About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
Read More
August 15, 2007
Eight months after they should have sent me a check for going through their credit card application offers, my mailbox was blessed with a $60 check yesterday! Half of it was for an application they’d rejected as a duplicate when it wasn’t, and the other half was for the Double Rewards they’d offered a couple years ago, but I’d given up on tracking down the card that it applied to. Yay, extra tidbit for my savings!
I keep forgetting that I’m just putting money towards paying off that loan, and that it’s only the money over and above that original amount that’s actually savings. Whatever, progress is progress.
August 12, 2007
It’s not that BoyDucky was averse to a bargain before, but he was never what I’d call a bargain-hunter. I’d gently chastise him each time we went shopping and he encouraged me to buy something I liked just because it was 10-15% off because it wasn’t regular price.
Early on in our relationship, we took a few trips to Macy’s where I introduced him to the fine art of combining clearance sales and coupons for a respectable discount of 89% or more off the original prices. His dress trousers, originally $110 came out to $15. While duly impressed, he stubbornly persisted in calling jeans at $50 a “good price” and 25% off a “good deal.” Our shopping equilibrium has become a reversal of roles: he shops sales and shares the really *good* deals with me, but until we’re married and I control the pursestrings, I won’t ask about the deals he doesn’t share. Sometimes, it’s just better not to know. My frugal soul shivers at the upheavals to come when our shopping styles collide.
In the meantime, though, it turns out that my poorly disguised sighs and barely repressed admonitions of what a REAL sale looks like actually did sink in. Our trip to Banana Republic yielded a (yes, another) black dress, it fits far better than that $10 bargain dress from my cousin, discounted to $50 and a nice emerald green top for $30. It must have been the color of the top that initially seduced me, but without telling him, I decided that I’d just return the top later on. The dress, in a Petite Small, wasn’t available online nor had I ever seen it in the stores in my area so the 40% discount just had to do. I’ve already lost two dresses and a suit, all in my size, waiting for a discount that never came, so it was time to pony up the gift card. Didn’t you know? I also like to hoard gift cards in case of shopping. That also makes the spending hurt less. š
His comment to me later? “I liked that dress a lot, it looks good on you. But I don’t know about that top.”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?”
“Well, it’s not the color, it looks nice, but. I guess it’s just not as good a discount as I’m used to seeing you get. It was only $10 off.”
Hallalujah! Either my philosophy about paying far less than retail has finally become his, or my chickens have come home to roost. Or, my roosters. Whichever is more agriculturally correct š
August 9, 2007
If you watch any movies on opening night this summer, make sure that Stardust is one of them.
It’s a perfectly amusing movie blessed with good writing and surprisingly heavy star talent that actually lends their weight to the rhythm of the movie rather than causing one end or the other to be lopsided. There are pirates, there are princes dead and alive, witches and fairy. There’ll be a young man, and young woman, and a few more where they came from, all trying to capture the same thing, if they only knew it.
It will be lovely. I assure you of this. It will be lovely, and encouraging more such well-written and creative work, if Stardust does well enough to prove to the Hollywoodian powers that be that good movies are a Good Thing. Or it won’t, but at least you’ll have had the satisfaction of a wonderful time.
I’m saddened to say that CashDuck will be closing next week. Kira has done a great job with the site, and it was certainly one of the cleanest, most user-friendly site I’ve frequented.
It’s been good times, Cashduck!
As the organizer of bridal parties and bachelorette parties in the past, I’ve always paid my way and a little more for the bride if we were going out, and for some, if not all, of the supplies involved in the party. At the time, I was also usually a broke college student as well, so I always took the bride at her word: “Please don’t get me a gift, I just want you there.” Was that a terrible faux pas? Obviously, I was both very close to the bride and very very financially stretched just buying the dress and paying for the activities so I didn’t feel terrible about being very honest about my circumstances. Now that I’m a professional, still struggling, am I obligated to swing the pendulum in the other direction, spending more than I ought just because I never have before?
The other thing is that I want to do a gift right, if I’m going to do one at all, and have passed on the gift-giving occasion in favor of a more appropriate, personal gift at a later date before. Of course, my friends and I are casual people about the gifting thing. If anything, I would rather give the happy couple a really nice 1-year anniversary gift celebrating the true date of their marriage if I can’t give but a token gift now. After all, only the three of us (and all of you!) know when they really got married, and that feels much more personal.
August 8, 2007
After I found out about my raise, I let myself daydream about all the “stuff” that money could buy. Just to psych myself out, mostly, and let myself enjoy a good laugh before I committed everything to savings. At least this way I’d get the impulse buys out of the way mentally, right?
Maybe, eventually, a Bluetooth headset to replace my existing hands-free set. I hate the hands-free I have now, because it’s all tangly and gets caught on doorknobs, trips me running from bus to train, and gets pulled out of my ear constantly, but can’t use the phone without it either. Still, it works so there’s no sense in getting a new thing to throw an old, functioning thing out. Maybe when it breaks. Not on purpose! But when it dies a natural death, I’m allowed one Bluetooth headset.
Other than that, no particular treat is wanted. BoyDucky’s birthday gift is already together, mostly, so I might want to work on our three-year anniversary gift. I owe Friend S a few gifts for Christmas, and the best friends might get something as well. Other than that? I’m good. All monies can go to rebuild that emergency cushion I’ll lose in January.
Enter: friends with weddings.
Suddenly we’re shopping shopping shopping. And lunching. And dinnering. I’ve bought more lunches and dinners these past few days than … well, let’s just say, it’s been a lot. It’s not a whole lot, but $15 here, and $20 there, eventually it all adds up.
She put down a $200 deposit on her $750 wedding dress (on sale), we’re talking about bridesmaid dresses between $150-$170 before alterations, we’re talking bachelorette party with going out and dressing up, and we’re talking multiple bridal showers. We’re talking MONEY. Holy cow.
None of the bridesmaid dresses she’s liking thus far come in junior bridesmaid sizes so we’ll have to cut down an adult dress for me. This has happened before. It’s not easy and most especially it’s not cheap. Yesterday, I wanted to contribute to her wedding dress as her wedding gift because I knew she had only wanted to spend $300 on it. Today, I can’t even afford my own dress! I know when I’m out-walleted: her parents can chip in on the rest of that dress if they’d like.
We still have our New York trip unplanned which, by the way, hasn’t been financed yet.
I don’t begrudge the time, effort and some money — this is my best friend from about the 5th grade. It’s just a little stunning how quickly the obligations and spending pitfalls open up. And how often we have to eat during these long brainstorming sessions. We’re going to be really creative and careful about a lot of things here on out, but the main things like dresses that require alterations will be costly. Any seamstresses or seamstressy advice out there?
[I can’t believe she’s really getting married and moving away really soon. Yikes!]
August 6, 2007
I didn’t go into work today on the premise that I’ve have more Ma-sitting to do, but she and Pa are off to get some of her labwork done and she doesn’t need me for that. Still, my body is rebelling so it’s a good thing I got that extra rest to ease the aches in my old bones.
Meantime, I do have some goodish news on the financial front. What? That’s what this blog is about?? š
1. My Chase rewards check came in: +$50
2. Lil Boss reimbursed me for the gifts for coworkers from Con and for my transportation: +$125
3. Lil Boss also gave me my cell phone stipend: +$50
4. The Banquet TMF rebate came in: +$7.99
I’m still waiting on:
1. 8 months overdue Cardoffers check: -$60
2. Payout from DealBarbie: -$21
3. 2 months worth of payment from Bro: -$1400
4. 4 months of loan payment: -$4000
And it turns out that the mysterious thousand dollar deposit into my checking account really was from my uncle (yay). But it’s not for me (boo). It’s for his father in law who doesn’t have a bank account. I ought to start charging transfer fees if they’re using me as Western Union! How does MsMini’s Money sound? Oh, kind of like I want to just TAKE their money, huh? Let’s not explore that further. š
