Life - Changes

Okay. Going forward these are a few things that I hope to improve/change in my life in order to be more financially secure.

1) Open a business checking account.
I intend to do this so that I am forced to save more by actually cutting myself a "paycheck" twice a month. All of my money, besides monetary gifts of less than $100, will be deposited into this account. When it's time to pay bills (my rent at the first and other bills on the 15th), I will tally up exactly what I need and transfer that amount to my personal checking. Any business related expenses will come directly from this account. Quarterly, I will check how much I've saved and see what possible business related purchases I should make. If there are none, I plan on investing 50% of the saved amount. I don't want to invest it all and have no cash for a rainy day, and I don't want to have it all sitting in my checking gathering dust.

2) I need to be more mindful of my weekly expenditure.
A year or so ago, I was doing a great job at saving away a bit of money. At some point I needed to deplete that savings. Now my expenses equal my income. I'm sure that doesn't need to be the case. The boyfriend and I both need to take our lunches to work more often (aka all the time, for me at least) and rethink how many times a week we eat out. Last weekend (before the tax hammer fell) we were feeling flush and ate every meal on Sunday out. That isn't a normal occurrence, but we have been eating out almost every lunch and one or two dinners a week. That is a lot. Plus I have a tendency of thinking of each purchase as a "treat". "I worked so hard this morning. I deserve that $15 lunch." One that I won't even finish.

3) Stop comparing myself and my life to others around me.
This is a big deal, as I work in an industry full of well-dressed in-the-know people. And part of the week I work in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Just looking in a store window or at a restaurant menu can make a person go broke. I like my clothes, I like my life, apartment, boyfriend, etc. Why waste thoughts and energy on a lifestyle I can't afford? There are things I need to purchase as necessities, but I can afford them if I save. Which leads back to change #1.

4) Change is good.
The biggest change I hope to make is getting a new job. I don't necessarily need to get paid more, but my life would be easier if my job was more fulfilling and if I got those things called benefits. I'd spend less money on prescriptions. I wouldn't have to worry about getting sick, or what happens when I take vacation. There would be room for promotion and growth. I would have my taxes taken out for me and wouldn't have a giant tax bill every April. I might even be able to save for retirement, a house, or a new pair of high heels (not on the necessity list, yet). I've gotten comfortable where I'm at and have a hard time putting myself out there for interviews and job applications. But things need to change. And I'm hoping it starts now.

Life - taxes are death

So I finally mustered the energies last night to finalize my taxes.

Months go, I converted all of the IRS 2012 tax forms into excel, including the formulas. If you needed to put 50% of one cell into another cell, excel did it for me! I'm crazy, I know.

One month ago, I input all my numbers, income, business expenses (I'm self-employed), and deductibles. All in all, I was very proud of myself. I came out 1k+ under what I thought I'd owe. Sweet!

Last night, as I said, finally mustered the energy to fill out the forms with my previously arrived at data, write checks, and seal them to be mailed.

Well, when I looked back over them, I was suddenly struck by how low my taxes were. Tip: never rethink your taxes, especially the week before they are due. I looked through all the numbers when I realized that I never listed my actual tax, the kind you pay on your actual income. I put in my self-employment tax, my deductibles, and such, but I forgot the tax. Now it probably doesn't seem like that much money, but as a percentage of my income it is insane! The amount that I owe in addition to what I had originally thought and saved for is more than I make in one month!

After thinking about it, really thinking about it, 12% isn't bad. But that isn't even the full amount I have to pay. That's the astounding part.

Don't even get me started on what my taxes don't provide me with. Universal healthcare, anyone?

Life - Been one of those days!

You start out with good intentions and then you roll uncontrollably down the slope.

I was aiming to be at the office before 9am. I got there at 8:55am. Does that count? It does when the receptionist hasn't come on yet.

But I started off strong. Packed up some stuff to be donated. Then I needed to box up some binders to return them to the manufacturer. Couldn't find a box for the life of me. Finally got a box, after much searching and inconvenience. Eventually got the stuff off for donation. A messenger came and took the binders, though it might have been the wrong messenger. Ended up getting nothing done on my list.

Fast forward to now. Finally home, after an ill-fated attempt to find Q-Tonic at a local market. Pretending to relax, aka messing around with the iPad. Got generic tonic to help me further relax. And going to partake in some cheesy romantic comedy for further silly relaxing. I should almost take a bubble bath...

Life - Vacay here I come!

Tickets have been purchased and plans have been made. I am going to Germany for the end of May. May 17th to the 27th to be precise. The boyfriend got us direct flights from NYC to Dusseldorf, which will be super nice.

Last June, when I was there, we spent all of our time in the west and southwest parts of Germany. This time we are going to head north and visit Lubeck and surrounding areas and all parts between Dusseldorf and Lubeck.

Now to learn German. I spoke maybe two words of German while there last time. The boyfriend might break up with me if I don't get a few other words under my belt. I live in fear that if I say just a few words in German that people will assume I know the language and just talk on and on. What to do then? I'd better learn the phrase "I'm sorry. I only know a small bit of German."

Starting tomorrow.

Food - Mediterranean here I come

For a while now the boyfriend and I have been quite bored with our day to day ideas about food. Especially when it is only me planning, shopping, and making our dinners, I tend to go for the well-known and well-liked. But it has gotten super boring in the past month or so.

About a month ago I realized that we never have Mediterranean food. Never. Don't know why. Well I know why. It tends to rely on a lot of sauces to further the taste, which makes things more time consuming to make.

But I broke down. Yesterday, while looking for a seafood recipe, I came across a recipe for panko breaded tilapia with tzatziki. Perfect! It included fennel which I know the boyfriend doesn't like so I substituted in the more usual cucumber.

Well? The tzatziki was good. Better than the last time I made it. You definitely have to use Greek yogurt. So much better. The roasted vegetables served with a complicated vinegrette were amazing! But the vinegrette was so complicated I don't know when I'll make it again. There was a lot of soaking and steeping; too much for every day. All of it was served with couscous; the boyfriend loves couscous.

The fish? With all the complicated breading and frying, it was disappointingly bland. Tilapia doesn't have a strong enough flavor to stand up to the rest of the dish. If served with fennel, as the original recipe states, maybe it would perk up, but served with tarragon (a suggested replacement) it was too weak. Also I have now learned that I don't have enough counter space to make dishes that are so complicated. Panko breadcrumbs were falling all over my clean kitchen floor.

Maybe I'll make it next time with a thin cut pork chop. Lightly breaded with a dusting of flour, then fried. Much easier, heartier, and more robust.