... does not describe my situation. More like 25 sittin' on $25. Or $24.86.
Okay, so it's not really that bad. (Not even close, ne freak out pas.) As I looked ahead to my trip, I set a goal in January of saving X amount of dollars. This amount was, admittedly, a very high goal that would set me free to basically live and travel as I please for my eight months without a worry in the world. Due to a series of unfortunate events (read: being a grown up), I actually ended up saving half of X. Which is still quite doable as far as getting set up, I just may not be able to grant myself a "golden ticket" when it comes to traveling wherever I want. But that's fine! I will still have adventures aplenty, I assure you.
I did reduce my debt* by 27% between December 2011 and August 2012, despite encountering large health- and auto-related** bills. And I was still able to save some (.5X, if you recall)! I worked hard this year/summer and feel as if I've done my best, and I'm proud of that.
Anyway, I've got my mind on my money and my money on my mind because I spent yesterday at my banks placing travel notifications on my accounts, looking into foreign wire transfer charges, making sure all my beneficiary information is in order, and generally being a grown up. Seriously, if you wanna feel old/responsible, spend a day getting your money stuff in order. (The good news is that I can rest assured that if anything were to ever happen to me, my parents would be blessed with my GIANT FORTUNE. Ha. Right.)
I am incredibly blessed to have a very supportive family and while we're by no means rich by American standards, I have no fear because I know that (even if it means borrowing), I will never be stranded in Europe without money. So no one worry!
The moral of the story that I think it will be an exciting part of this adventure to see how far my money will actually take me, and to see what kind of trickery I have to get up to in order to live on my little salary. It's kind of like my own little financial experiment. Stay tuned!
*Which now solely consists of student loans - the "good" debt. Yeah, right, like that's comforting. (Hey, better than credit card debt! LIFE LESSON, YOUNG ONES: Avoid credit card debt like the plague.)
**Like, replacing a transmission, a timing belt, some tires, rotors... so on and so forth. It's been nuts. Thrice this year my car has literally stopped going with me inside of it. Thrice. I kid you not. Once on a night when it was sleeting, once in a McDonald's drive-thru (I'm not proud), and once on a somewhat major road (377 in Keller, DFW people). Never a dull moment!
Okay, so it's not really that bad. (Not even close, ne freak out pas.) As I looked ahead to my trip, I set a goal in January of saving X amount of dollars. This amount was, admittedly, a very high goal that would set me free to basically live and travel as I please for my eight months without a worry in the world. Due to a series of unfortunate events (read: being a grown up), I actually ended up saving half of X. Which is still quite doable as far as getting set up, I just may not be able to grant myself a "golden ticket" when it comes to traveling wherever I want. But that's fine! I will still have adventures aplenty, I assure you.
I did reduce my debt* by 27% between December 2011 and August 2012, despite encountering large health- and auto-related** bills. And I was still able to save some (.5X, if you recall)! I worked hard this year/summer and feel as if I've done my best, and I'm proud of that.
Anyway, I've got my mind on my money and my money on my mind because I spent yesterday at my banks placing travel notifications on my accounts, looking into foreign wire transfer charges, making sure all my beneficiary information is in order, and generally being a grown up. Seriously, if you wanna feel old/responsible, spend a day getting your money stuff in order. (The good news is that I can rest assured that if anything were to ever happen to me, my parents would be blessed with my GIANT FORTUNE. Ha. Right.)
I am incredibly blessed to have a very supportive family and while we're by no means rich by American standards, I have no fear because I know that (even if it means borrowing), I will never be stranded in Europe without money. So no one worry!
The moral of the story that I think it will be an exciting part of this adventure to see how far my money will actually take me, and to see what kind of trickery I have to get up to in order to live on my little salary. It's kind of like my own little financial experiment. Stay tuned!
*Which now solely consists of student loans - the "good" debt. Yeah, right, like that's comforting. (Hey, better than credit card debt! LIFE LESSON, YOUNG ONES: Avoid credit card debt like the plague.)
**Like, replacing a transmission, a timing belt, some tires, rotors... so on and so forth. It's been nuts. Thrice this year my car has literally stopped going with me inside of it. Thrice. I kid you not. Once on a night when it was sleeting, once in a McDonald's drive-thru (I'm not proud), and once on a somewhat major road (377 in Keller, DFW people). Never a dull moment!
Bonjour!
ReplyDeleteI am another Texan soon to be living in France (TAPIF in the academie de Lille this year), and I'm wondering how all this worked out for you. I'm in the same situation, wondering how far my money will go...any tips? Also, any tips in general about being a Texan en France? Did all the kids ask you about your horse and your gun and your cowboy boots? ;)
Thanks! I love reading through your blog to give me a little preview....
Natalie