My dad, fishing on Sunday at a lake near his house

We did have one problem though, and I wondered what you would have done about it. Some of us kids took my dad to a Brazilian steakhouse  in Downer’s Grove for dinner on Saturday to enjoy copious amounts of meat. To give you an idea of the costs, the food was $42 per plate. That gives you unlimited access to a big salad bar, 15 types of meats, and some side items. This was an “expensive” restaurant for our family, but we were all pretty excited to splurge on my dad. Drinks were not included with the price. 

As we ordered drinks from the waiter, we were considering getting a bottle of wine. While the waiter was standing there, I asked about three different bottles, all priced under $30. My dad wasn’t sure about the choices I picked (a pinot noir, a malbec, and a French red). He explained to the waiter that he wanted something sweet, and explained that he really loves sangria (which they had on the menu). The waiter said something along the lines of, “I have a sweet red wine that I think you will enjoy. It’s (insert name here).”  He was sort of difficult to understand through a thick accent.

I asked, “Is it your house wine?”

He said it was not, the house wine wasn’t sweet.

He never pointed it out his recommendation on the menu, but since he had seen the prices of the bottles I was considering and I asked about the house wine, I just assumed that his suggestion was on the same price point.

The wine came out and I thought it was good. We all had some. We actually left a little on the table because not everyone loved it.

Then the bill came: it was a $126 bottle of wine.

I was shocked.

But I didn’t ask about it because I thought it was my fault for not asking the price. After all, we drank the wine. It was nearly done by the time we got the bill. My family wanted me to ask about the price, but I was insistent that we didn’t because I didn’t want to cause a stink on a special occasion, and also because we consumed the wine, so there didn’t appear to be much the restaurant could do. So we just paid it and left.

Now, after a nice, relaxing weekend, I’m sitting here kicking myself. I should have made sure the waiter charged us for the right bottle. I shouldn’t have been embarrassed to question the bill. Had it been a special craft beer, we would have been very savvy consumers and known the price right away. Unfortunately, we’re not wine connoisseurs.  We had no idea whether that bottle retails for $20 or $200 (since it wasn’t one of the wines I normally buy). I should have made the waiter explain why he recommended such a higher-priced wine than a house wine with no warning. I feel totally fleeced by that guy.

In the future I will always ask for the price of a bottle of wine before I buy.  I’m thinking of calling the restaurant and asking them what the bottle was so I can make sure they charged us correctly.

So, readers, what would you have done differently in my situation?

The post Burned by the price of wine. What would you have done? appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Always a bridesmaid? Make sure you can afford it!

• Pay too much for housing and furnishings. My rent was too high for what I was earning when I first moved out of my parents’ home. I spent two years building up a savings cushion, only to see that cushion gradually disappear as I spent more than I made each month. Your rent or mortgage should be no more than 30 percent of your income. Above that, you’re really jeopardizing everything you’re working for. My current apartment isn’t perfect, but my rent hovers around 10 percent of my income and allows me to save big for a down payment. 
• Attend many weddings in one summer. After college, a lot of your friends will get married. Sometimes, you’ll have five weddings or more to attend in one summer. You can’t very well say no to your close friends and family, so you agree to attend. Then you purchase a dress (an expensive one, if you’re a bridesmaid), new shoes, and some nail polish (after all, you’re seeing all the same people at each wedding… you can’t wear the same dress twice!  You also purchase a shower gift. Then you spend money on a hotel room. Next is the actual wedding gift. By the time the summer’s over, you’ve spent like $500 to $1,000 extra each month that the weather is nice, and you have nothing to show for it except a feather light bank account.  Even when you employ frugal tactics like borrowing a dress and splitting a hotel room, multiple weddings in one summer are a budget buster unless you have some savings to cover them, or adjust your monthly budget in some other way.
• Take a vacation, and forget to plan for real costs.  It never fails: you save and save for your annual getaway, but you forget to account for meals, entertainment, souvenirs, or the crack in the rental car windshield, for example.  While on vacation, it’s easy to think, “Meh, what’s another $300? I’m only here once,” only to come back to a spending splurge hangover. Next time, check your budget from the month you took your last trip to make note of your spending patterns. Better yet, take your trip, then catalog your expenses when you return. Then you have a template for your next trip set up and ready to go.
• Injure yourself. MRIs, medications, appointments with specialists, follow-up physical therapy… none are cheap. And is it just me, or is insurance covering less and less of these expenses? The only way to protect yourself from blowing your budget is to have a rainy-day fund set up for something like this. And hope you heal quickly.
• Lose or break your cell phone. What’s that, you don’t have insurance? Your new iPhone will be $800, after rebate.  This wasn’t that much of an issue when we all had flip phones, and trust me, I lost a few of those. But now that our lives are run by smart phones, it’s much harder to deal with the subpar replacements offered by cell phone companies for less than $100. I’m not sure I could stand to be away from my phone 10 minutes, let alone wait until my next contract renewal. The best option? Don’t lose or break it in the first place!  But if it’s gone, keeping around your old smart phone for a few months or buying a used one off a friend might be a better idea than going without. If you don’t have that option, maybe try getting out for a few long walks while you save up for your new phone.

Ever blow your budget while trying to be good? I’d love to hear about it.

The post Five Ways to Blow Your Budget appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

The Teva Wedge Sandals I bought for work. Super comfy. Waterproof. And expensive.

Here are a few random things I purchased last week.

• $20 to check my FICO score. I’ve been a little thrown off by the feedback from the credit bureaus that comes with my LifeLock subscription. So I bought my FICO score, which had much better feedback for me.
• $11 on a new very small wallet. It fits in pockets. This was a learning from my stolen wallet saga. I had previously carried wallets so big they had to be carried in a purse. Which meant 1) I was carrying a bunch of personal stuff I don’t need on me every day, and 2) I was carrying big purses, which leave you vulnerable to theft more than a wristlet or carrying your wallet in a zipped pocket on your body. I’ve been loving my wristlets, but my cash and cards inside them were always held together with a rubber band. Now they are a bit more official (and less likely to fall out).
• $100 on a cable modem so I could skip the $7 monthly rental fee from Comcast. (I also spent $35 on cords so I could watch my Netflix on the television vs. the small computer screen. Helloooo Arrested Development season 4!)
• I recently threw out or gave away eight pairs of shoes. I replaced two pairs of work shoes. One was a pair of black flats for a reasonable $39.

Not doing so bad yet, right?  Wait for it…

• A second pair of shoes; these were Teva brown leather wedge sandals. And they were $84. I bought them because I learned long ago that cheap stiletto heels are a no-go for me. I need to buy shoes with some support, especially when it comes to heels. But now that I have them, I think I probably could have done without them. I got kind of wrapped up in the moment at DSW. 
• $77 at Ulta (beauty supplies). This included a $23 bottle of conditioner which will last me six months or more, new eye shadow (unfortunately Bare Essentials is not cheap), two new shades of nail polish, and a new top coat. I always hate spending money on beauty supplies. And I hate that I buy expensive brands. But they really are so much better than the cheap stuff. And, at least I didn’t pay for a manicure!

One of the nail polishes I bought. Happened to be the same color as my water bottle. (Clearly, this is a DIY manicure.)

Then there’s also the usual stuff: rent, groceries, pet food.

I guess those bottom two bullet points aren’t that bad. I didn’t go over my clothing and shoes budget during the month of May, and my entertainment and travel spending was nada (we cancelled a planned trip at the last minute). I did a really good job saving during the previous few weeks, and most of my bigger expenses were pre-planned (marathon training program, for instance).

Wow, it’s crazy how expenses that used to be nothing for me suddenly gnaw at me as overspending. I’m trying really hard to be frugal and less focused on consumerism, so when I give into unnecessary wants vs. planned purchases or needs, I feel like I’ve cheated on me. Maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on myself.

The post A week of spending appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Sometimes it’s a nice day outside and you take a 10-minute walk to soak in the sun, and then you come back to your office with a $6.99 aloe plant named Alan.

In my ten-plus years of office life, I’ve never had a work plant before. I was drawn in by something a little more colorful, but without thinking about anything other than how useful this plant will be when I am sunburned, I snatched up this little guy and carried him with me. After I set it up, I realized my mom keeps an aloe plant in her window, and maybe that’s why I bought it.

At any rate, on a day when I brought everything I needed from home (lunch, drinks, snacks), I walked out of the store with $10.26 in unnecessary purchases, among them my new friend Alan, all because it’s a nice day. I’m such a sucker for good weather.

The post Meet Alan the Aloe Plant appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Catalog Photo of My New Wetsuit (Once it Gets Here)

I bought a wetsuit!

If you can believe it, renting one can cost anywhere from $40 to $65 for an entire weekend. I was kind of surprised by this, since you can rent them right outside my office on Lake Michigan for just $10 for an afternoon swim.

Once I saw that renting would cost up to $65 for my June race, I started looking into buying a discounted used suit, but nobody had my size on Craigslist (not in Illinois or Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, nor in Houston or any Florida cities) or on Beginner Triathlete (and I’ve been looking frequently for weeks). I asked some friends to borrow theirs, but nobody had my size.  I checked several “wetsuit warehouse” type sites, but I couldn’t find anything in my size for under $150.

Finally, after much frustration, I found a discount code for a wetsuit in my size from XTerra for $127 plus free shipping, for a suit originally priced at $300. Score!  For those of you keeping track, that’s the equivalent of two race rentals. And now I can swim in the lake whenever I want.

My only dilemma now is where to put it. Hmm. Perhaps I’ll finally get rid of some of those old bridesmaid dresses I’ve been keeping around and make way for something more useful.

The post One Wish List Item Bought appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Here’s the breakdown.

Friday

• Dinner at Mama Thai in Oak Park – $25

Saturday

• Lunch at Feast in Bucktown with my family – $30 (this involved some mimosas…)
• Gifts for my nephew at PsychoBaby – $27.38 (I couldn’t resist getting him a “Punk Rock Baby” onesie)
• A summer hat for myself at Goorin Bros. – $41.61 (A white and blue version of this one. All I can say is that I was suffering from a major sunburn when I bought it, and my mom said it looked cute and I should buy it. It is now dutifully awaiting use for summer backyard parties, beer gardens, and festivals.)
• Face scrub from Lush – $5
• Dinner at Trattoria 225 in Oak Park – $34.04

Sunday

• Breakfast with a friend at Blue Max in Forest Park – $12
• Sports Authority – Swimsuit and sun visor for summer workouts – $70 (totally could have gotten both cheaper online, even AFTER the coupon, lesson learned)
• Bricks for our turtle patio – $5.50
• Groceries – I will have to add this in later because the receipts are not with me

Grand total before groceries = $250

Shoot, this is not the “belt tightening” of someone who is looking to save money for a downpayment in the next six months! Good thing I wrote this down, otherwise I probably would have forgotten how much I spent, and then next weekend would end up being another spendy one. I sometimes get “spending amnesia” where I think I’m being all frugal all the time, like “I haven’t bought any new clothes in three months, and I never eat out!” and then I realize later that I bought a new hat and a swimsuit last weekend, and all I’ve been doing is eating out.

Good thing next weekend is Easter, although my mom will probably tell  me to do something easy, like make a salad, and then I’ll spend about $30 trying to make it THE BEST SALAD EVER but forget all the ingredients at home, then have to run to store by her house and spend another $30 on the same salad. Yeah, that sounds right.

The post Weekend Spending Recap appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

I feel like this when my schedule's off

I am a person who thrives on a weekly routine. I hate deviating from my usual schedule, which is: wake up, commute, work, commute, eat, workout, sleep. I plan my meals and workouts weekly, DVR my TV shows, pre-schedule blog posts, and generally overplan everything, down to the minute sometimes. I do this because when I don’t have to think about my schedule, it’s far easier for me to stay disciplined and spend less. It takes a lot of unnecessary stress out of my life.

But this week, my schedule’s been completely thrown off by a production I’m co-leading at work. My wake and sleep times are off, I’m on different bus schedules, I’m away from my desk all day, eating meals at weird times, and generally feeling frazzled. And, as I could have predicted, I’ve paid for it with cash. Yesterday I spent nearly $10 on lunch, today I spent $17 on cab fares (I forgot my shuttle ID at home and missed a bus AND a train), $9 on snacks because I left my pre-made snacks in my office, and even bought a decaf latte for $4.  

I used to do this a lot when I worked in PR. It’s so easy to throw $5 here, spend $10 there, hop in a cab to make the next train, stop at a coffee shop on the way in or out.

It makes me cringe to think about how much money I wasted on those little expenses throughout the years. Spending is so easy to control with a little weekly planning! But when I don’t sleep my usual hours, my brain gets all tired and just wants stuff NOW. At least I recognize the pattern, even if I am powerless to stop it.

My week won’t get better. I’m still in production tomorrow and Friday, and Monday too. I can only try to adapt as much as I can, and keep a few extra things like water and food in my bag.

The post Off My Schedule and Paying for It appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

My phone, aka my personal assistant

Of all my possessions, my smart phone is probably the most important to my daily life. It is my business center, my social hub, my entertainment during long commutes, my link to the outside world, and my connection to my family. As such, I pay more than $100 per month to keep my service going. Last fall I found out I was eligible for a 15 percent discount on my cell phone bill because I work for a University. That’s huge!

The phone wasn’t in my name, though. Man-friend and I share a phone account, and he was the primary account holder (he’s been with Sprint longer than I have). This made us ineligible for the discount. We decided to switch the account to my name to qualify, which Sprint said would be easy to do. Boy were they wrong!  

Three months later we’re getting billed for two accounts, my online payments are getting credited to the supposedly closed account, I’m getting texts from Sprint threatening to turn off my phone, and I still have no discount. How frustrating.

We’re trying to resolve the situation but it’s difficult when the store employees’ hands are tied, and we’re supposed to do all our business via global call center. We can never call and talk to the same person, we have to explain our situation anew to every customer service agent, and it’s not uncommon to speak with three employees in one call that lasts for an hour.

I walked into my apartment after work today and found another new bill for the closed account sitting in my mailbox. More calls to Sprint and visits to the store.

I just want my discount!

If there’s a lesson in this story, I haven’t found it yet. But if I can make this work I can potentially save hundreds on my phone bill this year.  That’s a savings I’m willing to keep working for.

The post Switching Phone Accounts is a Pain! appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

Despite my pledge not to buy any more lotions, soaps, or bathroom products until everything I already own is empty, I went ahead and spent $20 on this:

Aveeno Eczema Therapy and Skin Relief Body Wash: The itch stoppers

I didn’t have any coupons, and I probably paid more than I should have. But my hands ITCHED, yo.

I tried everything in my house, from Cetaphil to shea butter, Benadryl gel to cortizone cream. I even was taking antihistamines.  And still, the itch came. I tried icing my fingers, but all they got was more itchy, dry, and bumpy. Then after I scratched, they got inflammed and kind of swollen and hot. I thought I was touching something I was allergic to, but couldn’t pinpoint the source.  It was driving me crazy.

And then, two eczema sufferers told me it sounded a lot like eczema. My sister-in-law showed me the bumps on her hands, which looked suspiciously like mine. She recommended I try the Aveeno Eczema Therapy lotion and miraculously, for $12.99 and no doctor’s appointment, the itch has finally subsided. I bought the Aveeno Skin Relief Body Wash for $6.99 too, which seemed to work well and not irritate anything. Phew!

So, I may or may not have a little case of eczema. But at least I no longer have itchy hands.

The post Itchy Hands appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.

I’m writing this post from my cell phone on the way home (See? I attached a picture to prove it. That is me, in glasses, wearing a scarf thing that I knitted. It’s the end of the day, just gloss over my no-more-makeup appearance…)

It’s sort of odd to post from my phone, so if anything looks off, I promise to fix it later. But it’s also very exciting because until now I was only able to Tweet during my commute; this opens up nearly two hours of blogging time per day. And I’m feeling motivated.

But since this is more of a test than anything, I’m posting a simple summary of my day’s expenses. I didn’t do that well today, because we had free tickets to the Bulls (basketball) game last night and got home too late to think about meal planning. So I was left to fend for myself for breakfast and lunch today. Nutrition-wise I did horrible, but everything was oh-so-tasty.

Breakfast: spent $3.05 on a Nutella croissant. I actually had oatmeal and fruit at home but every once in a while I get a serious craving for these. Usually we buy the croissants from Whole Foods and make them at home, but I had none left. At least I managed to make my own coffee. (Ok, that’s a lie. Man-friend made it for me.)

Comcast Bill: I paid it this morning. Our bill is something like $120 every month for cable (including DVR) and Internet. We split the bill, but this particular one goes on my credit card and we settle our bills once or twice per year.

Lunch: I spent $8.10 on a Jimmy John’s meal for lunch. Have I ever mentioned how much I love JJ’s? It’s my favorite guilty pleasure (easy mayo, o’course!). Sure, it’s pretty heavy calorically, but I’m pretty sure I’m still burning calories from yesterday’s 30 minute stair climb, at least, if my ridiculously aching legs are any indication.

So there you have it, my first cell phone post. Time to publish and see how I did…

The post Today in Dollars appeared first on The Budgeting Babe.