$3.00 on broccoli omelet
$3.50 on cup of Gazpacho
$0.75 on pack of almonds
$3.50 on breakfast muffins
Grand Total: $10.75
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
July 29, 2008 Spending
Not slacking here....so here's my tale of the tape
$2.32 on horrible tasting Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwich (which was also not what I ordered, bad purchase)
$6.29 on lunch salad in subsidized cafeteria of friend's workplace
$34.96 Spent on vitamins (a girl's gotta stay healthy)
$2.19 on Protein bar (dinner)
Total: $45.94
$2.32 on horrible tasting Dunkin Donuts breakfast sandwich (which was also not what I ordered, bad purchase)
$6.29 on lunch salad in subsidized cafeteria of friend's workplace
$34.96 Spent on vitamins (a girl's gotta stay healthy)
$2.19 on Protein bar (dinner)
Total: $45.94
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
July 28, 2008 Spending
Well, I fell short of the big $0 yesterday, but still didn't do too bad.
0.85 spent on package of almonds
1.00 spent on strawberries and yogurt
1.50 spent on muffin (dinner)
2.50 spent on health food oatmeal raisin cookie
Total: $5.85
0.85 spent on package of almonds
1.00 spent on strawberries and yogurt
1.50 spent on muffin (dinner)
2.50 spent on health food oatmeal raisin cookie
Total: $5.85
Sunday, July 27, 2008
July 27, 2008 Spending
$0.50 on cup of coffee
Total: $0.50 (v.good...tomorrow I shoot for o.oo spent)
Total: $0.50 (v.good...tomorrow I shoot for o.oo spent)
July 26, 2008 Spending
$13.00 Spent on pedicure (peer pressure)
$1.00 given for block party raffle ticket (also peer pressure, but well, it is only 1.00)
Total: $14.00
$1.00 given for block party raffle ticket (also peer pressure, but well, it is only 1.00)
Total: $14.00
Saturday, July 26, 2008
July 25, 2008 Spending
$1.15 on orange juice
$1.00 on day old pastry
$4.50 on sandwich
$2.29 on vegan brownie (I am not vegan, but this brand of brownie is quite good)
$40 on Portuguese lesson (vacation related expense)
$59.79 spent on groceries (So this means, absolutely no food can be purchased in restaurants this week.)
Total: $108.73 (yikes)
$1.00 on day old pastry
$4.50 on sandwich
$2.29 on vegan brownie (I am not vegan, but this brand of brownie is quite good)
$40 on Portuguese lesson (vacation related expense)
$59.79 spent on groceries (So this means, absolutely no food can be purchased in restaurants this week.)
Total: $108.73 (yikes)
Friday, July 25, 2008
July 24th, 2008 Spending
0.75 on cup of coffee
1.75 on egg bagel (I have zip zero food in my apartment right now)
6.45 on lunch
1.00 on cup of coffee
1.00 on pack of gum
Grand Total: 10.95
1.75 on egg bagel (I have zip zero food in my apartment right now)
6.45 on lunch
1.00 on cup of coffee
1.00 on pack of gum
Grand Total: 10.95
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Grizzly Bear prevention: $15.00 on eyebrow wax
As much as I fantasize about giving up all grooming and letting myself grow into a grizzly bear, I somehow think that'd be a bad idea. So I spent $15.00 on an eyebrow wax on July 23.
July 23, 2008 Spending
0.60 on cup of coffee
6.37 on lunch
3.75 on organic banana peanut butter and jelly sandwich (dinner)
1.00 on cup of coffee to go with sandwich
Starbucks pound cake loaf: FREE! I figured out how to con the system. Walk into Starbucks minutes before they close and they'll be so ready to leave they won't even charge you.
Total:
$11.72
6.37 on lunch
3.75 on organic banana peanut butter and jelly sandwich (dinner)
1.00 on cup of coffee to go with sandwich
Starbucks pound cake loaf: FREE! I figured out how to con the system. Walk into Starbucks minutes before they close and they'll be so ready to leave they won't even charge you.
Total:
$11.72
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
July 22nd spending
You thought I was joking eh?
Spending for Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
7.04 for salad at Toasties
0.75 for package of Snackwells cookies to mask the taste of the salad
1.00 for bag of peanuts (dinner)
1.99 for box of organic cereal from discount store
0.49 for piece of chocolate from store.
0.50 for cup of coffee from cafeteria
Grand Total: $11.77
Spending for Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008
7.04 for salad at Toasties
0.75 for package of Snackwells cookies to mask the taste of the salad
1.00 for bag of peanuts (dinner)
1.99 for box of organic cereal from discount store
0.49 for piece of chocolate from store.
0.50 for cup of coffee from cafeteria
Grand Total: $11.77
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Rules...(Or The Real Ten Commandments)
No one can get a grip on their finances without implementing some very firm rules. Which won't be easy to follow, living in the most consumerist city in the most consumerist country in the world with consumerist friends who love nothing more than to eat out and shop. But no more I say! Fifth Avenue be damned....
1. I will not purchase any coffee that costs more than $1.00.
This effectively prices me out of any name brand coffee. Even Dunkin Donuts.
2. I will not spend more than $6.50 on lunch. (pre-tax)
Why $6.50? Because this is the price of a salad at Toasties.
3. I will not purchase any alcoholic beverages.
If someone else wants to purchase them for me, then so be it.
4. I will not spend more than $50 for a pair of shoes or item of clothing.
Not that I do this anyway, but a friendly reminder.
5. I will not sacrifice my vacation to Brazil.
It's too late anyway, I already cashed in my frequent flyer miles! And vacations are the only things that keep me sane, and according to all those insanity memoirs losing your mind can be quite costly with all the treatments, pills, etc.
6. I will visit my nephew in Maryland.
Because I don't want to be an absentee auntie.
7. Two hair appointments per month are allowed.
Because I am beauty-challenged, and going bald is equally as costly as getting a blow-dry which can cost as little as $15.00.
8. I have $100.00 in wiggle money each month. And $100 per paycheck must be deposited into my savings. (Two things, sure, but I have combined it into one, to call it the $100 rule)
9. Any windfall must go half to debt, half to savings.
10. Each rule can be broken once.
So at the end of the process I should be slimmer, free from caffeine addiction, and less dependent on alcohol to have a good time or relax. Wish me Luck!
1. I will not purchase any coffee that costs more than $1.00.
This effectively prices me out of any name brand coffee. Even Dunkin Donuts.
2. I will not spend more than $6.50 on lunch. (pre-tax)
Why $6.50? Because this is the price of a salad at Toasties.
3. I will not purchase any alcoholic beverages.
If someone else wants to purchase them for me, then so be it.
4. I will not spend more than $50 for a pair of shoes or item of clothing.
Not that I do this anyway, but a friendly reminder.
5. I will not sacrifice my vacation to Brazil.
It's too late anyway, I already cashed in my frequent flyer miles! And vacations are the only things that keep me sane, and according to all those insanity memoirs losing your mind can be quite costly with all the treatments, pills, etc.
6. I will visit my nephew in Maryland.
Because I don't want to be an absentee auntie.
7. Two hair appointments per month are allowed.
Because I am beauty-challenged, and going bald is equally as costly as getting a blow-dry which can cost as little as $15.00.
8. I have $100.00 in wiggle money each month. And $100 per paycheck must be deposited into my savings. (Two things, sure, but I have combined it into one, to call it the $100 rule)
9. Any windfall must go half to debt, half to savings.
10. Each rule can be broken once.
So at the end of the process I should be slimmer, free from caffeine addiction, and less dependent on alcohol to have a good time or relax. Wish me Luck!
My Expenses
Here is what I have to live on each month:
Every two weeks I get paid exactly $1043.43 every two weeks.
My rent: $437.50 to share a two-bedroom apartment in urine-filled Bed-Stuy, NY. ( I split everything with another person)
Cable Bill: $30. (Why oh why did I ever sign up for this?)
Cooking Gas: Approximately $20 every two months.
Electricity: Approximately $22 per month.
Student Loan payment: $32.96 per month because I am a genius consolidator.
Cell Phone: Approximately $60 per month
Internet: $15.00 per month
Sunday Delivery of the NY Times: $10 per month. (Will be canceled soon if paper mysteriously disappears)
$143 Paid to Discover Card each month.
Approximately $50 paid to CitiCard each month.
$81 for monthly subway pass.
Grand Total: $901.46
Total leftover for savings, etc: 1185.40
So for anyone who wonders how you make it on less than 40k in NYC. This is how you do it.
Every two weeks I get paid exactly $1043.43 every two weeks.
My rent: $437.50 to share a two-bedroom apartment in urine-filled Bed-Stuy, NY. ( I split everything with another person)
Cable Bill: $30. (Why oh why did I ever sign up for this?)
Cooking Gas: Approximately $20 every two months.
Electricity: Approximately $22 per month.
Student Loan payment: $32.96 per month because I am a genius consolidator.
Cell Phone: Approximately $60 per month
Internet: $15.00 per month
Sunday Delivery of the NY Times: $10 per month. (Will be canceled soon if paper mysteriously disappears)
$143 Paid to Discover Card each month.
Approximately $50 paid to CitiCard each month.
$81 for monthly subway pass.
Grand Total: $901.46
Total leftover for savings, etc: 1185.40
So for anyone who wonders how you make it on less than 40k in NYC. This is how you do it.
The Plunge...
Okay, so I planned to start keeping this site in May. But consumerism is a bitch....it's hard to break the chains. But no more. From this day forth everything I purchase will be listed on this site.
The crazy thing about debt, is that most of us don't know how it got where it is. I sure don't. But surely it lies in my penchant for running off and doing things that are normally reserved for those with trust funds, (living abroad, private college, working in NYC publishing) or at least with savings accounts that hover above the $1500.00 mark. But as in the words of the dying Madonna/Evita "The choice was mine and no one else's."
But the news is not all bad. I have a FICO score in the high 700s, which according the the credit report site makes me better off than 75% of Americans. 75%! No wonder the economy is melting down. I also have my credit cards on 0% interest promos.
P.S. Some of you may wonder, well, can you ask your parents for help?
A. Yes, if I needed to make up the difference on open heart surgery.
My mom just got laid off right as the stock market plunged and took a nice chunk out of her 401k, my brother is still in high school and my sister has a two year old, so I really don't have the moral high ground when it comes to asking for money.
The crazy thing about debt, is that most of us don't know how it got where it is. I sure don't. But surely it lies in my penchant for running off and doing things that are normally reserved for those with trust funds, (living abroad, private college, working in NYC publishing) or at least with savings accounts that hover above the $1500.00 mark. But as in the words of the dying Madonna/Evita "The choice was mine and no one else's."
But the news is not all bad. I have a FICO score in the high 700s, which according the the credit report site makes me better off than 75% of Americans. 75%! No wonder the economy is melting down. I also have my credit cards on 0% interest promos.
P.S. Some of you may wonder, well, can you ask your parents for help?
A. Yes, if I needed to make up the difference on open heart surgery.
My mom just got laid off right as the stock market plunged and took a nice chunk out of her 401k, my brother is still in high school and my sister has a two year old, so I really don't have the moral high ground when it comes to asking for money.
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