Did you guys read this article? Just thought I would share it with you.

I had to wear a light coat today! Just thought I would share that with you. I was so cold at work that I wanted to have some hot chocolate. Sadly I discovered the hot chocolate mix I had expired in April. Day was pretty uneventful. This month is pretty tight with a lot of expenses, so trying to keep low. Have been bringing lunch to work. Did buy a snack though today. How's everybody else doing?

I have a chipped tooth! AND that happened the very next day I came back from the dentist. (Not the tooth they worked on). Sigh... I think I have already used up most of my 1k allowable for the year, and it's only August. I am sure I also need filling in one of the molars. Who knows how much that is going to cost. I keep getting weird "this is not a bill" statement from my dental insurance. It looks like my dentist has had to file the claim forms a multiple times for past treatments.

Speaking of claim forms, I finally posted the claim forms for my dog's vet expenses. I am hoping I will get 230 back.

So far, I have been pretty good at cooking meals and taking packed lunch to work. It's a bit of a hassle to carry all the containers with me though. Usually I have two. One for fruits and one for lunch. I really don't want to be one of those ladies with multiple bags on them. It looks sloppy and not comfortable.

Work has been crazy and I can see it getting only crazier. Must do something about it! Today I didn't even have a single minute to myself. I had to eat lunch at my desk, which is becoming a routine.

On a good note, my dog is much better!

Well, so much for now. More later..

This month I had a huge CC bill payment. I just paid it today and now I feel as poor as a church mouse. I also budgeted for the rest of the month. Hopefully I can stick to it. I must stick to it. I made myself a lovely curry dinner that I got a recipe from the internet. I've still got enough for 2 more servings. Yey. I have to fill out the pet health insurance form and drop it in the post tomorrow. Hopefully I will see some money from them soon. Apart from little tinkering around at home, this has been a quiet day. Nothing planned for the weekend. So just relaxing. I wanted to read a personal finance book that I had borrowed from the library over the weekend, but I left it at work. I hope all of you had a loverly Saturday.

Spendings that is. I have fallen off the wagon, and can't seem to stop
Work is exhausting. After I get home, I do not feel like doing anything. So I have ate out a lot. I also do not feel like making lunch for the next day, so I have eaten out for that as well. Meanwhile I am some salad sitting in my fridge getting moldy and I don't seem to have the energy to whip up a nice salad lunch. I just want this week to be over already.

It's not even the middle of the month, but August has been very expensive all and all what with sky high vet bills and what not. Hopefully I will get a considerable amount back from pet health insurance. I know some people do not believe in health insurance for pets, but the way I look at it, it all balances out in the end. I don't feel comfortable getting rid of it now - after having it for so long. Although seriously for the most part I think this business is a racket.

So it doesn't look like I will be making much progress on savings this month sadly. My electricity bill was also ridiculously high for this month. It has been a very hot summer. Still. I did not use that much more air conditioning than I did last year, but the % increase on the bill is way high. From what I understand it's not even the actual usage that they measure to send you the bill - it's an estimate. I wonder if I can challenge that.

Yesterday I went food shopping and bought some in-season fruits and veggies. I should make it a point to visit the farmer's market for next week. I am a semi vegetarian and am finding that fresh vegetables/fruits are much more expensive to buy than non-vegetarian food. Couldn't help that I am making myself a fresh fruit smoothie every morning as breakfast. Yum.

It's been a pretty busy Saturday so far - cleaning up after my dog who's sick, rushing to the vet, cleaning more. The vet says he should feel better in a week or so. Now I am off to sunbathe him. Hope some fresh air and sunshine will make the poor fellow feel better. I hop you all are having a wonderful day. I have spent a good deal of money at the vet's this week. I will have to count my left over money after we get back.

Being rich to me means the following:

*To be able to afford a modest home in one of the major cities of the world
*Pay a decent amount of down payment
*Being able to make the monthly house payment without trouble
*Have a year+ worth of emergency fund while contributing to retirement
*Be able to travel twice a year
*Be able to help out family/friends without feeling the pinch too much
*Be able to find happiness in things that money can't buy

Goal: to be rich as a troll.