The last week of June saw me scrambling to get everything done before our vacation in July, so I didn’t manage to get a list posted. Considering that vacations are spendy things (and that I came home sick), I don’t have much to show for two months of combined effort. I spent more than I intended in several areas (although not, oddly enough, on the vacation itself), but I didn’t go too overboard.
In June and July, I:
- Paid for Seamwork subscription with money earned doing surveys.
- Watched a free Redbox rental. It was “The Commuter.” Utterly forgettable, and yet — because I enjoy watching Liam Neeson beating his way out of impossible situations — I enjoyed it. I probably would have enjoyed it less if I had paid, though!
- Had a free Taco Bell taco and a $1 “happier hour” iced tea. I went with my Mom. She loves a free taco! (Who doesn’t? Only monsters, probably.)
- Bought two books from the library. They have a huge sale of donated books every year, but most branches have a small table of donated books for sale all the time. The prices are so low that they’re practically garage sale prices — only $1 for a hardback and $0.25 for a paperback. I got “Texts from Jane Eyre”(*) and a P.G. Wodehouse novel I hadn’t read before for only $1.25! (*I will now always send texts as Medea, which you will understand only if you’ve read the book.)
- Had a free drink on my Starbucks card.
- Mom treated us to a night at the famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Though famous for paranormal activity (and being the inspiration for Stephen King’s The Shining), I didn’t sense any ghosts — but it was beautiful there, and the history was fascinating.
- Enjoyed an at-home karaoke birthday party for one of our hosts while we stayed with friends in Colorado. I am completely jealous of their basement stage set-up! Puts my Bluetooth karaoke mic to absolute shame.
- Used a $1.50 off coupon and a $5.00 reward from my Walgreens card on my special mouthwash, making it pretty much the same price as regular mouthwash. (Seriously, take care of your teeth and gums. Don’t ignore them for years and expect that it will all work out in the end. It won’t.)
- Finally scanned a bunch of notes from online courses I’ve taken over the past couple of years, thereby freeing up a little physical storage space. Although that doesn’t really save any money on its own, you could argue that it does as a cumulative habit. I’m mostly paperless and have only one file box of current papers and one file box of sentimental papers and old writing. I also regularly donate and discard unnecessary things, which makes it much easier to live in a smaller, more affordable apartment. We’re not minimalists by any stretch of the imagination — I have 160+ yards of fabric shamefully squirreled away in our closet, for instance — but we live in 650 square feet and no longer pay for a storage unit, so we must be doing something right.
- Read 31 ebooks and 7 physical books from the library. I also signed up for 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for $0.99 on Prime Day. I read 5 Unlimited books in July, so each cost me approximately 7 cents to borrow. Unfortunately, I spent $110.92 on other books. (Ouch!) I’m still averaging about $1.14 per book for all reading so far in 2018, so I suppose it could be much worse. (But still, ouch!)
Not a terrible pair of months, but it could have been better. I need to reign in our spending again, but I’ve fallen behind on client work (I have just been ill more than usual this year), so I haven’t had my usual amount of income lately. I need to focus on catching up that work in August — and getting paid by the clients who have outstanding invoices — as well as cutting unnecessary spending.