New Years Resolutions

There is nothing like the New Year to help regain control of one's finances. The holidays are over, which hopefully means the end of overspending and overindulging. Of course, one of my many new years resolutions is to work on living more closely to my budget. With the help of the website mint.com, I have analyzed my past finances and set goals for the future. I saw where I overspent (shopping, restaurants, and coffee shops, shocking I know!) and underspent (happily, alcohol and bars). Using this information, I have adjusted my budget accordingly and laid out my plan for 2011.

I am trying to spend no more than $10 at Starbucks per week, $40 per month. In fact, I have not been yet in 2011. But of course, I wanted to build in some wiggle room just in case I need an emergency venti soy chai latte. (Considering, my fave beverage is also upwards of 300 calories, this also fits in with another resolution).

I am also trying to spend less on restaurants and apply some of that savings to spending more at the supermarket. I have allotted $60 per week to supermarket spending and $50 per week for restaurants. This still allows me to either get one or two nice dinners in per week OR to buy lunch a few days per week (which ALWAYS winds up happening no matter how hard I try to prevent it).

I have also cut my shopping (in which I include everything from clothes to books to music) budget, which I know will be the most difficult to stick to... But here's to good things in the New Year.

Also, as a bonus, here is the recipe I will be making tonight (for under $15).

Warm Chick Pea Stew.

Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 75 minutes
Serves: 8
Cost: $8 or $11*

• 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil
• 1 ½ cup diced onions
• ¾ cup diced celery
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes and their juices
  
• 3 cups chicken stock (if store-bought, by low sodium variety)
• 20 oz canned chickpeas, rinsed
• 14 oz can lentils, rinsed
  
• ½ cup short grain brown rice
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• Cilantro sprigs for garnishing

Heat the olive oil in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and celery and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and their juices, stirring well. Stir in the chicken stock, lentils, and chickpeas. Bring to a boil.


Add the rice and salt and return the stew to a simmer. Cook covered for 60 minutes, until rice is tender. Add the cilantro, parsley, and lemon juice. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes.

Ladle into warmed soup bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro sprigs.

*If using store-bought stock.

Click here to check out other recipes for under $15 from Learnvest.

My Starbucks Addiction

When I started my new job, I knew one the easiest way to save some money would be to cut out my morning Starbucks habit. And I had been doing very well until now. I had been treating my grande soy no-water chai latte as a special treat, something to perk me up on a really bad day or a reward for a particularly rough work week.

But in the past two weeks, Starbucks has become breakfast. I have gone every single day. AND I have upgraded to a venti. So now I am at $4.90 per morning, $34.30 per week (yes I go on Saturday and Sunday too), and $137.20 per month.

What else could I do with almost $140?

I could pay my cable bill and my utilities.
I could have an extra $140 in my savings account.
I could go out for dinner and drinks several times.
I could take the train to NY.
I could buy something I don't need (much like the daily venti soy chai lattes in the first place).

So far, budgeting in October, not looking so hot.

Resisting Temptation

Learnvest recommends that no more than 4% of one's annual budget be spent on clothing! (see full article here!)

So as part of my effort to live on a budget, I have recently unsubscribed from all shopping e-mails. I was getting almost 20 per day. Not only has this helped me to cut back looking at a plethora of online stores, but it has also uncluttered my inbox dramatically. However, that doesn't mean that I have stopped e-shopping all together.

In fact today, I decided to browse at Neiman Marcus to look for this well-priced, work appropriate Alice + Olivia dress I had seen a while ago in the store. I have a bunch of work events next week and thought that it would be perfect. That's when Neiman Marcus online through this teaser in - if I spent $250 or more today, I would get a $25 gift card back (There were higher increments with even more money back, but there was no way I was spending that much). Suddenly I found myself wandering through rows and rows of dresses, skirts, and tops justifying spending that amount just for the deal, even though the dress I really wanted was nowhere to be found on the site.

Sales (and deals) are never really sales or deals at all, unless the specific thing you NEED is actually on sale. They trick us into buying things we would never buy if they weren't on sale or spending way more than we intended because we are so excited for the great deal we are getting.

I fall victim to this mentality all the time, so I am particularly proud of myself for NOT buying anything today! And let's face it, $25 at Neiman Marcus can barely buy an eyeshadow, so that $25 gift card would have turned into another budget-busting shopping trip that I simply should not take.

Bus v. Train - A Serious Dilemma

Last Friday, I spent $20 on a bus ticket, trying to be financially practical, and it took me over 6 hours to go 250 miles. I was also sitting next to a baby and in front of a girl who did not stop coughing, except for when she was talking on her cell phone. THERE WAS NO ESCAPE! Door to door my trip was about 7 and half hours. That is a long day of traveling. Returning on Sunday, I splurged on the train, and even with a 45 minute delay made it back in just over 4 hours.

Was my time worth the extra $120 I spent on the upgraded form of transportation? I think so!

The Cable Bill I Was NOT Expecting

I do not understand why Comcast cannot bill me like every other company - get a bill on a set day for a set range of time. No, they send bills whenever they feel like it with seemingly completely arbitrary date ranges. The bill I just received for example covers all of my service for part of August and all of September. That was a $222.74 bill for cable and internet.

Now its not that I mind having a cable bill that is $100/month. In fact, I completely factored that into my expenses. I know that this bill is a little steep, but for me having all the TV-related perks was extremely important - I watch a lot (some may say too much) TV. So yes, I have DVR (there are four shows that I watch going up against each other in the fall lineup!) and yes, I took that deal they were offering on HBO (have you SEEN Alexander Skarsgard?).

I guess what angers me is that even though I have factored in $100/month, I now owe over $200 because of these wonky date ranges and that is big chunk of my bi-weekly paycheck. I know I won't have to pay again for a while, but its just frustrating in the now.

Then again, what about dealing with the cable company is not frustrating?

Cooking For One

I am personally a big fan of take out, but unfortunately there is just not a lot of room in my budget for it. So I have taken up cooking. I am definitely not the world's best cook (in fact in grad school, I went through an 8 month period where I didn't use my oven once) but I have learned some simple, tasty, and affordable recipes that get me through the week.

However, cooking for one is not easy. Many cookbook recipes are intended for a family of four which means I will either be eating the same meal for four days straight or a lot of food will go to waste. Last week, I made turkey chili that not only did I eat for the entire week, but also wound up throwing half of it out. Since then, I have started cutting recipes in half, which definitely helps cut back on the leftovers. However, it often leaves left over ingredients (1/2 lb of Turkey, or half a can of crushed tomatoes, to use the chili example again). But, by planning dinners ahead of time, those ingredients can easily be turned into other dishes (such as a turkey bolognese sauce or spaghetti with turkey meatballs and homemade tomato sauce).

Additionally, a friend of mine (the wonderful Maya Z) gave me some very financially savvy cooking advice: Whatever you make for dinner, save some for lunch the next day. Such simple advice but great on so many levels. 1) it saves money and time because you are not making two separate meals for lunch and dinner, or going out to buy lunch at work. 2) it deals with the problem of leftovers (even after the recipes have been halved). and 3) it allows you to to sleep in because you don't have to worry about waking up to make lunch or oversleeping and then having to go buy lunch. Lastly, by saving money here, it allows for a bigger budget to splurge on dinner and/or going out on the weekends.

If eating the same thing for two meals in a row sounds slightly boring, it doesn't have to be. For example, I made spaghetti and turkey meatballs last night so for lunch today, I will put the meatballs on a whole grain baguette for a modified meatball sub. Okay, so it may not sound super exciting but the extra weekend budget and savings at the supermarket make it totally worth it.

Also for a bonus, here is the turkey meatball recipe (works with beef and chicken too).

1 lb lean ground turkey meat
1 large egg
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 table spoon pepper
1/2 table spoon Worcestershire sauce

Mix all these ingredients together and fashion into balls about the size that would come out of an ice cream scooper (which you can use to make this a bit easier, if you have one). Place on a nonstick baking sheet evenly spread out.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.

This recipe makes about 10 meatballs. It is not halved but easily could be.

Six Months later... a new idea and a new blog

Catch Twenty-Shoe will no longer be dedicated to finding the best online and in store sales, though if I see a good (and irresistible) sale, I will make sure to mention it. Instead, I will be devoting my blog to my adventures and misadventures as a young professional, particularly the complications of living on a budget and all that this entails.

I figured today was a good day to start because I just got paid and then turned around and paid my rent for September. According to Learnvest , at most, 30% of our monthly budget should go to housing. I personally think that 30% does not really take into account realistic rent prices in major cities with the fact that all of us are not investment bankers and lawyers. I can tell you now I am way over budget which means that I am forced to cut back in other areas like shopping, eating out, and travel.

Follow me as I try to make my way on the budget I have come up with for myself (based roughly on the Learnvest budgeting tool).

Wish me luck!