Summer of spending

It’s been a busy summer. So busy, in fact, that I haven’t been updating very often. And you know what’s been accompanying the busy feeling of this summer? More spending than usual.

Not that that’s a horrible thing. We’ve been loosening our financial ways just a tiny bit in order to enjoy the city a little more. Don’t worry, we’re not spendthrifts now. We merely came to the realization that instead of dining out too much, we can buy tickets to events, cash in on summer sales, meet friends after work for a drink, and so on. They’re minor things that get us out of the apartment more. After all, there are nine other months in the year to be cheap and antisocial.

To get you caught up on what I’ve been up to lately, here’s a quick recap:

• We went to see Kevin Smith at Carnegie Hall (Mister Redhead’s choice of events). I’ve blocked out how much these tickets cost; I was thoroughly bored and tired after an hour of his ramblings. But at least I can now say I’ve been inside Carnegie Hall. (Yes, this former music major’s first trip to the site of musical legends was to see a crass man talk for three-plus hours. Fail on my part.)
• I went home to Minnesota for Father’s Day weekend. It was a mostly relaxing and laid-back trip, complete with my mom paying for pretty much everything we did. Oh, and the whole family caught the final night of the free Twin Cities Jazz Festival!
• The month of July was spent planning a fundraiser for a nonprofit, which took place in the Hamptons July 25 and was absolutely amazing. We raised a total of $277,000 with that one event, which is mind-boggling. Check out some photos of the benefit here.
• My sisters and mom visited me in mid-July to celebrate my mom’s birthday. I paid for her ticket to Phantom of the Opera, which we all loved. She paid for most other things on the trip. It really is more fun to experience a few days in NYC when you don’t feel racked with guilt for eating in a restaurant or seeing a Broadway show. By the way, we ate at this little restaurant in Brighton Beach that I think was Russian. We could barely understand our waiter, and he kept bringing out more and more and more food,  to the point where I thought he must have really misunderstood our order and our bill was going to be huge. Nope: The bill was only $23! For a ton of food for four people. I was amazed. I would relay the name of the restaurant for you all, but I don’t think the letters were part of our alphabet. Hint: It had an orange awning…
• We discovered that we live within walking distance of a brand-new shopping complex called The Bronx Gateway. Target, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Staples, BJ’s…I can’t believe I’m just a 20-minute walk away from all this convenience and mega-store splendor.
• We have survived the entire summer without air conditioning. This is more a testament to how cold and rainy it’s been than to our sturdy Midwestern ways (and my sisters and mom were not amused when they visited). Even so, our electric bill has been reasonable thus far. Here’s hoping August doesn’t turn into a record-breaking heatwave.

Well, those are the big highlights. The summer is flying by, but I still want to rent bikes and ride alongside the Hudson River, maybe get out of the city and take the Bolt Bus to another East Coast metropolis, and catch a free movie in one of NYC’s numerous parks.

In general, and financially speaking, how has your summer been so far?

Money and Weight: Not all that different

Over at Wise Bread, there’s an interesting article comparing the ever popular resolutions to lose weight and gain money. You know, the vicious cycle of, “OK, I’m really going to lose the weight this time with a crazy-restrictive diet”…which lasts about a week, then you’re right back where you started (or worse off). Some people harbor the same attitude about money, spending it wildly when they have it, then wallowing in guilt when they run out of it.

The manic-depressive spending habits that Jabulani Leffall describes don’t really apply to me (I’m not one to run out on a shopping spree come payday). But I do like the idea of going on money “fast.” Leffall writes:

“What if you held, stored and did without for just one week or one two-week interval every month? Fast. That’s the solution. Just like the master cleanse, all you need is a calendar. Pick a ridiculously low financial threshold and an applicable time period. Test it, stay home, take public transport, avoid eating out, go shopping for clothes in your closet or for purging, or for altruistic purposes. Barnes & Noble your own damn book shelf for a change because you know you ain’t read all them books. Go to sleep. Who actually losses money by sleeping more except a toll-booth operator with narcolepsy?”

Now, of course these seem like really “duh” ideas. They should be glaringly obvious tactics, but when people get stuck in a spendspendspend mindset, practicality flies out the window. I already put most of these tips into use every day, and you know what helps? Not carrying cash. If I have cash, I will inevitably spend it on stupid stuff. A coffee here, a vending machine trip there, a pack of mints…you get the idea. I have just enough self-respect not to put piddly crap like that on my credit card. So, no cash, no dumb purchases. And, fittingly enough, my never-carry-cash ways also help me stay healthy. Just think of all the trips to the vending machine I eliminate!

Why am I doing this?

The first post of a blog is always the toughest, so I’ll just lay out my reasons for starting this site. I’m a saver: Always have been, always will be (hopefully). But I get the feeling that I could be doing more, saving smarter, spending less. That feeling was amplified when I moved to Manhattan two years ago to work in publishing. Yes, live in Manhattan, work in publishing. In other words, I’d be considered a financial success if I didn’t go bankrupt in six months. Well, I’m not bankrupt, but I don’t feel like a huge success either.

So this blog has a few purposes:

1. To help me be more aware of my spending habits. If I put it in writing, maybe that will shock me into being a smarter spender.
2. To learn more about the intimidating aspects of personal finance and share what I find out with you, dear readers. CDs, 401(k)s, buying a home—the things you know are considered “good,” but that seem to be masked in a language that’s impossible to understand.
3. To practice writing. I write for work, but not every day. I blog here and there for other sites, but I want to have real ownership of a site. And if I’m going to practice writing, I might as well take on a topic that’s challenging for me to put into words: finance.

I’m not a financial expert; I’m just a firm believer in learning from my own mistakes and those of others. I hope you feel the same way, and that you’ll learn from me and leave some comments so I can learn from you. Welcome!