Savings log - 3$ + 40$ for a DRP.
Spending log - 2$ coffee + milk, 8$ lunch at the hideout, 25$ bubble bath & bath salts.

The "fashion show" was a total hoot. The costume of our manager (a woman) placed 5th out of 12. The COO won. You have to give it to the guy willing to wear a flouncy dress and vogue to Nelly Furtado. The best part was the shell-shocked look of one celebrity judge. Her open mouthed shock on several of the costumes said it all.

I don't know whether I've blogged much on my hideout. If you know Seattle or want to know Seattle, my hideout is a small Vietnamese restaurant with a counter and 10 tables at the Pike Market two doors north of the proudly self-proclaimed "1st Starbucks". :P As I was walking past that freakin' Starbucks, I had to trip over the mob of 20somethings excitedly snapping away with camera phones at its front door. Retail tourism - eew! Not only are we getting hounded by buying stuff, now we're supposed to be excited about taking the historical tour of the retail shop that forced you to buy the stuff?

Thankfully, the tilapia pan-fried in ginger and chili made up for it.

Many thanks for the comments on my list! I did alter it slightly. What I meant with the vodka comment was a dig at a vodka martini, not vodka drinks in general. I sometimes consider a Bloody Mary a health drink; a Virgin Mary is just a V8, right?

Loved Fern's comment about the items being character studies. I was aiming for that effect, or if spoken, a bit like a Laurie Anderson piece. Sometimes a good sentence is a short story.

The ghost in the house generally popped the door leading to the upstairs, and would produce a cold breeze, even in summer with a hot attic. I got the description from my mom. I always slept too soundly to get a peek for myself.

spending log - 2$ coffee & milk, 5$ tuna sandwich + sun chips

I was warming up for gym today, and I managed to work off about 110 calories, or one of those little mini almond joys I ate last night.

It got me thinking. Does shopping for things early really save you money? Take Halloween, for instance. If you buy your bags of candy early and on sale, what do you have? Bags of candy that will torment you and tempt you. You sneak eat one, two, several... and then you have to buy more bags of sale priced candy. Or worse, you think, geez do I have enough? Buying early gives you more time to second guess what you buy...and buy more "just in case".

I know that that's what happened to me for Christmas. I buy early and then I think "I like that...one for me and one as a gift." So suddenly you buy two, when you should buy one or none. Or you put your gifts in the super-secret hiding spot...so secret that you forgot where you put the gift...so you buy another gift. Or the gift that was a great idea in July, but you look at in November and think..."so six months ago." Or what if they have one already?

I know I'm an odd duck around here, but somehow I prefer to buy my gifts during the last 2-3 weeks before Christmas, buy them quickly, and mail them out. If I make some gifts like a jam or something - I make a couple dozen and of one thing and that's it. I probably spend a bit more, and sometimes I miss the deadline. (I have my line for this - C'mon, when do you really, really need a gift? Yep - not Christmas, but the second week of January.) But I don't buy the second gift. For me, the second guessing gets me in the end.

Call me scrooge.

Tonight, I finished the last 4 almond joys. Halloween 2006 is over. Thank G%d!

Every so often, I read the Millionaires in the Making column on CNN, and I've glanced at the pfblog to see how he's doing.

At first glance, they both depress the hell out of me. Nothing against them, but saving a ton of money when you make a ton of money ain't that hard. I mean the worst problem is the I-make-a-ton-therefore-I'm-brilliant and-I-deserve-it spending that you would have to quell. But really now, saving 25% on a combined salary of 145K still leaves a combined salary of 108K.

Yeah, I think I can live and save on that.

I'd be more impressed if they lived and saved on a combined salary of 60K, which is what DH and I make. And I have saved about 30% of my take home salary. (Not this last year - gym ate that, its about 12%.)

Every so often The Motley Fool trots out an update on their Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth column, which usually cheers me up. It just means that I'm going to have to live for a long time. I throw the link out to cheer whomever needs the cheer.

This morning the bus passed by a dark, closed up node of Scottrade, downtown on 3rd & Union. Wonder what happened there?

The gym has come through. The Halloween costume will be spectacularly good.

Counted a lot of money and pledges today at a company. Tomorrow our department has work!

That is, if the chiropractor cashes the check as soon as he gets it, and with the new banking rules about floats (there are none) you've got to assume it. Its as close to zero balance checking as I care to come. I did put 300$ in savings so I wasn't at the edge of my budget and I have 30$ in my wallet, so I can easily survive tomorrow and Tuesday's payday.

I just got caught up in spending this month. Sigh.

My gym will come through with the rest of my costume Monday, but I did get a black long sleeved top just in case (if you get it, they will; if you don't prepare, they won't). Lately large in tops and sweaters is loose, so I gambled and won: its a medium and it fits! I also got a new medium sports bra. Tight like the large bra used to be, so I have to consider it a goal. (41.91$)

Yesterday DH picked up a buffalo chuck, so we had buffalo pot roast last night. (Montana roots, I think.) Frugal for me because DH sprung for it, but at 3.99$/lb not particularly frugal for him. Haven't seen any fantastic deals in the grocery stores here right now. November's around the corner and around here that's the time chicken stock goes for 78 cents/can.

Made stuffed grape leaves for the potluck on Tuesday. Picked up ground lamb last week at $2.99/lb. Again not really all that frugal, but for stuffing grape leaves lamb is the easiest and the most authentic.

Yesterday DH and I were watching the little trick-er-treaters on Greenwood Ave Saturday afternoon. Like a lot of other places, Halloween has undergone a shift. I picked up a bag of candy in case we get a couple of traditionalists (or teenagers), but I really don't think that many little kids trick or treat on a week night anymore. Too dangerous, too little return.

It was a blast watching all the little tykes dressed as frogs, queens, Star Wars characters (to the Darth Vader with the plait hanging down the back - you go girl!), superheroes, t-rexs, princesses, sports stars, playing cards, monkeys...its a great irony that we adults allow our children to be creative but as adults - and adult women especially - costumes are narrowly defined, generally on the wench line. Its like we say to kids be anything to have fun, but to an adult be sexual to have fun.

Gym class: the trainer demonstrated and asked me to lie down and chest press an iron bar. I could do it, but after about few repetitions I asked how heavy it was. "Two more reps, and I'll tell you", she said.

It was 45 pounds.

Before lunch, my DJ coworker/friend (whom I wrote his bio and who discovered this blog) asked me if I would write more content for his startup Internet radio station. I'm excited about this as I agreed that I would, but boy, oh boy, I have noooo idea what to charge, what favors to ask, or even what I got myself into.

As I was walking home, I realized a deep irony. During the day, he works for me; at night, I'm going to be working for him.

The 24K finally made it into ING, the 6K for the bed/trainer made it as a payment on the credit card. According to my checking account, I'm newly poor and naive again.

$4 in the tip box.

Still crazy at work, but at least the water feels like its at my chin rather than just under my nose. I got two little hershey bars yesterday in a mysterious way; it turned out I had helped one of the temp staff and in gratitude she had left the candy bars...but then her co worker said, "Why did you do that? She just dropped two dress sizes!"

Trust me, in a day or two of sustained craziness I'll be thankful that I can self medicate under the desk.

It leads me to my rant - once in awhile. You've got the routine and then you have the special purchases and treats to keep you on routine. I've got to keep track of those once in awhiles. If it was like the cheeseburger last Friday, after 10 months that was a good once in awhile. Perhaps it was a little long once in awhile, but that made it even better.

Its the once in awhiles that are actually once a week that will kill ya. Worst, if you have many once in awhile treats that you kind of mix it up with to keep the rewards fresh, you can make a once in awhile treat come up every few days.

Somehow, if once in awhile turns out to once every couple of months (8-12 weeks) that seems to work well for me. And then multiple treats should come up once a month or so.

So DH and I, in our Saturday morning wanderings, went to Denny's this morning. It took me several minutes of reading and flipping through the glossy pictures of cutesy named dishes before I found what I really wanted--

The Original Grand Slam - 4.49$

It was in tiny print, no picture, an after thought. I remember many moons ago when two of everything (a Grand Slam) was a serious plate of food, even for a college student, and it got a picture and good billing. It was enough for anyone, and it was a feast. Now? You're a cheapo and on a diet.

No wonder why we are all fat and in debt.

DH went even further - he ordered a senior omelette. It's a big step; he's at that sensitive age. Pretty soon the pride will drop even further and he'll be asking for the senior discount. Pride ebbeth before frugality.

Denny's was very close to the grocery where I got the tuna rain check, so I cashed in the tuna rain check, carefully checking with a free cashier that this was the right tuna. You can't be too lax with the details.

6 cans of tuna - 3$.

Bought another long sleeved knit top at the thrift store - 2$.

Friday - not much happened. Thursday night I was restless, but it wasn't the coffee particularly that kept me up. See a few paragraphs below.

Finished DJ friend-co/worker write-up for his website Friday night. I had a lot of fun with it and turned out well - he had a lot of material, had lots of sentences. It was just a job to polish the sentences (keeping his style), get rid of the "well duh" phrases and connect them into coherent paragraphs. It took maybe 4 hrs. I've got to think about doing more of this - its a blast and I might just as well get paid for it. I'll put the link on when I get it.

Friday night DH and I went out to get burgers. Had a cheeseburger for the first time in 10 months. $5.95

Put 40$ in a DRP.

Saturday DH taught me a frugal trick of his own. Instead of parking meters, Seattle has parking stations - a whole block is marked off, and at the center of the block is a little pay station where you pay for a ticket with the expiration time and a sticker to stick the ticket to the sidewalk-side of the window. The ticket has a sentence that I've never noticed before - the ticket is transferable. DH and I had several errands around town. DH added a little extra time and we just drove with the same sticker and parked in our spots. Very clever - once you came back to the old parking meter, you couldn't get your change back.

Now for what made me restless. I have a crush on a man. It feels like the classic - a bolt of lightening, although I should have known it was coming - I've been bubbly and receptive for weeks. Flirty jeans are good, but come on... I don't know whether its requited, and since I'm married, its moot. In a weird, weird way though, I'm laughing as I write this: crushes are very frugal if you don't act on them - no dates, no diseases, no come-downs. (if you do act on them - the cost of divorce will kill ya!) At least its not a workplace one - you have to grit your teeth about those and ride them out.

Nice quiet day at work - did the data intensive project today (the type that distractions are very unwelcome). Still have a couple more updates before I'm really ready for the months to come.

Sent off the passport and renewal application by certified mail. Since I won't need the passport for at least another year, I should get a new one back in eight weeks.

My 30K CD is maturing at the end of this month. I'll double check the APY on the next leg just in case, but really my plan is to put 6K of it on the credit card (bed and the next set of personal training appointments) to pay it off, then put the rest into a simple Vanguard index fund. Come January of 2007, the maximum goes into a Roth IRA.

Had a chiropractic appointment today - next week I'm down to one/week, which will free up another 20$/week. I asked him what he meant yesterday. He was still cagey, but promised that he would do something for me "legally". I said that I have to keep my clothes on.

No sense pushing anything. Let people give you a gift and be modest, grateful and appreciative if they do so.

Put 6$ in the tip box.

Had a chat with the chiropractor. Week after next, I'm just going once a week. One $40 check drops to $20.

Glancing at a before and after diet commercial, I realized how incredibly frugal I am. Everyone else in these commercials is wearing the great condition fat pants, sticking their thumb out from the waist to show how big the pants are. Dammit, I'm wearing my too big stuff until it falls apart (or it falls off - hah hah). No one's getting me to pose in perfectly new usuable stuff. Besides, everything's incredibly comfortable and easy to get on.

Put the $7.45 from this week's T-bill into ING.

Put $10 in the tip box, sent $40 to my MMM drip.

Just a weird thing I've noticed. I write $40 checks the chiropractor, and $40 checks to one of my Drips, and I take out $40 in cash when I go to the ATM, and when my tip box gets to about $40 I'm thinking its time to stick it in the savings account.

It makes my online banking reconciliation a bit cryptic. Just what is this $40 for, anyhow? And what is it about two twenties, anyway? It must be my breakpoint, when I think something is cheap vs. expensive, or at least if its $40 or under, I don't complain about it to DH.

Put $6 in the tip box. Got a lot done at work today.

Retired the Larry's entries from my price book. My local Larry's is all chained up. Word has it that it'll be an Asian food superstore, a bit like Uwajimaya.

The trainer was very happy to hear about the 2 sizes down and that I was in shape enough to hike for 6 hrs and be comfortable.

"You have to celebrate!" she said. "Don't be shy, tell the world. Your homework assignment is to tell at least 5 people after you leave the gym."

"But I bl--" and then I stopped. "Never mind. I will tell the world."

Honestly, it probably would be all right if I told her, but like any good journal, this blog works best as a secret inspiration.

Paid back the free coffee I got on Friday, added 3$ to the tip box to replace some of what I took to make it through Friday. I could have made it one more day without getting money, but a girlie emergency caught up with me. Tampons are way more expensive downtown than they are in my neighborhood. Sigh. They know.

Its weird how people will bust their butts and get all excited about a 4% raise. It is exciting, but if you save 4 pennies off of each dollar, its like giving yourself that raise.

I was talking to a mid-aged friend of mine who remembered $60/month rents, and how he joked that he was bugged when it when up to $70...all for only $10, he said. What do you mean? I said. You should have been bugged - that's a 16% increase. Man, that's an accountant's answer, he said.

And why save a dime per pound on 99 cent potatoes. Yeah, sure that's a dime, but that's also 11% savings.

Well, it's a lot easier to get into the frugal mindset and easier to rationalize your purchases if you calculate your savings in percents.

As far as gym is concerned - 0%. I lost a pound, gained .5% of bodyfat, lost an inch on the waist and chest, gained an inch on my arms and legs. Considering I punked out on eating and exercise for 2 weeks, I dodged a bullet.

Found a quarter sitting on an empty bus seat this morning as I was leaving. That was a good sign for my first day back to work. Best haul I've had in a year or two. Mostly I find pennies and dimes.

And it was just in time, too. Vacation just breeds spending opportunity. If you work on an outside job, you have little time or opportunity to spend. I was okay with not buying lunch, but it seemed like everyday I was shelling out bucks for printer cartridges or a bed or a sheets. Good deals, but the best deal of all is 0$.

Shoveled out 155 emails and went through my day. Caught up with the groom from the second wedding I attended (the couple who got four personal finance books) - we hadn't talked for about 6 weeks. Most of my department is getting back from various vacations, so very soon we will be at full strength.

Got my other habits in order. My back was stiff, but the chiropractic adjustments seemed to hold, even with two weeks on the air mattress and couch. The personal trainer threatened measurements tomorrow. Got the footlong sandwich so I have lunch today and Wednesday - got the special for 5$, so it would be $2.50/lunch. Tomorrow I have lunch with lawyer friend (before measurements). I should finish the month with $60 in my checking account.

Savings log - 7$ tip box.
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $5.00 lunch.

On day 3 - I took down the boxes that I shoved on top of the bookcases "for just a little while" back in February 2000. It was quite a productive box - I found 2 copies of my birth certificate, a copyright form from my dissertation, and reviews of my last paper (unpublished).

Its funny - I remember the review being so awful that it was the last straw of my scientific career. When I reread it today, one reviewer liked it, the other didn't but the consensus was fix this and we'll publish.

I wasn't able to fix it (I was 2000 miles away from plants, genes, and equipment), sure, but my 40+ year old self is kicking my 30+ year old self ...why so sensitive - one person was positive, so what if the other's negative? Look at the glass as half full. It wasn't so bad.

Oh for a time machine! As if I would have listened.

And so it goes. I really feel much more optimistic and happy in my 40s than I ever did in my 30s. Just in case any of you 20+s and 30+s are reading and blogging. It might well be the level of savings above the debt gets you to sleep at night. Life is always better after you wake up from a sound sleep.

Anyway, I finished cleaning and dusting all the books. We still have slightly more book than bookcase, but less than a shelf.

Day 4 - Picked up a paper rope basket for 50% off at Cost Plus (think Pier 1, but cheaper and less kitchy) and put all of the blank office supplies in it. They fit nicely and it looks good on the floor. Fingers crossed that it'll be a good self-nagger, and we'll want to use what's inside. $13.

Got a call from sister about getting a Dell laptop. I was positive - I blog using a Dell laptop, although mine's a bit older with an older battery and the recall didn't affect me. Still going strong after 2.5 yrs.

No word on anyone interested in the second property. I consider the breather to be a blessing. I'm learning a lot on how to invest 30K and that is proving to be intense. I can't imagine handling 10X that amount all at once. Sister was interested in my 4 week T-bill buying, although I sensed that she didn't quite understand it. T-bills would work even better for her - she pays state and local taxes on interest (state of WA has no state income tax) and she would not pay that on a T-bill.

Put 40$ into one DRP and 35$ into another.

I was flush with linen closet success, so I tackled the home office and library (aka the second bedroom). DH uses it about 80% of the time and I use it about 20%, but in the last year its been running 95%/5% because the office is a total squalid shambles. Total ick. DH makes nests despite several books on organization and cleaning clutter (hah hah - teaching the organizationally challenged organization is a bit like teaching an elephant to fly), and I have to be in the pitiless, ruthless mood to do the task. Perfect: sleeping on an air mattress and the couch for nearly a week has put me in ferocious, ruthless mood. And after that blog entry about enjoying your own box - well, I've been in that vibe all week.

Day 1 - desk, floor, and 2/6 bookcases. My technique is pretty simple: sort into empty boxes. Clean the desk down to the wood making several piles: paper to toss immediately (including pamphlets/CDs of equipment that I know we don't have), paper to put in a pile for DH to sort, CDs and video games, computer equipment and cables. Dust the desk.

The bookcases are bit more problematic. We both love books and we have more book than bookcase, but I figure if I can dispose of 3-4 pieces per shelf (dups, outdated, bad condition, items I was given that I'm never going to re-read), I can get everything back in place. Dusting, though, is brutal!

I finished by vacuuming the floor and turning the HEPA filter on. Here's hoping that the dust on the bookcases makes it into the HEPA.

The pile technique is very useful for DH, because he can make pretty good decisions once his attention gets narrowed down to a box. He got his CDs and video games sorted and sold them at Half Price Books for 18$.

Day 2- file cabinet and 2 more bookcases. I started another box of office supplies. So many reams of paper, blank labels, blank envelopes, pads of paper, blank journals, pens & pencils, computer tools, postits, a binder or two! I've got to use this box before acting on the cravings when I'm at Office Despot.

Found Clif bars for .99/apiece at Trader Joes. Now both DH and I use them as breakfast bars. Not bad with a cup of coffee and the serving size is highly defined.

Lesson paraphrased from lrjohnsons blog -

--Aren't we nickel and diming our savings when we fail to do financial planning on what we save? Saving is one thing; making money and saving money as we make money is another, more important piece.

Its a bit like this: when we first learn to save, we're trying to pay off debt to keep from drowning; a good saver can tread water for a very, very long time, but not get anywhere; but plan your finances along with saving and you swim somewhere - the stronger the planning, the stronger and faster you'll get away from the sharks and onto that tropical island.

This is my financial plan, and I'm the first one to tell that I have plenty of holes and gaps to fill.

My finances are like a three layer cake. Layer one is lemon - the 6 month emergency fund (for when life gives you lemons). How much is easy: I count paychecks. I don't bother with expenses - if you live at or below your means, your means become a unit of measure. I get paid twice a month, $1100/paycheck, net. My final emergency fund should be $2,200 x 6 or $13,200.

The lemon layer should be lemon creme - gooey and nearly liquid, but it still should earn as much as possible. I have most of my money in ING. I like the interface and that I can move money within a day, but I've become increasingly dissatisfied with the interest rate. So I've put a little bit of it (1 months' paycheck) in a 5% 6-month CD. I'm still not thrilled with the interest rate and that its locked up for 6 months. (Interest rates have been rising, so when its locked up you get left behind) I've been buying 4-week T-bills at a bit above 5%. I have two months worth of paychecks in T-bills spaced two weeks apart, and I've made the transactions repeat. The mature T-bill gets deposited in the same spot that the next T-bill gets bought from.

Layer two is the carrot cake. Intermediate layer (5-10yrs); healthy and diversified, and as tax deferred as possible. But percents and tax deferral matter here. I figure my I-bonds are here (5 yrs), and so is my little DRP portfolio (10 yrs or so). I like my DRPs here, because I can put money into stocks, the dividends are reinvested with nearly no fees. My KO drp charges a $1 to do online purchases (2% fees for a $50 purchase - which is barely acceptable). I pay taxes on the dividends, and I plan to buy and hold, so sell only after I get the long term capital gain (these days, only 366 days), or if the stock absolutely sucks. The inheritance CD is here too, and while I plan to slot it in as intermediate money, I haven't yet finalized my plans.

I don't really have a target dollar amount here, so I don't know when to stop with the intermediate cash. I know that my lemon layer protects me against the bitter carrot bits, sour pineapple, and dry coconut

Layer three is pure chocolate. Long term layer (+20yrs); inflation, fees, and taxes are your primary concern here. I have a current 403B, an old 403B and a traditional IRA. I plan on starting a Roth in 2007; I'm also thinking about converting the traditional IRA to a Roth. I get a match, so it is like adding chocolate chips to the cake. Stocks (equities) comprise 90% of what's in these accounts, bonds 10% - I have a lot of T-bills, I-bonds, and CDs in the other layers. My concern here is that my 403B charges excessive fees, as compared to Vanguard.

Two disparate analogies - cake and swimming - just make sure you wait an hour before doing them both.

I've noticed in this last year that its not the wants/needs that destroy your frugal will, its the now. Its really not the wants/needs that you have to control, its the later/now.

For example:

"I want it (later)" means that you can negotiate a good price, think about how you can use your want, and talk yourself out of your want when you realize that it won't be used, doesn't match, not your size. For example, I bought an MP3 player in April. I wanted one for at least a year, but I figured out that I really wanted the fantastic ability to carry my entire CD collection in my pocket, and I use it every day. Its still a want, but if I use it every day for a couple of years its a treat that will work out to .33/day.

"I need it (later)" means you have time to save and you have the luxury of treating yourself by satisfying your needs early.

In both cases, the "later" gives you control.

"I need it (now)" means that you had better have planned ahead. Yikes, but things happen. Its dispiriting, but to the frugalista there is no shame.

"I want it (now)" feels you are fighting the entire credit card and consumer industrial complex, not to mention all of your non-frugal friends.

The now is the whim. The now is your friend or your family saying "cheap bastard" to you. The now is low blood sugar that you had better fix by that candy bar. The now creates its own emergency.

And all those strategies - the counting to ten, the stepping out of the store for 24 hours, the buying of loss leaders, the ordering the appetizer instead of the entree?

All shifts of "now" to "later".

One year ago today I got the surprising, shocking word that my dad had died. He had died in his sleep on the farm with plans of breakfast with his nephew, our cousin.

I wish he could have spent his money and enjoyed himself. Perhaps he did, or perhaps lots of money didn't matter to him. We were so different. I wanted to leave the farm as soon as possible and I did, not even thinking about the fresh air, the quiet, green nature, the satisfaction that comes when you are the agent of physical change. He was a shy man, not into working with a lot of people, and enjoyed the city for an afternoon...no longer. He also made a decision and stuck with it - the will we found was dated 1968. He sure wasn't like grandpa; his will came with a couple of codicils and tweeks.

Anyhow, the situation is still that one piece of property was sold, along with the insides of the house and barn, along with the farm equipment, and mom's insurance and 401K has been divided up between us. We still have the second piece of property and the buildings.

Two thirds of the proceeds are in a money market fund. Sister and I each have gotten $45K. I've put the money in CDs and ING to give me a little time to earn interest and to pace myself, but right now it seems like the fixed income places are more compelling.

Day 2 of mid to upper 90s in Seattle. This time of year Seattle is sunny and dry. Not bone dry like Tucson is, but then again even Tucson this time of year isn't bone dry. Of course no one has AC around here -- why bother for only a week or so of hot weather? -- but it means that the entire city is cranky, out of sorts, and looking for frugal ways to beat the heat. Here are my rules:

#1 - Stay away from other people. This weekend is the Bite of Seattle. At least 100,000 sweaty people, each of whom is at least 98.6F congregating in front of 400F grills and paying at least $5 for the privilege...now doesn't that sound like cool, refreshing, inexpensive fun?

#2 - linger where you know there will be air conditioning. This morning, I was figuring out whether the 2 package for 3$ special on frozen mixed vegetables was a deal. Not really. The deal came from the delightful five minutes with my head in the freezer case.

#3 - catch a second-run movie. Ah, the Crest Cinemas. $3, all times. Air conditioning, darkness, cross ventilation, and a reason to linger. It's the main reason I rarely go to a movie in March and April. I've got to save up on movies to catch in July. FYI: Thank You for Smoking is very funny. Not as funny as Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, which for my money is the funniest movie this year.

Today I bought a little lunch at the grocery store and had a little battle with the cashier. It turned out that its pricing sticker was mixed up with something a lot more expensive, and conversely the expensive thing was priced cheaply. The thing that really got me was the tyranny of the sticker by the cashier. No looking at what I actually bought, or product knowledge - just the "that's how it rung up." Forget worrying about the embarassment E - its your money.

Put 6$ in the tip box yesterday. HR warned us yesterday about possible price rises in our medical insurance.

I read this while I ate my Friday curry special. Nearly put me off my food. Kudos for the anarchists not being black hooded and smashing up stores, but I think it takes group frugality just a tad too far. And actually, group frugality and those rules just make that shared house seem like a joyless experience. Guys, the revolution has to be attractive, because to the average American, living well is the best revenge.

Put another 3$ in the tip box. Did the gym and the chiropractor. I'm getting my routine going and it feels good.

Word from sister: Sister and I are still waiting for the WiDNR final proposal. I have to remember that this is a government entity. Its not like they can just hop on an opportunity in a matter of days.

Expense check from work came $1,223.88. It includes the Nashville junket and the bowling awards. There apparently were no problems with either. YAY! It goes directly to the credit card, which along with what I would put in normally per month ($500), means that I will be only about $200 away from clearing it, even with the trainer. I felt the expense check burning a hole in my wallet, so I ran a special errand to deposit it in my bank.

On my way back, I picked up two pennies on the sidewalk right next to my bank. A guy on the street gave me the fish-eye for stopping to pick up the change.

"I run a coin rescue," I said.

Hey, if you saw an cute little kitty (forgive me kashi), you stop to rescue it, right? And that would cost money. Why not rescue a poor penny, which will increase your net worth by a few hundredths of a percent? Liberate the poor pennies from the chilly sidewalk and get them where they belong - straight into the tip jars and leave a penny trays of the world.

Food and sights...

Here's where the going got tough. What to do to satisfy three things: make frugal choices, eat in a healthy fashion, and do so in such a way that your co workers won't kill you (or worse, whisper about you back home)?

Can't say I did a fantastic job at it, but I did have a couple of principles:

1. Default drink was water or iced tea, and very rarely an adult beverage. I learned in college that it was way cheaper and far more entertaining to watch the drunk people than to be drunk yourself. I gave away one of my free drink tickets at the junket host party; that made up for the teasing I got for ordering water at the bar.

2. Since both meetings took care of lunch, that saved me a bit. Dinners I aimed for salads and food that Nashville specialized in, if nothing else for the experience. Loved the meat and three places. If nothing else I learned that fried pickles are weird but very, very good.

3. The Sights. That was really, really hard because you're either going or you're not; no frugal rates. I had to turn the frugal button off a couple of times.

My only tactic for the Country Music Hall of Fame and RCA Studio B tour was to buy the package, and get as much out of it as possible. It was fun and I learned a lot...probably not 35$ worth, but you only live once. How many times can you claim to stand on the same square of linoleum that Elvis did?

It was equally tough when we were going from bar to bar, listening to the bands. The tip jar would come out - How much do you put in? I went for generous, especially if the band was good. I figured they were working hard for the cash.

In other words, not really. I checked in, set the mini bar key on the TV where it did not move. Why bother looking if you don't want to spend?

The hotel room was lovely and comfortable and a veritable minifield of temptations that "we will just stick on your bill". A CD player/alarm had a small rack of wrapped CDs that if you unwrap, you bought. Webtv-esque Internet access at $10/hr. 2 Fiji water bottles for $4/each were sitting right beside the icebucket (Reader, after taking a stroll in 95F, I nearly fell for that one). First-run movies for 11$ - 14$. Strung from the door knob came more temptations - room service and massage service and laundry service and breakfast in bed, and even on my last day, an offer for the hotel to pack a lunch for the trip back.

Luckily, I'm a great sleeper and I stay put when I do so. I'm pretty sure I don't spend money when my eyes are closed. Unfortunately, I'm a great sleeper and I stay put when I do so, and I've been burned by setting hotel alarms. I sprung for the wake up call.

And so it was during most of frugal land last week. I had to make choices. I'm not even sure if there was a cost for the wake up call, but since I wanted to wake up, I paid the insurance. The continental breakfast coffee just wasn't waking me up one morning, so I sprung for Starbucks (3$/drip - yikes!) I came on this junket with two coworkers - we holed up one night to watch a movie, then split the payments for 5$ of fun.

But you all would have been proud of me. I looked at the fiji water, then got some ice and hit the tap water.

So getting to Nashville was a crazy adventure - a hopscotch from Seattle to San Diego to Dallas to Nashville. The Dallas connection was the crazy one, and I knew it would be crazy. In my purse went the just in case stuff: a pair of fresh socks, fresh panties, a bottle of water, 5 energy bars, 2 paperbacks, my Saturday paper, PDA, MP3 player.

The first rule of the airport is to think "prison". One checked bag, one purse, slip on shoes, no belt, no jewelry, all metal in the purse. Thankfully the metal detectors missed the underwire in the bra.

The second rule of the airport is that if you roam it with "needs" you'll spend money. The only need I should have provided for was to pack a lunch. I bought that for an uninspired $6 in San Diego.

As I said before I just made the connection in Dallas to Nashville; I had about fifteen minutes to get across the gigantic Dallas Airport. Yay for gym class. Ten minutes into the flight, though, after the relief that I made my flight came the realization that there was absolutely no way that my checked bag had made it. It tempered my relief until I realized something very important: all my clothes in that bag were at least 1 size too large, no one has seen me wear what I have on, and everything was Seattle summer-y, not Nashville summer-y. I cheered up at the thought of actually buying something.

At the Nashville baggage claim, my bag was missing, and so I stood with about 15 other people in various stages of high dudgeon, asking an airline rep to rescue their bag. One woman even threw a tantrum about her cell phone charger being in the missing bag. "That's my life they lost!" Here's a hint...if it was that big o'deal, it should have gone in the purse.

My turn with the airline rep. Many thanks to anna, jester of the bees for her customer service tips here and here that informed my tactics.

Me: Bad night, eh?
Rep (with a southern drawl): If you're here, the news is never good.
Me (low voice): To tell you the truth, I'm not that upset. You see, I've been at the gym for seven months now. All my clothes in that bag are at least one size too big.
Rep (laughing): Well bless your heart! So what did your bag look like?
Me: Carpet bag, green and kinda pink. No wheels. So I'm at [hotel]. Do you deliver? I don't have a phone...
Rep: We sure do, honey. No need for the phone, we know where that is. Do you have everything you need - toothbrush?
Me: toothbrush I have, but I need toothpaste.
Rep: Oh, let me get a little something for you...(returns with a little spa kit.)

So if you're a customer service rep, whose bag are you going to rescue first? Tantrum woman or woman with a funny story? I got my bag at the hotel by 10 am the next morning.

Had a nice quiet day today. Did a little walking to drop off an item to the library, then back, taking the brutal hill again. I'm getting used to that hill, or at least I figure that since I didn't die the first time, I'll make it this time too.

I just realized that I'm not a good medium goal setter. You'll notice I don't set any monthly or weekly savings goal, nor have I set any Xlbs in Yweeks.

I'm good at the short sprint eg. "I want to try 10 minutes at Z level on the elliptical machine", and I'm good at the long haul with a vague eg. "I just want to save as much as I can." If you ask me my number that I need to hit before I retire, or what weight I will eventually end up being, I won't be able to tell nor will I really care. I think the correct answer to "how much should I have saved to retire?" is: All of it. Or when can I stop exercising and watching what I eat? is: Never.

I'm pretty comfortable with vagueness. Comes from the scientific/academic training. Plenty silly saying to my advisor "next Tuesday I'm going to discover X"; not so silly saying "by Tuesday I will run this experiment twice". The medium goal just frustrates me. To keep at something, for me, I have to be even. Frustration, or any strong emotion, is my enemy.

Another thing that motivates me that comes from the scientific/academic training is the pleasure I get is learning something new from careful observation. I dig the fact that the bath towel goes all the way around, or that after I stretch the knots on the sides of my legs, my walking stride is longer and looser. I'm going to learn some economics and how to buy 28 day T-bills. I want to find out how that works and how much I can make.

I guess I'm putting the "P" in my personality type - INFP.

Nice lunch today with a couple of my friends, including lawyer friend who had helped me tremendously during probate. Talk turned to word on how probate was going for me and I let it slip the amount of my two advances.

Semi-big mistake.

"Gee you should be buying us lunch," and during the drive back in front of a car dealership and a next-door scooter shop "how many of those could you buy?"

All idle kidding but with a bit of an edge. They are all my friends (who all make more than I do - hah!) and if I get this from good friends, imagine what I get from my contacts at large.

I learned my lesson: vague is good.

Put another 2$ in the tip box. I'll have to take a picture of it for Jeffrey's collection. It's been nearly two years since I started moving money through the tip box; since that time I've "rescued" nearly $1000 from my paycheck to my savings. Most months I collect 40$ or so. I had a couple of hot months above 50$ and I usually take a break from tip boxing in December, for obvious reasons.

Tip boxing is my version of the change jar, and now I have my habits with it. I keep my tip box at work, because 1.) I know that DH would raid it if it was at home, 2.) the bank is two blocks away, 3.) its useful for the 1$, 2$ surprise office collections, and a fourth reason below.

My tip box is tiny (3 inches square inside) with a nice hefty lid so it doesn't hold much change. Besides, my bank is one of those that doesn't have a change machine or handles change well. So while I do throw change and 1$ bills in to prime it, what really makes my tip box work is making reverse change, and shorting myself.

I pull a pile of 6-7 ones and a wad of quarters from the tip box and replace it with a 10$. It frees up space in the box for the next round of ones and change. I never have to buy a stick of gum or something to break a bill at work, I just break one from my bank in my drawer! (my fourth reason)

After I do my several cycles of getting $1s and making reverse change for a month, I count what I have. Anything above 40$ I deposit during my lunch hour; anything below 40$ I make up from my wallet.

Then my tip box lays empty, until the clank of the first handful of change... The frugal cycle continues.

We got word that supposedly our 403B calculations would be fixed on the 15th. We shall see.

One of my groceries declared bankruptcy. Drat,it wasn't Safeway.

You might notice that the age in my bio went up a notch.

Today was a rainy day in Seattle, which I love (I'd better!). I got paid yesterday. I've got Monday off (little quirky benefit of the workplace). I worked out today. DH treated me to my favorite Szechuan place that we can walk to.

Time to get philosophical. If you can't get philosophical on your birthday, when can you? Yeah, yeah, any other day.

I've learned in these last couple of years money-wise, and in these last couple of months health-wise, some strange little paradoxes:

You may decide to transform yourself in a flash, but to radically transform yourself you have to have to use the least radical of tools - a routine that you follow slavishly. Pay yourself first; 90% of everything is just showing up.

Any purchase can be considered frugal if you can afford it, and you use the dickens out of it. Its frightening the amount of money I spent on the trainer and the gym, but to my defense, my attitude is that "I've bought it, I'm using it to the utmost." I've only cancelled twice, and my trainer has cancelled twice. I come in ten minutes early to warmup so to use the trainer's full hour. I bought her time after all.

Contentment is like peripheral vision; its never straight on. After the workout today, I waited for the bus. I walked to the bus stop in the pouring rain - which nicely washed the sweat from my hair - and as I waited in the overhang by Macy's, feeling my muscles still warm and loose, I ate a delicious breakfast bar. All my needs were met and I was content.

I had no Saturday gym appointment with the trainer and it was the second Saturday without a car, so it was DH and I entertaining ourselves on foot. After a little grocery shopping of all light items, our plan was to walk to the library and back.

Just at the other end of our block lay the first yard sale of the day. It turns out that our general neighborhood - Greenwood, in North Seattle - was holding a gigantic garage sale extravaganza, with over 100 garage sales spread out over 30 square blocks.

I'm of two minds with a yard sale. I love a great deal as much as the next frugal woman, but if you can't put it to use immediately it doesn't matter if its $1 or $1,000,000, it feeds an underlying shopping addiction. Its a bit like commending an alcoholic on their frugality if they get drunk on MD20/20 rather than the finest wine.

Anyway, I must have had a taste for the shopping equivalent of MD20/20; we hit four sales getting to the library and we had a fine time pawing through other people's stuff. I bought 2 CDs for a 1$ apiece which I've ripped to put on my MP3 player, and a Patrick O'Brian novel for .50.

But that was it - I could have bought a jigsaw, a multitude of baskets, purses, and shoes, Thucydides' Pelopenesian War, brownies for sustenance, a woven pillow, a needlepoint pillow, about a thousand VCRs, three stools - bar or step. In other words, junk I didn't need.

The visit to the library and back again for a free mocha (my 10th drink on a card) rounded out the day.

Spending log - 33$ groceries (a month's worth of breakfast bars) + 2.50$ yard sale spending + 1.50$ bagel with the mocha.