being at home saves money.

$20 - prescription

$8.17 - kitty litter

Total = $28.17

$9.44 - lunch at Cosi with Maureen and Agnes

$5 - added to Metro card

$5.15 - coffee and a sandwich on the drive back to Pittsburgh

$6.50 - tolls on PA Turnpike

and the lucky times

$15 - certified driving record from MA RMV

$47 - new driver's license from DC DMV

$6.36 - gas in Alexis' car

Getting a new driver's license in time to rent the car that I need to get home for Christmas and to Boston for New Year's -- priceless.

$9.67 - salad from Chop't

$20 - prescriptions

Total = $98.03

and the strange times

+$11 - left-over cash from a cab-fare loan . . . 

here's to the good times

$23.04 - drinks at The Bottom Line with Emma 

$19.62 - couple of 6-packs to take to Maureen's

$$$$$ - some amount of money on drinks at the Blaguard, undeterminable due to absence of wallet the next morning :P

$42.66 + who knows . . .

$62.86 - groceries from Trader Joe's (I love that place, but it's impossible for me to go there without buying at least 3 or 4 bottles of really affordable wine, which is bad for my wallet, even if they are $4-$6 a pop)

$1.35 - bus to work

$4.78 - blueberry scone and venti coffee from Starbucks (but not actually $4.78 because I used the gift card I won at our office holiday lunch yesterday - whoo hoo!)

$17.96 - contact solution, shampoo, and hair product (saved $2 with Extra Bucks though)

$16.42 - groceries to make Healthy and Tasty Turkey Meatballs (they turned out okay) and a Shredded Potato Cake with Leeks and Cheese (utter disaster - in short, don't even try it without a cast-iron or non-stick pan.  I ended up having to shovel it all into a casserole dish, add some more cheese and butter and make it a potato-leek-cheese casserole thing that I baked in the oven for 40 minutes)

$10.90 - bottle of Sav Blanc to make it all better

Total = $46.63

$10 - a Dark and Stormy at Tonic with work friends

$17.72 - beers at The Bottom Line with work friends

$7 - cab home from Maureen's 

Total = $34.72

Total = $0

I accidentally left my wallet at home, and so spent absolutely nothing on Monday.  Hmmmmm, this has possibilities . . . 

Smoke-Out Week 4

It's been 4 weeks since I quit smoking, and except for one minor slip-up involving 3 cigarettes in a brief 16 hour period of high stress, it has been going very well!  So far I have saved $71 by not smoking 280 cigarettes!

$2.50 - ATM fee (arrgh)

$50 - farmer's market cheese, butternut squash, apples, potatoes (Yukon Golds and Sweet Potatoes), leeks, fresh mesclun mix, and apple cider -- YUM YUM YUM!!!

Total = $52.50

$5.28 - cat litter

$10 - money added to laundry card

Total = $15.28

Fun Free Thing: dinner at Banana Leaves with Mom and Papi, and we went to see the White House Christmas trees (genuinely free :)

$89.07 - groceries to make Greek Cabbage Pie with Dill and Feta, Tzaziki, and Lemon Lemon Loaf (to DIE for) for dinner with my Mom and Papi (visiting for the weekend)

$25 - work holiday donation to N Street Village, a homeless shelter and resource center for women

$20.72 - toothpaste, Dove soap, Q-tips, deoderant, hair ties, batteries from CVS (saved $6 with coupons!)

$13.74 - Red Hook Winter Ale 6-pack and chips for dinner at Zoe's

$12 - cabs to and from Zoe's (it was a gross, wet, rainy and cold night)

Total = $71.46

$26.44 - flowers for Laura's b-day

$8.90 - spinach melt and diet Coke for lunch

$5.78 - milk and chips from 7-11

Total = $41.12

$17.97 - Netflix subscription (last month I finished watching Freaks and Geeks, and Season 2 of the Wire, watched more of Season 1 of Friday Night Lights, and finally saw Born Into Brothels)

$20 - Happy Hour Birthday drinks for Laura and Patrick with work friends

$9.80 - Redfin Pale Ale six-pack for dinner with Alexis

$19 - Thai food with Alexis

Total = $66.77

$3.80 - coffee and bagel from Dunkin Donuts

$4.70 - more coffee and an oatmeal raisin cookie at the airport (BTV has the best airport baked goods ever)

$6.38 - New Yorker and NYT

$3.68 - diet Coke and Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms

$6 - MARC train to Union Station

$9.80 - 6-pack of Long Hammer Winter Ale

$6.48 - chips and salsa from 7-11

Total = $40.84

Could I have eaten more crap food in one day?

$3.70 - cup of coffee and croissant at The Village Cup

$16.07 - pizza and Greek salad from Mountain High Pizza Pie

Total = $19.77

$52.82 - groceries to make Mexican food (KB paid for dinner the night before)

$30 - prescription

$10 - cab to Union station

$7.70 - New Yorker magazine and bottle of water

$6 - MARC train to BWI airport

$4.92 - undercooked slice of pizza at the airport

$15.90 - The World Without Us

Total = $74.52

$17.08 - groceries to make Wild Rice with Butternut Squash, Leeks, and Corn for dinner with Zoe - a new Thursday night tradition :)

$5 - money added to Metro card

$20.52 - DogFish Head 60 Minute IPA and Yuengling for drinking at Ross'

$37.61 - delicious, delicious dinner with Alexis at Lebanese Taverna

$14 - cab home from Capitol Hill

Total = $77.13

$63.40 - 3 tickets to the Professional Bull Riders rodeo in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, January 10, 2009

$61 - Amtrak fare from Washington, DC to New York on January 9

$5.69 - delish baguette crackers from Marvelous Market 

$130.09

$35.72 - payment to BMG for new CDs: Viva la Vida - Coldplay, The Best of Radiohead, Long Black Train - Josh Turner, Separate Ways - Teddy Thompson, Upfront and Downlow - Teddy Thompson  (Holli - Teddy Thompson is the guy we were listening to in my car that you thought Joe might like . . .)

$55.92 - groceries from Trader Joe's to make a Savory Ricotta-Squash Tart for dinner with Alexis (and 4 bottles of wine - it's just so cheap there!)

$8 - cab back to my apt

Total = $99.64

Smoke-out Week 2

2 weeks with no cigarettes!  which translates to $35.81 saved by not smoking 143 cigarettes.  I'm planning on finally getting that gym membership going today to take advantage of my constantly improving lung capacity :)

$6.45 - snacks in Breezewood on the way back to DC

$10.86 - new headphones on sale from Radio Shack

$5.16 - Baja Fresh burrito

$6.11 - MTO (made to order) chicken sandwich and diet Coke from Sheetz (love that PA institution)

$20 - money to Laura for gas and tolls for ride to and from Pittsburgh

Total = $31.27

$19 - groceries to make sweets to take home for T-day (sugar cookies and cranberry bread again, and a Caramelized Apple and Pecan Pie)

$9.80 - Long Hook IPA for me

Total: $28.80

$.99-soda water

$10 - money added to laundry card

I really dislike doing laundry.  I am happy to have units in my building, and it's very convenient that I don't need quarters, etc, and I know I should be happy I'm not outside with a bucket and a washboard every time I want some clean clothes, but second only to vacuuming, laundry is definitely my most disliked chore.   I went through some mental acrobatics on my walk home trying to figure out whether 1) I had to do laundry right away (yes), and 2) could I somehow manage to take it home over Thanksgiving (no-logistically would have been a nightmare).  So I sucked it up and laundered.  And it's done.  For a couple of weeks anyways :)

Smoke-Out Week One

I am very pleased to report that it has now been over 1 week since I quit smoking, and I feel great!  This time around it has actually been pretty easy, I didn't have very bad withdrawal symptoms, and I don't really have the urge to smoke that often.  I know the hardest part is the long-haul nature of quitting smoking, so 1 week is just that, 1 week.  But that's how it goes, 1 day/week at a time :)  As of this morning, according to my smoking counter, I have saved $18.35 by not smoking 73 cigarettes, and have added 13 hours and 27 minutes to my life (not sure how they calculate that last one, but who cares!)

Saturday:

$21.82 - misc groceries from Metro K

$4 - money added to Metro Card to get to Ross' to play Guitar Hero all night long (I have never loved a video game before)

$11.98 - beers for Ross'

$14 - cab home

Total = $51.80

Sunday:

$14.16 - smoked salmon, baguette, and an Orangina from Marvelous Market

$32 - fresh, local, organic cheese and apples from the Dupont farmer's market

Total: $44.16

I spent all day Sunday cooking and baking (and watching season 2 of The Wire).  I really do wish I could just cook and bake and make things all the time, but I am thinking I need to add at least one other hobby into the mix, because I end up with ridiculous amounts of food, and not everything freezes well, and eventually my co-workers are going to get weirded out that I bring in massive amounts of baked goods all the time.  But it was fun anyways :)  I made a Chicken Sausage and Bean Casserole, modified slightly to include spinach and feta chicken sausage, and some more spinach baked into the whole thing (and without the sage leaves, because I didn't have any), Cranberry Bread - this was an absolute winner and I'll be making some more to take to my Grandma's for Thanksgiving, and Soft Vanilla Sugar Cookies, which were also delicious, although I made myself ill eating too much cookie batter, and have brought all the cookies into work to get rid of them (I think I'll make a batch of these for Thanksgiving too.)

$25 - copay at my new doctor's (I LOVE her)

$5.39 - breakfast sandwich and coffee at Starbucks

$10 - prescription copay

$5.49 - burrito from Baja Fresh

$39.50 - grilled cheese sandwich and tater tots and some very delicious micro-brews at Galaxy Hut with Emma

$23.70 - more drinks at O'Sullivan's with Emma, Maureen (friend from work) and her brother

$17 - more drinks at Whitlow's  (probably could have done without these last few :)

$8 - cab home from Farragut West Metro

$7.70 - icecream and a donut from 7-11 at 3:15am (ah well)

Total = $141.78 (ah these epic nights out do cost me, but they are so fun!)

$30.50 - Power Hours with Emma: two very good glasses of Cabernet, a delish plate of nibbly things, and admission to the Corcoran's Richard Avedon exhibit - too fun and very chic :)

$7.70 - cat food and litter

Total = $38.20

$11.99 - bottle of Rip Snorter Shiraz-Cab from Best Cellars

$11.75 - medium popcorn and a medium diet Coke at the movies

"Medium" is a funny word for a bag of popcorn that I could have crawled into, and a diet Coke that resembled a gallon of milk, but I suppose that is how they make you feel better about paying $11.75 for it all.  To get me back for several cab rides this past Friday, Emma very kindly bought my movie ticket to see Quantum of Solace (Daniel Craig is, in a word, yummy), so I can't even imagine her damage for the evening.

Money spent: $0

Fantastic free thing: I did yoga for the first time in a looooong time Monday night.  It felt great to get back to it, although I was amazed how inflexible I am these days.  The yoga was inspired by the fact that I also quit smoking, so can now theoretically exercise whenever I feel like.  And there is no better exercise than yoga to make you appreciate your ability to breathe, or lack thereof.

Weekend Weekend

Saturday: Recovery

$6.82 - Vitamin water, potato chips and a donut from 7-11 (needed a quick sugar boost)

$31.82 - miscellaneous groceries from Metro K to make Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes (recovery/comfort food)

Total = $38.64

Sunday: Productivity

Woke up at 9am on Sunday ready to go!  Had a leisurely breakfast of coffee and more mashed potatoes (I know, I know, but they're just so good!), then went to a new church down the street, then to the farmer's market to buy lots of butternut and acorn squash, apples, and apple cider ($34), then to Harris Teeter for more groceries ($117.46), specifically the needed ingredients for Braised Brisket with Cranberries and Holli's delicious Ginger Pumpkin Bread, which I happily spent the afternoon cooking/baking, before Emma arrived to help me devour all this deliciousness (the mashed potatoes made another appearance.)  I also picked up the needed ingredients for a couple other pumpkin-based treats and a White Chili Chipotle Chicken, which should be making an appearance later this week.  Nothing makes me happier these days than cooking!

Total = $151.46

$5.39 - coffee and fruit from Starbucks

$80 - 2 parking tickets from my recent trip to Boston (next time I'm just going to suck it up and park in the garage for $30/day.  It would be cheaper.)

$6.81 - diet Coke and (my last) pack of Camel Lights 

$9.35 - salad from The Brown Bag

$17.44 - two bottles of wine for dinner at Emma's

$5 - added to Metro card

$30 - various cabs to and from various bars all over Arlington

$28 - drinks at Ragtime

$19 - drinks at Whitlows

$8.71 - lamb curry at East West Grill at 2:30am

Total = $209.70

The Best Things In Life Are Free

So Thursday was actually a net income day for me.  After posting about the Bare Necessities postage return, I received an email and a refund for that $5.60, and since I didn't spend any other money, my net total was (+)$5.60.

Which brings me to my next point, that judging by money spent, I didn't do anything on Thursday, or at least didn't do anything fun or worth noting, when in fact I had dinner at this very nice and very chic place with my totally awesome friend, Zoe, who treated me to dinner (thank you!).

This has been bothering me in general, as some of the most fun things I do don't cost any money, so they also don't get any play on this here paean to consumerism. So, from now on, I am going to try to note at least one thing every day that was fun and FREE!  

Fun and Free (for me):

Dinner with Zoe at Central by Michel Richards

$1.49 - diet Coke (I am an addict)

$5.60 - postage to return some purchases from Bare Necessities, my new favorite online store

$7 - cookies from a girl selling them for her school (she was probably not selling them for her school, and they were pretty terrible, but I have a hard time saying no to kids)

$28.70 - burgers and beers with Emma at Sign of the Whale

Total = $42.79

$30 - prescription

$6.32 - peppermint patties and Camel Lights (I am trying not to smoke at work in anticipation of my upcoming quit date - November 17 - but I had a meeting with my boss and CEO and now have more work to get done in the next month than is humanly possible.)

$11.61 - delicious Montecristo sandwich and diet Coke from Breadline (my favorite indulgence)

$19.14 - Pantene Pro-V Curls shampoo and conditioner (I have finally given up on trying to use all the mini-bottles in my bathroom in an attempt to save money - I miss my products!), mascara ($2 off coupon from CVS, couldn't help myself), tampons, and a free diet Coke (another CVS coupon) - all in all I saved over $12 in one trip - whoo hoo!

Total = $67.07

$9.02 - Camel Lights, copy of the NYT, and a bottle of Perrier

Lazy Sunday

I managed to not leave my apartment on Sunday, which was very nice.  Watched Netflix movies (Ratatouille, The Savages, and episodes of Friday Nights Lights) and read and hung out with Jack.

$17.97 - Netflix

$82.62 - groceries at Harris Teeter to make chocolate-glazed pumpkin cookies and Moroccan chicken stew with sweet potatoes (I bought saffron for the first time ever - damn is it expensive!!)

$19 - two drinks at Napolean (terribly over-priced lounge)

$5 - cab to get from house party to Dan's Cafe on 18th St (most hilarious dive bar ever)

$32 - 7 drinks at Dan's Cafe (not all of them for me)

$5 - jumbo slice pizza (the ultimate in hang-over prevention)

Total = $143.62

$5.95 - yogurt parfait and coffee from Starbucks (I could not get myself out of bed today!)

$4.72 - Nacho Burrito from Baja Fresh (yay $2 off coupon!)

$5 - money added to Metro card to get to Ross' for a night of Guitar Hero (surprisingly hard) and Wii Sports (whoo hoo!)

$19 - ordered in Chinese food with Alexis and Ross

Total = $34.67

$36.96 - 2009 New Yorker desk diary in Honey Suede

I love these things.  I use them as journals rather than a planner, just enough space to keep track of what's happened, but not enough to make me feel bad about not writing pages and pages every night.  Plus they look classy on your book shelf :)

$19.76 - two kinds of facewash (I'm breaking out like a pimply teenager these days) and a diet Coke

$18.53 - two bottles of wine from Best Cellars

$25.56 - groceries to make Cauliflower Risotto with Brie and Almonds for dinner with Alexis and Ross (it was delicious and turned out perfectly!) 

Total = $100.81

why I need to stop eating out

even on the cheap, it's still pricey:

$5.58 - bacon egg and cheese sandwich and not very good coffee

$7.63 - burrito from Baja Fresh and a diet Coke

$16.72 - Delirium Tremens and olive tapenade plate with Zoe at L'Enfant

$5.95 - milk, club soda, and 2 copies of the Washington Post Obama Victory headline

Total = $35.88

Rock the Debt

I have been meaning to do this since I started this blog, but since I just paid off $5k plus in debt in one day, I'm inspired to follow through.  What you see here is a chart of my credit card debt since December 20, 2004.  What follows is a brief tour of the last 4 years of my free-spending, credit-binging, occasional-guilt-ridden-attempts-at-reform lifestyle.  The x-axis of the chart isn't accurate in terms of elapsed time (each point is equi-distant instead of marking actual time passed) but I will try to make up for that in my explanations.  So here goes:

December 20, 2004

Debt: $5,923.34

I had just graduated from Oberlin (with about $3-$4k in debt) in June 2004, and was thrilled to have a job with a real salary (not hourly wage) and health benefits to boot.  Ian and I lived in a relatively cheap and spacious apartment, and both had budgets that we tried to stick to, and in general didn't do a terrible job of it, but we did buy THE COUCH (black leather, very posh looking in our new apartment, too expensive for roommates in Boston making combined less than $60k/year).  THE COUCH sort of sums up my relationship with money, in that I knew I couldn't afford it, and I didn't need it, but I was more than happy to buy it on credit because I held the eternally belief that in a future life I would: 1) make more money and 2) be more responsible about spending/budgeting.  This future life has never really arrived, I've just been lucky and handed a couple of golden opportunities, but I digress.  THE COUCH and other new apartment necessities, along with a propensity to spend too much money going out in this new and exciting city and the utter delight of having enough money (or enough credit) to buy lots and lots of Christmas presents for my family (after 4 years of college where I couldn't), left me almost $6k in debt by the end of 2004.  Considering that this was 25% of my pre-tax salary, I was understandably panicked and decided that I needed to DO SOMETHING about my debt.  It was keeping me up at night and making me anxious in general.  The something I decided to do was to each month track the total amount of credit card debt I was in, figuring that if I recorded it, then I would be more aware of it, and more inclined to pay some of it off.

That didn't happen.

July 1, 2005

Debt: $6,551.94

Elapsed Time: 6 months

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: $105

So, in the 6 months after my plan to start paying off my debt, I actually added $600 to the grand total.  This is less $ than I would have added otherwise, so in some ways the whole tracking thing worked, but not really.  I still spent more than I made every month, even if only by about $100.  

October 3, 2005

Debt: $8,732.38

Elapsed Time: 3 months

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: $727

What happened?  Two things.  1) Ian and I moved from our spacious and cheap but unfortunately located apartment in Jamaica Plain to our cramped and terribly un-kept-up but wonderfully located apartment in Inman Square, and 2) I got a raise at work. A really significant one, like, 25% significant when you added in the bonus.

So, the move, combined with my illusion that I was now totally financially solvent and would have no problem paying off my debt whatsoever led to this rapid accumulation.  I would like to say that all $2,181 of the extra debt was move-related, but that would be a blatant lie.  I spent a lot of money on other crap too, because I thought I could.

August 8, 2006

Debt: $7,133.07

Elapsed Time: 10 months

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: (-)$160

Wow.  I actually spent almost a year steadily paying off debt.  Of course I could never lay off the credit cards completely, which is why it took me 10 months to pay off a relatively small amount of debt, but hey, the general trend was down, and I certainly felt good about that.  What I did NOT feel good about was my job, which I had come to loathe, and so was very actively pursuing a new one, which I got, later in August.  This new job and higher base salary (combined with another move to a big, beautiful and pleasantly located apartment) led to:

July 13, 2007

Debt: $15,350.45

Elapsed Time: 11 months

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: $747

HOLY SHIT!  How did I manage to rack up $15,000 in debt!  Half of it in one year!!  My total debt now represented 39% of my pre-tax salary.  39%.  I felt trapped.  Face it, I was trapped.  How had this happened?  Each year out of college I made more money than the year before, and each year, I basically managed to double my credit card debt.  I was a sucker for the American consumer system, and frequently having too much fun to care.  But $15k?  This was too much.  I couldn't tell my parents, or most of my friends, and I felt stupid for getting myself in this situation, and I didn't really see a way out.  I had fantasies about coming home and checking the mail and finding anonymous checks made out to me for no reason whatsoever.  That's how out of touch I was, I didn't even both coming up with plausible explanations for why the mysterious fantasy benefactor checks appeared, they just did.  

Needless to say, this never happened.  

Instead, I got a phone call from the new CEO at my old job, asking me to get lunch and talk to him about my experiences in my previous position.  That conversation led to a job offer to move to DC, which led to some serious negotiations (I asked for things I thought I could never get because I DID NOT want to leave Boston), and eventually an agreement and an acceptance of a new job in a new city, effective December 1, 2007.  I had some time to say goodbye to the city I loved and the friends I would miss so terribly, and time to fall in love with someone who was even further away from my new home city than Boston.  I also had a way out of my mountain of debt.  An actual plan and path and way to get there.  I never had a choice, my future was in D.C.

May 15, 2008

Debt: $10,209.47

Elapsed Time: 10 months

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: (-)$514

So I said goodbye to Boston, and I said goodbye to my friends, and my cool job in international academia, and the world's most amazing roommate and my dearest friend, and I moved to DC.  And I did not like it.  But I paid off debt.  Not as fast as I had planned, but I paid it off, little by little.  And it was all worth it.

October 8, 2008

Debt: $11,392.91

Elapsed Time: 5 months

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: $237

What the hell?  Accumulating debt again so soon?  But I was doing so well!  Don't worry.  This increase in debt was due more to an accurate and fair assessment of ALL my credit card debt (some of it hidden away in not-technically-credit-card type arrangements) than a lapse in my debt-slaying dedication.  I also got side-tracked from my debt goal by first spending a lot of money trying to keep a relationship alive, and then spending a lot of money trying to distract myself from the fact that the relationship was dead.  Needless to say, neither worked, but both were very expensive.

October 31, 2008

Debt: $5,547.55

Elapsed Time: 1 month

Average Debt Accumulated Per Month: (-)$5,845

So here I am today.  Back to right around where I was in 2004, only this debt total is manageable.  6 months manageable.  That's right, in 6 months I should be reporting that I owe $0 to credit card companies.  $0.   And I hope to stay that way for the rest of my life.

BARACK THE VOTE!!

Woke up in VT with one major concern - making it back to DC in time to vote!  Got a cup of Green Mountain coffee and a donut and topped off the tank ($11.38), spent most of the morning at KB's, rode on the back of a motorcycle for the first time (terrifying and awesome), and then off to the airport.  Bought a sandwich ($7), then slept the whole flight back to BWI.  Took the MARC train ($6) to Union station and splurged on a cab home ($13) (it was raining and I am lazy).  The cab driver was this little old man who drove very slowly while text messaging the entire time.  Somewhat alarming but because we were never going faster than 15 miles an hour, not particulary life-threatening.  Dropped off my stuff at home and ran out to BARACK THE VOTE!!  Picked up some tp, water, and Camel Lights on my way home ($8.74), then headed out to VA to hang out with Emma and eat delicious pizza from The Italian Store ($8), and eventually end up at Four Courts to watch Barack win the election, and cry my way through his moving and inspirational speech ($17 on Guinness).  What a day!

Total = $71.12

Manic Monday

Woke up early (7:15am) to take a quick shower and hop in the car, stopped at 7-11 for coffee and a donut ($4.35), then headed up to Burlington to catch my flight back to DC.  Paid a toll on the way ($1.00), bought a bottle of water ($1.49), and filled up the tank (about $45), after exchanging a series of emails with Kyle, decided to stay an extra day in VT, so switched my ticket to stand-by for Tuesday (free), and extended the reservation on my car ($39.15).  KB bought lunch and coffee (free for me), and then I went to see W. ($9) and bought some new books at Borders ($50.82) and started reading The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs at Uncommon Grounds in Burlington, while enjoying a very nice mug of Earl Grey ($3).  Also racked up a $2 ATM fee and $7 for parking.

Total = $162.81 (worth every questionable-decision penny :)

Lazy Sunday

Woke up late on Sunday at Ben and Lauren's, lots of sleep made even better by the extra hour of daylight savings time.  Met up with Tom, Joanne, Laura, Shah, Cal, Carla, Ruari and Rachel Battaglioli (all Oberlin crew) for brunch at Highland Kitchen ($29.30), seriously one of the best brunches I have ever had, reminded me of hipster bars in brooklyn that also do brunch.  I had the smoked salmon and bacon hash, and my table split an order of chili cheese fries - delish!  Afterwards we all went to The Field for a few pints ($17) and Matt and Morgan joined us.  Then back to Ben and Lauren's with Shah, Car, and Ruari with some Long Trail and Sierra Nevada ($23.98) in hand for a very chilled out evening of hanging out and ordering in Thai food ($6).  Such a nice, relaxed day, I feel so lucky to have so many amazing friends all in one city!

Total = $76.28

$3.45 - coffee and two donuts from Dunkin Donuts (with Shah and Matt)
$5.00 - T pass (left mine at home)
$3.65 - Revive Vitamin Water and a large bottle of regular water (Vitamin Water is my friend)

Total = $12.10

$1.25 - toll to get from Sach's in Allston to Ben and Lauren's in the South End
$5.50 - coffee and a bagel for me and a coffee roll for Ben from Dunkin' Donuts
$50 - donation to Obama campaign (I have nightmares that he loses)
$8.35 - veggie platter from a Middle Eastern place near Ben's (delish!)
$6.15 - Camel Lights
$20 - cab to Atwood's for Cowboys and Indians party
$26 - drinks at Atwood's
$14 - cab to Matt's

Total = $131.30

Boston, you're my home

$4.32 - water, diet Coke, Koffee Kup donut (for the drive to Boston)
$2.25 - tolls
$49 - drinks with Sacha and Tim at Sports Depot
$15 - really delicious Thai food with Sach

Total = $70.57

business trip to VT

$5.27 - bacon, egg and cheese sandwich and large coffee from Starbucks
$10.20 - water, cigarettes, energy bars (in Burlington, after dinner with VT homecare association)
$5.64 - tall-boy Harpoon IPA (it's weird to be in Burlington)

Total=$21.11

And then I spent $74 on body lotion

$1.35 - bus to work (even colder and rainier.  This lovely southern weather we've been having through all of October has officially made me a total wimp.)

$74.90 - 70oz of Kiehl's Creme de Corps lotion

$19.37 - ingredients for Deconstructed Zucchini Lasagna (delicious, cheesy casserole)

Total = $95.62

So the last couple weeks have been wildly frivilous and exorbitantly expensive and generally I have been doing a terrible job of reigning in my spending in any way, and then I caved and bought a giant bottle of Creme de Corps, because seriously, my skin is about to fall off it's so dry.  And it will last me all winter, and it's the best stuff EVER, so I am not feeling bad about it.

My COLA increase starts with this paycheck, and I'm getting my bonus, so I am going to pay off some serious debt, and then start seriously sticking to by budget.  Seriously.

$1.35 - bus home (cold and rainy)

$10.26 - kitty litter, frozen mozz sticks and wafer cookies (sometimes you just have to eat crap food)

Total = $11.61

Weekend

Saturday:

$7.27 Camel Lights and soda water

$49.50 drinks at Wonderland Ballroom (most hipstery hipster bar I've seen in DC)

$12 - cab to Jumbo Slice

$5 - jumbo slice

Sunday:

$6.44 Dunkin Donuts' coffee and omelet croissant 

$2.60 giant bottle of water and salt and vinegar potato chips (super dehydrated and hungry after canvassing)

$28.47 - pizza and salad for me, Emma, and Shah (very tired and so hungry)

Weekend Total = $111.28

$6.81 - burrito and diet Coke from Baja Fresh (with a $2 off coupon)

$9 - drinks with Emma after work

$8 - cab from Zoe's (helping her cook dinner for her b-day celebration)

Total = $23.81

$25 - donation to Obama campaign (inspired by the sleaze of this new RNC mailer) 

$17.99 - big, comfy, noise-cancelling headphones from www.woot.com (such an addictive site)

Total = $42.99

$9.52 - potatoes, kale, scallions, milk (ingredients to make Colcannon)

Total: $9.52

The Colcannon was delicious and such perfect comfort food.  I'd never made it before, but will certainly make it again!

Sugar Shock!

$25.85 - groceries to make chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-topped vanilla cupcakes.  Amazing

Monday, Monday

Very nice to have a day to rest and recuperate and generally do nothing.  I did go grocery shopping, which was very necessary and long over-due, and also cleaned my stove and ironed some shirts, so all in all it was a very productive day off.

Total = $95 (groceries)

Wild weekend

Despite being legitimately sick, I managed to have a jam-packed and super fun weekend, which of course then resulted in me calling in sick on Monday to actually try to get better, but it was totally worth it.  After happy hour drinks with Emma on Friday, I was good and went home and cooked dinner and watched a couple episodes of "Freaks and Geeks".  On Saturday I got up early (at 9am!), bought a Vitamin Water at the 7-11 ($1.99), took the Metro to meet Emma in VA ($5 added to Metro card) to go canvassing for Barack Obama, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and donuts ($3.50), my donut sucked so Emma bought me a coffee roll instead, and we headed to Manassas to canvass.

Unfortunately, there was a MASSIVE traffic jam on 66, so we never made it Manassas.  Instead we went to Target and I finally bought a trash can and a mop and a bunch of other stuff that I mostly needed ($80.77).  After Target, Emma drove me home and I did laundry ($20 added to laundry card), and that night Emma, Alexis, Ross, Gary and I went to Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington to watch the totally awesome Sox game, and to get into some more shenanigans ($80 on food and drinks.  Totally worth it.)

Saturday's Total: $191.26

On Sunday I spent most of the day sleeping off a very fun night.  I made it to 7-11 around 4pm to buy icecream, a donut, and string cheese (what can I say, I was hung-over!) ($9.61), eventually showered and got myself together and walked to Zoe and LIzzy's new apartment around 6:30 for a totally delicious dinner.  From there took a cab to Ross' ($15) to watch the Sox, who ended up totally blowing it, so I despondently took another cab home ($14) to sleep off the rest of my hang-over and the very dissapointing loss.

Sunday's Total = $38.61

$1.35 - bus to work

$2.20 - bagel with cream cheese and tomato

$30 - prescription

$6.91 - Camel Lights, and yes, more Vitamin Water (if I don't get better soon, it won't be for lack of vitamins, I'm drowning in them)

$4.49 - Supreme smoothie from Juice Zone with three power-boosters (Sniffles, Multi-V, and Protein)

$12.68 - drinks at Vapiano with Emma (happy hour Friday is a must, regardless of illness)

$21.76 - groceries to make linguini and clams 

Total = $79.39

RED SOX WIN!!

$1.35 - bus to work
$50 - co-pay for preventative check-up at the ob/gyn.  healthcare in this country is whack.

$8.68 - salad from Cosi

$2.29 - Vitamin Water (still sick but determined to go out for Sox game!)

$5.77 - more Vitamin Water!!

$32.55 - dinner and buckets o' Bud Light at Nellie's for historic Sox game

$1.49 - one more Vitamin Water!!

Total = $102.13

$1.35 - bus to work (tired from conference and Red Sox beat-down)

$4.71 - coffee and an everything bagel with cream cheese and tomato

$100 - donation to the Obama campaign

$7.65 - delicious burrito from Baja Fresh

$11.48 - cat food, Odwalla smoothie, and 3 Vitamin Waters (yes, I am getting sick)

Total = $125.19

Playing catch-up

I've been at the NAHC conference since Sunday, so am playing catch-up on my spending records.  I know I am missing some things, but as it was a work trip, most of my expenses were covered.

Sunday: 

$3 - ATM fee

$7.41 - Camel Lights

Monday: 

$3 - coffee

$9 - Stella Artois

Tuesday:

$7 - muffin and coffee

$1.09 - Sun Chips

$9.39 - copy of Men's Vogue, apple Mentos, strawberry Mentos, and gum

$24 - sliders, tater tots and beers for Alexis and me at Solly's (while watching the Sox get pounded)

3-day Total: $63.89

It was an interesting conference, and I got to hear some GREAT speakers, including Judy Woodruff, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON!!  

I saw Bill Clinton speak in Pittsburgh in 1992 with my Mom.  I was 10 years old, but I still remember being impressed with his ability to hold an audience's attention (let alone a 10 year old's).  This time he gave a very interesting speech on the economy and the political race (endorsed Obama's health care and economic plans), and all in all continued to show how incredibly charismatic and intelligent he really is.  Such a treat!

Hopefully the Red Sox will start playing catch-up tonight too.  I can't handle another game like last night's.

Weekend

This past weekend was abbreviated, as I had to leave for Ft. Lauderdale for the NAHC conference at 6:45am on Sunday morning, but between 2 Sox games and a lot of bar hopping, I managed to spend a full weekend's worth of dough.  Oh well.  It was a great time ;).  I am feeling more and more like myself again, and as a result have been getting into more and more shenanigans, and I love it :)

$12 - Blaguard (Adam's Morgan)

$68 - Bobby Lew's (Adam's Morgan)

$28.75 - Ireland's Four Courts (in Clarendon)

$37.95 - Hawk & Dove (Capitol Hill)

Total= $146.70

Kay-ay-diggy-diggy-kay-ay-diggy-diggy

$5.94 - large coffee and yogurt parfait from Sbux.

$10 - prescription

$36.63 - over-priced haircare products and other essential CVS purchases (but I saved $5.50 with coupons and Extra Bucks!)

$10.45 - diet coke and a totally delicious Cowboy Steak salad in honor of the fantastic documentary I watched last night: Rank, which in turn makes me really, really want to either:

1) marry a cowboy, or

2) attend the Professional Bull Riders (yeah, that's right, PBR!) Championship in Las Vegas, NV 

Total: $63.02 (for now.  I will add the inevitably exhorbitant amount of money I plan to spend on beer tonight while watching the Sox in Game 1 of the ALCS to Saturday's total)

P.S. Final thought/rant of the day: if we want people to be good about having safe sex and using condoms, they shouldn't be so freaking expensive!!!

$14.24 - kitty litter, club soda and Camel Lights

Total = $14.24

$1.35 - bus to work (woke up late and hung-over)

$8.25 - large coffee and over-priced fruit and cheese plate from Starbucks (I miss my eggs florentine, they stopped making them)

$17.97 - Netflix subscription (recent favorite movies: The Sea Inside and The Aviator)

$10.32 - 1/2 sandwich and soup and diet Coke from The Corner Bakery -- sat outside and ate lunch with Emma -- very nice to take an actual lunch!

Total = $37.89

Barack the Vote

$10.94 - delicious fresh mozz and tomato sandwich from Bread Line for lunch

$41 - dinner and drinks at Science Club with Emma (celebrating my "perfect" review and bonus!!)

$2.50 - ATM fee, needed cash to get:

$20 - beer special for me and Zoe at Duffy's ($10 for as many PBRs as you can drink between 8pm and the end of the debates)

$5 - tater tots (to help soak up some of that beer)

Total = $79.44

$9.63 - Ms. Mae's Cajun Cobb Salad and a diet Coke from the brown bag
$5.00 - on Metro card to get to the Hill to watch the SOX GAME!
$5.35 - Camel Lights
$14 - cab ride home after an awesome SOX WIN!! ALDS CHAMPS!!

Total: $33.98

Another super fun weekend!

After watching the Sox kick some more ass in a really fun, exciting game on Friday night, I slept in late on Saturday (2:30pm!), and then went to the park with the paper and took advantage of the absolutely perfect weather. Emma picked me up around 6 and she cooked us dinner at her place (delicious!), and we went out that night to O'Sullivans, very fun bar, met a nice guy, we'll see what happens :)
Sunday Emma and I went canvassing for Obama in Manassas, VA. Fun and interesting but exhausting, particularly after a weekend of late nights and lots of drinks. Opted to stay in on Sunday night, so of course the Sox lost. Looking forward to a busy, tiring week (Red Sox, presidential debates, maybe more Sox and maybe a date?)

The damage:

Saturday:
$7.80 - Washington Post, lemonade, and Camel Lights

$9.44 - bottle of wine at Whole Foods to go with dinner

$30 - drinks at O'Sullivans

Sunday:
$2.50 - bottles of water for Emma and me while canvassing
$5 - jr. bacon cheeseburger, small fries, and a Frosty at Wendy's post-canvassing
$4.29 - cat food and a bottle of Perrier

Weekend Total = $59.03

$1.35 - bus to work
$9.89 - salad from Chop't (was really excited, but it was sort of 'eh')
$13 - bought a "LIBERAL" shirt from my friend Pete Smith, all proceeds ($6/shirt) to the Obama campaign (http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=39225012574)
$3.45 - exhorbitant ATM fee (I have GOT to start getting better about using my ING-approved ATMs)
$43.15 - burger and my share of pitchers at Stetson's to watch the Red Sox beat the Angels, 7-5, with friends

Total = $70.84

The Elites vs The Regulars

$1.35 - bus fare (running late and feeling lazy/tired)
$4.00 - everything bagel with cream cheese & tomato and a large coffee (very sleepy from staying up until 2am watching the Sox kick ass and take numbers.)
$7.18 - Camel Lights & diet Coke
$50-ish - Drinks and jalapeno poppers at happy hour at Mackey's with Emma, Jenn, Agnes and Maureen, and then hamburger and more beers while VP Debate watching at Duffy's (great new bar off U St that has PBR cans and tater tots).

Total = $62.53-ish

While Sarah Palin didn't fall as flat on her face as I would have liked, in some ways it was refreshing to escape from her terrible gaffes and stunning ineloquence to remind me that beyond my disbelief at her nomination, I just really fundamentally disagree with almost everything she and John McCain stand for. Looking forward to canvassing for Obama with Emma on Sunday!

Sox Love

$47.75 - chicken quesadilla and too many pitchers of Miller Lite while watching a GREAT Game 1 with Ross and Alexis (and a bar full of some serious douche-bags.) No matter - Red Sox WIN!!

Total = $47.75

$32.82 - groceries at Harris Teeter, mostly to make a totally delicious dinner for Emma and me (found this recipe and had to make it ASAP - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/350157). It was delicious, and it was great fun to have Emma over for wine and cheese and cooking and eating and talking politics.

Total = $32.82

$7.17 - milk and Camel Lights
$25 - donation to Obama campaign (Si se puede!)

Total = $32.17

I am really hoping that the next two week cycle I can stay within my budget. My review is coming up next week, which should be followed shortly by a bonus check, which in turn should halve my remaining credit card debt, so I want to start the month out right (and end the year even better!)

V. Lazy Saturday + V. Productive Sunday = Perfect Weekend

Saturday, September 27th:
I slept until 2:30pm (can't remember the last time that happened) and it felt SOOOOOO GOOD. I think I was just really, really tired from the last couple of weeks, so getting 13 hours of sleep all at once was pretty awesome. I managed not to leave my apartment for the entire day, instead opting to sit around with Jack and read books, watch a movie (the Lost Boys of Sudan documentary), put pictures from IBYC in frames, and make a list of all the things I would get done on Sunday.

Sunday, September 28th:
$3 - ATM fee for getting cash from PNC bank (soooo annoying)
$28 - Farmer's Market goodies (cucumbers, cilantro, onions, the best fresh mozz you can buy in DC and MORE TOMATOES!!)
$17.68 - cleaning supplies and a 6-pack of Harpoon IPA to get me through an afternoon/evening of cleaning, de-cluttering, and re-arranging the furniture in mt apartment
$5 - added to my laundry card to do the 4 loads that have accumulated over the past couple weeks
$4.79 - pint of Ben and Jerry's Peach Cobbler icecream as a treat for getting so much done in the apartment

Total: $58.47

I got so much done on Sunday that has been bugging me for a while, and it felt so good! With all the travel and craziness and general lethargy and inertia that I have been feeling, my cute little studio apartment was becoming very cluttered and very dirty. Gross. I think the key to studio-apartment living is to keep it clean and un-cluttered, so that the little space you have seems bigger (guess this is a 'duh' sort of thing, but it's easy to let it slide.) So after a day of totally chilling out on Saturday, I woke up at 10am on Sunday morning, went to church (St. Matthews - a very progressive, very gay church in Dupont Circle - was great to be there!), ran into my co-worker Patrick at the service, we went to the Farmer's Market, I stopped at the Metro K for cleaning supplies and beer, and then went home to:

1) Organize my closet
2) Take two full garbage bags of clothes to the donation center (these two bags of clothes have been sitting in my apartment for 3-4 months . . or longer. )
3) Clean and de-clutter my foyer area, including dealing with my desk/dumping ground, where the last 6-7 months of my life could be seen in various layers of old mail, discarded receipts, beer caps, magazines, books and newspapers and assorted crap. It was practically an archaelogical dig.
4) Clean and de-clutter my living room/bedroom. This was more of the same, although less intense, but included a lot more dusting and spot-vaccuming, because I also decided to . .
5) Re-arrange all the furniture. By myself. Ow. I think I like the new arrangement better, but either way it's staying this way for a while. I am SORE.
6) Do all my laundry
7) Take out all my trash

I also made myself fresh salsa and mozz and tomatoes to snack on throughout all of the above. Finished up around 8pm, watched Ron Burgundy: Anchorman, and fell asleep, very tired but feeling very satisfied. I still have to finish up with the following things over the next week:

8) Clean my bathroom.
9) Mop my floors (I need to buy a mop first)
10) Re-hang all my artwork + new pictures from IBYC (with the re-arranged furniture this is a necessity, and will also be totally fun!)
11) Clean my kitchen, particularly my stove.
12) Take out all my recycling.

$7.48 - toothpaste and a diet Coke
$9.20 - 6-pack of Longhammer IPA
$5.00 - added to Metro card to get to a debate-watching party on Friday night (with Ross' co-workers: Kirsten Gillibrand's office)
$195 - those glasses I bought a couple weeks ago. My FSA reimbursement just came through leaving me $195 out of pocket expenses. Not terrible. What is terrible is that my glasses are vaguely reminiscent of Sarah Palin's, which makes me ill.

Total: 216.68

$5.94 - fruit and yogurt parfait and large coffee from Starbucks
$12.60 - feeding my addiction
$76.45 - groceries from Harris Teeter (love this store!)

Total = $94.99

Good thing: Finally went to the grocery store and cooked a totally delicious dinner for Emma and me (Roasted Chicken with Mushroom Duxelles - ooh la la!)
Bad thing: Still smoking, and due to the powers of addition, when confronted with a tremendous desire for a cigarette, decided to stop at the BP I was walking by to get a pack, but I didn't have any cash, and the credit card minimun was $10, so I ended up buying 2 packs of really over-priced Camel Lights. Addiction makes you do stooopid things. I need a new quit date stat.

I really need to go grocery shopping

$6.00 - large coffee and eggs florentine sandwich from Starbucks
$9.63 - salad and a diet Coke from the brown bag (my favorite salad-fix spot)
$15 - 4 Red Hook IPAs + tax and tip (happy hour with work friends)
$4.67 - red beans & garbanzo beans & club soda from 7-11 (made a delicious and spontaneous curry-esque thing for dinner)

Total = $35.30

Considering I blew $20 on food/coffee/etc, I clearly need to my ass to the grocery store and suck it up and drop $80-$100 at once. I hate spending all that money at one go on something as mundane as groceries, but I am having Emma over for dinner tonight as a thank you for Jack-sitting, so getting to shop for a specific dinner always makes the whole thing more pleasant.

This weekend I have serious plans to clean my apartment, organize my closet, and generally get my life back in running order. As my friend Peter says, "Work now means more fun later."

Tuesday, September 23

$5.00 - money on Metro card to get to and from the National Press Club for a panel on Americans without health insurance (there are least 47 million of them!)
$3.00 - coffee plus tip at Caribou Coffee
$6.45 - Cabo Cobb Grilled Chicken burrito from baja Fresh
$44.11 - developing photos from Car & Ruari's wedding, Luke's b-day, and IBYC2008!!
$3.99 - fresh mozzarella (I am addicted)

Total = $62.55

Monday, September 22

Blessed with a day off work (thank God for vacation time!)

$20.70 - gas to fill up rental car before returning it
$3 - money on Metro card
$4.35 - skinny vanilla latte from Starbucks (shared with Wally while sitting in Dupont Circle discussing tattoo possibilities)
$6.18 - diet Coke and Camel Lights from 7-11
$26.16 - three bottles of Famega (delicious fizzy Portuguese white table wine)
$15 - ordering in Chinese food with Wally and Alexis

Total = $75.39

Sunday, September 21

The party ends, the hang-over begins, but not before a last hurrah at Collin's Diner. See picture below for the muliest group of mules ever to congregate in one place (and it happens every year!!)

$10 - grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and tomato and a side of home fries at Collin's Diner
$15 - Gatorade, coffee, salt & vinegar potato chips, pizza, anything to get through the 8 hour drive back to DC
$3 - 2 bottles of soda water at 7-11 for bummin' tummies (Wallis' and mine)

Total = $28

Saturday, September 20

The party continues.

I do not leave the cabin/dock/lake and thus do not spend any money. Had more fun than should be humanly possible.

Friday, September 19

The party begins.

$15 - breakfast (around 1pm) at Blackberry River Cafe with Peter Bell, Alexis, Wallis and Jules.
$107.87 - 1/2 a shopping trip worth of groceries for 24 hours (our friends eat a lot.) We purchased: 3 packages of English muffins, 36 large eggs, 1.27 lbs of coffee, 3 boxes of Morningstar Farms Grillers Prime veggie burgers, 1 gallon of milk, 2 packages of marshmallows, 1 party-size bag of peanut butter M&Ms, 1 pack of gum, 2 bottles of tonic water, 1 box of Pinwheel cookies, 1 bottle of cranberry juice, 2 bottles of club soda, 1 box of graham crackers, 1 box of hot chocolate, 1 contact lens case, 1 toothbrush, 1 package of bacon, 2 bags of Kettle potato chips (New York Cheddar and Salt &Pepper), 2.23 lbs of Jazz apples, 5 lemons, 6 limes, 1 red onion, 1 head of red leaf lettuce, 2.43 lbs of on-vine tomatoes.
(-)$60 - monetary contributions from other friends for the groceries.
$20 - contribution to party favors fund

Total = $82.87

Fantastic day/night/everything.

road trip!

Thursday, September 18:

$14 - cigarettes for the weekend
$157 - car rental from Budget
(-)$40 - money from Wallis for car rental
$10.45 - snacks on the road (coffee, sodas, donuts, etc.)

Total = $141.45

Worth every penny. Arrived at IBYC around 4am on Friday morning with Wallis, Alexis, Peter Bell and Alexis' dog Bella; exhausted but so happy to be there. Stayed up until 5:30am.

being busy at work = not spending money

$2.19 - diet Coke
$6.00 - on metro card to get back and forth from office to Advocacy Conference

Total = $8.19

busy day

$7.92 - falafel sandwich & diet Coke (lunch)
$25 - donation to Obama campaign (Emma and I created the rules for an "I hate Sarah Palin" drinking game today.)
$11.47 - groceries (lettuce for BLTOMATOES and fresh mozz for caprese salad and chedder cheese for grilled cheese and TOMATO sandwiches)
$10 - filling up my laundry card
$7.70 - cat food and litter for Jack's week at Emma's
$30.53 - Zipcar to take Jack to Emma's for the week (over-charged, will be complaining to Zipcar about that)
(-)$9.63 - refund from Zipcar in driving credit (they are tricky, those Zipsters)

Total = $82.99

Monday, September 15

$25 - BMG Music (paying for CDs I ordered forever ago.)
$7.88 - diet Coke, Camel Lights and 2 lighters at CVS
$49.20 - 3 Brooklyn Brown Ales, shared delicious dinner (beet salad, calamari, mussels) at Bar Pilar with awesome potential new friend!

Total: $82.08 (over-spent, but totally worth it)

Finally met up with a friend's older sister who lives in DC, turns out she is totally awesome! Super chill and funny and friendly and smart, also discovered a great new bar (Bar Pilar) with a hipster-y atmosphere, delicious food and a nice beer selection on tap. All in all an expensive but great day!

Duh.

I spend too much money. I over-spent by about $80 during this most recent pay period. And that was while watching my spending! And trying to be good! And that doesn't even count the glasses!

Clearly this whole blog thing is going to be helpful, at least I'll know when I'm screwing up. :)

Weekends are my weakness

Friday, September 12:

$5.94 - large coffee and a yogurt parfait from Starbucks (I am going straight to big-corporate-supporter hell for how much I spend there these days)
$26.74 - sixer of Sierra Nevada, sixer of Smirnoffs, and a bottle of wine (pre-partying for Emma's b-day!)
$48.00 - way too many drinks at Whitlow's (super cheap and super fun!), but they weren't all for me :)
$2.00 - 2 games of pool at Whitlows (pictures to come soon)

Total: $82.68


Saturday, September 13:
$8.16 - pint of milk, bottle of Perrier and Camel Lights from 7-11 at 5am (promptly went home and left the milk out on the counter before falling asleep with all my clothes on - whooooo!!!)
$40.43 - the most random and useless assortment of groceries I have ever bought (not a good idea to shop hung-over), included bacon, eggs, and toast though, which were life-savers.

Total: $48.59


Sunday, September 14:
$40 - summer squash, basil, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes tomatoes tomatoes!!! from the Dupont Circle farmer's market (I am completely addicted to and utterly in love with locally grown heirloom tomatoes.)
$20.92 - cilantro, jalapenos, red onion (to make fresh salsa with my bounty of heirloom tomatoes) and other assorted groceries (the sensible things I should have bought on Saturday.)

Total: $60.92

Behind the Scenes

To be completely honest and truthful, I do not record every penny that I spend on the blog, because most of it is really boring and repeats itself month after month after month. But in the spirit of full disclosure, here is a list of recurring, assumed expenses that I budget for each month (yes, despite all appearances I do have a semblance of a budget):

Rent: $1050.00
Electric: $15.00
Cell phone: $60
Student Loan: $132
Savings (ING): $60.00
Gym: $60
Credit Card Payments: $900/month

Of course, I don't actually HAVE a gym membership, so that money just sort of sits there, and then gets spent. But I will have one soon, I swear.

suddenly I see

September 11:

$11.49 - prescription & diet Coke
$2.95 - "convenience fee" to the city of Pittsburgh for the privilege of paying online for the $11 parking ticket I got last weekend
$3.99 - fresh mozzarella for a pesto pasta

Total: $18.43

I also spent an exhorbitant amount on a new pair of glasses. I've been meaning to replace mine since last summer when I lost them in Costa Rica, and the sales people were just too good. I'm going to wait to post that though until I know how much I can get reimbursed from my healthcare flex savings account.


The 'convenience fee' I paid today reminded me that I meant to post about the documentary I watched earlier this week. It's called "Maxed Out" and it's about the tragic state of debt that most Americans find themselves in today. It was mostly information I knew already, but it was good to hear it all again, and it's a cleverly put together documentary: funny and touching and sad. I wish someone had made me watch it when I was 16 or 17, years before I even considered getting a credit card, it should be mandatory to graduate from highschool.

I love Texas

Tuesday, September 9:
Total = $0 (yay!)

Wednesday, September 10:
$10.61 - cat litter, cat food, and club soda
Total: $10.61 (great!)

I love business travel. Well, I love it and I hate it. I love it because it means I can spend $0, because everything is paid for by work (as long as I can resist magazine and impulse book puchases at the airport), and because it's fun to see new places, and makes me feel like my job IS actually pretty cool. I hate it because it is a pain in the ass sometimes, and means getting up early and dealing with airport security, and other disgruntled passengers, and the constant lottery of cancelled or delayed flights. I think one of the reasons I was able to get away with my hectic and frivolous lifestyle last fall (driving to VT every weekend, spending whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted) was because at least 2-3 days of every week I was living on the employer's dime. I'm glad I'm not traveling as much as I used to be, but I do miss the financial cushion it gave me.

This week's trip to San Antonio was unexpectedly fun, the hotel people were nice as usual, the bed I slept in was insanely comfortable, and Pam and I got to take a trip out to a ranch in Texas hill country. It was absolutely beautiful and rugged and made me want to move to the country and shack up with a cowboy. Someday, maybe.

This is Oreo, the ranch's friendly long-horn steer. The perspective of the picture makes him look sort of small, but trust me, he's not. His horns must be about 5 or 6 feet from end to end, and his back is at least up to my shoulder.

Monday, Monday

$15.27 - Netflix
$10.00 - campaign donation to Barack Obama (through my friend Matt's donation page - he's raised almost $1,000 in less than a week!)
$4.67 - fresh mozzarella for dinner (to go with farmer's market tomatoes and my Mom's pesto)

Total = $29.94 (pretty decent)

Every time I get super pissed at Sarah Palin I make a mental note to donate to Obama's campaign again. That woman CANNOT be one heartbeat away from the presidency.

Family Sunday

September 7:

$6.04 - Wendy's (on the drive back to DC)

Total: $6.04 (because Emma paid for gas and we avoided the PA turnpike by driving through WV on the way home - very pretty.)


Had a delightful birthday brunch for Luke with the family and friends, and then Emma and I drove back to DC, accompanied by my completely insane cat:

Super Fun Saturday

September 6:

$11 - parking ticket in Squirrel Hill (while eating breakfast with Sach at Pamela's - delish!)

$2 - parking on Walnut St in Pittsburgh

$54.43 - 1 case of Yuengling, 1 case of Smirnoff Triple Black, and a red bull light to celebrate my brother's b-day (in Pittsburgh you can't buy 6-packs, only cases, it is so weird.)

+$20 - won at poker (beating Luke, Sacha, and Katie)

-$20 lost at poker (Sacha won it all back)

Total = $67.43

Super fun weekend, relatively inexpensive, good times were had by all :)

Me and Emma at Nadine's (Luke's favorite dive bar. Seriously divey dive bar):

The birthday boy, being typically difficult about having his picture taken:

Weekend!

$5.39 - large Starbucks coffee and a Spinach Florentine sandwich (my weakness)

I just didn't feel like making coffee and breakfast this morning, so decided to splurge on my absolute favorite breakfast sandwich (so conflicted that it comes from Starbucks, but I am a total hypocrite about them most of the time anyways.) Had enough time to eat my breakfast and drink some coffee while sitting by the fountain in Dupont Circle. It was a nice way to wake up, and none of the crazy homeless people decided that I was interesting enough to talk to, for once. I'm not much of a talker in the morning.

I am sure I will spend more later today while Emma and I are driving to Pittsburgh for the weekend (to celebrate the bro's 30th), but I will catch up on all that when I get back. I am fairly sure this will not be a wallet-friendly adventure, but it will be fun!

P.S. Another fabulous horoscope, this time from nerve.com. This is my lucky month:

Mars battling Jupiter at the beginning of the month is good for your energy, and you'll feel more focused and motivated than you have all summer. This is all wonderful news and perfect timing: while summer's coming to an end, your path for success is just beginning. The stars are aligned, promising a successful month ahead that involves wealth and romance! Okay, we can't one-hundred-percent promise all these things, but wouldn't it be cool if our forecasts actually came true?

UPDATE on 9/26/08: This horoscope turned out to be MAD TRUE!!

Post weekend spending update for Friday:

$1.97 - blueberry green tea (bottled)
$11.95 - snacks for the road-trip from 7-11 (SunChips, Smart Food popcorn, diet Coke, and cigarettes)
$20.70 - favor for a friend
$45.47 - gas
$6.50 - tolls for the PA turnpike

Total: $91.98 (some days money just flies out the window)

A very conscientious day

$2.99 - diet Coke and 2 York peppermint patties
$8.72 - delicious bottle of white table wine from Portugal (from Best Cellars)
$8.45 - chicken, onion, and carrots for a somewhat successful curried rice dish (but it will work for lunch and dinner and lunch again!)

Total: $20.16 (totally okay)

The stars are aligned

I love Free Will Astrology horoscopes, and I think this week's is particularly appropriate for my new venture:

One of my favorite memories is gazing into my Taurus daughter's face just moments after her complicated birth. She had been through a heroic ordeal that scared the hell out of me, and yet she looked calm, beatific, and amused. "She's part-Buddha and part-elf," I thought to myself as I held her in my arms. I saw elegant compassion blended with wise playfulness, two states I had never before witnessed in the same person. This unexpected marvel imprinted me deeply, and has informed my work ever since. Do you have a comparable memory, Taurus? A time when a key to your destiny was revealed to you? A turning point when you got a gift that has fueled your quest for years? This is not only a good time to revisit that breakthrough; it's also a ripe moment to ask life for another one. (italics mine)

Here's to break-throughs!

September 3:

$5.28 - Nat Sherman Lights (la-de-da; also, I picked a quit date - September 23rd)
$18.50 - 4 beers + tip at Vapiano's (very fun post-work happy hour catch-up with Emma)
$4.00 - 1/2 pizza at Vapiano's

Total: $27.28 (not terrible)

Day 2

$22 - cab from Lauren and Ben's apartment to Logan Airport (so early in the morning that buses weren't even running yet.
$2.48 - small hazelnut coffee (milk, no sugar) and a glazed donut from Dunkin Donuts at Logan Airport
$1 - bus fare to take the Circulator from Union Station to my office at 19th & I.
$31.69 - 2 rolls of pictures from Costa Rica & a diet Coke
$6.55 - chicken sandwich (lunch)
$1.35 - bus home (still carrying around my weekend bag - too far to walk!)
$5.28 - kitty litter

Total: $68.35 (still not great, but mostly b/c of the exorbitant developing fees charged by CVS)

I have to say, I think that this is working already in the cosmic sense of things (if you say it, it will happen!). I am going back to Pittsburgh this weekend and was planning on renting a car, which would have been about $180, but because Emma is coming with me, we can use HER car, which is free. Also, a couple of friends of mine may move into my apartment building (which would be awesome just in general), and if they do I get some sort of monetary kick-back, which would also be great. Finally, on my way home last night instead of buying food for dinner, I decided to just make do with what I had, which turned out to include two peppers from the farmer's market on the edge of being bad (wrinkly-ish), but I roasted them and tossed them with some farfalle pasta, oregano, basil, salt and pepper, and mozz and parmesan cheese and boom, delicious dinner with no extra money spent!

And here's a couple of the exhorbitantly expensive photographs from Costa Rica :)

Stormy sunrise on the beach:

Another little beach Wallis and I went to, we climbed down the waterfall on the right to get to the beach.

It's A New Year

My new year starts on September 1. For the past 26 years of my life, September has been my turning point, I've entered 14 school years, started 6 new jobs, moved into 6 new houses/dorms/apartments, and saw the beginning of at least one major relationship, all in Septembers past. I always start this month with a feeling of anticipation and expectation for the year to come, but this year I am taking my New Year to heart, and making one sole and serious resolution: to finally and completely rid myself of my remaining credit card debt, and save up enough of a slush fund to ensure that my next move/career choice/major life decision is dictated by a personal decision or calling, not by money or finance-related pressures.

In order to keep myself on track (because I know there will be one friend out there reading this blog with a special and knowing eye), and in the process provide what will hopefully be a somewhat enlightening, amusing, and honest account of an admittedly strange and anal-retentive project, I will record every single cent that I spend. And report it all on this blog.

More details to come on exactly how much credit card debt I used to be in, how much I have left to go, my target slush fund balance and due-by date, and how I plan on getting there.

But for now, my daily report:

On September 1, I spent the following:

$20 - cab from Harvard Square, Cambridge to Holli and Joe's apartment in the South End of Boston (justified with the classic "I'm on vacation" excuse)
$7.65 - pack of Camel Lights (holy crap that's expensive! I think if I still lived in Boston I would still be an ex-smoker)
$43.22 - dinner at Dish with Lauren (delicious!)

Total: $70.87 (not great)