Giving Back

Giving back has been a part of my life, my whole life. It has always been a THING. Mostly in the background, but there. Growing up in the church and having a social worker for a mom will do that. I definitely have, instilled in me, the importance of making the world a better place. My definition of giving back has expanded quite a bit. It now includes donating money, time, skills, or lending a listening ear, support, a hug, adopting a good or forgiving attitude to a cashier clearly having a terrible day, or sending an email or text message or phone call...there are so many ways to improve the world and the experience of the people around you with your presence, actions, attitude, or belongings. 

Early on in my life, giving back was about tithing 10% of my allowance, spending time at the local nursing home, going around caroling on Christmas Eve, etc. I have to admit that I hated the first two activities at first. The nursing home was depressing and smelly, and I was obsessed with hoarding money as a kid, so hated parting with it, esp when I couldn't see what it was going to. I eventually came to see the value in both as I grew up - so rewarding! In college, I was totally broke and was breaking away from the church, so giving back became about volunteering with kids: mentoring a middle school kid through his science fair project, helping out at the local, low income area preschool by reading to and entertaining kids. In grad school, I was still broke and also low on time, so volunteered at various science outreach days. Later on when I had a job and was crawling out of debt, I started doing micro-lending via Kiva and adopted a new policy: I'd give money to whatever causes I felt 'led' to give to. Many times a friend or family member was running a marathon or something for various good causes. I made it my policy to always give when a loved one asked for donations to a good cause. I have and will always keep that policy.

Since moving to NZ, in addition to my Giving Policy(TM), I've gone back to regularly volunteering my time to various science outreach events and activities and have also consistently donated $$/entered in the Coastguard and Heart Association lotteries (I never win so I consider that money donated to very good causes!), but would really like to do more, esp. since I now have more time and money. 

My efforts towards giving back have first gone toward those that helped me during my PhD, then I intend to expand upward and outward. SO many people and organizations and things deserve credit for getting me through the 10+ year slog! Throughout the entire process, I kept very careful notes about who I should thank in my acknowledgements section. It ended up being two pages long!! My supervisors tried to get me to cut it down to 1 page as is the norm, but I refused, and it's not like the Uni had a restriction on it, so it stayed. Everyone mentioned deserved millions and tons of thanks. 

But even two pages in a dissertation isn't enough - so much more got me through. Including this blog! So if you're reading, thank you!

Since submission at the end of March, I've tried to thank the people and organizations and things (for lack of a better word) in more than in an acknowledgments-type way, and I'm exploring ways to increase my giving. These efforts can be broken down into categories: 1. People in my life; 2) Creators/entertainers/informative media people; 3) Good causes, some close to my heart, some just because. The ways that I give back to each is tailored.

Firstly, I've made it my mission to better support various people in my life:

1. GIVING BACK TO PEOPLE IN MY LIFE

• my mom, dad, and sister - mostly emotional support, as in they're each getting more texts and phone calls :) but I'm also splashing out on gifts more when there is a birthday, mother's day, etc.
  
  
• the overseas grad school friend who is struggling with a new ADHD diagnosis as well as perimenopause - more text messages but I'm trying to organize a group phone call with our group of friends because I know she really misses us all being together.
  
  
• My HS friend whom I have practically abandoned for years because a) we've drifted apart, b) she's not on Signal or another messaging app that makes it easy to message from from abroad, c) she's ...definitely on the other end of the political spectrum, and d) because I can't risk socializing/getting covid when visiting home. I've made it more of a point to reach out to her more often and catch up. Turns out that she's going through a really hard time with her health, her kid's health, as well as her husband's! She's super stressed and I know appreciates having someone to talk to.
  
  
• Here in NZ I've made a lot of effort to support a friend who is currently going through a very hard time, and has no likelihood of recovering medically or financially from a chronic disease that is ravaging her body. She's on the benefit and unable to pay for much, so I find many excuses to treat her (without ever mentioning/making a big deal out of it or expecting anything in return except her lovely company!). For example, I missed her birthday due to PhD stuff and feeling stressed and ill, so I planned a spa day recently wherein I and another friend split her treatment costs. We went out for brunch beforehand and I paid the entire bill for all 4 of us, saying my dad gave me money to treat us (which he technically did). She got a nice, relaxing day where she was spoiled. She was feeling really down and I know it cheered her up.
  
  
•  In general, I'm trying to be a better, more connected friend and family member to those that I love and cherish.
  
  

Secondly, I am enjoying being able to give back to various creators who made my PhD enjoyable or were helpful in some way:

2. GIVING BACK TO ENTERTAINERS / INFORMATIVE MEDIA

I also was able to get through my PhD with the help of various creators on Youtube and elsewhere that entertained or informed me, such as (in no particular order): 

• No Rolls Barred. A board game club! Funny how fun it is to watch funny people play games. Their Blood on the Clocktower games were my favorite thing for a long while during my PhD - they even get the people that created the game to help run the games! I don't do subscriptions so I signed up for the highest tier of their Patreon for 1 month.
  
  
• Noobs on the Gooftower. This one is same but different, in that they play Blood on the Clocktower exclusively. Chris Grace (of mainly Superstore fame) runs games of BotC with actors and comedians across LA and Great Britain. There are some crossovers with NRB, the creators of BotC, as well as some cameos of Survivor players, Dropout, and other internet-famous people. I'm actually not sure how to support/donate $$ to this because there's no Patreon but maybe there is a donate option during their livestreams on YT??? I just have to actually catch a livestream, they are always at weird hours for me here in NZ.
  
  
• Chaotic Neutral. They are the same people as in #1 but they play Call of Cthulhu, which is a D&D type role playing game but comedy-horror. They are hilarious and so, so, so creative and good at acting and creating fun characters. I signed up for the highest tier of their Patreon for 1 month, and it's so good that I fully expect to sign up again for 1 month later in the year to catch up on their content.
  
  
• Pod Save America. They've kind of lost my interest now after everything imploded last November, but they deserve a lot of credit for explaining what has been going on with the government since 2016. I wouldn't be as well informed without them, and they have a lot of good campaigns like helping people understand how to register to vote, supporting Democrats to flip the House in two years, and helping people who are affected by Trump policies. I am not allowed to donate while overseas, so this goes on the to-do list when I am physically present in the US later this year.
  
  
• Jet Lag: The Game. Those guys are really fun, plus it's interesting to see new places. I'm seriously considering buying a lifetime membership to Nebula network for $300 USD. It seems like a great way to support an independent channel in these very weird times where the likes of PBS is threatened. Plus it seems like at least the Jet Lag guys are on my same wavelength, politically.
  
  
• The Try Guys. They went through that scandal but I thought handled it exemplararily (sp? is that a word? it should be). Plus I'm 99% sure they agree with me politically too. Although I don't watch as much anymore, I got a lot of entertainment from them from their older content back in the day. I wanna support but I don't want any of their merch and I do not necessarily want a subscription to 2ndtry (but I may opt for a month if I have to). 
  

Thirdly, it's time to get my community and wider giving and volunteering game together.

3. GIVING BACK TO GOOD CAUSES

Now, this one I have less of a handle on. I'm still trying to figure out where my time and money should go, where it will make the most difference, as well as provide the most personal satisfaction in terms of feeling good about how my time and money are being spent. 

Now that I want to give more, the problem is...to where? I want to give everything to everyone. I want everyone to have clean water and housing and food. I want people to have mosquito nets to avoid malaria. I want kids to get vaccinated and educated and fed. I want to support climate change prevention and mitigation and clean energy research. I want to support democracy and voting rights and for women to get access to abortion and minorities to get equitable pay and justice. I want to donate to everyone's medical go-fund-me. I want everyone with mental illness to get proper treatment and ongoing access to treatment. I want to avoid nuclear war. I want animals treated humanely, even if they are farmed to feed people in the end. I want to support students at my former grad school in my discipline. I want everyone to have access to basic and higher education. I want to fight mis and disinformation. I want criminal justice reform and to preserve our natural wild spaces. I want to promote socialism. I want better biosecurity research and for our laws to catch up with the risks from AI. I want people with disabilities to be supported. 

Gosh, I just don't even know where to start! My ADHD is running amok. 

Another question is how much? I asked ChatGPT and there are so many approaches! 1% of my income, 10%, a set amount each month, whatever I feel like giving each month, whatever I won't miss, in a big windfall at the end of the year. My ADHD really likes the idea of giving to a different charity every month, really diving deep into the decision each month, but I know from research that the best tactic is to give a regular amount so that charities have income that they can count on. 

On the other hand, I also know that my meager donation is not going to solve any of those problems I listed above, but I want to help!

Another way to give back is with time. Not only for good causes that help humanity, but with various fun activities and clubs that I like to help build community. I'm best at admin and am a super introvert, so door knocking and soup kitchen-ing - as tempting as they sound (I think that's what we all think of when we think of volunteering) -  is not going to be my bag. People are just not my strength. I have a lot of ideas (can't list here because they would definitely identify me, haha!), but I'm not even sure those clubs even want or need help! The only thing I've come up with for sure is:

• I've signed up to help do admin for the Green party here in NZ. 

Some choices are easy - in addition to my Giving Back Policy (TM) for family and friend's various causes, I'll keep donating to:

• The NZ Heart Foundation Lottery. 
  
• The NZ Coastguard Lottery. 

Both organizations save lives and I get to dream about winning a house/car/boat/trip/cash/whatever! Easiest decision ever. The giving amounts to about $510 NZD a year. There are 7 heart foundation lotteries at $30 each and 6 coastguard lotteries at $50 each each year. That adds up to about $43/mo.

Another way is to give blood and plasma. I'm looking into this!

I haven't received my first paycheck or my new contract yet, nor have I established a good routine/sense of how much time I actually have available for volunteering yet. While that settles, I will continue researching:

• what causes I feel most passionate about,
• where I can make the most difference,
• how much I feel comfortable giving in light of all of my goals, 
• which clubs/organizations I want to give my time to, 
• and the best strategy for giving back overall for me.
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Full-Time Salary - for the first time since 2013

My contract isn't finalized yet, but it looks like I'll soon be receiving a full-time salary for the first time since June 2013. Ever since then, my hours and FTE (full time equivalent) job percentage have been slowly cut. For a while, I was getting a PhD stipend, which helped fill in the gap. 

Even when I was earning a full-time salary, though, it wasn't at a very high rate. It was definitely enough for someone like me to live comfortably if I had flatmates and forewent a car, but it was not an amount that other people would consider a "good" salary. 

Now that I've been given a promotion and gotten additional post-doc funding, however, my salary is...uh...doubling what I currently make now. Not to get ahead of ourselves - for perspective, in USD, I'm still only making about 10% more than what I made prior to moving to NZ. Not great, but much MUCH more than I am making now. 

Plans for that money? For a while I allowed myself to dream about what is possible. Living alone? Absolutely. Travel? Sure, if I can get the time off. A cleaner once in a while, more massages, finally tackling health issues and starting up new fun, social, active hobbies? 100%. 

But then when I took a step back, I realized that the guaranteed full-salary funding ends in Sept 2026. Afterward, I will likely be going back down to 0.3 FTE (12 hours a week), and the salary associated with those hours - approximately $2100/mo, with a possible increase only if I can convince my boss to let me go casual. If that happened, the $35K overheads being paid on my $30K salary could be paid directly to ME instead of going to the University.

I need to ensure that I do not inflate my lifestyle so much that going back to living off of that little amount of money isn't doable. While I will use the money I saved up to travel, do my medical appointments, buy stuff, invest in my health, as it was intended for, I will compromise on my fixed costs: I will live with flatmates, but move to a place where I have my own bathroom (once my apartment complex gets sold and they kick us all out, OR my LL increases my rent or sells the place). 

Running the numbers on my next flat, I could possibly afford to pay about $350 pw if I got paid $65K from my base job that is highly likely to continue beyond Sept 2026. Looking around at studio and 1 bedroom flats, there are absolutely no options I'd want to live in for $350 per week in the Auckland CBD and surrounds. They're all so grotty! My quality of life will actually increase more if I get a 2 bedroom flat and share it with a flatmate. The one concession I'll make to myself is to have my own bathroom with bathtub as a non-negotiable. $350 pw should get me there. Ideally I'd find a flat in a good location with some outside space for a garden and good amenities: a pool, hot tub, tennis court, but all of that is lower on the list. I'd also like a flat with a parking spot that I can rent out to offset the rent a bit, have in case I ever buy a car, and offer to a flatmate to sweeten the deal, but again that isn't a deal-breaker. I guess I should start looking around now.

But first? I aim to spend every cent I make in the months of April and May, and in June, the first month I should receive a full-time salary in over a decade. It is time to LIVE.

An Interesting Offer...Years Too Late (or Early?)

The lord giveth...and taketh away. My full time contract hasn't even started yet and there's already a life change threatening to eat up the extra money I'll be earning!

My landlord texted me this week with a frenzied request to call her back ASAP. Apparently the mortgage on my flat is up and they were given no choice but to go interest-only at a much higher interest rate than before, effectively making the property a bad investment going forward. She knew how much I love the flat, and was wondering if I would want to buy it at what she described as almost half-off: the property is has a rated value at around $800K but they'd take $450K for it. IF I can't buy it, they'll be forced to sell.

Sound fishy? Why YES IT IS. It is effectively a threat because it forces me into a position where I have to buy if I don't want to move. However I WILL HAVE TO MOVE ANYWAY. As I've lamented many times before over the past year, my entire apartment complex is up for sale (!) because they found something dodgy in need of serious repair in the construction of the complex (!). The repairs won't become dire for another decade, but I'd have to imagine that would affect any impending sale. 

The LL still hasn't mentioned that the complex is up for sale to me. I could have brought it up at any point over the past year, but I've been quite busy and distracted and just wanting to avoid the situation altogether with my PhD. This alone makes me very suspicious of her and this offer - I think it actually just gets her out of a bad situation (and me into one!). Passing the buck, as it were.

A few years ago, I would have likely tried to make this work somehow. I absolutely LOVE my flat and the location. I would have liquidated all of my assets to get a deposit together, hired a lawyer for the paperwork, really really tried to argue with the banks to show my credit-worthiness, the works. I've thought about all of the upgrades I want to do to make it even more livable. But now? After the whole apartment complex for sale thing? Absolutely not. For all I know, the insides of this place are rotting and full of black mold.

The thing is, it doesn't actually matter if I had tried to buy. According to many mortgage calculators, even with my new salary, I STILL DO NOT QUALIFY FOR A MORTGAGE IN NEW ZEALAND. As a single person making $100K, I am still extremely risky to banks. It doesn't help that my new salary is only guaranteed until Sept 2026, and my regular contracts are only 1 year at a time. Even with all of that, the most generous mortgage calculators (the ones that don't automatically reject me) say I can borrow about half of what I'd actually need to buy this place (if I actually wanted to). That doesn't even count council rates OR body corporate fees (NZ's version of an HOA). I just plain cannot afford to buy, even in this down market.

I was taken totally aback and got the text and phone call while doing fieldwork, so just told my LL that I'd think about it and crunch some numbers. I'll go back to her this weekend and say that I'm not in a position to buy no matter how I tried to work it. There are a few options at that point:

1. She'll have to increase the rent to keep up with her mortgage. She'll have to give a 60 day notice for this.

2. She'll have to sell. She'll have to give 42 days' notice before I have to leave.

3. She'll increase the rent while selling.

My response to all three will be the same: move, or at least say that I'll have to move if the rent increases. My LL actually has been very, very good to me other than the whole complex for sale thing and kept the rent under market value, so unfortunately anywhere else I move will inevitably have a higher price tag. But a rental increase will definitely wipe that difference out, meaning that I'll just be better off moving. Luckily for me, it is a renter's market in Auckland right now, so there are a few decent options.

It is likely that the flat will sit on the market for ages and ages if she sells, and if I leave, she'll have an extremely hard time finding a new renter at the higher rate, which will mean that they'll be paying the entire mortgage themselves. Any increases to the rent she proposes for me will likely bring it in line with market rent right now. If I leave, she'll try to rent it out at that higher price tag, meaning she'll be competing with all the other flats just sitting on the market right now. She'll be tempted to lower the rental price in that case, which will mean that she's better off just keeping the rent where it is and letting me stay til it sells. For me, it is a win-win (I hope).

The only downside is that because it is a renter's market, I will have a very tough time finding a new flatmate to share the higher rent at my new flat with, making my effective rent go up even further (plus I'll have to carry the costs of the entire rental while finding a new flattie). And possibly absorb the cost of furniture to boot. 

Why do I need to get a flatmate if I'm making $100K a year? Great question. The thing is, I just can't afford to live alone yet. If I do not find funding for the future in the next year, my income will go right back down to where it is now in Sept 2026. I do not like moving, so I really want to find my next forever rental home. In order to guarantee that I can afford my rent in Sept 2026, I have to run some numbers. More in the next post.

April 2025 Budget and Net Worth Update

Life Update

• One month after PhD submission and I finally have stopped thinking about all of the mistakes in it, and started enjoying my time off. In April, I had every Tuesday and Wednesday off, plus several holidays: Good Friday, Easter Monday, and ANZAC Friday. This meant I did not come even anywhere CLOSE to catching up on emails and organizing files or getting much of anything done, but I'm sure it'll happen one day. I'm not that worried.

• I still don't have a replacement for Skype, and they shut down May 5. I will try calling my family via a group Signal to start with, then evaluate if that doesn't work so well. Skype has stopped calling my family's landline, so that's not even an option anymore anyway. I've changed most of my phone numbers on my US based accounts to my TMobile prepaid US number instead of my Skype #. It is a huge pain to access texts to that number (I have to switch out my SIM cards every time), but I have no other recourse. Microsoft and their enshittification policies can go suck it.
  
  
• I finally started going to classes at the gym I signed up for in January. I have been joining a light stretch class to keep things light at first. I have been so so so immobile and inactive and just so fully in my head for so long I was afraid of what would happen if I suddenly started moving again! It's been a month now of that, plus reaching my 1500 step/day goal most days in April, and so far so good. I think it's time to ramp things up to more active classes and step goals in May.
  
  
• The reformer pilates classes at my gym are restricted to just SIX spots, which means that it has taken me a month to even be quick enough to snag a class. Gah. They get taken within ONE MINUTE of opening up. I think I'm gonna have to complain. The classes are ALWAYS full, plus they are PAID classes (on top of the gym membership - students pay like $6/class, which is super cheap) so I don't see why they cannot just 1) buy more machines and use one of the bigger work out rooms and/or 2) hire more instructors to ensure there are enough classes/spots for everyone that wants to take classes. Seems like a profitable no-brainer to me, but what do I know...?
  
  
• I just started going to a Sunday AM tennis class, and got a friend to join me!! Super duper fun. I actually kept up pretty well at the first class last week, so I was pretty happy about that. Plus it's just good to get back in the swing of things (ba-dum-tiss). It's just $20/week, which is great. I have the same coach as when I started, and I LOVE him and his teaching style, so I'm overjoyed that I can start re-learning from someone that I know works with my learning style.
  
  
• The funding my supervisor and I applied for is currently in contracting hell, but apparently I will be getting paid my FULL salary for at least a year starting at the end of May. The funding will last until end August 2026. I've already met my first deliverable of the four due in September, so I'm well on my way to hitting those goals.
  
  
• Last month, I said that I was going to try to open my mind about my flatmate, and start asking him to stop doing the things that annoy me, and/or fix the things. I did that, I thought very politely, explaining my reasoning, and he just made things worse by fighting me on every. little. request. that I made. It was around things like how he stored his bike in a way that blocked the exits - unacceptable according to the fire warden that came by to check our alarms - and how I expected his personal stuff to be stored in his room rather than left out in the common areas. That last one is stipulated in our flatsharing agreement, so it isn't like it's the first time he's seen that request. I wouldn't want to invite guests over when his laptop, mouse, myriad computer cords, boxing gloves, dirty socks, dozens of shoes, work bags, etc. are strewn around the living room. I explained that was why that was in the flatsharing agreement that he signed. He protested at every turn and keeps trying to get away with things that I've explicitly said I didn't like/weren't allowed. I hate that I have to keep nagging him about things like leaving the lint in the dryer (forgetting once or twice - no biggie - but it's EVERY single time now). Cleaning the lint out of the dryer is a landlord rule because lint can cause fires, so it's not like every rule is a "me" rule - sometimes it's just general flatting and safety rules. We just don't gel personality-wise, either. He's made some transphobic comments which I don't like and gotten very weird with me about gender roles and cleaning. No thank you.
  
  So now I officially dislike him, but am pretty much stuck with him, because the market is so terrible. My landlord actually said to keep him because she was trying to find new tenants for one of her other properties and essentially no one replied to the ad, even after lowering the price. I'd be stuck paying the whole rent by myself for who knows how long if I chucked him out. For now, I hang out in my room until I know he's out of the house/has gone to bed. It's not ideal but at least I have a way to avoid him when I really want to.

• My apartment complex still hasn't been sold. I keep a running list of rental listings in the CBD and surroundings in my price range that I would consider living in, so that if I get the 42 day notice, I can start scouting them out immediately. The only silver lining with that would be getting rid of my flatmate.
  
  
• I'm very excited about my US trip later this year.
  
  
• Bank of America continues to lock my card for what it thinks is fraud, but is actually me trying to use the Air Alaska card. I have spent many hours on the phone with them. I'm so over it - I'm never ever applying for another BoA cc ever again. Luckily, I have found that Mevo charges do not get declined, so I've bought another $1K of gift cards to use over the next year or so. I have ~$1K USD left to charge before mid-June. I think that is very doable. Worst comes to worst, I buy another slew of Mevo gift cards, essentially pre-paying for transportation/carshare for the next year or so.
  
  
• I had a pedicure, hair cut, and several massages in April. Self-care, hurrah!
  
  
• All my accounts (and therefore, Net Worth) is down, but honesty the future feels so bleak and long-term saving feels so pointless that it just all seems like play money right now. It's very hard to take the volatility seriously, because what else did we expect when we elected a fascist into a critical world power position and essentially threw away science and any hope to cope with climate change anyway? In any case, I'm ignoring it.
  
  
• Now that I have met all of my personal short- and medium-term savings goals and recognized that my long-term goal of buying a house in NZ is unattainable (and I have no hope of being employed and going back to the US now), I am going to stop saving until I identify a new savings goal, like a fund for 2026 US travel, for example. I will continue to invest in my Kiwisaver because I can't pass up the employer match and I will invest in peer-to-peer loans and play around with investing in my Berkshire Hathaway account because I think it is fun. However, my personal challenge in May is going to be to spend every dime of my salary again. I have a LOT of catching up to do in terms of enjoying my life again, and I'm not going to let money get in the way of that for at least another month (I think through end of June). Then I'll reassess where I'm at, particularly because I'll be making double my current salary then and that may change my thinking around what is possible.

April 2025 Budget

I had my 0.5 FTE salary as earned income. It was a 3 paycheck month, and I challenged myself to spend every single dime as a reward for submitting my thesis finally.

I continue to transfer funds to my Squirrel on call and peer-to-peer lending accounts. Their savings account offers a better interest rate than what I have now with my basic Rabobank savings account, so it's a no-brainer.

Income: $5,211.07

Salary: $4,721.25 (3 paycheck month)

Lending Crowd repayments: $229.82

Zagga repayments: $0

Garage rent: $260

Spending: $3,739.38 (71.8%) + $2,536.79 for US trip

 

Spending categories (budgeted amount in parentheses):

Rent: $1060 - my portion of rent is $265 per week. 

Groceries: $533.42 ($500)

Eating out: $202.06 ($150) I ordered pizza hut 2x, McDonald's 5x, burger king 1x, ate out at a restaurant (!!) once for a friend's birthday, and a pizza place with friends another time, and ordered wok n noodle soups and curries and chicken satay and fresh veggie spring rolls 1x. I will look at cutting back on the fast food going forward. Not due to $$ issues but more for health reasons. I also want to cut WAY back on soda. I relied on it heavily to get me through my PhD writing and now that that phase is over, so does the soda phase need to be done.

Charity: $0 ($60) 

Cell phone: $18 ($35) The usual top up.

Medical: $39 ($100) For buccaline.

Misc: $4,261.46 ($485)

alcohol: $118. Took a friend out for drinks at Mezze and the Caretaker (spenny!) for her bday

entertainment: $72.48. Paid for 1 month of a Patreon to a creator I really enjoy. Spent a nice evening with a friend to see the Accountant 2, got popcorn and a drink, went out to dinner after, and baked brownies afterward.

self care: $730.78. Got a maid for 3 hours to clean the oven and whole house ($370); got 3x massages; got a haircut ($50); got a spa gel pedicure ($55); paid for a tennis lesson ($20)

fees: $112. membership fee to a tennis club ($85); $27 paid for parking for the maid for 4 hours

gifts: $86.97. Paid for a friend's drink; bought friend's bday gifts. 

goods and wants: $561.64. I bought a hairbrush, mints, goodies from the American store, bolts to fix the kitchen cabinet door (2x), shampoo/conditioner bar, isopropyl alcohol spray, hydrogen peroxide healing bandaid, compeed cold sore patches, reach floss pack; reach flosser heads,  white out; massager; super soft socks; got 2 tennis rackets regripped and restrung; potting soil to repot indoor plants; extra snacks for the movies; pilates grippy socks x2; new pots; wrist rest keyboard, mousepad with wrist rest, plant tray; and a birthday card

transportation: $42.80. I had a $400 Mevo credit bundle I bought last month for April, so most of my car shares were covered from that cost.

travel: $2536.79. Paid for from savings (not counted in the March budget).

Because of my high travel expenses, I elected not to save any $$ from April (other than the automatic $50 NZD savings to my Rabobank account and $50 USD to my SoFi account in the US). I actually have enough of a buffer in both my US and NZ checking accounts to cover my ENTIRE US trip costs. The $5K NZD fund will therefore be spent while I'm on the trip, rather than for flights, etc.

 

Savings and Funds Activity Update

• $15K more of CDs have now matured. Since the interest rates just keep dropping, I've started moving money to Squirrel and investing in peer-to-peer loans instead of CD's.
  
  
• I've officially run out of funding goals. Now that my PhD is submitted, it's actually time to start spending all the money I painstakingly saved for just this time period. But I'm finding it quite difficult. 1. I hate shopping in NZ. They never have what I want, it's crappy quality AND way overpriced (I can deal with one or the other, but NOT BOTH). 2. I've gotten so used to saving that my spending skill is under developed. 3. I can't quite get out of my underpaid scarcity mindset, even though very soon I will be making closer to what I'm actually worth.
  
  
• No Zagga loan offers came up this month, so I still have no loans out.
  
  
• I have $11,328.56 in an on-call account earning 3.25% p.a. in Squirrel, with $1400 invested in various peer-to-peer loans at $100 each at 6 to 6.5% p.a. $2K of the money in the on-call account (20 loans at $100 each) is waiting to be invested as loans become available. I've decided to keep my $10K emergency fund and several other to-be-spent-soon funds in a savings account and invest the rest aggressively in loans like this since I cannot invest in the stock market in NZ, unless I need the funding for travel or a new laptop or whatever I saved it up for. I'll slowly ramp this up as my CD's mature and I move the bulk of my cash from Rabobank to Squirrel.
  
  

Net Worth Tracking

NZ Savings (cash and CDs): $132,705.68 NZD

Peer to peer lending: $3,798.38

• LendingCrowd: $2,398.38 NZD - principal still owed, repaid with interest in weekly installments
• Zagga: $0K NZD 
• Squirrel: $1400 NZD

Kiwisaver: $101,834.14 NZD. Was down quite a bit more, now recovering slightly. Oh well.

US investments: $55,160.42 USD. This is also down.

Total Net Worth (Apr 2025): $330,710.91 NZD (a decrease of $4,310.40 NZD since last month)