Things I'm Not Doing Today

The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and here I sit blogging away. While I did spend quite a bit of the day out and about with my mom running errands, apartment shopping, and other random things, this day has not been very eventful. Since I am unable to relate fabulous adventures I experienced today, here's a list of fabulous adventures I did NOT have today:

1. Feel the cool spray of the glistening waters while boating on Lake Washington

2. See one of my favorite artists, LIGHTS, perform at the Bumbershoot festival



3. Kiss a handsome stranger

4. Visit the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) and see people dressed up in costumes from all sorts of games from across numerous platforms

5. Go on an out-of-control shopping spree at Bellevue Square, Alderwood Mall, and South Center

6. Fly off to a small island nation with only my passport, $50, and bikini

7. Give out autographed pictures of myself, unsolicited

So many things I could have done that I didn't do. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Your lazy day girl,

~K

Budgeting: the story continues

It is now late May, and how close am I to my goal of $5000 saved by the end of the year? Not very close. I have just over $1000 in my savings account. So what happens if there's an emergency? What if my car craps out? I'm stuck.

At the suggestion of my friend, I signed up for Mint, which is a budgeting tool that connects to your bank account or credit card account to follow your spending habits. What have I learned? I spend too much on shopping and food. Yeah, big surprise. But one thing that my friend pointed out (after I tried to grab the check at lunch) is that I should stop paying for others all the time. Not that it's bad or that I can't treat others once in a while, but sometimes it becomes a habit. Sometimes it's ok to just pay my half.

As far as shopping goes, I don't know what to say. My wardrobe still doesn't fully please me. I wish that I could work with a stylist who could help me find the best pieces for me at decent prices to make me love everything in my closet. Unfortunately, Stacy London isn't my fairy godmother, so I just need to work on making do with what I have....which is not easy.

I have so many unknowns to save for, and now I have another thing to save for: Europe trip next year with my best friend. Wish me luck!

Broke in the 'burbs,

~K

An Early End to Budget Week #4

This morning, I hadn't spent a penny of my $30 for the week, and had a little left over from last week. Then I went to Starbucks, and watched $4 float away. Ok, it's only $4, right?

After work I went grocery shopping. $31 and some change later, I am officially over budget.

The final result? $30/week is hard and NOT fun. If you have any random stuff come up, you'll go over. If I had been including gas, car stuff, prescriptions, etc., then I would never make it.

However, this was a good experience and I look forward to working toward my next goal: $5000 saved by the end of 2012. Hopefully that goal will go better than this one!

Peppermint mocha-ed out,

~K