Moving pictures

Favorite cinemas in SF with cheaper-than-your-first-born tickets:

Red Vic - $7 Tuesdays. Ziggy Stardust!
Dark Room - $5 Bad Movie Night Sundays. MST3K in the flesh. So awesome. Thanks to R for introducing me.
Balboa Theatre - $6.50 matinees and some non-matinees
Metreon - $9 matinees for blockbusters and other crap
AMC Van Ness - $6 before noon Fri-Sun

There are tons of others, I'm sure, some even in the East Bay. duhn duhn duuhhhnnnn.

Yesterday: $20 - coffee, sandwich, wine.

Unch-lay

I was going to write this post in pig latin, but decided against it.

There are a number of reasons - some good, some bad, but all of them plausible - why I buy my lunch during the work week.

1. Fresh air - we can't open the windows in our office
2. Exercise - I sit all day in front of my computer in my cubicle, and lunch gives me an opportunity to move
3. Bread - I love sandwiches. However, if I keep bread at home to make said sandwiches, I will likely make a meal of the bread alone.
4. Frozen meals - I hate them, unless we're talkin' Lean Pockets. Heck yeah!
5. Salad - I like them, but fresh produce in my home is likely to rot
6. Friend time - Lunch during the work week is an opportunity to see friends

If I distill the list above into its key components we've got - I have little self control with food at home and if I tried really hard I could still get fresh air, exercise, and friend time in without heading to a restaurant everyday.

Hrmph.

Today I think I'll get a gyro.

Yesterday: $14 - lunch and coffee

The glaringly obvious

I don't have a plan, FYI.

I don't know how to save money. I don't know how to pay balances down. I'm hoping that it'll be like muscle memory - if I just keep chipping away at bills and thinking about what I'm spending before I slap down the debit card, it'll work.

Thinking about being responsible is intimidating. I approach working out, cleaning, and financial accountability the same way ~

• heart races out of anticipation
• internal monologue about how this didn't work before
• compare myself to others
• give up and get a burrito
• feel bad about the burrito, despite its innate awesomeness

So, yeah. I cleaned my bedroom. -ish. You can see almost all the carpeting that you're supposed to see. I've gone to two Krav Maga classes, and I'm going to more. And the money I put in my savings account last month IS STILL THERE!

Tiny successes are still successes.

Yesterday: $100 - costco, lunch with M, cheap-o movie with R

Made it!

Whew! Christmas is over. The most shopping-est time of the year, and I made it through without too much excessive spending. Yes, there are levels of excessive spending.

There's the "Let me show you how much I love you" spending; the "Got a new job and gonna buy you stuff" spending; the "New relationships are best cemented with exorbitant spending" spending; and many more, I'm sure.

Thankfully, my loved ones understand that having a new job doesn't translate into gifts this year. And thankfully (sad penguin) I'm not in a new/any relationship right now.

On an unrelated note, ran into the ex and his gf at Philz this morning. Check it - me: totally civil. Them: totally civil. Baby steps, baby steps.

Friday: $0
Yesterday: $14 - pizza with M and S

Num nums

Today: $115 on wine, cheese, crackers, baking paraphernalia, bagel.
Yesterday: $15 - brekky, beer

Work gave me a $250 bonus for being team-oriented. Which, actually, I am. There. I may not be very good with my finances, but at least I can bring people together. The ones that don't hate me, that is.

I spent some of the bonus money on getting my brows/'stache waxed. The rest will just go into the money pot with everything else.

I'm super stoked to go to A's family's house for Christmas eve/day. I may have over done it with the purchases, but come on. They've adopted me for 36 hours during which I'd otherwise be watching Discovery and eating ramen. Thus, I'm celebrating with cream cheese peanut butter brownies, oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookies, and champagne.

OKC dude bought me beer last night, despite my protests. Automatic win.

Just Say Ho

Yesterday:
$50 - Presents
$22 - Highly caloric food

So I'm thinking once this Mint thing goes on for a while, I'll be able to see how much I pay in interest to my loans and credit cards. Should be frightening and I wager I'll either:

a) jump back into action being super frugal woman...for 4 days.
b) curl up in bed and cry until I realize why I'm crying then laugh

Placing bets now.

OKC dates are going well, I guess. Aside from the dude who asked my bra/underwear size and when I said 'Yeah, no' he called me a bitch. S said that people aren't nice and I'm beginning to believe him.

Crap on a stick

See that? Below?

That post is from last week.

This is a daily blog.

The time between then and now isn't a blur, it's a sham. I am so embarassed with how little I've changed my spending habits that I can't bear to publish it. Starbucks? Yup. Lunches? Yup.

My eyes! Mint is blinding them with my excessive spending.

So, today:
Coffee/Starbucks breakfast thingy: $8
Stupid sandwich: $11
Krav Maga in lieu of training with E: $20, then $79 every month afterward

Not lacking

B sent me this:

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." - Oscar Wilde

Shirk Attack

I haven't been caring about my spending the last few days - I think being all angsty about it made me rebel against myself. The inner turmoil is palpable. You're not the boss of me!

I am the boss of me, though.

I'm trying to figure out how to make being responsible fun. It's just not. Until then, here's the deal:

Thursday: It was so long ago I can't remember but I bet I bought lunch for myself. Let's say $20.
Friday: $47 - sandwiches for 501(c)3 board meeting + glass of wine with coworkers.
Saturday: $0 - w00t
Sunday: $20 beer - OKC dates proving to be nice but content with me buying my own drinks. Blast it!

Editor's Note: I'm also paying off credit card balances and student loan debts, both of which aren't nearly as sexy as day-to-day expenses.

The nerve

So I emailed AmEx and Discover to see if I could get my APRs reduced. Why email? Because I'm too embarrassed to ask over the phone.

If I call, what if they ask why? "Well, sir, you see - I've been very bad with my money and honestly I can't even find my credit card but I need to have the APR reduced so I can afford to pay you back. And I'd threaten to move my balance but as you can see by my credit report, despite the excellent rating, no one wants to give me a credit card. Yeah. But, I really like your credit cards so could you do me this favor?"

AmEx got back to me - dropped my percentage down 1 point. Discover doesn't negotiate APRs over email, so I have to call.

Those that know me know that when it comes to talking about sticky or taboo subjects, I tend to be fearless. But, hot damn! I am so scared to call a credit card company that my guts are starting to gurgle. Again.

Yesterday: $22 - cab (Ack! What is this, New York?) and coffee/bagel.

Last and final

Today: $75. Parking ticket, coffee, bagel, pizza.

Om nom nom nom.

Shoes

Here are the things I'm actively working on. I am a self-help book incarnate.

Food consumption - Do I want that cookie? Yes. Do I need it? Yes. But do George and Rafael (my spare tires) need the cookie? That's a negative.

Gym attendance - 24 Hour Fitness is 1.2 miles away from my apartment and I have a car - for now. It's below a Ross (hell yeah, shoes!) and a Safeway (hell yeah, pre-made sushi!). I paid for a 2 year gym registration at Costco. THERE IS NO CONCEIVABLE REASON FOR ME NOT TO GO. And yet I do not.

Boy issues - Me and every other single heterosexual woman in her late 20s.

Budget maintenance - obvs

Job happiness - I could write a whole other blog on this, in fact I do sporadically. Bottom line, though, a footwear place offered me a job, I countered, they countered, I countered, they're putting it on hold until 2010. Until then, cube life continues - writing procedures on how to hand out faxes and too much time for introspection.

Apartment cleanliness - Parents: forcing your children to clean their rooms does not guarantee tidy adults. Some of us were just born messy.

Friend accountability - Eh, general accountability. I caught myself trying to weasel out of something at work that was totally my mistake. I also tend to flake on friends - I'd say I'm less flakey than most, but more flakey than I used to be.

Yesterday: $0.00

Heathers

Yesterday: $35.00 - draino, Biore nose strips, eggs, laundry detergent

Exciting Sunday, huh?

I finally found my car registration so I can get my parking permit, and X1 told me about parking in the Mission that doesn't require a permit.

The end.

OKCupid

I've had a couple people ask me about my OKCupid experience(s). Here you go:

C convinced me to try OKCupid, a site that caters to nerds, geeks, and dorks. In other words, my people.

I signed up in mid-October, but didn't fill in any personal information for another month because I was embarrassed. The site's free, by the way.

There are IM functions and lots of cheeky personality tests. I've found myself on there just to find out what Beatles song character I am.

A few guys IMed me, others messaged me, and I messaged a couple of them. I felt weird about everything, honestly. You can ignore guys if they creep you out or if you're not interested. You can flip through profiles; it's kind of like being on the SPCA website.

Anywho, I had a date with a math teacher and with a middle manager at Apple.

Teacher dude was cool. He's from SoCal and really into metal and punk rock. We have another date to see Xanadu this week. Yep, Xanadu.

Apple dude was awkward. I know all about awkward - I wrote the the Cliff Notes on awkwardness. But, holy crap.

a)He came to the bar having seconds earlier eaten a piece of garlic bacon pizza. So...you don't even want to consider making out with me? OK.
b)He talked about seeing his first dead body in Mexico city.
c)He talked about insects.

He's a nice guy, and he did make some really amazing droll comments.

So, yeah! It's a little nerve wracking, but seems worth the effort. I'm getting good practice meeting new people.

k

Reality bites

In an effort to not spending anything yesterday, I instead cried about my finances. No really.

I've never been one to own the consequences of my actions. I figure, if I just ignore the bad stuff or better yet, gloss over it with a smile and a joke, everything will be just fine.

After a couple hours of self-pity and awful daytime Saturday television, I called B.

B: Hello?
K: {silence} ...Hey, it's K.
B: How's it going?
K: {deep breath} ...Well, you told me I could call whenever and I've been stuck in bed and I can't get out because IamsostupidIspentsomuchmoneyontripsandclothes
andgradschoolandisittooearlytodeclarebankruptcy?
B: HA!

B talked me off the ledge and in 10 minutes I realized that I'm not alone, that it's time to face reality, and that I'm really grateful for my friends.

Yesterday: $16.45 - coffee and cab home from late night party.

Blissless

Budgeting has made me very angry. It's not the not buying part that destroys my mood, it's the "What the eff?!" effect of rummaging around my personal finances. That, and I acquired two more parking tickets. The Lord Baby Jesus is definitely telling me something.

Oh, Dan. Dan is my car. I've had him for 4 reliable years, and I have $2700 to go in payments. I pay about $100/mo in insurance and about $1000/yr in maintenance. Kelley Blue Book values him at $2800.

At this point, I need to figure out if the convenience of having a car is worth the expense. Let's pretend I park my car perfectly everyday and I never get any tickets. Pretend, people. I'm still paying at least $5000 next year if I include gas. Which I should, being as gas makes cars go.

Alternatives:

• Muni/BART. I'm already paying $55/mo for the pass, soon to be $70/mo. Regardless of if Dan's around, I shell out about $850/yr for municipal transportation.
• Zipcar. If I use a zip car 4 times a month for 8 hours each time, that's $202.
• Rental for longer trips. I rarely would need to go to Monterey, but let's say I do. $100-$300/quarter.

Crap. I think I know what I have to do.

Thursday: $25 - lunch with mentor at work and two drinks with another OKC date.
Friday: $130 - car maintenance

Twister

A vortex of suck opened up yesterday.

I forgot to send my vehicle registration in with my request for a new parking permit. I learned the hard way that there's no grace period. 11/30 rolled around, and by the end of yesterday, I had three (THREE!) parking tickets. Actually, I had two, but when I went on-line to pay them and my old tickets - shut up - another one appeared.

So now I'm scrambling to find my vehicle registration card. No idea where it is. Your glovebox, you say! Nope. Checked there. I am all sorts of awesome.

On top of that, I went to dinner with C and friends, and while I should've just gotten the soup, I instead got a glass of sparkly and split a bunch of stuff.

Oh, oh! And let's not forget that I treated myself to lunch, too.

And when I went to check my accounts on Mint, a check I'd sent out that I intended to have cashed after the next pay period was already cashed.

Fuck yeah, me. Happy Thursday.

Yesterday: $345 - 5 parking tickets, dinner, lunch.

A-holes

Yesterday: $20 - beer

Now wait just a second. Don't get all judgy on me.

I'm balancing a lot of discipline here: money (obviously), food (om nom nom nom), and boys (don't smite me, Lord!). This dude that I met at BAR - stupid English language. I met him on OKC, and then met him at BAR for drinks - was super nice and all, but is a teacher and I'm not. So I bought the beer. You'd totally do the same, no?

Anywho, I got to the bar a little before he did and needed to grab some cash. ATM fees blow. I pulled out $100, and got charged $2.00 from the ATM and another $2.00 from my bank. Why $100? Because I figure it's better to spread the ATM charges out over $100 than $20. Like spreading a canister of frosting over two dozen cupcakes instead of just eating the jar and forgoing the cupcakes altogether.

I understand this logic is bogus. The more cash I have in my wallet, the faster it goes. So I put the extra money away and sucked up the ATM fees.

On a related note, Mint told me I could save $14,000 over three years by transferring my balances from my existing credit cards (avg APR is 17.5%) to a new one with 8% APR. Good idea, but I haven't been at my job for more than six months and they want my dad's information. Uh, why? Dad wasn't the one that decided I should purchase $300 worth of clothes from She-bible in September. And October.

Takeaways:

• Avoid ATM fees by taking the time to walk the two blocks to the effing Chase bank that's on 25th/Mission.
• Use feminine wiles to reduce APR on current credit cards.

Four

1. Training: What was once an exorbitant expense is now completely manageable and guilt free. E and I have worked out a retainer training package: $100/mo will give me no more than ten and no less than two hour-long Rocky sessions. He's really great - knows what he's talking about and banters well. Let me know if you need a trainer in SF! Prices may vary.

2. Dating: I suck at it, but hooray for OKCupid! It's free, full of nerds who live in the Mission, and I get free beer out of it. Light beer.

3. Yesterday: $0.00

Vice grip

My pulse is racing and my stomach burning. Bad burrito? No. Mint.

I took M's advice and plunged right in. I'd been using a simple and thorough excel file provided by Z - Master Of All Things Finance - but if I didn't feel like adding an expense here or there, I didn't. Vices? I have none; at least not on my excel sheet. Shoe purchases got nicely wrapped up in groceries. Take that, financial responsibility.

Mint is a high magnifying mirror. You know the kind - they're round and usually at the end of a bendy elbow hinge attached to a hotel bathroom wall. I try to avoid them for fear of seeing what my t-zone really looks like.

Well, forget that. As soon as I attached my accounts to Mint, there was no running away. $90/month at Starbucks! Previously hidden on both my debit card and AmEx, it didn't seem so bad. An average of $200/month on clothes since August. Dang, girl! And lots of other embarrassing trends that I don't want to talk about yet.

Good-bye, binge spending. Hello, self-control.

Yesterday: $6.02 - burrito

Minty fresh

Heck yes! Smart advice from a smart friend! Thank you, M!:

I saw your new blog, and I thought I'd offer some totally unsolicited advice. I've got some experience with being broke and wanting to be less broke. :) I hope something here helps.

Books:
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Personal Finance in Your 20s and 30s
Good basic advice on budgeting, saving, insurance, taxes, etc.
On My Own Two Feet: A Modern Girl's Guide to Personal Finance
Looks at women's issues with money, spending, and saving. They've also got a free email newsletter

Websites:
http://www.mint.com/
I use Quicken online, but they just merged with Mint. It's free to use, and it downloads your checking, credit card, and/or savings account into one place. You can categorize purchases easily and see where your money is going, even set goals and see how you do. They've also got a blog and articles with tips, and an iPhone app.

Googling terms like "frugal" or "budget" turns up a bunch of websites with advice and tools.
http://frugalliving.about.com/
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/

The thing that has worked best for me is being honest with people when I'm trying to save money or spend less (or just spend more responsibly). Everyone's been there at some point, or they should be there now, so they understand. Most people have their own tips they'll share with you.

Glorious food

Yesterday I spent $12 - two bottles of water (eek!), a pack of gum, and tip for dinner. Not bad, eh? Kinda...

My intent for this blog was to be honest about my expenses while chiseling away at debt, but there looms another issue briefly mentioned in a previous post: my belly.

I'm a sturdy girl - no strong wind's gonna mess with this woman. No way no how. Said sturdiness is linked to genetics and my compulsion for dining out and/or cookies, both of which I partook in yesterday. I also took a four-mile walk *for free!*, watched a crap-ton of "Between the Ferns" *for free!*, and wallowed on my friend's chaise longue for most of the afternoon *also free!*.

You see where I'm going here. Or maybe not, it's not really a linear train of thought.

Just because the food is free doesn't mean it's good for me. HOLY CRAP! I rhymed and I may have a new mantra.

Just because the food is free doesn't mean it's good for me.
Just because the food is free doesn't mean it's good for me.
Just because the food is free doesn't mean it's good for me.

Well, I've effectively bifurcated my blog into a bitch sesh about weight and a complainy "I'm broke" platform.

Next post will be back on topic. Pinky swear.

Oh, oh, but since I've led you astray anyway, check out my newest infatuation: One Word

You are my density

It's taken me years - nay, decades - to realize that buying presents/drinks/dinners/emus for others not only improves my karma, it destroys my bank account.

I used to shower my friends and family with gifts. From packs of gum to trips abroad, I used to be that person. I wasn't taken advantage of, nor did I ever expect anything back. I just loved giving people presents.

Don't you worry, I take care of myself. I have a closet (and floor) full of clothes I adore and a belly that's girth directly correlates to the frequency I eat food made in a commercial kitchen.

So, yeah.

Do I stop giving presents? Yes and no. I stop with myself first. Maybe I learn to cook - I like homemade food, even when it starts out in box form. Actually, especially when it starts out in box form. I start working out more frequently so I can fit back into all the clothes I adore. And I learn to appreciate all the other things I already have.

As for the presents for friends and family, I think most of them would rather hear from me than get a typewriter in the mail. I love movies at home and Charles Shaw. I like playing board games even when I lose. I like the intangibles of friendship that I used to quantify with credit card purchases.

Note to self: substitute time for neatly wrapped packages.

In the beginning...

I know I know - you're wondering how someone so awesome, so funny, and so cute could be so financially inept.

Lack of self-control.

Examples are not in chronological order. But you don't care anyway.

#1
K - Let's go to Europe!
Z - Yes!
K - Oh wait, I have no money.
Z - Who cares?!
K - You're right! Let's go!

#2
K - Hmm, these glasses are cute but a little out of my price range.
Saleswoman - Darling, you look wonderful in these frames.
K - Sold! I'll take that pair of Dior sunglasses, too.

#3
K - You're turning 30! Let's do something!
X - Can't, no money.
K - Brazil it is! I just pricelined the tickets. You're welcome.

#4
K - (If I get a trainer, I will stop eating donuts for dinner. Seems like a worthwhile expense.)
E - That'll be $600
K - Here's my AmEx.

Letting it all hang out

I'm broke. No, no, I have a job that pays well and I'm not siphoning my money away to crack dealers or high-priced prostitutes - I've just been irresponsible. Very irresponsible.

It started when I got a job in high school. All my money went to CDs and cigarettes. Mom, Dad, if you're reading this - sorry. It's what the cool kids did.

Enter long-distance boyfriend at 19, living in NYC, an affection for delivery, life. New sneakers, new jeans, new credit cards. Discover Card, I blame you.

At almost 29, I'm over $100,000 in debt. About $75,000 is student loans (graduated early from NYU and that cost me, grad school on my own). About $30,000 is personal debt - car ($3,000) and everything else ($27,000). I'll go into the what and how later. It's brutally grotesque.

That said, I cut up my credit cards yesterday.

I inventoried my pantry: 58 packets of ramen, 12 boxes of Mac N Cheese, cocoa, vanilla.

I inventoried my freezer: 4 pound bag of frozen vegetables.

I looked at my recurring expenses: cell phone, car payments, starbucks, restaurants, etsy.

I gave myself a pep talk, a promise to write a blog, and off we go.