Anyone who reads the blog knows my unfettered love for the Budget Naginata and our darling Budget Edamame. They are great and wonderful and currently far, far away from me enjoying a holiday at the beach. Travelling with a friend and her daughter, my wife and child have abandoned me to my own devices for a week.
This makes me sad, because I will miss them, but this also gives me a great opportunity to enjoy wonderfully craptastic batchelor food. Yes, that's correct, when the Naginata is away, the Ronin will eat things that give him heartburn and stomachaches! The Craptasti-ganza has begun!
Last night, I picked up the following things at the grocery to enable my bad eating habits:
Tater Tots $1.5 (mmm... these would go great with)...
Fish Sticks $4 (now we're talkin'!)
Pizza Rolls $3 (that's right, they're like pizzas, in bite sized rolls!)
Pizza $3 (the non-roll variety)
Bread $2.5 (for work sandwiches)
=total $14
I had the pizza rolls last night, and some heartburn to follow it. I learned a very important gastrointestinal fact at that point, when I woke up with a burning windpipe. Ginger. Ginger helps combat heartburn. It's crazy, but it works. After discovering this fact thanks to the world wide Intarwebblogtubes, I borrowed a couple of Budget Naginata's ginger Altoids and felt it subside surprisingly quick. There was also something with Baking Soda that sounded less palatable that I'm glad I didn't have to test out.
I'm planning on having half of my fish sticks and tater tots tonight. I know you're jealous, but it's ok, I'll have a few extra on your behalf.
I may have to go back to the store later this week for some Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner. I'm already feeling compelled to do so. It's not my fault, really. I blame escalating tension in Iran over their nuclear program.
Hot Tub Update: No one has purchased it yet, but I have an offer from someone for half of what I posted for it. They said they would be able to come get it next week. I told them they could have it, assuming no one bid higher. Right now, I don't see that happening. It's depressing, but it will be out of the way and I'll at least get a bit more back than we paid for the motor repair diagnosis. I find it oddly fitting that I paid extra for our house to keep the hot tub and I spent a fair amount to buy a good cover for it (which it was lacking) and I get next to nothing for it. Consider that when you look at your purchasing habits.
Exceptions to the Rule: So when we began the Challenge, Budget Naginata and I agreed that any money given to us as gifts could be spent however we wanted. A week or so ago, it was the birthday of the ever-lovin' Budget Ronin, so I have a small amount of cash to spend. I dropped about half of it to replace my ailing computer processor and motherboard. It is a slight upgrade for a system that is 5 years old. So... It's now like a 4 year old computer. *sigh*. I need some decent bank to buy a more serious gaming machine, so I'm looking at that for the next year or so, when we've absolved some of our debt concerns. As to the rest of my birthday booty, I will be buying Guitar Hero 2 for our console. I will then proceed to rock my troubles away. If you approach the Budget Castle and hear the rock, it is I. You have been warned.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Days of Shoppings Past
Found these receipts from the other week, July 30, 07. Looks to be two stops on the way home, both groceries:
Granola $1.5
Soup $2.5
Muffin $1
Cheese $6
Strawberries $1
Lunchmeats $12
Eggs $2
Milk $3
=total $30
-> Stop 2:
Cat Litter $6
Chocolate Syrup $3
Espresso $2
Coffee $2
Toilet Paper $4
Bread $2
Cat Food $11
=total $32
It is here that our tale ends.
Granola $1.5
Soup $2.5
Muffin $1
Cheese $6
Strawberries $1
Lunchmeats $12
Eggs $2
Milk $3
=total $30
-> Stop 2:
Cat Litter $6
Chocolate Syrup $3
Espresso $2
Coffee $2
Toilet Paper $4
Bread $2
Cat Food $11
=total $32
It is here that our tale ends.
Friday, August 3, 2007
A Penny for Your Downfall!
Last night it happened. As we sat together in marital harmony, Budget Naginata told me that I should really hear the tune that she had purchased from the iTunes Store that day. It was a catchy thing that had been bouncing around her head all day.
I stared across the ever-widening gap between us. She looked at me, a look of horror spreading across her face.
"Oh my. That's against the rules, isn't it?"
I nodded. Her .99 buy across the internet broke the sacred trust of our agreement not to purchase frivilous things. We agreed it was a vanity purchase and that she was wholly in the wrong. We have not weighted a measurement system for the severity of the punishment she should recieve, but it will be mighty!
O_o
Ok, seriously. She did buy the song and thought nothing of it. She had a revalation the minute she told me about it. We had a pretty good laugh and she said she wouldn't do it again. It is against the rules, but there are no penalties. The penalties are inflicted upon us by our creditors and banks. No need for us to make it worse on ourselves.
"But that's how it happens, you know," she added during the conversation. "You don't even think about it a lot of time, buying things, that is. And then you've spent your money and don't know where it has gone."
She's right. That's the whole point of the challenge. The sharpening of our financial awareness. This year, I grant you, it's about not spending money, but overall the challenge is about spending money better, with analysis and thought, not just haphazzardly. Naginata's iTune song will not bounce any checks, but it serves as a pretty good reminder, this day, our 100th day of the challenge.
Happy 100th day of whatever the heck we're calling this! YAY!!! One hundred days later, we're still kicking! Stronger than ever!
To pile onto the compost pile of better news, the Budget-Truck isn't as bad off as I thought it was. It was just more far gone than the tiny battery of the Budget-Mobile was going to recover. When AAA showed up the other day, they got it started by plugging me up to their mega-jump-battery. I drove it home. The new assessment is: New Battery required. I hope I can get to that within the next week or so. I'll update you as that progresses.
I have recieved a few more inquiries on the hot tub, but I decided to revise the ad and add another picture depicting the "wear and tear" the other interested people had been put off by. I'm hoping this drives more people towards me that will avoid looking down their nose at me.
That's all I have to put on the Ronin-report for now.
I stared across the ever-widening gap between us. She looked at me, a look of horror spreading across her face.
"Oh my. That's against the rules, isn't it?"
I nodded. Her .99 buy across the internet broke the sacred trust of our agreement not to purchase frivilous things. We agreed it was a vanity purchase and that she was wholly in the wrong. We have not weighted a measurement system for the severity of the punishment she should recieve, but it will be mighty!
O_o
Ok, seriously. She did buy the song and thought nothing of it. She had a revalation the minute she told me about it. We had a pretty good laugh and she said she wouldn't do it again. It is against the rules, but there are no penalties. The penalties are inflicted upon us by our creditors and banks. No need for us to make it worse on ourselves.
"But that's how it happens, you know," she added during the conversation. "You don't even think about it a lot of time, buying things, that is. And then you've spent your money and don't know where it has gone."
She's right. That's the whole point of the challenge. The sharpening of our financial awareness. This year, I grant you, it's about not spending money, but overall the challenge is about spending money better, with analysis and thought, not just haphazzardly. Naginata's iTune song will not bounce any checks, but it serves as a pretty good reminder, this day, our 100th day of the challenge.
Happy 100th day of whatever the heck we're calling this! YAY!!! One hundred days later, we're still kicking! Stronger than ever!
To pile onto the compost pile of better news, the Budget-Truck isn't as bad off as I thought it was. It was just more far gone than the tiny battery of the Budget-Mobile was going to recover. When AAA showed up the other day, they got it started by plugging me up to their mega-jump-battery. I drove it home. The new assessment is: New Battery required. I hope I can get to that within the next week or so. I'll update you as that progresses.
I have recieved a few more inquiries on the hot tub, but I decided to revise the ad and add another picture depicting the "wear and tear" the other interested people had been put off by. I'm hoping this drives more people towards me that will avoid looking down their nose at me.
That's all I have to put on the Ronin-report for now.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Broken-down , Waterlogged and Forgotten.
So... the Budget-Truck is busted. Currently it's sitting in a parking lot waiting for me to tow it home. I want to tow it to a repairman to get it fixed, but I don't have the cash to make that happen, so I scraped some cash together and renewed my AAA membership for $60. I plan on getting it dragged back to the house this afternoon. As it stands, Budget Naginata and Edamame take me to the public train every morning. It's probably better for our budget anyway, but I will confess I'm a bit angry at the loss of a working vehicle and an unknown cost ahead of us for repairs.
The much ballyhooed Hot Tub is back up on the market. Last night two different people came to look at it and consider my very cheap price. Both turned me down. I know the tub is in good enough condition, but it looks a bit long in the tooth, so people have given me the stink eye about it. I don't really know what they expected. They are looking on craigslist for a used hot tub. Mine is marked way down and I even have in the description that I'm willing to negotiate (i.e. take LESS money) if they want to bother. It's a bit aggrivating to me. You'd think that if they wanted to knit-pick and complain about its imperfections, they would spend their time and effort to buy a new one.
And finally... This morning I arrived at the train station to discover I left my new monthly pass at home. I had to drop $13 for a day's pass and the new refillable plastic passcard that the system is using. $13 is about a quarter of what I pay for my discounted monthly pass. I feel fairly violated.
Bleh. I suppose this is why it's called "Hump Day."
The much ballyhooed Hot Tub is back up on the market. Last night two different people came to look at it and consider my very cheap price. Both turned me down. I know the tub is in good enough condition, but it looks a bit long in the tooth, so people have given me the stink eye about it. I don't really know what they expected. They are looking on craigslist for a used hot tub. Mine is marked way down and I even have in the description that I'm willing to negotiate (i.e. take LESS money) if they want to bother. It's a bit aggrivating to me. You'd think that if they wanted to knit-pick and complain about its imperfections, they would spend their time and effort to buy a new one.
And finally... This morning I arrived at the train station to discover I left my new monthly pass at home. I had to drop $13 for a day's pass and the new refillable plastic passcard that the system is using. $13 is about a quarter of what I pay for my discounted monthly pass. I feel fairly violated.
Bleh. I suppose this is why it's called "Hump Day."
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Ten Times Less Controversial
We're almost 100 days in. I started this challenge with just over a years' worth of time (371 days). We're counting down to 273 days on August 1st, tomorrow, and it's been a ride so far. Things are more comfortable now, to be sure. Things are more reflexive now than they were at the beginning. Things also don't seem so grim. We've still had our moments, but if this is the comfortable middle, we're doing fairly well.
So... I got a haircut two days ago. I dropped $40 at a place by the office. I did it for convenience more than anything else, but the cut wasn't that bad. I don't get my hair cut often for an office-dweller, so you probably won't see me expense this again for some time. I don't consider this frivilous because the company I work for has some fairly strict standards on appearance. It's not Draconian, by any measure, but I was getting to the point where I was going to have to use some serious hair product to keep my coiffure in place, so I decided this is no different than shaving and I haven't put an embargo on shaving cream and razors (though I wish I could, I feel environmentally bad about throwing away all those razor-bits). Utimately, I still reasoned I was 10x less controversial than the fabled $400 John Edwards haircut of not-so-longago.
Budget Naginata has some other receipts I know she hasn't entered. That's not a condemnation, I just want to assure you people we're not just eating air and good wishes. This comes from a loose receipt she put down near my things the other day, I swiped it to enter here:
Muffins $2
Herbs $4
Zucchini $2
Granola $2
Fruits $10
Salt $4
Potatoes $6
Pasta $2
Onions $1
[ Total of $32 ]
This past Saturday (7.28.07), I made a trip to get some fixin's for the superlarge potatoes Naginata picked up. I also got other things:
Haircolor $9
Sour Cream $2
Sausage $3
Cheese $2
Bacon $4
Sodas $7
[ Total of $27 ]
The Haircolor was for Naginata. She doesn't dye like every week and she actually wasn't going to do it, but she recently got her hair cut, too, so she needed a fresh coat. I did some comparisons and got something affordable that would suit her needs. Some may consider them vanity items, but I don't, any more than any other "hygene" product. You don't technically "need" to shave or groom at all, other than staying clean for health reasons, but we all do it because it makes us feel more complete. That's all I'll say on that.
On Monday (7.30.07), we "splurged" and got sandwiches / sushi at the in-store deli when we picked up a couple of other things. It was a nice treat that is our only built-in cheat other than allowing other people to buy us lunch or dinner on occasion during the length of the contest.
Sandwich $8 (all me, I got a big one)
Cherries $5
Sushi $5
Gummi Worms $.50 (a treat for a well-behaved Budget Edamame who was out later than she should have been)
Cider $8
[ Total $26.50 ]
Well, that's caught us up on some of the spend. I am trying to post more regularly. Sorry I hit a slump a few weeks back. I have other, unrelated news I'll post seperately.
So... I got a haircut two days ago. I dropped $40 at a place by the office. I did it for convenience more than anything else, but the cut wasn't that bad. I don't get my hair cut often for an office-dweller, so you probably won't see me expense this again for some time. I don't consider this frivilous because the company I work for has some fairly strict standards on appearance. It's not Draconian, by any measure, but I was getting to the point where I was going to have to use some serious hair product to keep my coiffure in place, so I decided this is no different than shaving and I haven't put an embargo on shaving cream and razors (though I wish I could, I feel environmentally bad about throwing away all those razor-bits). Utimately, I still reasoned I was 10x less controversial than the fabled $400 John Edwards haircut of not-so-longago.
Budget Naginata has some other receipts I know she hasn't entered. That's not a condemnation, I just want to assure you people we're not just eating air and good wishes. This comes from a loose receipt she put down near my things the other day, I swiped it to enter here:
Muffins $2
Herbs $4
Zucchini $2
Granola $2
Fruits $10
Salt $4
Potatoes $6
Pasta $2
Onions $1
[ Total of $32 ]
This past Saturday (7.28.07), I made a trip to get some fixin's for the superlarge potatoes Naginata picked up. I also got other things:
Haircolor $9
Sour Cream $2
Sausage $3
Cheese $2
Bacon $4
Sodas $7
[ Total of $27 ]
The Haircolor was for Naginata. She doesn't dye like every week and she actually wasn't going to do it, but she recently got her hair cut, too, so she needed a fresh coat. I did some comparisons and got something affordable that would suit her needs. Some may consider them vanity items, but I don't, any more than any other "hygene" product. You don't technically "need" to shave or groom at all, other than staying clean for health reasons, but we all do it because it makes us feel more complete. That's all I'll say on that.
On Monday (7.30.07), we "splurged" and got sandwiches / sushi at the in-store deli when we picked up a couple of other things. It was a nice treat that is our only built-in cheat other than allowing other people to buy us lunch or dinner on occasion during the length of the contest.
Sandwich $8 (all me, I got a big one)
Cherries $5
Sushi $5
Gummi Worms $.50 (a treat for a well-behaved Budget Edamame who was out later than she should have been)
Cider $8
[ Total $26.50 ]
Well, that's caught us up on some of the spend. I am trying to post more regularly. Sorry I hit a slump a few weeks back. I have other, unrelated news I'll post seperately.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
There and Back Again: A Ronin's Tale.
I was out of the office all last week. In fact, I was on the road for a training seminar to help make me better at what it is that I do... for my job, that is. All the snappy one-liners and clever pop references you get in my blog is more of a talent, not really my career (damn my luck). So I got a budget and a cash advance to take care of my foods. I had to account for everything I bought/ate and turned in expenses at the end of the trip. As you might imagine, not so tough given the goals of this challenge. The goal was to spend pretty much everything that I budget and not to go over, because I don't want it to come out of my pocket. How close did I come? Twenty four dollars ($24). I went over budget on the last night out.
To be fair, I submitted my expense report to cover and I will be reimbursed my $24, so it all works out in the end.
I got to eat pretty much wherever I wanted, whatever I wanted and it was paid for. The downside was... uh... I don't make very good decisions on what to eat in situations like that? Yeah, I pretty much planned on heartburn and gas for the entire week. Surprisingly, it turned out better than I thought: no rumbly stomach, no long turns on the loo (that's me being all continental). Budget Naginata feeds me more healthy food than I ever managed on my own (I still contest that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner is a meal unto itself), so I wasn't sure if a week of primal Ronin would do my body good. At the very least, I don't think it's done my body too much wrong.
Inasmuch as I hated being away from Budget Naginata and Budget Edamame all week long, I did enjoy the virtual reward of splurging on my meals during that time out. I don't know why that's really a reward, I mean I had to sit through hours of class for it and travel uncomfortably away from home. The ride up and back was uncomfortable, the hotel room was actually pretty nice. I even had had room service delivered in my underware (to clarify: I was in my underware, not the room service folks), which is how I like it.
Some of the other people I met in the class went out more at night, saw some movies and enjoyed entertainment. I adhered to the challenge, though, and avoided all other spending, which was tough to do with direct peer pressure, but I did manage.
I'm back to the hardcore grind now and missing my discretionary budget, but it's good to be back home and back to the challenge. To celebrate, I bought gas for the Budget-Mobile and the Budget-Truck: $35.04 and $20.01 respectively. I also got to spend all weekend with my family, which turned out to be a lot more fun than buying gas.
Oh... And my truck is broken again. I'll post about that in a bit.
To be fair, I submitted my expense report to cover and I will be reimbursed my $24, so it all works out in the end.
I got to eat pretty much wherever I wanted, whatever I wanted and it was paid for. The downside was... uh... I don't make very good decisions on what to eat in situations like that? Yeah, I pretty much planned on heartburn and gas for the entire week. Surprisingly, it turned out better than I thought: no rumbly stomach, no long turns on the loo (that's me being all continental). Budget Naginata feeds me more healthy food than I ever managed on my own (I still contest that Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner is a meal unto itself), so I wasn't sure if a week of primal Ronin would do my body good. At the very least, I don't think it's done my body too much wrong.
Inasmuch as I hated being away from Budget Naginata and Budget Edamame all week long, I did enjoy the virtual reward of splurging on my meals during that time out. I don't know why that's really a reward, I mean I had to sit through hours of class for it and travel uncomfortably away from home. The ride up and back was uncomfortable, the hotel room was actually pretty nice. I even had had room service delivered in my underware (to clarify: I was in my underware, not the room service folks), which is how I like it.
Some of the other people I met in the class went out more at night, saw some movies and enjoyed entertainment. I adhered to the challenge, though, and avoided all other spending, which was tough to do with direct peer pressure, but I did manage.
I'm back to the hardcore grind now and missing my discretionary budget, but it's good to be back home and back to the challenge. To celebrate, I bought gas for the Budget-Mobile and the Budget-Truck: $35.04 and $20.01 respectively. I also got to spend all weekend with my family, which turned out to be a lot more fun than buying gas.
Oh... And my truck is broken again. I'll post about that in a bit.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
On Transformers and Transforming
Ok, so I deserve lashes or beatings or something for not posting in so long, but at least I beat Budget Naginata back to the list, so I'm holding that over her head. Look. There it is. Over her head. It's a petty victory, but I've always been a fan of Tom Petty.
In the interveining tiem since the last time I've posted, Naginata and I have explored one of the large exceptions to the rule of Budget Law. We have seen a movie. When we started the project back before the beginning of May, some 85 days ago (wow! 85!) we made one exception. There were several movies coming up that we knew we could not resist seeing. I suppose if our lives depended on it, or something of the like happened, we could resist it, but we thought that a good, ongoing reward would be the thrill of a summer blockbuster or two. To be truthful, since the project was taking a full year, we planned as far ahead as possible to any holiday movies as well. We tried to be as honest with ourselves as possible and limit it to movies that would have have the same audio/visual impact on DVD as it would in the theatre.
I'm sure I'm revealing a lot of personal information here, but between Naginata and I, we came up with three movies: Spider-Man 3, Transformers, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After a slew of lackluster reviews, we actually dropped Spider-Man from the list, but as children of the 80s, we were honor-bound to sit through the Michael-Baytastic cinematic onslaught that was the live-action Transformers movie. I'm not reviewing here, but we were pleased enough to part with our $30 for the whole experience. The sum total includes tickets for Budget Naginata and myself, one bag of popcorn and one drink each. Yes, it was too much money, but we really had a great time and were able to go with a friend of ours, increasing the pleasure of the trip by a factor of fun<-not a statistical absolute, it had a small +/- variance of awesome.
So yes, we are breaking the rule for movies. Only three movies, an agreed upon sum by Naginata and I at the outset of this fiscal campaign. I was hoping that the sale of the hot tub would offset those expenses, but that is not really working out to be the case. I'll have to freelance something else to "make up" for it, but I'm not quite sure what that will be at this moment.
Some more "catching up" updates to come. This post is done.
In the interveining tiem since the last time I've posted, Naginata and I have explored one of the large exceptions to the rule of Budget Law. We have seen a movie. When we started the project back before the beginning of May, some 85 days ago (wow! 85!) we made one exception. There were several movies coming up that we knew we could not resist seeing. I suppose if our lives depended on it, or something of the like happened, we could resist it, but we thought that a good, ongoing reward would be the thrill of a summer blockbuster or two. To be truthful, since the project was taking a full year, we planned as far ahead as possible to any holiday movies as well. We tried to be as honest with ourselves as possible and limit it to movies that would have have the same audio/visual impact on DVD as it would in the theatre.
I'm sure I'm revealing a lot of personal information here, but between Naginata and I, we came up with three movies: Spider-Man 3, Transformers, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. After a slew of lackluster reviews, we actually dropped Spider-Man from the list, but as children of the 80s, we were honor-bound to sit through the Michael-Baytastic cinematic onslaught that was the live-action Transformers movie. I'm not reviewing here, but we were pleased enough to part with our $30 for the whole experience. The sum total includes tickets for Budget Naginata and myself, one bag of popcorn and one drink each. Yes, it was too much money, but we really had a great time and were able to go with a friend of ours, increasing the pleasure of the trip by a factor of fun<-not a statistical absolute, it had a small +/- variance of awesome.
So yes, we are breaking the rule for movies. Only three movies, an agreed upon sum by Naginata and I at the outset of this fiscal campaign. I was hoping that the sale of the hot tub would offset those expenses, but that is not really working out to be the case. I'll have to freelance something else to "make up" for it, but I'm not quite sure what that will be at this moment.
Some more "catching up" updates to come. This post is done.
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