The Ramen Life

Falling Back

2010-11-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

I feel guilty and rightly so. This blog was supposed to keep me on track in my new college life and journey to financial stability, but... more than a year? Where has my time gone? I could say life got busy, but then I'd be lying to myself. My rose colored perspectives on college life weren't all wrong, but they weren't all right either.

I owe this blog a bit more dedication. I also haven't done much with my finances. I'm letting it fall into the background like I said I wouldn't. I owe an update and some rethinking of my situation.

So since my last post in April, I did go to move into my dorm. I had no idea if I'd have a room or not, because they didn't explain how the system worked for me. I was thinking I'd have to find off-campus housing, but they put me in one of the low cost halls in a room by myself. It had perks... good air conditioning, a must have for a very hot summer, but mostly it was a cell. I spent my first month of classes learning the campus and being alone. It was oddly disconnecting. Contrary to popular belief, I didn't have to live on ramen. My meal plan was quite lovely that first semester. It wasn't very eventful, but when my excess funds came in, I was able to get a cheap desktop for myself. I ended up using the rest of it to pay my brother back what I owed him.

I had a job working at the Mass Media department for work study. It wasn't bad, but I don't think work study is all that beneficial for me. Sure, you don't have to pay back the money, but you also don't get it when you need it. I decided to switch to just getting the full loan and get a job on campus.

I did well my first semester. I had my first English class and a Computer Science course. I was taking Trigonometry, because they said I didn't need College Algebra since I apparently had it in high school. I had to drop it. I couldn't keep up. I ended with a 3.5 GPA and that was alright for me.

Fall semester was a little more exciting, though also... a big problem. I was taking five classes, forced to drop one because the work was overwhelming. That made two withdrawn classes already! I hate that. After promising myself I wouldn't flake out... sigh. I did well for a majority. Anthropology and Sociology intro classes I passed with an A and a B. Trigonometry I took during the regular semester and made a C, which considering it's been 6 years since I took a math course, for me that's fantastic. Taking Japanese that semester was a mistake. The first few weeks were fine, but then slowly but surely, it was downhill from there. I ended up failing Japanese, and that brought my GPA down to a 2.6. Still doing well, but what a depressing month that was.

This was also the semester that I moved to a larger, nicer, though more distant dorm. I'm thinking being on main campus is much better for my grades, but it's nicer than my cell. The roommates were a gamer chick, a legally blind lesbian girl and a Scottish exchange student. We shared a kitchen and living room, and each side had two bedrooms with a shared bathroom. I shared the side with gamer chick. She was pretty nice, but after one semester, decided to transfer. It's a shame really. I miss the girl. I can honestly say she was my best roommate. Maybe that was entirely because I hardly saw her ever. Ha!

That was the first semester I started working for the college newspaper. I hate it. I put the paper content on the website every week. It makes me $160 a month, which gets entirely sucked into food, since I reduced my meal plan to a smaller one because the prices on campus are extortionate. $15 for a frozen pizza you could get for $4 at the store. The blind roommate and me started sharing food, so we split the groceries equally. We adopted a blind guy on campus and he helped pay for food in exchange for cooking his and doing his laundry. I had a second job from doing transcribing work for him, which helped me out a lot on expenses. I owe that boy so much... a total lifesaver.

By the end of that semester, I was feeling pretty down because of my grades. I didn't go home for the holidays over winter break, choosing to save the money my parents would have spent coming to get me and just hanging around for spring semester to roll around. It was deserted there. Sitting in my room for more than two weeks after classes had ended, playing around online and eating whatever we had leftover from the last shopping trip, never setting foot outside. If any of this adventure of being my own person wasn't the dream I'd imagined, it was that two weeks. I felt so alone then. You learn to appreciate people when none of them are around.

I was coping by taking up role playing on a chat forum, and I still do it now. It doesn't cost anything, but like that game I used to play, it does sell objects for real money. You don't need them and can get funds without paying for them, so I've done pretty well not spending any money on it. I hope I'm not just lapsing into my old mistakes again...

Part two of my update will is coming up soon. I really want to pick up this blog again, just so I can focus myself on what my goals were supposed to be when I started it. I've been letting it fall back for a year already. I'm losing sight of the goals I set for myself. Let's put me back on track, shall we?

Ramen, Rain and Registration

2009-04-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

I've been gone a long time again, but this time, it wasn't 100% my fault.

We've been without Internet for 2 weeks thanks to Comcast. I have a different service, but they've been laying down cable and they keep hitting our lines and disconnecting half the neighborhood from phone service. When they did their temporary repairs, the line disconnected every five minutes.

Comcast better be paying my phone bill this month. My own service wouldn't come to repair it until Comcast was out of the way, but right after it rained every day for a week.

The "Powers That Be" don't love me this month.

It's almost registration time, and I'm totally jazzed! I'm supposed to be getting something in the mail for it, but so far, all I received was information on my Fall semester financial aid. I've been told Maymester is out for me. They don't recommend it for freshmen because it's basically 4 months compacted into 3 weeks. I don't see what the big deal is, I only planned to take one class.

Still, I have completely planned out my first semesters up until next Summer.

So I'm still broke and unemployed. Getting a job here is impossible right now, especially for someone like me, who is degree-less and due to be moving in less than two months. I don't tell them I'm moving, but its doesn't make my chances better. I'd have to move to find a job only to move again in 2 months.

I need to win the lottery.

All in all, I'm still okay for the moment. I owe my family a lot, but I'm very confident I'm making the right move, so I'll see how things turn out.

This Slacker Begs Forgiveness

2009-03-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in two weeks, and I can only blame myself. I just haven't had anything to write about. I'm a little grumpy, because I'm still not working yet. The interviewer I was supposed to talk to by phone never called and I'm being told that it's normal for this particular company to take months to hire you, but in about another month I won't even be within easy traveling distance, so they might as well forget it.

I'm just happy everything is set for college, except registration. I can hardly wait!

It's like Christmas for me, because I've always wanted to go to college. I'll wake up at 2am, skip and dance over to the computer and open up the class catalog to begin merrily picking out my subjects. I suppose after a while, the joy of it will wear off, but I can't help but be happy.

Another cause of my slacking is that I'm trying to start another blog for my comic series. I'd prefer to keep my comics separate from my blog account, because I'd rather never have my friends know my financial difficulties (they would start trying to help, and I'd rather they not) or to have anyone who reads my comic to connect it to all these personal details.

Perhaps the best way to do that would be to use a completely different blog service for the comics. I was thinking of Live Journal, but if anyone knows a blog site that has a good system for sharing comics, I'd love to hear about it.

Rationalize

2009-03-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

I was mapping out my summer schedule to make sure I could take all the classes I wanted. It looks like I may only be able to fit in 4 of my core subjects unless I'm allowed to take at least one of them during Maymester.

One of my classes is College Algebra. It's been nearly 6 years since I had an Algebra class, so to see how much I remember, I printed up the sample exam for the first section from the math department page.

On the bright side... I know what numbers look like.

The downside is I had no idea how to solve the first one and the questions seemed to increase in difficulty as you went along. I lost my scientific calculator some time ago, so it looks like I'm going to have to dig that baby out for college. I managed to get by with my computer calculator and with the help of a very handy site:

The West Texas A&M University Virtual Math Lab

This one helped the most, because they have videos that show you the method to solve the problem. I managed to fight my way through the worksheet and then checked my answers. I didn't get them all right, but I was able to figure out how they came to their answer, and where I went wrong. I just hope that I'll be okay when the real thing comes up.

All Work and No Play

2009-02-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted for a few days, which was mostly because I spent the weekend at my sister's house. She lives about two hours away, which isn't so far I couldn't visit, but far enough away that it's a pain to travel.

My main reason for going down there was to attend a job interview at a call center on Friday, and because we hardly see each other, I just stayed a few days. I think I aced the interview, but this call center is notorious for keeping people on the back burner for months before they confirm employment.

On Saturday, I explored the area, because if I get this job, I'll have to live with my sister and her husband until the semester starts. They live right down the road from a Books-A-Million, which is enough to make me happy.

I was browsing around the comics and manga and I noticed they weren't even close to being organized. Being the anal obsessive type, I started alphabetizing the whole section. I got to the M's before any of the store employees even noticed. They were really thrilled. One even hugged me. Apparently, this section is like kryptonite to employees. They said they were hiring and I should apply, so it could be a backup if the call center doesn't pan out. I won't hold my breath though.

On another note, my financial aid papers came in over the weekend and I'm fully covered for the next two semesters! YAY! The only thing that could make this moment better is being able to afford a new computer.

Who knows, maybe another windfall is on it's way.

Hardcore Education

2009-02-17T23:15:00.000-08:00

So, being the complete freak that I am, I have planned my entire college career down to the last class. I hardly think I'll deviate from Plan A, but just in case, I also have B and C. Is this weird? Does anyone else do this?

Basically, I went through the college course catalog (ha, say that 3 times fast) and following their recommended undergraduate format, I chose all the classes for my dual degrees. A lot of the math and science classes for my B.S. in Computer Science filled in the requirements for my B.A. in Anthropology.

Plan A - Dual Degree plan allowing for the classes that both need, but focusing on the degree classes that are the most difficult to fill that need. In plain English, the math classes for CS are harder, but they would fill the requirement for both.

Plan B - If doing both is too much, drop the Anthropology and focus on Computer Science.

Plan C - If I decide I hate Computer Science, drop it for Anthropology.

I can complete the core curriculum before I'll have to decide on a plan. In fact, that will probably be the deciding factor. I already love computers, and I love Anthropology, but Computer Science is very heavy on Math and I've never been a great math student. My friend said I may never need the advanced Calculus required for the degree in my future career. She hasn't yet. I'd never let my former failures decide my future, so even if that future is chocked full of numbers, I'm still going to try.

I have yet to find a computer without a calculator.

This Is My Last Post On Teeth, I Promise!

2009-02-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

I have discovered that hot things are extremely helpful for my toothache, which works for me. Hot chocolate and cup noodles! Hurray!

My mother showed me her wisdom tooth, which she never had removed. It's in the exact same place as mine. She said the pain will go away once the tooth breaks through the gum and has more room. My mom believes that regular dental trips aren't necessary after childhood and that the only reason for adults to go to the dentist is to get fillings or repair a broken tooth. Apparently, she doesn't take dentists seriously when they tell horror stories of impacted teeth. She was partially right though. Once the gum was broken through, the pain lessened by half. A tube of Oragel did the rest.

I now have infinite sympathy for teething babies.

She may not be far off though. I've noticed that everyone in my family who went to the dentist have horrible teeth. Mine are crooked on bottom and I have one front tooth that cracked in half. My sister had three break in half.

But, my 20-year-old brother, who has never visited a dentist in his entire life, has the world's most perfect teeth. Straight. White. Gorgeous. Lucky bastard.

Perhaps the dental cleaning process is actually too harsh on teeth. The constant pressure of the drills and polishers always make me nervous, it wouldn't be difficult to jump to that conclusion. Either that or some people are born with perfect bone structure. I hate them.

Obviously, you're never too old for growing teeth, but I begin to wonder if we are supposed to remove them, why do we have teeth there at all? Are they just superfluous like our pinkie toes?

Maybe there is dental maintenance our ancestors did naturally that modern people don't. That does make sense, except I see aboriginals in documentaries all the time that have barely any good teeth. Maybe it's the act of eating that changed. We cut things up and eat with forks. In the past, maybe gnawing off bites of tough food pulled teeth forward, leaving more space for wisdom teeth.

It seems plausible, but it doesn't explain why some people, like my brother, don't get wisdom teeth at all.

Wisdom teeth are only for wise people? LOL! I'll accept that.

Health Insurance for Dummies

2009-02-10T16:27:00.000-08:00

I was reading Checking the Status of my Health Insurance from Poorer Than You, and it inspired me to post a comment that turned into a novel. Well, two pages, but long enough to make it look ridiculously long for a comment, so I post it here instead.

I used to work as a customer service agent for a company that managed health benefits for other businesses. My job was to explain the benefits to customers from over 50 separate plans. Suffice to say, over the years, I've learned a lot about health insurance.

For those who are no longer covered by their parent's plan or don't receive benefits from their employers, I have some important advice:

Most of the plans cut dependents off at 24, some of them earlier. They do love to change this, especially for pension plans, so check every 2-3 months.

Your new insurance company can't deny you for pre-existing conditions if you've had continuous coverage for at least 12 months and you reinstate coverage within 60 days of the last policy's expiration. Depending on the state, you may have longer.

If you are forced to purchase personal health insurance, do your homework. Most health insurance providers offer free quotes. Read the fine print. If you don't understand any of it, ask someone or look it up. Most importantly, make sure you ask about any and all deductibles, fees, exclusions and copays. If they fail to disclose any costs you would be responsible for, you have the right to dispute the charges.

Unless you make plenty of money already and can afford to set aside funds for large unexpected medical bills, do NOT go with a high deductible plan. You may pay less every month, but in the event of a medical emergency, you'll be expected to dish out $2500 or more out of pocket BEFORE the company will cover any expenses.

Sometimes this isn't a bad deal if you are hardly ever sick and you never get into an accident or, the extreme opposite, if you have a massive medical bill and the $2500 seems reasonable, but you can't predict that.

At the end of the year, the deductible will start over. If you're lucky and don't have any medical expenses, that's not so terrible, but if you don't meet your copay before the end of the year, you end up paying all your medical expenses along with $1500 in premiums for nothing.

The alternative is a standard copay plan, where you pay twice as much per month for a lower deductible and copay. You pay less out of pocket in the event of a medical crisis. It has the same risks. You may pay out $2500 in premiums and never need a doctor, but you end up paying a lot less per year. I always recommend this plan. I've never had a bad experience with it.

Most employer plans have both options, but they love to push the high deductible plans. Why? Because they don't pay out as much on them. Most people never cover the deductible before the year ends. The company collects the premiums and more than makes up for the few that do meet their deductibles. It's more profitable for the company and less beneficial for you.

If you take medication and can use generic, take advantage of the local pharmacy's generic program. Wal-Mart charges $4 for certain generics on their program list, regardless of insurance. They have the list on their website and it includes most commonly used medications. If you cannot take generic, look for a plan that offers prescription benefits.

Prescription benefits seldom offer a better deal on generics than the pharmacy programs do, but if you have a condition that prevents you from using generic, Brand medications are usually cheaper with your plan. Look for the same details as your health insurance. Low deductible, low copay/coinsurance. Many plans require you to use a mail-order pharmacy, so ask how many local pharmacy fills you are allowed per month. If you are limited, try to save them for emergencies. Mail-order is usually cheaper as well, but make sure you order well in advance. Take advantage of the discounts and buy in bulk. Most of the time getting a three month supply via Mail-order is equal to the per month rate at the pharmacy and it saves you from repeated doctor visits.

Some plans offer free diabetic supplies if you purchase them all in one day. One plan stated that if they purchased diabetic supplies all at the same time, they only had to pay a copay on the first item and everything after would cost them nothing, regardless of cost. If you are diabetic, check with your prescription plan and see if your provider offers this program, and if they do, always tell the pharmacist to process the lowest cost items first.

If you can't afford a high deductible plan (or, like me, you think it's a rip off) and the alternative's monthly payments are too rich for your income, you will probably be better off opening a savings account for medical expenses and devote a set amount per month to it. Yes, I know you'll end up paying out of pocket entirely, but you save up to $2500 a year in premiums, you won't have to worry about having to meet a deductible, and if you never need it, it builds up to a nice little nest egg.

If you can't even afford that much, you're probably a candidate for medicaid or some other low-income health program. Free clinics are also an option.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because I used to handle a lot of calls from customers who didn't know anything about their plans. By the time they got to me, it was too late to change. A great many of them would have been much better off without any insurance rather than the craptastic plans they were stuck with.

If you are fortunate enough to have a decent coverage, that's great, but it's important that the rest of you know that sometimes, a personal savings account is better than a plan.

Except for dental... $50 a month seems reasonable after my $800 crown.

Bordom and Wisdom Teeth

2009-02-09T19:57:00.000-08:00

I really don't know what life would be like without internet. I spent two days without it and my brain nearly exploded with bordom.

On Saturday, something somehow set a telephone box and surrounding brush on fire. No one was hurt and the fire was put out, but not before everyone on our street lost phone service, which, sadly, included my DSL.

My service provider didn't send anyone out until today, so I spent an incredibly dull weekend with a painful toothache.

If you don't appreciate your dental benefits, try getting a quote while being unemployed. I've had a wisdom tooth coming in for a few months that started to hurt just in the last few days and the cost of pulling it will run me upwards of $300 without insurance.

That means coughing up the money or living with the pain until I find a job. The first really isn't an option, since I can't even afford my bills.

I never thought of dental surgery as a luxery before.

I Think I'm Learning Japanese

2009-02-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

I've been studying Japanese on my own for over a month now. It's real challenge for me, because I have a lousy memory. Just trying to keep all the words straight is difficult even without the kanji. If I had someone teaching me, it would probably be easier. I've always had difficulty learning things on my own. I think that's why I didn't do very well in high school.

I recently became a fan of the show Heroes and about 1/3 of the dialogue is in Japanese, because the character Hiro, a Time Traveler, doesn't speak English very well. His friend Ando travels with him as his sidekick/translator, but later in the series, he meets a girl with the ability of "super memory" who helps him with his English while he teaches her Japanese. As appealing as all the other powers are, this is the one I'd want. The ability to learn quickly and retain everything I read. If I had that power, I'd never worry about flunking out of college and learning every language would be a piece of cake.

Wishful thinking aside, I plan to learn as many languages as I can. So far, the best method I've found for self-teaching is to write the word and meaning a few dozen times, say it aloud each time, and then wait a day to check if I recall it without having to look.

I learned all the hirigana and katakana this way. Even after a few weeks of not looking at them or thinking about them, I can still write both sets of characters. Whenever I successfully remember anything I taught myself, I feel a sense of accomplishment. It's a feeling I never experienced in school.

Learning the phonetic kana helps with pronunciation, but the kanji will be difficult without first learning the words and how to form coherent sentences. Some of them look like random clusters of dots. I'd love to know how the Japanese remember them all.

It must be the fish. I read that the best brain food is fish, which is a pity, since I can't eat it.

I wish Ramen was a brain food.

Spot Shopping

2009-02-03T16:56:00.000-08:00

It's getting towards Valentine's Day and the grocery stores are shamelessly smothering me with advertising flyers. Not that I mind seeing how much a bag of candy compares to the cost of milk.

I heard someone say she wouldn't go to a store that charges $3.00 for milk, but pays the same for a 1 pound bag of chocolates wrapped in foil to eat at work. Hell, I need a sugar fix just as much as anyone, but I'd never justify going to two different stores to save fifty cents on milk only to be a complete hypocrite for candy.

This is the same kind of person who drives halfway across town to save 60 cents on gas.

We call this Spot Shopping. It's stupid.
Spot shopping is only meant for large expensive purchases, like computers and clothes.

Spot shopping for shoes, yes. Food, no. If the shoes don't look good and fit comfortably, the price isn't going to matter. You're going to waste your money on something you won't want to wear. If going to three different stores results in finding a worthy pair of tennis shoes that last you for years, it was totally worth the extra $5.00 spent on gas.

However, one store's milk is pretty much the same as any other. Pick the one with the lowest prices on the main essentials, and don't worry about the rest.

What you save on the big stuff makes up for the few extra cents you spent on the small stuff.

Free Dr. Pepper!! OMGBBQ!111111

2009-01-31T18:31:00.000-08:00

Fellow financial Southern gal Frugalista from the Miami Herald blog just posted a No Buy Month challenge, where you can't eat out or spend on fripperies for 31 days. Pfft, I can do that with my hands tied behind my back. It's easy when you have no money~ LOL!

What really interested me was the post after that one that offered a link for FREE Dr. Pepper!!!

Okay, so it's Diet, but hell, its FREE. Fill out the form and they'll send you a coupon within 4-6 weeks (I got mine in less time though). Sure, it costs a dollar tops for a 2 liter, but why pay when you don't have to?

Get your free coupon before the offer ends!

Starving Writer

2009-01-31T14:26:00.001-08:00

When I was younger, I always dreamed of being a writer. Someone like J.R.R.Tolkien or C.S.Lewis, though I'd rather my work gain an appreciative audience well before the end of my lifetime. I noticed that the most popular writers use initials instead of their first names. Maybe that's the secret to success!

I'm not a terrible writer (at least I don't think I am), but I tend to get stuck in the details of the story. I plan it to death and then either hit a roadblock in the plot or I lose interest. I once tried to just write what was in my head and after each chapter, I forgot what I wrote and had to go back to review it. The story was complete garbage and I haven't used that method since.

Years later, I'm just as far from making a living as an author as when I started. People tell me all the time that you don't need a college education to be a writer. That's certainly true, but those people had far more interesting lives. I need new experiences to draw upon. My poor, uneventful existence can't inspire wonderful ideas. I need to go out and experience new things that can.

Then maybe someday someone will be inspired by me.

Collections Scum

2009-01-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

I was browsing around and found a "favorites list keeper" that was brilliantly written by Jennifer Lynn of Broke-Ass Student.

How To Fight Back Against Collection Agencies

I wish I'd known all this back in the days when I had collections harassing me over insurance claims.

I was hit by a truck on my bicycle, but the damage to both the truck and myself was minimal. The police officer said it was equal fault, so the agreement I reached with the driver was he would cover his repairs and I would cover my medical bills.

A reasonable arrangement.

Except, not too long after, his insurance called to verify my "fault" in the accident and try to extract payment on his claim. I denied it was valid and they stopped calling.

A year later, a collections office called to request payment on it again. Suffice to say, I didn't handle it as I should have. If I was smart, I would have known better. I should have known better. Instead I gave them a wide opening and they sent me forms and letters for 3 years after.

So~

Take this article seriously kids. If you have a collections agency contacting you, let the voice-mail pick up. Don't even attempt to answer. You may think you're smart, but they can use anything you say and twist it up. I've even known them to take your denials on the phone and edit them to sound incriminating.

As Jennifer Lynn said, "Beware the bottom-feeders."

Japan: Where the Wild Ramen Roams

2009-01-27T19:56:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to tour Europe and Asia. Mostly I want to visit Japan. I love beautiful scenery and being in a place that's different from the average everyday U.S. sounds ideal.

I was surfing around, trying to find personal accounts of Americans living in Japan. I ran across a lot of negative ones. Most of them were single people who hate being alone or looked at funny by natives, married women who have unwelcoming relatives, and a lot of prejudice and judgemental perspectives. What happened to respecting and accepting our differences? I imagine I have a rose-glassed view, which was the whole point of looking it up, but no one gets to decide where they come from.

Then I found a lot of optimistic blogs. One was very sweet, about a mom who married her Japanese soul mate and was living happily in a rural town in Japan with him and their two cute little boys. I was getting all mushy over it, so I had to stop reading. Something about children stories makes my biological clock tick pretty loudly. I'm not big on the idea of just marrying someone, but people who find their perfect mate make me jealous. C'est la vie.

So yeah. I followed the path of blogs from that one and found a community of perfectly happy expatriates. There's always two sides of any coin. People who go expecting to be treated wonderfully without respecting the culture probably have a lousy time. I don't know how true it is, but I figure if things don't work out when I go, it's not like I'll have to stay. If anything, it might make me appreciate home more.

I was shocked to learn that Wal-Mart and Costco have branches in Japan. I didn't realize they were international. I'm impressed with the slightest mention of a Wendy's in Tokyo. I already knew that KFC and McDonald's were big over there, but never expected Wendy's. They even have a mail-order club for importing American brand food.

The Japanese are far more diligent about preventing cross contamination than I was led to believe. That in itself was a huge relief since I can't eat shellfish, crab, lobster, or shrimp. I was worried, seeing as Japan's primary products are seafood and rice. I was being paranoid for no reason.

Japan isn't any more tropical than Florida, so I'll probably feel right at home, until the cold weather starts. I'm such a wuss in winter.

I'd like to meet up with some of the Japan blogiverse. I'm sure they dread the idea of meeting an over-enthusiastic new arrival. I'm too self-conscious to force myself on anyone, even a whole country, which makes me think I shouldn't go. Being an Anthropologist means learning about cultures, and what good am I if I'm won't even visit another country?

I'd rather travel and find out I hate it, than stay home and never know.

Bento Budget

2009-01-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Every day, I make my mother a bento lunch to take to work. Despite all the effort involved, it actually accomplishes a lot.

1. Portion Control

Thanks to the bento, my mom eats the correct portions. It's small, but it has two tiers, which hold a lot of food. It fools you into thinking you ate more than you did, and since she sucks with chopsticks, it takes her a long time to eat, giving her time to feel full.

People hate dieting, but it's really about how much, not what, you eat. If you eat the same things in smaller, palm-sized amounts, you would steadily lose weight. It's also less drastic than just ramen. Of course, if you want to eat the same, you'd have to burn the calories with exercise, and most of us are just too lazy to do that regularly.

2. Money Saver

Making a bento forces me to use what we have in the kitchen, rather than her going to McDonald's, which, including gas, costs $5-8 a day. Her bento costs less than $2.00 a day for ingredients and 25 cents for a bottled water, which I freeze to keep her food cold until it melts enough to drink. No matter what deals the restaurants offer, it's never cheaper than eating at home.

3. Fun

I LOVE BENTO! They're adorable and they invent fun little tools and recipes especially designed for them. Your bento is like your clothes, they show the kind of person you are. I have a favorites list the length of my arm containing only sites devoted to bento art. It's like scrap booking, only less boring. You're working with a medium that you can eat when you're done. There are a lot of bento enthusiasts who take it very seriously, even so far as photographing or blogging their daily creations. If I wasn't on a budget, I'd be buying a small pile of bento tools and boxes and doing the same thing.

J-List sells a lot of nice bento boxes and tools for reasonable prices. I bought my mom's piggy bento box from ShopKawaii, but most of their goods are kind of girly. We buy most of our food at Wal-mart, but for the specialty items they don't carry, I go to the Asian food store. Every medium to large city has at least one, though expect some steep prices on their import goods.

Even if you aren't into bentos, the benefits are the same. Just grab a Tupperware container and see how many separate food items you can fit. Try to stay under 600 calories.

Bank Spanked

2009-01-25T07:06:00.000-08:00

I was checking out the news and I read an article about a banker who spanked 50 customers who were late on their loan payments. I believe the banker's story that there was nothing sexual about the spankings. No one came forward to file sexual harassment claims, only a few of them blackmailed him with the threat of sexual harassment.

If you are a young man and you were sexually harassed, you would do more than just blackmail the offender. You'd want him in jail. I assume since few of the punished customers in question asked for money, it was nothing more than humiliation that fueled their blackmail.

I'm not totally against his plan. Public humiliation is an effective way to keep customers paying their bills on time. People make a habit out of being late if there's no embarrassment involved. Charging them more money is almost useless. If they don't pay the bill, what makes the banks think they'll pay the fees?

I could really use a loan, but without a job, I'm not exactly the bank's favorite person. How do people like me get loans without a job or a cosigner? If I had a cosigner, I'd borrow the money from them instead. If I had a job, I wouldn't need the loan.

"Sorry, we can't give you a loan, because you need it."

The "F" Word

2009-01-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

Before I started writing one, I barely even looked at blogs. Most of my online experience was making website layouts, gaming and shopping. I still make layouts, but gave up the gaming and the shopping. With normal blogs you don't have to start reading from post #1, but with finance blogs, you really should. You miss out on some great advice if you don't.

I read an article from Poorer Than You posted in September, called "Does My Frugal Life Make Me Miserable?" which was a response to another blog article by Trent from The Simple Dollar, "The Backlash Against Frugality".

Basically, both articles were about living without expensive gadgets and new clothes.

I admit, I hate Goodwill. I'm an eccentric dresser and nothing they have fits my style, but I hardly ever buy clothes. I get one outfit every 6 months or so. I spend about $50-100 and they last a long time. I'm not an obsessive shoe shopper either. I've been wearing the same $40 Nike sneakers for 2 years and have two pairs of dress shoes that hardly get worn.

The part that annoyed me most was the iPhone. It's stupid to pay $2,000 for a cellphone. I have a cute LG Plum mp3/camera phone from AT&T that cost me $50, plus $18 for the 2GB microSD card and adaptor (I bought the card from Wal-mart because AT&T's ran $50 and up). The card adaptor is used to load files from my hard drive and it doubles as a jump drive. The camera takes very good pictures and video. There are several other features I don't even use, but I'm perfectly happy. For everything else, I have my computer.

Living without television might seem like masochism to some of you, but I have for 12 years, and I can easily say I don't miss it. The only shows worth watching for me are House, Dexter and Burn Notice. I learned about them from watching clips on the network websites and bought the DVDs. Pretty much everything I enjoy watching is on DVD. I choose when, where and how long to watch it and I can see it as many times as I want.

When you fork over that monthly fee for satellite or cable, you are being charged 100% for access to the channels, but you only watch 10% between all the worthless shows and advertisement. You might as well take the amount you would have paid for the privilege of that 10% and buy the DVDs. At least then it would be commercial free.

Frugal means finding more beneficial uses for your money. It doesn't have to mean deprivation.

I'm a Pepper, He's a Pepper, She's a Pepper

2009-01-22T01:44:00.000-08:00

My parents say they don't think I could survive on my own, but get upset at the idea of me moving out. They treat me like I'm a willful third grader, but say I'm an adult and should act like one. Hypocrisy?

I love and appreciate my parents. I want to support them instead of them supporting me, but I can't live with them anymore. It's like they are afraid of losing control of me, so they tell me I'm incapable of doing anything by myself. Reverse psychology fails on me.

We tend to butt heads because we're too much alike. They are stubborn and refuse to admit they could be wrong, even when proof is offered. Obviously I'm the product of their DNA, so I'm like a magnet that meets another magnet with the same force.

Except I'm reasonable.

Most parents think their kids can accomplish anything if they try. Mine might think that, but that's not what they tell me. They rationally decided between them that I have the IQ of a taco and they need to save me from my folly. Personalities clash, fights occur, and I end up being run over by their combined powers of guilt and manipulation. In other words, I cave.

If anyone with the same problem wants advice, move out.

They will attempt to hammer you into the mold they carved out, but you are never going to fit, and it only makes you miserable to try.

Branch out from the parent tree, grow your own roots, and call them on holidays.

Got Ramen?

2009-01-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

I had a friend who was overweight when he toddled off to college in the fall. Normally, you hear about the "freshmen 15", which is the idea that most freshmen gain 15 pounds after leaving the bosom of their mother's kitchen. For this friend, it was the extreme opposite. He came back skinny. When I asked him what helped him lose weight, he told me he was living on ramen and walking to campus every day.

I think living on ramen wouldn't be all that terrible, providing you try different flavors. Eating the same thing every day gets depressing, but lucky for the rameneers, there's other ways to make it that actually change the taste.

I like the old fashioned "add hot water and wait" method when I'm feeling lazy. For the days I'm tired of eating the same old thing, I throw the cube of dry ramen in a frying pan with an inch of water. If you fry it until the water evaporates, the flavor is much stronger and it tastes great. If you have any, you can mix in some veggies. I like to use frozen vegetables, because they taste less like tin can, but if you don't have anywhere to store them, go with canned and just add some salt.

Beware of using butter. It tends to make the noodles too greasy and it ends up at the bottom of the bowl anyway. Eww.

Most likely, the reason "freshmen 15" has become such a common statistic is because when they start their first semester, kids know nothing about their financial aid or loans. They assume it's all going to take care of itself, so they buy whatever they want, eat nothing but junk and sit around the dorms playing video games. For some, the late nights and lack of focus starts to file away at their grades and by next semester, they lose their scholarships. Once the money starts to run dry and the loan debts are accumulating, they are royally screwed if they don't toe the line and budget. Some make decent recovery, but the rest end up dropping classes or quitting altogether.

The sad part: the only way people learn is by getting burned. I'm hoping some of you can learn from my burns instead.

*puts away her soapbox*

I was fishing around the bloggiverse trying to discover cool things and people, and I ran across Peter from J-List's blog.
J-list is a pretty nifty online store for Japanese merchandise. In my usual single minded obsession with bento, I browsed around and found the Holy Grail of Ramen Merchandise:

It's excellent for microwaving ramen without having the foam cup dissolve into nothingness!

Then I realized... this is the vile demon that got me into my current financial predicament. Online shopping. I was ready to slink off with my tail between my legs, when in the corner, I saw a cute little banner that said two magical words:

*sparkle*"Affiliate Program"*sparkle*

A big grin spread across my face and I clicked upon it with renewed fervor! The site pays commissions for final sales when the buyer uses your link to reach their site. That made it slightly less sparkly for those, like me, who just recently started blogging and have no readers.

Still, it is definitely an idea for later. If your interested in finding out how you can take advantage of the J-List Affiliate Program, you can either go directly to the site (they have a filtered version, so if you're uncomfortable with adult items, you should browse in J-Box instead) or visit Peter's blog and use the link on the bottom right.

Getting Out of Hot Water

2009-01-19T14:30:00.001-08:00

I read an interesting blog this morning that sums up my biggest money problem:
Stop Buying Crap.

I guess the first step to recovery, according to the alcoholics, is admitting I have a problem. Even before I accepted I was in trouble, I was living paycheck to paycheck.

Buying crap put me into debt. Not buying crap will have to get me out.

I made a list of where most of the debt originated, starting with the most expensive. When I look at it, a lot of it wasn't even worth the misery:

1. Vacations - I can't say spending time with people I love isn't worth the money. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, but I wish I'd saved up instead. It accounts for about $1000 of the total debt.

2. Computer Equipment - I still use the items and they were much needed, but my biggest mistake was not in purchasing them, but using their store card. The balance started compounding heavily and I was screwed. It accounts for $700 of the debt.

3. Online MMORPG's - This was the biggest waste of money. I played a free game that sold extras for an extortionate amount. I started out okay, avoiding their store and working on my level, but once I hit the higher ranks, it got to the point where I was spending $120 a month on items to upgrade my equipment. This accounts for $800 of the debt. I have since quit playing, but I could possibly sell my account and recoup some of my losses.

4. Restaurants and Entertainment - I used to go to the movies quite often, and I went out to eat almost every day. Now I don't go out at all. I won't say the outings were all a waste, but there were times I could have eaten at home much better. This accounts for $500 of my debt.

5. Loans - The last $500 is the money I owe my brother for helping me pay my bills. I actually owe him less, but I'm estimating for the next few months as my job hunt isn't going so well.

Until my debts are paid, I have put an end to buying anything I can't live without. Even after that, I'll devote my extra income towards getting my savings and Roth IRA established.

I've spent plenty of time being financially retarded.

Cup 'O' Progress

2009-01-18T14:22:00.001-08:00

I was looking around the web for a really cool add-on; just something small and simple to keep track of my financial progress, but they didn't have one that would blend well with my "Chicken Flavor" layout. After fruitless hours of searching, I just decided to make my own. I ended up making it way more flashy than anything I could have downloaded.

I always get carried away when I make things myself. I love working with graphics and code, which is why I initially applied as a Computer Science major. Lately, though, I've been feeling that inner tug towards Anthropology, because of the chance to travel and discover things.

I asked a recent graduate friend of mine, who majored in CS, if I should stick to CS or try for a probably less lucrative, but way more adventurous degree. I have to admit, she made a very good argument:

"If you have to choose between money and happiness... choose money.

Seriously, with enough money you can go back and get a PhD in Anthropology any time you want. CS can lead you to a graduate school degree of cognitive science, for example, which leads to a PhD in Anthropology. You do NOT have to get a PhD in the major you completed as an undergraduate.

I'm not just saying this because I'm part of the soulless corporate machine now, but I know a LOT of former Art students in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties who work at Barnes and Noble because their degree(which put them over a hundred grand in debt) can't get them a job."

If going to school for CS will have the same results, I'll follow the money first. Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy security and stability, which are definitely crucial to happiness.

Noodles? Don't Noodles?

2009-01-11T11:08:00.001-08:00

If you didn't already know, the title of my post came from
Kung-Fu Panda.

When the movie came out, I fell in love with it. I think the story is my life in a nutshell:

I'm 25 and still live at home.
I'm unhappy with my life.
My parents think that I should stay a soulless slave to minimum wage instead of "wasting my time" trying to follow my dream of going to college.
I was given the chance to fulfill that dream: I was accepted into a state university, two hours from where I live.

The problem: its three long months until semester begins, I'm unemployed, completely broke, and $3500 in debt.

When I say broke, I mean my bank account has $5 in it. So as we speak, I'm sitting at my desk eating cup ramen and wondering what the hell I'm going to do about my financial road block.

I've been able to make minimum payments on my credit cards with the help of my brother, on the condition that I pay him back as soon as I can. I never can tell about him. I always thought he hated me, because of all the horrible things I subjected him to when we were kids. Considering all that, he's being pretty generous, but I can't expect him to do it forever.

I know some of you say, "$3500 is not a large amount. Get a job and you'll have it paid off in no time."

Except the fly in the ramen is, there are no jobs.

I live in a cute, historical little town in the Deep South. It's very picturesque, with chipper little squirrels and armadillos dancing in the streets, but the downside is there isn't enough work to go around. I've been unemployed since October. Winter is a lousy time for job hunting.

All the fast food places are accepting applications, but the managers are shrugging in that sympathetic but entirely unhelpful way. They all keep repeating the economic mantra: "We're in a recession." Most of the community is Navy and their wives get dibs on the glamorous part-time jobs. I'm not Navy, so I have to settle for the back-breaking, menial labor no one else wants to do, and even those jobs aren't hiring.

Your next pondering might be:
"If you live with your mom and dad, why are you living on ramen?"

Simple. My parents are almost as broke as I am. I guess anyone would have a hard time paying a mortgage, two car payments, utilities and bills on $30k a year. Adding me, that's extra electricity, water, food and gas that there's no income to support. As such, I decided to limit my maintenance to the bare necessities. You can't get much cheaper than ramen and Dr. Pepper. I also clean the house, take care of the yard, and cook when they want me to. When I'm home alone, the lights get turned out and the thermostat is off. It's not much, but it does save money. It's just not my money.

I have to be optimistic though. To help me stay the course to eliminate debt and put myself in a better financial frame, I decided to start this blog. I'm hoping that work finds me soon, but if not, I'll have to come up with some creative ways to pay the bills until school starts.

Wish me luck!