Stacking Pennies . . .

I feel like I'm being scammed out of my money left and right!

I signed up for cable service online (because I do everything possible online) and followed the clear instructions on the web page to obtain a cable modem before the cable guy came. There was a promotion for a "free" modem, after rebate, which turned out to be about $20 with shipping and tax (after rebates... which are always a bit sketchy to redeem).

Yesterday the cable guy set up my internet and TV, and started installing a cable modem from the company. I said I had one already, and would not be needing to rent one from the cable company (as that is how it often works.) He told me that there was no rental, the modem was part of the service.

I am still fuming about this, a little. (Ok, a lot, if you ask my boyfriend.) Why would they tell me I needed to buy a modem when I didn't? Now I have a modem that put almost $100 on my credit card bill for the month (which I pay off, of course) and two rebate forms to fill out and hope get credited to me. What a hassle!

I looked up the modems on Amazon (I'm not very ebay literate, but i should probably check out ebay too) and I can probably sell my new modem for at least $35, even if I cut off the upc to get the rebate. In theory that is a small profit, but it is a bit of a hassle to do all this.

I'm super annoyed that they convinced me to buy a modem I didn't need!

Also, as mentioned in my last post, I ordered some transcripts from my undergraduate institution. I ordered that two official transcripts be sent to the graduate university I am applying to. Yesterday I received two transcripts at my home address, clearly stamped with "issued to student". I didn't need or want these. I can only assume they didn't send any to the university. Now I have to call them and find out what happened. I hope I don't have to pay $12 to have them do this again!

Last, I sent my laptop in for repair in early December, and they sent it back with a note that the battery had failed. It was still under warranty, so I called them and asked why they didn't replace the battery. They said, "Hmm, I'm not sure! I'll send you a new one!" Which they did, along with a box for me to send the broken battery back in. In the meantime, I moved cross country and the old battery and box are long gone. Vanished! They just sent me a letter requesting that I return the part, or they will bill me for it. I assume a battery is around $100. Ouch.

This battery incident is primarily my fault (though they could have just replaced it when they had my laptop), but still annoying. I can see why they make people send in defective parts, but I'm going to call them and see if there is any flexibility in this policy. I don't have high hopes, but it can't hurt to call, explain the situation, and ask if they really have to bill me for a new battery. I've had mixed results with companies forgiving things like this, but it never hurts to ask.

I am frustrated that my money is disappearing for these things. Granted, they aren't really scams (except maybe the modem promotion), but I'm not getting anything of value out of them.

I must have lost a little weight over the course of the last year, as most of my jeans have been getting a little baggy. It wasn't a significant ammount, but I'm small already, so five pounds in either direction can make my clothes fit differently. Then seven to ten pounds means a whole new pants size. Seems like Mapgirl is having the opposite problem which is admittedly more common. Anyway, to remedy this, I ordered some jeans from Banana Republic on sale for $31.99. I couldn't try them on, so I crossed my fingers on the size, 2L. I only need "Long" sometimes, but that was all that was left. This was before I picked up two new pairs on sale at Jcrew for about $35 each. I really didn't need 3 new pairs, just two! The jeans arrived yesterday, and are too long, as I suspected they might be. It is a bit of a releif, now I don't have to decide weather or not to return them. Obviously, they must go back. They were cute jeans too, so I would have been tempted to keep them. I have to eat $6.00 in shipping (couldn't find a free shipping code), but I will still get $32 back on my card. That'll teach me to buy jeans without trying them on. (They were only available online anyway. The ones in the store didn't work out either.

My new rule on clothes is nothig that isn't directly appropriate for work for the next six months. Does that really mean no fun clothes until June 29th? Yes! It is not as ambitious as other young bloggers no clothing resoluitions (Meg and Wanda are two examples), but it is a step in the right direction. Also, I just donated a huge pile of clothes I never wore to Goodwill, so another rule is, for every item that comes into the closet, something has to go in a donation pile. That is super logical, will help with clutter, and will inspire extra cautioun in purchasing! An exception may be made for shoes, but with caution.

Also, I have a couple pairs of pants I had made for me when I was in Hong Kong that are now a little too big as well. Some don't have belt loops, so they are nearly unwearable. In fact, I wore one pair with a safety pin in an emergency situation. Classy! I think it is time to find a tailor and get those pants wearable again. Much more frugal than buying more dress pants! Do any of you have experience with using a tailor? And if I get them taken in, can they later be taken out if necessary?

Either that or I can fatten up a little bit... but that is also expensive because my metabolism would require a big calorie surplus to accomplish that!

This weekend was very very very expensive. I feel like I've said that too many weekends in a row! I purchased a nice big dresser from Ikea, and now have real drawers to put my clothes in! That was a hit of $150, but money well spent. Then I also bought some other random organizing supplies--my closet has a lot of shelving and I want to make it organized and neat. By the time I left Ikea, it was a bill of over $220! What a dangerous store! I didn't even buy everything a needed wanted: more lighting, shoe rack, coat hooks, and some decorations.

I somehow got tricked into taking the boyfriend and I out for sushi. I wasn't exactly tricked, but the sushi was pretty over priced, and that was another $40 out the window, just like that. I asked him how often he thought we should go out to eat, and suggested once a week, and he said maybe less, once every two weeks. That's what he says in theory, but he has suggested eating out several times this week. I don't mind taking us out to eat sometimes. However, I do need him to understand that he can't say one day "Let's save up 150k in three years!" and then the next day say "I need money for the take out!" I was getting a $35 meal stipend while I was in the hotel, however, that meal stipend was my only income for a week and a half!

We wanted to meet up with my boyfriends friend last night, who I hadn't yet met. His friend suggested going out to eat (again!), then suggested just eating at whole foods. So i paid $7 for a sandwich, and then we bought a $13 bottle of wine.

So that is the boring details of my weekend spending. I'm afraid to add those numbers up, but.. $280? Yikes!! Was my life more enjoyable when I didn't feel pain every time I paid $7 for a sandwich? I think I need to loosen up about things and realize it is just money. Not spend more, or not cease to think about purchases. But if a purchase is something I ultimately decided I want to spend (dresser), have to spend (drivers license fee), or am willing to spend to go with the flow (sandwich from whole food), what is the point of getting all worried about it?

I think I get my first paycheck February 7th. To say that I'm anxiously waiting would be an understatement!

So, not having a job is expensive! Not only do I not have a paycheck showing up until February 7th (yikes, last paycheck was last Friday, and it wasn't for the full amount), but I have more free time.

Free time in which to think about how better to utilize my new apartment.... My new apartment is smaller than my last, and things don't quite fit the way I'd like. Some of my furniture is nice enough, but everything feels too crowded. Crowded, like I took a 600+ square foot apartment and moved it into a 500 square foot apartment. One hundred square feet is more than you would think Or, more than I would think. Everything just feels cluttered, and I don't like it.
Really, why are flat screen TV's still so darn expensive? My living room would look at least 3 times more put together if I had one, but it just isn't worth the price.

The kitchen is teeny tiny (one drawer for the whole kitchen?), so my buffet that used to live in my old kitchen has been promoted to TV stand. Except it doesn't match the rest of the nice dark wood in my living room. Is it important enough to change? How important is it for woods to match? Probably not incredibly important, though it probably would pull the room together a little more. And the (already small) kitchen table? Well, we are storing that under the bed for now.

My bedroom is a mishmash of cheap furniture, but it always was. I used to have a "red" theme going on, but it seems to have vanished with the curtains and duvet cover. Now it is sort of a blank slate. Do I want to do anything with this? I also don't own a proper dresser or chest of drawers. It's true. I keep about half my belongings in plastic drawers (hidden in closet!) and the other half in a cheap thing from Target, half bookshelf with some felt-type drawers. I am plotting a trip to IKEA and am dreaming of purchasing this chest of drawers, in no small part because of the little mirror on top. I'll have to see it in person to see how sturdy it is.

Should someone who doesn't have a job really go to Ikea??? Okay, I have a job. I just don't start until Friday...

I feel like I'm being scammed out of my money left and right!

I signed up for cable service online (because I do everything possible online) and followed the clear instructions on the web page to obtain a cable modem before the cable guy came. There was a promotion for a "free" modem, after rebate, which turned out to be about $20 with shipping and tax (after rebates... which are always a bit sketchy to redeem).

Yesterday the cable guy set up my internet and TV, and started installing a cable modem from the company. I said I had one already, and would not be needing to rent one from the cable company (as that is how it often works.) He told me that there was no rental, the modem was part of the service.

I am still fuming about this, a little. (Ok, a lot, if you ask my boyfriend.) Why would they tell me I needed to buy a modem when I didn't? Now I have a modem that put almost $100 on my credit card bill for the month (which I pay off, of course) and two rebate forms to fill out and hope get credited to me. What a hassle!

I looked up the modems on Amazon (I'm not very ebay literate, but i should probably check out ebay too) and I can probably sell my new modem for at least $35, even if I cut off the upc to get the rebate. In theory that is a small profit, but it is a bit of a hassle to do all this.

I'm super annoyed that they convinced me to buy a modem I didn't need!

Also, as mentioned in my last post, I ordered some transcripts from my undergraduate institution. I ordered that two official transcripts be sent to the graduate university I am applying to. Yesterday I received two transcripts at my home address, clearly stamped with "issued to student". I didn't need or want these. I can only assume they didn't send any to the university. Now I have to call them and find out what happened. I hope I don't have to pay $12 to have them do this again!

Last, I sent my laptop in for repair in early December, and they sent it back with a note that the battery had failed. It was still under warranty, so I called them and asked why they didn't replace the battery. They said, "Hmm, I'm not sure! I'll send you a new one!" Which they did, along with a box for me to send the broken battery back in. In the meantime, I moved cross country and the old battery and box are long gone. Vanished! They just sent me a letter requesting that I return the part, or they will bill me for it. I assume a battery is around $100. Ouch.

This battery incident is primarily my fault (though they could have just replaced it when they had my laptop), but still annoying. I can see why they make people send in defective parts, but I'm going to call them and see if there is any flexibility in this policy. I don't have high hopes, but it can't hurt to call, explain the situation, and ask if they really have to bill me for a new battery. I've had mixed results with companies forgiving things like this, but it never hurts to ask.

I am frustrated that my money is disappearing for these things. Granted, they aren't really scams (except maybe the modem promotion), but I'm not getting anything of value out of them.

I must have lost a little weight over the course of the last year, as most of my jeans have been getting a little baggy. It wasn't a significant ammount, but I'm small already, so five pounds in either direction can make my clothes fit differently. Then seven to ten pounds means a whole new pants size. Seems like Mapgirl is having the opposite problem which is admittedly more common. Anyway, to remedy this, I ordered some jeans from Banana Republic on sale for $31.99. I couldn't try them on, so I crossed my fingers on the size, 2L. I only need "Long" sometimes, but that was all that was left. This was before I picked up two new pairs on sale at Jcrew for about $35 each. I really didn't need 3 new pairs, just two! The jeans arrived yesterday, and are too long, as I suspected they might be. It is a bit of a releif, now I don't have to decide weather or not to return them. Obviously, they must go back. They were cute jeans too, so I would have been tempted to keep them. I have to eat $6.00 in shipping (couldn't find a free shipping code), but I will still get $32 back on my card. That'll teach me to buy jeans without trying them on. (They were only available online anyway. The ones in the store didn't work out either.

My new rule on clothes is nothig that isn't directly appropriate for work for the next six months. Does that really mean no fun clothes until June 29th? Yes! It is not as ambitious as other young bloggers no clothing resoluitions (Meg and Wanda are two examples), but it is a step in the right direction. Also, I just donated a huge pile of clothes I never wore to Goodwill, so another rule is, for every item that comes into the closet, something has to go in a donation pile. That is super logical, will help with clutter, and will inspire extra cautioun in purchasing! An exception may be made for shoes, but with caution.

Also, I have a couple pairs of pants I had made for me when I was in Hong Kong that are now a little too big as well. Some don't have belt loops, so they are nearly unwearable. In fact, I wore one pair with a safety pin in an emergency situation. Classy! I think it is time to find a tailor and get those pants wearable again. Much more frugal than buying more dress pants! Do any of you have experience with using a tailor? And if I get them taken in, can they later be taken out if necessary?

Either that or I can fatten up a little bit... but that is also expensive because my metabolism would require a big calorie surplus to accomplish that!

This weekend was very very very expensive. I feel like I've said that too many weekends in a row! I purchased a nice big dresser from Ikea, and now have real drawers to put my clothes in! That was a hit of $150, but money well spent. Then I also bought some other random organizing supplies--my closet has a lot of shelving and I want to make it organized and neat. By the time I left Ikea, it was a bill of over $220! What a dangerous store! I didn't even buy everything a needed wanted: more lighting, shoe rack, coat hooks, and some decorations.

I somehow got tricked into taking the boyfriend and I out for sushi. I wasn't exactly tricked, but the sushi was pretty over priced, and that was another $40 out the window, just like that. I asked him how often he thought we should go out to eat, and suggested once a week, and he said maybe less, once every two weeks. That's what he says in theory, but he has suggested eating out several times this week. I don't mind taking us out to eat sometimes. However, I do need him to understand that he can't say one day "Let's save up 150k in three years!" and then the next day say "I need money for the take out!" I was getting a $35 meal stipend while I was in the hotel, however, that meal stipend was my only income for a week and a half!

We wanted to meet up with my boyfriends friend last night, who I hadn't yet met. His friend suggested going out to eat (again!), then suggested just eating at whole foods. So i paid $7 for a sandwich, and then we bought a $13 bottle of wine.

So that is the boring details of my weekend spending. I'm afraid to add those numbers up, but.. $280? Yikes!! Was my life more enjoyable when I didn't feel pain every time I paid $7 for a sandwich? I think I need to loosen up about things and realize it is just money. Not spend more, or not cease to think about purchases. But if a purchase is something I ultimately decided I want to spend (dresser), have to spend (drivers license fee), or am willing to spend to go with the flow (sandwich from whole food), what is the point of getting all worried about it?

I think I get my first paycheck February 7th. To say that I'm anxiously waiting would be an understatement!

So, not having a job is expensive! Not only do I not have a paycheck showing up until February 7th (yikes, last paycheck was last Friday, and it wasn't for the full amount), but I have more free time.

Free time in which to think about how better to utilize my new apartment.... My new apartment is smaller than my last, and things don't quite fit the way I'd like. Some of my furniture is nice enough, but everything feels too crowded. Crowded, like I took a 600+ square foot apartment and moved it into a 500 square foot apartment. One hundred square feet is more than you would think Or, more than I would think. Everything just feels cluttered, and I don't like it.
Really, why are flat screen TV's still so darn expensive? My living room would look at least 3 times more put together if I had one, but it just isn't worth the price.

The kitchen is teeny tiny (one drawer for the whole kitchen?), so my buffet that used to live in my old kitchen has been promoted to TV stand. Except it doesn't match the rest of the nice dark wood in my living room. Is it important enough to change? How important is it for woods to match? Probably not incredibly important, though it probably would pull the room together a little more. And the (already small) kitchen table? Well, we are storing that under the bed for now.

My bedroom is a mishmash of cheap furniture, but it always was. I used to have a "red" theme going on, but it seems to have vanished with the curtains and duvet cover. Now it is sort of a blank slate. Do I want to do anything with this? I also don't own a proper dresser or chest of drawers. It's true. I keep about half my belongings in plastic drawers (hidden in closet!) and the other half in a cheap thing from Target, half bookshelf with some felt-type drawers. I am plotting a trip to IKEA and am dreaming of purchasing this chest of drawers, in no small part because of the little mirror on top. I'll have to see it in person to see how sturdy it is.

Should someone who doesn't have a job really go to Ikea??? Okay, I have a job. I just don't start until Friday...

I feel like I'm being scammed out of my money left and right!

I signed up for cable service online (because I do everything possible online) and followed the clear instructions on the web page to obtain a cable modem before the cable guy came. There was a promotion for a "free" modem, after rebate, which turned out to be about $20 with shipping and tax (after rebates... which are always a bit sketchy to redeem).

Yesterday the cable guy set up my internet and TV, and started installing a cable modem from the company. I said I had one already, and would not be needing to rent one from the cable company (as that is how it often works.) He told me that there was no rental, the modem was part of the service.

I am still fuming about this, a little. (Ok, a lot, if you ask my boyfriend.) Why would they tell me I needed to buy a modem when I didn't? Now I have a modem that put almost $100 on my credit card bill for the month (which I pay off, of course) and two rebate forms to fill out and hope get credited to me. What a hassle!

I looked up the modems on Amazon (I'm not very ebay literate, but i should probably check out ebay too) and I can probably sell my new modem for at least $35, even if I cut off the upc to get the rebate. In theory that is a small profit, but it is a bit of a hassle to do all this.

I'm super annoyed that they convinced me to buy a modem I didn't need!

Also, as mentioned in my last post, I ordered some transcripts from my undergraduate institution. I ordered that two official transcripts be sent to the graduate university I am applying to. Yesterday I received two transcripts at my home address, clearly stamped with "issued to student". I didn't need or want these. I can only assume they didn't send any to the university. Now I have to call them and find out what happened. I hope I don't have to pay $12 to have them do this again!

Last, I sent my laptop in for repair in early December, and they sent it back with a note that the battery had failed. It was still under warranty, so I called them and asked why they didn't replace the battery. They said, "Hmm, I'm not sure! I'll send you a new one!" Which they did, along with a box for me to send the broken battery back in. In the meantime, I moved cross country and the old battery and box are long gone. Vanished! They just sent me a letter requesting that I return the part, or they will bill me for it. I assume a battery is around $100. Ouch.

This battery incident is primarily my fault (though they could have just replaced it when they had my laptop), but still annoying. I can see why they make people send in defective parts, but I'm going to call them and see if there is any flexibility in this policy. I don't have high hopes, but it can't hurt to call, explain the situation, and ask if they really have to bill me for a new battery. I've had mixed results with companies forgiving things like this, but it never hurts to ask.

I am frustrated that my money is disappearing for these things. Granted, they aren't really scams (except maybe the modem promotion), but I'm not getting anything of value out of them.

I must have lost a little weight over the course of the last year, as most of my jeans have been getting a little baggy. It wasn't a significant ammount, but I'm small already, so five pounds in either direction can make my clothes fit differently. Then seven to ten pounds means a whole new pants size. Seems like Mapgirl is having the opposite problem which is admittedly more common. Anyway, to remedy this, I ordered some jeans from Banana Republic on sale for $31.99. I couldn't try them on, so I crossed my fingers on the size, 2L. I only need "Long" sometimes, but that was all that was left. This was before I picked up two new pairs on sale at Jcrew for about $35 each. I really didn't need 3 new pairs, just two! The jeans arrived yesterday, and are too long, as I suspected they might be. It is a bit of a releif, now I don't have to decide weather or not to return them. Obviously, they must go back. They were cute jeans too, so I would have been tempted to keep them. I have to eat $6.00 in shipping (couldn't find a free shipping code), but I will still get $32 back on my card. That'll teach me to buy jeans without trying them on. (They were only available online anyway. The ones in the store didn't work out either.

My new rule on clothes is nothig that isn't directly appropriate for work for the next six months. Does that really mean no fun clothes until June 29th? Yes! It is not as ambitious as other young bloggers no clothing resoluitions (Meg and Wanda are two examples), but it is a step in the right direction. Also, I just donated a huge pile of clothes I never wore to Goodwill, so another rule is, for every item that comes into the closet, something has to go in a donation pile. That is super logical, will help with clutter, and will inspire extra cautioun in purchasing! An exception may be made for shoes, but with caution.

Also, I have a couple pairs of pants I had made for me when I was in Hong Kong that are now a little too big as well. Some don't have belt loops, so they are nearly unwearable. In fact, I wore one pair with a safety pin in an emergency situation. Classy! I think it is time to find a tailor and get those pants wearable again. Much more frugal than buying more dress pants! Do any of you have experience with using a tailor? And if I get them taken in, can they later be taken out if necessary?

Either that or I can fatten up a little bit... but that is also expensive because my metabolism would require a big calorie surplus to accomplish that!

This weekend was very very very expensive. I feel like I've said that too many weekends in a row! I purchased a nice big dresser from Ikea, and now have real drawers to put my clothes in! That was a hit of $150, but money well spent. Then I also bought some other random organizing supplies--my closet has a lot of shelving and I want to make it organized and neat. By the time I left Ikea, it was a bill of over $220! What a dangerous store! I didn't even buy everything a needed wanted: more lighting, shoe rack, coat hooks, and some decorations.

I somehow got tricked into taking the boyfriend and I out for sushi. I wasn't exactly tricked, but the sushi was pretty over priced, and that was another $40 out the window, just like that. I asked him how often he thought we should go out to eat, and suggested once a week, and he said maybe less, once every two weeks. That's what he says in theory, but he has suggested eating out several times this week. I don't mind taking us out to eat sometimes. However, I do need him to understand that he can't say one day "Let's save up 150k in three years!" and then the next day say "I need money for the take out!" I was getting a $35 meal stipend while I was in the hotel, however, that meal stipend was my only income for a week and a half!

We wanted to meet up with my boyfriends friend last night, who I hadn't yet met. His friend suggested going out to eat (again!), then suggested just eating at whole foods. So i paid $7 for a sandwich, and then we bought a $13 bottle of wine.

So that is the boring details of my weekend spending. I'm afraid to add those numbers up, but.. $280? Yikes!! Was my life more enjoyable when I didn't feel pain every time I paid $7 for a sandwich? I think I need to loosen up about things and realize it is just money. Not spend more, or not cease to think about purchases. But if a purchase is something I ultimately decided I want to spend (dresser), have to spend (drivers license fee), or am willing to spend to go with the flow (sandwich from whole food), what is the point of getting all worried about it?

I think I get my first paycheck February 7th. To say that I'm anxiously waiting would be an understatement!

So, not having a job is expensive! Not only do I not have a paycheck showing up until February 7th (yikes, last paycheck was last Friday, and it wasn't for the full amount), but I have more free time.

Free time in which to think about how better to utilize my new apartment.... My new apartment is smaller than my last, and things don't quite fit the way I'd like. Some of my furniture is nice enough, but everything feels too crowded. Crowded, like I took a 600+ square foot apartment and moved it into a 500 square foot apartment. One hundred square feet is more than you would think Or, more than I would think. Everything just feels cluttered, and I don't like it.
Really, why are flat screen TV's still so darn expensive? My living room would look at least 3 times more put together if I had one, but it just isn't worth the price.

The kitchen is teeny tiny (one drawer for the whole kitchen?), so my buffet that used to live in my old kitchen has been promoted to TV stand. Except it doesn't match the rest of the nice dark wood in my living room. Is it important enough to change? How important is it for woods to match? Probably not incredibly important, though it probably would pull the room together a little more. And the (already small) kitchen table? Well, we are storing that under the bed for now.

My bedroom is a mishmash of cheap furniture, but it always was. I used to have a "red" theme going on, but it seems to have vanished with the curtains and duvet cover. Now it is sort of a blank slate. Do I want to do anything with this? I also don't own a proper dresser or chest of drawers. It's true. I keep about half my belongings in plastic drawers (hidden in closet!) and the other half in a cheap thing from Target, half bookshelf with some felt-type drawers. I am plotting a trip to IKEA and am dreaming of purchasing this chest of drawers, in no small part because of the little mirror on top. I'll have to see it in person to see how sturdy it is.

Should someone who doesn't have a job really go to Ikea??? Okay, I have a job. I just don't start until Friday...

I feel like I'm being scammed out of my money left and right!

I signed up for cable service online (because I do everything possible online) and followed the clear instructions on the web page to obtain a cable modem before the cable guy came. There was a promotion for a "free" modem, after rebate, which turned out to be about $20 with shipping and tax (after rebates... which are always a bit sketchy to redeem).

Yesterday the cable guy set up my internet and TV, and started installing a cable modem from the company. I said I had one already, and would not be needing to rent one from the cable company (as that is how it often works.) He told me that there was no rental, the modem was part of the service.

I am still fuming about this, a little. (Ok, a lot, if you ask my boyfriend.) Why would they tell me I needed to buy a modem when I didn't? Now I have a modem that put almost $100 on my credit card bill for the month (which I pay off, of course) and two rebate forms to fill out and hope get credited to me. What a hassle!

I looked up the modems on Amazon (I'm not very ebay literate, but i should probably check out ebay too) and I can probably sell my new modem for at least $35, even if I cut off the upc to get the rebate. In theory that is a small profit, but it is a bit of a hassle to do all this.

I'm super annoyed that they convinced me to buy a modem I didn't need!

Also, as mentioned in my last post, I ordered some transcripts from my undergraduate institution. I ordered that two official transcripts be sent to the graduate university I am applying to. Yesterday I received two transcripts at my home address, clearly stamped with "issued to student". I didn't need or want these. I can only assume they didn't send any to the university. Now I have to call them and find out what happened. I hope I don't have to pay $12 to have them do this again!

Last, I sent my laptop in for repair in early December, and they sent it back with a note that the battery had failed. It was still under warranty, so I called them and asked why they didn't replace the battery. They said, "Hmm, I'm not sure! I'll send you a new one!" Which they did, along with a box for me to send the broken battery back in. In the meantime, I moved cross country and the old battery and box are long gone. Vanished! They just sent me a letter requesting that I return the part, or they will bill me for it. I assume a battery is around $100. Ouch.

This battery incident is primarily my fault (though they could have just replaced it when they had my laptop), but still annoying. I can see why they make people send in defective parts, but I'm going to call them and see if there is any flexibility in this policy. I don't have high hopes, but it can't hurt to call, explain the situation, and ask if they really have to bill me for a new battery. I've had mixed results with companies forgiving things like this, but it never hurts to ask.

I am frustrated that my money is disappearing for these things. Granted, they aren't really scams (except maybe the modem promotion), but I'm not getting anything of value out of them.

I must have lost a little weight over the course of the last year, as most of my jeans have been getting a little baggy. It wasn't a significant ammount, but I'm small already, so five pounds in either direction can make my clothes fit differently. Then seven to ten pounds means a whole new pants size. Seems like Mapgirl is having the opposite problem which is admittedly more common. Anyway, to remedy this, I ordered some jeans from Banana Republic on sale for $31.99. I couldn't try them on, so I crossed my fingers on the size, 2L. I only need "Long" sometimes, but that was all that was left. This was before I picked up two new pairs on sale at Jcrew for about $35 each. I really didn't need 3 new pairs, just two! The jeans arrived yesterday, and are too long, as I suspected they might be. It is a bit of a releif, now I don't have to decide weather or not to return them. Obviously, they must go back. They were cute jeans too, so I would have been tempted to keep them. I have to eat $6.00 in shipping (couldn't find a free shipping code), but I will still get $32 back on my card. That'll teach me to buy jeans without trying them on. (They were only available online anyway. The ones in the store didn't work out either.

My new rule on clothes is nothig that isn't directly appropriate for work for the next six months. Does that really mean no fun clothes until June 29th? Yes! It is not as ambitious as other young bloggers no clothing resoluitions (Meg and Wanda are two examples), but it is a step in the right direction. Also, I just donated a huge pile of clothes I never wore to Goodwill, so another rule is, for every item that comes into the closet, something has to go in a donation pile. That is super logical, will help with clutter, and will inspire extra cautioun in purchasing! An exception may be made for shoes, but with caution.

Also, I have a couple pairs of pants I had made for me when I was in Hong Kong that are now a little too big as well. Some don't have belt loops, so they are nearly unwearable. In fact, I wore one pair with a safety pin in an emergency situation. Classy! I think it is time to find a tailor and get those pants wearable again. Much more frugal than buying more dress pants! Do any of you have experience with using a tailor? And if I get them taken in, can they later be taken out if necessary?

Either that or I can fatten up a little bit... but that is also expensive because my metabolism would require a big calorie surplus to accomplish that!

This weekend was very very very expensive. I feel like I've said that too many weekends in a row! I purchased a nice big dresser from Ikea, and now have real drawers to put my clothes in! That was a hit of $150, but money well spent. Then I also bought some other random organizing supplies--my closet has a lot of shelving and I want to make it organized and neat. By the time I left Ikea, it was a bill of over $220! What a dangerous store! I didn't even buy everything a needed wanted: more lighting, shoe rack, coat hooks, and some decorations.

I somehow got tricked into taking the boyfriend and I out for sushi. I wasn't exactly tricked, but the sushi was pretty over priced, and that was another $40 out the window, just like that. I asked him how often he thought we should go out to eat, and suggested once a week, and he said maybe less, once every two weeks. That's what he says in theory, but he has suggested eating out several times this week. I don't mind taking us out to eat sometimes. However, I do need him to understand that he can't say one day "Let's save up 150k in three years!" and then the next day say "I need money for the take out!" I was getting a $35 meal stipend while I was in the hotel, however, that meal stipend was my only income for a week and a half!

We wanted to meet up with my boyfriends friend last night, who I hadn't yet met. His friend suggested going out to eat (again!), then suggested just eating at whole foods. So i paid $7 for a sandwich, and then we bought a $13 bottle of wine.

So that is the boring details of my weekend spending. I'm afraid to add those numbers up, but.. $280? Yikes!! Was my life more enjoyable when I didn't feel pain every time I paid $7 for a sandwich? I think I need to loosen up about things and realize it is just money. Not spend more, or not cease to think about purchases. But if a purchase is something I ultimately decided I want to spend (dresser), have to spend (drivers license fee), or am willing to spend to go with the flow (sandwich from whole food), what is the point of getting all worried about it?

I think I get my first paycheck February 7th. To say that I'm anxiously waiting would be an understatement!

So, not having a job is expensive! Not only do I not have a paycheck showing up until February 7th (yikes, last paycheck was last Friday, and it wasn't for the full amount), but I have more free time.

Free time in which to think about how better to utilize my new apartment.... My new apartment is smaller than my last, and things don't quite fit the way I'd like. Some of my furniture is nice enough, but everything feels too crowded. Crowded, like I took a 600+ square foot apartment and moved it into a 500 square foot apartment. One hundred square feet is more than you would think Or, more than I would think. Everything just feels cluttered, and I don't like it.
Really, why are flat screen TV's still so darn expensive? My living room would look at least 3 times more put together if I had one, but it just isn't worth the price.

The kitchen is teeny tiny (one drawer for the whole kitchen?), so my buffet that used to live in my old kitchen has been promoted to TV stand. Except it doesn't match the rest of the nice dark wood in my living room. Is it important enough to change? How important is it for woods to match? Probably not incredibly important, though it probably would pull the room together a little more. And the (already small) kitchen table? Well, we are storing that under the bed for now.

My bedroom is a mishmash of cheap furniture, but it always was. I used to have a "red" theme going on, but it seems to have vanished with the curtains and duvet cover. Now it is sort of a blank slate. Do I want to do anything with this? I also don't own a proper dresser or chest of drawers. It's true. I keep about half my belongings in plastic drawers (hidden in closet!) and the other half in a cheap thing from Target, half bookshelf with some felt-type drawers. I am plotting a trip to IKEA and am dreaming of purchasing this chest of drawers, in no small part because of the little mirror on top. I'll have to see it in person to see how sturdy it is.

Should someone who doesn't have a job really go to Ikea??? Okay, I have a job. I just don't start until Friday...