Oooookayyyy. March was tumultuous. The weather is changing from lovely and sunny and warm and needing a fan on me to sleep some nights to needing to close my window and turn on the heat sometimes. I do not like it.
I meant to get a lot of work done this month, but that just didn't happen. For one, the changing weather always hits me right in my feels AND my sinuses. I get lethargic and sad, and my stuffy nose doesn't help matters.
Bad News
For another, I got some extremely bad news. I stumbled upon an ad for my apartment complex. That's right, my ENTIRE beloved apartment complex is up for sale. According to the ad, they found some issues with the structure of the building that will need addressing in the next 25 years, and every owner has decided to get ahead of the problem and sell their unit. I only discovered the ad in late March, but the ad had been posted in early FEBRUARY.
Has my landlord told me about this? That would be a no. Not a peep from them. To say that I'm pissed would be an understatement. A few years ago, some people came into our apartment to test the moisture levels in the walls. That apparently returned some bad results, so they came back and took samples, like cores from a tree, out of our inside and outside walls. Since then...silence. I even asked my landlord about it a few times, but she waved me off like they didn't find anything. So I stopped asking.
Last year, my landlord convinced me to go to a week to week tenancy, presumably "for my own good" was the way she phrased it. Because I was going back and forth from the US to visit my ill dad, she said this would give me more leeway.
Turns out it was NOT for my own good. It's better to sell if you don't have a tenant on a fixed term lease. The new owner can kick you out or raise the rent MUCH more easily if you're on a week to week lease.
So boo for me. I've been looking at places to help prepare, and when I say there is NOTHING comparable??? It's not even close. I could pay double what I do now and not get as much space and amenities as I do with my current set up. I'm super bummed. I'm trying to enjoy every minute I have in my great house until I have to go.
That worry, of course, has interrupted the great progress I've made with my PhD, because I'm just so stressed out about having to move and find a new place soon. I'm obsessed with checking the flat advertisements, and so bummed when I see that there is just nothing remotely comparable. I also really hate change and uncertainty, and with my home being my safe space, there's nothing more disruptive and uncertain than me having to move.
I also cannot buy a place because a) no banks will lend to me on my low salary; b) the 1 and 2 year interest rates are astronomical right now, so I wouldn't buy even if I could get a loan; and c) there's nothing remotely attractive for sale that I'd buy even if I could afford it.
Better News
The better news is that right now, while I'm still in my current flat, I can afford a great living situation. I LOVE my flat, I finally have it set up perfectly for me, I like my flatmates, and, until recently, I LOVED my landlord. I can hack my rent to suit my budget without worries.
I'm also earning more than I have in a while. I received a raise last year and a cost of living increase was effective in February. I'm also receiving a PhD stipend, so I'm able to save a lot each month.
In March, I was able to save over $1500.
More Goals Reached
That $1500 of savings, plus the interest I earned in my savings account, allowed me to fulfill my newest short-term goal of saving $650 for an annual premium gym membership. Once my PhD is submitted, I have lots of plans, and one of them is getting back into shape. I'm particularly interested in a reformer pilates class that this gym has. I could go nearly every day with a premium membership.
I also fulfilled a $400 house down payment brick, bringing the total to 37 of the 100 bricks I need to save up. Only 63 more bricks to go!
My goal is to save $160,000 for a 20% house down payment on a $800K house. I have $59,200 (37 bricks) saved thus far. How will I afford the mortgage loan payments? Well, that is unknown for now. I'm putting my trust in myself that I will figure something out when the time comes. But even though my house owning goal feels impossible, I cannot just sit around and do nothing. I've got to at least pretend that there is hope for me, that I'll be able to buy my own place one day. It's the only way I'll feel settled in life, and HOPEFULLY, be able to finally get a dog.
I've started saving for the next $1.6K chunk of money. Portioning out the savings in 100 $1.6K "bricks" make my goal of having $160K saved feel possible and reachable, and I can see the progress on my goal each month. It helps keep my momentum going, especially in light of the fact that I have basically run out of ideas for short- and medium-term savings goals.
Finally, here is my March 2024 Budget:
Income: $4,075.09. $260 of that was in garage rent, $726.13 was in payments and interest earned from my peer to peer lending account, $1,269.24 came from my PhD stipend, and the rest ($1,819.72) was earned through my 0.3 FTE (12 hours a week) job.
Rent: It was a 5 rent check month (i.e. there were 5 Fridays in March), so my rent was $225 x 5 = $1125.
Groceries, Electricity/Internet, and Savings were on track.
Eating Out: I went over budget a little bit. I got a massive Thai takeout one week ($83.82), got 3 McDonalds breakfast sandwiches another week ($24), and got pizza delivery another week ($57).
Charity was over budget because I bought tickets to two charity lottos (Coastguard and NZ Heart Association) - in one I could win a whole million dollar house (see text above), in the other, I could win other stuff worth tens of thousands of dollars that I could sell. No matter what I'd win, I'd likely sell it to get the cash so I can put it towards my house down payment fund. Even if I won the house, I'd sell and take the profit. The houses are usually in places I wouldn't want to live, and I don't need a 3 or 4 bedroom house. I'd likely take the money and put it towards a nice but smaller place in Auckland, and buy it outright.
Cell phone: I didn't have to renew my 28 day subscription this month, so it was no cost.
Medical: I paid $30 for my prescription renewals and $280 for my 2nd HPV vaccination. Man, does it feel good to get that out of the way. I've only been thinking about it for nearly 20 years! Only one more to go!
Misc is under budget, but I wanted to detail what I spent the money on. $89.58 went to transportation, of which $82.10 went towards the share car, and $7.48 to e-scooter rentals. I spent $61.80 on a massage which was sorely needed, pun intended. Finally, I spent $89.34 on goods and wants, which was purely to buy 17 water bottles made out of plant starch. The company I had been buying them from stopped making the product altogether, and I went around the city trying to buy up the dregs and stock up, but that supply finally dried up. I now have at least a year's supply of my fave water bottles, yay!
At the end of the month, I was able to save over $1500. Great result!
