My Excel spreadsheets and budgeting have paid off. After last week's fiasco with the leasing company, it was really rewarding to hear M ask me "How can you afford all these big deposits without help? I don't know how you do it!"
Simple, I plan ahead and put in extra work. I work nights and weekends and get creative about buying things. I don't depend on help from anyone and if that means I eat pasta roni for a solid week, so be it.
She makes more than I do and yet she struggled to come up with the money right away (most people would, especially in New York). It's not easy forking over your entire savings but it's a whole lot easier than asking for money from others, at least for me. I feel validated for my hours spent typing in each purchase on my spreadsheet and stressing out about paying all of my expenses because at the end of the month, I can pay my bills ahead of time and maintain a little extra (sometimes!) for larger investments like an apartment deposit.
It was nice to have her look into my world a little bit and realize that it's really hard keeping track of finances, especially when you've never had to.
This weekend we altered our plans to accommodate our bank accounts and it was still really nice. Take out and a Mad Men marathon is much more affordable than going out on the town. I also ended up working both Saturday and Sunday and I doubt I would have had the energy to party anyway. I did end up making over $200 between the two shifts so that always helps. I can now afford my furniture and moving expenses and put whatever is left towards paying off my debt. This week I work Friday and Sunday evening and looking forward to it!
Now that restaurant shifts are picking up more, I am starting to be able to make bigger payments to my credit cards and it's a great feeling. I just love the empowering feeling of making that balance go down!
Another source of income I recently found is selling stuff on ebay. I have only sold one item so far but for shoes I would normally give away or throw away, I now have $12.53! It's great timing while I'm moving because it's fewer things I need to pack as well. I'm off to post a few things now in fact. Once everything is up I will post all of my listings for you!
Also coming soon: a review on Netflix vs. Blockbuster and a discussion about not having cable.
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