The Forty Buck Experiment

This blog is called Spends 2 Much for a reason, and I think that has been amply demonstrated in these posts. But here's the thing: I have decided to see if I can live on only $40 for an entire week. This is for groceries, incidentals, lunches, and anything else that pops up during the week.
I know I should be able to do it, because I have done it. When I moved to the city in the 90s, I worked as a publicist for a small publishing company. It was my dream to work in publishing. It was not my dream to earn 28 grand a year. After rent, my Metropass, and other bills, I had much less to spend on food than I do now, but I ate perfectly well.

I have to remember how to shop as though I only have $40 on me, so I will be leaving my debit card at home this week.

I have plenty of stuff in the cupboards and freezer, so I should only need veggies and beverages. One of my problems has been that I "start again" every time I shop, rather than buy things that complement what I already have. I have a feeling that spending less will result in healthier dinners, so I'll post what I come up with.

Off to make the shopping list!

Worth It- Cole Haan Boots

These boots rock. I got them last August at Cole Haan in the Time Warner Center. Paid a bit more than I normally would for boots, but I love the Nike Air soles, so I went for it.

Vacations are the best test of soles, and a 4 day walk around New York confirmed that these boots are indeed made for walkin'. For once I didn't need to hop in a cab or on the subway because my feet were killing me. They're gorgeous, too! I will be wearing the hell out of these, with pants and skirts, until it finally warms up around here and I can whip out the ballet flats for the summer.

Thank you!

To the visitor who told me about the song Sorry Lori !- Yes, someone did finally write one. It's by Jason Collett, and I should probably have heard of him, but hey, I'm old.

This Can Only Help

Great Idea , thanks Little Bridge.

One of Those Days

One of my favourite episodes of the old Mary Tyler Moore show was the one where Mary had a really bad day. Bad hair day, spilled coffee on her shirt, screwed up at work, tripped and sprained her ankle... when she finally got home, she had this exchange with Rhoda:
Mary: Have you ever had one of those days?"
Rhoda: "Mostly."

That's how I'm feeling lately. Today was a banner day- I was going to stay home, since I'm not feeling well, but at 8:00 I remembered I had a few meetings with some vendors who were flying in from Montreal, so I picked up the first clothes I could find, did a lousy makeup job, and bolted out the door. On the way to work, a crazy man yelled at me" Hey you fucking smart cookie- LOOK AT ME! I know it was you!", then he SPAT on me. Fantastic.

Sat at my desk, and opened a vanilla yogurt. Must have been vacuum-sealed, since it exploded all over my sweater.

My boss came by and told me that another project was due today, and we were having a team meeting. I raced between projects, skipped lunch, and worked like a madwoman to be ready for my 1:30 meeting. Tick, tick, tick. Where are they? Oh, they declined the meeting last week, but no one bothered to tell us. Great.

Finally, I had time for lunch. I spilled Ginger Carrot soup on my sweater.

Amazingly, nothing went wrong between the hours of 2 and 5 PM.

And as soon as my boots hit the pavement at 5, it started to rain.

Hey There, Anti-Regulationists!

I'm just curious- if you are one of the many who think that the American banking system should continue along with very little regulation or oversight, what do you think of the bail-out?

I mean, if you agree that a business should be able to chop up derivatives, sell them, and insure them, then shouldn't those institutions, no matter how large, be free to go down in flames?

I am not being entirely sarcastic here- I want to know if it is philosophically possible to be anti-regulation and pro-bail-out, and if it is, I really want to hear the argument.

That's all.

Rant!

I think we all knew it was just a matter of time until my blog devolved into nothing more than a place where I can rant about anything that's bugging me, so let the descent into madness commence...

I HATE the CP24.com web site! Before CTV bought CITY, the site was fairly useful; now it is nothing but a steaming pile of crap. Seriously, the first thing you see (well, after the giant banner ad for whatever crappy TV show CTV is pushing) is the "Daily Poll", some inane question with even more stupid possible answers. There are just as many entertainment headlines as there are "news" headlines. Total crap.

And while I'm at it, does anyone know how much crack Dina Pugliese does each morning before Breakfast Television starts? Seriously, she couldn't be that jumpy, spaced, and annoying unless she hits the pipe while getting her hair blown out. I could go on about how every moment she is on TV is a waste of precious airtime, and how as soon as I hear her voice I run into the living room and switch the TV to the Weather Network, but it wouldn't be polite to mock an addict. I hope she gets help. I don't think she has too many brain cells left, so she should protect the lonely, frightened ones that remain.

OK, I'm done. Back to (sort of) witty posts.

Where's My Song?

This morning I blasted music and finally cleaned my apartment. I had my ipod on shuffle, and these two songs plaid back to back- Layla, by Derek and the Dominos, a.k.a. Eric Clapton and his drug buddies, and Something, which George Harrison gave to the Beatles. The odd thing is that these songs were both written about the same woman- Pattie Boyd. She was married to each of them for a while, and caused a decades long rift between Clapton and Harrison, but how incredible to have inspired these classic songs. Sure, neither song is actually called Pattie, and neither relationship worked out, but she will always have her songs.

Since high school I have been waiting for my song. I'm not talking about inspiring the emotion that Pattie Boyd did, I just want someone to use my name in a song. How hard could it be? My name rhymes with sorry, for Christ's sake- the song practically writes itself. Springsteen has used Mary, Sherry, and Wendy. Would it have killed him to use Lori??

If anyone knows a Lori song that I have missed, please let me know. Alison found two B-team contenders: one was smooth jazz and the other sounded like it was lifted from a Bollywood soundtrack. That's fine, but I want a hit. I want a classsic!

"Not Our Fault"

On the news tonight, a GM Canada worker was interviewed after the vote regarding the new contract offer that will lower their perks a bit.  A few people interviewed sounded understandably peeved, but were realistic.  Then there was the chick who said "It's absolutely not our fault that there's this economic downturn, but we're having to pay the price."  Uh, whatnow?

She works for a company that is hemorrhaging money because no one buys it's product, but she thinks not only that the government should bail out her company, but that she shouldn't have to make any sacrifices.  

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  If the very large company I work for loses all it's money, it will close and I will be unemployed.  Same thing should apply to every other company.

My Dinner With Bill and Hillary

On the left, Hillary's blonde head.  On the right, Bill's grey head.  Yeah, you can't tell, I know.  It's a bit more obvious when you see the picture blown up on my computer, but I guess you'll just have to trust me.

Wal Mart Prices at Bendel's

Back from a long weekend in New York.  I was of two minds about the trip even before I went, thinking this is a time when I should be saving, not spending, but the deal was so good I decided to just enjoy myself in a city I love and shop if I could find any good deals.

I held to that, since everything I bought was indeed marked down.  Too bad the best restaurants didn't follow suit and offer some recession deals.  I think I spent more on food and drink than I did on clothes and shoes!

Some highlights of the shopping:  a Rag and Bone blue silk dress, originally $500, for $150, at the Barney's warehouse sale;  Tory Burch loafers 50% off at SoHo Bloomingdales; a sweater from Henri Bendel that had been $158, marked down repeatedly, with 30% off the last marked down price.  The sales assistant initially charged me the wrong marked down price (understandable, since there were at least 3 red, handwritten prices on the tiny tag), and when I pointed this out, she reversed the wrong price, and put too much money back on my credit card.  It looks at this point like I paid $26 for the sweater.

I'm really happy with the shopping deals.  The food and drink experiences were more hit and miss, and I'll write about those over the next day or so.  Look for Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton in cameo appearances!