Amount spent: $25.45
What: cap and gown
Can you blame me? I gotta graduate, and for some reason Miami is insistent that we're all matchy-matchy.
More later, but I gotta run.
Showing posts with label Extra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Extra. Show all posts
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Horrible time for saving
Amount spent: $274.00
What: Taxes
Amount spent: $26.09
What: CO Bigelow products
Amount spent: $63.37
What: Gap jeans
Amount spent: $13.40
What: Gas
Amount spent: $19.48
What: Groceries
So let's just go ahead and say the budget is already blown for March. It's not even over, let me tell you. I know most of this is pretty inexcusable...I know, $63 for Gap jeans when you're supposed to be on a budget? And what's with this shopping at CO Bigelow?! They're never good for the wallet, so why did you allow yourself to wander into their midst?
I honestly don't know what to say for myself. I had to pay Uncle Sam $274 because I apparently didn't pay enough in federal taxes this year. I'm getting $100 or so back in state refunds, but I clearly won't break even this year. My only explanation for CO Bigelow was that I needed new face cream. Ok? Plain and simple. I have dry skin that is also very sensitive, and it's winter. Under these circumstances, the aforementioned skin becomes very painful and it's damn near impossible to live with such unhealthy-ness chipping away at your beautiful face. Impossible, I tell you! Now, my old skin treatment used to come from Bath & Body Works. It was $20 but I was OK with that. I had soy, which meant it was "all natural," thereby containing no harsh chemicals that would turn my face into a giant tomato. It was also heavy enough to moisturize my parchment dry skin in winter's harshest months. Well it was spring break, and I drove to my neighborhood Bath & Body Works to buy a replacement jar because I was running dangerously low. Unfortunately, I was informed that they had stopped carrying that line. However, I might find it at CO Bigelow, at the mall.
Well you can imagine the conundrum that I now faced. Should I walk down to Target and find a replacement face cream from the budget rack, a mystery substance with the high probability of being yet another disappointment. As much as I hated to be high maintence, I knew I need to find that cream or a replacement akin in quality. So I went to the mall that night, with my brothers as company. I told them we were merely popping into CO Bigelow, finding a lotion and leaving, and they seemed OK with it. At CO Bigelow, I was informed that they had stopped making my face cream altogether. However, the store had such a cornucopia of specialized lotions, I knew I could find an suitable alternative. And I did. I also found a lovely lip balm with shea butter and almond oil that made your lips feel like satin. It was $5. The lotion was $20.
Now we were in the mall. I felt bad heading for the door, so I asked if my brothers wanted to do a bit of shopping. We headed to the GAP. Now I've never bought anything at the GAP, ever. However I had made a mistake that night. I had made the mistake of wearing a pair of jeans that were much too small for me. They clung to my legs and made my ass look much too unnatural, but they were all I had clean so I wore them. At home, I never thought much about how these jeans didn't fit me...I didn't realize that I had gained a few pounds since I last shimmied into these jeans and the junk simply couldn't fit in the trunk anymore. But at the mall, your entire appearance comes in sharp perspective. On parade for all the chic to see, you begin to recognize your body's every flaw, your bad hair and your horrible wardrobe choices. That's why the mall is so dangerous. Feeling so bad about yourself, the only balm for this wound is to shop for a NEW identity, and hey there are countless stores at your disposal.
That's the way I felt walking into the GAP. I realized how much my jeans didn't fit...I realized that many of my jeans didn't fit...and I realized how much I needed NICE, grown-up jeans. Jeans that ran with even sizes, instead of the 5's and 7's I had been fiddling with in the junior section of Kohls for years. 5's and 7's never quite fit me correctly, but they were cheap. So I always disregarded the more expensive, even-sized jeans of the mall and choose their trashy cousins instead. With a rush of indignant rage, I realized, standing in the GAP, how much I had short-changed myself over the years. How much I had sacrificed my own dignity (look at me now, walking around in these ridiculously tight jeans!) for price. Well no more. I walked right up to a table with boot cut, dark washed jeans, immediately found a size 6 and didn't look back. Luckily, I only bought one pair of jeans, but the damage was done. On the flip size, I now have this great pair of jeans that fits me perfectly and that will last for years to come. Hey, it might even turn out to be a wise investment.
The other purchases were out of necessity. And hey, I almost stayed in my grocery budget. And I'm still doing OK on gas. Unfortunately, there is trouble ahead. I was accepted to NYU's Summer Publishing Institute and while my parents have wrote the $500 deposit check, I will writing a check to NYU housing in the upcoming days. Stay tuned.
What: Taxes
Amount spent: $26.09
What: CO Bigelow products
Amount spent: $63.37
What: Gap jeans
Amount spent: $13.40
What: Gas
Amount spent: $19.48
What: Groceries
So let's just go ahead and say the budget is already blown for March. It's not even over, let me tell you. I know most of this is pretty inexcusable...I know, $63 for Gap jeans when you're supposed to be on a budget? And what's with this shopping at CO Bigelow?! They're never good for the wallet, so why did you allow yourself to wander into their midst?
I honestly don't know what to say for myself. I had to pay Uncle Sam $274 because I apparently didn't pay enough in federal taxes this year. I'm getting $100 or so back in state refunds, but I clearly won't break even this year. My only explanation for CO Bigelow was that I needed new face cream. Ok? Plain and simple. I have dry skin that is also very sensitive, and it's winter. Under these circumstances, the aforementioned skin becomes very painful and it's damn near impossible to live with such unhealthy-ness chipping away at your beautiful face. Impossible, I tell you! Now, my old skin treatment used to come from Bath & Body Works. It was $20 but I was OK with that. I had soy, which meant it was "all natural," thereby containing no harsh chemicals that would turn my face into a giant tomato. It was also heavy enough to moisturize my parchment dry skin in winter's harshest months. Well it was spring break, and I drove to my neighborhood Bath & Body Works to buy a replacement jar because I was running dangerously low. Unfortunately, I was informed that they had stopped carrying that line. However, I might find it at CO Bigelow, at the mall.
Well you can imagine the conundrum that I now faced. Should I walk down to Target and find a replacement face cream from the budget rack, a mystery substance with the high probability of being yet another disappointment. As much as I hated to be high maintence, I knew I need to find that cream or a replacement akin in quality. So I went to the mall that night, with my brothers as company. I told them we were merely popping into CO Bigelow, finding a lotion and leaving, and they seemed OK with it. At CO Bigelow, I was informed that they had stopped making my face cream altogether. However, the store had such a cornucopia of specialized lotions, I knew I could find an suitable alternative. And I did. I also found a lovely lip balm with shea butter and almond oil that made your lips feel like satin. It was $5. The lotion was $20.
Now we were in the mall. I felt bad heading for the door, so I asked if my brothers wanted to do a bit of shopping. We headed to the GAP. Now I've never bought anything at the GAP, ever. However I had made a mistake that night. I had made the mistake of wearing a pair of jeans that were much too small for me. They clung to my legs and made my ass look much too unnatural, but they were all I had clean so I wore them. At home, I never thought much about how these jeans didn't fit me...I didn't realize that I had gained a few pounds since I last shimmied into these jeans and the junk simply couldn't fit in the trunk anymore. But at the mall, your entire appearance comes in sharp perspective. On parade for all the chic to see, you begin to recognize your body's every flaw, your bad hair and your horrible wardrobe choices. That's why the mall is so dangerous. Feeling so bad about yourself, the only balm for this wound is to shop for a NEW identity, and hey there are countless stores at your disposal.
That's the way I felt walking into the GAP. I realized how much my jeans didn't fit...I realized that many of my jeans didn't fit...and I realized how much I needed NICE, grown-up jeans. Jeans that ran with even sizes, instead of the 5's and 7's I had been fiddling with in the junior section of Kohls for years. 5's and 7's never quite fit me correctly, but they were cheap. So I always disregarded the more expensive, even-sized jeans of the mall and choose their trashy cousins instead. With a rush of indignant rage, I realized, standing in the GAP, how much I had short-changed myself over the years. How much I had sacrificed my own dignity (look at me now, walking around in these ridiculously tight jeans!) for price. Well no more. I walked right up to a table with boot cut, dark washed jeans, immediately found a size 6 and didn't look back. Luckily, I only bought one pair of jeans, but the damage was done. On the flip size, I now have this great pair of jeans that fits me perfectly and that will last for years to come. Hey, it might even turn out to be a wise investment.
The other purchases were out of necessity. And hey, I almost stayed in my grocery budget. And I'm still doing OK on gas. Unfortunately, there is trouble ahead. I was accepted to NYU's Summer Publishing Institute and while my parents have wrote the $500 deposit check, I will writing a check to NYU housing in the upcoming days. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Money Spent: $7.00
What: Two Starbucks frappacinos
Money Spent: $10.64
What: Earbuds
Money Spent: $54.31
What: Gas
Ok, I'll admit it. Starbucks is a luxury item and I shouldn't indulge in the tasty, sugery concoction that is a mocha frappacino too often. Lucky for me, I don't. But my boyfriend took me out to lunch yesterday and so, with 15 minutes to spare before I had to be back at the office, we decided to waste some time at the local Starbucks. Unfortunately, you can't waste time at a Starbucks without buying something, so I provided our post-lunch dessert. One interesting note about Starbucks, though: the company said yesterday that they plan on closing 19% of new stores that have been opened during the past two years. They cite the suffering economy for the loss of business. I find the concept of the closing Starbucks store--as opposed to a new branch opening every other day--rather telling. In the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks film "You've Got Mail," Hanks' commentary on their role in society seem to infer that Starbucks had become as ubiquitous a part of American culture as, I don't know, morning traffic. And if they're featured as the meeting place of the Upper West Side book elite, they are also the epitomy of hip and therefore prime material for copy-cat suburbanites. Although I don't see this as the fall of the Starbucks empire, I do find it interesting that Americans, stripped of extra cash by the rising costs of food and gas, can forego those non-fat lattes if they so choose. 10 years ago we may not have heard that tune, but my how times have changed.
The earbuds were a simple choice because the ones that came with my iPod were completely shot...my iPod rounding out its third year on this planet. I refuse to satiate Steve Jobs too much, and either haven't had the money or interest to snap up every product that's come out of Apple. I have my dignity, you know. And those stupid Mac vs. PC commercials annoy me to no end. Sorry Steve, I'm still going to use my Dell no matter how "un-hip" that may make me. With that said, I do need a new iPod but don't have the extra cash this summer. My plan is to wait til Christmas when I can take advantage of the generosity of my elders.
And finally, gas. That's right, it's been 2 whole weeks since I last got gas. I stretched that tank and I'm PROUD. My secret? Well, it is no secret but common knowledge that most people tend to forget. For two weeks, I have barely touched my air conditioning. I drive home with all my windows down and my music turned up, and have reaped the rewards by doubling my drive time. My boyfriend assures me that "everybody" knows about this, but I argue that my discovery is enlightening because I have witnessed this miracle under the terror of $4 gas, the fear of which threatened to completely demoralize me a few weeks ago. I was ready to give up on humanity for awhile. I bought the gas for$4.09 a gallon, unleaded of course. Probably not the best for my engine, and my mother always taught me to automatically default with the "middle button." However, everyone has to buck their upbringing sometime. Filled with this knowledge, I now marvel at those still driving around with their windows sealed tight and their air conditioning pumping. I would have understood them a year ago--when I drove with air conditioning all the time on $3 a gallon. But now, I stand in slightly disgusted awe. I would understand if I took the highway home and witnessed this spectacle, but I don't. I take back roads where the average speed is 35 mph. People... Also a good sign, my car's little computer tells me that I have upped my miles per gallon from 23 mpg to 25.6 mpg. Considering that's all city driving with a V6 engine, I take that as a point of pride. Let's see if I keep it this way for awhile.
What: Two Starbucks frappacinos
Money Spent: $10.64
What: Earbuds
Money Spent: $54.31
What: Gas
Ok, I'll admit it. Starbucks is a luxury item and I shouldn't indulge in the tasty, sugery concoction that is a mocha frappacino too often. Lucky for me, I don't. But my boyfriend took me out to lunch yesterday and so, with 15 minutes to spare before I had to be back at the office, we decided to waste some time at the local Starbucks. Unfortunately, you can't waste time at a Starbucks without buying something, so I provided our post-lunch dessert. One interesting note about Starbucks, though: the company said yesterday that they plan on closing 19% of new stores that have been opened during the past two years. They cite the suffering economy for the loss of business. I find the concept of the closing Starbucks store--as opposed to a new branch opening every other day--rather telling. In the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks film "You've Got Mail," Hanks' commentary on their role in society seem to infer that Starbucks had become as ubiquitous a part of American culture as, I don't know, morning traffic. And if they're featured as the meeting place of the Upper West Side book elite, they are also the epitomy of hip and therefore prime material for copy-cat suburbanites. Although I don't see this as the fall of the Starbucks empire, I do find it interesting that Americans, stripped of extra cash by the rising costs of food and gas, can forego those non-fat lattes if they so choose. 10 years ago we may not have heard that tune, but my how times have changed.
The earbuds were a simple choice because the ones that came with my iPod were completely shot...my iPod rounding out its third year on this planet. I refuse to satiate Steve Jobs too much, and either haven't had the money or interest to snap up every product that's come out of Apple. I have my dignity, you know. And those stupid Mac vs. PC commercials annoy me to no end. Sorry Steve, I'm still going to use my Dell no matter how "un-hip" that may make me. With that said, I do need a new iPod but don't have the extra cash this summer. My plan is to wait til Christmas when I can take advantage of the generosity of my elders.
And finally, gas. That's right, it's been 2 whole weeks since I last got gas. I stretched that tank and I'm PROUD. My secret? Well, it is no secret but common knowledge that most people tend to forget. For two weeks, I have barely touched my air conditioning. I drive home with all my windows down and my music turned up, and have reaped the rewards by doubling my drive time. My boyfriend assures me that "everybody" knows about this, but I argue that my discovery is enlightening because I have witnessed this miracle under the terror of $4 gas, the fear of which threatened to completely demoralize me a few weeks ago. I was ready to give up on humanity for awhile. I bought the gas for$4.09 a gallon, unleaded of course. Probably not the best for my engine, and my mother always taught me to automatically default with the "middle button." However, everyone has to buck their upbringing sometime. Filled with this knowledge, I now marvel at those still driving around with their windows sealed tight and their air conditioning pumping. I would have understood them a year ago--when I drove with air conditioning all the time on $3 a gallon. But now, I stand in slightly disgusted awe. I would understand if I took the highway home and witnessed this spectacle, but I don't. I take back roads where the average speed is 35 mph. People... Also a good sign, my car's little computer tells me that I have upped my miles per gallon from 23 mpg to 25.6 mpg. Considering that's all city driving with a V6 engine, I take that as a point of pride. Let's see if I keep it this way for awhile.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
A new, and belated, entry
Money Spent: $89.37
What: Car Insurance
Money Spent: $5.00
What: Subway
Money Spent: $10.63
What: Under-the-bed storage bin
Sorry about the insurance entry...as I hooked State Farm up with an automatic withdrawal system, I tend to forget that I pay around $90 a month in car insurance. Well, I didn't forget to record in my financial files, but I overlooked it here. Can't say too much about it, though. I forget what my premium is, or what is covered, but just assume it's standard for a 21-year-old female with a clean driving record.
Concerning Subway: it was a Friday evening, my brother and I were starving from "playing" tennis for the past few hours, and the food stash was running low at our house. However, $5 for a footlong meatball sub (don't judge me because I don't eat like a girl) is a pretty good deal. However, whenever I say I'll save the other half, I usually end up eating 3/4 of the entire thing and throwing away the rest. That can't be good.
The last bit of spending was actually a necessary item that I had been preparing to purchase for some time now. I didn't want to make an extraneous trip to Wal-Mart, so I waited for the boyfriend to come home and take me on a "date" there. Heehee. Aren't we romantic. But in all seriousness, my closet at home and at school has been close to overflowing for months now. And since my wardrobe recently saw an influx in new "professional" clothes for my internship, I needed to move some sweaters and sweatshirts out of the closet. Now if only I could find some way to store that prom dress...
Lucky for me, though, is my paycheck from a week ago. Plus, I received a refund check from school for $30--money left over from one of my meal plans. I plan on cashing it in sometime this week and using that cash in my wallet. If there's anything that annoys me more, it is having to whip out my debit card for a $10 purchase. It barely encourages frugal spending.
Also, look out for an upcoming entry about a recent spending spree on iTunes. I know, I know. I told myself to stay away. Luckily, the total isn't going to come out any more than $6 so don't wet yourselves. But I can't say for sure until I receive a receipt. Until then, here's hoping I keep the wallet in my purse, where it belongs!
What: Car Insurance
Money Spent: $5.00
What: Subway
Money Spent: $10.63
What: Under-the-bed storage bin
Sorry about the insurance entry...as I hooked State Farm up with an automatic withdrawal system, I tend to forget that I pay around $90 a month in car insurance. Well, I didn't forget to record in my financial files, but I overlooked it here. Can't say too much about it, though. I forget what my premium is, or what is covered, but just assume it's standard for a 21-year-old female with a clean driving record.
Concerning Subway: it was a Friday evening, my brother and I were starving from "playing" tennis for the past few hours, and the food stash was running low at our house. However, $5 for a footlong meatball sub (don't judge me because I don't eat like a girl) is a pretty good deal. However, whenever I say I'll save the other half, I usually end up eating 3/4 of the entire thing and throwing away the rest. That can't be good.
The last bit of spending was actually a necessary item that I had been preparing to purchase for some time now. I didn't want to make an extraneous trip to Wal-Mart, so I waited for the boyfriend to come home and take me on a "date" there. Heehee. Aren't we romantic. But in all seriousness, my closet at home and at school has been close to overflowing for months now. And since my wardrobe recently saw an influx in new "professional" clothes for my internship, I needed to move some sweaters and sweatshirts out of the closet. Now if only I could find some way to store that prom dress...
Lucky for me, though, is my paycheck from a week ago. Plus, I received a refund check from school for $30--money left over from one of my meal plans. I plan on cashing it in sometime this week and using that cash in my wallet. If there's anything that annoys me more, it is having to whip out my debit card for a $10 purchase. It barely encourages frugal spending.
Also, look out for an upcoming entry about a recent spending spree on iTunes. I know, I know. I told myself to stay away. Luckily, the total isn't going to come out any more than $6 so don't wet yourselves. But I can't say for sure until I receive a receipt. Until then, here's hoping I keep the wallet in my purse, where it belongs!
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