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Friday, April 1, 2011

15 Things Friday

I was going to break this up into a few posts since I have lots of money stuff to talk about...but then I was inspired by Running off the Reeses who does a hilarious 15 Things Friday so I can keep it to one post. It's a long one so grab a cub of hot cocoa (or iced coffee if you're lucky enough to have warm temps and not this cold rain) and enjoy!

  1. As of June 1st, I will officially be a resident of NYC! I found a great furnished summer sublease with two roommates and I'm really excited to dive into New York life. I've already started the transition of setting up life in this new city but actually living here full time will be different I'm sure. Rent is sky high so if you ever want to make a donation to the "Katie Is Poor" fund, you're more then welcome!
  2. I hope your friends are as awesome as mine! My California Mama friend sent me this great care package yesterday of a Starbucks gift card and lots of edible goodies! Donations to my food fund are also more than welcome (see 1...I'm shameless apparently). THANK YOU!
  3. Lent started a while ago? Oops. Good thing I'm not Catholic because I just figured out what I'm giving up. And I'm also going to take out the religious meaning behind it and change the dates since the only thing about this idea is the "giving something up for a period of time" part. I'm giving up shopping for clothes until Memorial Day weekend. Not a single dime can buy a shirt, shorts, bathing suit, nada (and really this applies for anything not budgeted for)! Now really, I don't need anything so this should be a piece of cake. Really. I just have to avoid all temptation (that sounds religious!). Now, this is not to say come Memorial Day weekend I can go on a spending spree like a crazy person. I'm allowed to get one pair of shorts from Express that I've already been eying for weeks. That's it. And by then I should have better legs with all the workouts I plan to do. Super plan. I came up with it on Wednesday and so far, so good! 
  4. I lost my security card for work. I had it when I joined the gym and the next day it was gone. Crap. Those cost $10. 
  5. I also lost a pair of gloves. Good thing they were $1.50 on clearance for a 2-pack and I still have the other pair. I need to stop losing my shit though!
  6. Starbucks is the Devil. I REFUSE to purchase any more Starbucks with my own money. I will gladly get it when I have gift cards but I will no longer buy a $4.30 TALL coffee on my own dime. Nope. It hit me like a ton of bricks today and I couldn't stomach it. It wont always be easy since there is a Starbucks on every corner here but my bank account and stress level will thank me big time. 
  7. I got a surprise tax refund from North Carolina yesterday. When you have federal and 3 state taxes to take care of, it's easy to forget about one, especially when its this late. I will happily take an extra $207! Thanks!
  8. When I get an unexpected $207, I struggle with exactly how to allocate it. Savings is important but I also haven't had my hair highlighted in 6 months (sorry everyone, thanks for not commenting on how out of hand its become). I figured, hey, I'll put $100 in savings and $100 for highlights. In Minnesota, this would fly; in NYC, $100 is merely a down payment of a much more expensive salon visit.  Since I thought $100 was already a lot for hair (and that included a cut!), I just can't stomach the idea of being that vain. So I did some research. I found a blonde box dye that apparently doesn't suck according to many many sources with multiple reviews. It's only $10. I'm trying it tonight. EEK!
  9. I thought I would put the other $90 in savings but I quickly found alternative needs for it. I got a dr. bill from when I had a terrible sore throat. If the $50 co-pay wasn't enough, I now have to pay $18 for the throat culture. Sweet. I paid $5 to get a lock for my gym locker. I had to pay $10 for a new work security card. And I have to buy the boy I nannied a birthday present, which is $30. That leaves me with $24, that I will put in savings. Whoopie. 
  10. Save your coins! It is one of the best saving tips I know (not that my knowledge is really deep!). Whenever I pay cash, I save my coins. Always. I had a bag of coins that had carried over from when I lived in South Carolina but I hadn't found a bank that has a penny machine. I finally cashed them in today and I'm now $84 richer! I'm not sure what to do with the money yet so for now I've put it at the bottom of the empty piggy bank and I'll start saving all over again. Then on a rainy day or serious emergency, I'll have a little extra money. 
  11. I'm still not sick of ham sandwiches after 5 days straight. I am however happy to have a new meal next week. 
  12. Today is payday! My paycheck has not started taking out medical etc. since it hasnt kicked in yet but I'm excited to budget none the less.
  13. I finally have more in my savings account than my checking. That hasn't happened since at least May. I haven't even had a savings account since then so this is a great thing. 
  14. I have a groupon for the How I Met Your Mother bar that I bought months ago and I'm using it tomorrow night before the Amos Lee concert (tickets compliments of my awesome sister). It's going to be a great and inexpensive night!
  15. This blog post from SJT sums up cheap NYC living pretty well. She basically is living my future.
Off to the gym then attempting to not look like a freak with box hair day! Happy Friday everyone and I sure hope you don't hear Rebecca Black's song or in your head because then you're bound to have a crappy day. Right?

1 comment:

  1. Is there a cosmetology school around where you live? I can get my hair cut at a school around here and it's only $10 and despite people's horror stories, I've never had a bad hair cut from there for more than five years.
    Also, jealous of you going to MacClaren's Pub!

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