I ate breakfast at home this morning.
8:00 am: My supervisor told me that she's leaving for another job today. I'm sad to see her go, but I'm also excited that I might have a chance to get promoted. I'm not sure what the likelihood of that is. I don't want to get my hopes up.
2:00 pm: I went over to the apartment complex that I was interested and signed a lease, $600 for application and administration fees. Rent is $1270/mo. and it's 800 square feet and only a little over a mile from work. I did some more research on other places and found two additional places that I'd like to check out, if it's not too late.
4:30 pm: Finally made it back to Party City and bought a tablecloth, plates, cups, napkins, and table decorations. I got a $10 off coupon from my co-worker. I only spent $30, which will be reimbursed...
7:00 pm: I got home and prepared the quiche for tomorrow's pot luck. At least no more money was spent. I still have to pay my ticket and get my Cairns tour. I need to make more money...
Money spent: $630... ick, but I'll have a place to live at the end of July.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Money Diary: Day 6
I finally got a run in after not working out for... not sure how long.
My mom came over and we went to get lunch. Her treat. After lunch we went to Wegman's and then Cupcakes Actually. I bought us each a cupcake, $6.88. I think I'm getting over my cupcake craze. It's just not as inviting anymore. I got to try Death by Chocolate and Champagne Taste today. I think the Death by Chocolate was better. The other one was kind of dry.
I've yet to go to Party City... :(
Money spent: $6.88
My mom came over and we went to get lunch. Her treat. After lunch we went to Wegman's and then Cupcakes Actually. I bought us each a cupcake, $6.88. I think I'm getting over my cupcake craze. It's just not as inviting anymore. I got to try Death by Chocolate and Champagne Taste today. I think the Death by Chocolate was better. The other one was kind of dry.
I've yet to go to Party City... :(
Money spent: $6.88
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Money Diary: Day 5
I got up at 7 am this morning and shoved a graham cracker in my face before heading out to Valvoline for a oil change and then a state safety inspection. I printed a Valvoline coupon at work yesterday for $6 off! Woohoo!
The oil change cost $50.81 after the coupon. The inspection cost $45 including the $25 he charged me for cleaning/polishing my headlights because the plastic was dull and scratched up, therefore causing my lights to be very dim. He couldn't have passed me otherwise. He advised that I would probably need new headlights before my next inspection. I started a fund on SmartyPig to meet this goal. I had noticed that my headlights sucked, but it wasn't really a big deal to me since I rarely drive at night. Perhaps my car was conditioning me not to do so!
After I got back from taking care of car shenanigans, I went to the Post Office to pick up package materials for a package that I've been meaning to send. Unfortunately, flat-rate boxes are not cheap (about $5 a pop!). I decided to call for free shipping materials instead.
When I got home, I made myself some eggs and ordered flowers to be sent to J's family, $50.85. I then called around to various Party Citys to see if they had what I was looking for, but it turns out none of them did. At least I saved myself some time and gas. I will go to Party City tomorrow and just pick up an alternative to what I originally wanted.
I still had a whole afternoon to fritter away... I needed a change of scenery, but didn't want to go too far. I ended up in Fairfax at Old Navy and then Barnes and Noble. I didn't buy anything at Old Navy and I spent many hours sitting in Barnes and Noble perusing health and fashion magazines as well as Australia travel guides. I took some notes on the interesting tidbits, but did not find any books that were worth buying. Usually I only purchase books on Amazon, but I had a gift card. Ahh... for the love of gift cards! Thank you, friends! I purchased The Time Traveler's Wife. I've read almost two chapters and it seems to be a promising read. I haven't had many books that have held my interest lately, so haven't been reading as much. I kind of want to save books to read during my Australia flights. We'll see how it all pans out.
Speaking of Australia, I'm waiting for a credit charge to be refunded for a tour that I booked in Cairns. For some reason, they aren't offering the tour that day, or maybe the tour filled up. Not sure. Either way, I need to book another tour for that day because I can't go to Australia and not see the Great Barrier Reef.
After Barnes and Noble, I went to Panera to enjoy the beautiful day and have a nice late lunch/early dinner outside. My meal was $7.65. It was a lovely afternoon and I'm quite tired. Now to take a nap before seeing what the night has to bring...
Money spent: $154.31
The oil change cost $50.81 after the coupon. The inspection cost $45 including the $25 he charged me for cleaning/polishing my headlights because the plastic was dull and scratched up, therefore causing my lights to be very dim. He couldn't have passed me otherwise. He advised that I would probably need new headlights before my next inspection. I started a fund on SmartyPig to meet this goal. I had noticed that my headlights sucked, but it wasn't really a big deal to me since I rarely drive at night. Perhaps my car was conditioning me not to do so!
After I got back from taking care of car shenanigans, I went to the Post Office to pick up package materials for a package that I've been meaning to send. Unfortunately, flat-rate boxes are not cheap (about $5 a pop!). I decided to call for free shipping materials instead.
When I got home, I made myself some eggs and ordered flowers to be sent to J's family, $50.85. I then called around to various Party Citys to see if they had what I was looking for, but it turns out none of them did. At least I saved myself some time and gas. I will go to Party City tomorrow and just pick up an alternative to what I originally wanted.
I still had a whole afternoon to fritter away... I needed a change of scenery, but didn't want to go too far. I ended up in Fairfax at Old Navy and then Barnes and Noble. I didn't buy anything at Old Navy and I spent many hours sitting in Barnes and Noble perusing health and fashion magazines as well as Australia travel guides. I took some notes on the interesting tidbits, but did not find any books that were worth buying. Usually I only purchase books on Amazon, but I had a gift card. Ahh... for the love of gift cards! Thank you, friends! I purchased The Time Traveler's Wife. I've read almost two chapters and it seems to be a promising read. I haven't had many books that have held my interest lately, so haven't been reading as much. I kind of want to save books to read during my Australia flights. We'll see how it all pans out.
Speaking of Australia, I'm waiting for a credit charge to be refunded for a tour that I booked in Cairns. For some reason, they aren't offering the tour that day, or maybe the tour filled up. Not sure. Either way, I need to book another tour for that day because I can't go to Australia and not see the Great Barrier Reef.
After Barnes and Noble, I went to Panera to enjoy the beautiful day and have a nice late lunch/early dinner outside. My meal was $7.65. It was a lovely afternoon and I'm quite tired. Now to take a nap before seeing what the night has to bring...
Money spent: $154.31
Money Diary: Day 4
I got in contact with the Spy Museum to get a refund for "The Spy in the City." The refund hasn't been posted to my account yet, and I just realized that I gave him the wrong credit card information. Argh... hopefully it won't be too much of an issue. I'll get to the bottom of it.
After work, I attempted to go to Party City to pick up some things for our potluck on Tuesday. They didn't have what I wanted so I will try to look at another location.
I had a yogurt and banana for breakfast and leftover Chicken and Potato Korma for lunch and dinner.
I decided to spend the evening in watching tv and attempting to scrapbook. I was on a roll with scrapbooking last weekend, but now the creative juices aren't funneling in that direction.
Money spent: $0 (with a $64 credit coming soon... I hope!)
After work, I attempted to go to Party City to pick up some things for our potluck on Tuesday. They didn't have what I wanted so I will try to look at another location.
I had a yogurt and banana for breakfast and leftover Chicken and Potato Korma for lunch and dinner.
I decided to spend the evening in watching tv and attempting to scrapbook. I was on a roll with scrapbooking last weekend, but now the creative juices aren't funneling in that direction.
Money spent: $0 (with a $64 credit coming soon... I hope!)
Friday, June 26, 2009
looking for the silver lining
I felt all kinds of emotionally mixed-up and depressed yesterday. Something just wasn't right inside and I couldn't shake myself out of it. Work was fine, but I felt like the ticket just put me in a very negative, inert disposition. I couldn't understand why I was feeling so down over just a ticket, and also the potential money-drain of a new place to live. It just wasn't right.
I think that sometimes we have an intuition that makes us feel a certain way for no particular reason until some sort of revelation comes.
While at Baskin Robbins, I received a phone call from J's mom. She asked to speak to him and said it was important. As soon as the word "important" came out of her mouth, I already knew what it was that she had to tell him. J's grandfather had passed away. Last month he suffered a stroke and he was in the hospital for awhile.
I guess this news justifies how I was feeling all afternoon yesterday. It's a hard emotion to shake off. The last time I had to support someone through a death was when my step-dad died. I'm still not 100% sure what the right things to do or say are. I remember when my grandmother died, I just wanted to be alone. I wandered the streets of Boston on a gorgeous spring day by myself, trying to see the happiness of the world through tear-brimmed eyes and a broken heart.
J is driving home to his parents today and I pray that the solitude will give him peace and comfort.
I think that sometimes we have an intuition that makes us feel a certain way for no particular reason until some sort of revelation comes.
While at Baskin Robbins, I received a phone call from J's mom. She asked to speak to him and said it was important. As soon as the word "important" came out of her mouth, I already knew what it was that she had to tell him. J's grandfather had passed away. Last month he suffered a stroke and he was in the hospital for awhile.
I guess this news justifies how I was feeling all afternoon yesterday. It's a hard emotion to shake off. The last time I had to support someone through a death was when my step-dad died. I'm still not 100% sure what the right things to do or say are. I remember when my grandmother died, I just wanted to be alone. I wandered the streets of Boston on a gorgeous spring day by myself, trying to see the happiness of the world through tear-brimmed eyes and a broken heart.
J is driving home to his parents today and I pray that the solitude will give him peace and comfort.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Money Diary: Day 3
7:23 a.m. I paid my parking ticket online this morning. I figured I'd get this out of the way. $75...
I need to be out of E's by the end of July, so I've been trying to find a temporary sublet. I've only been paying $650 for rent at E's and utilities are rarely over $100, which has been pretty awesome. It's allowed me to have some extra funds to pay off my student loan and also for savings. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be possible to find a comparable situation.
4:20 p.m. I get pulled over when I'm less than a mile away from home. I've been putting off renewing my safety inspection sticker. Ugh, so now I get to kiss another $92 goodbye, but not quite yet.
4:30 p.m. Once the officer gives me my ticket and let's me go, I decide I'm not ready to go home just yet, so I get some gas instead. $25.
6:15 p.m. I went to go look at a potential sublet. Rent would be $1242/month. The nice thing about this deal would be that the lease only goes until the end of November, however, they would like for someone to move in on July 1st. It's not really the ideal situation considering the fact that I had planned to stay at E's for the month of July. I think unless the guy can't find anyone, I'll have to find another option.
6:30 p.m. Grocery shopping at Wegman's. I'm feeling very dejected about my future living situation and my appetite is non-existent, which I guess is a good thing so I don't pick up everything I see in the grocery store. I only spend $30 on groceries.
8:30 p.m. I want to make myself feel better and think that maybe Baskin Robbins will do the trick. I get a waffle cone with a scoop of mint chocolate chip and world class chocolate for $6. I come nowhere near finishing it. I'm just too depressed and the day doesn't get any better.
Total spent: $136 with an impending expense of $92 as well as an oil change AND safety inspection on the plate for tomorrow.
I need to be out of E's by the end of July, so I've been trying to find a temporary sublet. I've only been paying $650 for rent at E's and utilities are rarely over $100, which has been pretty awesome. It's allowed me to have some extra funds to pay off my student loan and also for savings. Unfortunately, I don't think it will be possible to find a comparable situation.
4:20 p.m. I get pulled over when I'm less than a mile away from home. I've been putting off renewing my safety inspection sticker. Ugh, so now I get to kiss another $92 goodbye, but not quite yet.
4:30 p.m. Once the officer gives me my ticket and let's me go, I decide I'm not ready to go home just yet, so I get some gas instead. $25.
6:15 p.m. I went to go look at a potential sublet. Rent would be $1242/month. The nice thing about this deal would be that the lease only goes until the end of November, however, they would like for someone to move in on July 1st. It's not really the ideal situation considering the fact that I had planned to stay at E's for the month of July. I think unless the guy can't find anyone, I'll have to find another option.
6:30 p.m. Grocery shopping at Wegman's. I'm feeling very dejected about my future living situation and my appetite is non-existent, which I guess is a good thing so I don't pick up everything I see in the grocery store. I only spend $30 on groceries.
8:30 p.m. I want to make myself feel better and think that maybe Baskin Robbins will do the trick. I get a waffle cone with a scoop of mint chocolate chip and world class chocolate for $6. I come nowhere near finishing it. I'm just too depressed and the day doesn't get any better.
Total spent: $136 with an impending expense of $92 as well as an oil change AND safety inspection on the plate for tomorrow.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Money Diary: Day 2
7:00 a.m. I had a yogurt and a banana for breakfast.
12:30 p.m. I had my leftovers from Sweetwater for lunch. Mmm... still good!
I received some info about Spy in the City. I am putting that on my weekend itinerary. I invited some friends to come along.
3:30 p.m. I bought the tickets to the Spy in the City, each ticket is $16. I bought 4 tickets - $64. I'll get reimbursed for them.
Tomorrow I have to pay a parking ticket - $75. Ouch... no fun. I will get reimbursed by work for it though. Thank goodness.
Money spent: $64
12:30 p.m. I had my leftovers from Sweetwater for lunch. Mmm... still good!
I received some info about Spy in the City. I am putting that on my weekend itinerary. I invited some friends to come along.
3:30 p.m. I bought the tickets to the Spy in the City, each ticket is $16. I bought 4 tickets - $64. I'll get reimbursed for them.
Tomorrow I have to pay a parking ticket - $75. Ouch... no fun. I will get reimbursed by work for it though. Thank goodness.
Money spent: $64
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Money Diary: Day 1
So, I read this blog called "I will teach you to be rich." My favorite feature on it is "Money Diaries," a column where people keep a written account of their financial situation and their daily spending for a week.
I've decided to keep my own Money Diary... I hope to keep it up for at least this week and maybe longer. We'll see how it goes!
Day 1:
7:00 a.m. I bring a stash of breakfast food to keep at the office so that I can eat breakfast at work. Currently, I had a box of cereal and some milk. Yesterday, I had just enough milk left for one or two more servings of cereal. Unfortunately, today when I went to the fridge, I discovered that my milk was gone! Someone either drank my milk or disposed of it. Either way, it led me to my first purchase of the week. A small carton of fat free milk from the cafe next door for $1.04.
1:00 p.m. I had a lean cuisine for lunch. I bring my lunch to work more often than not.
3:00 p.m. I remembered that I was interested in doing a Twilight 5k race at the end of July. Registration is $30 until July 10th. I am going to hold off on it because I may or may not be moving the weekend of the race. F is going to do it with me though, so I will sign up soon!
6:00 p.m. I had dinner with J, K, and K's friend at Sweetwater Tavern. I had my favorite meal... their Short Smoked Grilled Salmon Salad. Mmm... Also, there was a coupon for two free desserts - I got key lime pie and apple pie a la mode. Nothing to write home about, but a good meal. J paid.
Money spent: $1.04
I've decided to keep my own Money Diary... I hope to keep it up for at least this week and maybe longer. We'll see how it goes!
Day 1:
7:00 a.m. I bring a stash of breakfast food to keep at the office so that I can eat breakfast at work. Currently, I had a box of cereal and some milk. Yesterday, I had just enough milk left for one or two more servings of cereal. Unfortunately, today when I went to the fridge, I discovered that my milk was gone! Someone either drank my milk or disposed of it. Either way, it led me to my first purchase of the week. A small carton of fat free milk from the cafe next door for $1.04.
1:00 p.m. I had a lean cuisine for lunch. I bring my lunch to work more often than not.
3:00 p.m. I remembered that I was interested in doing a Twilight 5k race at the end of July. Registration is $30 until July 10th. I am going to hold off on it because I may or may not be moving the weekend of the race. F is going to do it with me though, so I will sign up soon!
6:00 p.m. I had dinner with J, K, and K's friend at Sweetwater Tavern. I had my favorite meal... their Short Smoked Grilled Salmon Salad. Mmm... Also, there was a coupon for two free desserts - I got key lime pie and apple pie a la mode. Nothing to write home about, but a good meal. J paid.
Money spent: $1.04
Dissolved
I watched what I feel to be the last episode of "Jon and Kate + 8" last night.
The entire episode led to a devastating announcement about their divorce. In the same episode, the children were having "Crooked Houses" built. They are houses that are made to look as if kids put them together because they are crooked. Each of the twins got their own crooked house and the boys got their own house and the little girls got their own house. I think it's ironic that these houses were crooked and that there were four separate ones - I think it parallels the brokenness in the family. I know it sounds like I'm unnecessarily reading a lot into it, but the reality of Jon and Kate's divorce is so sad to me. Kate said in the episode that it isn't ideal and maybe it is the crushed ideal that hurts so much - the fact that those eight kids will be able to see the demise of their parent's marriage on tv over and over again.
The announcement that was displayed on the screen did not have the word divorce in it. It said, "legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the 10-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin." Dissolve.
The entire episode led to a devastating announcement about their divorce. In the same episode, the children were having "Crooked Houses" built. They are houses that are made to look as if kids put them together because they are crooked. Each of the twins got their own crooked house and the boys got their own house and the little girls got their own house. I think it's ironic that these houses were crooked and that there were four separate ones - I think it parallels the brokenness in the family. I know it sounds like I'm unnecessarily reading a lot into it, but the reality of Jon and Kate's divorce is so sad to me. Kate said in the episode that it isn't ideal and maybe it is the crushed ideal that hurts so much - the fact that those eight kids will be able to see the demise of their parent's marriage on tv over and over again.
The announcement that was displayed on the screen did not have the word divorce in it. It said, "legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the 10-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin." Dissolve.
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