Brooklyn Girl's Personal Finance Blog

I am not packed yet. We won't get enough sleep today... but I am excited.

I'll be in Macao, so I would have an opportunity to... jump of the Macao tower. It is in a Guiness book of records at the highest bungee jump.

Ever thought of stepping off the 61st floor?










btw, it cost close to $270 for the jump plus the DVD and the photo (If I jump, I am definitely getting the DVD).

Is it worth it?

I do not normally go to expensive spas to get a massage.
I don't even crave it, because my husband gives the most amazing massages.

So I only pay for them when I go to countries like China or Vietnam, where you can get them for $5-$10 an hour - it is a great bargain.

But I am tempted to try this spa and this 4 hand massage treatment:









I have never tried a massage in a spa this luxurious. This is a spa in JW Marriott in Shanghai's Tomorrow Square.

And this is the description of the treatment I am interested in:

"Mandara Signature Massage
75 mins 990
A truly sublime and unforgettable spa experience, this four hand massage incorporates the exacting skills of two therapists working together in rhythmic harmony. The technique combines five different massage styles of Japanese Shiatsu, Thai Massage, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi, Swedish and Balinese. Performed using specially- blended massage essential oils of sandalwood, patchouli and ylang ylang, gentle and healing hands of our therapists will help to calm the nervous system, warm and relax muscle tissue and promote the growth of
healthy, new skin cells, ultimately resulting in total relaxation and suppleness of the skin."

It is extravagant, especially for China. But can it be justified in the spirit of "trying things once" and experiencing something new?

We have to make some lifestyle changes - DH was told by his doctor that his cholesterol is high. That sucks. He is not even 27 yet and is not overweight.

So we are now implementing changes that will be good for both of us. Nothing fried anymore, more healthy food, brown rice, whole wheat everything...

And working out. He has been running 4 times a week for 2 weeks now!
This whole week he stayed at the hotel and they have nice gym conveniently downstairs. But a week before he was running on his lunch break at work.
I am so proud and want to encourage it.
Seeing him do it so regularly makes me want to do it.

I wish we lived somewhere more green. Or had a house where we could put a treadmil. It is just not fun to run in an area of concreet boxes and asmost no trees, it gets really really hot and the air doesn't feel "fresh". I can't stand it. I hope we can get a place in a greener area where running would be more scenic. But we can't wait until that happens and have to do these things now.

I don't have to actually pay until I go back to pick up next week. But it is spent already.

Not cheap for visas for just the 2 of us.

But it is based on reciprocity, and I imagine it takes citizens of many other countries longer to earn that amount of money to apply for visas(and they have a high chance of being denied).

So while it is annoying, I can understand why China is charging that much.

12 days left!

This time I hope to avoid starting to pack after midnight on the day of the flight. I do that every single time we go somewhere! I spend hours looking for things like batteries and chargers around the apartment and than I am quite tired on the day of the flight. NYC - Hong Kong is a 16 hour flight.

So I finally broke down few days ago and bought it.
I looked at it for a long time and could not bring myself to spend $140 on a rice cooker, when I can buy one for $20.



I just kept thinking about it.
I read the reviews and everyone raved about it. And I really wanted a small - 3 cup one (since there are only 2 of us) and excellent rice cooker.

So it got delivered yesterday, and I used it twice. I made brown basmati rice for dinner - it was the best brown rice, just perfect. It takes 1 hour 40 minutes , but it really does it properly.

And I made oatmeal (on timer) for breakfast this morning. Also perfect - same consistency throughout, nothing burned, no crust (that almost never happens for me), nothing stuck to the pot. So much better than in a slow-cooker!

I finally bought it because DH wants steel-cut oatmeal for breakfast and the slow cooker we had kind of burned it if the portion was too small (the slow cooker is big). And DH burned my favorite pot recently when he had a day off and tried to cook oatmeal on stove top. Evidently it did not occur to him that he needed to stir it - he just left the it on the fire for 40 minutes and went to do something else. You can imagine the result.

We were both very careful to keep track this month.

I now think it is fun to be detailed - you can go back and see what you did weeks ago, where you went, were you shopped... I will keep it up. Maybe post the list every week.

1-Jun
rent $994
whole wheat bagel(breakfast) $0.65
watch (I had one, it broke) $95.37
lunch - ruben panini made in the office $4
snapple green tea $1.8
knee highs 3 pack $5.29
hand wipes $1.89
toothpaste $4.39
donaton at work $5
sushi lunch DH $17
dry cleaning $14.25
car break lights $4.32
1 lb of fresh baby spinach $7.99

2-Jun
whole wheat bagel $0.65
lunch DH $7.15
Lunch (Dosal masala) $7.04
gasoline $26.03
groceries $21.32
student loan $141

3-Jun
lemon/nuts muffin $2.64
farmers market:
cilantro $1.5
salad bowl $1.25
half dozen eggs $2.5
kale $2.5
butter $2.59
fresh sweet peas $5
other 3.74
lunch DH $12
coffee for the office DH $40

4-Jun
croissant $2.69
lunch me (Indian takeout) $5.5
moisturizer with SPF $38.4
lunch DH (Chipotle) $7.12
2 samosas (partial dinner) $3

5-Jun
breakfast $6
1 slice of cake $6.5
lunch - yogurt $2.75
rite aid, personal care $22
dinner (bbq) $38
gasoline $14
haircut DH $21

6-Jun
2 slices of pizza $5.5
groceries $26
dry cleaning $45
Roth autoinvest $100

7-Jun
gasoline $30
breakfast, Japanese café $18
green tea ice cream $3
Japanese store groceries $25
Japanese store beauty $16
haircut $21
water $6.5
Tory Burch blouse on sale $99

8-Jun
bagel $0.75
coffee $1.75
m&m (DH) $1.5
coffee (DH) $3.5
copay DH $20
parking $10

9-Jun
almond croissant $2.69
DH Lunch $6.69
dinner out (Mexican) $60.95

10-Jun
almond croissant $2.69
personal care - rite aid $11.79
groceries $21
car tow $194.25
gasoline $32
Panera bread- lunch DH $8.23
DH underwear $16

11-Jun
ice cream $4.49
car repair $250
DH lunch $6.96
2 slices of pizza (dinner) $5
groceries $10
skype $10
itunes $1.99
12-Jun
almond croissant $2.69
cream cheese for office $1.25
dinner Virgils $56
lunch DH $5.5
lunch me $7

13-Jun (weekend away)
breakfast out $38
parking ticket $35
gas $30
groceries in Catskills $55.25
toothbrushes $8.4
Ann Taylor pants, socks $26.52
Cole Haan dress shoes DH (need, old ones were falling apart) $198
wolford $16
Cheesecake Factory (1 slice to go, shared at BN) $8
starbucks at BN $4

14-Jun
local ice cream $3
dinner (Mexican place with great river view) $62
Zojirushi rice maker (3 cup) $146.3
detergent $7.53

15-Jun
cablevision bill $131
hot dog $7.47
gas $30
lunch $5
almond croissant $2.69
2 rye rolls and an onion - partial dinner $3
skype $10
ezpass $275
electric bill $104.96
Roth mutual funds $300

16-Jun
breakfast $1.4
lunch DH $6.15
lunch me - breaded shrimp over salad, made at the office $6
chicken tenders to cook for dinner and dessert $13
shampoo $19
Individual mutual fund $100

I had terrible luck lately - mostly involving my mom and her very long awaited vacation. It is too frustrating to even re-tell now without getting angry again. She was stuck for 3 days in Miami airport due to shocking incompetence of AA staff. So she lost precious days of vacation, non-refundable hotel and almost missed her boat to Galapagos ($7,500)

Besides that, we had some minor issues:

Car lost power on a highway ($200 just to tow) and than alternator had to be replaced!

My Dyson Animal vacuum broke (not fixed yet and it is not under warranty, so I am not sure if I should try fixing it or buy new)

parking ticket yesterday...

And last Friday was the last day at work of the most amazing boss I ever had.

But, I am back and trying to keep my head up.
I have put in another $300 into the mutual funds today, following my recent new tradition: every time DOW drops near 200 points in one day I put in some money before 2pm that day, so that I buy slightly more shares and feel less bad about it. Today I bought few shares of commodities since they declined the most. I believe if inflation hits they will go up strongly. If inflation won't become a problem, I'll be happy for that.

This weekend, a friend who is working in the fasion industry suggested we go to the Tory Burch sample sale.

I thought it may be a cool experience and I may score some bargains, so I gladly agreed.

It was nothing like I expected.

When we I got there she was already on line at the end of it - that was one avenue and two streets long! I had to walk for 10 minutes to get to the end of the line!
I wanted to leave, but my friend wanted to stay. Since I felt that she could have invited someone who would not abandon here there, I felt I should stay.

It took almost 4 hours before we got in! There were a couple of physical fights(!) when people tried to cut in line. Many people tried, some even refused to leave when caught until being chased away by force.
Some people who were behind us and also waited for 4 hours did not even get in!

It was surreal. You know the pictures they used to print of people standing online for something in a former Soviet Union.... that could not even compare. You could not photograph this line in its entirety. Maybe only from the air. Someone could publish this with pictures as a story about US.

Anyway, I got 3 tops ($75, $75, $65 - each sells for around $200-$300 at the store they were really pretty) and a purse for $195 ($400 at the store, classical yet matches almost everything).
My friend got a tote and 2 dresses and paid about the same. This is a way to build a nice wardrobe at a reasonable price and look stylish. But I am not going to do this again!

Anyway, everybody in front of us in line were loading up. There were 3-4 registers and huge line to the register. So all day, the warehouse was selling about 2K of clothing per minute with line never slowing down.
And people say "recession, recession..."

We are not planning to until this one breaks, but when it does, it would be nice to buy a new car and keep it for 15 years, taking care of it well.

The problem is, we live in NYC. This is a picture of our bumper:





This is what happens to cars parked on the street (and that would be 90% of them).

I watch those small claim court shows where people SUE over a scratch on their car and I am amazed. They have a police report and everything.
Here police would not even come out for such reason. (if anybody bothered to report it). They would laugh at the thought.

It took 4 hours to get them to come when 3 of our tires were slashed (and that happened to like 10 cars on the block). They still did not want to take police report. So reporting anything is just not worth the aggravation or time.

We have dents on our doors.... people don't leave notes or anything - it is another world.

When we drive, we always note if there is a car with a new bumper in front of us and try to guess where they are from.

Luckily, we bought that car used and it already had scratches, so we do not care. But if we bought a brand new 30K car, it would bother us!

Now, I am a person who appreciates the beauty and quality of stylish clothing, superb-quality shoes and unique accessories...

However, there must be some price-to-quality ratio.

I am not a Target shopper - I visit nice boutiques, see and compare quality and style and sometime score nice items from brands such as Escada at 90% off, and sometimes find very nice things at designer sample sales... and once in 6 month pay full price for an Anne Fonaine white shirt...

But when I saw these online I just could not help thinking how ridiculous it is:

Hair clip

$ 460.00
http://www.bluefly.com/Chanel-white-eyelet-canvas-large-bow-hair-clip/SEARCH/301667201/detail.fly


lace brooch
http://www.bluefly.com/Chanel-red-floral-lace-medium-camellia-brooch/SEARCH/301685001/detail.fly
$940.00

resin collar (I guess I don't always get high style)

$1,196.00
http://www.bluefly.com/Chanel-black-glossy-resin-crescent-collar/SEARCH/301792401/detail.fly

A decade ago my mom would buy a Chanel jacket (much better creation than the above) for this price.

Same trend is evident with many other designers. Many names, once they became popular in the US for some reason drastically reduce quality while raising the price tenfold. I don't know how to explain it.

Luxury used to really mean high quality items, and ironically it was cheaper. Now luxury just means "expensive".

I remember a really luxurious splurge in college - $500+ leather italian knee-high boots. The leather was superb, thin,soft, stetchy, it fit like a glove, beautiful... They looked amazing. (not very practical with 4" heel, but that is another point).

Now for $500 you get junk. Somehow things are made worse and worse, It is all about the name.

It used to be that the NAME had worth because of quality. Why did consumer choose to allow this disconnect by continuing to buy things that, in my opinion, just insulting our intelligence.

Designer name and high price is not a guarantee that the item really is "luxury".

I added up 1 week in Hawaii totals.
This was a "typical" vacation normal middle class Americans go on. This was first time we went on that kind of "stay in one place by the beach" trip.

And the cost was very high!
$4,500 (includes everything - airfare, hotels, food, active sports such as horse riding and scuba diving and a surfing lesson, shopping...)

No wonder people who vacation like this don't do it often.

1 week cost 4,500 (and we had good deals on airfare and hotels)

1 MONTH vacations normally costs us about 10-11K.

1 month Ecuador (including a week on a luxury ship in Galapagos) was 10K

1 month in Argentina, having best food and nice wine was 11K

1 month in Europe this fall was 11K (though we had free central lodging for all but 4 or 5 days)

6 months in China was 6K.

4 months traveling across South-East Asia was around 8k

So the rule is - short vacations are always more expensive.

I'll think much more carefully about taking short trips now.

Next time, if we go to Hawaii we'll rent a house for a month. We can use free time to cook together and try new gourmet recipes. (I found that restaurant food on Kauai, while as expensive as in NYC is generally not as good).

And we can snorkel, scuba dive, and take more surfing lessons. I think, from recent experience, this kind of month would run less than 10K as opposed to almost 5k for 1 week. I need to start saving for it. Though I need to think of our 5 week China trip in July. Less than 2 months left.

That is one of the reasons I did not buy a house yet - I keep thinking "if I wait two more months, I can save for China vacation in that time. After we buy it, it will take us a year to save for it!

We looked at this Manhattan co-op a year ago and it was 500K (it is 500+ sf) and now the price is down to 415K (the maintenance is 1K monthly which is not fun).
But that is a significant drop! It could be an isolated incident because the owner just wants to sell after holding out for a better price for a year.

It is a junior 1 (but was originally a n l-shaped stuio and it looks like owners just had a door installed).

But is charming, has a kitchen with at least some counter space (pretty big by NYC tiny apartment standards), in a pleasant area - not the most central, maybe over 10 minute walk from the subway, but tree-lined and near the park.







The main drawback is that the co-op rules only allow subletting for 2 years out of 5 and the board has to approve the tenant. That lacks flexibility. But I was thinking fondly of this apartment, and seeing it come down in price gives me hope and some evidence that the price drop everyone is talking about for the last year may actually have some basis in reality

AA miles 94,000
Delta miles me 27,000
Delta miles DH 52,000

Discover cashback $140
crabtree & evelyn giftcard $80
home depot gift card $40

Marriott points 120,000 (after we used most of it up for 2 weeks of best central hotels in Europe this fall) We'll be using 80K for a hotel in HK this summer, and after that there won't be much left.
(we'll earn a lot of miles though, for roundtrip to China)

Also a bunch of Amtrack miles, to go pretty much anywhere - including Florida for free (2 day ride though)

Sadly, most of the rewards besides Marriott and Amtrack are from personal travel.

But these things do add up. And they do save money on vacation. But they also "provoke" vacations: We had an expiring Delta $400 certificate, so we decided to look for some cheap airfare. After we found one, and applied the certificate we thought - oh, the airfare is only $250 pp from NYC to Hawaii - how can we not go??? Well, the airfare was definitely cheap, but we ended up spending 4-5K there, I am yet to add up the totals. So it is kind of a double edged sword.

But I am careful about my rewards and make sure they all are credited. I love getting something for free!

I find that I will think for months about buying a $600 TV, yet not think 5 minutes about spending that much on a day of surfing/horse riding and eating out at a nice restaurant.

That makes no sense and yet this is how it is for me.

I have thought for years about buying nice furniture - still have not done it. Yet I spend enough on eating out to furnish my apartment with any designer furniture if I didn't.

We never bought a new car - yet we spend enough on vacations to buy a new car each year.

I find for most people it is the opposite. Stuff has value. Experiences have less value. I don't know to what extent I agree. But faced with a vacation vs. new car choice, vacation wins every single time.

So frugal in some aspects, I spend money like a drunken sailor in the other.

I guess everybody has similar issues.
What do you feel easy to spend on and what is harder for you? I'm not talking needs - no one likes to spend money on repairs or medical bills, I'm talking about "wants".

I am posting this from the Continental lounge in Atlanta.

We left Kauai 11 hours ago and now we are waiting for our connecting flight to Newark. We should be there in just over 3 hours.

The flight is at inconvenient time (that is what happens with cheap prices) and very long.

And I don't know if I will have to go to work straight from the airport (by that time I'll be up for 20 hours straight) - 29 hours by the time I get home from work. (and I caught a small cold - that does not help) I'll have to call my office from the airport and find out if they could do without me today. I hope so.

The trip was fun. I did not want to come back. As after every vacation, I am fantasizing about moving there

Our second day here. I like it - the ocean, the uncrowded beaches. (Locals say there are much less tourists due to the economy.)

The weather is absolutely perfect!

It is pretty nice to be able to go when others can't. Plus, I didn't refinance anything to do it.

Financially, it is not a cheap trip.
And not because of airfare (cheap) or food (close to NY prices, so I am not as shocked by it as others.

The most expensive part of our trip is active sports.

We are taking a surfing lesson tomorrow morning, than going for a 3 hour private horse ride in the afternoon (the one where you gallop and canter, not the one where you walk nose to tail with a bunch of people - I can't stand that).

Wed, Thur, Fri - scuba diving.

Don't know what we'll do Sat. and Sun. yet, but I'm sure it will be something. So for 2 people it adds up to more than hotel costs.

But if I just wanted to lay next to the beach in a nice hotel, I could have found one much closer than Hawaii.

Taking advantage of what the island has to offer is important.

From the cheapest "garden view", bypassing "pool view", "partial ocean view"... the only room better than that is suite.

I am so happy! Not only for the view, but the room is nicer. And it is free!

DH was working on it - the important thing is to locate contact info of the right person to ask. And holding elite status with the hotel definitely matters(though not always, especially at popular resort destinations where people go for pleasure and not business). And we booked our room directly from hotel's website (it was still the cheapest rate). I have read posts on trip advisor about so many people who were denied upgrades that I was not very optimistic. But yey!

We are leaving on Sunday, and we have not packed anything yet... and our apartment looks like it got hit by a tornado. And we have dinner plans tonight and tomorrow night. Ah, busy NYC life - there is never time to clean one's tiny apartment.

Before I post the spending and embarrass myself, here are some savings:

About $120 savings on ride to and from the airport next week. A friend will drive us there (at 5am - good friend) and will pick us up. We will leave him the car to use while we are gone and also won't need to worry about parking it.

I saved about $150 on car rental in Hawaii by searching the net for a while for coupons and promotions and finally finding one for the rental we needed - and very convenient one - that Hertz is right in our hotel! We'll also get triple reward points for it.

I also got red leather sandals (and I really needed them, I have a nice rouge clothing items for spring season) from my mom. She saw them on sale and thought I would like them. And I do!

And a co-worker who came back from her trip Egypt (to meet with her husband who was going on leave from his job in Pakistan) brought me back a silver necklace, also my style.

And now the spending:

24-Apr
grocery store $16.94
Tahari skirt (OK, not a need) $108
Hotel for 2 days on Priceline $302

25-Apr
amaretto $14
lemons $3

26-Apr
restaurant in the West Village $86
(it was a lovely day to go out)

27-Apr
bagel $0.5
grocery store $24.59
lunch DH $5
lunch me $5

28-Apr
breakfast $5.5
dive shop (prescription mask for DH and a wetsuit shorty for me) $159.7
Mexican restaurant $56.2
Barnes and Noble(guidebook to Kauai - a need, and a practice pad for chinese characters) $36.74
Free People top from ebay (NWT) $51
(it is spring and I wanted something casual for weekend outings)

When you go day to day, it does not seem like you are doing anything extravagant. When you write it down and see it all at once, it looks much worse.

Yes, I have not been very frugal. In my defense, we plan on saving most of our refund.

It will be warm enough to wear sandals in no time. That means pedicure season.

In normal closed-shoes time it is not a necessity if one has clear healthy nails. But with open toes - it is a part of the "outfit" and is kind of a must.

But here is my problem - we are going to Hawaii in one week and not sure what to do. On one hand - flip flops and sandals, so I am very tempted to get one before going.

BUT... a diver friend cautioned me against it. We will be in water for hours each day -- besides scuba diving we will be snorkeling, will take few surfing lessons, and relax in the pool in the evening. Plus, the island has high humidity in general.

So she says that under these conditions it is best not to cover the nails with polish because it greatly increases the chances of getting nail fungus.

I don't know if this is correct. I have been around a girl that had this condition and it is a terrifying thought.

So, I am not sure what to do.

I feel proud whenever I manage to get a great deal on airfare (because it is not easy and takes great deal of research)

For mid-summer, non-stop flight with Continental

Flying into Hong Kong and out of Shanghai

$983 pp (includes taxes)

That is a very good deal, especially considering that this is not a round-trip ticket but like 2 one-way tickets.

It is a 16hr long flight to HK! I have done this flight few times before and it is tiring. But I am looking forward to my trip.

Booking it was not easy -- when I finally found this fare, I went to discuss it with DH, get a credit card, think about if a little more. Than, when I was ready to purchase my request was timed out. So I re-entered exact info and now the flight was $1,725!

I tried again and again but it was still the same. So I called Continental reservations line. They looked at it, told me "the cheaper flight was just sold out, it happens all the time, sorry we can't help you." I sounded my disappointment (politely) and just did not know what to do. I guess I had difficulty accepting it. So the rep told me: "I'll transfer you to Continental now, but they'll tell you the same thing".

This got me a little confused - since I was calling Continental in the first place. But I guess they maybe outsourced the reservation system or something like that.

The next lady looked at the flight I wanted and said "yes, it is $1,700" I was sad, of course. It is a huge difference. Than she said if I wait few minutes she can play around to see what she can find in the system. And she found that flight for that price! That was amazing. So I booked it right there. I was so relieved.

I booked both our tickets. We are going on the same flight but DH is coming home after 2 weeks (he needs to go to work). So it was a complex fare with comlpex requirements, and I got a great price on it!

I keep checking this itinerary - and it is still $1725 - it never went down again.

I am so thrilled!
My employer has approved me to go again. ))

So I am spending 30 days in China this summer and using only 7 days of my vacation time. (work related part is 3 weeks). The trip is partially subsidised. My salary is being paid without using my vacation time, course and housing for 3 weeks is provided, everything else (including flights) I'll have to pay.

This time DH will fly with me there! He'll have to come back to work after 2 weeks. But even 2 weeks with him there is nice (last time I went all by my lonesome).

We will fly into Hong Kong, spend 3-4 days there and fly to Shanghai for a day or to and off to Nanjing.

DH will stay with me for a week of my programme, than go home. I will eventually end up somewhere in Hunan province (probably in Changsha) and will make my way back home on my own.

I am really excited. Yes, I'll have to study and attend boring bureaucratic functions and the city is as hot as a brick oven that time of year.... but it still feels like a partial vacation. A definite change in routine. I am very excited!

I started posting pics when I came back from last "real" vacation in October, but stopped after the Netherlands.

Talk about procrastination. So this week I'll post some. I hope you guys post some as well.


























I love how Parisian women look so elegantly at any age. I think in the US many women take care of their looks in 20s and 30s and let themselves go after 40. I will try not to be one of them and look like the women in the photo when I am past 40.

I have tonns more pictures, these are just the ones I happened to have on this computer.

I am not like some women who can go out to the mall and come back with many pairs of shoes.

For me it is a huge task. Mainly because of a few really good shoes I own. So I want a shoe that is comfortable, that feels soft like a slipper, breathable, flexible, very stable... Very hard to find at any price range and even harder at a reasonable one.

I can't bring myself to pay upwards $800 for decent shoes. You could by a crappy car for that amount! but finding something in $200 range is tough. It is mostly a clearance bin of nicer brands (no, not the luxury name brands like Prada, just unknown here comfortable European ones that I know fit my feet well.)

So I was looking for a comfy spring/fall "walking around in jeans" shoe and a neutral casual sandal. I buy on average one pair in 3 months.

I ordered 3 pairs with the intend to return those that do not fit well. I am in between sizes, so all 3, each are half size different, may or may not fit. (it is free return shipping so it is ok to try).


I really like the look and I have few outfits that work with it. However, it was only available half size smaller than it is available. But I know the brand and their nubuck is really soft and stretches, so there is a chance.


Not really feminine, but really really comfortable. I tried this one in the store and it was heavenly to walk in. It cost twice as much in the store than on clearance on the internet. Perfect for days when I need to walk a lot and wear less formal pants or jeans.


Neutral, stable, A little "vanilla" but may work with a lot of bright colors. I'll see if I like it.

I won't keep all of them because it is just too much money. I am uncomfortable spending that much on shoes in one month.
What do you guys think of them?

I like these 2 sandals but they did not have my size as they are all clearance items from last year collections:

I am planning our trip to Hawaii right now.
We got cheap tickets. We got a reasonably priced nice hotel with promotion like $180 a night.

But activities - that adds up to a lot. I am a scuba diver - and I want DH to get certified on this trip so that we could dive together. Certification is around $500, plus $150 per day per person for 2 boat dives, plus equipment rentals.

But being in Hawaii, in those warm waters and marine life and sit on a beach without taking advantage of it? How can we do that?

We would also like to try a surfing lesson - it always looked interesting and we'll be near a beach with ideal conditions for beginners.

Snorkeling, exploring some of the island on horseback. All of it is more pricey per day than hotel cost.

Yet coming all the way there and not doing these things, that does not make sense. That is why vacations never work out cheaply for us. We can't just not take opportunities that are right there.

I am conflicted about it. I thought when I booked these super cheap tickets that this would make it an inexpensive break. But as I am learning about all the things that are available, I am realizing it won't be.

I guess not matter what we plan, we can't be just one of those people (like my mom) who can lay on a hotel beach all week, no matter how nice it is. That makes trips much more expensive.

At $7-$12 for a cocktail plus $2 tip it gets pricey. To have 3 cocktails each for 2 ppl... would be more than I am willing to pay.

So I have a fully stocked bar, like some people have a fully stocked pantry.

Now I can make in my house 3 of my favorite drinks:

1. Top shelf margarita (contreau, fresh squeezed lime juice and patron tequila)

2. Amaretto sour - amaretto, fresh squeezed lemon juice, bitters, bar cherries and ice.

3. Long Island ice tea - vodka, tequila, rum,
gin, grand marnier, fresh lemon and lime juice,
Coca-Cola, ice

I have given up Pina-Colada because it is too high in calories.

This stuff would cost a lot more in a bar - and in many bars they don't use freshly squeezed juice (and that is my primary source of vitamin C) ))

So I get best ingredients (I don't like bottle mixes such as sweet and sour - in my opinion they are way too sweet)

We also have most of these things at work and have a cocktail after work hours most Fridays when things are not in the emergency mode.

I will be inviting more people for drinks to our apartment - another up side is that no one needs to drive anywhere until sober - they could just crash on the couch.

So that put a damper on things. I was so upset.

We were picking up a package inside a post office - DH was waiting in a car outside, as there were, naturally, no parking space anywhere. After waiting for half an hour in line I got my package, and went to the car. He got out of the car for 1 SECOND, to help me put it in a trunk, and a meter maid started writing a ticket instantly. a second out of the driver seat, and they got you for $115.

They are waiting outside the post office every Sat, because it is soo crowded.

Working people cannot get their packages(and it is a city, so they can't just be left on a porch like elsewhere) at any other time but Sat. because they work and post office is only opened 10-4. And it is not like a small town, where you can come on your lunch break. Most people commute an hour to their work, so there are no options but Sat. for families where everybody works. And they have short hours on Sat.

Other than that highly unpleasant incident, we had a nice weekend.

We went to Atlantic city and did it reasonably cheaply.

The hotel was free, part of Marriott rewards.

So our total expenses were:

ice cream at a village shop $3.75
Latte $4.5
notebook and refills (souvenier) $10
water, toothpaste $10.32
tip for a free cosmo at a casino bar $2
gambling until 2 am $52.5
dinner (included a pitcher of margarita) $70

5-Apr
housekeeping tip $5
lunch $37.51
gas $22.07
coke (we normally never drink soda, but DH needed caffeine to stay awake on the drive home and the only options at a rest stop was Burger King coffee) $2
lobster tail at a local cafe $4 (bought it to go and shared at home with self made coffee)

So the total was $223.65 for a weekend in Atlantic city and $115 for the fine

We managed to keep costs down by leaving Sat (it is a 2.5 hour drive) spending most of Sat there, lodgning only night and coming back Sun afternoon.

It was a fun weekend. We gambled late, we had nice dinner, we got 2 pm late checkout and lounged at leisure on a beautiful hotel bed.

I bought 2 bottles of wine at a fundraser for an Ethiopian orphanage run by western volunteers.

This fundraiser was pretty well run - a bunch of organizations just donated things (like cases of wine, ethnic crafts, etc) so all things sold were 100% profit to the cause.

And individual people cooked special (often ethnic) dishes and sold them at specially set-up tables at luch time.

This is a kind of a grass-roots fudnraiser I like - there is no pressure to buy, stuff is quite cheap (because it is all donated) and you get odd things that regular stores don't carry. I got a bottle of luxemburg dry white wine (never heard of it, but I am into trying new things) and a bottle of italian sparkling wine.

Everybody feels they are getting a good deal and something special, as opposed to buying candy you could buy at any store for 6 times the price(that kind of fundraizing feels like another form of begging to me).

ABSOLUTE NECESSITIES
rent $951.00
student loan $141.00
electric bill $52.00
gas bills $12.05
groceries $368.54
hygene (toothpaste, shaving, etc.) $19.26
laundry $10.00
Medical/dental $473.48
pet food/litter $65.61
gasoline $200.18
tolls $250.00
tickets/fines $125.00
NECESSITIES TO US (won't give up unless emergency)
triple play $149.72
Gifts $39.75
grooming $38.08
game subscription $40.00
all food and drinks at work $246.73
OTHER
clothing $431.85
household (linens, utensils, decor etc.) $242.58
ENTERTAINMENT
eating out $290.22
--------------------
Ski trip
Ski week hotel/lift/sometimes food packages $1,162.19
Ski week eating out/drinks $473.22
Ski week other (wax, lesson, thermals) $330.17
--------------------
transportation other $18.05
airfare for our future trip to Hawaii $518.00
ROTH $600.00

$7,248.68

If I spend less in one category, I end up spending more in another.

1. Submit out-of-network insurance claim for reimbursement

2. Bring new clothing to the tailor for hemming

3. Get a haircut

4. Look through drawers and assemble all gift cards in one place

5. Do laundry

6. Semi-annual dentist visit

7. Spring cleaning - bathroom

8. DH goal - sumbit FHSA claims

9. Find out from the tax unit the status of our tax review

10. Register for the next semester language class

And the most challenging part - it all has to be done before Sat, because we are going away to Atlantic city for the weekend.

I thought if I posted this list here, I'll be embarrassed not to do any of it again.
I hate some of these tasks.