November 2012 Spend

It was an expensive month! Firstly, it was a 3 rent check month. Then, I went and did all sorts of health checkups that were on my 2012 goal list. I've all but abandoned that list in favor of preparing to employ a different method for 2013, but I saw some opportunities and took them. Maybe a low-pressure type of situation is better for me.

	Nov 2012 Budget
Category	Spent	Budgeted Amount	Balance
Rent	$1,260.00	$1,260.00	$0.00
Groceries	$396.84	$450.00	$53.16
Internet	$44.50	$45.00	$0.50
Electricity	$93.58	$70.00	-$23.58
Eating Out	$167.50	$150.00	-$17.50
Charity	$189.03	$50.00	-$139.03
Cell phone	$20.00	$40.00	$20.00
Medical	$0.00	$75.00	$75.00
Misc	$130.50	$600.00	$469.50
Savings	$1,100.00	$500.00	-$600.00
Total	$3,401.95	$3,240.00	-$161.95

I'm overbudget in Electricity, Eating out, and Charity. For once, I'm not overbudget in groceries (how'd that happen?!).

I've explained charity before...there were just too many great opportunities to give this month, so I took them all!

Not sure what happened with the electricity. Maybe we were home more often than previous months. I may have bought extra power, too.

I saved $600 to my Move to US Supplemental fund, totalling $2,479.08. This should be completed in December, with any luck. Only $520.92 to go and all of my short term goal funds will be complete! $500 was saved to my normal long-term funds. My Europe fund is 27% complete, without me even really noticing the contribution each month! It will only start growing faster in 2013, when I plan on contributing even more!

I spent a lot on medical and other 2012 goals this month: $709.95!

$99 on a mole mapping voucher
$45 on cityhop to get to mole mapping appointment
$60 on my ortho K check ups
$29 on pedicure appointment
$157 on Vanuatu travel check up and vaccinations
$39.95 on Vanuatu malaria meds and probiotics
$125 on follow up mole check up
and
$75 on cityhop car to get to my cooking class

This money isn't included in the monthly budget. It will come out of my $5K Slush Fund when I can calculate the exchange rate.

It feels great to get these goals done!

The One Where I Ran for 30 Minutes Straight and Got Loads of Immunizations

Well, this past week has been a good one, as far as my health concerns are...concerned. Not for getting much work done, unfortunately, though, because I can't concentrate on more than one area of my life. That doesn't really bode well for me ever having a relationship again! I would have to quit my job and be a housewife to be any good at it.

On Tuesday, I went and had a mole mapping done. It was very quick and painless--took about 20 minutes altogether, and I have (too) many moles! The doctor took pictures of about 15 of them, and two are concerning. They basically just take a portable, powerful microscope and take pictures of your skin with it, and are able to see the 'structures' underneath the mole. The doctor told a story about how the last time he did a voucher deal through grabone (like I did for this week's appointment), about 25% of the people ended up having cancer, diagnosed after a follow-up appointment. The only real way to tell, visually, if a mole could be cancer is to compare changes through time, unless it is very advanced. So since it wouldn't do any good to just have a before picture, I agreed to fork out $125 more bucks ("half-price") to have a follow up after this summer is over. He certainly did a good job of feeding me that line, if it was one. Honestly, I'd be happy if they were all just cut out and got rid of.

Yesterday, I had a regular old doctor's appointment and got HEAPS done. Firstly, I had my travel medical for my New Year's trip to Vanuatu. I needed a tetanus booster, doxycycline pills for malaria, and pills for typhoid. I already had my Hep A and B vaccinations, way back before I went to Thailand. The nurse told me a very scary story about how she contracted typhoid and has never been the same. It is scary to go to foreign countries with strange diseases!! We are all too lucky in our lovely, cushy, relatively disease-free environs.

I also decided to get my adult polio booster, since I was there anyway. The nurse recommended that everyone get one as adults. Got mine over with! One less trip to the doctor.

Also, she told me some interesting info about the length of protections of vaccinations. As most people know, tetanus shots last for about 10 years. Typhoid pills, for ~3 years. Hep A and B wear off after about 25-30 years. The polio booster will last me a lifetime.

I have to take my doxycycline three days before Vanuatu, and for 30 days after. I have to avoid sunlight while on them. UGH!!! What a pain! What is the point of going to a tropical country if I can't be in the sun?? But I guess getting malaria is even more of a pain, so...

I also had the doctor order me a blood test to check up on my thyroid. With all the weight I have been gaining, I have wondered if that is getting worse, or what. He decided to do a full blood work up on me, just to be sure. I sure am falling for all sorts of medical advice lately. I hope it's not all useless and hokey...

Other triumphs of this week include going to yoga yesterday and running on the treadmill this evening at the gym! Treadmill running is a) WAY more boring than outside running and b) WAY easier. So it is definitely a tradeoff. Yoga was okay. I really didn't like the instructor, but my friends tell me she is a substitute, so I will go back and check it out when there is a different instructor. Running this evening, I did the following:

*a 6 minute, 0.5 km warm up.
*Run at 6.5 - 7.5 km/hr for 30 whole minutes and for about 3.5 km! It is hard to get started--the first half km is so incredibly boring and I think about quitting every other second, but after a while I get used to it. I definitely felt like I could go for a bit longer, too, I just stopped because I knew I wanted to get home and eat dinner at a reasonable hour, and 30 minutes was my initial goal, anyway. My highest heart rate was about 170 bpm, which is about where I am supposed to target. I hit 3 km at 28 minutes (first .5 km was at walking pace).
*Cool down for 5 minutes, from 6.0 km/hr to snail walk's pace, til my heart rate declined a lot. Walked home afterward, ~15 min.
*I found out I love running to Britney Spears. Womanizer (139 bpm) and Gimme More (remix) are perfect bpm songs for me!

Weight: 57.65 kg.
After looking at my health records last night (looking for past immunization records to show the doc), I discovered that until 2008, when my last work medical was done, I was stable for at least four years (2004 - 2008) at 117 lb, like I thought in my earlier post. So that is my new target weight.  I have about 10 lb to lose! How did I miss gaining all that weight? I blame NZ foods! :)

Blood pressure (at doctor's): 108/58 (I think this is too low...)

Gettin' Healthy Part 2

Once I've accomplished my goal of running for 30 minutes straight and also running at least 3km without stopping, I'll try for 5 km in 30 minutes!

Another part of all this is losing weight. Since hitting 34 (or, if I'm being real, 33), I have been gaining weight strictly in my belly/hip/butt region even though I haven't changed anything. Imagine an extra five lb of fat all in one place! It's gross. My theory is that my hypothyroidism is getting worse, though my dad said he gained weight at about that age, too, so I may have gotten his genes in that department. Until 33, I didn't have to do anything to maintain my ~120 lb weight--I was always one of those skinny-minnies that everyone hates because I could stuff my face with Ho-ho's and nothing would happen. Not anymore!! For the past ten years or so, I have usually stayed between 115 and 125 lb. I have fluctuated a little in the last ten years due to life occurrences--at 23, I was training very hard for my tae kwon do black belt and gained a lot of muscle weight. I weighed 130 lb at my heaviest. I then went through a breakup at 24 and lost a ton of weight over a very short time period. During that, I was probably 112 lb or so at my lowest--way too skinny (not on purpose, just so emotionally distraught that I couldn't eat. I would try to force myself to eat but really, honestly, couldn't. I ended up having to suck down smoothies to not pass out. It was horrible!).

I'm lucky and unlucky that life events easily influence my weight, usually losing rather than gaining. In the past, I have lost weight extremely easily--I've never actually tried to lose weight in my life until this week. I'm talking, if I do hard fieldwork for two or three days, I can tell a difference in my clothes.  I have been very blessed, metabolically. I hope that is still true.

Because of that, though, there's the unlucky part: I have never had to really concentrate on what I was eating, so convenience has always been my answer. Does it cook in the microwave in less than 5 minutes? I'm in! When I moved to California about ten years ago, I slowly began adding more veggies to my diet, just because they were so abundant, cheap, and delicious! Salads were my new favorite thing. I weaned myself off of my favorite soda, Dr Pepper, also in CA. I now only have sugary drinks in alcohol or once a month or less, when I need the caffeine (I don't drink coffee).

I am very lucky, also, because I a) don't really like or eat sweet or greasy foods on a regular basis and b) even when I do choose to pig out on unhealthy stuff, I naturally love low-fat snacks like popcorn or veggie chips, and usually in moderation. My two very favorite snack items are items you can't get in NZ, and there's no substitute here. So I have a built-in barrier to those items, and when I do get to have them twice a year when I go home or my mom sends me a package, I savor their deliciousness even more.

So, in synopsis, the good:

• I don't really like cakes or cookies or ice cream--anything sweet, really. I do usually have a square of 72% cocoa chocolate after dinner to finish off my palate, though. Chocolate is not really my thing. I love salty!
• When I have the time and energy to cook or plan meals, I naturally choose healthier foods like chicken breast over dark meat, kumara over white potatoes, low fat or natural snacks over high calorie, high fat, processed snacks.
• I usually lose weight quickly once I stick with a routine.
• I can already run 1.5 2 km without stopping at a fast enough rate to beat my 3 km time goal of 30 minutes by 5 December.
• I can't access my go-to unhealthy snack foods in NZ.
• Summer is coming; with the sun and warm weather comes my motivation to get outside!
• I rarely drink alcohol or sugary drinks. I usually only drink a green smoothie for breakfast, water during the day, and peppermint tea before going to bed. Sometimes I have a banana-strawberry-low-fat milk and ice smoothie, made in my blender.
• I have worked in breakfast, a green smoothie with 1-2 servings of fruit and veggies, and maybe a banana or apple into my daily habits. My dinners usually consist of a serving of white meat/chicken breast, a potato or kumara, and a serving or two of veggies. Usually semi-healthy.

The bad:

• Even with the above, I am slowly gaining weight.
• I gravitate toward sedentary hobbies, like reading or knitting or card playing or puzzle completing or online activities; it is very hard for me to motivate myself to work out or do anything active.
• My gym sucks. It is not air conditioned. I therefore paid for it but never ever go.
• I replace my favorite snack foods with high calorie, high fat, salty NZ snacks that I don't enjoy eating (but they are convenient and fill the salt cravings a little bit).
• I don't eat regularly during the day--I have a tiny breakfast, a very small, late lunch while working, and then a late dinner, then pig out on convenient snack food late at night when I'm starving after not eating hardly anything all day.
• I have mitral valve prolapse and some after-effects of mono (thyroid issues) which I am convinced is the cause of my weight gain and difficulty in exercising. I used to looooove being active--really, I could hardly sit still for the first 24 years of my life; I had an activity every spare minute--but have gotten 'workout hangovers' ever since getting mono.
• When rushed--which is usually--I choose convenient foods for meals. Usually processed.

More goals: 

• go to the doctor and get hypothyroidism checked out.
• Run every other day.
• check out pilates and yoga and dance class to bring my workout total up to once per day.
• Look into joining a tennis club.

Goal: Feel healthy, which is nebulous. My ideal goal weight is 117, as that is the weight that I felt healthiest and happiest in my clothes in the past, but that may be too skinny for me now, at my age. I'll try to maintain my weight when I feel like I'm getting too skinny. I think it'll probably be around 120 lb. (I'm currently at about 125, I think. The needle on my scale fluctuates between 56 kg and 58 kg, and there isn't enough fine detail between the tiny marks to tell exactly where I am in that range.). I'll shoot for 120 lb by December 30, when I leave for my island vacation! That means I have to lose between 3.5 lb (if I'm 56 kg) or almost 8 lb (if I am 58 kg). As it is safest to lose 1-2 lb per week and I only have 5 weeks to do this, I hope it's the former!! I'll get rid of my snack foods and find healthier, lower calorie options to fulfill my cravings instead.

Workout Goal, Tuesday

The blog and reminder of the 5K I'm running both really help keep me motivated to workout. I was so tired today I just wanted to crawl into bed at 6 pm without dinner. But, of course, I forced myself to put on my workout clothes and try the run I had planned for Saturday. On Saturday, you'll remember, I was supposed to run 2 km straight and complete 3 km in 30 minutes, but I ran into a friend and I only ran about 1.3 km of the 3 km.

Today I saw my friend again, but told him I had to try to run alone to complete my goal. That is completely counter-intuitive, but I knew I had to try to do it, and I thought having him there wouldn't help. It was quite difficult to get into the run, but after I passed the point where I quit running on Saturday, I just kept going. By the end, I was on a very flat bit of my run, and actually thought I could go even further than 2 km. I quit running after about 2.1 km, because I was close to home and wanted to give my body a chance to cool down. I completed the 3 km in about 29 minutes, so that's great! My first km took me about 10 minutes, the second about 7 or 8 minutes. There must be an incline on the first km (I double back and follow the exact same route). Also, I had to stop at several very long red lights, so that definitely added lots to my time. I ran down the street and back when it turned green man, so I probably added a little bit of distance doing that.

So now I know I can do 2 kilometers straight. I wouldn't say it's easy for me, but it is doable. The 3 km in 30 minutes is highly doable. Tomorrow I have pilates or yoga, then Thursday I try for 2.25 km or more.

I have learned that I need better music! Most of it is way too slow for running. Any suggestions? 

Ancestry Research Is Addicting

It started as a favor and idea for a present for my mom and dad, and has blown up into a complete obsession. I'll say it: I'm addicted to ancestry research!

I initially thought that those record database sites like Ancestry.com were complete scams and rip offs. Most of the content is available for free if you know where to look. But since I'm not in the US and can't go to the Library of Congress (or wherever) to look through microfiche, I decided to sign up for their 14 day free trial.

Lo and behold, it has only been a week, but I've been obsessively searching for hours almost every evening. I've found out so much cool stuff about my family and where we came from! I even cracked the barrier that my mom's family has struggled to get past for years--even my grandparents, with all their knowledge of their families, couldn't seem to get past our one ancestor that lived in 1803 in the US. I was able to get back to our ancestors in England in 1559! How awesome is that? I can't take all the credit, though--apparently a book has been written about my family and the author did all the hard work. I was just able to find the author's reconstruction of our family tree online.

On my other side, it turns out that I'm related to Noah Webster, he of dictionary writing fame. Also, one of my ancestors (through Noah) was a founder of and one of the first governors of the colony of Connecticut! (That one was also involved in convicting some poor souls to hangings in the Hartford witch trials, so he is actually not so awesome...but how awesome that one of my family members was there at an event that I learned about in history class in 7th grade! Craziness!). There is also a ton of research on that part of the family, because they were so prominent in history, so this info was luckily available to me, although still took a LOT of hours of searching and research.

I've had such fun doing this that I no longer think Ancestry.com is a rip off. I mean, if it only had the records, that wouldn't be as valuable. But they've really built up the site so that you stay: you construct your family tree, can search other members' trees and contact them, you can see pictures that other people may have put up of your family members (most that you've never seen before!), and you can even order a book containing all the documents and family history that you've found. It's brilliant. I'm seriously considering shelling out the dough to become a member for the year. At the very least, I may gift the membership to my mom and we can both share the password, perhaps!

Meanwhile, I'm super happy that I have some British in me. They have, by far, the most sophisticated accents I've ever heard. The rest of me is German, Swede, and Czech. Go Europe!

Monday work out goal completed

Why is it that I can't control more than one area of my life at a time??

Today I fit in a yoga class between work meetings, but didn't get nearly enough done at work. I just became too exhausted to concentrate and ended up zoning out and getting frustrated about a few tiny details rather than moving on. Also, I'm still very sore from dancing after running. I ended up buying both lunch and dinner because I was so tired. I think my workout hangovers/thyroid issues are acting up again. So: workout: check; full, productive working day: fail. I'm so far behind now, the rest of this week is going to suck.

I am glad I was able to go to yoga and fulfill my Monday goal, however. Tomorrow--Tuesday!--is take 2 on the 2 km run without stopping. I'll try to go to the gym, but more likely if it's nice, I'll try to do it outside again. Since my 5K is outside, it is a more realistic experience for the race, anyway.

Running goal update

Well, it was beauteous in Aucks on Saturday, so I decided to go running outside instead of going to my hot, humid, gross gym (can you tell I hate it? but it's the only one I can afford...). I planned out what I thought was a flat route, noting where I'd have to stop/start my 2 km run planned for Saturday.

There were several problems with this strategy, it turned out.

1) It wasn't flat. Even though it looked flat, it definitely wasn't. I'm not ready for ups and downs yet.
2) I ran into a friend at the start of my 1 km, also running. He decided to join me and the combination of a) not having music, b) talking to him, and c) running at his pace did me in. By the time I realized I needed to slow down, run at my own pace, not talk, and put in my music, I was nearly burnt out. I made it a little over 1.5 km before I had to walk. I did make my 3 km in just over 30 minutes, though.

I was going to try again today (Sunday), but I went out dancing last night. I am so sore! I'll go to my yoga class tomorrow and try again on Tuesday.

Modified goals:

Tuesday: Run 2 km without stopping. (I have yoga classes on Mondays & Wednesdays, so I'm switching it up to have Mon/Weds as rest days)
Thursday: Run 2.25 km without stopping.
Saturday: Run 2.5 km without stopping.
Tuesday: Run 2.75 km without stopping in 30 minutes.
Thursday: Run 3 km without stopping.
Friday: Test Day! Try out the 5K course, running for at least 3 km of it (or 30 minutes, whichever is longer).

Gettin' Healthy

I have used my blog to hold myself accountable for financial goals for the past 7 years. Now, I need that same help to achieve some of my health goals.

Currently, my goal is to be able to run 3K without stopping in under 30 minutes in the next two weeks (by 5 December). I signed up for a 5K in January so I want to hit that milestone and then keep chipping away at my time while adding distance. In a test last night, I was able to do at least 1.5 km without stopping at a 7.1 km/hr clip, and I once did a 5K in less than 30 minutes, so I know I can do it (although that was over 10 years ago). I'm not in horrible shape--I walk briskly to work 30 minutes a day, in addition to walking for grocery shopping and all my other errands. I climb Mt Eden about once a week--from my house it takes about an hour to get up to the summit and back home, walking as fast as I can.

For now, I'll make a commitment to run almost every other day until 5 December (to give myself time to heal), hopefully increasing my distance and decreasing my time each time. Next goals:

Saturday: Run 2 km without stopping.
Tuesday: Run 2.25 km without stopping. (I have pilates and yoga classes on Mondays & Wednesdays, so I'm switching it up to have Mon/Weds as rest days)
Thursday: Run 2.5 km without stopping.
Saturday: Run 2.75 km without stopping.
Tuesday: Run 3 km without stopping in 30 minutes.
Thursday: Same, but run for a whole 30 minutes, even if I reach 3km before 30 min. is up.
Friday: Test Day! Try out the 5K course, running for at least 30 minutes of it.

So little money, So many charities...

It must be 'tis the season, because oodles of my friends are participating in good causes this month and asking for money.

So I tried to please them all. I've given $15 USD to two separate 'Movember campaigns, $50 CAN to a breast cancer hair charity, $15 to a new charter school organisation, and another $15USD to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy. This is in addition to the usual $25 NZD I give every month to the Heart Association.

I would like to start giving in other ways, though, not just financially. Particularly for the causes that I really am committed to. There may be an opportunity to volunteer at the museum, but I'd have to give up a day a week of work time--it is such a shame that they have such strict rules about volunteering. I wonder if my boss would allow that? Technically, science outreach is part of my job.

I guess I shouldn't commit myself, though, seeing that I am trying to leave! The more I commit here, the more I have to give up when I leave.

Coldplay High!

ZOMG. I just got back from a Coldplay concert. It was so awesome! We were right up front and Chris Martin kept running around in front of us. So great! They really know how to put on a good, engaging, personal show. While it wasn't "life changing" as I've heard some people describe their concerts, it was pretty effing amazing--confetti cannons everywhere, big balloons, fireworks, surprise stage changes, and light up bracelets that flashed in time with the songs! A magical experience, actually...I was thinking it would be cold, I'd be bored, uncomfortable (we arrived at 5 pm and stood the whole time, til about 11 pm). But that didn't happen. My feet hurt right now but they didn't during the concert. It was the perfect temperature--a little cold and breezy--but in the middle of the throng of people, it was very comfortable, even with dancing and moving around a lot. If it had been inside, it would have gotten very hot. And I didn't get bored--the opening acts (Temper Trap and the Pierces) were really good and entertaining in and of themselves. I don't usually go to big concerts because of my preconceived notions--plus I really like the personal atmosphere of small venues--but this was a great experience. I may actually make an effort to go to more of these now.

...At least, I will in NZ. People are so polite here! In the US, people just shove and push and are generally awful at these kinds of shows. There were a few annoying people, but they were the exception. We were able to arrive at 5:45 and get a spot at the very front, and it stayed pretty relaxed and uncrowded until about 7:30 or so. I had a cider and a very yummy sausage and only had to bathroom it once. Decent portaloos in Mt Smart Stadium, too. Good times!

Obama Wins!

This means I'll be even more motivated to move back to the US. :) Lots of work still left to do, but happy times, America.

Random Thoughts Time

I haven't done a life update in a while. Not since returning from the US in late September.

A few thoughts:

1) The cycle continues. My sister and I mostly got along while I was at home, but things have deteriorated since I left. As they always do. It is, hands-down, the worst relationship I've ever had with another human being. If she weren't related to me, I would have bailed a long time ago. The ups and downs of being close to her are way beyond what I normally put up with from anyone else I've ever let into my life. As in most unhealthy relationships, both the cost of letting her go and the price I pay for staying in this relationship are staggering. On the one hand, she's my sister. She's the only sibling I have, and she is the only person in the world who gets all of my jokes and laughs at them, knows my history, understands exactly what it is like to be my parents' daughter and from the place I'm from, and accepts me exactly as I am. I might as well chop off one of my arms if I cut off my relationship with her. On the other, she infuriates me to no end. I can't understand or support what she is doing to herself, nor am I proud of who I am or what I say to her in my disappointment of her. Watching her make horrible decisions and hurt my parents is killing me.

Our phone conversations turn into arguments almost every time. Unless she purposely does not mention the things that she knows are my hot buttons, we fight. Lately, the list of hot buttons has grown: her 19 year old abusive engaged-after-4-days-fiance, her obesity and lack of exercise or healthy eating habits, her money troubles, how she blows off studying for tests for classes that my mom paid for--that she begged my mom to pay for, and her new habit of smoking even though she has diabetes and our beloved grandmother was killed by cigarettes, not to mention how my dad is on an oxygen machine because of them.

The place I want to get to is this seemingly healthy place that I see my cousins and friends get to when they are dealing with someone that they love who is making bad life decisions. They shrug and say, "It's their life. I'll let her know that I love her and that I'm there for her if she needs me, but I won't butt in." Live and let live. That is what my sister wants me to do with her, as well. I have struggled over the past year to get to that place, and it just doesn't seem to exist within me. Frustratingly.

So after the last fight last week, and after a year now of telling her that I was very, very close to being fed up,  after a yo-yo of emotions, and a decade of dashed hopes for her, I told her: "I'm done. I'm sorry. Good-bye."

2) Since I have no financial goals to concentrate on now, I seem to have given all that extra time to work. Great for my work life--I've never been more motivated or worked so hard for so many days in a row--but terrible for life balance. I have skived off doing things with friends for the past three weekends...to work. I do have a very hectic schedule as of late--there are a LOT of deadlines this week--but I also just haven't felt social and I'm avoiding my friends. I think part of it is that I am emotionally preparing myself to leave NZ and am distancing myself. The other half is that I miss my US friends desperately and it's always hard to come back after spending so much time with them.

3) While at my knitting circle, a friend mentioned that my instructor-friend should start charging people to teach them how to knit, as many women were coming up and inquiring about joining us to learn. Of course, we didn't want to start being charged ourselves, so we started talking about what we could do to repay her. Around the circle, one friend could teach her tennis or calligraphy, another cross-stitch or badminton, another writing fiction or meditating, and another ballet or drawing. It came to be my turn to speak and I couldn't think of anything that I could teach her. I was stunned to realize that I have no teachable, valuable hobbies!

So that is what is going on in the background of my money posts. It seems kind of depressing, but, other than a few moments here or there, I actually feel OK about it all (except about the non-hobby thing, I gotta fix that!).

October Goal Review

Guess what? I won't have quite managed to do everything I thought I could in a year. This is becoming abundantly clear, now that we've reached the second-to-last month in 2012 and my to-do list/2012 non-financial goals are "not exactly" five-sixths (10 months out of 12) done. Turns out, trying to do roughly over 50 goals, half of them habit-forming, in a year is hard. A year isn't that long, as it happens. It seems like it is a very long time, but when you really break it down? It is over in a flash. 

Also, I'm way better at getting financial goals done than I am personal ones. This is something that I knew, and something that my non-financial goals list was supposed to fix. Unfortunately, I love fixing my money problems way more than I like, say, going to the dermatologist. Plus, those personal goals tend to open a Pandora's Box of new goals. Crossing the first step of a goal off the list cascades into 30 more associated tasks.

I think I'm going to try a different approach next year: one habit-forming or upskilling non-financial goal for each month only, where I have to do something each day for the entire 28 - 31 days. I am giving up on the goals for the rest of the year, other than the ones I've already set up  and paid for in earlier months for November (game nights, dermatologist appt., cooking classes). I'll do anyway, like back up my computer. What I tried didn't work. I need a break to regroup and get motivated again for 2013!

October Goals were so-so. After doing so much in September, I kind of lost steam in October.

Non-Financial Goals: Average to poor. 8-10 out of 17

1. NUMBER ONE GOAL: Sleep 8+ hours a night.  (all month. NO EXCEPTIONS) Nope, didn't happen. I suck at going to bed.
2. Dress up once per week at work. (Weeks 1-4) Nope, not this either, although I did about 2/4.
3. Use mouthwash every night.  (all month) Yeah, I was pretty good about this one, but not every night.
4. Attend work out class 2x/wk (from Week 3) Nope, absolutely didn't happen. I ran about 8 times though!
5. Write in gratitude journal each evening. Did this one about once every three or four days.
6. Do or say one nice thing for or to someone each day. No, but about 4 out of 7 days a week I managed to mindfully do this.
7. Get 30 minutes of light exercise 5x week. Yep, I walk to work every day!
8. Call Voter Reg and get absentee ballot sent to NZ. (Week 1) Yes.
9. Make list of courses to take during my online class session at work. (Week 2) Yes.
10. Read through camera CD. (Week 4) Ugh. No.
11. Read through Smartphone manual. (Week 4) I looked a few things up, but haven't been through it with a fine-tooth comb yet.
12. Call L. (Week 2)  Yes. Yay!
13. Call P. (Week 3) Yes. Yay!
14. Start making family ancestry book. (Week 4) No.
15. Outline some questions for family history recording. (Week 1-2) Yes.
16. Contact dermatologist re: cost and mole mapping appointment. (Week 4) $99 for full mole mapping appt. in Nov. Yes. 
17. Plan for November cooking classes. (Week 4)  Yes. booked and bus route planned out.

Financial Goals: Yes. 6 out of 6.

1. Track every penny. (all month) Yes. 
2. Call HSBC and see if I can get POD or account changed to Trust. (Week 4) Yes.
3. Research funds and balance portfolio--Vanguard. (Weeks 2 -4 ) Yes.
4. Buy funds with Roth IRA $$ from T. Rowe Price. (by Week 4) Yes.
5. When bond fund is bought, figure out a place for $1.5K left in money market. Yes.
6. Save $500 to long-term goals. (Week 3) Yes.

October Spending--Back On Track

After September's blowout, it was nice to get back settled into my routine of non-spending again. I lose all sense of proportion when I go home and have planned to spend heaps of cash. It just never feels right.

Once again, groceries are a big FAIL. That is INSANE! I don't even eat that much, I swear! (I attribute it to stocking up on perishables after being away for a month.)

Category	Spent	Budgeted Amount	Balance
Rent	$840.00	$840.00	$0.00
Groceries	$618.28	$450.00	-$168.28
Internet	$41.35	$45.00	$3.65
Electricity	$54.51	$70.00	$15.49
Eating Out	$141.90	$150.00	$8.10
Charity	$50.00	$50.00	$0.00
Cell phone	$60.00	$40.00	-$20.00
Medical	$0.00	$75.00	$75.00
Misc	$397.91	$600.00	$202.09
Savings	$500.00	$500.00	$0.00
Total	$2,703.95	$2,820.00	$116.05

Ugh.

Income: $3,416.94
Spent: $2,703.95
Left to save to my Supplemental Move Back Home Fund: $712.99, bringing it to $1,825.32 and 61% complete.

Just gotta save about $600 more in Nov and Dec. to finish it off. November is a 3 rent-check-month, so I'm not sure I can do it if I keep up the level of spending I did in October. However, in November I have lots of pre-paid or free activities: two concerts, one of which was paid for in April and I have a free ticket from my friend for the other, and a cooking class. I also have two themed house parties, hosted by friends, to go to--that should be cheap entertainment, just a few beers. I am utterly swamped with work, as well, so I won't have any free time to speak of. December will hopefully be a spendy month if I can help it--it'll be NZ summer and I want to TRAVEL!!! Ah well, we'll see!

Misc spending:

alcohol	$    22.50
entertainment	$         -
exercise	$         -
fees	$         -
gifts	$         -
goods and wants	$   320.93
transportation	$      8.50
travel	$         -

Goods and wants purchases consisted of: earbuds, a new bed lamp, light bulbs, disability insurance fee, dishwash soap, birthday cards, shoe waterproofing, face wash and contact solution, cooking class, and a running hoodie.

October 2012 Net Worths: 
NZ: $40,086.87
US: $19,896.69