debt diet wk 1- getting organized

My debt diet is in full swing.  I did make a purchase earlier this week but said item will save me in the long run.  Details about the purchase to come after it arrives in the mail but I'm super excited!

One thing that I need to do is set aside some extra money for random necessities since I haven't budgeted for them at this point.  I had to fix my viola bow which cost $80.  Inexpensive for the work done but unplanned for nonetheless.

Eventually I'd like to do the 50/30/20 money rule where you use 50% of your income for necessities, 30% for wants, and 20% for savings.  I'd probably use my 30% want money for credit card payments since what I want most is for them to be gone.  I'm also trying the "snowball" payment method in which you pay off your lowest card first vs. paying your highest interest card first.  I love the idea of being completely done with one credit card instead of have multiple for a longer period of time.  Experiments!

I found my old receipt organizer that I've decided to use for bills paid and it will also house my check books which always seem to get lost.  I have my NY bank but I still have an account in WI and also an investment checking account so... yes, I have 3 checking accounts, and yes, I do need all 3.

I am going to keep all paid bills in the month slots and all pending bills will live in a TBD organizer on the office desk.  I need to make a Target/BBB/Container Store run to find the organizer I have in mind.

In other news my kitchen vanity is finally getting installed today and I will be able to post pictures soon!  I love love LOVE my apartment more and more every day.

haircut time?

My hair dresser is amazing.  And amazingly expensive.  When I ask her when I should come back she says "when your hair starts looking bad" which is great for my wallet (and debt diet) since I only go once or twice a year.  I saw my lovely sister the other day and she told me that I desperately need a haircut.  I'm trying to decide how much longer I can put it off since I'm not supposed to be spending right now.  I've also thought about the possibility of going to a different stylist, but I have trust issues so the likelihood of that happening is very low.

Thoughts?

i need a pot

I have always wanted to poach an egg and haven't ever tried because various reality cooking shows make it seem so challenging.  I woke up and decided that today is the day for egg poaching!  One major issue... I did not realize that I don't own any pots.  I used a sauce pan which was my best option but this definitely made the process more difficult. I could not swirl the water around with enough speed because the sides of the pan are so shallow, the water did not completely cover the egg so it slightly cooked one part of the yoke, and the white didn't surround the yoke as much as I would have liked.   Despite my shortcomings, I was surprised how easy the process was!  Once I get a pot I might start poaching eggs every day.  Mookie loves eggs, too :)

worst. blogger. ever.

So...

I haven't done any of the things that I said I was going to do.

In fact, I may have moved slightly further away from my initial goals of working less, spending more time with loved ones, etc.

2014 is a rough year so far and I must say that it's kicking my ass.

Last year I thought I may have started getting allergies, but I wasn't sure.  This year has punched me right in the face with seasonal allergies and I've been name calling Mother Nature bad names every day for the past month.  Because I have absolutely no self control, I also basically gave myself an eye infection from itching and scratching my eyes every day causing extreme irritation.  I really thought that I had pink eye, which is yet to be fully ruled out in my opinion, but either way, I seem to be on the tail end of my eye issues.  I think that I have previously mentioned, but I'm pretty sure that I have one major, weird health issue every year (i.e. shingles, stress eczema, etc) so hopefully this was it.  I really don't think I can handle any more health issues this year.

For good things that have happened in the last 5 months:

I got a puppy!  Rick and Andrew actually got a puppy and it didn't work out for them so, I got a puppy!  His name is Mookie and I love him with every fiber in my body.  This was from the first day we got him so he's bigger now (5 months old).

Dan and I also moved to the Bronx!  I am really happy to have moved and am loving the apartment and my shorter commute.  We have tons of space, tons of conveniences around, and the animals love it!  I will post pictures once it's really cleaned up (we have no doors to the rooms yet...).

I got a promotion at work!  I am now the ops manager at CM 57th street and I have a love/hate relationship with it currently.  I still feel like I haven't gotten into a good groove yet and I am still getting to know people so even though it's been 3 months, I'm trying my best to have an open mind.

Due to my complete failure of my last goals, I'm making only one revised goal:  DEBT DIET

It's hard for me to do a complete debt diet because my job requires me to look nice and wear the current clothing and we get new clothes every month.  I can usually get away with not getting new things for a month or so but after that I am clearly not current at all.  Luckily, I work in the back so I can hide more than other managers.  

The goal of this debt diet is to reduce my credit card debt to oblivion.  I realize that if I did this until I paid my credit cards off I would probably not be able to buy anything until I'm in my 40's so I will give myself a realistic goal of 3 months.  Since it's already May 26th, I will just round to June and say that this will end August 31st, the day after my birthday.

Rules:  I can spend money on food (conservatively) and any necessities.  In addition, I can spend money on any gifts that I need to since I have a few friends' birthdays that fall within this 3 month time frame, including Dan's birthday.

I encourage anyone else to join me in my dieting!  We can commiserate together over some window shopping.

2014 goals

So I just finished reading a book titled "The Mole People."  The book is comprised of short chapters detailing the lives of the New York City homeless as told from the author's investigative perspective.

My main take away from the book is that the homeless community is just that.  A community.  Like us above ground dwellers, most "mole people" see life underground as a place they feel safe and have a group that they call their own.  A lot of people who try living above ground actually end up living back in the tunnels because it's not so judgy down there.  They have leaders, communal jobs, and don't care/ask what happened in people's pasts.  They just focus on one day at a time.  

I read an article about an apartment fire that happened earlier this week in midtown.  A woman was out on her balcony with her husband and baby to avoid smoke inhalation and was tweeting things like "Big fire in our building.  Hubby, son, and me seem safe on the balcony."

...tweeting?!?... during a life-threatening fire???????  

What has the world come to?  I deleted my work email from my phone, have been taking semi-real lunches, and trying to leave work on time every day in an attempt to do some actual life things.  Trying not be glued to my phone has definitely been a challenge especially since I use it so much for work, but I have to say that I am feeling better about it each day.  

For 2014, I want to get back to the basics and focus on foundation:

- spend more time with the people I love 
- get off my phone/computer and be present... be awake
- not worry about other people and spend more time focusing on myself and my happiness

Happy new year, everyone!
MK

I struggle with consistency

It's been a very long while since I've written.  Since my last post, here are a few highlights:

1.  I played a solo (actually duet) with an orchestra!  It was so much fun and I feel so lucky to have been asked to do something like that.  I was also really excited because my mom came into town to hear it!

2.  Went to Puerto Rico with Dan, Rick, and Andrew.  It was lots of fun and I highly recommend staying in old San Juan if you are traveling there.  One of Andrew's friends lives there so he nicely volunteered to be our tour guide for the week which was a special treat.  Just thinking about it makes me want to be back on vacation.

                              

3.  Celebrated Dan's 30th Birthday!  Ice cream cake and a new espresso machine!

4.  Left my CBUS store in the beginning of July and transitioned to being the Operations Manager at the SoHo location.  Going into a strictly operations role has been very different and so far and a major challenge for me.  That being said, I'm learning a lot and am excited for things to come.  Look at the cutest card one of my girls gave me!  There is a real kleenex glued to the front!

5.  I went to the Lake Placid Chamber Music Festival last week.  It was very nice being there and I remembered how much I love violin and miss music.  I took a month off of playing because I worked for about 30 days straight, 14 hour days.  I think this going back and forth with music will be a struggle I'll have to deal with for the rest of my life.

6.  Jackie and I went to Toronto for work earlier this week for an operations workshop lead by the manager at Bloor Street.  She was amazing and I got to share some of my best practices with her team as well as pick up a few good ideas that I'm excited to implement when I go back to work tomorrow.   Jackie and I also got to play tourist and did some relaxing time as well.  :)

random injuries are no fun

I have had a history of odd illnesses (tendinitis/carpal tunnel, shingles, random saliva gland removal) and 2013 wouldn't be the same without a debilitating injury!

Inflamed/slipped disc/pinched nerves happen randomly and are very painful.  They cause you to not be able to walk, cry in front of your district manager, have to wear flat shoes all the time, and take a hiatus from practicing viola instead of playing more because you have a concert coming up.

I've been seeing a great chiropractor 3 times a week and haven't felt better!  I am resistantly taking this as a wake up call that I am getting older.  I started working out before all of this happened (which, Dan thinks caused my injury), purchasing an exercise ball, resistance band, and free weights.  I was really excited about getting in amazing shape for my Puerto Rico adventure in May and be in overall better shape.  Unfortunately, my exercise has sadly been toned down to stretching/physical therapy style exercises.

I'm also on a new diet:  low carb, low fruit, low sugar, low red meat, low dairy.

At first I was extremely depressed about this whole thing, but it's actually been ok so far.  I've been paying much more attention to my eating habits and making sure that I'm eating fish, chicken, and lots of veggies.  I don't know how this happened but at some point, I stopped eating veggies and didn't notice.

Revamped 2013 goals- be healthy.  be smart about being healthy.  eat vegetables.  stretch a lot.

And for your viewing entertainment, here is Sangria, being the best kitty in the world: