increase over the normal amount by ~$30 per paycheck!

I don't know why I'm so excited, that isn't not that much more money...but I suppose every little bit helps (especially considering my grocery bills :/). Because of the way that fortnightly paychecks work, this increases my average monthly income from $3,242.60 to $3,384.22 for the rest of the year!

At some point, I need to have my annual performance review that was promised to me in February. I've emailed my supervisors at HR (my company doesn't have its own HR division, we are one of many companies managed by an umbrella company that handles all of our contracts/hires/fires/etc.), but no one has responded yet. How do I make that happen? I was promised a $2K raise if my review went well, as well, so I am pretty eager to have my review...

March 2009 Spending (Or WHOA I eat too much!)

YOWZA! Look at that grocery bill!!! What insanity! The craziest part is that in the actual grocery store? I spent $293.40, spot-on my budget of $300. The rest was just stops every other day at the convenience stores around here to get milk, snacks, cheese, whatever I was craving that day (and those darn smoothies, I'm sure). That just goes to show ya what the whole budget hiatus did to me--I just didn't even stop myself from those little stops every couple of days!

Electricity was under (woo hoo!), thanks to my tinkering with our switches and hot water heater settings, no doubt!

I was a little over on the eating out, but that last little bit happened at the tail end of the month. Eh, I'm not sweatin it.

Charity--this one is woefully under my target. I was only thinking of myself this month, I guess. Gotta do better.

Cell phone--under by $10. I had to top up my V8 phone card (5c a minute to the US from my mobile; outstanding deal!). I talked to my dad for about 2 hours one weekend while walking home from the grocery store, and my mom for another couple of hours another weekend. Well worth it.

Medical--over budget due to my $100 dental visit, and my eye exam (frames and lenses were ~$60 over what my company will pay for, so I had to pony up). I didn't spend anything in this category in Jan or Feb, so I had $180 to play with, anyway. $60 is probably a low average for the year...maybe I should increase that. Hmmm.

Misc--Under budget, mainly due to my new 'allowance' category. Misc this month included my emergency shoes and cab fare for my immigration interview (STILL haven't heard anything, I'm getting NERVOUS!), bus fare from the interview, toothpaste, more bus fare to and from the ultimate frisbee game one week, a black workout t-shirt, and payment for my ultimate t-shirt and gas money to the guy that drove us every week to the game. STILL not sure what in there is actual 'Misc' and what is 'Allowance.' Gotta work on that...

Allowance--OVER Budget. Mainly due to the $170 I dropped on dance and pilates classes in a lump sum for 8 classes up front. $15 for participating in the ultimate frisbee games, $15 for a rugby game ticket, and $33.50 for drinks at various times. I should take $85 off of next month's allowance to count that $170 for dance classes towards that month. We'll see.

OK, with my budget hiatus over, I need to make that time useful, and see what I've learned.
a) need to control my eating habits
b) need to contribute to charity more
c) need to up my allowance, and decrease my misc


While everyone else is TIGHTENING their belts, I'm thinking of letting loose a little. I still want to save, just not willy nilly, with no goals. I want to save up for a car, and for my ticket home this summer/NZ Winter--but it's hard, not knowing if i'm going to be here longer than August, so until I find out for sure either way, I'll save about 30%. And the rest? Let the chips fall where they may.


Projected April 2009 Budget


(sorry for the crazy illegible graphics, I'll learn how to fix that at some point. You should be able to click on the images to see them better in the meantime.)