What a gloomy Monday. If you are here in the Greater Toronto Area, you know what I'm talking about. Fog and mist and blah. Such a Monday!
And I have the most pathetic umbrellas you've ever seen.
I'm not sure what my issue is with umbrellas. I think because I'm a commuter and I use them for far more than just getting to a car and getting from a car to a building. I use them for several blocks in the most inclement of weather. And I never spend more than $10 or $15 on them. Subsequently every umbrella I own looks severely wounded. Bent at unnatural angles and just generally pathetic.
So on top of being grumpy about the weather this morning, I was ashamed of my umbrella. So much so that I didn't even both with it on the way home. I just got wet.
Oh, I'm still grumpy. And I indulged my grumpiness with a treat this afternoon. Starbucks kind of treat. It only temporarily relived the grump.
I'm going to go have see if a bath can wash the grump off of me. The boyfriend is probably glad he's working late, just so he can avoid my grump.
Grump! Grump! Grump!
Total debt: $9260 and a bit
Spent today: $3.52
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Politicians in the park
I managed to clear a cost-cutting hurdle that I didn't think was possible! I actually found a couple of cute greeting cards at our local "dollar" store.
(It's not really a dollar store, but rather an "everything here is cheap" store. It's very handy!)
I was out buying several cards for all the faraway family birthdays that are imminent, and I wasn't sure how I was going to fit them all, plus a gift for my littlest nephew, into the budget, but I did. A small victory, but a victory nevertheless.
(And I bought the gift at a small, neighbourhood store rather than a big box chain. Let's hear it for the independents!)
The boyfriend and I also explored a park that is around the corner from us that we didn't realize existed! Someone I work with mentioned it recently and I was all "Nope, no park there!" in my know-it-all way that inspired the nickname Lordy Lorderson (because I "lord" my knowledge over people). Anyway, the guy at work sent me a map and - what do you know! - there is a park there. A very nice one, along a ravine. It will be even nicer when it's no longer covered in snow and there are leaves on the trees.
Oh, and we ran into Dalton McGuinty and his son walking their dog. He said hello.
All in all, a pretty good weekend. If only there was more of it...
Total debt: $9260 and a bit
Spent today: $23.92
(It's not really a dollar store, but rather an "everything here is cheap" store. It's very handy!)
I was out buying several cards for all the faraway family birthdays that are imminent, and I wasn't sure how I was going to fit them all, plus a gift for my littlest nephew, into the budget, but I did. A small victory, but a victory nevertheless.
(And I bought the gift at a small, neighbourhood store rather than a big box chain. Let's hear it for the independents!)
The boyfriend and I also explored a park that is around the corner from us that we didn't realize existed! Someone I work with mentioned it recently and I was all "Nope, no park there!" in my know-it-all way that inspired the nickname Lordy Lorderson (because I "lord" my knowledge over people). Anyway, the guy at work sent me a map and - what do you know! - there is a park there. A very nice one, along a ravine. It will be even nicer when it's no longer covered in snow and there are leaves on the trees.
Oh, and we ran into Dalton McGuinty and his son walking their dog. He said hello.
All in all, a pretty good weekend. If only there was more of it...
Total debt: $9260 and a bit
Spent today: $23.92
Saturday, March 29, 2008
When the lights go on again, all over the world...
I feel guilty having my computer on tonight, but we did observe Earth Hour, plus a couple of extra hours for good measure. It was nice to see all the candlelight in the apartment buildings around us, but some of the Richie Riches in the fancy condo across the way were still burning brightly. Dumb asses.
The boyfriend and I celebrated with a candlelight picnic dinner - no electricity required! 'Twas quite loverly.
Today there was a happy outcome from all the expensive adventures in dentistry last month. All the "points" on my credit card meant $30 free groceries. Yippee!!
(I suppose that was really the second happy outcome, with the first being the end of excruciating tooth pain.)
Met some wonderful women for brunch this morning. Even after my early complaints about this particular banana-bread serving brunch spot, I've been back twice since then. The food is SO good! And I've just learned to have my cup of tea at home, so I don't have to pay $4 for it.
So brunch, groceries and a DVD were what I spent my money on today!
Total debt: $9260 and a bit
Spent today: $57-ish
Spent yesterday: $2.17 (a post-blogging, late night run to Kinkos to print off some stuff for a freelance piece I'm working on. We really need a printer!)
The boyfriend and I celebrated with a candlelight picnic dinner - no electricity required! 'Twas quite loverly.
Today there was a happy outcome from all the expensive adventures in dentistry last month. All the "points" on my credit card meant $30 free groceries. Yippee!!
(I suppose that was really the second happy outcome, with the first being the end of excruciating tooth pain.)
Met some wonderful women for brunch this morning. Even after my early complaints about this particular banana-bread serving brunch spot, I've been back twice since then. The food is SO good! And I've just learned to have my cup of tea at home, so I don't have to pay $4 for it.
So brunch, groceries and a DVD were what I spent my money on today!
Total debt: $9260 and a bit
Spent today: $57-ish
Spent yesterday: $2.17 (a post-blogging, late night run to Kinkos to print off some stuff for a freelance piece I'm working on. We really need a printer!)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Paycheck parade
This afternoon, as I hurried back to work from my little sojourn to the gym, I passed this guy who spends his days standing on Yonge street holding a sign and passing out flyers. If you work in the downtown core, you've probably seen him. I have no idea what his flyers say, because my standard response is just to smile at him and say "No, thank you," as I pass by. Well, today as I passed and politely declined, his response was a little giggle. He giggled at me. At least, I'm assuming he was giggling at me.
That giggle meant that rather than just passing through my consciousness, he actually stuck around in my head for awhile. And I started to think that his job must be pretty boring. And that lead me to think about some of the boring and ridiculous jobs I've had in my life. And that made me think that I should share those tales with you.
(Just trying to share my thought process with you. Maybe you don't need it.)
Some of the ridiculous ways that I have earned money by Tammy Sutherland
Handing out chocolate samples: During my performing days, I occasionally worked for a company that employed pretty people to be hired out for various marketing and promotional events. (I think I ranked fairly low on the "pretty" scale, so I only worked a few gigs.) One job involved standing around a department store with a basket of chocolates, handing out samples to the shoppers. Sounds like a pretty sweet (pun totally intended) job, eh? It was TORTURE for me. Four hour shifts standing in one place that felt like they dragged on eternally. People always assumed I was selling something, so would hardly come near me the entire time. And I couldn't EAT the chocolate! Brutal.
Secret shopper: This was a make-money scheme that required far more time than I ever thought it would. I only took one assignment and it was a sport's store in a far corner of the city. If I'd owned a car it would have been easy to reach, but the TTC took me on a tour of the entire neighbourhood. I had to buy something and then return it, which I was forced to do on the same day, since I couldn't imagine making the trek more than once. So after the initial purchased I huddled in the parking lot for awhile, trying to take notes, and then turned around and made up an excuse about why I didn't want it anymore. I believe my brilliant subterfuge was some nonsense about finding out that my boyfriend had already bought one. Awkward to say the least.
Standardized patient: This is something that many actors do to earn rent while they're "making art." (Also known as performing in cutting-edge productions for nothing but the admiration of the director and the four audience members - all family - that show up.) You generally have to memorize a list of symptoms and are then examined by future doctors, who try to diagnose you correctly. I spent a couple of days being a chiropractic patient. (Thankfully no one was adjusting anyone. That could have been painful!) The work wasn't awful, just long and monotonous, but what I remember is that we couldn't leave the hospital, so they brought breakfast and lunch in for us. It was all Tim Hortons all the time. That SEEMS like a dream in my world, but it was the most intense carbo-loading ever. Our only choices were bagels, donuts, muffins... No soup. No chili. No sandwiches. The only protein were tiny packets of cream cheese. I could barely drag myself home at the end of each day.
Selling strawberries at the side of the road: This was a very early job. I was maybe 13? Anyway, I was dropped off all alone at the side of the road with buckets of strawberries to sell. (Seems kind of dangerous now that I think about it!) I didn't mind it too much, since I just hung out reading the majority of the time, but the guy that had hired me kept stopping by and he seemed to think I should be standing up and attempting to attract more buyers rather than enjoying my book. I figured that the big sign that said "Strawberries for Sale" was doing that for me. I only lasted one day.
And the winner for the most ridiculous job...
Hawking weight loss bars while singing and doing a striptease at Union Station: This was the job that broke my will to continue life as a performer. It was the very first week in January 2002 and I was paid an enormous amount of money to stand on a big chest in the middle of Union Station during morning and afternoon rush hours, repeatedly singing a re-written version of "Auld Lang Syne" that included the line, "I couldn't wear my bathing suit because of my rubbing thighs," at the top of my lungs WHILE removing the 5 extra layers of clothing that I was wearing over a branded t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I was humiliated beyond all belief. I realized that my pride did come with a price tag and I was severely underselling myself.
Those are just some of the highlights, but there are more. Sometimes I feel like I've done a little bit of everything! Although I've never waited tables, which is so strange. Especially because I think I'd be really good at it! Ah well. I probably would have made a fortune in tips and spent all that as well!
Stopped at the mall on my way home tonight under the guise of getting birthday cards for all the upcoming family fetes. Only not so much. I came home with zero birthday cards and major want.
I easily saw at least half-a-dozen things I could have bought. Including TWO gorgeous summer dresses. (I LOVE a summer dress. I also have four of them in my closet already, so do I REALLY need two more!?)
No money was spilled, though. Since I spend so much time looking at my financial situation every day, I find it's impossible to be ignorant about it. Even if I had just spent $40, I would know that I still have those birthday cards to buy, plus a present for my nephew that will also need to go in the mail. Plus I have to pay a "withdrawal" fee of almost $50 to ACTRA and I have booked a haircut for next weekend, because 4 months is too long between haircuts. So something has to give. And for now, it's new clothes.
But I'm going to have to get something eventually. Maybe when the total debt number is under $8000, which shouldn't be too far away...
Total debt: $9260 and a bit (Almost to the $8000s!)
Spent today: $0
That giggle meant that rather than just passing through my consciousness, he actually stuck around in my head for awhile. And I started to think that his job must be pretty boring. And that lead me to think about some of the boring and ridiculous jobs I've had in my life. And that made me think that I should share those tales with you.
(Just trying to share my thought process with you. Maybe you don't need it.)
Some of the ridiculous ways that I have earned money by Tammy Sutherland
Handing out chocolate samples: During my performing days, I occasionally worked for a company that employed pretty people to be hired out for various marketing and promotional events. (I think I ranked fairly low on the "pretty" scale, so I only worked a few gigs.) One job involved standing around a department store with a basket of chocolates, handing out samples to the shoppers. Sounds like a pretty sweet (pun totally intended) job, eh? It was TORTURE for me. Four hour shifts standing in one place that felt like they dragged on eternally. People always assumed I was selling something, so would hardly come near me the entire time. And I couldn't EAT the chocolate! Brutal.
Secret shopper: This was a make-money scheme that required far more time than I ever thought it would. I only took one assignment and it was a sport's store in a far corner of the city. If I'd owned a car it would have been easy to reach, but the TTC took me on a tour of the entire neighbourhood. I had to buy something and then return it, which I was forced to do on the same day, since I couldn't imagine making the trek more than once. So after the initial purchased I huddled in the parking lot for awhile, trying to take notes, and then turned around and made up an excuse about why I didn't want it anymore. I believe my brilliant subterfuge was some nonsense about finding out that my boyfriend had already bought one. Awkward to say the least.
Standardized patient: This is something that many actors do to earn rent while they're "making art." (Also known as performing in cutting-edge productions for nothing but the admiration of the director and the four audience members - all family - that show up.) You generally have to memorize a list of symptoms and are then examined by future doctors, who try to diagnose you correctly. I spent a couple of days being a chiropractic patient. (Thankfully no one was adjusting anyone. That could have been painful!) The work wasn't awful, just long and monotonous, but what I remember is that we couldn't leave the hospital, so they brought breakfast and lunch in for us. It was all Tim Hortons all the time. That SEEMS like a dream in my world, but it was the most intense carbo-loading ever. Our only choices were bagels, donuts, muffins... No soup. No chili. No sandwiches. The only protein were tiny packets of cream cheese. I could barely drag myself home at the end of each day.
Selling strawberries at the side of the road: This was a very early job. I was maybe 13? Anyway, I was dropped off all alone at the side of the road with buckets of strawberries to sell. (Seems kind of dangerous now that I think about it!) I didn't mind it too much, since I just hung out reading the majority of the time, but the guy that had hired me kept stopping by and he seemed to think I should be standing up and attempting to attract more buyers rather than enjoying my book. I figured that the big sign that said "Strawberries for Sale" was doing that for me. I only lasted one day.
And the winner for the most ridiculous job...
Hawking weight loss bars while singing and doing a striptease at Union Station: This was the job that broke my will to continue life as a performer. It was the very first week in January 2002 and I was paid an enormous amount of money to stand on a big chest in the middle of Union Station during morning and afternoon rush hours, repeatedly singing a re-written version of "Auld Lang Syne" that included the line, "I couldn't wear my bathing suit because of my rubbing thighs," at the top of my lungs WHILE removing the 5 extra layers of clothing that I was wearing over a branded t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I was humiliated beyond all belief. I realized that my pride did come with a price tag and I was severely underselling myself.
Those are just some of the highlights, but there are more. Sometimes I feel like I've done a little bit of everything! Although I've never waited tables, which is so strange. Especially because I think I'd be really good at it! Ah well. I probably would have made a fortune in tips and spent all that as well!
Stopped at the mall on my way home tonight under the guise of getting birthday cards for all the upcoming family fetes. Only not so much. I came home with zero birthday cards and major want.
I easily saw at least half-a-dozen things I could have bought. Including TWO gorgeous summer dresses. (I LOVE a summer dress. I also have four of them in my closet already, so do I REALLY need two more!?)
No money was spilled, though. Since I spend so much time looking at my financial situation every day, I find it's impossible to be ignorant about it. Even if I had just spent $40, I would know that I still have those birthday cards to buy, plus a present for my nephew that will also need to go in the mail. Plus I have to pay a "withdrawal" fee of almost $50 to ACTRA and I have booked a haircut for next weekend, because 4 months is too long between haircuts. So something has to give. And for now, it's new clothes.
But I'm going to have to get something eventually. Maybe when the total debt number is under $8000, which shouldn't be too far away...
Total debt: $9260 and a bit (Almost to the $8000s!)
Spent today: $0
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Please play again
When I play the lottery, I like to imagine what the big story in the paper would be if I won. This one would have been good: In debt blogger hits the jackpot! It's the kind of things people would have gathered around the water cooler to chat about.
(Does anyone actually gather around the water cooler anymore? Or is it more about sneaking out of the office to hit Starbucks?)
Obviously I didn't win. I checked my ticket on the way to work this morning. (Not that I don't like my job, but why would I work if I could be at the bank paying off my debt and then hitting Holts?) Then I felt stupid for spending $3 on the ticket.
What kind of price can you put on hope? Maybe $3 is a deal considering the bit of joy that I got out of imagining how I would tell the boyfriend. What do you think?
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $11.47
Spent this week: $73.53 (Under! But I'll be using the extra to buy birthday cards for the cornucopia of family birthdays on the horizon.)
(Does anyone actually gather around the water cooler anymore? Or is it more about sneaking out of the office to hit Starbucks?)
Obviously I didn't win. I checked my ticket on the way to work this morning. (Not that I don't like my job, but why would I work if I could be at the bank paying off my debt and then hitting Holts?) Then I felt stupid for spending $3 on the ticket.
What kind of price can you put on hope? Maybe $3 is a deal considering the bit of joy that I got out of imagining how I would tell the boyfriend. What do you think?
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $11.47
Spent this week: $73.53 (Under! But I'll be using the extra to buy birthday cards for the cornucopia of family birthdays on the horizon.)
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Pretty, pretty please!
I went out for a quick walk this afternoon (To buy a lottery ticket. You just never know when your numbers are going to come up!) and finally felt the delicate whiff of spring in the air.
It was intoxicating. And it made me want to shop.
I can never really decide if I like to shop for spring/summer or fall/winter more. I suppose the truth of the matter is that I'm in the mood for one in March and the other in August, so there are no favourites here. There is just the love of new clothes.
Are you the type that has to wash the new clothes before you can wear them? Not me. In fact, I am always disappointed after I wash them for the first time, because they never seem to look as fresh and crisp as the first time I wore them.
(Probably because I seem to be crap at doing laundry. My clothes always have detergent marks on them and I can't iron well to save my life. If I do win the lottery tonight, I will be employing a laundry service for the rest of my days.)
When the boyfriend wears something new for the first time, he always asks me self-consciously, "Does it look too new?" This I do not understand. But then again, I am not keen on new clothes that look old and worn out. They're just sloppy looking.
All this to tell you that I really, really, really wanted to stop at the mall on my way home and buy myself a few fresh new things. I am incredibly tired of my winter clothes (and of winter) and long for something sunny-coloured and happy-making.
(Maybe I'll have to make a little room in the budget sometime soon... Although I also have to get my hair cut!)
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $10.78 (A couple of groceries and that lottery ticket...)
It was intoxicating. And it made me want to shop.
I can never really decide if I like to shop for spring/summer or fall/winter more. I suppose the truth of the matter is that I'm in the mood for one in March and the other in August, so there are no favourites here. There is just the love of new clothes.
Are you the type that has to wash the new clothes before you can wear them? Not me. In fact, I am always disappointed after I wash them for the first time, because they never seem to look as fresh and crisp as the first time I wore them.
(Probably because I seem to be crap at doing laundry. My clothes always have detergent marks on them and I can't iron well to save my life. If I do win the lottery tonight, I will be employing a laundry service for the rest of my days.)
When the boyfriend wears something new for the first time, he always asks me self-consciously, "Does it look too new?" This I do not understand. But then again, I am not keen on new clothes that look old and worn out. They're just sloppy looking.
All this to tell you that I really, really, really wanted to stop at the mall on my way home and buy myself a few fresh new things. I am incredibly tired of my winter clothes (and of winter) and long for something sunny-coloured and happy-making.
(Maybe I'll have to make a little room in the budget sometime soon... Although I also have to get my hair cut!)
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $10.78 (A couple of groceries and that lottery ticket...)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Willy Wonka's got nothing on me
I had to leave work early today. Bad tummy. Probably brought on by chocolate... I didn't sleep well last night either, which also could have been chocolate related...
Do you see a pattern?
I don't think "chocolate holidays" are good for me. Particularly ones where more than one person gives me chocolate. We have a considerable amount of chocolate in the house. So being home with the chocolate also wasn't a great idea...
The one saving grace is that I'm chocolated-out enough that the on-sale chocolate means nothing to me. However, the chocolate still in the house calls to me...
How many times do you think I can type chocolate in this post?
Hey, has anyone seen the previews for that new card-counting movie? I realize from watching the preview that the card-counting goes horribly wrong and violent things start to happen, but a little part of me still wonders if I should learn to card-count and head to Vegas. Or Casino Rama.
On second thought, I suck at lying. My friends hate that I insist on declaring everything I buy at the border. I probably wouldn't be very good at subterfuge of any sort. In fact, my record is potentially squeaky clean enough that I could run for office. But then I would have to become corrupt. Also not a happy option.
What was I talking about? Oh ya. Chocolate.
A half-day at home eating chocolate with a sore tummy from chocolate meant there wasn't a single opportunity to spend money. But plenty of opportunities to consume calories.
I just can't win!
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $0
Do you see a pattern?
I don't think "chocolate holidays" are good for me. Particularly ones where more than one person gives me chocolate. We have a considerable amount of chocolate in the house. So being home with the chocolate also wasn't a great idea...
The one saving grace is that I'm chocolated-out enough that the on-sale chocolate means nothing to me. However, the chocolate still in the house calls to me...
How many times do you think I can type chocolate in this post?
Hey, has anyone seen the previews for that new card-counting movie? I realize from watching the preview that the card-counting goes horribly wrong and violent things start to happen, but a little part of me still wonders if I should learn to card-count and head to Vegas. Or Casino Rama.
On second thought, I suck at lying. My friends hate that I insist on declaring everything I buy at the border. I probably wouldn't be very good at subterfuge of any sort. In fact, my record is potentially squeaky clean enough that I could run for office. But then I would have to become corrupt. Also not a happy option.
What was I talking about? Oh ya. Chocolate.
A half-day at home eating chocolate with a sore tummy from chocolate meant there wasn't a single opportunity to spend money. But plenty of opportunities to consume calories.
I just can't win!
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $0
Monday, March 24, 2008
If only it was an eye sore!
Did you miss me? Well, I can't say that I missed sitting in front of a computer! I did spend a couple of hours using the boyfriend's laptop to work on some freelance stuff, but there was nary an Internet connection in sight and outside the window I saw wildlife and wilderness rather than condos and smog. A bit of heaven!
And I'm happy to report that very little money was spent during my long weekend.
I must confess that I purchased one new glossy mag to entertain me during this early (and therefore seriously chilly) Easter. And there was some consumption of Tim Horton's sustenance, although that is an expected event during a Canadian road trip.
Today I came home to find they have once again changed the billboard visible from every window in our apartment. This is probably the third time they've changed it since Christmas, which is strange because we looked at Penelope Cruz hawking mascara for the entire first six months we lived here.
The new image is taunting me. Daring me. Laughing at me.
It's an H&M ad with a girl in a kicky summer dress. And, according to the billboard, said dress costs only $29.90.
Why does the universe hate me and my attempts to be frugal!?
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $35-ish (groceries)
Spent Sunday: $0 (A thanks to the boyfriend for my return road trip treat!)
Spent Saturday: $0 (Although I was very tempted to buy this off of the television...)
Spent Friday: $16.28
And I'm happy to report that very little money was spent during my long weekend.
I must confess that I purchased one new glossy mag to entertain me during this early (and therefore seriously chilly) Easter. And there was some consumption of Tim Horton's sustenance, although that is an expected event during a Canadian road trip.
Today I came home to find they have once again changed the billboard visible from every window in our apartment. This is probably the third time they've changed it since Christmas, which is strange because we looked at Penelope Cruz hawking mascara for the entire first six months we lived here.
The new image is taunting me. Daring me. Laughing at me.
It's an H&M ad with a girl in a kicky summer dress. And, according to the billboard, said dress costs only $29.90.
Why does the universe hate me and my attempts to be frugal!?
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Spent today: $35-ish (groceries)
Spent Sunday: $0 (A thanks to the boyfriend for my return road trip treat!)
Spent Saturday: $0 (Although I was very tempted to buy this off of the television...)
Spent Friday: $16.28
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Buried treasure?
So, one of the main ways I keep track of all my bills and major expenses is to use my daytimer. On every payday I write in what needs to get paid and check them off as I pay them or when the money comes out of my account. It's the same stuff on the first and last payday of every month. I know it's not rocket science, but it helps me.
Anyway, for some reason I added my metropass to last weeks payday, even though it comes out on the 4th of the month, so it's always in the last payday of the month. Meaning I have an extra $100 in my bank account!!
Okay, let's tone down the celebration a little bit. It's obviously not extra money. It's just money that I didn't realize that I could put on debt. So I'm going to do that right now. Wait here.
(Hold music. This is my blog, so your hold music is the 2007 Broadway cast album of Company. Raul Esperanza....mmmm...)
(If you have absolutely no point of reference for that hold music, you can listen to Burt Bacharach's classic hit "Raindrops keep falling on my head." Bet you can't help but bob your noggin from side to side during that one.)
And done! So my debt is now closer to $9000 than $10,000. Small thing, I realize, but significant to me.
What I'm really here to tell you is that I will be unable to blog for the next couple of days. I'm heading north to a place the internet can't reach. (Not entirely true. I am headed north, but just to a place where there is no internet access because the homeowner doesn't own a computer and therefore has no use at all for the internet.) I will hopefully be too busy breathing fresh (albeit cold) air and beheading innocent chocolate rabbits to spend any money.
However, I promise to keep track of the cost of any glossy mags or on-sale Easter chocolate that happen to fall into my hands.
Happy Easter everyone!
Spent today: $8.16
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Weekly total: $161.85 (YIKES!)
Tea and sweets challenge: 2/4 (I need a cookie intervention!)
Anyway, for some reason I added my metropass to last weeks payday, even though it comes out on the 4th of the month, so it's always in the last payday of the month. Meaning I have an extra $100 in my bank account!!
Okay, let's tone down the celebration a little bit. It's obviously not extra money. It's just money that I didn't realize that I could put on debt. So I'm going to do that right now. Wait here.
(Hold music. This is my blog, so your hold music is the 2007 Broadway cast album of Company. Raul Esperanza....mmmm...)
(If you have absolutely no point of reference for that hold music, you can listen to Burt Bacharach's classic hit "Raindrops keep falling on my head." Bet you can't help but bob your noggin from side to side during that one.)
And done! So my debt is now closer to $9000 than $10,000. Small thing, I realize, but significant to me.
What I'm really here to tell you is that I will be unable to blog for the next couple of days. I'm heading north to a place the internet can't reach. (Not entirely true. I am headed north, but just to a place where there is no internet access because the homeowner doesn't own a computer and therefore has no use at all for the internet.) I will hopefully be too busy breathing fresh (albeit cold) air and beheading innocent chocolate rabbits to spend any money.
However, I promise to keep track of the cost of any glossy mags or on-sale Easter chocolate that happen to fall into my hands.
Happy Easter everyone!
Spent today: $8.16
Total debt: $9420 and a bit
Weekly total: $161.85 (YIKES!)
Tea and sweets challenge: 2/4 (I need a cookie intervention!)
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Busy 'R' Us
So, I'm really busy this week, as I've mentioned. My stress level is quite elevated and when I get home I have to just keep working. Now, I'm SO not complaining about having a lot to do! I'm just trying to explain why I feel like I'm on fast forward.
Since I've been so busy, understandably things around the house have started to fall a little behind. I got home and the dishwasher needed to be unloaded, the kitchen was a mess, the rest of the apartment was crazy and the laundry needed to be done.
In a normal week, these things would be no problem. But between the freelance stuff I'm working on, and the fact that we're out tomorrow night for a birthday event and then heading out of town for three days, I didn't feel I could let any of those things go. (By the way, the boyfriend would normally pitch in and pick up my slack, but he's out tonight supporting a friend whose mother has just passed away.)
I've managed to get most of it under control and do some work on the side, but do you think I can get anywhere near the laundry room!?! It's so busy down there. And they lock the door at 10pm. What am I going to do!?
Adult problems suck. I wish I only had to worry about what the Easter Bunny was going to bring me this weekend!
Total debt: $9520 plus a bit more
Spent today: $31.34 (Some Easter bunny shopping, more drugstore stuff, etc.)
Tea and sweets challenge: 2/4
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
If at first you don't succeed
You are so not going to believe this. I couldn't last more than ONE DAY on the challenge! Sort of pathetic, eh?
The "want" started first thing in the morning, because I knew I was headed to work with only natural sugar in the form of fruit. But, I said to the boyfriend on the subway, I can't get anything, because what will my blog readers say!? How will they have faith in my ability to slay the debt dragon if I can't even go two days without buying a treat?
And then I was very busy at work today. Nose to the grindstone busy, so I didn't take a lunch hour. But shortly after consuming my healthy (and super yummy) lunch, my sweet tooth stood up and demanded to be noticed. In fact, it joined forces with the part of my brain that requires actual fresh air every couple of hours and they took down my willpower in one fell swoop. Next thing I knew, I was on my way to the evil empire (Starbucks).
But tomorrow is a new day. We're all destined to fail sometimes, right?
I also had to stop at the drugstore on the way home for some supplies. Namely shave gel (I am hirsute, I cannot tell a lie.) and some Epsom salts. I overdid it on the lunges at the gym yesterday and am now hobbling around. Hopefully a hot bath a little later (and a glass of wine) will help ease my pain.
Total debt: $9520 and a bit
Spent today: $14.79
Tea and sweets challenge: 1/4 (still)
The "want" started first thing in the morning, because I knew I was headed to work with only natural sugar in the form of fruit. But, I said to the boyfriend on the subway, I can't get anything, because what will my blog readers say!? How will they have faith in my ability to slay the debt dragon if I can't even go two days without buying a treat?
And then I was very busy at work today. Nose to the grindstone busy, so I didn't take a lunch hour. But shortly after consuming my healthy (and super yummy) lunch, my sweet tooth stood up and demanded to be noticed. In fact, it joined forces with the part of my brain that requires actual fresh air every couple of hours and they took down my willpower in one fell swoop. Next thing I knew, I was on my way to the evil empire (Starbucks).
But tomorrow is a new day. We're all destined to fail sometimes, right?
I also had to stop at the drugstore on the way home for some supplies. Namely shave gel (I am hirsute, I cannot tell a lie.) and some Epsom salts. I overdid it on the lunges at the gym yesterday and am now hobbling around. Hopefully a hot bath a little later (and a glass of wine) will help ease my pain.
Total debt: $9520 and a bit
Spent today: $14.79
Tea and sweets challenge: 1/4 (still)
Monday, March 17, 2008
The winner of this challenge gets... well, a few extra dollars
Recently I have been looking around online, checking out other people's financial blogs. I can't bring myself to read very many posts on the ones that are strictly about the best way to invest or the ins and outs of retirement funds, simply because it's all pretty foreign to me. Plus it makes me feel bad that I don't have any money to invest or savings for retirement.
I do, however, love other people's musings on climbing out of their own pits of debt. Those ones make me feel like I am not alone on the WWW, but just one of many trying to figure things out as we go along. I will try to take some time to add a list of blogs that I've found, so you too can enjoy them.
A couple of the blogs that I happened upon actually offered a little inspiration. These people set challenges for themselves, such as a certain number of Spend Nothing days or Car Free days or Bring Your Lunch days.
Who doesn't love a challenge!?
Since I already pack my lunch 97% of the time and don't own a car, I'm going to try something else. This week I'm going to go the entire week without buying any "treats," which translates into tea (I don't do coffee) and sweets. I'll post my results at the bottom with my spending and the challenge will reset on Fridays, as per normal. (Hopefully this benefits my wallet and my waistline. Bonus points!)
Saw another impeccably dressed woman on the subway tonight. Let me explain: Tan, double-breasted trench-style jacket belted at the waist, matching tan scarf, perfect dark jeans and brown knee-high riding boots with a flat sole. The kind that make a woman look sporty and chic at the same time. Now, truth be told, even if I had all the money in the world, I couldn't have bought myself the extra 3 inches this woman had on me, or her bikini-model long, lean legs. But still, I tried not to openly stare in fashion lust. Oh, to go shopping!
Okay, must sign off. Remember how I mentioned that I wasn't actively looking for anymore freelance work until I finish the big piece I currently have on the go? Well, when it rains, it pours. And I just can't bring myself to say no!
Total debt: $9520 and a bit
Spent today: $0
Tea and Sweets Challenge: 1/4
I do, however, love other people's musings on climbing out of their own pits of debt. Those ones make me feel like I am not alone on the WWW, but just one of many trying to figure things out as we go along. I will try to take some time to add a list of blogs that I've found, so you too can enjoy them.
A couple of the blogs that I happened upon actually offered a little inspiration. These people set challenges for themselves, such as a certain number of Spend Nothing days or Car Free days or Bring Your Lunch days.
Who doesn't love a challenge!?
Since I already pack my lunch 97% of the time and don't own a car, I'm going to try something else. This week I'm going to go the entire week without buying any "treats," which translates into tea (I don't do coffee) and sweets. I'll post my results at the bottom with my spending and the challenge will reset on Fridays, as per normal. (Hopefully this benefits my wallet and my waistline. Bonus points!)
Saw another impeccably dressed woman on the subway tonight. Let me explain: Tan, double-breasted trench-style jacket belted at the waist, matching tan scarf, perfect dark jeans and brown knee-high riding boots with a flat sole. The kind that make a woman look sporty and chic at the same time. Now, truth be told, even if I had all the money in the world, I couldn't have bought myself the extra 3 inches this woman had on me, or her bikini-model long, lean legs. But still, I tried not to openly stare in fashion lust. Oh, to go shopping!
Okay, must sign off. Remember how I mentioned that I wasn't actively looking for anymore freelance work until I finish the big piece I currently have on the go? Well, when it rains, it pours. And I just can't bring myself to say no!
Total debt: $9520 and a bit
Spent today: $0
Tea and Sweets Challenge: 1/4
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Living it up
I am very sorry I didn't post yesterday, but it was a busy day. A full day of spending money and napping, if you will.
First off was a birthday brunch for my lovely friend in from Montreal. That was followed by an extended afternoon nap (I'm catching up from something or other. I was completely knackered!) and then an evening of party hopping - and therefore drink buying - and a taxi home.
I really don't know how people go out as often as some people do, because those nights out are not cheap! Perhaps they don't have loans or maybe they don't buy groceries or something.
Anyway, as suspected, I have already spent more than my usual weekly total. I will do my best to have a few spend-nothing days in the coming week, to offset my spendy ways.
Worst thing I received in the mail this week? My statement telling me how much interest I paid on my big debt last year. A whopping $945. Almost a thousand dollars!! It makes me nauseous to think of all the interest over the years. And sadly, because it's a student line of credit from a bank, the interest isn't tax deductible. Bad, bad news.
Total debt: $9520 and a bit
Spent yesterday: $40-ish
Spent today: $53 (groceries)
First off was a birthday brunch for my lovely friend in from Montreal. That was followed by an extended afternoon nap (I'm catching up from something or other. I was completely knackered!) and then an evening of party hopping - and therefore drink buying - and a taxi home.
I really don't know how people go out as often as some people do, because those nights out are not cheap! Perhaps they don't have loans or maybe they don't buy groceries or something.
Anyway, as suspected, I have already spent more than my usual weekly total. I will do my best to have a few spend-nothing days in the coming week, to offset my spendy ways.
Worst thing I received in the mail this week? My statement telling me how much interest I paid on my big debt last year. A whopping $945. Almost a thousand dollars!! It makes me nauseous to think of all the interest over the years. And sadly, because it's a student line of credit from a bank, the interest isn't tax deductible. Bad, bad news.
Total debt: $9520 and a bit
Spent yesterday: $40-ish
Spent today: $53 (groceries)
Friday, March 14, 2008
Such a long journey
Thank goodness it is finally payday. It feels like my debt has been stalled for a really long time, but today I finally got to make a decent payment. Not a spectacular payment, but a decent payment. Psychologically I need to see the number keep going down. I still feel like the debt is a ridiculously tall wall in front of all the things I'm ready to do in my life.
I know many of you don't think I should see it that way. That I could get married and start a family despite my debt, but I just can't see how that is a good decision. If I look at it logically, which is the only angle I'm trying to use now, those things would just cause me to go deeper into debt. Plus they would cut into the amount that I can currently pay on my debt. So I would forever be in the red.
I don't want to be that person! I want to have an emergency fund. I want to save up to take an honest-to-goodness vacation, rather than just charging an entire getaway and not dealing with the receipts until I get home. I want to buy a house with the boyfriend - the operative word being WITH. One day I'd like to have a car. I don't think I'll ever get a new car, because they depreciate so quickly, but a new-to-me car. And I don't think those are unrealistic goals.
And should anything ever go wrong between the boyfriend and I (Knock wood, each and every one of you!), I want to make sure I have two financially secure feet to stand on.
So I'm working on my big freelance piece, which is big enough that I'm not actively looking for any other freelance stuff at the moment. Should something come my way - great. But I'm not going looking for it. I am, however, just starting to pursue another side job that could bring in a bit of extra cash. We'll see how that works out.
All that said, I am giving myself a little extra in my weekly budget this week. I have a friend in from out of town to celebrate her birthday and we have many out-of-house plans that involve a bit of spending. However, she treated me to the movie tonight! I have such lovely friends.
Total debt: $9520-ish
Spent today: $14.56 (Lunch and dinner out)
I know many of you don't think I should see it that way. That I could get married and start a family despite my debt, but I just can't see how that is a good decision. If I look at it logically, which is the only angle I'm trying to use now, those things would just cause me to go deeper into debt. Plus they would cut into the amount that I can currently pay on my debt. So I would forever be in the red.
I don't want to be that person! I want to have an emergency fund. I want to save up to take an honest-to-goodness vacation, rather than just charging an entire getaway and not dealing with the receipts until I get home. I want to buy a house with the boyfriend - the operative word being WITH. One day I'd like to have a car. I don't think I'll ever get a new car, because they depreciate so quickly, but a new-to-me car. And I don't think those are unrealistic goals.
And should anything ever go wrong between the boyfriend and I (Knock wood, each and every one of you!), I want to make sure I have two financially secure feet to stand on.
So I'm working on my big freelance piece, which is big enough that I'm not actively looking for any other freelance stuff at the moment. Should something come my way - great. But I'm not going looking for it. I am, however, just starting to pursue another side job that could bring in a bit of extra cash. We'll see how that works out.
All that said, I am giving myself a little extra in my weekly budget this week. I have a friend in from out of town to celebrate her birthday and we have many out-of-house plans that involve a bit of spending. However, she treated me to the movie tonight! I have such lovely friends.
Total debt: $9520-ish
Spent today: $14.56 (Lunch and dinner out)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Apparently we don't have our walking papers
It seems inevitable that living in an apartment building means having difficult neighbors. And today I decided that it's easier if your difficult neighbors are nasty and bitchy, because then you can just write them off as nasty, bitchy people. It's harder when the difficult ones wrap their own idiosyncrasies in a buttery pastry of niceness.
A couple of weeks after we moved in last summer, we got a knock on the door right after we had returned home from work. It was the couple that live below us, struggling to find the right English words and apologizing profusely for even coming to the door in the first place. They explained that they have a young son and that we woke him up the night before from the noise.
Now, at first we were stumped. I had spent the evening reading and the boyfriend had been in the office, still setting stuff up. We hadn't even turned on the TV or played music or anything. What could they possibly have heard.
Hammering, they explained. Oh yes. Right. At 11pm or so, which is admittedly too late to be doing so, the boyfriend had hung one picture in the office. He had maybe swung the hammer 7 times. Hardly a wild party, but they were so apologetic and so polite about it all that I wasn't too bothered. I rationalized that maybe they'd had bad experiences in the past and wanted to nip it in the bud right away. They were being a little reactionary about a single instance, but again, they were being so nice that I didn't know how else to act without looking like the asshole in the situation.
Well, we've now lived in the apartment for about 9 months. We rarely hear noise from any of the other apartments, unless there's a party or someone is talking in the hallway, so I've assumed that it's a pretty sturdy, sound-proof building. Apparently not.
This morning one of our friendly downstairs neighbors got into the elevator with us. She apologized for interrupting us and then explained that we are tall people and that every footstep we take in our apartment sounds like drilling to them. She proceeded to request that we consider wearing these particular slippers in our apartment, to cushion the noise. And again, I didn't know how to respond, because she was so polite. And she was saying that they all wear the slippers to cushion the noise for the people bellow them. But why should I have to wear slippers in my own home?
It's not like we're stomping around or wearing shoes all the time or jumping. We're just walking. Strolling from the bathroom to the bedroom. Sauntering across the office. Occasionally marching to the kitchen. (For a cookie. Or fro yo.)
So, the boyfriend and I were discussing it after the fact, and we determined that even though her tone was indubitably polite, what she was asking of us was downright rude! His reasoning was that instead of them asking us to wear slippers, they should wear ear plugs.
And these sorts of issues are what make renting so unattractive. Suddenly, after an extended period of being a happy renter while all of our homeowner friends deal with bad wiring and leaking roofs, I wish I was in a position to buy a house. Because even shovelling snow off the walk within 12 hours so the city won't fine us seems preferable to dealing with accusing you're-not-wearing-the-slippers looks in the elevator.
What I'm trying to say, downstairs neighbor people, is that you don't know how GOOD you have it with us! But I draw the line at not being allowed to walk au natural in my own space. (And by au natural I mean barefoot. But also in the nude, whenever I choose to be so. That's between me, the boyfriend and the cat.)
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $3.11 (Super cheap dinner before the boyfriend took me to Canada Blooms. Now I really want a house so I can put a gorgeous garden in!)
Weekly total: $93-ish (Let's not talk about credit. Dentist and cat food and stuff, oh my!)
A couple of weeks after we moved in last summer, we got a knock on the door right after we had returned home from work. It was the couple that live below us, struggling to find the right English words and apologizing profusely for even coming to the door in the first place. They explained that they have a young son and that we woke him up the night before from the noise.
Now, at first we were stumped. I had spent the evening reading and the boyfriend had been in the office, still setting stuff up. We hadn't even turned on the TV or played music or anything. What could they possibly have heard.
Hammering, they explained. Oh yes. Right. At 11pm or so, which is admittedly too late to be doing so, the boyfriend had hung one picture in the office. He had maybe swung the hammer 7 times. Hardly a wild party, but they were so apologetic and so polite about it all that I wasn't too bothered. I rationalized that maybe they'd had bad experiences in the past and wanted to nip it in the bud right away. They were being a little reactionary about a single instance, but again, they were being so nice that I didn't know how else to act without looking like the asshole in the situation.
Well, we've now lived in the apartment for about 9 months. We rarely hear noise from any of the other apartments, unless there's a party or someone is talking in the hallway, so I've assumed that it's a pretty sturdy, sound-proof building. Apparently not.
This morning one of our friendly downstairs neighbors got into the elevator with us. She apologized for interrupting us and then explained that we are tall people and that every footstep we take in our apartment sounds like drilling to them. She proceeded to request that we consider wearing these particular slippers in our apartment, to cushion the noise. And again, I didn't know how to respond, because she was so polite. And she was saying that they all wear the slippers to cushion the noise for the people bellow them. But why should I have to wear slippers in my own home?
It's not like we're stomping around or wearing shoes all the time or jumping. We're just walking. Strolling from the bathroom to the bedroom. Sauntering across the office. Occasionally marching to the kitchen. (For a cookie. Or fro yo.)
So, the boyfriend and I were discussing it after the fact, and we determined that even though her tone was indubitably polite, what she was asking of us was downright rude! His reasoning was that instead of them asking us to wear slippers, they should wear ear plugs.
And these sorts of issues are what make renting so unattractive. Suddenly, after an extended period of being a happy renter while all of our homeowner friends deal with bad wiring and leaking roofs, I wish I was in a position to buy a house. Because even shovelling snow off the walk within 12 hours so the city won't fine us seems preferable to dealing with accusing you're-not-wearing-the-slippers looks in the elevator.
What I'm trying to say, downstairs neighbor people, is that you don't know how GOOD you have it with us! But I draw the line at not being allowed to walk au natural in my own space. (And by au natural I mean barefoot. But also in the nude, whenever I choose to be so. That's between me, the boyfriend and the cat.)
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $3.11 (Super cheap dinner before the boyfriend took me to Canada Blooms. Now I really want a house so I can put a gorgeous garden in!)
Weekly total: $93-ish (Let's not talk about credit. Dentist and cat food and stuff, oh my!)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I'd like to introduce you to my expensive new tooth
This one will be a quick post, because I am seriously sleepy.
I had what I thought would be my final adventure in dentistry today. Got my permanent crown. And now it feels too big in my mouth. I fear that I'm going to have to return to the dentist that I never want to see again in order to have my new fake tooth shaved down a bit more. Ugh.
Charged a whole bunch more to my credit card! That tooth was pricey. Plus the $45 for cat food. Thankfully I only have to buy cat food maybe four times a year or so. It's a big bag.
Had a wonderful visit with a friend that I hadn't seen in about a year and a half. The funny thing was that it felt like I had seen her yesterday and would see her again tomorrow. Maybe that's because we know each other so well. After all, we did live together for SEVEN YEARS!
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $2.49 (cash) plus a whole bunch of credit
I had what I thought would be my final adventure in dentistry today. Got my permanent crown. And now it feels too big in my mouth. I fear that I'm going to have to return to the dentist that I never want to see again in order to have my new fake tooth shaved down a bit more. Ugh.
Charged a whole bunch more to my credit card! That tooth was pricey. Plus the $45 for cat food. Thankfully I only have to buy cat food maybe four times a year or so. It's a big bag.
Had a wonderful visit with a friend that I hadn't seen in about a year and a half. The funny thing was that it felt like I had seen her yesterday and would see her again tomorrow. Maybe that's because we know each other so well. After all, we did live together for SEVEN YEARS!
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $2.49 (cash) plus a whole bunch of credit
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Feeding the demon within
Since I know I will be inevitably charging the cat food tomorrow, which is the one time I will be near the vet where I can purchase the cat food, I have been spending the actual money in my wallet. Not a smart choice, I'll admit. It's the reason why I don't keep more than my weekly allotment in my bank account.
And what have I been spending my few precious dollars on? you ask. Well, since I am also going through a "must stop eating crap, because before long I won't be able to cover everything with a big puffy coat" phase, I had one of those "I'll stop eating crap tomorrow, so I better enjoy some today" days. Do you know those days? Do you, like me, go through months where you have those days about twice a week? That was my day.
So there was food purchased. Food that was neither good for my body or my soul. But I'm working on it.
Total debt: $9920 plus a bit
Spent today: $8-ish (Ugh)
Plus I forgot that I got my prescription filled yesterday, so that was $12
And what have I been spending my few precious dollars on? you ask. Well, since I am also going through a "must stop eating crap, because before long I won't be able to cover everything with a big puffy coat" phase, I had one of those "I'll stop eating crap tomorrow, so I better enjoy some today" days. Do you know those days? Do you, like me, go through months where you have those days about twice a week? That was my day.
So there was food purchased. Food that was neither good for my body or my soul. But I'm working on it.
Total debt: $9920 plus a bit
Spent today: $8-ish (Ugh)
Plus I forgot that I got my prescription filled yesterday, so that was $12
Monday, March 10, 2008
It's time for the bake off!
One of the luxuries we have here at our apartment is the very enjoyable cable television. It costs a small fortune in the world of me, but since I go halfsies with the boyfriend, it's not so bad. I could easily live without it - I did last year, which is when I watched Buffy in its entirety since I had never seen any before - but there's something so nice about having it.
Lately I'm addicted to "'Til Debt Do us Part" on Slice. The boyfriend and I have considered applying to be on the show, because you can earn up to $5000 just for learning how to reduce your debt and taking the right steps in that direction. (Although you also have to look like idiots on syndicated national television.) Now that we've started watching the show regularly, it's clear that we are far too intelligent to be on it. The people they feature generally have no idea that they're spending 180% of their incomes and are massively in debt. One couple was headed to bankruptcy for the THIRD time! Another couple had a combined income of more than $100,000 and were drowning in debt far worse than me.
So I use my cable television to feel better about my own situation. Tonight I also used it to watch a little bit of Just Like Mom. Remember that classic Canadian game show? I would post a photo, but I'm coming up short on YouTube, Imdb and Google. Crazy!
Moral of this story - cable television makes you feel better about yourself and allows you to waste precious time watching something that the world wide web doesn't even deem worthy.
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $2-ish (I had to supplement my free tea at Horny Tims with a treat...)
Lately I'm addicted to "'Til Debt Do us Part" on Slice. The boyfriend and I have considered applying to be on the show, because you can earn up to $5000 just for learning how to reduce your debt and taking the right steps in that direction. (Although you also have to look like idiots on syndicated national television.) Now that we've started watching the show regularly, it's clear that we are far too intelligent to be on it. The people they feature generally have no idea that they're spending 180% of their incomes and are massively in debt. One couple was headed to bankruptcy for the THIRD time! Another couple had a combined income of more than $100,000 and were drowning in debt far worse than me.
So I use my cable television to feel better about my own situation. Tonight I also used it to watch a little bit of Just Like Mom. Remember that classic Canadian game show? I would post a photo, but I'm coming up short on YouTube, Imdb and Google. Crazy!
Moral of this story - cable television makes you feel better about yourself and allows you to waste precious time watching something that the world wide web doesn't even deem worthy.
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $2-ish (I had to supplement my free tea at Horny Tims with a treat...)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Nine lives to feed
Sometimes budgets can really get in the way of things. For example, my half of the groceries was only $45 this week, leaving me $45 for everything else. Quite often that is plenty of money. Wait - it's never plenty of money. But it's usually enough money to scrape by and fit in something fun along the way. The trick is that you need to do all the scraping before you have any fun. If that makes sense.
So this morning the boyfriend and I met another quartet for brunch. It was a much-belated birthday brunch for one of the girls...although, I don't think we ever mentioned her birthday... Oops. Happy birthday!
Anyway, it was the perfect kind of brunch morning, because it was brilliantly sunny after yesterday's apocalyptic winter storm. Plus I was visiting with people who I don't get to see often enough. I had a moderately priced brunch at $15, still leaving me $30 for the week.
However, I have to get a prescription filled before Thursday. (I dropped ONE pill from last month's pack down the drain, meaning I had to steal one from this month's pack, leaving this month's pack completely useless. Very annoying.) That's going to cost about $12 in dispensing fees. Leaving me with about $18, which would also be fine.
Except the cat is almost out of food. And I do not have a run-of-the-mill cat. I have a cat who eats expensive diet food from the vet. Food that costs around $35. Which is more than $18. Which is the problem. (And considering the cat's previous health issues, it would be far more expensive in the long run to start feeding her cheap food.)
I can't borrow from next week's budget because a) It's a paycheck week, so I won't even have that money until Friday, and b) I have a friend coming in from out of town for her birthday next week, so I need all my extra money for the few little things we have planned.
So I probably should have had breakfast at home this morning and then enjoyed a cup of tea while visiting with everyone. I should have scraped before I had any fun. Thankfully my omelet was incredibly tasty and filling or I would have been angry with myself.
Alas, I think the difference needed for the kitty food is going to have to go on the credit card, which is once again at pretty low levels post dental adventures. It should all be paid off again, even after my permanent crown on Wednesday, within a week or so. And then I'm taking it out of my wallet. No more getting sidetracked with an accessible form of credit. It's not real money!!
But I just can't let this animal go hungry:
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $15
Saturday, March 8, 2008
365 countdown
Today is my half birthday. I am 32.5 years old. And, as you can tell from my blog title, I am hoping that all of this debt drama will be over by this exact day next year. That shouldn't be a problem for the leftover student loan, which is what I tell you about under Total Debt every day. However, there is the interest-free loan from the boyfriend as well. It would be amazing if that could also be eradicated in the next 365 days, but perhaps it's too lofty of a goal.
But why are we on the earth other than to set lofty goals for ourselves!?
I'll do my best. That's all I can do.
We watched this last night:
But why are we on the earth other than to set lofty goals for ourselves!?
I'll do my best. That's all I can do.
We watched this last night:
I got it free from the library. (I love the library!) It's a little Irish film that is full of charm and very stylishly shot. Plus the main kid is ridiculously cute. Anyway, it was a good reminder about the way that money can really screw everything up.
Now, I truly believe that some money would make things a fair bit better for me right about now, but I have very mixed feelings about a huge windfall. Not that I don't dream about hitting the jackpot, but I seem to spend just as much time worrying about how I would deal with it. Who would I give money to and who would hate me for not giving them enough. So maybe I'm just meant to struggle along for now. It's supposed to be sweeter if you really have to work for it, right?
Total debt: $9920 and a bit
Spent today: $0
Friday, March 7, 2008
Stop the presses!
I just checked my loan account and a payment went through that I made last week. (Geez, it takes forever for them to register!)
Anyway, I'm amending my total debt to: $9920 and a bit (Yippee!)
Anyway, I'm amending my total debt to: $9920 and a bit (Yippee!)
The joy of rereading...?
So, I'm reading this right now:
It's about a couple who try to go an entire year only buying the necessities. Of course, they have a bit of trouble deciding what constitutes a necessity, but don't we all. (Although I'm crossing eye cream off my list thanks to a certain friend with some inside info!)
I'm only a couple of chapters in, but I'm enjoying it. It seems like the perfect choice given my current financial situation. The funny thing is, I took it out of the library because it was mentioned in an article about consumerism that I read last week, but I think I've taken it out before. I'm having major deja vu thus far in my reading.
Is it a bad sign when you can't remember if you've read something before? Should some sort of memory boosting herb become one of my necessities?
At least I feel quite confident that I didn't finish it before, so it won't be a total do-over.
Before I met the boyfriend to do some grocery shopping this evening, I took a stroll through Joe Fresh. It caused a bit of the "want," but I also realized how many things I would have bought simply because they only cost $8 or $12, not because I actually needed them. It was an empowering thing to know.
If only I could learn that with food... Grocery shopping post-yoga class and post-workday leads to treat buying. I was just so hungry!
Total debt: $9990 plus a bit more
Spent today: $50-ish ($45 on groceries plus I used those leftover toonies in my wallet on random foodstuffs. It's been a full day of eating!)
It's about a couple who try to go an entire year only buying the necessities. Of course, they have a bit of trouble deciding what constitutes a necessity, but don't we all. (Although I'm crossing eye cream off my list thanks to a certain friend with some inside info!)
I'm only a couple of chapters in, but I'm enjoying it. It seems like the perfect choice given my current financial situation. The funny thing is, I took it out of the library because it was mentioned in an article about consumerism that I read last week, but I think I've taken it out before. I'm having major deja vu thus far in my reading.
Is it a bad sign when you can't remember if you've read something before? Should some sort of memory boosting herb become one of my necessities?
At least I feel quite confident that I didn't finish it before, so it won't be a total do-over.
Before I met the boyfriend to do some grocery shopping this evening, I took a stroll through Joe Fresh. It caused a bit of the "want," but I also realized how many things I would have bought simply because they only cost $8 or $12, not because I actually needed them. It was an empowering thing to know.
If only I could learn that with food... Grocery shopping post-yoga class and post-workday leads to treat buying. I was just so hungry!
Total debt: $9990 plus a bit more
Spent today: $50-ish ($45 on groceries plus I used those leftover toonies in my wallet on random foodstuffs. It's been a full day of eating!)
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Money leftover!
As I may have mentioned before, working in magazine publishing means you are surrounded by all sorts of lovely, glossy mags. Truly. The company I work for has subscriptions to pretty much every magazine I would buy on the newsstand. And I would buy a lot!
Now, the magazines generally go to accounts that I don't work on, so it's not like I get to scoop up the latest issues as they arrive. But every once in a while, the accounts clean house and an email goes out announcing a free for all before the recycling gets picked up.
I'm not picky about old magazines. I love them! I'm smart enough not to take my fashion tips from them, but otherwise they are a goldmine for brainstorming freelance ideas.
So I picked up a healthy pile today and was flipping through a Marie Claire from 2002, which conveniently had a 7-year horoscope article. Perfect!
I determined that my ancient Aztec sign is a Crocodile and found out that 2004 and 2008 promise to be years of completion and satisfaction. Well, 2004 was when I went back to school, which was the best decision I ever made in my life, and 2008...
Suddenly I'm optimistic about the year ahead...
Total debt: $9990 plus a bit more
Spent today: $0
Weekly total: $85.10 (I still have two toonies in my wallet!)
Now, the magazines generally go to accounts that I don't work on, so it's not like I get to scoop up the latest issues as they arrive. But every once in a while, the accounts clean house and an email goes out announcing a free for all before the recycling gets picked up.
I'm not picky about old magazines. I love them! I'm smart enough not to take my fashion tips from them, but otherwise they are a goldmine for brainstorming freelance ideas.
So I picked up a healthy pile today and was flipping through a Marie Claire from 2002, which conveniently had a 7-year horoscope article. Perfect!
I determined that my ancient Aztec sign is a Crocodile and found out that 2004 and 2008 promise to be years of completion and satisfaction. Well, 2004 was when I went back to school, which was the best decision I ever made in my life, and 2008...
Suddenly I'm optimistic about the year ahead...
Total debt: $9990 plus a bit more
Spent today: $0
Weekly total: $85.10 (I still have two toonies in my wallet!)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Always look on the bright side of life
A few happy money moments today. For a change this week.
#1. I figured out that my $1000 crown will be half covered by insurance. (I'm not letting myself believe it 100% until I actually see the return.)
#2. The wonderful boyfriend has decided that he's going to add the crown to the interest-free loan I have with him. Very good news, so I don't have to miss any big loan payments.
#3. I filed my taxes and I managed to save about $400 of what I had put aside to pay taxes, so that money went right on my credit card, to pay for some of non-insured parts of all this dental activity. (I would have rather put it right on my loan, but at least it's helping out in other ways.)
#4. I booked a big freelance gig! A nice, lucrative piece that will complement both my portfolio and my pocketbook. Phew! So there will be a big extra payment on the loan probably late April, early May. Yippee!!
#5. An idea I had recently about how to earn some extra money is slowly taking shape. I have high hopes that it will work out and that I'll enjoy it. I'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, as if you haven't heard enough already, I remembered another story from my crappy trip to the dentist yesterday and I wanted to share it:
So the hygienist and I are discussing what colour they are going to make my crown and she uses the opportunity to sell, sell, sell. Namely tooth whitening. And maybe it was because I was already not enjoying the whole experience, but I totally had an Aha sort of moment. Which is that there is NOTHING WRONG with the colour of my teeth! My teeth are the colour that teeth are normally supposed to be.
And suddenly I saw the whole damned beauty business for what it is - a money-making scam to kill everyones self-esteems so that they have to SPEND to feel better!
(Not that I totally don't buy into it most of the time, but there is no way in hell that I'm going to spend my hard earned money to make my teeth blinding to people around me. I don't think anyone with any worth in this world thinks LESS of me because I have normal coloured teeth.)
That's my rant. And I'm totally going to go and wash my face and then apply my anti-aging cream now, just to be a total hypocrite. (But I'm out of eye cream... I can't fit it into the budget!)
Total debt: $9990 and a bit.
Spent today: $0
#1. I figured out that my $1000 crown will be half covered by insurance. (I'm not letting myself believe it 100% until I actually see the return.)
#2. The wonderful boyfriend has decided that he's going to add the crown to the interest-free loan I have with him. Very good news, so I don't have to miss any big loan payments.
#3. I filed my taxes and I managed to save about $400 of what I had put aside to pay taxes, so that money went right on my credit card, to pay for some of non-insured parts of all this dental activity. (I would have rather put it right on my loan, but at least it's helping out in other ways.)
#4. I booked a big freelance gig! A nice, lucrative piece that will complement both my portfolio and my pocketbook. Phew! So there will be a big extra payment on the loan probably late April, early May. Yippee!!
#5. An idea I had recently about how to earn some extra money is slowly taking shape. I have high hopes that it will work out and that I'll enjoy it. I'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, as if you haven't heard enough already, I remembered another story from my crappy trip to the dentist yesterday and I wanted to share it:
So the hygienist and I are discussing what colour they are going to make my crown and she uses the opportunity to sell, sell, sell. Namely tooth whitening. And maybe it was because I was already not enjoying the whole experience, but I totally had an Aha sort of moment. Which is that there is NOTHING WRONG with the colour of my teeth! My teeth are the colour that teeth are normally supposed to be.
And suddenly I saw the whole damned beauty business for what it is - a money-making scam to kill everyones self-esteems so that they have to SPEND to feel better!
(Not that I totally don't buy into it most of the time, but there is no way in hell that I'm going to spend my hard earned money to make my teeth blinding to people around me. I don't think anyone with any worth in this world thinks LESS of me because I have normal coloured teeth.)
That's my rant. And I'm totally going to go and wash my face and then apply my anti-aging cream now, just to be a total hypocrite. (But I'm out of eye cream... I can't fit it into the budget!)
Total debt: $9990 and a bit.
Spent today: $0
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Dentist be damned
Today was not a happy trip to the dentist.
First of all, let me tell about my old dentist. We'll call him Dr. Wealthy Asshole, or Dr. WA for short.
This guy used to talk constantly about how much money he had. Seriously! He did my root canal back in 2002, when I was a poor actor who had no insurance. While I was practically in tears and totally freaking out over how I was going to pay for the work he was doing, he told me how his country club fees cost him $30,000 a year. He also told me that he was so determined to spot a celebrity during the film festival one year that he spent $20,000 on meals in Yorkville in two weeks. (Yorkville, for non-Toronto people, is where the Richie Richersons hang out along with the celebs.)
I'm not quite sure why I kept going to see him, other than the fact that he was only five minutes from home and I never felt any pain. (Other than severe emotional distress, that is.)
He is no longer with the practice, but today I met his colleague. Let's call him Dr. Inappropriate Man Humour, or Dr. IMH.
This afternoon I was chatting with the hygienist, waiting for the dentist, and she was asking all about my performing career. I was trying to explain that I haven't been on stage in about five years, but people get so caught up in the imaginary glamour of show biz that they can't fathom how you would ever leave it behind. Anyway, Dr. IMH catches a few phrases on his way into the room and - before he even introduces himself to me - he says, "What? Are you a pole dancer?"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He lost me right there. I immediately made a mental note: Find a new dentist.
A little while later, Dr. IMH had a sneezing fit. I guess he's allergic to everything except sophomoric humour. He asked me if I have cats and when I said yes, he exclaimed that we could never date. THEN he clarified it and explained that we could date at his house, but not at mine.
I threw up in my mouth a little.
As soon as I get my permanent crown next week, I'm cancelling my cleaning in April and finding a new office.
It was an all around mentally exhausting afternoon. Almost two hours in the chair, which was pretty awful. Plus another $1100 on my credit card. (Just for the root canal! I haven't been charged for the crown yet!) Although I will get about $800-ish of that back. Plus just having to listen to Dr. IMH. I'm beat and my mouth is sore.
The boyfriend brought home some beautiful white daisies for me, to make me feel better. He is a good guy. Wait! A great guy. I am a lucky girl.
Oh, and I finally got all the stuff I needed to finish my taxes. I owe just over $400, leaving me about $400 for debt! Sadly I can't just put it on my student loan, but it will go on my recently active credit card.
One good thing about all these credit card charges is that I will definitely be earning some free groceries at the end of this month. And my history as a starving artist means I am a sucker for free food!
Total debt: $9900 and a bit
Spent today: $2.72 (Plus all those credit card charges!)
First of all, let me tell about my old dentist. We'll call him Dr. Wealthy Asshole, or Dr. WA for short.
This guy used to talk constantly about how much money he had. Seriously! He did my root canal back in 2002, when I was a poor actor who had no insurance. While I was practically in tears and totally freaking out over how I was going to pay for the work he was doing, he told me how his country club fees cost him $30,000 a year. He also told me that he was so determined to spot a celebrity during the film festival one year that he spent $20,000 on meals in Yorkville in two weeks. (Yorkville, for non-Toronto people, is where the Richie Richersons hang out along with the celebs.)
I'm not quite sure why I kept going to see him, other than the fact that he was only five minutes from home and I never felt any pain. (Other than severe emotional distress, that is.)
He is no longer with the practice, but today I met his colleague. Let's call him Dr. Inappropriate Man Humour, or Dr. IMH.
This afternoon I was chatting with the hygienist, waiting for the dentist, and she was asking all about my performing career. I was trying to explain that I haven't been on stage in about five years, but people get so caught up in the imaginary glamour of show biz that they can't fathom how you would ever leave it behind. Anyway, Dr. IMH catches a few phrases on his way into the room and - before he even introduces himself to me - he says, "What? Are you a pole dancer?"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He lost me right there. I immediately made a mental note: Find a new dentist.
A little while later, Dr. IMH had a sneezing fit. I guess he's allergic to everything except sophomoric humour. He asked me if I have cats and when I said yes, he exclaimed that we could never date. THEN he clarified it and explained that we could date at his house, but not at mine.
I threw up in my mouth a little.
As soon as I get my permanent crown next week, I'm cancelling my cleaning in April and finding a new office.
It was an all around mentally exhausting afternoon. Almost two hours in the chair, which was pretty awful. Plus another $1100 on my credit card. (Just for the root canal! I haven't been charged for the crown yet!) Although I will get about $800-ish of that back. Plus just having to listen to Dr. IMH. I'm beat and my mouth is sore.
The boyfriend brought home some beautiful white daisies for me, to make me feel better. He is a good guy. Wait! A great guy. I am a lucky girl.
Oh, and I finally got all the stuff I needed to finish my taxes. I owe just over $400, leaving me about $400 for debt! Sadly I can't just put it on my student loan, but it will go on my recently active credit card.
One good thing about all these credit card charges is that I will definitely be earning some free groceries at the end of this month. And my history as a starving artist means I am a sucker for free food!
Total debt: $9900 and a bit
Spent today: $2.72 (Plus all those credit card charges!)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Back to basics
Oh the drama of my teeth continue.
It turns out that dentists are really unhappy when you don't let them do the first part of your root canal. When I let my regular office know that I'd gone to the emergency clinic, I not only got a call saying they'll fit me in as soon as possible (tomorrow!) for the rest of the root canal, but I also got to speak personally to the dentist that I hadn't seen on Saturday, who assures me I should never have to go to an emergency clinic.
Whatever! They were going to make me wait a WEEK before my root canal. Perhaps if I hadn't held it back and just let myself cry at the counter on Saturday morning when they imparted that information, like I wanted to, they would have been more accommodating. Anyway, I'm playing nicely with them now because I just want the rest of the work done as soon as possible and with as little pain as possible.
Oh, but there is bad news.
Turns out that I only have "basic" dental coverage. Meaning that if I get a crown, it won't be covered. I will need to shell about $1000 out of my own pocket.
I don't really understand this. If my dentist says it's something I need, rather than something I want, why isn't it considered basic? It's not like I'm having a whitening treatment or getting braces or bonding. I'm going to have to ask some more questions tomorrow, because it really doesn't make sense to me.
So now, rather than being excited to do my taxes so I could hopefully make another payment on the student loan, I am anxious to do them so I can hopefully pay off this little adventure in dental surgery a bit sooner.
Thanks goodness that trip to NYC was already cancelled, because if I was just getting around to cancelling it now, I'd be totally bereft. As it is, our sad little alternate vacation of a couple of nights at a fancy hotel in Niagara Falls might also need to be reconsidered.
One day, I swear, this will all be over. It just seems so very far away still.
Total debt: $9990 and a bit (Interest!)
Spent today: $0
It turns out that dentists are really unhappy when you don't let them do the first part of your root canal. When I let my regular office know that I'd gone to the emergency clinic, I not only got a call saying they'll fit me in as soon as possible (tomorrow!) for the rest of the root canal, but I also got to speak personally to the dentist that I hadn't seen on Saturday, who assures me I should never have to go to an emergency clinic.
Whatever! They were going to make me wait a WEEK before my root canal. Perhaps if I hadn't held it back and just let myself cry at the counter on Saturday morning when they imparted that information, like I wanted to, they would have been more accommodating. Anyway, I'm playing nicely with them now because I just want the rest of the work done as soon as possible and with as little pain as possible.
Oh, but there is bad news.
Turns out that I only have "basic" dental coverage. Meaning that if I get a crown, it won't be covered. I will need to shell about $1000 out of my own pocket.
I don't really understand this. If my dentist says it's something I need, rather than something I want, why isn't it considered basic? It's not like I'm having a whitening treatment or getting braces or bonding. I'm going to have to ask some more questions tomorrow, because it really doesn't make sense to me.
So now, rather than being excited to do my taxes so I could hopefully make another payment on the student loan, I am anxious to do them so I can hopefully pay off this little adventure in dental surgery a bit sooner.
Thanks goodness that trip to NYC was already cancelled, because if I was just getting around to cancelling it now, I'd be totally bereft. As it is, our sad little alternate vacation of a couple of nights at a fancy hotel in Niagara Falls might also need to be reconsidered.
One day, I swear, this will all be over. It just seems so very far away still.
Total debt: $9990 and a bit (Interest!)
Spent today: $0
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Getting to the root of things
There's one thing that can get in the way of a budget, a student loan payment plan, and a blog all in one fell swoop. And that, my friends, is a dental emergency.
Ugh.
The pain started about a week ago. My self-diagnosis was that my incessant nighttime teeth grinding had finally gone too far and it was time for a night guard. I was being lazy about calling the dentist.
I am dumb.
On Thursday, between my bouts of ibuprofen for pain that was by then encompassing the entire right side of my jaw, I left a message for my dentist, hoping they could fit me in sometime on Friday.
Very little sleep on Thursday night.
I finally got a hold of my dentist and booked an appointment for Tuesday afternoon. It seemed a little far off, considering that my temple felt like a steel rod was being shoved through it, but I still (foolishly) believe I only needed a night guard, so a couple of days was no big deal.
Friday night I could barely function. The pain was constant and debilitating. No sleep was had.
Saturday morning I called the dentist again and pleaded. Today, I said. You must see me today. They fit me in at 11:20am.
Side note* When I used the bathroom in the dentist's office, I noticed that the single rose wasn't alone in the vase in the airbrushed picture on the wall. There were dental instruments surrounding the rose, in the vase. Very, very strange. Like, they couldn't just have art. The art had to mean something. It had to remind people where they were.
I explain my night guard theory to the dentist. He takes one look at my teeth and agrees that I need one, but says my symptoms are from something else. I blame the back molar on my top right hand side. He explains that our bodies are not good at localizing pain and that he is going to figure out which tooth is the problem by touching each tooth with a mini ice stick. I am to raise my left hand when I feel pain.
When he touches the second from the back molar on my bottom right hand side, my entire body reacts to the pain. (In fact, it continues to reverberate for about three hours after he touches it.)
Yep. You need a root canal, he says.
(Sigh. Not the first time, either. But last time I had one I was uninsured. It took me almost two years of monthly payments to pay for it.)
When the scheduling person tells me that they can fit me in NEXT SATURDAY, I fight to hold back the tears, clutching a prescription for Tylenol 3 that I believe will help me through the worst of it.
Fast forward to 7pm. I have taken two Tylenol 3s and the pain is blinding. So I call the emergency dental clinic to find out how they work and where they are located. Turns out, they are about 200 yards from my front door. No joke.
Why put off until NEXT SATURDAY what you can do today?
So the boyfriend and I eat dinner, because I imagine I'm not going to want to eat afterwards, and I head over to the clinic.
It takes roughly 20 minutes once I'm frozen. I don't feel a single thing AND I'm super calm thanks to the On-the-go play list I made on my iPod to get me through. And I come out the other end feeling like a brand new woman, wondering why I didn't just go there in the first place.
Now, they've only done the first half of the root canal, meaning the took out the evil nerve that was causing all the pain. I still have to go to see my other dentist to get it filled and get a crown or a filling. (Any thoughts on this? A crown is going to cost me $500-$600 out of my own pocket. Is it really worth it?)
The painful part, even with insurance, is the money. Here's a little rundown:
Original exam plus x rays: $60 and a bit (Charged to credit, although I'll get just under $50 of that back.)
Prescription #1: $9.99** (I used my weekly budget money for this.)
Second exam plus x rays plus half root canal: $235 (Charged to credit, but I should get a big chunk of that back.)
Prescription #2: Just under $14, but that was the prescription plus a "I just had half a root canal" treat. (I used my weekly budget money for this.)
Until I have the other half of the work done AND decide on a filling or a crown, I won't know the grand total. But I can already tell you that my next loan payment will be a bit compromised, since getting rid of the credit card debt is my first priority. (Generally I don't carry any balance on my credit card anymore. It's just not worth it!)
I'm going to have to have a bit of a "spend nothing" sort of week to make it through, but at least I am typing this without pain. Life is so annoying unpredictable for a Virgo like me!
** Even though it will save you $2 on the dispensing fee, DON'T EVER get a prescription filled at the Zellers at Lawrence Square Mall. The pharmacist will act so unsure of himself and move so slowly that it will take all of your willpower not to hop over the little gate that separates him from you and beat him senseless.
Total debt: $9850 and a bit
Spent yesterday: $14.18 (Plus I charged just under $300)
Spent today: $21.05
Ugh.
The pain started about a week ago. My self-diagnosis was that my incessant nighttime teeth grinding had finally gone too far and it was time for a night guard. I was being lazy about calling the dentist.
I am dumb.
On Thursday, between my bouts of ibuprofen for pain that was by then encompassing the entire right side of my jaw, I left a message for my dentist, hoping they could fit me in sometime on Friday.
Very little sleep on Thursday night.
I finally got a hold of my dentist and booked an appointment for Tuesday afternoon. It seemed a little far off, considering that my temple felt like a steel rod was being shoved through it, but I still (foolishly) believe I only needed a night guard, so a couple of days was no big deal.
Friday night I could barely function. The pain was constant and debilitating. No sleep was had.
Saturday morning I called the dentist again and pleaded. Today, I said. You must see me today. They fit me in at 11:20am.
Side note* When I used the bathroom in the dentist's office, I noticed that the single rose wasn't alone in the vase in the airbrushed picture on the wall. There were dental instruments surrounding the rose, in the vase. Very, very strange. Like, they couldn't just have art. The art had to mean something. It had to remind people where they were.
I explain my night guard theory to the dentist. He takes one look at my teeth and agrees that I need one, but says my symptoms are from something else. I blame the back molar on my top right hand side. He explains that our bodies are not good at localizing pain and that he is going to figure out which tooth is the problem by touching each tooth with a mini ice stick. I am to raise my left hand when I feel pain.
When he touches the second from the back molar on my bottom right hand side, my entire body reacts to the pain. (In fact, it continues to reverberate for about three hours after he touches it.)
Yep. You need a root canal, he says.
(Sigh. Not the first time, either. But last time I had one I was uninsured. It took me almost two years of monthly payments to pay for it.)
When the scheduling person tells me that they can fit me in NEXT SATURDAY, I fight to hold back the tears, clutching a prescription for Tylenol 3 that I believe will help me through the worst of it.
Fast forward to 7pm. I have taken two Tylenol 3s and the pain is blinding. So I call the emergency dental clinic to find out how they work and where they are located. Turns out, they are about 200 yards from my front door. No joke.
Why put off until NEXT SATURDAY what you can do today?
So the boyfriend and I eat dinner, because I imagine I'm not going to want to eat afterwards, and I head over to the clinic.
It takes roughly 20 minutes once I'm frozen. I don't feel a single thing AND I'm super calm thanks to the On-the-go play list I made on my iPod to get me through. And I come out the other end feeling like a brand new woman, wondering why I didn't just go there in the first place.
Now, they've only done the first half of the root canal, meaning the took out the evil nerve that was causing all the pain. I still have to go to see my other dentist to get it filled and get a crown or a filling. (Any thoughts on this? A crown is going to cost me $500-$600 out of my own pocket. Is it really worth it?)
The painful part, even with insurance, is the money. Here's a little rundown:
Original exam plus x rays: $60 and a bit (Charged to credit, although I'll get just under $50 of that back.)
Prescription #1: $9.99** (I used my weekly budget money for this.)
Second exam plus x rays plus half root canal: $235 (Charged to credit, but I should get a big chunk of that back.)
Prescription #2: Just under $14, but that was the prescription plus a "I just had half a root canal" treat. (I used my weekly budget money for this.)
Until I have the other half of the work done AND decide on a filling or a crown, I won't know the grand total. But I can already tell you that my next loan payment will be a bit compromised, since getting rid of the credit card debt is my first priority. (Generally I don't carry any balance on my credit card anymore. It's just not worth it!)
I'm going to have to have a bit of a "spend nothing" sort of week to make it through, but at least I am typing this without pain. Life is so annoying unpredictable for a Virgo like me!
** Even though it will save you $2 on the dispensing fee, DON'T EVER get a prescription filled at the Zellers at Lawrence Square Mall. The pharmacist will act so unsure of himself and move so slowly that it will take all of your willpower not to hop over the little gate that separates him from you and beat him senseless.
Total debt: $9850 and a bit
Spent yesterday: $14.18 (Plus I charged just under $300)
Spent today: $21.05
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