Off to the US!

I leave for the US on Monday. T-minus 3 days - USA here I come!

I'm in the US now - I won't be posting much.

July 2025 Update: From Bad to Worse

 Life Update

Oh gosh, where do I even start. It's been a bad month overall, although I had my birthday and some wonderful friends to celebrate it with. 

PhD & WORK 

• The monster is BACK!!! The Uni said that my PhD was not formatted correctly and FOUR MONTHS after submitting, they decided to tell me. My supervisor pushed back for like two weeks because NOWHERE in the guidelines do they say to do the thing they said was wrong with my thesis, and because what they were suggesting to fix it made absolutely zero sense at all. I had to take two weeks and actually RESUBMIT my thesis. Recently I realized that something else (very tiny) went wrong in the formatting in the resubmission (the original was PERFECT), but oh well. It's done. AGAIN.
  
  
• It's now been four months post-PhD. Last month, I realized that I have been too hard on myself. I was trying to get really complex work following up on PhD stuff done and kept getting frustrated when I sat down to do the work but just...couldn't get my brain into gear. I think that was my brain's way of protecting myself because I was getting migraines and started fainting out of nowhere. I ended up focusing on getting my email backlog and file organization down and succeeded at a lot of easy tasks like that instead. That felt REALLY good. 
  
  
• I'm still about two months behind on my post-PhD follow up work now. However, I have been able to start the above-mentioned complex work here and there in the past week or so. The block (and my to-do list) is v e r y slowly eroding. But every little bit counts!! My aim is to get through that work by the time I leave for the US in late August. That main complex piece of work will go to my coauthors for review while I'm relaxing and enjoying my first real break since late 2023. 
  
  
• Job-wise, the hits keep coming. Last month I mentioned that my work has decided that they will no longer renew my contract to keep working on the research programme I have managed for 17 years after this financial year. Something about them being liable after hiring me for 1 year contracts (the funding for my project is annual so this was on purpose, and I have never complained about this). This means that my 17 year job is ending next July, unless my boss could find a workaround. The ideas she had were to 1. try for me to get hired at the other organization involved in leading the programme. 2. Me starting my own contracting business and them hiring me to do the work. 3. Talk the higher ups in the dept to hire me permanently.
  
  This past Thursday, I got some really bad news. My boss said that she'd asked about #1 and #3, and that other organization is not able to hire me - I'd cost the programme 3x the amount over there. The dept is also unable to hire me permanently. So that leaves #2 - me going freelance and them hiring me out. But there are several hitches: 1. I cannot cost the programme more than I cost right now - that is about $70K NZD. 2. The US makes it VERY difficult to be a self employed foreign contractor - I'd have to pay 15.3% of social security and medicare tax. PLUS pay all the NZ taxes AND the full amount for ACC AND I'd cost an extra 15% due to NZ's goods and services tax. 
  
  After all of the extra expenses and taxes, I'd get paid even LESS than I do now for the same amount of work. Ugh. 
  
  I asked Chat GPT and apparently there is precedent for hiring people on a permanent basis but contingent on the annual funding coming through. I am going to ask my boss to run that up the flagpole in a last-ditch attempt to avoid the freelance headaches.

HEALTH & LIVING

• Signal is working just OK for family calls. While at home in the US I plan to buy a cheapo phone # and port that # to Google Voice so I can use that to call my parents' landline for free. That still doesn't solve the group call issue (I need to be able to call landlines and cell phones in the US in a group call for my weekly family calls), but it will give me more options.
  
  
• I have gotten into a really good exercise groove, except for this past Friday (I missed two of my normal work out classes - I was just feeling awful for reasons I'll explain in further bullet points below). I am starting to feel a little bit stronger and a little bit more fluid in my body, which is great. I have really missed getting in some movement to my days and weeks, like I did pre-covid. 
• Every Monday and Friday, I go to a 30 min HIIT workout class. I have to take these easier than everyone else in the class otherwise I faint, but they are still VERY HARD.
• I go to a 1 hr Pilates class on Mondays about an hour after my HIIT class. 
• I go to a 1 hr stretching class on Fridays. 
• There is about an hour between the HIIT and pilates/stretch classes, so in those intervals on Mondays and Fridays I go to my office, catch up with my team, and get office errands done (check mail, go through mail, send samples via mail, little bits of labwork here and there, clean up my office). 
• On Sundays I go to a 1.5 hr tennis lesson with a good friend. 
• After a month or so of the above schedule, I am finally to the point where I'm not too sore/tired in the hours and days afterward. Before this past week or so, I would come back and just crash. I turned into a zombie incapable of doing anything else, which of course made it difficult to get work done. But now I'm getting more used to it, my body isn't as sore, and my brain is starting to recover a tiny bit faster too.
• Because of that recovery, I am thinking of adding another HIIT class on Wednesday AM and then adding a different workout class an hour later. So then on MWF, I'd have an intense workout class, an hour break to get in-person office work done, and then another workout class. And I'd have 1.5 hrs of tennis on Sundays. I'd want to add a dance class in the mix in the future, but otherwise I think I'd be quite happy with that schedule and amount/types of exercise in my life. In the summer, I'll want to do some hiking and camping as well.

• Update on the living sitch: Apartment complex: still not sold. Flatmate: still here. The TradeMe experiment where I track how long ads for flatmates stay up is yielding some interesting results. Last month, the longest running ad in my rough target price range is from 2 June, and I can clearly pinpoint why it is still up. The next-longest running ads are for hostel or boarding house situations, so it is clear why those are still up. The oldest real ad that was somewhat reasonable is only 2 weeks old. It normally takes me ~2-3 weeks to find a flatmate, so 2 weeks is reasonable. 
  
  This month, there are 19 ads up in my price range, and the oldest running ad is from 31 October (??). I'm counting this as a fluke - some people keep ads up for years (renewing them every few weeks but increase the rent so much that no one in their right mind is responding to them). The next longest ad is from 12 June, but is a boarding house situation. All but 7 are from very late July. It is looking like most flats that are somewhat decent get taken relatively quickly. This is a sharp contrast to the whole-flat ads, which are just sitting on the rental market for months at a time. 
  
  It seems as though the factors that are causing whole flats to sit on the market for months is not affecting the flatmate market as much. 
  
  But I think I'd rather just pay whole rent myself than deal with my flatmate any longer. I know I only have a few weeks before I go to the US, but I've decided I'll tell him he's kicked out this coming week. I'll get a new flatmate when I return from the US, when folks are going to start moving to NZ to enjoy the impending summer weather/escape the northern hemisphere winter. The situation is untenable. 
   
• Last month I noted that I've maintained that my life could fall apart when my PhD was submitted. But REALLY? Things are imploding: 
• My 10 yr apt is gonna get sold at any moment now. 
• My 17 year job is ending next year. 
• My BFF is getting divorced and selling her house. I would usually not make this one about me but they always offered to house me if I ran into housing/job issues like the above, so I feel that this is pertinent! I have no NZ failsafe anymore. Given the above, I'd consider moving into her place right about now otherwise. 
  
  
If things in the US were going better right now, I'd be seriously planning on moving back. As it is, I still might elect to not go freelance, move out of my place, move back home and use it as a travel base to travel the world for a year, spending that $60K house down payment fund I now have no use for. It's REALLY tempting, actually.

 

TRAVEL & FUN 

• I'm (still) very excited about my trip to see family and friends in the US later this month (August). I have about $1.8K US in my US bank account to spend while I'm there. I'm going to invest in upgrading my wardrobe, shoes, and quality of life items like good sheets to bring back to NZ. I will also need to update my phone and laptop but am thinking of doing that next year if I go freelance - I can write those purchases off in that case. 
   
• Fun stuff:
• I had my birthday! 
• My friends paid for me to have an axe throwing lesson + rage room stint and we went out to the most delicious italian restaurant! I had a great drink called 'Fresh Baked' that had cinnamon, apple juice, butter washed rum, and probably something else (lemon juice?). It sounds weird but was great. 
• Another friend group paid for our movie tix to see the new Jurassic Park and to go out to dinner afterward. I loved it! 
• Another weekend, I had a New Orleans themed murder mystery dinner party. It was so much fun dressing up and trying to solve whodunit!! 
   

MONEY THOUGHTS

• Even with my increased salary, my natural spending habits seems to land the $3K mark. Without trying at all (and a lot of help for birthday activities from friends), I have $3K leftover from my July income, almost exactly half of my salary. This helps a lot with planning - I am in a very comfortable position if I earn $3K per month for spending. Before taxes, I need to earn $42,500 or so. If I want to save some $$, I would just cut back somewhere or earn more $$. 
  
  
• I think I'll make another $5K fund for my 2026 US trip, and once that is complete, I will have met all of my personal short- and medium-term savings goals for the near future. 

MONTHLY CHALLENGES 

• In August, I want to continue to work on my health by going to exercise classes regularly, cutting back on fast food, soda, and junk food from the grocery store. In July, I challenged myself to avoid getting too much McDonalds (fast food). I only went to McDs in July - once for just a frozen coke, which I'm kind of addicted to, and another time when I was actually craving a cheeseburger and fries (NZ burgers and fries actually taste horrible to me). I don't want to cut out fast food and junk food ENTIRELY - moderation and all of that -- but I do want to only eat that kind of food if I have an active craving for it, until eventually those cravings cease. In the past, this is how I kicked those eating habits - by being more mindful.
  
  In August, I want to continue my progress on this front. Being in the US is gonna mess those plans up, but while I'm in NZ, I want to avoid sodas, fast food, and junk food except when I have serious cravings for it. My take is that they are not worth eating for the sake of stuffing calories down my gullet - I need to actually ENJOY those foods and drinks if I'm going to put them into my body.  
  
  
• An additional challenge August challenge is to get more of my medical appointments checked off before I leave for the US. My first mammogram is scheduled, I have an eye appointment, I will be renewing my prescriptions with my Dr next week, and I have a bowel screening kit for colon cancer. Once I'm back from my US trip, I'd like to see a dermatologist and a physio, and get a full blood panel and discuss HRT/perimenopause with my doc, as well as look into ADHD coaches and therapists.
  
  
  

July 2025 Budget

I am still enjoying a full time salary for the first time in 13 years! 

Income: $6,132.68

Salary: $5,659.42

Lending Crowd repayments: $170.37

Zagga repayments: $5.22

Garage rent: $260 

Spending: $3,069.39 (50%) 

Spending categories (budgeted amount in parentheses):

Rent: $1,080 - my portion of rent is $270 per week. It increased by $5 per week this month.

Groceries: $735.68 ($500) - OVERBUDGET! I bought a ton of Whittaker's Chocolate to gift to family on my trip in August while it was on sale. I also bought prepped food to bring to a dinner party for a friend's birthday. 

Electricity & Internet: $181.41 ($150) - June 2025 bill

Eating out: $195.17 ($250). I got a small Pizza Hut pizza to eat while doing errands with a friend; I got a small frozen coke from McDonald's; I got Zambrero burritos while out in the field for work ($20.99); I got pulled pork and chicken bbq sliders and hush puppies; I got a few slices of Sal's pizza; I got a Subway sandwich; and finally I got a cheeseburger, chicken nuggies, fries, a sundae, and a small frozen coke from McD's. 

Charity: $160 ($50) - Heart Foundation, NZ Coastguard lottos

Cell phone: $17 ($20) The usual top up.

Medical: $0 ($100) 

Misc: $700.13 ($959)

alcohol, entertainment, travel: $0 

self care: $305.40. Four pilates classes for July! 1 massage. $100 to sign up for a 6 week HIIT workout class (18 classes). Another massage. 

fees: $5.10. A movie ticket fee for a birthday trip to the movies with friends for my birthday 

gifts: $10.76. Stickers and stuff for family for my US trip (e.g. NZ sticker books for my cousin's kids)

goods and wants: $234.49. Pizza pan, bag to put a friend's birthday gift in - $6.99. American snacks from Martha's - $16.24. Jean jacket & hoodie from Kmart - $51. Scratch on stickers for cards, tailors gift kit, scooper for laundry detergent from Warehouse - $20.94. Bandana for costume for a US family thing - $2.50. Anew renewable water bottle - $7.82. Two matching sweat sets for upcoming plane ride - $129.

transportation: $144.38. I rented many e-scooters to get to a far-off mevo car, to get home after grocery shopping, and to get to work or a work out class. I've decided that if it takes me using an escooter to make it to an intense work out class on time and in a calm state, so be it. Early in the month, I fainted after rushing out of the house to get to a work out class on time, and would rather not repeat that experience. Getting out of the house on time is very, very difficult with my ADHD, so I will always be out of breath once I arrive at my destination, and this is a small price to pay for my health.

Savings and Funds Activity Update

• $10K more of CDs have now matured. Unfortunately I set one of them to auto-invest, so I think I'm locked in for another year at a measly 3.9% p.a. rate. Whoops. I've fixed that now. I don't think I can get out of it even though I caught it ON THE DAY it matured and reinvested.
  
  
• I've started moving money to Squirrel's on-call account as it offers a better interest rate than what I have now with my basic Rabobank savings account.
  
  
• I have $22,219.93 in an on-call account earning 3% p.a. in Squirrel, with $2587.99  invested in various peer-to-peer loans at $100 each at 6 to 6.5% p.a. About $3K of the money in the on-call account is waiting to be invested, with about $2600 of that as personal loans at 7% p.a. become available (the wait times for these is about a year!). 
  
  
• As I've met most of my short- and medium-term savings goals, I still need to review how much of my savings I want to keep liquid and how much I want to invest in peer-to-peer loans. The $60K I saved up for a house down payment in particular needs to be moved to something more high yielding and I can afford a bit of risk with those funds. I guess I'll just let this $$ accumulate until I buy a house or need it for travel/moving after my job ends next year?

• I made no Zagga investments this month. The investments are a minimum of $1K and I just feel...uncomfortable investing that much in things like individual home loans when I know that the market is pretty bad right now. People are underwater on their mortgages and things aren't selling that well. The cost of living is so high and job opportunities so low that people just aren't buying.
  
  

Net Worth Tracking

NZ Savings (cash and CDs): $144,810.78 NZD

Peer to peer lending: $6,429.64 (Zagga, Squirrel, open principal at Lending Crowd)

• LendingCrowd: $1,861.36 NZD - principal still owed, repaid with interest in weekly installments
• Zagga: $1K NZD 
• Squirrel: $3,568.28 NZD

Kiwisaver: $116,051.86 NZD. 

US investments: $61,457.40 USD. 

Total Net Worth (July 2025): $358,203.66 NZD (an increase of $8,506.66 NZD since last month)