The third of four weekends during Project Minimum Wage has passed me by and it probably hurt the wallet more than any other of the previous weekends.
Eating out, Shocker game parking, Brad Paisley concert (which was a blast by the way), birthday parties, let’s find out what the final damage was.
Friday night was the Brad Paisley concert. Decided to head up to Old Mill Tasty Shop for dinner beforehand. First time I’ve ever been there. The food was good, I enjoyed it. Only thing is I don’t see why people rave like it’s the best thing ever. Don’t get me wrong, I liked my bbq brisket sandwich but love would be taking that a little too far. So purchased dinner for two. BURN!!!!
Follow that up with two beers at the concert. I wish I was making Brad Paisley money then I could have afforded more than that. And yes, let me repeat again that these tickets were purchased in December. I had planned going to this concert before. I definitely caught a lot of slack from friends for going to the concert while doing this project…….
Moving on to Saturday. Went to the Shocker game and split parking with friends. $5. Seriously, $5 for parking is almost an hour’s worth of work on minimum wage. I would have liked to do a free parking area but one of my friends was running late showing up to meet with us…….
After the game, it was a friend’s birthday party. We had a group of probably 20 of us. Drinks being purchased, some shots, you know how birthday parties go….. I got by without having to buy as many drinks but at the end of the night the same friend who showed up late to save me $5 on parking walked out on a tab without knowing it. So I spotted the $20 to pay it for him at Larry Bud’s so the server wouldn’t be screwed. Because what’s more important? Trying to salvage every dollar on Project Minimum Wage or making sure the servers at a bar you frequent often do not get stiffed? Not sure if I’ll see that $20 back so we’ll have to include it in the final count.
And Sunday, was pretty much burn free outside of getting lunch! I had dinner made for me so I got off scott free there. Plus I received two $2 bills to celebrate Asian New Year’s. But it’s lucky money so I can’t spend it 🙁
Started Friday with $168 and woke up Monday with $74 to last me 12 days. Here’s where I stand on upcoming expenses. I have gas I need which is $40. I’m going to have to get a half a tank of gas and not drive much these next 12 days. I have a haircut appointment at the end of next week. That will be pushed back a week later. I have an engagement with friends on Saturday that could possibly set me back $20. If I see my friend in time, I can get $20 back from him but I don’t like haggling my friends for money.
I’m sitting on $74, possibly $94 for 12 days. Worst case scenario, I’m stuck with just $74. Then I need a half tank of gas, that’s $54. Friday night puts me down to $34. It’s going to be tight. I have food to probably last me the entire two weeks. It’ll be sandwiches, pastas and oatmeal. I’m going to push Letter U to next week or a week later if I can’t afford it.
Twelve days and counting. CAN I DO IT?!?!?!
You should be able to do $70 in two weeks if you have enough food to last you those days.
What happened to just making a budget and sticking to it? That is the only way to make this work. You cannot just spend, then tally what's left over. I know from personal experience that one cannot finance the kind of social life that you have been describing on minimum wage. You look for other venues like free Saturdays at the Art Museum, half-price days at the zoo, free parks,…….Stay away from high priced snacks and drinks at these places.