Weekend Spending

I very rarely buy lunch on weekday's but I treated my co-worker to lunch on Friday because it was her last day in the office before her maternity leave started. Taking my lunch to work is one habit that is easy to implement because I normally just take leftovers from the night before. This summer, during my monthly trips to Philly, I have been taking the China town bus one way and then taking the train back. I find that Amtrak tickets are cheaper when you leave Monday mornings rather than Sunday evenings, so because its only a two hour train ride to DC from Philly, I just leave at 6 a.m. on Mondays and go straight to work from the train station. It's tough getting up before 5a.m., but I get to sleep on the train ride back to DC. The cheaper ticket price is worth it.

I saw this really cute dress at this store I like on South Street in Philly called Guacamole. But it couldn't have been worn much after the early fall because of its light weight material, which my friend wisely pointed out. It's a little silly to buy any more summer clothing especially since the weather forecasters project it to be a cold winter. I will buy a few fall items and will make a list of what fall wardrobe additions I will make later this week.

Friday
Coffee - $3.15
Lunch - $22.69

Saturday
Hash Browns and Coffee - $4.60
China town bus ticket -$15.00
Dinner - $21.95

Sunday
Snack, etc. - $17.00
Amtrak ticket - $44.00

TOTAL: $128.39

Are student loans really "good debt" ?

According to this recent New York Times article, That Student Loan, Hard to Shake:

"Student lending is a big business, one that has been the subject of many complaints over the past two years after revelations of questionable ties between lenders and colleges’ financial aid officers. More recently, tight credit markets raised the possibility that some students might not be able to borrow to go to college in the fall.

But much less attention has been paid to what happens to students after they borrow. Lenders who make loans guaranteed by the federal government can more easily take steps against borrowers — like garnishing wages and benefits — than they can with other kinds of unsecured consumer debts. And all student loans, federally guaranteed or not, are extremely hard to get rid of in bankruptcy proceedings, more so than credit card or other debt.

More borrowers may begin to discover the harrowing consequences of reneging on student loans in the current economy. Numbers of borrowers behind on payments and in outright default are rising for some types of loans, and the tight job market makes it harder for graduates to find jobs that let them pay off debts. At the same time, investors are pressuring lenders to raise revenue by minimizing losses. Investors also expect more revenue from those lenders that operate collection agencies."

For this reason, any type of debt, even student loans are "bad debt" to me. I think colleges should require students to take some type of financial awareness course before taking out loans and even to graduate from college. I know I'm not the only one that didn't understand the gravity of student loan debt and how it can follow you even beyond bankruptcy when I took out my student loans.

Why are textbooks so expensive?

Why are textbooks for my first graduate class totaling up to $150???

I guess being out of school for two years made me blank out how expensive textbooks tend to be.

Here are steps I plan to take to minimize the cost of textbooks now that I've learned my lesson that used textbooks never last long in my school's bookstore:

1. Check the library at the begining of the semester to see if they have the textbooks I need
2. Check websites such as half.com and amazon (anybody know of others?) for used books
3. Ask other students if they are selling books for classes they have already taken

These steps may take more time than just putting down the money for new books, but it's worth the savings.

I Quit My Side-Gig

After thinking about it for a while, I have decided to let my retail/clothing store part time job go. I’ve worked there for about a year and a half. I just can’t see myself juggling my part time job along with my other activities:

• blogging,
• serving as a board member of a non-profit in my hometown,
• being an officer in the local chapter of a professional organization,
• AND taking my first two graduate level classes and not being a zombie and at my full time job. There are only so many hours in the day…

I’ll miss my side-gig because I do enjoy clothes and getting a 40% discount at a store you already shop in is great! My side-gig sold petite clothing that fit me well which is rare these days but honestly until fairly recently (when I started blogging), a lot of my paycheck was going back into the store anyway. Sometimes I’d put the extra money aside to save or apply it to debt, but most of the time, I’d see something cute, and spend my whole shift pondering on it before giving into temptation and making a purchase at the end of my shift.

I’d like to take on a part time job when my schedule is a little more flexible but don’t know if I would do retail again. My experience was pretty good overall but a lot of people I started working with over a year ago have moved on, that’s the nature of the business I guess. When you are on your feet for hours at a time on a slow sales day, it matters if you can get along with your co-workers. I also would like to have a part time job that has more earning potential than retail offers –unless you work at the management level, something I’m not interested in. Deciding to go back to school this year postponed my plan of freelancing for local newspapers, which was my new side-gig idea.

I have enough on my plate for the moment, so bye-bye 40% discount...

Weekend Spending

The week has already started, but I still wanted to do an update of my weekend spending. I need to stop making end of the week/weekend trips to Starbucks, it's starting to add up. I know better. I also know that H&M is a weakness of mine as there are so many cute fall clothing and shoes there. I will avoid H&M and other stores that tempt me until I save a little money to buy a few fall clothing staples in September. I realize, that my schedule won't allow me to keep my side-gig at the retail store much longer. The extra money was nice, but I don't want to stretch myself too thin. On a good note, I should have plenty of no-spend days this fall since I am embarking on graduate school and will have to study/do assignments in my spare time.

Friday
~Starbucks - $7.04
~Lunch - $7.69
~Cab ride - $12.00
~Metro Smart Trip Card- $5.00

Saturday
~Starbucks - 3.85
~Harris Teeter - $61.56
~Snack - $2.88

Sunday
~H&M (purple pumps) - $36.91
~Movies - $8.50
~Lunch - $7.00

TOTAL: 152. 43