thenerdygirl: Drawing of a tea pot and mug with the text that reads first rule of tea club; never talk about tea club (Tea club)
Steph ([personal profile] thenerdygirl) wrote2015-08-12 12:08 pm

It's only Wednesday?

This week hasn’t been as stressful as I feel like it has been but knowing that hasn’t stopped me from feeling so on edge and scatterbrained the past three days. I’ve been trying to update but every time I do I feel incoherent so if this is incoherent I apologize :P

On Monday I booked the plane tickets I need for a trip I’m taking in January 2016. My friend is getting married on a cruise so I need to fly down and back from Florida which luckily I have enough air miles to do. Unfortunately I was stupid and put off booking my flight last month so I had only one choice for the departure flight which I can work with but wasn’t as good as the options I had in July so I was kicking myself pretty hard Monday. Kicking myself was unnecessary because I still have lots of time and I just need to book a hotel that will allow a later check in, which the one I’m most interested in will allow. I just have a tendency to do that when I make mistakes.

Once again I realize I really have to crack down on my spending. I know, I know. Make a budget, stick to it, stop buying shit you don’t need. Easy in theory but surprisingly hard in practice, especially since I’m still adjusting and recovering from having to make a sudden move in March this year. Since I wasn’t updating back then and have added a bunch of people since then, I’ll explain. Back in 2012 I moved into my own basement apartment where I lived alone and this year in February there was water seeping in from the exterior of my landlord’s house. My landlords checked it out, realized it had been going on for some time and that they had to do a lot of repairs so I had to move. It was really too bad because my landlords were awesome, the best landlords I’ve ever had, and I loved my little apartment. One upside was that my partner John and I decided that since I had to move it was a good time to find a place together. I had to move back with my parents for a couple of weeks but after a lot searching & viewing we lucked out. We moved into our current apartment in April, which is in a great location and came with great landlords, so it all worked out but it was a blow to my budget. I’m still trying to adjust to living with a partner and manage my finances’ accordingly. You’d think it’d be easier with someone else helping with the rent but the rent is higher than my last place so it’s not that much cheaper plus there were added expenses. Having this trip coming up is exciting but financially a bit stressful.

...that’s probably the big reason I’ve been so scatterbrained on edge this week, now that I think on it. I know it will work out and I’ve even started working on ways to make some extra money outside my job like flea markets & craft fairs but I do have to be more mindful of where my money goes.

On the upside though, yesterday John joined the gym at my work place which I’m already a member so we’ll be able to work out together. Which is good because I’ve been terribly slack with exercising this year so I’m hoping this will motivate the both of us.

Also, I finally got a chance to borrow Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley from the public library (not the university library where I work) which was great. I've been itching to buy it and resisting the urge because I was hoping one of the libraries I use would get it. It's a good read, in some ways I like better than Scott Pilgrim but I wouldn't call it better. Perhaps just as good but in a slightly different way? It's less video game based and more folklore based which was interesting. If you're a comic reader and if you liked Scott Pilgrim I'd recommend checking it out.

BTW, is anyone here is on goodreads and would like a friend? My profile is here, feel free to add me if you'd like and I'll add back.

[identity profile] drayca.livejournal.com 2015-08-12 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
So where in FL are you heading?

[identity profile] thenerdygirl.livejournal.com 2015-08-13 12:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Fort Lauderdale. It'll be my second time ever in Florida but this time I'll be old enough to remember it :D

[identity profile] drayca.livejournal.com 2015-08-13 02:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Nice. It's rare I ever head down that far south.

[identity profile] breakon87.livejournal.com 2015-08-12 07:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Budgeting is very difficult!

I really liked Seconds! I saw Bryan Lee O'Malley at the Edinburgh Book Festival last year. He was very interesting.

I've added you on Goodreads.

[identity profile] thenerdygirl.livejournal.com 2015-08-13 12:02 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, particularly the sticking to it part. Cool, that must have been pretty neat.

Thanks! I've added you back on Goodreads ^_^

[identity profile] sandysmemory.livejournal.com 2015-08-12 08:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Budgeting is so hard. My parents used to make me budget so I did that for a while till I gave up on it. So I came up with what I call reverse budgeting lol. I totaled up all my monthly spending so I knew an average of what I spent every month. Than from there I could actually see if there was any shit I bought that could cut my expenses.

[identity profile] thenerdygirl.livejournal.com 2015-08-13 12:08 pm (UTC)(link)
That's not a bad idea, might have to look into it. I think my biggest problem is I use my visa a lot and though I'm very good at making sure it's paid off each month and I get cash back on most purchases, it makes it way, way too easy to overspend.

[identity profile] sandysmemory.livejournal.com 2015-08-13 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
I used to have a card like that! I loved it and it made it so easy to spend to get the freebies which were actually helpful lol