I was eating dinner about two weeks ago and was talking about money and the person that I was eating with was asking me about my nut (how much I have to make each month to survive). I replied I didnt know for sure, but if I make $4,000 in a month, my bankroll doesn’t go up, and it maybe even drops. He was astonished by this. Talking to other people about the same thing I keep hearing numbers of 2000 as high and most people are below that. So where is all my money going? I dont party a lot and frankely I stay at home moreso than most people it seems.
Now I do have bills. I financed my new truck with a 3 year loan, I have more student loans than most people, my car insurance seems rather high, still have some credit card balances, and the rent and bills in Las Vegas are kind of high. Now that adds up but that still doesn’t account for as much as I am spending. Now Im not a cheap person. I want to be able to do whatever I want, but at the same time I don’t feel Im being unreasonable on the amount that I do. I feel like I work hard and put in suffecient hours on the felt. But at the same time I think I am starting to narrow down where it is going.
Latley I have been taking a number of trips. Cruise in January (which I didnt pay for but being away from home still costs more than being there), LA in Febuary (poker trip but still applies), and Kentucky in April. Out of all the trips, Kentucky was the most exspensive. Besides the plane ticket and the rental car, I spent a lot of money at the horse track, restuarants, and bars. I want to have a good time when Im on vacation, and Im doing well so I dont mind spreading the wealth amongst friends, ecspecially when intoxicated. But after that I promised myself to curb the spending. I even turned down invitations to go to the Kentucky Derby and Chicago in early May, both with a place to stay for free, and a wedding invitation for late May. So how is that going you may ask?
Well, not so well. Last week, I hear from one of my best friends in high school who I haven’t talked to in years. He lives in Hollywood now, and was in town. Despite being an actor and actually being on the Mind of เเทงหวยออนไลน์ (comedy central) the night before, he is basically broke. He works as a security guard at a fancy hotel making $15 bucks an hour. When your paying $850 a month for an effienciancy, that doesn’t leave much left over. Well I wasnt going to let that ruin our fun. Plus his family use to take me on famiy vacations with them when I was in high school and I didn’t have a dollar to my name. So we hit up the Rhino and dances and drinks were on me. I dont mind showing friends a good time and it doesn’t neccersarily kill the pocketbook. He invites me to Hollywood for Memorial day weekend for a cook out and I accept. Sounds fun and I don’t neccersarily have to spend a lot of money.
OK, so this month, besides Hollywood, I will try not to spend too much. Well then I get an email from my Grandma wanting to me to come to San Diego to visit b/c my grandfather isnt doing so well. I tell her I will either before of after my Hollywood excursion and just make a week out of the California trip. Gas money and eating on the road, plus not playing poker will add up but, no problem, hopefully Ill have a good 3 weeks and it wont matter. I mean there are plenty of times I finish the month with no more than the third week and think to myself I could have taken that whole week off and relaxed.
So then last night I get an email from this hot ass little Eastern Kentucky girl. Ive hung out with her before (only once) and would like to again. She says she will be in town Tuesday through Friday for work and would like to meet up and get a drink. Sounds great. I am assuming the majority of people reading this haven’t been to Eastern Kentucky, but there isn’t much to do there and the people there are used to the simple life where a night out at Outback is a treat. So I decide to really impress her and show her a good time. I haven’t really been dating much lately and it would be fun for me as well. So I ask her if she would like to go to a show. She got super excited and ten minutes later i had Couch seats (most exspensive ones) reserved for Tuesday night at Zumanity. I mean whats the prestige of being a professional poker player if you dont have money to throw around?
Besides the expected and the unexpected, I also spend way to much money on food. Not so much at any given time (Im not eating at Delmonicos or Fix weekly or anything), but it adds up. I spend too much on fast food. For instance I was just at McDonalds. My breakfast was over 8 dollars, while the guy behind me’s was 3.11. Besides that I still eat at sit down places frequently. My working friends will call me to go eat every week or so. Well I cant say Im busy, because Im not, and its one of the few times I can hang out with them without making it an all night drunk fest so I usually accept. Multiply that by a few friends and that adds up. And its not like Im gonna be doing that anyways. A lot of the time they call for an early dinner when Im just getting up and I wouldnt have ate for hours it not for them calling. I dont mind it as it allows me to visit with them and leave the house to go somewhere besides the Bellagio, but it adds up.
So thats where the money goes. This month Im writing every dollar I spend down in a notebook and hopefully when I add it up at the end of the month it will shock me enough to make a official bugdet and stick to it in the future. Like I said my spending isn’t breaking me or anything, I would just like my roll to grow quicker than it has been and maybe be able to save for my future. Wish me luck.
