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