Vibrant.(Still) Unrepentant. Badass. Old. Queer

Good Morning, Kittens! In these troubled economic times, we are all looking for ways to save money ... especially those of us who are part of that wonderful 6.5%. So, here's a little mantra that I have learned to repeat often to myself: "Starbucks is Expensive" Yes, their grande caramelmochafrappalattaccinos are delicious, but they are (repeat after me) expensive. And not worth it. Srsly. I used to go to Starbucks daily. And would regularly drop $4-5. If I wasn't getting the grandenonfatnowhipcaramelmochafrappalattacinoextrahot, I was buying the grande drip coffee (cheaper!) and a piece of lemon poundcake (suddenly, not so cheap). Now, let's do the math (because you know how much I *heart* the Mathematics): $4-5/day x 5 = $20-25/week $20-25/week x 4 = $80-100/month $80-100/month x 12 = nearly $1200/year. Do you know what you can buy with $1200? MY MORTGAGE! or this: or 150 of these: or 4oo of these: So, what do you do??? I'll break it down for you ... You buy...

... and we're *all* invited ! AND, I'm bringing the Money-Infused Vodka! I am neither poor nor overwhelmed by staggering debt; however, my current income is not covering my outgo, which, if the situation continues, could lead to heart-stoppingly staggering debt. And, no one wants that. Prior to the beginning of the Unfortunate Unemployment, I kept a meticulous budget ... using a very basic spreadsheet. It looked like this: Notice (after you click to embiggen) that the unchanging payments (mortgage, co-op fee, student loan, etc.) are at the top, followed by variable expenses (groceries, entertainment) and I spend a heckuvalot of money at Whole Foods and the likker store. Also, notice that I put a constant -yet small- amount of money in savings every month. Pay yourself first, kittens. That needs to be said again: Pay. Yourself. First. Kittens. Srsly. You are worth it. Now, let's take a look at a During the Unfortunate Unemployment budget: Uh? What? "There's nothing ...

Y sent me a message this morning about some sort of wine-tasting that UMD Graduate Programs (?) is hosting. The event includes tasting five (5!) different wines, guidance from a wine expert, and horse doobers. Afterwards, there is a cash bar. Cost: $25. I responded that, while it sounded like a fun event, we could have our own wine tasting (sans the wine expert) for considerably less. AND, we could do it naked (if we so desired). Naked Wine Tasting. I think it's going to be the Next Big Thing .

Something has gone horribly awry with my budget. I don't have a copy of my budget here at work, and not being able to work on it to figure out why my budget and my bank account are not in positive alignment is totally stressing me out. *deep breaths* I currently don't have enough cash in my checking account to cover my monthly bills. This is usually not the case. I will have to transfer money from my savings, but I want to know why this happened. I'm thinking the problem is either a) rather than charge it! I used more cash than usual or b) somewhere there is a spreadsheet error in one of my budget columns. It's a good thing my sewing class check got lost in the mail, because in a few days, it is going to magically transform into rubber. Alchemy is COOL . I will not be taking the sewing class this summer. The financial hatches are about to be battoned.

Robins Candy-colored trees Vernal Equinox These are the signs of Spring, for some. Me? I have been too heavily influenced by my upbringing to rely solely on these signs from nature. For me, Spring has truly begun with the celebration of one of the most important events of the year ... The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour, the Shirtless Soccer Player. Yea, verily I say unto you, the first Shirtless Soccer Player was spotted yesterday evening at approximately 6:30PM. And, there was much rejoicing. Spring has SPRUNG! *schwiiiiiing* Meanwhile, on my way to my departing neighbor's happy hour in beautiful, happenin' downtown Silver Spring, I stopped off at Border's to buy Mika's CD, Life in Cartoon Motion . I know. I'm overbudget for March, but I blame GayProf and Scott-o-Rama , who won't shut up about (or quit stalking) Mika. Fortunately, I could use some of my Borders Rewards Certificates. So, technically, I paid $1.54 for the CD [or $1,001.54, if you want to i...

Hm. March was not as kind to me budgetarily as February. Alas. I figured that, since it *is* my birthday month, I deserve to treat myself. Today, I bought these from the site I linked to earlier: Cute Belt in Orange Cute Wallet in Purple Love me. Love my things made out of recycle juice boxes! AND, I decided to make pasta salad for Meat-Free Monday. AND, buy myself some nice chocolate. Even though I have no money left in the budget. That's what savings are for :-) The pasta salad consists of tri-color twisty pasta, crumbled feta, kalamata olives, and grape tomatoes, with a dressing made from lemon, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Hopefully, it will be YUM. Photo forthcoming (after it chills for a bit in the fridge): Verdict: Hm. It needs to be colder, and probably could use a bit less feta. but other than that. not bad.

An important tax advisory, for you, my nearest and dearest kittens: Did you know that if you make less that $52K Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), you can e-file for FREE? YES! FREE, KITTENS! No, not free kittens : Follow the links on the IRS webpage . Do it. It's FREE. Be careful though, because the companies will try to get you to pay for something , like filing state taxes or loan shark-esque "rapid refund" programs. Don't do those. Do the FREE stuff. FREE. I am getting back a rather healthy refund. YAY. It will pay for my laptop, allow me to put a chunk into savings, and maybe even pay to get some art I bought framed. *woot* I have also answered all but one of my email responses and paid my co-op fee. I have been Mr. Productive! Love me! Worship me! Give me free booze. Oh. Get this. I was reviewing my budget for the month of February (which is one of the handy things about keeping a budget: I get to see where I am spending my money), and I only went to Halo once this m...