Potluck Dinner (Fail?)

My roommate hosted a party last night, and man... sh*t's expensive! I think I grossly underestimated the costs involved, and unfortunately didn't budget nearly enough. I spent $50 on food, and L spent $50 on alcohol... for a POTLUCK dinner. As in, the kind where other people are supposed to bring everything. We were so worried about not running out of anything that we ended up WAY overprepared. Some of the food we didn't even put out because we forgot we had it, and didn't need it anyway.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the party was awesome and so much fun! I liked playing hostess, it was really fun to have everyone together and make sure everyone's happy and full and having fun. I don't really regret it at all, but I do regret the bill a little bit. I sorta wish I hadn't spent so much! But I guess, a lesson was definitely learned.

What kind of holiday shenanigans are you guys up to?

It's nice being Santa

I took your suggestions and went for the Lego's. I agree, Lego's are awesome because you can build, play, and be creative too. I got the boy to go in on it with me, and he picked up a pair of PJ's for the kid too. Camo, because he said if he was a seven year old boy he'd like camo the best. It was too funny though- they only came in Small Medium or Large sizes, not numbers. We were confused so we had to ambush some poor woman and ask her what size she thought would fit a seven year old kid. As luck would have it, she also had a seven year old, so she gave us the right advice. Except then... she wouldn't leave. She followed us around regaling us with tales about how the jeans she buys are always too long, and how her son is growing so fast, and on and on and ON! I mean, really? I don't know you, stop being awkward! Haha.

Anyway though, now the presents are given, and I hope that my kid is happy Christmas morning. :)

Charitable Christmas Giving :)

When I was a kid, my family always did one of those charity Christmas gifts for kids in need. We always really loved it and we would help my parents pick it out. I haven't ever done one on my own, but this year is my year! I got an "Angel" from the Salvation Army. I picked a 7 year old boy who wants either footed pajamas, Legos, or a Tonka RC car for his gift. I thought this was a good list cuz I can get any of these things, but it's turning into such a production! Some of the stuff is hard to find, and I'm so flipping indecisive that I can't narrow in on a gift. I wanted to get him a basic Lego building set, but what if he already has that set or something? Also what if he really needs PJs? Ack! And so, faithful readers, I turn to you.

If you were a 7 year old boy, what would you like best?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey everybody! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was pretty good. The boy came to Philly to visit with my family for the first time, and I (successfully) attempted to make a Martha Stewart pie. Not something I think I'll make into a habit though... so complicated!

Today the boy and I went shopping for Black Friday, mostly just cuz we were bored. I only bought a necklace at Old Navy for 7 bucks, so no insane spending spree for me. Today was only the second time I've ever been out for Black Friday, and neither time seemed that crazy to me. Granted, I went in the afternoon, but I've never seen things as crazy as the stories you hear. Maybe I should go at like 4am next time, what do you think? Haha.

After shopping, we had lunch at Friendly's, one of my favorite restaurants that my family used to go to when we were kids. Have you guys ever been? The boy never heard of it before, apparently they don't have it in the Midwest? That's just craziness, is what that is.

The Eye Doctor Lies

Apparently the eye doctor I went to last year was out of network!! They were recommended to me by some people in the department-- last time I take recommendations from people with money to blow. I almost hyperventilated last year when I saw I needed to pay almost $500 for new glasses and a year’s supply of contacts. Now I know why it was so high— I was getting such tiny reimbursements compared to what I could have gotten in-network! Apparently when a place says "Sure, we take your insurance" that means they can take your insurance for one tiny part of the process and that's it!! It’s like a trick. Good thing I at least learned my lesson and checked it out better this year. It was mildly annoying to go to a new eye doctor, but it totally worked out in the end... a year's supply of contacts for 70 bucks, baby!

Gail's Recommendations

I'm bored right now, or just avoiding doing work... you know how it is. So anyway, I was playing around on Gail Vaz-Oxlade's website and I found the following recommends for where your income should go. I figured out how much I should be spending for each of the areas, and calculated how much I really am spending. I'm not that far off at all!

Income: $1,245
Housing: 35% $435.75
Debt: 15% $186.75
Life: 25% $311.25
Transportation, 15% $186.75
Savings 10% $124.50

And here's what I'm doing:
Income: $1,245
Housing: 32% $400
Debt: 22% 270
Life: 26% $325
Transportation, 8% $100
Savings 12% $150

The only really negative thing is that I have a bit too much debt for how much I make. But I make up for it by having really low transportation costs, so I think *maybe* it's alright. Good things are I save more than 10% and I'm right on target with the housing and "life" categories!! I think it's pretty cool that I never did one of these tests before making my budget, but I'm doing it right.

Let's take a second to define Impossible, please...

In our group meeting this morning with our supervisor, everyone was talking about how everyone has student loans in grad school. My supervisor was literally like “It’s impossible to live without them. There’s no way you can live off of a grad student’s salary.” And I’m sitting there thinking... um, I do? I mean, I’m not saying it doesn’t suck and it’s not hard and annoying, but it is possible. You can't just blow it off without even trying. It’s just funny to think, once again, how I come from a different place than these guys. They can't even imagine living off of what we get paid, so they think that no one can. Their lifestyles have always been more expensive. But you know what, I’m super proud that I’m not taking out a single loan to get through grad school. AND I still have money for a new car and to travel and all that awesome stuff. AND I will still have money for that later when they are paying off loans. And less stress to boot! :-P