Owner: This Writer's Wallet URL:http://gradgirl.wordpress.com Join Date: Wed, 31 Oct 2007 22:38:59 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description:
I’m a 25-year-old Chicago girl with a master’s in Writing. Since June 2007 I’ve been a writer and editor for a growing company.
I’m in love with PF blogging because of the personal side. Reading individual stories, complete with problems and victor Site statistics:Click here
frugal foodie thursdays 2007-10-31 05:18:27 I should tell you a little something about me: in addition to being a frugal writer committed to Biblical finance who PF blogs and sometimes runs and also likes to travel, I am head over heels for one more thing: quality cuisine. I am a big-time, no-denying-it, long-time foodie.
Though I don’t get to spend as [...]
emergency fund 2007-11-04 21:56:57 Through the pf world, I’ve been reading for months about emergency funds. A lot of bloggers have sections in their sidebar that track their progress. I’ve decided it’s a good idea and want to start one.
Help!
If you have an emergency fund, what are you saving the money in? An ING? Something else? I want it to be something that gains interest and something that I can liquidate easily. Any advice/suggestions are appreciated. If I can get you a referral bonus or something, let me know.
Emergency Fund Decision 2007-11-10 10:17:14 I’ve decided to go with the ING Orange Savings account (Thanks, GB, for the referral!). I deposited $250 last night and am just waiting for them to verify my bank account in order for everything to process.
Thanks to everyone for the advice—you reminded me what I love best about the PF blogging world.
Read more:Emergency
6 Things That Stink about Being Boss 2007-11-14 06:43:09 There are a lot of things I love about being the boss. Partially, I’ve always been a bit of a control freak, so I like that. Also, I like getting a say-so, a voice. I like seeing my work do something, seeing things in the company change because of what I did. And, of course, I like having the big desk and the window and the pay.
But lest I paint too rose-colored of a view for you, let me tell you what I do not like about being a boss:
1. Being responsible for my employees’ tardiness (I’ll spare you the details, but this is much better now that we punch in.)
2. Having employees who will not listen (Nodding heads do not equal comprehension.)
3. Telling people to quit goofing off (Remember the study hall monitor? Yeah, that’s me now.)
4. Not getting the camaraderie with coworkers in the same way
5. Taking responsibility when an employee messes up
6. Swallowing my pride when I make my own mistakes
Back to the pluses, I’ve learned a lot (I think.. and am still Read more:Stink
I’m thankful for my job. 2007-11-19 05:27:53 If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may remember my job search, along with its stress, the questions, the uncertainties. I spent many an anxious afternoon wondering where’d I’d be over the next few months, job-wise. When I look back on that time now, I think how blessed I am to now have a job I really do love, a job I don’t dread going to, a job I don’t want to leave any time soon.
Specifically, I like my job because:
1. It’s a short commute.
2. It allows me to do what I always dreamed of doing: write.
3. It’s a career-building opportunity.
4. It’s more money than I expected.
5. I work with nice people.
6. I get to be creative.
7. I have a window view.
8. I got a raise 3 months into it.
9. My boss doesn’t micromanage.
10. It’s a specific, direct answer to prayer.
A Cure for the Shopaholic within 2007-11-24 07:49:28 If you walked into my bedroom, you would see a neatly made bed with a white and red down comforter, complete with matching throw pillows; a glass-paned case with color-coded bookshelves; a dresser with just a lamp and candles on top; a nightstand with another lamp, lotion and an alarm clock; a stand-up mirror; a teeny-tiny desk with my laptop; and a chair.
The point is: you would see no clutter. I have a total paranoia of the cutesy, knick-knacky way that people live. I like things to have a place and stay there.
But. I also have an attic storage space off my closet that is filled with boxes and plastic containers. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve saved: An entire rectangular box stuffed with years and years of journals. Bridesmaid dresses. Candles. Old clothes. Old bags, purses, slings. A leopard-print pillow, a pillow an old roommate made me that doesn’t match my room’s decor. There are school books and class notes, syllabi, even a poster someone made abou Read more:within
Frugal Lunch #1: Salad 2007-11-29 19:31:03 Most of my work lunches are repackaged leftovers of a dinner the night before. Sometimes though, I eat something for dinner (scrambled eggs? cereal? hot dogs? chocolate cake? yes, embarrassing) that just doesn’t package and/or reheat well. When that happens, I have a growing arsenal of other ideas that are easily made with things we usually have in the house.
Yesterday and today? my salad, special blend.
Ingredients:
Lettuce
Leftover meat (chicken or turkey)
Dried cranberries
Nuts (walnuts or pecans)
Cheese (optional)
Dressing (Briana’s Blush Wine for me)
Side: bread (pecan raisin, Italian, crostini, crackers)
Directions:
Grab a tupperware container and put in freshly washed lettuce (I especially enjoy romaine). Top with chopped leftover meat, nicely chopped as you like it. Add the berries, nuts and cheese; then top with dressing. Snap on the lid, and you’re good to go.
I usually also pack some toasty bread, along with whatever sides I can scramble up.
Enjoy!
Read more:Frugal
, Lunch
, Salad
Thoughtful Christmas Gifts under $1 2007-12-07 07:43:37 A few years ago, I saw a Martha Stewart gift idea in the Chicago Tribune: holiday CDs with style. She gets full credit, but right now I’m going completely off memory. It’s an easy, inexpensive way to give thoughtfully to a large amount of people: think teachers, hosts, co-workers, etc.
The following directions will create 80 CD gifts, with 20 CD-Rs/labels leftover for your own use. Enjoy!
Supplies:
100 CDs (you’ll have 20 left over for yourself) 2 packs of 50 Blank CD-Rs: $24.00
80 CD labels 2 packs of 40 CD Labels: $26.00
100 CD sleeves (you’ll have 20 left over for yourself) 100 CD envelopes: $2.45
Your own holiday mix of songs (price varies based on what you purchase): est. $15
Your own Christmas
pictures (think scenes. I used a B & W of downtown Chicago, a clip art of snowflakes and something else): free
Paper (preferably card stock): if you’re like me, you already have some
A computer printer with ink: again, check.
Approximate Total cost: $67.45 Read more:Gifts
Friends and Money 2007-12-17 19:03:29 My best friend and I talk on the phone every week, sometimes more than once. She’s married and lives in a new-construction house far away from me, with a one-year-old boy and a cute puppy.
We met as living mates in college, back when neither of us had any real money to speak of and lived in a trailer with seven other girls. She’s one of the only people in my life that I automatically clicked with: there was no getting-to-know-you period. I think she asked me to grab dinner with her, and we were friends forever after.
Over the past few years, I’ve stood up in her wedding and visited her family a few times, but it’s our phone calls that have kept us close. It’s funny how someone so geographically far away can feel closer than someone in the same room.
So here’s the funny (or maybe typical) thing: About most issues, it’s and-he-was-wearing-a-white-sweater-when-he-came-over conversations; it’s so-then-I-said details. But with money, it’ Read more:Friends
, Money
Christmas on the Job 2007-12-21 22:13:37 Today was a great example of why I have an amazing, perfect-for-me job. It’s Christmas
time, and we’re working, even Christmas Eve (that’s not the part I like). But yesterday was our gift exchange (fun! productive! gave: DVD, popcorn, skittles. received: this wonderful lotion I love and a box of mint meltaways) and today, the Christmas luncheon. I made yummy, yummy corn bread (recipe right on the Quaker’s corn meal box) and ate fried chicken, fruit salad, mandarin chicken salad, brownies.
There was little to do, as is want to happen on the Friday before Christmas, so after creating tasks to accomplish for a while and after partying it up in the office conference room, my department sat around at our desks, all 20-something singles, talking about living and working in our current situations.
I talked about my indecisions about moving out. Friend, from a family of nine (!) children, told me her parents made her move out at 18, thrusting her into a seven-year jour
Facebook: To Do or Not To Do? 2008-03-10 14:57:34 My friend tells me this story of a guy who went into a job interview, well-prepared and all charm, only to have the hiring manager turn around his computer screen and show the guy’s Facebook
profile to him.
“I’m going to tell you right now,” the boss-man said, “You’re not getting this job, and here’s why. [...]
Planning a Cali Vaca 2008-03-13 08:45:22 I’m going to San Francisco! In June!
I’ve never been farther west than Texas, not including a quick stop in Seattle when my fam went to Canada a LONG time ago. So exciting!
So now I need to start budgeting accordingly: I’m thinking I’ll set up a separate ING and deposit either a set amount each pay [...]
Getting an Accountant: GOOD decision! 2008-03-15 22:51:00 When I was going to do my own taxes, I came up with a $500 federal refund and would have owed the state $5 (Oh, Illinois!).
My accountant took the same information and his expert knowledge and came up with some different, much preferable figures:
I’ll be getting a $1,000+ refund from the federal portion and paying [...] Read more:Accountant
, decision
I’ve chosen a new work motto: You can only do so much. 2008-03-17 21:13:20 Sometimes I have to talk to myself in my head. When I’m on the phone with someone who’s raising his voice, demanding to know why he got an e-mail about a problem that turned out not to be a problem, why he’s been burdened for five minutes of his morning double-checking something he’d already done.
Or [...] Read more:chosen
I Love Potlucking. 2008-03-20 06:33:09 Turns out potlucks aren’t just good for my wallet (and they are!). The benefits keep on coming: I’m cooking again (hooray!), I’m bonding with my workmates, and I’m learning a little about creativity.
What have I been making?
Well, first there was the challah bread, then the knock-off Red Lobster biscuits. Next up: my favorite, trusty, delicious [...]
Resurrection Weekend: the Cross 2008-03-21 10:43:45 Redeem, from M-W.com
Main Entry: re·deem
Pronunciation: \ri-ˈdēm\
Function: transitive verb
1 a: to buy back : repurchase b: to get or win back2: to free from what distresses or harms: as a: to free from captivity by payment of ransom b: to extricate from or help to overcome something detrimental c: to [...] Read more:Resurrection
, Weekend
, Cross
I bought a Blackberry! 2008-03-24 08:11:55 I really shouldn’t let myself play on eBay. The other night, I was looking through phones (mine is really on its last leg) and couldn’t believe how cheap Blackberries were. So I bid on one.
And I won it. $30, plus shipping and handling, for a grand total of $48.
I’m told it will be a fantastic [...]
More on Budgeting Software 2008-03-25 08:14:31 Thanks for all the great advice on personal finance software! I bought a copy of Quicken at Sam’s Club, took it home, couldn’t get it to sync my bank accounts and returned it.
Now I’m using Mint.com. It’s free and does everything the Quicken online did, so I canceled my Quicken. I also still have my [...] Read more:Budgeting
, Software
Home Decorating = ER Fund Spending 2008-03-27 22:15:17 Sometimes I really feel like an idiot.
I got this idea in my head that I really wanted some of those floating wall shelves on this vacant wall in my bedroom. I looked around at prices, comparing Target, Amazon, Linen N’ Things, Wal-Mart, Meijer and all the other discount home-type places. Target was the winner.
Tuesday night, [...] Read more:Decorating
, Spending
What Do You Really, Really, Really Want from Your Money? 2008-03-30 22:27:58 That was the question in a financial article I read recently. The irony is that I don’t remember much of the article–just the title. I immediately started asking myself how I’d answer the question, rolling it around in my mind later that day and continuing right now.
What do I want from money? There are the [...] Read more:Money
Working on a Roller Coaster and, Do You Play Online at Work? 2008-04-02 18:55:38 OK, raise your hands if your job is stressful!
You too? Oh, good. I was hoping I wasn’t alone. I love my job, and I love my boss, and I’m overall very satisfied. But, really. Sometimes I think I’ll just walk out to lunch and never come back. Well, kind of.
Monday was drama with A, the [...] Read more:Roller
, Coaster
, Roller Coaster
It’s My Blogoversary = Drink Starbucks for Free! 2008-04-05 06:00:46 OK, readers. Today is a big day at This Writer’s Wallet. It is the one-year anniversary of the first day I blogged here.
Celebration is in order, obviously. My blog and I are taking a little vacation for the next week. During this time, you can browse through the archives, take a look at some of [...] Read more:Drink
, Starbucks
Where I’ve Been All Week 2008-04-13 07:00:40 So, as promised, I took a week-long vacation from blogging to celebrate my one-year blogoversary.
What have I been up to? Here are some highlights:
1) Personal: I wrote a fan letter to John Krasinski. My first celebrity letter ever. I blame my co-worker. And John–for being so darn lovable.
2) Work: I hired two new people and [...]
When Did We Stop Dreaming? 2008-04-14 07:38:57 I asked some six- and seven-year-olds recently what they want to be when they grow up. There were a lot of answers, with a general theme: grand. Several kids said they wanted to be more than one thing or that they couldn’t pick just one:
I want to be a doctor. And a college professor. And [...] Read more:Dreaming
, Stop Dreaming
Everyone’s Talking Recession. Why Don’t I Feel It? 2008-04-15 08:00:10 You really can’t go anywhere lately without talk about the struggling economy. I read an article recently that highlighted pending layoffs, lowered revenues in the retail sector, plunging home sales.
To quote that author directly: “What happened with Bear Stearns was the closest we have come to a run on the bank since the Great Depression…The [...] Read more:Talking
The Best Chicago Bakeries 2008-04-17 13:16:12 I can’t say this post is especially frugal, but it is food, and it is some of the most delicious food: in Chicago
land: the bakeries.
Whether you’re from the city or visiting, you need to make time for some of the amazing bakeries around here. Seriously. Can you think of anything more fun than a nicely [...]
Raise Your Hand if You’ve Tried Online Dating! 2008-04-18 08:37:32 You know, no matter how many times I see those smiling couples on eHarmony or match.com commercials, I still hang my head in embarrassment and shame when I admit I’ve tried them. Yes, I’m serious, both about trying online dating and about being humiliated. In fact, in the interest of full disclosure: I am mentally [...] Read more:Dating
What I Dreamed of, 3 Years Ago 2008-04-19 08:33:28 In the spirit of dreaming, I dug through my Internet archives to find this, a list of eight dreams/goals for my future. I wrote them in May 2005.
8. Speak at a seminar (about what I have no idea . . . but I figured one lofty goal wouldn’t hurt)*
7. Marry and have kids (or adopt/ [...] Read more:Years
Room in Progress 2008-04-21 07:46:51 Room in Progress
Originally uploaded by GG Chicago Gal
I’m still on that home decorating kick of a few weeks back, and here’s the latest update.
The duvet, IKEA: $50
The matching lamps, Linens N’ Things: $25
The rug, Urban Outfitters: $50
The round mirror–far wall–, Meijer: $60?
You’ll notice random papers [...]
Money Story: Lunching 2008-04-22 20:04:12 Recently, my mom was invited out to lunch by Z, who wanted to pick her brain a little, regarding an organization Mom is involved in. They went to a average restaurant (Z picked), and Z ordered a meal that cost $12.99. Mom ordered something similar, maybe a little lower in cost.
The bill came, and Z [...] Read more:Money
, Lunching
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