Popcorn for dinner

Today was tough. I couldn't fall asleep last night so I overslept today and was running late for work. I got there only a few minutes late but practically sweat through my work clothes hurrying around on the subways. Work was slightly frustrating and very busy. By the time 4pm rolled around, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and take a nap. That wasn't an option because I wouldn't sleep that night otherwise. I had clothes to workout but I was just drained and not feeling it at all. I was just plain restless and crabby.

I couldn't stand the thought of hanging out in my room for one more night, especially since I did that all last week in Ohio too. So I took myself on a date. I spent money to take myself to a movie. I had set aside a $20 to start saving for my bff's wedding NEXT Oct so I stole that and went on my merry way. Hey, it's much cheaper than dropping $90 on a spontaneous ticket to see Amos Lee tonight like I wanted to.

I didn't know what would be playing and at what times but I walked there anyway. It was a great $20 spent. I was just in time for Horrible Bosses. I treated myself to popcorn and diet coke and laughed my butt off. The previews make it look like just another stupid comedy, and it kind of is, but I definitely had a few good laughs. I love Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston was a hoot.

Afterward it was still only 6:30 and I still hated the idea of spending hours in my room alone. I realized I had my gym clothes so I walked on over there. After eating a large some popcorn, it was a great decision. I did the elliptical and enjoyed some Seinfeld and worked up a good sweat. At commercials I switched to Jeopardy and actually got a lot of questions right.

So now at 8:30, after a good shower, I can finally chill out in my room without dread. My attitude has been readjusted and I feel much better. Yes, I spent money I shouldn't have but I was going to lose my mind if I had to have another meal of pasta and if I was going to do nothing for too many nights in a row.

My Utah bff explained her strategy with how she spends money and I'm going to work hard to adapt it. She spends as little as possible and then when the two weeks of her pay period is up she can do what she wants with what is left. It might be to save some and spend some, maybe save all of it or maybe splurge on something you've been really wanting. Either way, you're not scrapping by the last few days of your paycheck.

If a spending challenge is like a diet, it's true that neither of them really work. They have to become a way of life for them to stick so you don't feel deprived. I'm going to resolve to spend as little as possible and I will definitely have more days where I don't spend any money. But there will also be times when I need to spend a little bit either out of necessity or sanity and I can't beat myself up for it as long as I limit it.

Fluffy pancakes are gross

Fun fact about me: I hate fluffy pancakes. Normal people would think this stack of pancakes are wonderfully delicious:

I on the other hand thinks those are WAY too thick and it's just a mouthful of starch. Growing up, my dad always made super thin pancakes by only adding water to the mix. I'm not sure how that strategy started but that is the only way I like my pancakes to this day.

A while back when I bought a few cheap staples for my cupboards (I think cupboards is a weird word...I digress), I accidentally picked up pancake mix that required all sorts of ingredients like eggs, oil and milk. I made them when I first moved in and they weren't terrible because I still made the batter pretty thin. Tonight, however, my brain could not process how to make the mix thin. If I add more oil they will just be oily and gross. I didn't know what would happen if I added more milk or another egg and I didn't want it to be terrible so I just stuck to the recipe. Bad idea.

Look how thick that is! 

I ate it because it's my dinner and I don't want to/can't spend money, not because I liked it. I have a whole plate of them because the smallest ratio of ingredients makes 5-7 pancakes. Why don't they understand that sometimes people are cooking alone? Makes me feel like a single loser...but only kind of, don't worry. Unfortunately the leftovers are going to waste because there is no way I'm reheating those. Fortunately for me I have enough ingredients to make another batch if I need to during this spending drought so hopefully they wont be as bad.

Lesson learned, check the box before you purchase pancake mix!

The night wasn't a total waste though. I got to spend an hour and a half reading under the trees with Adele and Amos.

Almost made me forget I live in a concrete jungle :)

I caved

I bought milk. It just made so much sense. Cereal, (unless  you're X), my pancake mix, mac & cheese, and pasta roni all require milk and that's nearly everything I have in my cabinets to make a normal meal. Last night I stole some of my roommates milk (shhh...she doesn't know) to make mac & cheese but I can't keep doing that to her. Lucky for me, the local grocery store sells smaller cartons of milk because even a half gallon is usually too much for me. So I only spent $1.29, I'm not too mad about it.

Earlier I mentioned I would make eggs and broccoli tonight...gross. Why didn't anyone try to stop me? After the gym (running and a super hard abs class) that meal sounds awful. Purely awful. So I'm going to have breakfast for dinner with eggs and pancakes...much better! I wish I had some OJ and sausage but it will do for a week of no spending (mostly). Maybe I'll have a random serving of broccoli or asparagus for a midnight snack since I'm sure they will go bad soon...how long is too long to have asparagus in your fridge?

The challenge will still continue and I'm happy with how I'm doing. I realized that even when I get paid on Friday things are still going to be very tight so I'm curious to see how long I can keep this up.

My parents July check (bday present) arrived in the mail this week. If work wasn't so busy and my bank hours were better, it would have been cashed by now. It will all go towards loans since I havent been getting a second paycheck for a while now. One week was no problem, two weeks was still alright, three weeks was tight and now I'm on an indefinite no spend challenge. I really can't wait to work Saturday and Sunday. I'm hoping they need me to work Sunday night too, like they sometimes do.

I'm off to enjoy another night of no spending by laying out in the grass with a good book and of course making breakfast for dinner.

No spend challenge day 3

So far so good! Thanks to Miss F's motivation, I will easily (?) not have Dunkin Donuts all week. If so, she will mail me a gift card. What a good deal! Thank you ma'am!

Free coffee is good coffee!

I made do with the food I had (hello carbs...very nice to meet you) and managed to hang out on my own after the gym so I didn't spend any money. I found some cool volunteer opportunities and a book club to join and I found a show on Hulu that I caught up on. Has anyone heard of Unhitched? It was a decent way to pass the time but not as hilarious as they tried to make it. I probably should have been reading but oh well. Free internet is a wonderful source of entertainment.

After the gym tonight, I think dinner is going to be scrabbled eggs and steamed broccoli...things might start getting pretty weird in my kitchen by the end of the week but I'm determined to stick to it!

Underserved is different than undeserved.

That one little letter makes all the difference! I want to get more involved with all this free time I have. I want to make a difference as well as feel more connected to this massive city. NYC has a cool program called NYC Service with the motto "Everybody's got something to offer". I saw an ad for it while walking home from work one day and it's a pretty cool way to find volunteer opportunities for whatever skills you might have to offer. Based on my preferences, I found a site called New York Cares, which once I complete orientation they will set me up with helping with children education or coaching a sports team.

I was searching through different opportunities and I kept reading the word underserved but I accidentally read undeserved and thought "wow, these kids must really be awful if even a volunteering site is saying they are not deserving." It kept bothering me and I finally slowed down to realize they are UNDER SERVED. Duh! Don't worry y'all, I will not be participating in SAT prep for high school kids, clearly it's not up my alley. 

I don't have orientation until August 8 but I'm really excited for an inexpensive way to help others. If I can get a decent workout in, cook dinner and still have hours to spend not doing a whole lot, I need to find better things to spend my time on than watching random shows on Hulu.

My research will continue because New York is known for all of the cool opportunities here. I'm so excited and curious to see where this will take me.

No spend challenge Day 2

Technically it's only been a half day of the challenge but close enough. So far so good. I made spaghetti after my workout last night so I was already sweaty and the heat wasn't so awful. The best part about making the spaghetti was that I actually remembered to grab it when I left for work today. I also brought a box of Fruit Loops I haven't opened yet and coffee creamer.

It's really hot outside. Like for reals. Sweat is dripping from people's faces when they are on the subway (how gross is it to be crammed up next to these people during the ride? oh trust me, it's a new level of gross.). So the idea of drinking hot coffee this morning sounded awful...still does. The whole ride to work I thought, "one little small iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts won't hurt." But I stayed on the other side of the street while walking to work so I wouldn't be tempted and here I am, sans coffee. I really really wish my work had iced coffee. I'm going to eat my cereal and see if I've cooled down enough to have regular coffee. Some sort of caffeine is definitely needed after staying up way too late chatting with my girlfriend L, especially with a monster inbox still to tackle from being in Ohio. Totally worth it because she's hilarious.

Better go eat since I have a meeting in 30 min!

No spend challenge rears it's head again

I'm officially broke. Throwing budgets out the window sometimes is a big no-no apparently. I caved and bought iced coffee today because let's face it, a Monday back in the office after being gone for almost a week and returning to an overflowing inbox and being the only assistant at the moment requires some serious coffee.

I get paid on Friday so I cannot spend a dime until then. Even when Friday rolls around, I will not have my typical cash flow because I'm in debt to myself. I will allow myself to buy milk because otherwise I won't really be eating anything in my cabinets. Wait, I can probably use the milk at work (free with the coffee) and bring cereal at least for this week. I'm going to try to pull this off without buying milk but if I can't do it, that will be my only exception. I will cook a meal for my lunches tonight, no matter how hot my kitchen might be.

I have a few things coming up that I will have to spend money on once I get paid but I have no choice but to do my best and limit it to only those things.

As of noon today (right now) I'm pulling out all the stops to not buy a thing unless absolutely necessary. Luckily for me, work is so busy from being gone that I don't have time to think about hunger or to go out and buy lunch. Wish me luck!