"Your new balance is $86.22. Congratulations on your new apartment!" -- my banker today after I took out money for our deposit. Ouch.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Thank you?
"Your new balance is $86.22. Congratulations on your new apartment!" -- my banker today after I took out money for our deposit. Ouch.
That was a doozy
7 tables in 5 hours...walked away with $42. Basically chump change but it's money so I'll take it.
Work shift #3 in a row tomorrow night!
Work shift #3 in a row tomorrow night!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Ask and you shall receive
Work last night was pretty decent for being a summer Saturday night. I don't know where most people disappear to but it sure isn't the New York bars. They're probably frolicking in the Hamptons...although surely most New Yorkers can't afford that.
One girl couldn't make it in so I had the floor to myself. Thank goodness! I got my paycheck and it was $96 instead of $45, there I go again with my fuzzy math.
Anyway, by about 8pm all the tables I had were finishing up and I figured the night would chalk up to chump change. We had one reservation booked for 8:30 but that was it. They called to see if they could change their reservation from 3 people to 5. Please do! I joked to the bus boy that I wish they would have changed it to 10. Sure enough, around 10 o'clock a party of 11 came in to eat. Score! Another party of 8 came just for drinks but they were too big of a party to sit at the bar so I got to wait on them too. The night ended up raking in $141 in tips for me. I'll take it!
We got new uniforms, which is just a black shit with the restaurant's name on it. Unfortunately they are trying to sell our sex appeal (whatever that is) so even a medium is too tight, is low cut and rides up and the sleeves hardly cover my shoulders. I didn't realize I signed up to work at Hooters. Oh well, as long as I'm not running around in booty shorts, I'll make it work.
I'm only scheduled for next Saturday night but this morning I got a call asking if I could come in tonight and maybe cover a few shifts this week for a girl who has a family emergency. Sure thing boss! I'll find out tonight what other shifts they need from me but I'm happy to work any of them.
Maybe life will get busier and finances will get better sooner than I thought! fingers crossed!
One girl couldn't make it in so I had the floor to myself. Thank goodness! I got my paycheck and it was $96 instead of $45, there I go again with my fuzzy math.
Anyway, by about 8pm all the tables I had were finishing up and I figured the night would chalk up to chump change. We had one reservation booked for 8:30 but that was it. They called to see if they could change their reservation from 3 people to 5. Please do! I joked to the bus boy that I wish they would have changed it to 10. Sure enough, around 10 o'clock a party of 11 came in to eat. Score! Another party of 8 came just for drinks but they were too big of a party to sit at the bar so I got to wait on them too. The night ended up raking in $141 in tips for me. I'll take it!
We got new uniforms, which is just a black shit with the restaurant's name on it. Unfortunately they are trying to sell our sex appeal (whatever that is) so even a medium is too tight, is low cut and rides up and the sleeves hardly cover my shoulders. I didn't realize I signed up to work at Hooters. Oh well, as long as I'm not running around in booty shorts, I'll make it work.
I'm only scheduled for next Saturday night but this morning I got a call asking if I could come in tonight and maybe cover a few shifts this week for a girl who has a family emergency. Sure thing boss! I'll find out tonight what other shifts they need from me but I'm happy to work any of them.
Maybe life will get busier and finances will get better sooner than I thought! fingers crossed!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
15 Things Friday...the Saturday edition
This will be randomly out of order so bare with me!
- I think M and I found an apartment. The rooms are big but it's a pretty typical NYC apartment. I called 7 places this week and not one of them returned my call. We put the deposit down on Monday so fingers crossed that it's still available.
- Credit check fees are really stupid. "Please pay me so I ca see where you stand financially". Well, sir, if I pay you, I will not be in a great place financially so really you're making this worse than it should be.
- When you rent an apartment in NYC, they want you to give them a kidney before they agree that you're a legit candidate to rent they're 5 x 5 crawl space with mice. Really? I need to dig up W-2's, pay stubs from all my jobs, my tax return, a letter from my employer, a letter from my landlord, $100 cash for credit checks AND $1000 deposit. Good God. You must have good credit and you must earn 40 times your rent. If these were gorgeous, fabulous apartments, fine, I get it. But trust me, they are tiny shit holes so please Mr. Landlord, don't act like your shit don't stink!
- M left for home yesterday and left me with a check for $1000 so I can get a certified bank check and put the deposit down for our apartment. From the time I left the leasing agency to the time I got to work, I lost her check. I. FREAKED. OUT. I had images of some freak running around NYC with a $1000 check trying to cash it and completely screw us out of money that we barely had. Then I'd have to pull $1000 out of no where to pay her back. Fortunately, X knocked some sense into me and told me to tell M to cancel it. Duh. It costs $35 to cancel a check. What are these financial institutions trying to do to us? At least $35 is better than $1000 by a landslide.
- Since I lost M's check and she will be gone until next week, I have to pay the deposit myself and she will pay me back. Fortunately yesterday was payday and I'll have just enough to pay everything. That means funds are really low until I get her money. This will get interesting real quickly. Fortunately I was able to grocery shop with $8.78 last week so I have enough to get by for the week. At least I should.
- I said "no" last night. I was supposed to get drinks with a friend but with that morning's financial adventures I told her I'd have to pass. When I got home from work I got an invite to dinner and Crazy, Stupid Love. I SO wanted to go. But I said no. I got some work done, watched a movie and went to bed. Not an ideal Friday night but I didn't die. I do want to see this movie and maybe I'll even go tomorrow morning before noon when it's $6.
- I work tonight. I'm pretty excited to make some money and see the schedule for next week. I know it's likely that I'll only have one shift next week but it's still nice to get an idea. Since the shifts here have been so inconsistent I am trying to not depend on this money but take what I get as unexpected extra help. I'll take what I can get and just keep praying that shifts pick up with football season.
- Thanks to Cely I have been informed that one of my poor foods is apparently as toxic as a cigarette. Hot dogs have always been awesome in my book. I mean, I know they're not great for you but toxic?! That's going to put all the hot dog carts in NYC out of business and it's really going to put a kink my list of poor meals.
- I have next Friday off. What should I do?
- My mom started a personal consulting business and I'm helping her with social media. It's pretty interesting and gives me even more reason to be on blogs, facebook and twitter...uh oh!
- I have a new addiction to Kraft mac & cheese. It is the ultimate comfort food, especially the shapes. If only it were good for me!
- I haven't been to the gym much lately. This is terrible news and that stops tomorrow. I'm going. And I'm going next week too. Just because I'm broke doesnt mean I have to stay inside all the time since I already pay to go to the gym.
- We wont have cable at the new apartment. I'm debating getting Netflix or Blockbuster. Did you know Netflix changed their plan and the most you can rent at a time is 1 disc and it's still $15? Yes, you can stream unlimited but the choices aren't that great. I think I'll go with Blockbuster if the restaurant job picks up.
- I need to read more. I love reading while I wait for the subway etc. but when I'm lounging at home, I rarely do. I have a long list of great books to read so I need to trade some computer time with reading.
- Target is having a sale on furniture this week. It sucks that I need furniture yet can't afford to buy it right now, even when it's on sale. So when I can afford it I'll have to pay full price. Bummer.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Happy Friday
Today is Friday right? It sure feels like a crazy stressful Monday. I don't even know how that happens.
I will have a detailed post soon about lots of stuff (15 things Friday?) but for now, I will keep it upbeat and leave you with a very "Friday" song. It should get your toes tappin' and make you a little bit excited to be leaving work. Enjoy!
I will have a detailed post soon about lots of stuff (15 things Friday?) but for now, I will keep it upbeat and leave you with a very "Friday" song. It should get your toes tappin' and make you a little bit excited to be leaving work. Enjoy!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
You learn something new every day
Money is pretty tight around here, but I have all I need and I'm going to work hard to keep it that way. One of my strategies is to find cheaper food alternatives so I don't get bored or feel deprived with the same cheap meals day in and day out.
The other night, I had my first bowl of ramen noodles because I had to. It wasn't even bad (albeit not good for you). I was chatting with M and we generated a list of things to add to ramen to keep things interesting and to get other forms of nutrients. We came up with stirring in veggies such as peas or carrots, cut up hot dogs and scrambled eggs. I'm sure I will find many more possibilities.
I went grocery shopping last night with my list of cheap foods and came across a question, are frozen or canned vegetables better for you? They're typically the same price so if I'm going to stir them into Ramen or other meals, I might as well get the healthier option.
So I did some research when I got home and discovered that frozen is much better for you, according to Fit Sugar. Canned are more convenient because they don't need to thaw, they last longer and don't take up room in our tiny freezer. But frozen don't have tons of preservatives.
Now I will learn the best way to prepare frozen veggies, since fresh will almost always not be an option for a while. And hey, the article even says that frozen is sometimes better than fresh!
The other night, I had my first bowl of ramen noodles because I had to. It wasn't even bad (albeit not good for you). I was chatting with M and we generated a list of things to add to ramen to keep things interesting and to get other forms of nutrients. We came up with stirring in veggies such as peas or carrots, cut up hot dogs and scrambled eggs. I'm sure I will find many more possibilities.
I went grocery shopping last night with my list of cheap foods and came across a question, are frozen or canned vegetables better for you? They're typically the same price so if I'm going to stir them into Ramen or other meals, I might as well get the healthier option.
So I did some research when I got home and discovered that frozen is much better for you, according to Fit Sugar. Canned are more convenient because they don't need to thaw, they last longer and don't take up room in our tiny freezer. But frozen don't have tons of preservatives.
Now I will learn the best way to prepare frozen veggies, since fresh will almost always not be an option for a while. And hey, the article even says that frozen is sometimes better than fresh!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
I need to move
This post could have many other titles, such as:
The night I ate Ramen
My trip home
Drowning
Learning
I had one more surprise visit home this past weekend. My sister is in the Air Force and was home for the first time since November and it was the only time all year our whole family would be together. It was great to have lots of quality family time and get out of the brutal city for a while. I have pictures but I'll make that another post because right now I have bigger fish to fry.
One of the most eye opening parts of being home was the cost of living. My dad and I went to Perkins one morning for breakfast. My platter of bacon, eggs and a belgin waffle cost $4.99. My jaw dropped to the ground. In New York my orange juice alone would cost $4.99 if not more. As my dad pointed out, I'm living in a Mercedes world when I can barely afford my old '95 Saturn. He's very right.
It crossed my mind in the past 24 hours that I could drop everything and by the end of the month move home. I could stop living out of my means and work to pay off some debt, build some savings and be in a much better financial situation with my parents support. It's been stressful to say the least.
Originally I thought I would be here for a year lease starting Sept. 1 and then I would move on since I know New York is not for me. At this point though, I will completely drown in a year. I will be so far in debt I doubt I could work my way out and I wouldn't have much to show for it. So after a few long talks with the parents and deciding that giving up at the end of the month would be a little too harsh, I'm giving it 6 more months.
It wont be an easy 6 months, I know that going into it. But I'm not finished with my New York adventure and I owe it to myself to try. This blog will definitely benefit from the next 6 months as far as content goes because of my serious need to save money.
Starting tonight, August 2, 2011, I have $15 in my checking account, $17 cash and $1000.88 in savings. I have almost all of my September bills paid/accounted for except for part of one student loan. Not super but if I try hard I can make it. Tomorrow, M and I are going to start constructing a newer, cheaper lifestyle and plan for the next 6 months. We are going to start trying to find an apartment that's in our price range or maybe we'll find a third roommate to make it cheaper. That $1000 in savings is being saved for the deposit of wherever we find. I'm going to do some research to find another job, maybe something I can do online in the evenings so I can work it around my waitressing job. I have plenty of time just hanging out so I might as well be productive with it. I'm going to be smarter about my meals, grocery shopping and any purchases I might need (which really shouldn't be much, I have more than I think I do. There is a big difference between want and need and I'm still learning). I'm going to work hard, take advantage of what income I can get and just learn to live with less.
Today my flight arrived around 1pm (long story) and I went straight to work. Instead of buying lunch on the way I finished the bag of chips I had brought on the plane and I luckily found a tray of leftover breakfast pastries and swiped half a muffin. I was meeting with M tonight to discuss my financial situation. We typically would meet for dinner but we couldn't spend money so we made dinner at her house. I brought a pack of Ramen (another long story for a new post soon) I happened to have at my desk and she made eggs and we had a good productive conversation. It's nice having someone in a similar boat, as you as much as I dont wish financial stress to anyone.
When I got home tonight I used only what I had in my cupboards. I had some spaghetti left and ingredients to make a new batch of meat sauce so I took the time to whip that up. I am pleased with myself for working with what I have and just learning to do without. Tomorrow I will not get Dunkin Donuts, in fact I wont get it all week again. It's a want, not a need and I can/will survive without it.
I get paid on Friday and I want to have a game plan of what to do with my extra $189 for spending money. I want to stretch it to really get the most out of it without feeling deprived. I want to save some, get enough groceries, be somewhat social and most of all not be completely broke at the end of the two weeks. That amount needs to become routine and I need to learn how.
As a side note, M found out she owes taxes (file taxes online people!) so she will be doing a guest post soon since she is starting to see what it's like to be financially stressed and learning how to be frugal. She says her main goal is to be funny and I know she won't disappoint.
The night I ate Ramen
My trip home
Drowning
Learning
I had one more surprise visit home this past weekend. My sister is in the Air Force and was home for the first time since November and it was the only time all year our whole family would be together. It was great to have lots of quality family time and get out of the brutal city for a while. I have pictures but I'll make that another post because right now I have bigger fish to fry.
One of the most eye opening parts of being home was the cost of living. My dad and I went to Perkins one morning for breakfast. My platter of bacon, eggs and a belgin waffle cost $4.99. My jaw dropped to the ground. In New York my orange juice alone would cost $4.99 if not more. As my dad pointed out, I'm living in a Mercedes world when I can barely afford my old '95 Saturn. He's very right.
It crossed my mind in the past 24 hours that I could drop everything and by the end of the month move home. I could stop living out of my means and work to pay off some debt, build some savings and be in a much better financial situation with my parents support. It's been stressful to say the least.
Originally I thought I would be here for a year lease starting Sept. 1 and then I would move on since I know New York is not for me. At this point though, I will completely drown in a year. I will be so far in debt I doubt I could work my way out and I wouldn't have much to show for it. So after a few long talks with the parents and deciding that giving up at the end of the month would be a little too harsh, I'm giving it 6 more months.
It wont be an easy 6 months, I know that going into it. But I'm not finished with my New York adventure and I owe it to myself to try. This blog will definitely benefit from the next 6 months as far as content goes because of my serious need to save money.
Starting tonight, August 2, 2011, I have $15 in my checking account, $17 cash and $1000.88 in savings. I have almost all of my September bills paid/accounted for except for part of one student loan. Not super but if I try hard I can make it. Tomorrow, M and I are going to start constructing a newer, cheaper lifestyle and plan for the next 6 months. We are going to start trying to find an apartment that's in our price range or maybe we'll find a third roommate to make it cheaper. That $1000 in savings is being saved for the deposit of wherever we find. I'm going to do some research to find another job, maybe something I can do online in the evenings so I can work it around my waitressing job. I have plenty of time just hanging out so I might as well be productive with it. I'm going to be smarter about my meals, grocery shopping and any purchases I might need (which really shouldn't be much, I have more than I think I do. There is a big difference between want and need and I'm still learning). I'm going to work hard, take advantage of what income I can get and just learn to live with less.
Today my flight arrived around 1pm (long story) and I went straight to work. Instead of buying lunch on the way I finished the bag of chips I had brought on the plane and I luckily found a tray of leftover breakfast pastries and swiped half a muffin. I was meeting with M tonight to discuss my financial situation. We typically would meet for dinner but we couldn't spend money so we made dinner at her house. I brought a pack of Ramen (another long story for a new post soon) I happened to have at my desk and she made eggs and we had a good productive conversation. It's nice having someone in a similar boat, as you as much as I dont wish financial stress to anyone.
When I got home tonight I used only what I had in my cupboards. I had some spaghetti left and ingredients to make a new batch of meat sauce so I took the time to whip that up. I am pleased with myself for working with what I have and just learning to do without. Tomorrow I will not get Dunkin Donuts, in fact I wont get it all week again. It's a want, not a need and I can/will survive without it.
I get paid on Friday and I want to have a game plan of what to do with my extra $189 for spending money. I want to stretch it to really get the most out of it without feeling deprived. I want to save some, get enough groceries, be somewhat social and most of all not be completely broke at the end of the two weeks. That amount needs to become routine and I need to learn how.
As a side note, M found out she owes taxes (file taxes online people!) so she will be doing a guest post soon since she is starting to see what it's like to be financially stressed and learning how to be frugal. She says her main goal is to be funny and I know she won't disappoint.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)