BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Where are you and where are you going?
BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

OCTOBER 2014

INCOME: 1575
5 Paychecks: 1475
Gift: 100

EXPENSES: 1186
Housing: 557
- Rent: 265
- Gas & Electric: 157
- Insurance: 94
- Internet: 41
Groceries: 115
- Food: 103
- Supplies: 10
- Personal: 2
Transportation: 152
Health: 54
- Insurance: 16
- Medicine/Supplements: 37
Entertainment: 309
- Socializing: 250
- Meals out: 49
- Candy: 10

SAVINGS RATE: 24.7%

I exchanged my broken headphones for new ones again at the beginning of the month. I've only been using non-pants pockets for my iPod, and the headphone wire hasn't broken yet, so my theory seems to be holding so far.

Speaking of ears, this month I had what seemed to be an ear infection, so I decided to take advantage of the free health services at my school. The nurse called in a prescription for some antibiotic ear drops, so I had my first experience buying prescription medication at the pharmacy without insurance. It cost $17.24 (I was told I got a discount because I didn't have insurance), which was pleasantly lower than I was expecting. Good thing I didn't need anything expensive from there.

I spent more on transportation than usual this month in what you might call an overreaction to the arrival of Ebola in NYC. I added money to my MetroCard thinking I would take the express bus instead of the subway, but that decision didn't last long.

I spent a lot on socializing, and I regret nothing.

m741
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Location: Seattle, WA

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by m741 »

I also get limited use out of headphones (earbuds in particular). I think a lot of it has to do with how you carry them. I've noticed that earbuds last a lot longer for me with a smartphone than they did with an mp3 player, and I think that's because it's more difficult for the smartphone to get in a position that stresses the wire. With an mp3 player I was seeing 3 months/set of earbuds. Now I see 6-7 months. I just buy the cheapest pair, 7-$10, so they're easy to replace.

You might consider a switch to Amazon Prime if you replace your music subscription (of course, there are other free options). But the selection is good, you can download the prime-eligible music and listen to it without streaming, and there's other benefits to the membership, like free shipping on small orders.

BeyondtheWrap
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

Despite a good effort to position this most recent pair of earbuds so as not to damage the wire, they only lasted about six weeks, so I got a new pair, same kind but different color.

I also have recently taken interest in credit card churning and manufactured spending (to which I was introduced in this thread, and I am just getting started. I will not include the money flying around through this hobby when I do the calculations for this journal. I do not include credit card rewards in my income here, since that will increase my visible savings rate and may make me less motivated to save. I just think of them as extra. I will also not include incidental expenses incurred by this hobby such as card fees as I consider them covered by the rewards I earn. I will still record my other expenses here even if they are used to earn rewards.

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jennypenny
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by jennypenny »

BeyondtheWrap wrote:Despite a good effort to position this most recent pair of earbuds so as not to damage the wire, they only lasted about six weeks, so I got a new pair, same kind but different color.
I put clear nail polish over the areas on the wire that usually fray. It's not perfect and makes the wire a little stiff, but it works for a while.

BeyondtheWrap
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

NOVEMBER 2014

INCOME: 1225

EXPENSES: 1766
Housing: 513
- Rent: 265
- Insurance: 94
- Gas & Electric: 93
- Internet: 61
Groceries: 227
- Food: 124
- BJ's Membership: 54
- Personal Care: 18
- Household Supplies: 14
- Pet: 23
Transportation: 112
Health: 69
- Insurance: 16
- Supplements: 53
Hobby: 400
Entertainment: 423
- Meals out: 22
- Socializing: 383
- Electronics: 4
- Candy: 15
Clothing: 14

SAVINGS RATE: -44.2%

Wow, the expenses are high this month. I don't have a good explanation why, it's just that I ended up making a bunch of normally occasional purchases all at once. I stocked up on some food, stocked up on some supplements, paid my BJ's membership, registered for a class, bought a shirt, and went out to socialize a lot.

For next year, I enrolled in one of the Obamacare health insurance plans, a bronze plan. My subsidy almost covers the whole thing. Still, I'm not sure if I'll actually make use of the plan.

In more personal news, my slightly younger sister has moved back in with me and brought her cat (I paid for some of the cat's expenses this time so that the house would be ready upon move-in). We'll see if this lasts.

BeyondtheWrap
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

DECEMBER 2014

INCOME: 1200
4 Paychecks: 1100
Gift: 100

EXPENSES: 1025
Housing: 419
- Rent: 265
- Gas & Electric: 93
- Internet: 61
Groceries: 116
- Food: 70
- Supplies: 30
- Personal Care: 16
Transportation: 100
Health: 68
- Insurance: 36
- Pharmacy: 32
Clothing: 72
Hobby: 25
Other: 14
Education: 29
Entertainment: 180
- Socializing: 162
- Fast food: 7
- Candy: 11

SAVINGS RATE: 14.6%

I was able to almost completely cut out my fast food spending because I had stocked up on some microwavable convenience food (for those days when I don't have leftovers to bring to work).

Housing was lower this month because the homeowners insurance was not due this month. I promise it will be back with a vengeance, though. Also, the Gas & Electric was lower because they recalculate it a weird way.

As I wrote in a previous post, I am starting to strategically use credit cards to maximize my rewards. I applied for a few new cards in October and November. Since then I've been setting up my main spending methods and conducted a few test runs, but I haven't yet scaled up my efforts.

I also bought my first stock this month. I was thinking about how the low gas prices are making oil stocks cheap, so I read through a forum thread on the topic. After looking at its historical performance, I decided to invest $1000 in SDRL. That may not have been the best idea, since the company isn't doing too well, but we'll see.

I finished another semester of graduate school. I will be finished with my master degree in one year. I'm also still at my internship that I started seven months ago. I feel like I should be looking for something else, since I'm not learning very much here, it's only tangential to my preferred industry, and there's not much opportunity for advancement. I don't want to be stuck without anything when I graduate again. At the same time, I like it here because it's a very easy, low-stress job; I prefer to get my excitement from my non-work activities anyway. If I switch to another industry, I'll likely have to start over with another internship, and internships in my preferred industry tend to be a worse deal than the great one I currently have (full-time, paid, non-temporary). I guess I should just see what's out there, and maybe I will find a better deal.

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Chris
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by Chris »

BeyondtheWrap wrote: I also bought my first stock this month. I was thinking about how the low gas prices are making oil stocks cheap, so I read through a forum thread on the topic. After looking at its historical performance, I decided to invest $1000 in SDRL.
Congratulations, and hold on tight!

What's your plan? Is this a long-term investment or do you have an exit point in mind?

BeyondtheWrap
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

Chris wrote:
BeyondtheWrap wrote: I also bought my first stock this month. I was thinking about how the low gas prices are making oil stocks cheap, so I read through a forum thread on the topic. After looking at its historical performance, I decided to invest $1000 in SDRL.
Congratulations, and hold on tight!

What's your plan? Is this a long-term investment or do you have an exit point in mind?
I am tentatively planning on selling most of it when it reaches a one-year high and keeping some for the longer term.

BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

JANUARY 2015

INCOME: 1376

EXPENSES: 1443
Housing: 527
- Rent: 265
- Gas & Electric: 93
- Internet: 61
- Insurance: 107
Groceries: 120
- Food: 86
- Personal Care: 14
- Supplies: 20
Transportation: 112
Health: 83
- Insurance: 36
- Pharmacy: 47
Entertainment: 390
- Socializing: 224
- Travel: 17
- Electronics: 112
- Fast food: 20
- Candy: 17
Education: 36
Charity: 100
Tax Preparation: 75

SAVINGS RATE: -4.9%

I had become so used to having RadioShack as my place for headphones, I purchased a RadioShack gift card back in December for over $100 (at a discount, of course), expecting it to last me a few years. Soon after, I learned of RadioShack's plans to declare bankruptcy and that I would have to use my gift card soon or it would become worthless. So I used it on RadioShack.com (because it's cheaper than in the store) and purchased as many pairs of my headphones as I could. That is why my Electronics spending was so high this month.

BeyondtheWrap
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

jennypenny wrote:I put clear nail polish over the areas on the wire that usually fray. It's not perfect and makes the wire a little stiff, but it works for a while.
I bought some clear nail polish to try this technique, and it doesn't seem to be stiffening the wire much. Maybe the nail polish I got at the dollar store is of inferior quality. Do you have to use a lot of it and reapply it regularly?

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jennypenny
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by jennypenny »

I use Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, but only because that's all I have. The cheaper stuff should work. It's only to keep the wire from creasing too much. You just might have to reapply more often.

BeyondtheWrap
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Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

FEBRUARY 2015

INCOME: 2079
4 Paychecks: 925
Federal Tax Refund: 1154

EXPENSES: 1041
Housing: 460
- Rent: 265
- Gas & Electric: 67
- Internet: 61
- Insurance: 107
- Roommate: -40
Groceries: 227
- Food: 112
- Personal Care: 74
- Supplies: 32
- Pets: 9
Transportation: 112
Health: 59
- Insurance: 36
- Pharmacy: 23
Clothing: 16
Entertainment: 166
- Socializing: 133
- Fast food: 20
- Candy: 13

SAVINGS RATE: 49.9%

The months where I get my tax refund tend to good for my savings rate.

My sister, who lives with me now, paid a little bit of her share. She still doesn't have a job, though. If she doesn't start consistently paying her rent soon, I'm going to have to evict her.

Fast food expenses are still relatively low. I was able to keep my socializing costs down by not going out as much. Having a Friday night class and the fact that it's cold provide convenient excuses. Also, I'm not as interested in going out on weekends since the local karaoke bar closed. The clothing expense was for a pack of new underwear, as I haven't been doing laundry as often lately due to cold weather and snow making line-drying difficult, my sister using the washing machine when I was planning to, and generally being busy.

I also find other things less interesting now that I'm really getting into my credit card hobby. I have noticed some negative side effects, though. I observed that I do have a propensity to spend more when using credit. Also, when I receive extra funds I don't mostly use them for student loan debt repayment but reserve them as floating funds to enable me to take on more risk.

One of my classmates in improv class happened to be a director and needed some extras for a web series she was working on, so I took the opportunity to do that for a weekend. It was fun, I didn't even care that I had to wake up early and later stand outside in the cold for a while. If I were financially independent, I would have the time to do more things like that.

BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

MARCH 2015

INCOME: 1478
4 Paychecks: 1029
State Tax Refund: 349
Gift: 100

EXPENSES: 852
Housing: 370
- Rent: 280
- Gas & Electric: 121
- Internet: 61
- Insurance: 107
- Roommate: -200
Groceries: 112
- Food: 83
- Personal Care: 26
- Supplies: 4
Transportation: 112
Health Insurance: 36
Entertainment: 222
- Socializing: 152
- Fast food: 34
- Candy: 36

SAVINGS RATE: 42.4%

As much as I prefer not having my sister live with me, the extra money I get as compensation keeps me happy with the arrangement.

I really just want to be done with school. I don't pay as much attention in class or put as much effort into homework anymore. I can think of other ways I'd rather spend that time, such as working on one of my hobbies.

I've decided I'd rather stay at my current company instead of looking for work elsewhere due to the low-stress environment and work-life balance here, whereas I'm thinking most companies in my likely field would be worse in those respects. My current plan is to eventually move across and then up in my company as I gain experience and positions become available.

BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 3:38 pm
Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

APRIL 2015

INCOME: 1154

EXPENSES: 1930
Housing: 1005
- Rent: 270
- Gas & Electric: 121
- Internet: 61
- Homeowners Insurance: 107
- Flood Insurance: 645
- Roommate: -200
Groceries: 161
- Food: 104
- Supplies: 45
- Pets: 8
- Personal Care: 4
Transportation: 117
Health: 45
- Insurance: 36
- Pharmacy: 9
Hobby: 400
Entertainment: 203
- Socializing: 114
- Fast food: 44
- Travel: 16
- Live: 15
- Candy: 14

SAVINGS RATE: -67.2%

The biggest expense this month was the annual flood insurance premium of $645. Unfortunately it's required, so I just have to deal with that. My second biggest expense was $400 for an improv class.

Otherwise, it was a normal, uneventful month.

BeyondtheWrap
Posts: 598
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Location: NYC

Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by BeyondtheWrap »

MAY 2015

INCOME: 1411

EXPENSES: 1071
Housing: 360
- Rent: 270
- Gas & Electric: 121
- Internet: 61
- Insurance: 107
- Roommate: -200
Groceries: 65
- Food: 39
- Personal Care: 21
- Supplies: 5
Transportation: 117
Health: 123
- Insurance: 36
- Services: 83
- Pharmacy: 4
Cell Phone: 86
Haircut: 15
Entertainment: 305
- Socializing: 238
- Fast Food: 39
- Media: 21
- Gift: 5
- Candy: 2

SAVINGS RATE: 24.1%

I didn't have much free time this month due to end-of-semester craziness for school, so I did not do much cooking or grocery shopping, and thus my diet suffered. Many days I ate ramen at home and had Subway for lunch during work, unless my job happened to provide free food (which happened several times).

My preferred breakfast involves the use of milk, but I've recently been avoiding buying milk out of fear that it would go bad in the heat on the way home, which seems to have happened at least once. My preferred place to buy milk is a supermarket about a 15-20 minute walk away, and I can also buy milk at two drug stores for slightly more at a similar distance. More expensive but closer options include a deli 2 minutes away (but they only take cash) and a gas station about 5 minutes away. One idea I have is that I could bring an ice pack from my freezer at home to the store to keep the milk cold on the way home. This is less convenient because I have to make a separate trip and wouldn't be able to do it on the way home from anywhere else; if I want to do this after work, I would have to come home to get the ice pack and turn around to go to the store, hopefully avoiding the temptation to just stay at home. This is something I really want to get right because I strongly want milk in my smoothies and cereal, but I am very sensitive to the smell of bad milk.

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Chris
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by Chris »

BeyondtheWrap wrote: I've recently been avoiding buying milk out of fear that it would go bad in the heat on the way home
You could buy some frozen veggies and to insulate the milk jug. You probably should be eating more peas and broccoli anyway.

Also, get a gallon at a time if you're not doing so already. The larger mass won't heat up as quickly. Freeze some when you get home; you can easily use frozen milk cubes when making smoothies.

llorona
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by llorona »

What about powdered milk? Would you be able to tell the difference from "real" milk in a smoothie?

Yesterday I saw insulated bags at Trader Joe's starting at $5.99.

m741
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by m741 »

Has milk actually gone bad? I have a similar walk to the grocery store, and even in the summer the milk warms up but I've never noticed it go bad. Usually I'll have some cheese or frozen fruit, and they get bagged together, maybe that helps. Worst case you could get a freezer pack and bring that with you (or insulated bags as llorona suggests).

BeyondtheWrap
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Post by BeyondtheWrap »

I bought some milk the other day. The weather cools down significantly when it rains. I didn't really need to, but I brought an ice pack to keep the milk cold on the way home. I buy a half gallon at a time because I typically wouldn't use up a full gallon by the expiration date.

@Chris: The idea of freezing milk is weird to me, but it may prove useful. How does one freeze milk? In ice cube trays?

I had considered the frozen vegetable idea, but I already have a freezer full with frozen fruits and vegetables. I typically don't go through them as fast as I go through cartons of milk. Also I buy them at stores further away (about an hour of walking+public transportation) where they are cheapest, since I don't worry about them going bad on the way.

@llorona: I haven't tried powdered milk for this, but I'm considering it. I'm guessing that I will actually be able to tell the difference, though; I tried powdered milk as a kid once and hated it. I'm a picky eater.

@m741: Once last month the milk was bad when I got home. Probably, it was already bad before I bought it, since I didn't have that issue much in previous summers.

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Chris
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Re: BeyondtheWrap's Journal

Post by Chris »

BeyondtheWrap wrote:The idea of freezing milk is weird to me, but it may prove useful. How does one freeze milk? In ice cube trays?
I understand about the weirdness, but it works. If you're going to end up blending it, ice cube trays work well. If you're going to use it as normal milk, freeze it in a bottle. Remember not to freeze a full bottle, since it will expand. Thaw it in the fridge and shake it occasionally. Actually, I give it a shake before every use.

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