I work in two separate but related jobs in the military and civilian sector, loosely equivalent to Graphic Design and Journalism
This was a week I tracked back in June during my annual training back in my home state.
Retirement Balance:
Roth IRA: ~$28k
Civilian TSP: ~$36k
Military TSP: ~$4.5k
549: ~$12k; this is money I contributed back during my deployments and I don’t add to it anymore. I’m not sure if I want to go to grad school and use it, or save it for my younger cousins.
Total: $80.5k
EF/FU savings balance: $9k; my goal is $20k.
Credit card debt: 0
I pay for pretty much everything by card and pay it off at the end of the month.
Student loan debt: $0 for a Bachelor of Arts in Psych/Japanese, thanks to Uncle Sam. I joined the Guard at 17 and lived at home throughout university. I deployed twice in that time, so whatever wasn’t covered by my state’s tuition assistance or Post 9-11 GI Bill I paid out of pocket with deployment monies.
Section Two: Income
Main Job Monthly Take Home: $3297.40
This is after taxes, FEHB(117.56), FEGLI, FERS (260) and my 7% TSP contribution.
Side Gig Monthly Take Home
Drill pay: ~$334 (after 10% military TSP contribution), but I also usually have 2-4 weeks of active duty pay during the year and am only paid for those missions after they happen.
Section Three: Expenses
Rent: $1498
Renters : $270 annually. I pay this all at once, but then allocate ~$30/month into an ‘annual savings’.
Savings contribution: $334 (I put my whole drill check into my EF/FU)
Investment contribution
Donations:
Patreon: $30 (to three different creators)
Khan Academy: $10
Planned Parenthood: $10
Doctors Without Borders: $10
I also volunteer about twice a month with New York Cares with something that fits my schedule, usually Sort for Good or Achilles International
Electric: $30-50 depending on usage
Transport: $0 (job pays for metro)
Gas: $20-30
Internet: $44.99
Cellphone: $40 to my uncle. They made me get on their family plan when they found I was spending $100+/month on my own lol.
Subscriptions:
Twitch: $9.98 (for 2 creators)
Crunchyroll: $59.95 (annually)
Spotify Premium: $9.99 (includes Hulu)
Pet expenses: $100 I budget $100 but spend spend about ~$50 on food/litter/toys, and just started throwing $50 into a separate pet account savings.
iTalki: ~$100 month, but varies depending on how many classes I schedule. I’ve been with the same Korean tutor for about 3 years now, and sometimes throw in a random other language.
Day 1:
Food: $22.18
Health/Beauty: $59.63
6am: Wake up with cramps. Ibuprofen and hit snooze.
7am: Put on PTs (i.e. physical training uniform). Today is Day One of my period so yay. I'm hoping this month isn't awful--I have endometriomas or blood cysts, which can make my cramps especially painful and some months are better than others.
7:20am: I walk across the hall from the room I'm staying in to the office, where after getting accountability we head down to the gym. I'm currently on my annual training (AT) with the National Guard and this year we are doing block training at the unit, which is why I'm back in Hawaii. For Public Affairs we typically do more individual year-round training to cover units/missions as needed, but we have administrative things to cover all together. I'm staying in the barracks this time around instead of with my parents who live local; after living alone it can be hard to go back to staying with family.
8:04am: Shower time, and then I fix my hair, brush my teeth and do an abbreviated skincare regimen. After arriving two days ago I finally ran out of some skincare stuff and have procrastinated on picking up more. I slap on sunscreen because sunscreen+hydration=life.
8:50am: Mess around online and get a reply back from NYC Pride--I volunteered for a shift at the parade this year, but couldn't make the training because of this AT. The lady in the email assures me online training is still available and will get back to me about a date. When I return to the office from filling up my water bottle I discover one of my Soldiers has done a McDonalds run and brought me a coffee!
9:00am: Look at job postings and message friends about getting together while I'm back. Check the kitty cam and notice my aunt has been by since the floor is clean of cat toys--she and her family are cat/apartment sitting for me while I'm away. I use the kitty cam speak to try and get the cats' attention but they are thoroughly ignoring me, and I'm slightly bummed.
9:30am: Head out on a mission with my partner for the day. We're covering a medical unit as they do care-under-fire training.
11:50am: It was a productive morning and when the group breaks for lunch we head out too. We stop at Jack in the Box so I can get a Breakfast Jack combo. Yum, just as delicious and mediocre as I remembered. $6.16
1pm: I video the cats again (#crazycatlady), and finally one of them appears! My friend/supervisor, R, comes to look and we discuss the benefits of a pet camera while I play laser tag with one cat.
1:30pm: We have an afternoon meeting and then it's back to working on pictures and footage. But after an hour I need to take a break, so I sit on a bench outside to just let my mind wander and enjoy the weather. When I go back inside I'm still super sluggish--jetlag-- so I make myself a smoothie with the single-serving smoothie maker I brought from home and ingredients I picked up yesterday: peanut butter, berries, honey, green tea and banana.
5:40pm: We are released for the day and I don't have to be in the office tomorrow until after lunch because I have an evening mission! The commander is letting me borrow her second car which I'm super grateful for. I ride with her into town to pick it up.
6:15pm: Wheels obtained! I stop at a local mall to pick up some face masks, toner, and essence from Nature Republic ($59.63). I message my little sister to see if she's in the area--I figured I'd get dinner at her favorite restaurant is nearby. No reply, but now my stomach decides it wants ramen anyway. I get a tantan ramen and ajitama egg ($16.02 with tip).
7:30pm: I get back to the unit and decompress for a bit by listening to music and responding to friends' messages making dinner and meetup plans. I have a phone interview with a company recruiter tomorrow, so I spend some time reading up on the company and preparing myself. I've enjoyed working at my current position for the past three years but I'm ready to transition into something else--preferably a promotion. Also, New York was fun but it was never a long term plan.
8:30pm: I've been avoiding messaging my therapist back about an appointment and I feel awful about it. I finally suck up my anxiety and shoot him an email. Then I'm passed out in bed. I’m incredibly lucky to have found a therapist through a military charity and don’t have to pay for the sessions; in return, my therapist only asks me to “pay it forward” through volunteer work.
Day 2:
Food: $41.94
Fun/Entertainment: $234.88
5:50am: I wake up before my alarm, so I take some ibuprofen and scroll on my phone for a few minutes.
6:00am: Time to get out of bed; I head to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, then back to the room for my skincare routine. The routine today is my more typical regimen: Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Watery Toner, whatever serum/essence I still have (in this case, Innisfree Green Tea Serum), Nature Republic Super Aqua Max Watery Emulsion, followed by Shiseido Urban Environment Face Sunscreen. I also get dressed for the day in anticipation of my 7 o'clock call.
7:45am: The call went well I think. I've never talked with a company recruiter before, and despite their glowing praises of opportunities I keep my expectations moderate. They said they will follow up by next week, so fingers crossed!
7:50am: Since it's early and I don't have to be in the office until after lunch, I call my grandma, who lives in town, to see if she'd like to grab breakfast.
08:30am: On my drive in, I realize that the university system is already on summer break, which makes traffic a breeze. Protip to anyone thinking of moving to Hawaii: try the morning and afternoon commutes of August to May before making that leap. The becoming-more-often two hour commute for 23 miles fills me with the opposite of aloha.
09:00am: I pick up tutu and we decide to visit a local chain. We both order traditional eggs benedict and coffee ($33.30 including 20% tip for us both). The coffee is fine but I'm super disappointed in the food.
09:40am: We (read, “I”) decide to go to Ala Moana and walk around for a while. I like window shopping, being in the sun, and seeing all the changes that have happened in the area while I've been away. Tutu points out all the new highrises that have cropped up. I resist the temptation to actually buy anything, but make a few notes of things I liked. I've been trying to curb my spending by not buying anything (well, mostly anything) outright as I see it.. While walking around, I stop to buy bottled water but the shop is cash only. Tutu covers the almost $2 charge--thanks tutu!
11:00am: Grandma has to get some work done on her hearing aid and since the shop is near her apartment she wants to walk back for the exercise. I drop her off and moments after she gets out the opening lines to Mindless Self Indulgence's "Witness" blasts over my Spotify-- phew.
11:40am: I stop at Starbucks to get a grande iced coffee and pay using my Starbucks app, which I refilled last week. Back at the unit I change into my uniform and head into the office. I'm early, but it's just a matter of messing around on my computer on one side of the hall or the other.
5:50pm: I leave the office a little early to grab dinner-- a dynamite roll ($8.64).
7:00pm: I sit with my partner and we play around with camera settings while we wait on the tarmac as it gets dark. R ends up joining us, as well as the mission point-of-contact, so we end up sitting and talking story while we wait for the birds.
8:30pm: I get back to unit, drop gear, shower, and prepare for bed. The time difference means my civilian paycheck hits my account now! I send money to a friend to cover my share of tickets for a gaming convention we're going to later this year ($234.88). I'm either not as tired tonight as earlier this week, or the termites are especially noisy tonight--they are going at it on the all-wood furniture. I make a note to talk to G about them tomorrow, and fall asleep covering my ears because I'm too lazy to grab my earphones.
Day 3:
Food: $29.12
7:20am: I wait until the last possible minute to get out of bed. Throw on PTs, wipe face, and head into the office. We go off to do individual PT and I decide to run around the compound.
8:10: I'm feeling good and like I could keep running forever, but I've only got 40 minutes to get shower, dressed, and coffee'd.
0840: Coffee time! The coffee maker I swear I left in the office last year isn't actually here, so I get a white chocolate mocha from Starbucks with my app (no one who is regularly in the office is a coffee drinker). Back in the office I eat the other half of my dinner from yesterday. The commander brought in char siu manapuas, and my friend splits one with me.
1200: I grab another manapua for lunch; since I'm eating out for dinner again today I'm trying to be conscious of my spending.
1:00pm: Tired of being in the office but not hungry, so I sit in the car for a few minutes blaring music. All that does it make me antsier, so I go for a short drive and loop back.
5:30pm: We're preparing the camera gear for tomorrow--we'll be shooting underwater stuff! But everything decides to stop working at the same time so I have to stay and troubleshoot. When I'm finished, I quickly throw on regular clothes and head over to the other side of the island for dinner with friends.
7:30: Japanese BBQ was delicious as usual--an assortment of meats and some cheesy steamed broccoli plus a Kirin beer for me brings my part of the bill to $29.12. My friends and I discuss traveling together again somewhere next summer and while we nail some dates down we don't commit to any one location yet. We walk around the mall and look at nerdy stuff in Hot Topic, but we're Cultured Nerds now and prefer the quality of Boxlunch.
9:00pm: I get back to the unit and pass out soon after.
Day 4:
6:00am: Alarm goes off. Do not want.
6:50am: Okay okay, I really should be getting up now because my body decides it DOES want coffee. I also realize I forget to pick up goggles yesterday for the underwater shooting.. I throw a civilian change of clothes in my bag, quickly brush my teeth, fix my hair, grab my gear, throw on PTs, and am out the door.
7:20am: Walmart is the only place nearby that I can be reasonably confident has goggles. My luck pans out and I pick up two for only $3.31. I also stop by Starbucks and get a tall white chocolate mocha with my app. I swear I don't normally drink this much Starbucks; my job back in NYC has community coffee so this is an unusual week for me.
8:00am: Get to the base pool, and it turns out we were given an earlier show time than the unit we're covering. Hurry up and wait.
11:45am: After a morning full of chlorine we're done here for the day. The extra goggles worked out for me and another Soldier, so I'm glad my stop wasn't in vain.
4:30pm: Spent the day editing pictures and writing cutlines. Another old friend is in town, so I'm going to dinner with her, R, and R's wife. But first I change into civilians, grab my dirty laundry, and head to my parents' house.
5:00pm: I chill with my parents while doing laundry. We're doing dinner tomorrow so I don't feel like a completely awful daughter stopping by for laundry. We discuss my cousin who just had a baby last night, and my dad starts talking about how he's the last of his siblings to not have a grandchild. Yeah no, not an argument I'm having right now. Before I leave, my mom insists on giving me a container of leftovers for lunch later. Thanks mom.
7:00pm: Out of town friend couldn't make it, so it's just me, R, and her wife at dinner catching up. We discuss future goals, current plans, and just generally talk story. I miss stuff like this. The job market in Hawaii is tough which is why I left, and after spending my entire life on the island I wanted to get out and see the world. Even though I've finally made some really strong friendships with my coworkers back in NYC, the city doesn't feel like mine. And Hawaii is starting to feel like that too.
8:00pm: R's wife refuses to let me see the bill and gives me a threatening look when I try to sneak my credit card over. No late night for us since R and I still have work in the morning, and they both have their young nephew with them. We exchange hugs and part ways.
Day 5:
Food: $108.98
Clothes + Beauty: $417.80
6:00am: Snooze.
7:30am: It's too hot outside for a run, and there's too many of us in this tiny gym. I just wander around aimlessly and do some situps and bench presses to pass the time.
8:00am: I didn't work up much of a sweat so I decide to be a gross human being and not shower--I know, I know. I do wash my face and do my skincare regimen before changing and going to the office. Without asking, my friend C. has gotten me up a coffee on his typical morning breakfast run.
1200pm: Lunchtime, and no one's interested in going out. I pick up a half salad and junior bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's and eat them in my car.
4:45pm: I'm meeting my parents for dinner tonight but I have time before they get home. I change into civilians and drive to their part of the island where I stop by an ATM and browse a store to see if any cool new anime/video game figurines are out. Then I head to the restaurant.
6:20pm: Parents arrive and it's food time! We are ALL apparently on diets (or at least portion awareness) so we skip appetizers and dessert. I get a chicken and shrimp pasta thing with lots of vegetables plus coffee. Total is $101 including tip. Of course I don't have any cash smaller than a 20 so my mom gives me a dollar.
7:45pm: On my way back, I realize I'm not in any rush to return to the barracks; I feel anxious and I don't know why. At times like this I like to go for a walk, but since it's getting dark and the unit is in an industrial park I decide to hit up the mall again.
8:10pm: I saw a Hawaii-exclusive Samantha Thavasa purse here the other day I sort of really wanted, but held off because !impulsebuys. I've been in the market for a purse that won't fall apart within a year for a while now, so I've budgeted for it, but it's literally the most I have ever spent on a single fashion item ($417.80).
8:45pm: The mall visit didn't help my anxiety and instead I just feel super guilty about my purchase, guilty I didn't stay over at my parents house, and just guilty about my existence in general. A driver shakas me when I let him merge into my lane, making me inexplicably start crying. And this is why I’m in therapy.
9:30pm: I get back to my room and realize oh shit I have a roommate now and my stuff is spread out all over like an asshole. She's just here for weekend drill but still--I apologize and gather all my shit to one side of the room. Then it's shower time, eye mask, and pass out in bed.
Day 6:
Food: $16.09
6:00am: Why do I even have an alarm this early?
6:45am: Pull myself out of bed and feel like less of an emotional mess this morning. My roommate is already gone so I try to organize my side of the room a little more. There is termite wood reside on my bags now. Super. Brush teeth, wipe face, put some sunscreen on because I plan to run outside today, don PTs and am out the door.
7:30am: Everyone is in the gym so I stop by there first, do 100 situps (about all I can do of the One Punch Man 100 Day Challenge), then head outside to run.
8:10am: Finish my run, which was just laps in the back of the compound. Shower, change, and do my face regimen. I had planned to stop by Starbucks this morning, but in the hallway I encounter my Soldier who has already stopped by McDonalds and gotten me coffee! I and the other Soldier he picked up food for try to give him money, but he refuses. Stubborn.
9:10am: Our morning training has been moved to 1pm, so back to the computer for me. It's a nice down time now with delayed briefings and no missions, so I practice my Japanese. I'm aiming for the JLPT N2 this December--I've taken it before and failed, so hopefully third time's the charm?
10:00am: There is a fig bar abandoned on the community table so I take pity on it and eat it myself.
12:00pm: I remember the lunch my mom gave me the other day is in the fridge--chicken and lima beans.
2:30pm: The afternoon drag is killing me, so I step out to grab a large bubble tea because I have a boba problem. $4.47
4:30pm: Released for the day and I'm s-t-a-r-ving. Zippys. $11.62
5:30pm: I forgot it's Saturday--annual training makes all the days blend together. Since my AT was tacked onto a drill weekend, when this AT is done I'll have been working for about four weeks straight. Luckily after a few days back at my civilian job I’m taking about five days of vacation where I'll be going to see my mom and tutu perform with their choir at the Vatican!
6:00pm: Back at the barracks, I plan to be lazy the rest of the day, and these Youtube videos aren't gonna watch themselves.
Day 7: This day turned into a mess for me so I didn’t diary it, but I do have transaction log:
Food: $12.06
Transport: $35.40
Gits/Other: $30.23
Graduation and condolence cards: $10.23
McDonalds coffee: $1.05
Donation to condolence card: $20
Gas: $35.40
7-11 iced tea: $1.06
Subway sandwich: $9.95
Weekly totals:
Food + Drink: 230.37
Fun / Entertainment: $234.88
Home + Health: $59.63
Clothes + Beauty: $417.80
Transport: $35.40
Other: $33.54
Total: $1011.62
Holy cheezus! This was a very irregular week for me, since I was traveling and made some other big purchases.
Submitted November 08, 2019 at 01:18AM by Tatsutahime https://ift.tt/2Cq0ZmU
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