Health Insurance

“The only difference between rape and seduction is good salesmanship.” @funnyjoker

I had to go to the Doctor today and I do not have insurance. My lack of insurance is due to my choice to go back to school taking 24 credits and working part-time. The company I work for does not offer health insurance to part-timers and the government does not offer healthcare to a single college student who is working. I figured I was in good health but my acne was starting to affect my personal and professional life. I have overactive glands and I have to take medication for it which sucks and makes me feel like I am disgusting all the time. Anyways, I spent $80 for the Doctor Visit which was surprising and $32 for the medications. Not Bad. I really want to start on Accutane but the medication alone is $200 a month so I will put that off until I have insurance again between October or the beginning of the year.
I feel kind of stupid and irresponsible now for not having insurance but I thought with my degree my life would get a little better financially.

Splurging on Comics

Okay I went to Atomic-Comics and bought $17 worth of reading material to get me through the weekend. Atomic Comics was having a huge sale and I could not miss it. I was planning on going to Scottsdale to see Cevin Key of Skinny Puppy spin with my fav DJ Plastic Glitter but $20 is a lot to pay to dance. Plus I have not been to Scottsdale in 3 years because bad things happen there and I would have to drive almost 2 hours to get there. Money wise I am doing fine, I am saving and am hoping to move in the next couple months without breaking the bank with all my trips involved. I have been thinking a lot about how I was raised finically and also how my friends spend there money. I really think I should analyze other people’s spending habits in order to understand my own. I will work on those 2 things this weekend.

....

I cheated today and bought coffee, it was so yummy. I did not buy Starbucks but instead Quicktrip fat free cappuccino which was only 99 cents and worth every penny to me. I could of used that dollar towards bills but you have to live once in awhile right? So, I have not had enough motivation to make money with supplementary stuff other then my job. I was also thinking and there is a movie I really want to finance which may deter me from my first million or it might actually make me my first million. I think once I finish school in a couple weeks I will think about this more closely. Right now I have to concentrate on re-evaluating my life, prepare to move again and entering the workforce full-time again.

Staying Positive

Okay, I am trying to keep a positive attitude but its hard when you look like crap. I went to get my hair cut after work because my hair was growing out like a shaggy dog and now it looks worse then it did before. I blame that on the $10 cut I got. I usually spend between 40 and 60 just for the cut. I did get my hair cut last time for $10 and she did a good job but this time it was busy and she was rushing. What’s worse is that it is unfixable. I will admit that I have had $60 cuts turn out like crap but I was comfortable enough to tell them and they would fix it for free. I am not comfortable telling the $10 girl. So I have to deal with it or find another way to squeeze a salon expense into my budget.

Necessity?

I am now noticing there are things I need (need not want) that I am certain I am going to go without. I will be moving soon and I do not have a bed, TV, or couch. Do I really need a TV? I have a laptop and I can purchase an inflatable mattress for $20 which I think I am going to do. I am having a hard time not buying clothes. I feel I need pants for work really bad. I might go try to trade in clothes that do not fit me anymore to get pants. Huff, this is getting hard.

Then I think to myself, do I really need these things? It is just stuff. I still have over 100 DVDs that I do not watch and shoes which I do not wear. So, I went through my DVD’s and made a sell pile and I also went through my clothes and made a sell pile. Besides the money part, this will be good because it will be less stuff for me to move. I am sad tho because I am going to miss my movies.

A Cheap First Friday

I managed to go out and have fun on a Friday night in Phoenix and only spend $14. The $14 was spent on food and drink. I could have spent less on food but I really wanted to go to a place and sit down, not stand up. I spent $5 on drinks and I did this by buying 2 small bottles of morgan and jack, you know the Barbie bottles, at Circle K for $4 and a fountain drink. I went to First Fridays in downtown Phoenix which was free and saw a whole bunch of cool bands and cool art for free. I was EXTREMELY tempted to go to tranz down the street but that was a $7 cover charge then really expensive drinks once you get inside but I resisted temptation by wearing really uncomfortable shoes. I walked for about 3 hours around First Fridays that my feet hurt so bad that I had to go home. I did not end up at home though, my good friend Karen let me stay at her place so I could save on gas :-) Now on to Saturday….

Hobbies can make you money

I am very thankful that my crafty talent has made me money in the past my only problem is that I do not have the proper equipment or materials half of the time to work. I just finished up 2 corsets a couple of weeks ago that the people have been waiting on for about 6 months. It took me so long because most of it I hand sewed which is time consuming plus school is distracting.

Right now I am going through my stuff trying to get organized and seeing what I can sell. I think I am going to use the money from what I sell to buy a new sewing machine and serger, maybe even a dress form. This way I can try to do some more Steampunk clothing since that is what is selling right now. Anyway, I do not have much to sell and what I should be selling I don’t want to. For example, the shoes above, I love these shoes! Are they functional? No. Do I wear them a lot? No. Can I get twice as much as what I paid for them? Probably but you have to admit these shoes are awesome and everyone must have a pair. These Penthouse Leopard print Wedges were not an impulse buy, I thought about buying these shoes for a month and worked an extra half a shift at work to buy these shoes and they might be worth MORE in a few more years when I grow wary of them. I am keeping them.

How I made it through Comic-Con cheaply.

I need to mention how surprised I was to make it through comic-con so cheap, I did not spend nearly as much money as I thought I was going to spend. I thought I would break it down and explain how I did it.

Membership (3 days)
$90
Hotel (room share 4 nights)
$160
Food/Drink (total estimate)
$150
Gas (AZ to CA and back)
$60
Transport (3 days for trolley)
$15
Stuff
$10
Total
$485

I know I could have done it cheaper. I wasn’t supposed to be even paying for a Hotel but that’s another story. I was lucky enough to find people wanting to share a room for $40 a night. I thought I would buy more stuff while at the convention but every single day I walked out of there with a bag full of free stuff which was awesome. I could have spent less on food and going out drinking but I thought since I wasn’t buying anything at the convention might as well have fun! I go to Seattle in September and will be spending less then this.

Need to save before investing

I am wary about blogging about my budget so I think I am going to refrain about mentioning my income and bills. I will say that my rent and car insurance are going up dramatically due to me moving from out in the middle of nowhere. My gas and food cost should be going down but it will not even out. Okay, here are the things I need to give up or cut back on:

COFFEE every morning I buy the 1.49 cup at circle k. I know that is not that much but I can buy a can of coffee for $5 and make it at home which is inconvenient for me but that $5 can lasts a month. Also, I used to get starbucks every morning which is just stupid.
WATER I buy water which is free but my work took out the reverse osmosis so I have been buying a liter of water every morning with my coffee which is $1.80. I will buy a liter bottle and use it everyday instead.
HAIR this one makes me sad because I hate doing my own hair. I was getting my hair done every 3 weeks because my hair grows fast. It would cost me between $60 and $100 each time because I would need my hair colored too. I will color my own hair now and go to the $10 hair cut place every 6 weeks.
DRINKS at bars or clubs cost stupid money. I will buy one drink there and drink in the parking lot like a homeless person. Also cover charges are stupid money but I have been going to places without a cover charge.
DVDs I gave this up about 8 months ago. I used to buy DVDs every Tuesday and really I do not need those extra little plastic cases laying around that I let people borrow and don’t get back. I don’t even own a TV.
EATING OUT this one is going to be hard to give up because I love going out to eat, I just need to do it cheaper, not fast food cheaper more like Mom and Pop restaurant cheaper. And no more steak and lobster :-(

There must be more stuff??

Going through my budget I noticed there are things that I simply cannot give up which sounds silly but I do believe you have to look decent in order to make money. The two items I cannot give up are: Paying for salon shampoo and conditioner and Name-brand facial products and make up (because of skin condition). I am giving up the getting my hair done thing and certain shampoo just makes my hair look better but I will watch for sales and use coupons.

I cannot give up going out and am going to find a cheaper way to do it.

My Goal

It costs a quarter-million-dollars to raise a child not including college. I don’t have a child so money is going to be invested and I will have my 1st million by 40 :-)

I’m turning 30 so looking back on my 20’s I have realized I wasted lots of money on stuff I don’t even have anymore. I used to have societies dream with the house, nice car, awesome entertainment system, and every electronic device you could imagine. When I was 28 my heart was ripped out through my ass and shoved down my throat so I walked away from all that “stuff” and did not even ask to be paid back (that’s another blog). The things I have now are mostly things I need but I probably could cut some stuff out. The things I should not be spending money on now are trips and going out but I consider that living life. I can live my life in a cheaper manner.

In one of the classes I just took I had to read an article about how much money it costs to raise a child. $204,060 is spent on one child for food, clothing, and shelter up until their 18th birthday. This estimated amount does not include health and education costs. That’s the cost of a house and if you own a home then that’s like paying for a child! Anyway, I thought to myself that I am probably not going to be having any children so I have lots of money which I spend on activities and shoes. I really should be taking that money and investing it. My goal is to be as close to a million dollars by the time I am 40.

I have always considered myself a practical person and I never really overspent or ran up my credit cards so this should be easy right?

www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/CRC/crc2007.pdf
http://usgovinfo.about.com/b/2008/03/28/the-cost-to-raise-a-child-today.htm
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/CollegeandFamily/Raisekids/P116306.asp