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Archive for August, 2005

Dry Cleaning on the Cheapo

August 27th, 2005 at 02:41 am

I love competitive markets!!!!! I previously lived in Iowa and granted cost of living was cheap, dry cleaning was not. Very rarely would I drop anything off, only if absolutely necessary. So it was ofter over $5 per item! Now that I've moved to Chicago, while the cost of living and entertainment has gone up (not a whole lot actually) Dry cleaning has gone cheap!! Normally it costs $1.75 per item. How awesome. But I had a coupon that saved me $0.25 per item. So with 2 dresses, 2 sweaters and 5 pants it was only $13.50!!! That would have easily been $50+ in Iowa. Ahhh I love it. I don't really do it that often though. I end up taking my pants there about once every 2-3 washes. That way I keep the nice crease and get the cat hair off.

Hmm otherwise. my CCs have gone down a bit this month. They were riding about $800-1000. Things for the house, going out in the summer. Part of that is going on trips for work which I do get reimbursed. But this month my ccs are just under $700. So far so good on my budget resolution.

I also should be receiving a reimbursement check in 2 weeks for about $350. That'll look nice since the bills will already have been paid. I should also be receiving another $5 from Pinecone. This will be my second.

On a sad note, taxes are due. I'm planning on paying it tomorrow. $1400ish. Not going to be fun. It's still better than having an escrow and still getting a bill for what the escrow doesn't cover and earning interest on the whole $2800.

saving

August 16th, 2005 at 03:31 pm

By baselle(08-14-2005 at 01:44 AM)
Cell & satellite - $74, which is about 15% of $498. I know you're probably under contract and its probably going to be more expensive to break the contracts than what you save ... but to the true frugal person, those are completely discretionary. Might want to figure out what you can do to lower your utilities - they look pretty low right now. Student loans consolidated? Parent loans renegotiated? Finally, while the Roth is important, its after tax dollars and you might want to think about lowering your contributions. Not talking about eliminating, just shaving bits from a number of spots to free up money to save.


Thanks Baselle. But I don't have a land line only a cell (no contract) and I do not have any reception with an antenna and satellite is still cheaper than cable (no contract). Student loans are consolidated at 3.37%. Parent loan is part of my mortgage payment of my down payment on my house, 4%. As for the Roth, I will not cut that out, $4,000/year. I'm 25 right now, and I definitely plan on being in a higher tax bracket when I retire. Right now my Roth has gained about 17% in 1 year.

A couple of expenses I did forget to mention:
Cable internet: $20 (split with my neighbor and not getting any lower)
Transportation costs to and from work: $26.50 (Parking and train)

On a positive note. I did pass up a White Sox game yesterday and saved $25 plus dinner.

Saving up

August 14th, 2005 at 05:04 am

It's been an expensive summer so far and I really need to cut back. I've had two weddings. Property taxes and 1 coming up. A new bicycle. Going out with friends. I need to cut back. My new goal through the rest of the year (and hopefully beyond) is to cut my expenses to under $1000 a month. This is everything but my mortgage and Roth. Please comment if you see anything. So here are my bills per month that will not change much:
Student loan: $90
Parent loan: $150
Electric: ~$30
Gas: ~$30
Association Assessment: $124
Cell: $47
Satellite: $27
=$498

$500 That's reasonable I think. I will definitely try to keep them down, but I'm not going to sacrifice my quality of living for it. No ramen!