$3 teabag?!

On most days, I'll try to remember to log when and where I spent money. It's a good thing I'm starting the spending log today because I've spent a lot of money uncharacteristically lately. I used to use Quicken to track every dime spent but I never did it for more than a few months at a time. It was interesting to see how money flowed out and how insignificant things added up but I would miss inputting info some days and then would abandon the whole thing.

Spent too much on eating out today. $14 on lunch ($3 for hot water and tea bags!?) at Habana in Costa Mesa. At least the food was good. Had a roasted half chicken with Cuban rice and fried plaintains and beans. Went out for dinner at a bbq restaurant in Orange. The ribs were mediocre tonight so it's a good thing we used the Entertainment card. Saved $14 and paid $32 with tip. I usually don't eat out twice in the same day but had an ex-coworker come by. Eating out that often just gets tiring and is a sure fire way to gain a couple of pounds every week. Then went to Starbucks to read and each had a caramel machiatto for $7.

It never ceases to amaze me how teenagers can afford frappuchinos and smoothies at $4 a pop. When I was their age, $4 was an entire meal. I don't know how much teenagers get for allowance these days but it would have to be a lot to pay for cell phones, Starbucks, gas and Abercrombie & Fitch. I guess I'm just jealous because I never received any kind of allowance growing up. The concept of an allowance isn't common among Asian families. (Or maybe just not common to poor Asian families??) I was jealous back then anyway but looking back, I'm glad that I didn't receive one. Otherwise, I wouldn't have worked through high school and college and might have ended up dependant upon my family still as an adult.

I've just started reading How to Make Money with Real Estate Options that I got through Amazon a few weeks ago. I liked that fact that it was written and published just last year. Only on page twenty but so far it seems to be well written without too much hype. The mantra hasn't been "become a millionaire overnight with little effort and using everybody's money except your own. I read a lot on personal finance, real estate investment, some fiction, a lot of magazines. A few weeks ago, I finished Rich Dad, Poor Dad. The common sense nature of the book had quite an impact on me and I found myself telling others about it. If you haven't read it, do so! It's not a "how to become rich book" at all but rather how to look at money making in a different light. Make your money work for you instead of working for money. Trying to make that my mantra.

Total Spent Today:
$14 lunch
$32 dinner for two (with Entertainment card)
$ 7 two Starbucks