Budget 7/07 - 7/20

Since I need this paycheck to last me until the second day of my honeymoon I figured it was wise to write up a budget so I don't forget anything in the midst of wedding planning.

BTW I should have realized what I was going to get when I googled "two brides" but this image refers to a semi-financial quandry I am in. :-)

My friend is also getting married and her shower and bachellorette party are this weekend. I have already RSVPd yes to both events, but due to a death in a third friend's family I no longer have a way to get to them - five hours away. So...I'm trying to figure out what to do...and how much it will cost. So here's my worst case scenario budget:

Starting Balance = $1337

Sallie Mae - 406

Defaulted Student Loan - 260

Credit Card - 100

Sprint - 74

Health - 45

Shower gift - 60

Transportation and party misc. - 180

Wedding week & misc. - 212

Okay, so that's not too awful. Of course it doesn't take into account the vast amount of money we will spend during the week of the wedding but that is coming out of the separate wedding budget I've worked so hard on for the past year. Time to enjoy it!

Paid off my water debt!

As I mentioned before, my fiance agreed to give me some money towards the overdue water money that I owed my landlord. We talked about it and decided it was best to just nip it in the bud ASAP so I can finally ditch my apartment and move in to his place officially.

He kicked in $100 and I paid the remaining $100 so I am now water debt free!

I'm happy to be one step closer to getting rid of my apartment. My parents - who orginally weren't too crazy about premartial cohabitation - even told me to hurry up and get outta my expensive lease.

My overdue utilities are so close to being paid off as well - only $80 left on the payment agreement! In fact, now is a good time to review all of my "short term debt" that I've been working on since establishing the blog in May '08.

Friend A - $200 - paid in full on May 12, 2008

"Boyfriend" - I still owe him (now my fiance) about $300 and he's been lenient on repayment terms but still wants his money back eventually. He says paying him back will keep me honest. Do you agree readers?

Friend C - $60 - I finally got her address and will be sending her the money I owe her in the next pay period. I know this debt bothers a lot of my readers - and me too.

Overdue Utilities - according to my payment agreement I only have about $80 left. Will knock this out in the next pay period and perhaps with my fiance's assistance.

Mom Debt - $100 paid off in August.

So that's all for now. I wish I had more news on my job situation but everything is still up in the air. Stay tuned for wedding planning news!

Budget 2/04 - 2/17

This budget may need tweaking in a few days as I'm going to see a friend for the weekend and expecting my tax refund soon but in the meantime I should post it to keep myself honest. I'm also budgeting for a manicure since it's high time I got one (and to show off my ring!).

Starting Balance = $1138

Credit Card - 100

Aunt Sallie Mae - 406

Defaulted Student Loan - 260

Nice Collection Agency - 125

Train ticket - 80

Groceries - 50

Beauty - 30

Valentine's Day - 20

Misc. - 67

I'm throwing $100 at my credit card and will hopefully get rid of the rest of it this month with the help of my anticipated federal tax refund of $316. New York is also giving me over $100 back but they are not half as quick as the feds.

I don't anticipate spending too much money when I visit my friend as she's sort of a homebody but I could be wrong. I'm looking forward to seeing her and catching up on some girl time before I'm an old married hag.

Let Them Eat (Wedding) Cake Part Two

Right after I got back from the Destination Wedding I attended I did an incomplete post of my time away and all the money I spent. And then I got busy with work and life of course so I left you all in suspense. Also you're probably not gonna like what I have to tell you because I spent a whole lot of money. But life is meant for the living, right? Not the scary zombie brides (Happy Halloween BTW!!!).

Ok so here is it and appropriate to the date, it's pretty scary!!!

As of my last post I was still on Friday and had spent $70 of my own money (see previous post for details).

Saturday I wake up hungover as all hell. I remember a hot tub. I remember the World Series being on really late. I remember deciding I was bored of beer and that it was a good time to switch to liquor. Hanging out with college friends must have made me think I could still drink like I was in college. Sadly friends, that is no longer true.

The Atkins girls had supplied a heartiful sausage breakfast. Eww gross thought hungover Sallie's Niece. When someone volunteered a supermarket run I jumped in to come. I immediately purchased a Starbucks Iced Mocha with whipped cream (a yummy $4), then proceeded to get a roast beef wrapped sandwich, a 12-pack of beer (my contribution to the house), flip flops for dancing (I forgot mine), a nail file (I forgot mine) and a toothbrush (yup forgot that too). All told I spent $35 at the supermarket (including Starbucks).

Back at the house I deposited a crisp $50 bill into my wedding card as a gift to my friend. Then we went to the wedding. Yay it was awesome. So happy for her. The band was great! We danced and partied in a limo. Pretty much your typical expensive best-day-of-your-life kind of thing. Going to a wedding stag sucks though and I'm one of the most independent women I know. I danced awkwardly next to other couples and finally snagged the cousin of the groom as my dancing partner. He was adorably southern and had hair that draped over one eye just so....but I digress.

The day after the wedding was a real Budget Buster. I thought I had secured people to come with me (and drive me) to the touristy things I wanted to do before my flight. I thought wrong. College Friend left for her honeymoon and I was alone in an oceanfront mansion. And bored. I called about ten dolphin tour boat companies and half of them were not operating because it was Sunday. The other half refused to take on just one passenger. Curse you!

I finally found a boat but it wasn't departing for several hours. So I took a cab to requisite touristy resturant ($20). Had lunch and drinks ($25). Bought souvenirs including one Christmas gift ($47). Took another cab to boat tour ($12). Went on boat tour ($15). Sat at a bar in the harbor until it was time for my flight ($10). Took yet another cab to airport ($15). Bought random snacks and magazines ($12).

So yes, I spent almost all of the $200 my Dad gave me plus about $150 of my own dollars. It was the most expensive weekend ever!

I had fun and I'm glad I got to be a part of my friend's wedding and everything. Looking back I should really have rented a car even if it was only for one day because though I was told it was a very small town the cabs were so slow and painfully expensive. I also really should have found a way to get Boyfriend to come with me because being on my own really really sucked.

I don't want to come off as anti-wedding and I know I definitely didn't need to spend as much as I did but the next time I get invited to a Destination Wedding it best be someplace really fun and affordable to get to. Hopefully there will be no more weddings for a while now.

Where it Went 10/15 - 10/29

Can you believe I FORGOT it was payday today? Wow. That's pretty amazing. Usually I'm half-starved wondering if I can afford the forty cent office coffee. Thanks Dad!

Anyway, a lot of money was spent at my friend's wedding this past weekend. Fortunately most of it wasn't mine! Therefore, this post is only going to account for the money I budgeted for two weeks ago (aka my own money). I'll post a full mea culpa of the other wedding money soonish.

Here's how I did compared to the Budget I made two weeks ago:

Savings - 50/10

Aunt Sallie Mae - 406/406.96

Defaulted Student Loan - 260/260

Nice Collection Agency - 125/125.81

Wedding Gift - 100/50

Groceries - 40/0

Misc. - 164/200

I don't think I paid for any of our groceries these past two weeks but in my defense we didn't go shopping all that much. I bought a bottle of wine to bring to my weekly friend date ($12). I reduced my wedding gift to $50 and also purchased a $3 card. I went out to a fancy bar for a friend's birthday and exceeded my $20 budget for that night by about $20 - but the duck tacos ($13) I had were most definitely worth it. I went in on pizza and beer with friends last week to the tune of about $20. All in all, this was a very social two weeks for me. But life is short so I lived it up a little! (Also Boyfriend was out of town for a week.)

I will attone for these sins in the next Budget, particuarly the Savings.

Let Them Eat (Wedding) Cake

On Friday The New York Times published an article entitled "How to Take a Cake Knife to Wedding Costs" which detailed ways in which weddings are being scaled back due to the tumultuous state of the economy. Buy a vintage dress. Use an ipod instead of a band or D.J. Try sunflowers in the centerpieces instead of orchards.

I didn't get to read it until today though, as Friday I was on a $505 plane ride to a Destination Wedding!

The article goes on to make an interesting observation about what it's like to throw a big wedding in this day and age:

“Most successful men with daughters in their 20s set aside funds for the big day,” said Mr. Gruber, the photographer. “The money for her wedding is still there. Today it is a matter of perception: ‘Can I have the wedding I have always envisioned for my daughter, or is it insensitive to spend that kind of money right now?’ ”

Is it tasteless to spend $20,000+ on a wedding when people are worried about losing it all? I can now give you my personal perspective, having witnessed the elaborate wedding my parents threw for my sister in August as well as traveling to a destination wedding this past weekend.

Here's the scoop: College Friend and her (now) husband come from the same town. Connected through friends after college and now belong to the same cute little circle of friends that are all drinking the Marriage Kool Aid. Despite being two years my junior all her other friends seem to be married or engaged. Except me! Yes, that's right, Sallie's Niece went from being a strong accomplished young woman to Sad Old Maid in the matter of hours.

I arrived Friday night to discover that, without Boyfriend, I was the only person sleeping alone in the Beach House - except for the college-age Sister of the groom. Further than that, everyone in the house was either married or engaged - save for the brother of the bride who has seemingly forgotten about the night we shared in a sleeping bag six years ago - and his airhead girlfriend who desperately wants to be engaged to him. And guess who I get assigned to share a room with?

But, alas, this is a blog about money so I shall stick to the facts. Unfortunately the debit transactions weren't online yet but a lot of money was spent. My Dad ended up giving me $200 for the trip instead of $100 and despite the lofty ambitions I initially had for that money when I first learned it was coming, I can now confess that most of it is now gone. And you know why? Because going to a wedding by yourself sucks, that's why.

I enjoyed getting to spend time with my friends - the one getting married - and our former roommate who is now married to a guy we all knew in college. And the house we stayed in was pretty awesome - you know, your typical ten bedroom oceanfront mansion - seen one, seen them all. It rents for $9000 a week in the off-season if you're interested (nice view eh?)

I hate to be judgmental, I really do, and maybe it was just because I was seeing her for the first time in a few years but holy crap my friend has changed. I mean, even having her wedding someplace where it costs people lots of money to get there (as opposed to the town where she and all of her friends live) was odd for me considering we always preferred the low-key life in college. Also she is super skinny, a feat I discovered she achieved through the Atkin's diet. All of her friends do Atkin's. It's a little disturbing if you ask me. Late Friday night found them dipping pear slices into peanut butter. Saturday morning we woke up hungover as all hell to be treated to sausage links....and nothing else. Screw you Doctor Atkins!

Let me just take a minute to say that this is the friend that introduced me to Ani DiFranco. Who never shaved her legs because she resented the fact that she was expected to. We didn't wear any makeup and we hated sorority-type girls in college.

The whole experience really tested my opinion of wedding and marriage and the whole shebang.

But enough about that. Onto the accounting. Friday I spent about $70 - owing to the fact that I knew my friend was still at the wedding rehearsal when my plane got in and so I decided to just take a cab to a bar instead of bothering her when she was busy. There I proceeded to have a Bloody Mary and a beer (thanks Dad!). I then took another cab to the Beach House. $26+$20+11 = 57 + breakfast at the airport + assorted sundries.

To Be Continued.......

I'm Back From the Wedding!

I arrived back last night from a wonderful wedding weekend courtesy of my friend who decided to get herself hitched and invite me along as well as the Extra Paycheck that helped me buy the airfare and my Dad who decided to bankroll my dolphin-watching ambitions.

I have SO much more to say about the weekend and my experiences but, unfortunately, they don't pay me to blog.

Stay tuned for a full accounting (hint: it's not pretty).

Wedding Budget

So I've decided to stop stressing the wedding. It should be a blast. It's about 42 degrees here right now and 60 degrees at the wedding destination so that will be a welcome change. Also I get to hang out with two of my best friends from college who I regretably haven't seen as much as I would like in the past couple of years. I get to visit a cool location, stay at an fabulous house and party all weekend.

Part of my stress involves the fact that I will be alone. Boyfriend didn't want to make the trip with me understandably but I have never been to a wedding by myself. I've flown by myself a couple of times so I'm not really worried about that. It's just navigating a new place is always a challenge on your own. I plan to just hop in a cab as soon as I get out of the airport and travel to the house ($20 max).

I can't imagine anyone wanting to leave the beach house that night after the rehearsal dinner so there should be (cross fingers) no bar tabs to deal with. The wedding doesn't start until 5 on Saturday so there is some possibility of sightseeing but hopefully I can tag along with someone who rented a car. I also know from personal experience that the physical act of getting a bridal party ready for a wedding can take all friggen morning and early afternoon so maybe there won't be any time for sightseeing. Since I'm not in the wedding party I may want to escape the madness Saturday morning however. One option is a bike rental ($10) or just walking down the beach.

After the wedding the plan is to go back to the beach house (free transportation!) so I can escape bar tabs once again presumably. Sunday is pretty much open. I would like to do some sightseeing and there is a two hour dolphin tour ($40) which would be awesome but not something I want to do by myself. I really wish Boyfriend was coming. Sigh. Can probably get a ride back to airport with someone at the house but if not that's another $20.

So in total:

Cabs - $20-40

Sightseeing - $10-40

Gift - $55 (including card)

Tips - $5

Snacks - $10

So that's about $150, i.e. every last cent in my checking account. Sigh. But that's a worst case scenario budget. I'm going to try to buy a soda before boarding the plane so that will save me a marginal amount over the $5 US Airways wants to charge me to drink one of theirs. I'll also buy snacks at the drug store tonight.

Not Much to Say Today

My office is still cold.

And I'm still poor.

Boyfriend is out of town so I get to catch up on girly shows, play with the cat and read chick lit.

Four more days until my trip and I have $150 in Checking, $50 in Savings, $20 cash on hand. Wouldn't be so bad if I had already bought the $100 gift card for my friend's wedding present. I guess I'm going to really see if I can go out of town on $50 or less.

Where it Went 9/17 - 9/30

October at last! Time to start the much-anticipated Extra Paycheck Debt Payoff Plan! But first, an evaluation of where my money has gone the past two weeks, compared to the Budget I made. I kept on telling myself to just persevere during the past week when I was really really broke (see my $1.02 bank balance) and to believe in the Extra Paycheck Debt Payoff Plan. But buying a plane ticket and entertaining two sets of friends back-to-back was pretty draining. Friends are just so damned expensive sometimes. Here's how it went:




Budgeted/Actual

Aunt Sallie Mae - 406/406.96
Sprint - 48/48.29
Capital One - 20/15
Air Fare - 520/505
Groceries - 40/20
Entertainment, Misc. - 100/164


Entertainment was annoyingly high owing to a $75 dinner with Out of Town friend on top of a casual dinner the night before of about $30 and a sixer of beer I bought at an overpriced bodega for $12. It was nice she came to visit, don't get me wrong, but I wasn't sorry to see her go either! I pretty much had to live like a miser during the second week of the pay period, but it's okay because I got a free David Sedaris ticket!


The second Budget Buster was of course the air fare to Out of Town Wedding. I am so glad to be able to attend this wedding but at the same time feel just a little bit annoyed my friend is holding it in a place so far off the air travel radar that prices are more than what I would pay to go to a the Carri bean, Mexico, Jamaica or some other place I would love to fly to in October.

Oh well, the deed is done and frankly a few months ago I would never have been able to envision a time where I could afford a $500 plane ticket so I'm a little proud that I pulled it off. Baby steps...

Camping = Cheap Fun (We Hope)

© Somos Images/Corbis

I'm going camping!!! Boyfriend and I are taking off in a matter of minutes to meet up with two of my best friends at a campsite halfway between our city and theirs. I'm very excited for this trip - seeing my friends without having to travel that far and spend a lot of money. AND I am only using 2 of my accrued 40.75 vacation hours.

So far we have everything we need already or have borrowed it. We made a list of all the things we need to buy for the weekend and split it down the middle:

• Burgers and buns (we will buy)


• Beer and ice (both will buy)


• Snacks (both will buy, I require S'Mores)


• Big cooler (sad as it is, apartment dwellers don't have coolers and we weren't able to borrow one big enough so friends will buy this)


• Charcoal grill (Boyfriend has camp grill but apparently it won't suffice - I defer to the boys when it comes to grilling, but we think we can get a cheap one)


• Campsite already paid ($13 each night = $26 divided by four = a great deal!!)

I'm a little nervous as it is over 90 degrees out and there may be thunder and lightning tomorrow but hopefully it won't spoil our fun. Also Boyfriend and I are camping people but our City Slicker friends - not so much.


No cable television or Internet for two days doesn't sound too bad. In fact, it sounds like my Apartment! The campsite people warned us there are no showers, but hey, there's a lake!

Beer will probably be the most expensive thing we do all weekend. The lake is stocked with trout so we may even get a free meal for our time. The thing I love most about summer is being able to do fun stuff outside with friends and I'm looking forward to a great weekend!

Two Movies = Two Bucks!

A new movie theatre just opened in the city and to celebrate they are showing second run movies all this week for just two dollars!!

I haven't been to the movies in a while so I couldn't pass this up. A friend and I went to go see 10,000 B.C. - great movie and one that I probably wouldn't have paid the 10 bucks to see when it came out but that I rather enjoyed. We even snuck in to see about an hour of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix after that as well (which I, of course, saw on opening night already) and that was great! Plus the Taco Bell I had for dinner at the Food Court, I had a pretty great night for under ten dollars.

The night did have it costs, however. I had borrowed $200 from this friend a while back and had only been able to pay him back $100 so far. He has since lost his job and has been unable to find another one so I was too embarrassed to not address this elephant-in-the-room and give him a post dated check for the balance of the loan. Debt paid, yay! But now I'll have to adjust my alreading waning budget to deal with this development (more on that tomorrow).

I vow to never borrow money from friends again. It may seem like a good idea but it makes things awkward for all involved.