Post Government Shutdown Budgeting

Thankfully, I was not personally affected by the recent government shutdown, but like most people, I was avidly following the news stories about the affected workers struggles to pay basic living expenses after missing more than one paycheck.  If nothing else good comes from this, at least its (possibly) created a bit of a dialogue about personal finance and forced people to examine their saving and spending.  At least, that's what it did for me.

I'm a saver, and always have been.  But when I looked at my accounts and tried to calculate how many months we could last if both of us lost our income, it was surprising.  We live in a very expensive city, and have been primarily focused on reducing debt (which is a good thing!) for the past year or so.  What that means, however, is that our rate of savings has slowed a bit, which is alarming.

By my calculations, it should cost us $3000/month to cover our basic costs.  This includes:

1. Rent ($2300)
2. Electricity (~$120)
3. Gas bill (home $50)
4. Food (~$250)
5. Household (things like toilet paper, etc. $50)
6. Phones ($100)
7. Misc-- ($100) Things like home internet, Netflix/Hulu.  This is an area that we could cut if things get desperate, but there's always hidden costs with doing that as well.  For example, we could cut home internet since we're lucky enough to have a great public library less than a mile away that's open 12 hours a day.  But, reinstalling internet comes with additional fees.  Also, if we were aggressively trying to find new jobs, it would be inconvenient to have to camp out at the library all day, though I recognize that plenty of people do that.

Thankfully, both our cars are paid off, and if we weren't driving to work every day, we'd save about $200/month on gas.  Our car insurance bill is due 2/15 though, so that's a $900 expense that's unavoidable and would really pummel our savings.  Probably my first impulse, if we were in a lost income situation, would be to put that on a credit card to try to buy some time.  I imagine that's what a lot of people had to do.

Because we have a chest freezer, and I have a tendency (compulsion?) to stock up on food when it's on sale, we could probably go more than a month buying very minimal groceries. That number in my calculations is our average food budget. In fact, I'm going to do a pantry challenge in February and March to try to eat down some of my stores of food before we go on an extended vacation in April.

Student loan payments are a bit tricky.  I'm on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness plan (assuming it still exists when my time finally comes), which means that I pay a prescribed amount of money every month, and I can't deviate from it.  I could put my loans into forebearance, if I was really hard up, but my interest rates are so high that that would really cost me a lot of extra money and time down the road, so it's not a very appealing option.  My student loan payment is $440/month, which is almost double our monthly food budget.  It seems incredibly backward to be mulling over whether I would pay my student loans or buy food, but that's a real problem facing plenty of people.

Over all, we're certainly in a better position than many, but not a comfortable position by any stretch.  I've been trying to build up our emergency fund, and doing this audit is making me realize that that needs to be more of a priority.

Where to save:

I have several Capital One online bank accounts, and I LOVE them.  Their accounts are fee free, and have the best rates I've found.  The traditional savings account has a 1% interest rate, which means that we're earning somewhere around $6/month on our current balance of $8600.  That's not amazing, but it's still quite good.  I'll take free money wherever I can get it.  

Their Money Market savings account, which requires a minimum balance of $10,000 has a rate of 2% interest at the time of this writing.  Compare that to my bricks and mortar bank, which has an interest rate of .02%, and earns me about $.20 per year, this is a no-brainer.

Our plan is to keep about $15,000 in a Money Market account so that we have easy access to liquid cash, should we need it.  At the current 2% interest rate, that will earn us about $25 per month in interest. Above and beyond that, I've got my eye on some of Capital One's CDs, that currently have a rate of 2.85% for the three year.  That's a ways down the road, but I want to have a plan in mind for when that day comes!  Plus, it's pretty fun to shop for low stakes investments, and makes me feel very virtuous.

We're going to be feeling the fallout from the government shutdown for a long time, but I really encourage people to take this is a wake-up call to really examine your finances and make a plan.  It's cold outside, and a good time to hunker down with your bank balance.

I'm a Ting!

After a while, if you're like me, you've cut all the expenses that you can or are willing to cut.  My rent, and internet are a fixed amount.  My utilities, I try to keep low, but when it's 15 degrees out, a girl needs to stay comfortable.  Gas for my car, phone bills, groceries--I try to keep those as low as I can without feeling like I'm depriving myself, but it still feels incredibly frustrating to get my paycheck and spend it all in a single day with little-to-nothing left over for savings.

So this is why I'm really, really excited to have found a way to cut back on one of those bills.

I've been with Sprint for nearly ten years, and I've hated Sprint for nearly that entire time.  Their service in the part of town where I live is lousy; they renew your contract for two years every time you get a new phone; they've tricked me into getting a new phone when I didn't actually want one; for some reason, they claim that my email address doesn't work every time I sign up for paperless billing (note: I've had the same email for longer than I've had sprint--it works fine); and for what I use my phone for, I'm just paying what feels like way too much money.  For instance, last month's bill, I used eight minutes of talk time, and sent and received 48 text messages.  My bill was $46.  That $46 also includes a 15% discount that I get because I used to work for Pepsi.  For what I use my phone for, that's just too much money, but I've always been too lazy to shop around for a better deal--if there even is one.

I've had Ting on my radar for a while now.  I actually blogged about them a year and a half ago, but at that time, if I had switched, I would have had to get a new phone, the only phones they supported were smart phones, and you couldn't keep your current phone number.  So I got on their email list and kept up with new developments.  Finally, they posted that you could port your number from your old phone AND, they had a lovely picture of my current cell phone on their website:

It's not fancy, but I love it

Last night, I made the switch, and when I woke up this morning, I had an email telling me how to reactivate my phone.

So far, there are two downsides:

1. I use google voice instead of listening to voicemail, and that feature was disabled.  I'm not sure if I can get it back, but I haven't tried yet.
2. There are issues with texting pictures to your email, which is something I did do a lot.  I saw that in their terms of service,  so I was prepared for it, but I'm not sure how much I'm going to miss having that option.

The upside: Currently my bill is $6.  Obviously, that will go up when I send more texts, etc., but now I have a lot more control of my expenses AND I'm not locked into a stupid plan.  If I decide that Ting doesn't work for me, I can just bail.

I'll keep you posted, but I'm feeling pretty smart right now.

It's One of Those Posts!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

I think that Thanksgiving is actually one of my favorite holidays, now that I no longer work in retail.  I like that it's a holiday devoted to gratitude and gluttony.  Even though I personally don't eat turkey, I still find it very easy to fill up on delicious sides.  And last year, a local pizza shop served up a thanksgiving pizza with stuffing, cranberry sauce, turkey and a side of gravy (for dipping).  I tried it (without turkey); it was interesting...  I'm glad I had it, but I don't think I'll get it again this year.

In grand tradition, I'm going to list of a few things I am thankful for, and please add yours in the comments!

1. I am thankful for my job.  Not only do I love it, but it pays me a living wage, has retirement matching and offers affordable health insurance.
2. I am thankful for my car.  I actually kind of hate my car because it has a bunch of random quirks that are just annoying, but it also has over 100,000 miles on it and still runs just fine.  I intend to drive it until it just won't drive any more. I'm lucky to have a car that runs well and I don't take that for granted.
3. I am thankful for my health.  I have no major health issues, and despite the fact that I seem to have wintertime perma-sniffles, I'm doing just fine.  Your health can change in an instant, so I am going to appreciate what I've got.
4. I am thankful for my friends--both in person and virtual.  I have met so many people over the years who I'm still friends with.  I love being able to know people from all over the world and I love keeping up with people easily.  Which leads me to...
5. I am thankful for social media.  See above.  I have lived in so many different places and had so many different jobs that I've met hundreds of people who I actually care about, but whom I would never call on the phone.  I love that I can keep up with their lives with relative ease on facebook or other social media outlets.  I also love that facebook allows you to develop friendships more slowly.  I'm a rather reserved person until I know someone, so it's much easier for me to seem interesting (and have things to talk about) when I'm not put on the spot.
6. I am thankful for my boyfriend and my kitteh.  Ah, the men in my life, they are good.  Wee Watson and I have been together 12 years (since he was about five months old) and he has been my best cat friend and faithful mascot.  BF and I just had our five year anniversary, which is bonkers because I still don't feel like running away.

   
   

   I promise he's not actually morbidly obese--it's the angle

What are you thankful for?

Let Me Embrace My Flaws As Well As My Strengths

In my mind, the whole point of this blog is coming clean--to myself and my internet friends.  Know thyself, etc.  This is something that is key when it comes to managing your money.  You can't hide bills and pretend they don't exist; you can't ignore debt any more than you can ignore income.  You have to know what's going on, even when what's going on sucks (looking at my plans for November...).

I feel that this is important in all parts of life--not just finance.  You should know who you are, what you like, what your priorities are and what you look like.  This is where Stacey and Clinton come into this post (I miss them so much!).  I have watched What Not to Wear since it premiered in the US.  Prior to that, I watched the UK version.  I love both shows and what I love best about them is that the first thing they do with any participant on the show is try to get them to actually see themselves.  They try to show them who they are, what they actually look like rather than how they see themselves.  If you're going to get clothes that fit and that enhance your figure triumphs while hiding your figure flaws, you have to know what both of those are.  In my mind, that's perfectly tied in with personal finance because you need to both look good and feel confident to do your job well and to find merit in yourself.  It's not the whole package, but it's a big part of it.

This is why I get very annoyed with people who try to take that away from me.

No one can dispute the amount of money I owe the federal government--it's on paper, black and white. But plenty of people think they can dispute what I look like.  As women, we're trained from a very early age to focus on our flaws.

And that's a huge problem.  Of course the flip side of the problem is when people overcompensate by being overly complimentary.  It's just as bad when other people don't allow you to be honest.

If I'm being honest about myself physically, I would say that I have a very long torso, long arms, a reasonably flat stomach, slightly crooked shoulders, very thick thighs and no ass at all.  My thighs are like tree trunks and they pack on muscle quickly and easily.  One time, in grad school, I went to the gym, worked out on the stair climber for an hour, showered and tried to put on the same clothes I had arrived in only to find that my jeans were now too small.  Because of this, I tend to wear more skirts and dresses because it's really hard to buy pants that fit both in the waist and the thighs.  I cannot wear skinny jeans or pencil skirts without looking stupid and/or being incredibly uncomfortable.

I know this about my body.  I'm not asking people to tell me I don't have large thighs because I do.  It's a fact, like my debt to income ratio.  I also like plenty of things about myself--physical and otherwise, but I'm not going to get into how great I am right now.

And yet, I posted something a while back on facebook about briefly forgetting that I do not look good in pencil skirts, and I got hammered by a friend of mine for acting like I had low self-esteem.  Friends occasionally suggest I try on skinny jeans and then disregard me when I say that I can't wear them.  "Don't say that!" or "Sure you can!" Would you say that to Beyonce'?

Beyonce' has thick thighs--FACT

It took me a long time to stop hating the way my body is put together.  I've let a lot of people other the years give me opinions that were just wrong or that did me no favors. Ultimately, I realized that while I may not love everything about the way my body looks, I love what it can do.  I've run 15 half marathons; I have tremendous stamina; I have no major health problems; I have no major disfigurements and I am perfectly happy wearing boot cut jeans and adorable dresses & skirts.

Likewise, don't ask me to hide my head in the sand about my financial situation.  It sucks, but it could be and has been worse.  Don't tell me to wear skinny jeans because everyone else is, I'd rather look good in my clothes than try to be trendy.  Don't tell me that I can afford a European vacation if I've looked at my budget and told you that I can't.

Please, let's let others be honest about who they are and be more honest ourselves.

What Am I Doing Wrong?

October was a somewhat expensive month for me.  I had to buy that box spring and pay for delivery--$300+; I got a haircut and started paying for yoga and a gym membership for the first time in a long time--$120; I upped my internet (may downgrade it again though)--$70 (what!?!?!!?), I went out to eat more than usual and treated myself to an overpriced new wallet (that will last for years!), and I bought more gas than before because I work farther from home, etc.  Even with all that though, I got my paycheck, subtracted next month's rent and regular expenses, and didn't have enough left to even cover two of my three credit cards--nevermind putting money into savings.

I know I'm still paying for the clothes buying binge I went on when I got this new job, but I really forgot how much having a constant balance on your credit card just SUCKS.  I was really looking forward to socking away more money each month into savings.  My emergency fund is half what I would like it to be, and even though I'm contributing to my retirement account at work, I still want to max out my Roth IRA as soon as I can.

So, for the month of November, things may get a bit extreme:

1. Sticking with eating from the pantry.  I still have lots of food and November is a huge free food month so I am not likely to starve.
2. No extras.  No more clothes, no more shoes, no doing the Mews 5k or the Thanksgiving Pie run.  As much as I love those races, the registration fees total $60 and I can run outside for free (sorry friends).
3. Cut back on drinking. This is both for my wallet and my waistline (seriously, everything they say about turning 30 is true.  My body is completely betraying me and it's not fair).
4. Cut back on eating out.  I don't feel like I ate out that much in October, but my budget says I did.
5. Cheap student theatre instead of professional.  For the first time ever, I actually paid for tickets at the local professional theatre.  It was a great show, but man!  It was pricey! 
6. Start scheming.  I used to have other sources of paltry income, but they seem to have dried up lately.  Blog income (which was never good) is all but gone; I've sold everything I intended to sell on half.com; I don't secret shop anymore... I need some new schemes (suggestions welcome).  I also need to look into ushering, which I mentioned before and then forgot about.
7. Hibernate.  It's starting to get cold out, and frankly, I love hunkering down with a book, blanket and cat.  Hibernating is cost-effective and lovely.  Also, I should really blog more and work on that damn novel (free!).

It should (hopefully) only take one month to get me back on track.  I do still have one more shift at job #3 coming, so that's some extra money coming in.  Hopefully with the paycheck I get at the end of November, I can completely wipe out my credit card balances, and then start saving again at the end of December.  It sucks that it will take me so long to get back to a balanced budget, but I also knew I shouldn't have bought two new pairs of shoes and so many pretty dresses/sweaters.  I don't regret stocking up on fleece lined tights, however, that was just smart.

Creeping Lifestyle Inflation

I'm settling into my new job and starting to figure out what the hell I actually do in my day-to-day, but I am starting to notice a bit of the old lifestyle inflation creeping in and I need to nip it in the bud!  So far, I'm doing ok with recognizing it, but there are also some circumstances beyond my control that I hadn't considered. I did get a pay raise with this new job, but I am by no means a fancy person now!  I still have student loan debt, after all.

Circumstance One: In which I taste a bit of my own medicine
I have always bee a pack-your-lunch-for-work type of gal.  I like to eat pretty much the same thing every day, I don't like to waste time while I'm on break finding food and I like knowing what's waiting for me (and controlling the calories in it).  I've always brought soup or sandwich and holed up in the break room for my lunch while reading a book.  It's never been a problem--until now.

Previously, while working at the public library, I always had something to read.  Here, at my new academic library, there is no leisure reading, and I kept forgetting to bring a book!  That's not a huge problem, just a minor annoyance.  The bigger problem is that the staff room is just awful.  It's tiny and shared by a ton of people.  There is nowhere to hide, no way to relax, and you're basically tripping over all the other people in there.  So I've started taking my lunch on the balcony of the building next door.  I have no idea what I'm going to do when it gets cold out, but I shouldn't have to worry about that for a little while. So far, at the new job though, I've bought lunch more times than I care to admit, but today, I have my trusty sandwich and yogurt along with my Nook.

So I've always been like "why doesn't EVERYONE just bring their lunch to work!?!  I don't get it!"  Now, I get it.

Circumstance Two: In which starting a new job is stressful/ exhausting
I've been drinking a lot of coffee lately.  Usually I drink a large cup of coffee at home, and then just have tea for the rest of the day.  These days, I'm a bit sleepy and have been availing myself of the on-campus Dunkin Donuts and the new Starbucks (which is so close to my office it's dangerous).  I know that a few extra dollars a week isn't a huge deal, but we all know that that adds up!  Sometimes though, it's just good to have an excuse to go for a walk.  I brought my tea into work and bought an electric teakettle for the staff room (can't believe we didn't have one), so I'm all set.

Circumstance Three: In which I now have an office and never need to move around
I didn't realize how much hopping I did at the public library until I started working here and realized that the most moving around I do is walking to the bathroom.  So I bought a membership to the college gym.  It sucks that I have to pay for it, but it's still about half what the YMCA (the next cheapest option) is, and since I'm here already, I will make myself use it (especially in the winter).  I also may buy an under-desk pedal machine, but I really don't know if it would be worth it.  Any one have one to recommend to me?

I also am going to upgrade my home wi-fi, and go shopping for more business casual clothes--the dress code here is slightly dressier than my last job.  Other than that, I'm keeping it in check!  I made a larger than usual payment on my student loans, and I plan to get back on track with putting money in savings and max out my Roth IRA contributions for the year.  I also almost bought a smart phone, but then stopped myself at the last minute.  Good job, self, now you can have another coffee for being so strong!

2013: The Worst Year Ever

Do you ever have one of those years where it seems like everything just falls apart?  Like even to the point where things you didn't think could fall apart just all of a sudden did.  This year has been rough, and while I'm sensible enough to know that my year is in no way harder than a lot of people's regular lives are, it has still taken a hell of a toll.  I've been sitting, waiting to write this blog entry for about six weeks now, but I'm glad I held off.  If I had written this last month, it would have just been a list of things that have been shitty over the course of the year--and no one wants to read that.  Now, things are looking up and I caught sight of that elusive little friend--perspective.

So instead of 'woe is me'ing all over, I'm going to examine what I've learned so far in 2013:  The Worst Year Ever.

1. Bad things happen to good people
At the end of February, my boss at my job was fired.  We knew that he and the top brass had been clashing for a while, but usually in libraryland (for better of for worse), it's really hard to get rid of people.  I showed up for work one Friday, and an hour later our stunned children's librarian told me that he had been called in and dismissed for 'insubordination.'  Not only was this emotionally devastating as I considered him a mentor and friend, but he was also beloved by the community because he's a really good guy.  People organized protests outside the library, signed petitions and I felt pulled between my convictions that what was done to him was unfair and my need to lay low and appease the people who sign my paycheck.

2. You can plan and plan and plan all you want, but life throws you curveballs
My mother is a banker and has always been frugal and absentemious.  She saves and she exercises and she eats right.  She is the very definition of sensible.  She doesn't drink or smoke and my most frequent criticism of her is that she needs to just lighten up every now and them.  So I was obviously shocked when I got a phone call from her this past April to tell me that she had had a seizure, which let to an MRI, which revealed a malignant golf ball sized tumor on the front of her brain.  Doctors told her that it could have been there for easily ten years, but since she showed no symptoms until the seizure, no one could ever have suspected.

She was admitted to the Mayo Clinic where they performed surgery to remove 98% of the tumor.  After that, she did pill chemotherapy and radiation, which just finished.  Last time I spoke to her on the phone, she told me that she was doing great. "I'm lifting weights and going for walks.  This is the first time in my life where my only job is to take care of myself."

3. You never know what work experiences will come in handy in the future.
For five years, while I was in college, grad school and just out of grad school prepping for... more grad school, I worked in local news production.  Initially, I got the job because I needed a night job to faster pay off my credit card debt.  The lousy pay was only exceeded by the lousy hours, but the high stress environment was also an incredible rush and I worked with some seriously awesome people over the years.  Though I liked that job, I never intended to make it my career, and when I was offered a promotion, I elected to go to grad school for Library Science instead.

After my boss was fired, I became responsible for everything he had been doing in addition to what I had already been doing, which was my job and half of another person's.  It was officially too much work for one person, and I started to unravel--big time.  A friend told me about an opening at her library, and sent me the job description, which was incredibly intimidating.  After re-reading it a few more times, I figured I might as well apply.  I was pretty miserable at work, my friend was on the hiring committee, I just might have a shot.

Even though my friend went into early labor and wasn't actually there for the interview-- I got the job.  A big part of the job is creating video content for the library's website, which means  I spent a chunk of my day today learning Final Cut Pro, which is pretty similar to the non-linear video editing software we used at the tv station.  The old adrenaline rush is coming back a little.

4. You're stronger than you think and you can't predict the future
I went into libraries with the goal of working in an academic library balancing teaching, outreach and hopefully finding a way to be creative--that is exactly what my new job is.  Not only that, but it's a brand new position that is more or less a choose your own adventure.  So even though this was my 'plan' there is no way I could have ever predicted that meeting one person in library school; landing one job working horrible hours that gave me library instruction experience; one grad assistantship in distance learning and five years in local news would all congeal to make me qualified for my dream job.

If my previous job hadn't gone to hell, I probably never would have applied for this new one--I needed the push.  Even though my former boss is still looking for work, he's collecting unemployment, and last time I saw him, he seemed much lighter in spirit--I know he'll land on his feet.  My mom is doing well and is incredibly lucky to have access to the best medical care in the world.  She's a little skinnier and a little balder, but I'm going to give her a kick ass scarf when I see her for her birthday in two weeks.

Holiday Challenges

I don't get super busy over the holidays, which I'm incredibly happy about, but I do still wind up doing a lot of eating.  Thankfully, this year, I only really have one job, which means only one work party, which I'm not actually going to attend.  Don't get me wrong, I like work parties, but they always end up costing far more than I'd like to spend to eat food that I'm never really totally jazzed about.  For those of you out there who have fully catered work parties--I salute you.

Despite not having that party looming, I know there will be others, and treats and large meals, so I am embracing two existing fitness challenges, and creating a financial challenge for myself to carry me successfully through this holiday season.

1. The Runner's World Holiday Running Streak.
This means that from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day, I'm pledging to run at least one mile every day. Normally, I never run every single day, but one mile is nothing and is only a ~9 minute commitment per day.  Hopefully, I won't stop after just one, but I am committed to doing at least one mile per day. No excuses.

2. The Yoga Challenge.
My yoga studio's holiday challenge starts today, and I have committed that I will try to do yoga at least three times per week until... sometime.  I'm not 100% sure when this challenge ends, but I've been trying to do yoga three times a week anyway, so this is just an added incentive.  Double bonus, my friend who has been away at Bikram yoga teacher training for the last two months comes back this week and I get to take a class with her on Tuesday!  Oh, also, if I'm successful at the challenge, I get a prize.  I do like prizes...

3. Financial Challenge
This is a self-imposed challenge, but I encourage everyone out there to come up with your own challenge and commit to it before Thanksgiving.  I'm lucky in that I don't have a lot of people I have to buy gifts for.  That's lucky because I don't have much money, and also because I'm a pretty lousy gift-giver under pressure.  BF's gift(s) are already purchased/ decided upon, so for the rest of the holiday season, I'm just going to focus on distracting myself with the above fitness goals, eat at home as much as possible, and try to do as much end of the year saving as I possibly can.  I have no idea what to expect from my taxes this year, so should I have to pay in, I intend to have enough of a cushion built up that it's not that big of a deal.

The rules for this challenge:

1. Eat out a maximum two meals a week.  This is restaurant meals, not house parties or potlucks, etc.
2. Stay on budget in all categories.  I've been consistently over budget in the groceries and alcohol categories for the past two months.
3. Limit alcohol consumption.  It's far too easy to get sucked into the festivities and drink too much, which makes me eat too much.  I am limiting myself to two drinks per day, with at least two days off completely from drinking each week.
4. Walk/bike to work as much as possible.  This is harder to do some days because I have yoga immediately after work, but on days when I can get to work without a car, I should.
5. Save!  I still need to sock away as much as I can in my Roth IRA before the end of the year.
6. Extra work.  I have a chance to pick up some freelance work, I just need to discipline myself and actually get started.  Oh why is it so hard to not be lazy after work and on your day off!  At least the days are short and I never want to leave the house, that should make it easier to stay on task.

Anyone else want to take on some challenges?  Or is life already too challenging this time of year?

Five Things Friday

This is one of a series of billboards along the interstate in North Dakota.
Others say Be Polite and Be Kind.  I love them.

I don't have much to say about personal finance these days. If you follow me on facebook and twitter, you will have seen this status update from yesterday: "Today I almost placed a $50 order from Old Navy (for free shipping) just because I wanted a fleece vest. Then I went for a run, and decided I can just cut the sleeves off of my fleece jacket instead. Savings!"

That's about the most exciting this to happen to me lately, but that's a good thing.

Since I, and most of Rhode Island got off pretty easy in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, I'm going to take today to mention five things that I am grateful for.

1. Electricity
We briefly lost power this week when a Noreaster named Athena settled in over the region.  I moved the milk to the freezer immediately, and was just about to fill up some water bottles to set outside to freeze (the one nice thing about losing power during a snowstorm), but then the power came back.  While it was out, I hunkered down under a blanket with a book, flashlight, cold pizza and my kitty.  It was lovely, but I was still pretty damn glad when the power came back on.  So it's a simple thing, something we take for granted, but you sure miss it when you don't have it.

2. Health
My coworker is quite a bit older than me, though I'm not sure her exact age.  She has more health problems than anyone I think I've ever met, and it's constantly amazing to me that she's as cheerful as she is.  Honestly, she never complains even though she takes 25 (yes you read that right) pills PER DAY, has an inhaler that she uses frequently and her husband was just diagnosed with tongue cancer for which he is currently doing radiation and chemotherapy.  I've worked with her less than a year, and it seems like every month she or her husband have some new freak ailment.  It's exhausting to hear about, so I can't even imagine how exhausting it must be to go through.  Either way, it makes me glad that I have my health, and it makes me more determined to do whatever I can to keep that health.

Hell no.

Also, when I get old and inevitably start falling apart, I'm going to try to maintain the same upbeat spirit she has.

3. Wee Watson
Now that it's getting colder out, my little kitty, Watson has turned into a cuddling maniac.  It's always hard in the summer when he rejects my advances in favor of splaying out on the floor or hiding in the back of the closet.  Now that it's colder, it's all Watson all the time, and I love it.

4. Treadmill
Honestly, I kind of hate the treadmill.  It's boring, I go so much slower on it, I always have to plan in advance because I need something to watch while on it, and mine is located in the basement right next to the dryer, which is not a very fun part of the house.  But sometimes, like these days when we've had all this weather going on, and the days are short and getting colder, I am really really glad I have this thing.  It eliminates excuses I would make because of the weather/darkness; it takes away the guilt of watching tv; and if I feel like walking, no one can see/judge me.  Treadmill and I are getting along quite well these days.

5. Crockpot
I am becoming a crock-potting junkie, and I love it!  The other day, I made black beans and rice, which turned out amazing.  I initially froze half of it thinking that I wouldn't want to bring it to work more than two days in a row, but I seriously wanted it again this morning.  I've been scouring the internet for good recipes, and I'm fairly convinced that there is something magic in the crockpot that just makes everything taste extra good (and makes the house smell good).  I'll probably make another batch of the magical cabbage soup soon, and then I think I'm going to make a batch of hearty Bob's Red Mill Whole Grains and Beans soup.  Seriously, if it's not slow cooker--it's crap!  Not really, but everything I've made has been delicious, and dirt cheap.  No complaints from me.

Month of Reduction Final Tally

The plan this month was to reduce my spending, reduce my waistline and reduce my number of possessions. Let's take a look back at how I did, shall we!?

• I reduced my spending quite a bit despite all those stupid car things that I had to pay for.  I had 15 no-spend days total for the month, and I did not go over my grocery budget!  Woot!
• I also cut down quite a bit on clothes buying DESPITE there being an Old Navy 30% off Stuff and Save event.  Yeah, I'm pretty strong.  I did buy a couple shirts, but I used coupons + sales to get two long-sleeved shirts for $7.50.  Kind of a big deal.
• I reigned in restaurant eating, which means I saved money and consumed fewer calories.
• I'm really trying to drink less and drink lower calorie.  I've discovered that the Bota Box Table Red wine is delish, and so affordable!  It's only $18.99 (+tax) for 3 Liters of wine!  I'm so glad that drinking boxed wine is finally (somewhat) classy.  I've been doing it since college, afterall.
• I've increased my exercise and variety of exercise.  I'm now doing Bikram yoga twice a week, and the outside temperature is perfect for running!  I've run more miles in October than any other month this year! I love fall!
• I have lost no weight as a result of my efforts.  Highly scientific conclusion: I just can't lose weight.

Just kidding!  I didn't buy any Halloween candy, I'm too cheap

• I also got my official discount from Progressive's Snapshot program, along with the notice that they want their little gadget back.  I thought I just kept it for all time, but I guess that's not the case!  Now I can brake hard with abandon and still save 9%!

First paycheck of November will go toward credit cards, with just a wee bit for savings.  Next paycheck will be split between putting money in checking for December rent, student loan payment and saving.  Then, magical paycheck number three, should be all savings!

I am staying the course!

The month of November I should be able to maintain my relative austerity.  The days will be getting colder, and I have a ton of sweaters already, I have lots of Groupons for restaurants if I want to go out and the shorter days make me just want to hunker down.  I've also discovered that I don't hate exercising at night like I previously thought.  I can go to the 6:30 yoga class right after work, and the horrible heat of the Bikram room effectively kills my appetite til I get home (plus I can have a late afternoon yogurt if I'm feeling peckish); and the other day, I had a quick dinner, then got on the treadmill and it was great!  Plus, working out at night makes me likely to drink less alcohol (need to re-hydrate), which also saves me money--and calories.

Oh Sandy Baby!

BF and I just went for a walk by the hurricane barrier to see the storm surging, but it takes a while for the storm to get all the way up to RI, so we're ok for now.  For the rest of the East Coast, I hope you're safe and still have power, but prepare nonetheless (if you still have time).

Providence Hurricane Barrier--closed

My friend Bonnie put together a handy list of tips for hurricane preparedness, which I'm just going to copy and paste while linking back to her more silly list on her blog:

Having lost power and water for a few days last year during Irene, here are my best tips: (Note: these are more for a couple days of weathering an outage in relative comfort and safety, not hardcore survival tips for a week. Though, you'd be surprised how many of these things sound dramatic but really come in handy after about a day.)

1. Shower while you still can. Then...

2. Make sure your bathtub is clean and fill it with water. If you have a Brita or some other kind of filter, you can drink it if you need to. If not it comes in handy for cleaning stuff, including yourself and to have in case of an emergency. Especially if you have a gas stove and therefore can boil it, use it for instant food. (sadly, this year, we don't.)

3. Make lots of ice. Any big container can be a cooler for things you want to keep out. Good in an emergency. Put it in ziploc bags and you have ready-mades for an emergency or you can drink it when it melts later if you run out of water. You can also freeze bags of water.

4. Freeze any freezable food, it will make it through if you only have a minor outage.

5. If you are a coffee or tea drinker, make lots of coffee or tea ahead of time. You'll want it later.

6. If you have a crockpot, make food now, transfer it to the crock pot to finish cooking or keep it warm as long as your power is on. The stoneware part will keep food hot for at least a few hours (probably more) after the power goes out and at least one warm meal will be nice.

Cook perishable foods and wrap them in foil separately and pile them in the crock pot, just as "hot storage" - baked potatoes, veggies, chicken etc. if you don't want to make a hot dish (or just so you have options). Also make easy-prep foods, sandwiches etc. like you'd do for a road trip.

7. Eat lots of protein while you still have power, later on when you don't have power, most easy food to eat will be carbs. Aside from being healthy cause protein now will sustain your energy better later, you are just going to get sick of snack foods, crackers, granola bars and cereal. So eat something different now.

8. Wash all the dishes you can, as long as you can. Dirty dishes will pile up so much faster than you could imagine, once the water goes out. Fill a couple tupperwares or pitchers with water to help wash or rinse for a while after.

And if you still have internet, here's a video of footage from the 1938 hurricane set to dramatic music:

I hope everyone is safe and dry!  Back to your regularly scheduled programming soon.

How To Have Cancer

Today is the four year anniversary of my friend Bri's (rhymes with dry, not like the cheese) cancer survival.  In order to celebrate, she made this fantastic photo album that made me laugh and cry all in the course of a few minutes.  I asked her if I could share it, and she said yes.

Hopefully everyone who sees this will never need this information, but most of it is just solid life advice regardless.  Thanks, Bri, and Happy Anniversary!

Note:  if you hit play, the slideshow goes super fast--too fast!  Hit play, then skip picture to picture.

My Austerity Measures

I mentioned recently that my place of employment has taken a major funding cut, but I've also noticed that since I started working there, I just haven't been able to get ahead financially.  Yes, I am making less money that I was when I was working three jobs and more hours a week, but I also cut back on the amount of gas I was using and made other small changes that don't seem to have added up like they should have.  Put it this way, when I look at my monthly budgets, I should be able to save some money, and it seems like I never am.

Even though I am taking a couple vacations this summer (more on that later), I am going to enact some austerity measures that will hopefully allow me to sock away a bit more cash.

1. No more races.  I have three 1/2 marathons coming up, and I am not allowing myself to register for any more.  Every summer I go through this need to register for as many races as possible, and I am bringing the hammer down!  I have plenty to look forward to, and I can choose to run 13.1 miles on my own for FREE.
2. No more clothes.  Seriously, self, you have enough clothes.  Quit being a dumbass and thinking you have to have a new dress/capri pants/insert other article of summer clothing.  From now on, I'm shopping the closet and that is good enough for me.
3. No more overpaying on student loans.  I have tremendous student loan guilt.  My number eats away at me, but I need to accept that there is no point in re-diverting all my disposable income toward loan that will be forgiven in less than ten years.  Yes, I hate the sight of the principle amount rising; yes I keep thinking that if I just sent another $100 it would make a difference, but I know that's not the case.  I need to put that money into my retirement fund because no one is going to take care of me when I start falling apart and can't work anymore.
4. Reign in grocery spending.  I don't know why the hell our grocery bills have been so high, but it needs to stop.  I need to be more organized about packing a lunch for work (I haven't been going out for lunch, but I've gotten a bit lazy on this front i.e. same lunch every day), and I need to just spend and eat less and stop going to the fancy grocery store.  Plus, I've already paid for my farm share, I need to eat it!
5. No restaurants unless we have a Gift Certificate or Groupon.  We have a ton of both of these things, and there have been a plethora of nearby restaurant Groupons lately.  Plus, we're going to be on vacation for a while, and we really don't eat out all that much.
6. No more thinking--I need that!  This will be tough, mostly because it's so vague, but I need to re-remind myself that there is actually nothing that I need. Obviously, there are things that I want and things that would make my life more convenient, but very little I need.   I noticed these feeling ramp up because I've been a bit busy over the last couple weeks.  Getting busy means that I start feeling out of control and it makes me spend.  What I need, is to put money in savings, I do not need stuff.
7. Cut Back on Booze.  This gives me the sads because I love beer, but we spent a lot of money on booze last month (we hosted a fancy cocktail hour), so this month is going to be cheap local beer and boxed sangria--less of both.  Thankfully, I prefer cheap stuff and that boxed sangria comes in a five liter container!  Value!
8. No more Gym Membership.  I mailed in my 'I want to quit the gym' letter the other day, now I'm just waiting for Bally to start with the excuses as to why they don't want to give me my money back.  But I will fight!!  Oh, I will fight.  I also realized that there have been tons of Groupons lately for sporty endeavors, so many that I could just buy those instead of a traditional gym membership.  There was one a little while ago for spin class at fancy gym right near my house, but I skipped it because I already had spin class at gym  I'm currently paying for.  Recently though, I've been thinking I kind of want to try this Cross Fit thing that it seems everyone is talking about.  Lo and behold, I found a Groupon for 88% off.  New strategy + no contract.

We'll see if this works, but if I can stick to these rules, I should be on the road to savings.

Money Smart Week 5.5

Just library stuff--
Brian Dennehy is very intense about his love of schooners

I fell off the blogathon wagon a mere two days from the end of May!  Things got hectic, as things will do, and I didn't want to end the month with two crappy filler posts--I like you guys too much to waste your time like that.  So, I will not be adding the "I did it" badge to my sidebar this year, but I'm still pretty damn proud of myself.  Since I missed my Money Smart Week post, I'm just going to make up for it now.

• Thursday/Friday conference meant two days of free breakfast and lunch!  Plus, since I was presenting on Friday, my registration was free and work paid for Thursday.  I tried not to overeat this year because I have in years past, but I still had three cookies with lunch each day because, damnit, I like cookies!
• Thursday/Friday conference carpooling!  The conference was about 20 minutes away, actually hosted by job #2, but I caught a ride with friends and didn't waste a drop of gas.
• Post-conference BYOB dinner.  I'm actually a bit devastated because after the Friday conference day, a friend and I had plans to eat at my favorite restaurant in Providence, and we found the door locked with a sign that said 'gone fishin.'  Their facebook page confirmed that they have closed, but are planning on sharing their most popular recipes with their fans.  I had a hunch that they probably weren't raking it in, but I was bringing everyone I knew there for dinner in the hopes of keeping them alive.  Friday night, we went out for sushi instead, which is also BYOB.
• Savings!  Thursday was my third paycheck of May, and I was very pleased to sock some money away in savings and my IRA.  I also opened a new bank account with a better interest rate--The Frugal Girl has a short writeup about them--because I want to get the most interest possible (duh), and I honestly think I need to hide my money away from my prying eyes if I want to stop dipping into savings.
• Gym Membership.  I'm going to cancel my gym membership. I'm just not using it and according to my co-worker who goes there several times a week, it has been sold to a new company and it seems like everything is falling apart and the staff don't really care anymore.  The pool has been broken for weeks, and whenever she asks when it will be fixed, they give her a non-committal answer.  My plan now is to just work out outside for the summer, and possibly join a closer gym for the winter.
• Speed!  This has nothing to do with frugality, but I finally ran my first sub 9-minute mile since being injured.  Monday morning was misty and cool, so I decided to push the pace and got back up to my old regular speed!  Problem is, I felt like I was going to puke, so there's still some training to be done there, but nonetheless--yay!

Overall, the month of May felt very long to me.  We ended up buying a mattress (more on that later), we spent a ton of money on food, we bought plane tickets and paid for a hotel--I'm sick of spending.

This week I have free cocktails on Tuesday, free theatre on Wednesday and a kick-ass wedding on Saturday.  Other than that, I'm laying low and getting with my library books.

Money Smart Week 4

Week four of May has come and gone, which means it's almost June (duh), and almost time to start my farm share!  Bring it on, bok choy--I'm not scared of you!

I really am scared, but it's a good kind of scared

Things I did the week that were Money Smart:

• Free Mexican food.  I was invited to a yelp elite event at a place called Lola's Cantina.  This is a restaurant space that has gone through three name changes in the five years I've been in Providence, so we'll see if the Mexican theme sticks.  Either way, free food for me and my plus one!
• Free Theatre!  Honestly, sometime I feel like a barnacle on the ass of theatre because I'm always getting free tickets.  Except then I remember that I do pay roughly half the time that I go, and then I just feel smart.  A friend of mine is in an upcoming production of A Few Good Men, and she mentioned on facebook that she had two comp tickets.  Well, I nabbed those right away, and when I asked my sassy redhead friend, Amy, to go with me, she responded in the most delightful manner:

On this invitation to the theater: 

Amy: You want answers?

Andria: I think I'm entitled to them.

Amy: You want answers?

Andria: I want the truth!

Amy: You can't handle the truth!  I have no intention of fretting about the wedding! And you're goddamn right, I ordered the code red!! 

I will attend!

Amy is much prettier than this

• Bought more veggie burgers on sale and with a coupon.  I'm set, if not for life, for the rest of the year.
• Bought another yoga package.  I got an email that the place where I do Bikram yoga is raising their prices (jerks).  However, you can buy a package of 20 classes at the current rate, and they never expire. I had already bought 20 classes, of which I've used about five, so I'm going to bite the bullet and buy another 20 before the price goes up.  Maybe, by the time I use those up, I'll be flush with cash (ha!).  So, I kind of saved $50--at least the future me did.

Money Smart Week 3

I think I'm going to make Money Smart Week a regular feature.  Naturally, I love patting myself on the back for doing well with my money, but it's also a great way to set the tone for the upcoming week.  So far, the month of May has been one of my best for savings.  Of course, a lot of that is due to the fact that I have an extra paycheck this month, but I've also been remarkably restrained with purchasing things.

• I had four no-spend days this week.  I don't really get too hung up on how many no-spend days I can get in a week, because sometimes you just need to buy things.  This week, I didn't need to buy much.  We're stocked up on groceries, and the only socializing I did this week was to go to friends' house and eat their food and drink their booze, so free to me!
• Brought in cans for redemption.  Massachusetts allows you to bring your cans back to a redemption center and get $.05 apiece.  We usually stock up cans and make trip every once in a while (not often enough).  On Friday, I filled up my car, and bought those things in, then I bought some gin and other liquor cabinet staples for a lot less.
• I haven't bought any clothes this month.  I made a payment on my Old Navy card, so mint.com is showing that I spent $50 on clothes, but I actually have not made any clothing purchases in the month of May.  For those who have been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that this is HUGE.  I set  budget of $200 for clothes each month, and I always go over it.  I don' think I've ever not gone over it in the history of my budgeting.  Maybe it's the change of seasons and rediscovering clothes I haven't worn in a while, maybe it's creating that emergency fund that I'm not supposed to touch which forced me to realize how pathetic my savings balance is; maybe it's that saving for my upcoming vacation(s) is more fun that clothes shopping--who knows.  Either way, I'm pretty stoked.
• Biking!  The weather has calmed back down and is perfect for biking!  Thursdays, I usually have to drive to work because I have a 20 minute commute to job #2, but this Thursday, the weather was so nice, that I just had to bike even if it made me a scootch late.  It has been 75 degrees, sunny and clear and I love it!
• Presentation!  This really has very little to do with personal finance, but I'm presenting a poster at a conference at the end of the month.  I was putting it off and putting it off, but then I just ripped the band-aid off and got it done.  Now, I keep panicking thinking that I still need to do it, but then calm down when I remember that it's finished.  How the hell did I make it through ten years of college and grad school?!?!  I feel like a total spaz about this.

How was your week?

That's Why I'm So Broke?

Put those packages back!
You can't afford them!

I've noticed since the "War on Women" started (by started, I mean became something we talk about all the time), that I've been reading more and more articles about how expensive it is to be a woman.  Jezebel had the article This is How Much it Costs to Own a Vagina, an Itemized List.  Then yesterday, LearnVest had a whole list of gendered pricing, which kind of blew my mind.

I admit, I've thought about this before.  Since I'm a girl who does not spend a lot of money grooming myself, I've often wondered how women who do can actually afford it.  I've had one manicure/pedicure in my life and it was done at a beauty school where it was significantly cheaper than if I had gone to a real salon. Sure it was a fun afternoon, but it cost $15!  That was twice my hourly wage at the time.

Add to that the cost of make-up, clothes, shoes, hair (on your head and everywhere else) and I honestly do not understand how some women pay for it all.  Perhaps they're in debt, maybe that's what I'm not seeing.

Looking at BF and I, he has pointed out numerous times that he has fewer expenses than I do.

• He doesn't own a car so does not have to pay for gas, upkeep or insurance.  He does give me a bit of money for use of my car, but I pay the bulk of it.  
• He can wear whatever he wants to work and only owns about four pairs of pants.  Yes, I like to dress well, that's a choice, but I also need to have a lot of clothes for a lot of different situations--work wear, casual wear, fancy dress etc.  He wears the same thing all the time.
• I pay $50 for my haircuts, he pays $12.
• I have to buy tampons, he doesn't
• I have more than one pair of shoes, he doesn't.  Granted, this is a choice, but I can't wear a single pair of sneakers to work every day like he can.
• I buy moisturizer, lotions, body wash, face wash, hair potions, razors etc., he uses bar soap and has a beard that only needs occasional trim with his electric razor.

That's just a short list based on our personal experiences, but I've thought about this in other situations too.  Take the suit thing.  Yes, a good suit is expensive, but it lasts forever.  If a guy wears a suit every day, he only has to buy four and then just rotate them.  If I only had four outfits, people would certainly start to notice.  Likewise fancy occasions, guys can wear the same suit to weddings all season long, but a girl needs a new dress for each one.

One thing that really surprised me about the LearnVest article was the notion of gendered pricing.  I've thought about things like the suit example before, but I did not realize that women pay more for dry cleaning the same type of shirt or more for deodorant that's essentially the same as a man's except for the smell.
"After reading in Marie Claire that dry cleaners charge more to clean a woman’s button-down shirt than a man’s, one of our editors tested it out herself by visiting her local dry cleaner in New York City. Lo and behold, her plain shirt cost $4 more than a man’s would have, because “the machine couldn’t fit shirts from a smaller person.”

I actually noticed the deodorant thing back in college and went through a phase where I wore men's deodorant.  You know what, it worked the same, but I couldn't stand the aggressive smell.  It was so strong that it gave me a headache, and I had to discontinue use.  So men pay less for a wider stick of deodorant with more scent--that's just not right.

Women's imported goods are also frequently taxed at a higher rate: "men’s sneakers were taxed at 8.5%, while women’s were taxed at 10%. Not every garment tariff he discovered was in favor of men, but he did find that women were susceptible to higher taxes on those goods imported to the U.S. at the highest volume. " 

So that's your daily dose of news from the depressing zone.  Has anyone else noticed this firsthand or thought about it before?  I certainly didn't know about the dry cleaning thing, because I don't get things dry cleaned, but all the other incidentals that come with being a woman can certainly add up.

Things I'm Grateful For--Financewise

I'm an optimist by nature and I try not to get down about things, especially things I have little control over.  I feel like since starting my new job and adjusting to my new rate of pay with health, dental and union dues taken out, I've been a bit down in the mouth.  I feel like I've been playing catchup since January, but I know it could be much worse.  Therefore, I'm going to take a look at the things that are going on in my life, financewise, that really make me happy.

• I don't have a car payment.  That makes me so, so happy.  I haven't had a car payment for a couple years, but every time I hear or read about someone's, I just get really glad that I'm done with that whole thing.  Yes, my car is kind of crappy at times, but it gets me where I'm going and should last quite a bit longer.  Plus, now that I own it outright, I can reduce my insurance coverage and save more money!
• I can walk/bike to work.  I know I bring this up a lot, and I'm not trying to sound braggy, but I'm really, really glad I live so close to where I work.  Yes, walking 35 minutes there and back is sometimes a bit annoying (when I oversleep or when it's pouring rain), but when I look at gas prices creeping up, that makes me want to lace up my fashion sneakers all the more.
• The Mayor of Providence loves libraries.  I've mentioned before, that the financial circumstances in The Ocean State are quite grim, and the city of Providence is presently on the brink of bankruptcy.  As someone who works for a non-profit that gets all of its funding from the (broke) city and the (broke) state, this is a bit scary.  Add to the anxiety the fact that in East Providence, two of their libraries just closed, and last year when the City of Central Falls declared bankruptcy, their library closed (thankfully, it has since re-opened with very limited hours)  But, we're very lucky in the fact that the mayor loves the libraries, realizes their value and has promised to keep our doors open no matter what.
• I have the ability to cut costs.  If I had kids or a mortgage, I wouldn't have nearly as much budgetary wiggle room.  Since it's just BF, Wee Watson and I, we can go down to the bare minimum of spending without risking starving a child or living in a house without heat.  I do whine when I feel broke, but I also went to Old Navy the other day and bought a bunch of sports bras (which I needed and got a great deal on), so broke is just a state of mind.
• I am the picture of health.  I've never really spent much time at the doctor's.  I never had a yearly physical when I was growing up, my parents only took me to the doctor when I was very sick, and as an adult, I rarely have had health insurance.  Thankfully, I've had few times when I really needed a doctor, and I enjoy eating healthily (mostly) and exercising.  Still, there's always that nagging thought in the back of your mind that maybe, even though you feel like you're doing everything all the current wisdom says to do to be healthy, maybe there's some flukey part of your genetics lying dormant waiting to kill you.  According to my recent bloodwork, I'm going to live forever, which has been my plan all along, hence all the retirement saving.  The only number that was high was my cholesterol, and that was only my good cholesterol.  It's nice to have that all sorted and charted out.  It's like my body's credit score!
• I can move without pain.  Sure, this may not seem like it fits with the financial picture, but my recent running/yoga injury really reminded my how frugal it can be to control your own mobility.  I can walk/bike to work pain-free; I can do my job better because I can move around helping patrons which is good for them and the library (positive experience rather than me just pointing to something); I don't have to pay for any more prescriptions; I don't have to drive to the doctor's office or to physical therapy; I can use the gym membership I'm already paying for.  Also, I can run again, which makes me healthier and happier.  I can't imagine dealing with chronic pain or any chronic condition, and I am grateful every day that I'm not in that situation.  Health is the cheapest option.

What are you grateful for?

Am I Gaming The Gym?

I look so hot when I work out, just like this chick.

A co-worker opened my eyes to the fact that there is a nearby Bally Total Fitness.  She goes to it, loves it, and then started doing the hard sell on me to the point where I wanted to leave the room (she really, really likes the gym).  I looked online afterward, however, and realized that this place may actually be the best deal in town.  Despite the initial "card fee" of $29 (is it gold plated, seriously?), it's only $18/month.  That's half as much as the YMCA, and these guys have better hours.

For $18/month, I don't have to feel totally bad if I don't use it that much.  Yes, I would like to have a gym that's closer to my house, but the price is sounding right so far. Plus, I get $150 back from my health insurance if I belong to a gym for three months in a row. That means it's actually only $5 a month, plus the joining fee.  That $5 will get me a treadmill on days when it's pouring, or snowing or just too damn cold/hot.  Plus, this place has that zumba nonsense that might make my ass look good, if I do it.

I requested a free week pass, and made an appointment for a tour on Monday morning.  Then I blew off the tour because I just wasn't in the mood to ogle a thigh press and pretend that I care about the state-of-the-art swimsuit water sucker or somesuchthing.  When I'm not in the mood to be given the hard sell, as I know the gym will give me, I just avoid the situation.  Yes, it's rude to make an appointment and not show up, but it's better than joining a gym just because I want to stop talking to someone, which is what would happen.

Since I made that initial appointment, however, I have gotten no fewer than four emails from this place.  One was from the sales manager and basically it sounded like I could call him at home at 2am and he would personally open the gym for me.  The next were a series of emails saying things like "join now!"  What's interesting about this, is that the price goes down with every email.  The monthly rate is the same, but they've reduced the joining fee, and now they're going to throw in a fitness assessment. All I've done for them so far is waste their time and prove myself unreliable, why so desperate, Bally?

A quick check of their website confirmed that I am in no way special, they're offering this deal to everyone. I got a good hour's worth of entertainment thinking that perhaps they were just totally desperate to woo me, but no such luck.  The world doesn't revolve around me after all. The plan is to go in Thursday morning, do the chitchat, hopefully get in a run, and who knows. Unless I see rat feces, I'll probably sign up.

Tiny Portions of Pretentious Food

We went to a new-to-us restaurant last night since it's restaurant week in Providence.  Since I'm a vegetarian, I always have to check the menu online beforehand, especially during restaurant week.  Of course, I could always order off the regular menu, but that defeats the specialness/fanciness of going out for restaurant week in the first place. I did that for this place, confirmed with bf that the menu represented foodstuffs that he would like to eat, and then we went out for a fancy date night.

Unfortunately, when we got to the restaurant, the menu was different than what we had seen online, and there was not a vegetarian entree.  No matter, there was a delightful sounding gnocchi on the regular menu, so I got that instead, along with a delicious winter vegetable salad and rice pudding with salted caramel for dessert.  All together, we had a lovely meal--three courses each, cocktails, and coffee.  Naturally the whole thing cost nearly $100.

Now that I'm working a normal schedule with normal people hours, I'm yearning to get out of the house and re-experience life in the worst way!  It's like I'm on vacation, hence, fancy date night.  I keep telling myself I need to reign it in, and I do, but maybe I focus on that a little harder starting in February...

Money disclosures from the past week:
I'm keeping the overpriced super warm running tights from Athleta, even though they are really, really silly looking.

Unflattering, but so warm!

We got our first snowfall this past week, and since no one in Providence shovels their sidewalks and I still want to be able to walk to work, I ordered my first pair of snow boots since elementary school.  Of course, they're predicting 46 degrees today, but no matter!  These boots will be an investment!

High fashion + non-slip sole

I bought a rearview mirror for my bike (safety first!) and some yaktrax for my running shoes.  I was on the fence about the yaktrax, but then I realized that I could wear them walking to work as well and not fear for my life!  Also, I've spent the last could days on the treadmill watching action films--like Transporter 3, or as I like to call it Gratuitious Jason Statham Shirtless movie (he uses his shirt as a fighting tool!).

I mean, my god.  I never before understood that phrase about grating cheese on abs.
But even with that to look at,  I still loathe the treadmill.

I need to get back to running outside--pronto.  There are only three Transporter movies, after all.  I guess for the next snowfall I can get that one where he runs around a lot?  Crank?

So yes, January is shaping up to be a rather indulgent month, but I'm also feeling quite zen because of all this yoga I'm doing (not really, but it sounds good, no?), so it'll be just fine,