To Pay back or Not to Pay Back?

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all are enjoying your day and have plans to eat lots of yummy food today. I can't believe it, but I am cooking my first thanksgiving meal EVER today. Wish me luck! Are any of you cooking your first one EVER too?

During this last week leading up to Thanksgiving, I have been giving a lot of thought about giving. Giving as it relates to many things but mainly when you are the beneficiary. Fellow working girls, I am talking about being on the receiving end in these tough times with so many unemployed or working paycheck to paycheck. It may be a loan from your parents or other financially well-off family members. The question I would like to pose is: How should we handle this: take it and be grateful OR pay it back?

I will start by letting you all know that I have borrowed money from my family before so this is something that I can relate to. My personal belief is that no matter how big or small the amount you should always pay it back, even if it is from the Bank of Mom and Dad or a wealthy Aunt.

Yes, I know that times are tough, and yes finding a job right now is even tougher. Our families are here to love and support us and have given us the tools to succeed. All too often I think people rely too much on these handouts. They don't understand that there is more to it than just paying back the money. It's about trust and showing those who we have borrowed from that we mean business, are motivated and understand this is their hard earned money, not ours for the taking.

An example of this is when my parents, who were young and in love, wanted to buy their first house. They borrowed a significant amount from my grandparents. At the time, my grandfather reluctantly said soemthing along the lines of "those kids will never pay us back". Well a few years later my parents paid back every penny they borrowed, much to the shock of my grandfather of course. But there was a trust built that if they ever needed to borrow money again my grandparents would be there to help out.

For me personally, I want to show my family that, yes I needed the money, but now I am ready to pay you back and show you I am a responsible hard working person. I know that if I am ever in a situation again where I need money, they will be more than willing to let me borrow it again because they know that I will pay them back. Again it's their money, not mine. It is simply a loan.

All too often I think young people rely on money flowing their way when times get tough. However, family members that continiously give money without ever expecting anything back are just enabling the situation. Sure we all go through hard times, but the more honest we can be with ourselves and pay back what we borrow, the less sticky everything gets.

So my advice is, borrow what you need and come up with a payment plan to pay back what you owe. Once you write that last payback check, walk away and hold your head high knowing that if you ever need to borrow money again, someone will have your back.

What is your take on this situation? To pay back or not to pay back?

Tough Times, Tough Measures

I know the economy has affected us all, gone are the days of shopping over lunch and manicure Fridays. Sigh. However, as a working girl on a budget, it’s an interesting balance to still look good and watch your pennies. This is a great article about all the things you shouldn’t save money on. Some of the things on the list made me laugh, but when I got to thinking about how the economy has affected my wallet, there are some things that I have sacrificed and others that I would rather skip a meal for then go without.

What are things you can’t live without? What are things you pass on as a working girl?

Here is my list…and yes, I am posting it here for you to see. Since I have been a working girl on a budget and most of these have become more of a lifestyle change for me, I had to really think about what I have changed since the market crashed…

Can’t Live Without

Hair Cut/Color-With two stories of botched cuts and bad highlights, I will sacrifice just about anything for a good cut/color. Last year I tried dying my hair back to my natural color so I could save money. The result was beyond awful…a few months later when I went back to highlight, even my boss commented on how happy I was.

Gym/Yoga Membership-For some, this probably is in the do without, but over the course of the last 9 months I have learned to appreciate the importance of fitness in the workplace. It keeps both my stress levels from work and my waist intact. Tip: One of my girlfriends was able to negotiate her gym membership way down. Have you?

Groceries-You may laugh at this, but it’s something I take very seriously. No more care free meal planning or trips to Whole Pay Check Foods. Now I make a point of spending a little more at the store to get the most out of my grocery budget with things that I like and will last me awhile.

Maybe…I Try to Practice Self Control

Clothes-This is a tough one. Every girl makes sacrifices, and in this economy, this one has taken a nose dive. I have learned to control my impulse purchases, and focus more on essentials.

Shoes-I love shoes, but have learned to spend a little more on nicer shoes that will go farther than lots of shoes that hurt my feet. Am I getting old?

Magazines- I love a good gossip magazine, but my subscriptions went out the door about two years ago. However, that being said, there are a few business related magazines, that my father and I share subscriptions on.

Out the Door

Dry Cleaning-I made the choice to start wearing less of my dry clean only clothes when the market turned. As a result I found cute stuff in the back of my closet that I can wash anytime.

Manicures/Pedicures- I still love get mani/pedi’s but, with some practice, I have become pretty good at painting my own nails.

Lunches Out-When the economy started crashing, this was the first to go. When I really sat down to look at my spending habits this was a major chunk. Now I pack yummy lunches and can’t wait for noon to roll around.

Starbucks Habit-This working girl loves a Grande Chai Latte, but same as lunches, this is a luxury I can do without. I was able to kick a bad habit and save money. I also love Good Earth Tea, a little milk and honey, and I am good to go.

Happy Hour-Happy hour with co-workers/friends is such a fun way of getting together, but also a huge waste of money. There is always that one co-worker who slides out the door without paying, leaving the rest of us to pick up the tab. Tip: One of my friends makes a point of hosting happy hour at her place as a way of saving money. She is one smart cookie.

Parking-Whether it’s for work or personal reasons, when I am out, I refuse to pay for parking. Even if I have to walk a mile. Plus walking the little extra to my destination helps me burn a few more calories.

My list could go on forever, but I think these are the essentials…what are yours?

Penny-Pinching Days

Lately, all I think about are apartments and money. Apartments because the boyfriend and I are moving in together in October (please don't tell my Granny). Money because I'm saving for all the costs of moving (hiring movers, security deposit, etc.).

While I've been living paycheck to paycheck since I started working, I haven't been frugal by any means. If I saw a shirt I liked, I'd buy it. If I was far away from home and lazy, I'd take a cab. If I was out to dinner, I'd have a glass of wine (or 4).

All along the way, I've been saving what I can. Saving is important but I also strongly believe that living is important too. Especially here in New York. I don't pay a ridiculous amount for rent to sit in my apartment and watch TV.

These days, I'm keeping track of my money like it's my job. I've been making lunches (and breakfasts and snacks) to bring to work. Renting movies On Demand instead of going to the theater. When I do go out to eat it's for some cheap eats. I'm clipping coupons (and turning into my mother). I'm saving a lot more than I used to.

Since everything here is expensive I've been shopping around when it comes to where I shop. My two new favorites: Whole Foods and Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Whole Foods can be pricey. Very pricey. But not when you buy the Whole Foods brand 365 Everyday Value. For example, brand name yogurt at the average New York grocery story is $1.09. Whole Foods yogurt $0.79. Buying 365 Everyday Value cheese crackers is cheaper than buying Cheez-Its.

Bed, Bath & Beyond really does go beyond. Once my go-to for home needs, Bed, Bath & Beyond is now my go-to for all my drugstore needs. There is an entire drugstore within Bed, Bath & Beyond! Earlier this week, I went to Duane Reade to purchase a new hair brush (I'm pretty sure my little sister stole mine when I was visiting her last weekend). The brush I wanted was $10.99! For a Conair hairbrush! At Bed, Bath & Beyond a very similar and also Conair brush was $4.99.

Hopefully my savings at Whole Foods and Bed, Bath & Beyond, along with cutting back on shopping and dining out, will help me move with out going totally broke.

Cheap Date

Last night my boyfriend and I went out to dinner for New York City Restaurant Week. We thought this was the perfect occasion for a date night. What could be better than a relatively cheap dinner at an otherwise expensive restaurant?

An actual cheap date night. That's what could be better. Add a couple of drinks, tax and gratuity to the $35 per dinner price tag and you have a $100 night out. On a Monday! Outrageous. While we had a good time together and the food wasn't bad, we determined that at the end of the day it wasn't really worth it.

Living in major cities, most Working Girls (and Boys) are living paycheck to paycheck and trying their best to save a bit along the way. Especially these days. This Working Girl and said boyfriend are also planning on moving in together in a few months so we're all about saving. We've decided no more expensive dinners out, just cheap date nights. With the help of some friends and my Twitter follows, I've complied a list of cheap date night ideas.

• Picnic in the Park - I've been hinting at this one for ages and I think I'm going to have plan my own damn picnic pretty soon. Most cities and towns have some great parks to take advantage of. Pack some homemade sandwiches, bring a blanket and some books or magazines and you're good to go. ericajpolleys also suggested (via Twitter) to look into what free shows your cities offer. Here in NYC there are concerts, movies and music all for free. Pack a Picnic and go!

• Farmer's Market Dinner Date - Have a local farmer's market? If you're gonna have a dinner date you may as well cook it yourself and buy locally, right? (Don't forget your reusable grocery bag!) megan_wuske suggested riding bikes to the farmer's market and cooking dinner together. Eat it at home or make it a picnic! I would most definitely ride a bike to the farmer's market if I didn't think I'd get hit by a taxi on the way.

• Bowling & Other Sports - hazel318 told me she loves bowling dates. In Manhattan bowling can be pricey. Good thing I have a Wii because I can "bowl" for free. Or "play tennis" for free. Or "box" for free. If you have a Wii, inviting friends over or another couple over for a dinner date would be super fun.

• Movie Night - In the summer, see if your city or town has free outdoor movies. On rainy nights or winter nights Working Girl Two is a fan of renting movies from the library because they are free. If you're a frequent movie watching, sign up for Netflix. You can get movies delivered to your home and you can watch some movies instantly on your comptuer. It's amazing. TV Shows too! I've been watching The Tudors like it's my job for the past week and a half.

• Comedy Club - A lot of comedy clubs require you to purchase a ticket and order a minium of two drinks (at least in New York). But in New York we also have the Upright Citizens Brigade which offers most of it's shows for just $5 a ticket. Now that's cheap.

• I'm On a Boat - City boat tours can be expensive. kateamcconnell suggested the Staten Island Ferry in New York for a cheap date. Commuter ferries in your city can offer the same scenery as the expensive tourist ferries.
  

Women = Money

Looks like Paul Thompson over at AskMen.com was wrong about women in the workplace. Not that any of us ever thought he was right. Women aren't emotional, grudge-holding bitches. They are what companies need if they want to make money.

According to this Time article, Catalyst research group found that Fortune 500 companies with the most women in senior management had, by more than a third, a higher return on equities. Based on research from Cambridge University and the University of Pittsburgh, Time suggests that this is because of the management style of women. "Women manage more cautiously than men do," the article said. "They focus on the long term."

Another reason these companies may be doing so well, women are less competitive. This is a good thing, Time says:

"They're consensus builders, conciliators and collaborators, and they employ what is called a transformational leadership style - heavily engaged, motivational, extremely well suited for the emerging, less hierarchical workplace."

There are two things that really struck me about this article.

The first, apparently there is a looming talent shortage approaching. There will be a six million person gap between the number of college graduates and the number of workers, with college educations, needed to cover the jobs, the article stated. And these days women are receiving a greater share of college degrees. I had no idea there was a looming talent shortage. This may be a pleasant surprise for students who will graduate from college or grad school at the time and have been worried that there will not be jobs for them.

The second, women are changing the work environment to better suit their needs. The are focusing more on results instead of time spent at their desk. The article argues that this focus is a smart business strategy. Best Buy is called out for their ROWE system. ROWE stands for Results-Only Work Environment. Best Buy saw productivity increase up to 40%. I can imagine that in a lot of industries and workplaces, employees would be more productive if they could get to the office an hour or two later and stay later or leave when their work for the day is complete.

It'll be interesting to see how industries change as more and more women take leadership rolls at major companies. Will some women stick to the current work norms? Will others shake it up and let their employees work when they want? And will more women really mean more money?

For My Fellow Chicago WG's

First of all, I just have to say I loathe, loathe, hate, hate RCN!!!!!!!!!!!! I still don't have cable. I still don't have Internet. And now they are sending me bills for $600+ because I haven't sent in my old cable box.

Hence no post yesterday. My apologies chicas.

I'm going to keep this post short and sweet, but my friend Pam just turned me onto this website called Poor Little Rich Girls. And when I saw they posted the words "free" and "Berry Chill" together, they had me hooked.

Essentially, the site caters to the "young woman living in the city earning enough money to support herself, but not quite enough to go spending it on every Jimmy, Marc and Saint Laurent she sees." And as such, they offer discounts and coupons on a ton of different things. My personal favorites so far - one hour free with a personal assistant from Chicago Anytime Assistants, 20% off your bill at Hunt Club, and duh this Berry Chill thing is making me salivate.

And not only do they offer discounts for us hard-working women, but they also have profiles on Chicago working women, find us awesome/healthy deals for lunch around town, and keep us dressed like superstars (without hurting our wallets).

Unfortunately, it looks like they only have a Chicago edition, but I'm hoping they take this national, because it's an awesome tool for us working women on a budget.

To say I'm smitten would be an understatement.

Money, Money, Money

I never thought I was good at managing my money. In college, my bank account was nearly $0.00 ninety percent of the time. If it wasn't at $0.00, it was negative. Ok, I might be exaggerating a little, I only over withdrew twice. I had enough to buy my books, my groceries and (most importantly) alcohol. What else do you need in college? I was set.

Entering the "real world" was a bit of an adjustment. There were several more things that had to be paid for: rent, cell phone, cable, gas/electric, transportation, work clothes, even more groceries and (of course) alcohol. I meant to make a budget for myself, several times, and never did. But I managed. I learned to live on what I made and never over withdrew my account.

Lately, despite the recession, I feel like I've been spending more. Maybe I've been spending the same amount but it just feels like more because of the recession. How am I supposed to know? It's not like I balance my checkbook or keep track of my spending. I don't have time for that. And if you asked me how, I'd have no idea how to balance a checkbook.

Recently, I noticed Mint.com mentioned on a few blogs that I read. It's a money management site that makes it easy for you to track your debit and credit card transactions and set a monthly budget for all of your expenses. You can also have emails or texts sent to you when you are close to hitting your monthly budget on, say, shopping or taxis.

I only joined Mint yesterday and have only used it for creating a budget. But I've read that it can help in paying off student loans and lowering credit card interest rates.

In times like these, it's a good to have an idea of your spending habits and a budget (even if you go over it once or twice). So if you're like me and need a little help managing and keeping track of your spending, I'd check it out.

Might be a Quarter Life Crisis

Last week, I said to WG2: "Is it bad that sometimes I think 'I wonder if I'd be happier if I lost my job and could figure out my dream and then follow it?'"

To which she replied: "That was like when I would walk down the street be like 'Hmmm, I think I would rather work at this Chinese restaurant than go to my job today."

I know that my statement is an awful thing to say in this economy when people are losing jobs everyday but it's honestly something that's crossed my mind and I feel it has for valid reasons.

I truly have no idea what I want I really want to do with my life. In college, I wanted to be a psychologist, then a journalist, I wanted to study sociology or french. I landed in publishing by way of journalism. As a marketing intern for a women's magazine, I thought I found what I loved, what I wanted to do for my career. I began setting goals to make that happen and I eventually landed my sales assistant job and eventually my marketing assistant job.

My boyfriend has known what he's wanted to do since he was five. Both of his parents are journalists and he's been preparing to go into the family business since he was a munchkin. He has late hours, works on the weekends, doesn't get paid nearly half as much as he should for the work he puts into his job and works with some grumpy old men, but he loves being a sports writer. I don't know anyone with the dedication and love for their job that he has. So you can imagine my frustration being around someone who knows exactly what they want to do, is doing it and loves it.

For a while, I thought I had found that when I moved to the marketing department at work. It was creative and fun. I thought that I was on my way to starting a long and successful career in publishing. But I'm growing more and more frustrated with this industry everyday. Because business is slow there is less for me to do and the projects I that I do have are unfulfilling. I could go on for quite a while explaining these projects and every frustration I have with them, but I'll bore you with that another day.

These days, the smallest issue or slightest jab from a client sets me off. I used to be excited and inspired by the marketing department's weekly status meeting, these days I'm bored and don't contribute. I want out but there isn't a chance I'd find a job and having no clue what I want to do next doesn't help. The economy is somewhat of a blessing in disguise; I have a job and I can try to take this time to figure out what's next for me. But I find it difficult to be inspired by anything else when I'm completely drained by work every night and weekend.

While one part of me wants to figure out my dream, another part of me thinks the practical thing to do is stick with what I'm doing and suck it up. I know what I'm doing here and I think I'm good at it. If I'm dedicated I can make my way up the ladder and be successful in the monetary sense. This practical part of me is strongly influenced by the fact that my boyfriend (who I'm pretty much in it for the long haul with) has his dream and it's not exactly the most lucrative one. Let me just say that I'm by no means "all about money" but I do know what I would like for my future and that requires some money.

I feel like I'm in limbo with no direction and zero motivation...

I Think I'm Still Drunk

I have a bit of a reputation for getting inappropriately drunk with coworkers. It may be the awkwardness of small talk with the higher-ups or that I'm not paying for the booze but either way, I've gotten too drunk one too many times. More often than not, someone else is just a drunk so it's not just me. But Saturday night, it was a different story.

In typical WG1 fashion, I proceeded to drink a little too much in celebration of our biggest event of they year being complete. Our event rocked and I rocked, my female boss told me that she couldn't have done the event without me and that 30 people told her how great of a job I did, so I was in quiet the celebratory mood. I had two rum and diets at dinner with my bosses and coworkers in the marketing department.

Then, the night got interesting.

One of our higher-ups is married with two little munchkins and doesn't get out much. We'll call him Michael Scott because, well, he kind of is like Michael School. When there are group business trips, he takes advantage and goes all out. Limos to a club, bottle service and champagne at the club and craziness all around. After waking up at 5:30AM and working on my feet all day, I said to myself that I would only go out for another drink or two. Well a drink or two turned into several. I was dancing on chairs, pretending I was the bartender with our table's bottle of vodka and singing my little heart out.

The club closed at 2AM, which was already much later than when I usually end my nights in the city. The group that was left which was just Michael Scott and a slew of assistants, we all hopped into the limo and were on our way back to the hotel. Or so I thought.

I thought wrong. We were on our way to an after hours club. I decided to go into little miss event planner mode and sat in the front of the limo with our driver. We drove and drove and drove around the northern California city and couldn't find the club. Why? Because it was hidden. It was like a speakeasy. Being with a group of other assistants made this whole experience less inappropriate but we were still Michael Scott. Once we finally found this after hours place, which in my memory was just like a rave but let's keep in mind that I was entering a blackout, Michael Scott had to fork over all of his cash to get the four guys that were with us into the place. Little miss party planner (me) proceeded to withdraw $120 out of my personal checking account and handed it to him to buy drinks.

At one point, he was holding my shoes while I danced and dancing with myself and other female coworkers to keep sketchy men away from us. Again, I was near blackout so this could all be in my head. At the end of the night, the limo dropped myself on one of my coworkers off at the hotel and everyone else started walking to Denny's. When the limo driver asked me who's room the limo should be charged to, I yelled "charge it to Michael Scott!" It was now 4:30 in the morning.

The next thing I remember is the phone ringing in my hotel room at 8:00AM. I had to be down in the lobby at 9:00AM to get to the airport. Needless to say, Sunday was a long day that included sitting with my head between my legs, alcohol seeping out my pours, vomiting in the airport and all sorts of awkwardness in front of my male boss.

But wait, the story doesn't end there. First thing on Monday morning, Michael Scott calls me into his office. "I think I owe you $120," he said to me and I awkwardly laughed. He then said, "you made me well aware that this was a lot of money for you to be taking out of your account." Uh, awkward.

We then sat in his office for about 15 minutes and had a true college-style recap of the night. He told me that he thought I was going to get arrested. To which I replied with a blank stare and then a "what? When?"

"When you were talking to the cop about where the limo was parked," he said jogging my memory a bit. I remembered talking to a cop and informing him that we were from an important magazine because in the state I was in, that was important. I remember arriving back at the hotel and seeing other coworkers getting in their cars to go to the airport. Bits and pieces of the night began to finally come together but every one of my actions is not accounted for and god only knows what else I said to Michael Scott or anyone else for that matter.

Surviving The Great Depression of 2008

Times are getting tough for everyone with the financial crisis. Working Girls and Boys are cutting back on food, clothes and entertainment. But a girls gotta eat, look nice at work and after a long hard day, a girl needs a drink. Here are a few tips to survive the financial crisis without becoming a hungry, poorly dressed hermit.

Entertainment
Movies in Manhattan are $12. Add popcorn and a soda and that's at least $20. Per person! One cocktail costs anywhere from $10 - $15. Other cities are cheaper but still more expensive than we Working Girls would like. Drinking with friends at your apartment is a great savvy choice for having fun and saving money. Some of my favorite moments with my friends are around a table, drinking wine and playing cards. Easy. Cheap. Fun.

Or, just do the college thing when going out. Get your drink on at home then go to the bar and nurse a fun cocktail. And if we're going to get all college here, I'll have a Vodka 180.

Food

Eat less! Just kidding.

My mother has been clipping coupons for as long as I can remember. I tried using coupons at one point in college but I ended up purchasing items I never ate or didn't even like and therefore, didn't save any money. Now that I (a) moved to the city where I pay an absurd amount of money on groceries and (b) am penny pitching out of fear of a great depression, I'm back to clipping coupons. In addition to finding coupons in the Sunday paper, try visiting your favorite food brands websites for coupons or special offers. Coupons.com also has a number of savings on brand name grocery items.

I recently checked my online banking to see how much money I spent a week at my work cafeteria. I found that I was spending $45 to $60 a week on breakfast and lunch. That's a new shirt or a weeks worth of groceries (if I have a lot of coupons). Last week, I brought breakfast everyday and lunch four times. It's not as glamorous as purchasing sushi from the cafeteria but I'd rather save the money for dinner with friends.

Speaking of dinner with friends, that's not so cheap either. For me, that's due to alcohol. A month or so ago, two girlfriends and I opted for a quaint French BYOB in the West Village. The food at Tartine was reasonably priced and because we brought our own wine three of us had dinner (with an appetizer), dessert and two bottles of wine for about $80. Which is almost unheard of for a nice meal in Manhattan.

Clothes

My working wardrobe is in dire need of a makeover. I have one pair of pants to get me through the fall of winter and I'm already wearing them once a week. In a prefect world, I had own enough dresses to wear one everyday and only have a repeat or two each month. But in a prefect world there probably wouldn't be a financial crisis to begin with.

You already know how much WG2 and I love bargain shopping at places like Target and H&M. It's time to add a few more stores to our go-to list:

UNIQLO is the Japanese hybrid of American Apparel and H&M. With lots of basics (in lots of colors and styles), sweaters, jeans, dresses and a few fun pieces at reasonable prices I think I might just start making the trip from The Upper East Side to SoHo a little more often.

TopShop is what my friends in the UK swore by when they studied abroad and stuck using the Euro or the Pound. Prices have gone up over the past few years but it's still cheaper than designer duds. TopShop is coming stateside something this fall with a store opening in SoHo. The opening has been postponed but you can get your fix now that items can be purchased at US prices online.

Meeting Notes

Meeting Notes is a weekly feature. Here we will dish on tidbits, news, and important things we think you Working Girls should know. So scroll down to hear what we think you should glean from this work week.

• Over The Hills: It's been weeks since my last The Hills post and I would to officially state that I am over it. The dramatic reality show was fun when it was slightly believable but now I find Spiedi too draining to watch and Lo, who used to me be favorite, became a bitch. And while I applaud the girls for carving themselves careers out their reality success, they just aren't the type of Working Girls I want to waste my time on.

• Fall Fashion: Target (a.k.a. the best store ever) will have some new fashionable fall accessories for us very soon. British handbag designer Anya Hindmarch's line designed for Target and Sigerson Morrison footware line will start selling in Target stores on Oct 12th. Get there soon, you know they'll sell out.

• Vote!: The 2008 presidential election is weeks away, are you registered to vote? If not, click here and register.
  

• No Money, Lots of Problems: I wont try to make any sense of the financial crisis. Both of my roommates work in finance and/or on Wall Street, when they talk about work it's like their speaking chinese. Bottom line, something has to be done and no one can agree on what. While some of us may support the bailout and others may not, if it does not pass it could have a negative affect on our fellow Working Girls. Not everyone on Wall Street is rich and greedy. Some of them are just your average Working Girl.

• Ask Working Girl: Have a question for WG2 or myself? About the blog? Or work related? Email us! We will be starting a biweekly Q&A feature soon so send in your questions to workinggirlone@gmail.com and/or workinggirltwo@gmail.com.

• When the Working Day is Done: Enjoy this fantastic cover from Miley Cyrus and enjoy the weekend!
  
  

She Works Hard for the Money

I'm lucky. I have a job that I like (most of the time) and am a mere week from moving into Manhattan. My parents have given me more than I could ever ask for. At this time in my life, I'm the most grateful for graduating debt free, meaning I didn't have to pay off any loans thanks to my parents and other family members. However, the buck stops there. And, as frustrating as that can be sometimes, I also very thankful for that.

My parents taught me from a young age how to manage and budget my money. They showed me that my purchases are more meaningful when I've earned them. I got my first mother's helper job when I was 11 and I remember saving for an outfit from Limited 2. I also remember how gawd-awful it was (think black and white plaid pants, short-sleeved white turtleneck and short-sleeved black corduroy jacket). It was the first thing I bought with my own hard-earned money and I loved it.

Throughout high school I worked at a book shop and in college I babysat at least three times a week. I paid for my books and any meals that weren't on my meal plan. I paid for my spring break trips and all beer I drank over those four years. Sometimes, all I wanted was to have my parents credit card to charge a trip to the grocery store or to buy a new pair of jeans. But I didn't. My move to Hoboken was the same. I received little housewarming gifts from my parents but I paid my security deposit, broker's fee and rent for the 12 months I lived in that first apartment.

I recently read this article in Newsweek. Twentysomething Melody discusses her financial independence from her parents and how many of her peers are not following suit. Her friends in Manhattan and in cities across the country are still, a year or more after graduation, living off of their parents. Melody is living on her own in a city where twentysomethings are forking over more than the recommeneded 30% of their income on rent, buying new clothes, $81 MetroCards each month and expensive groceries. While her friends have Mom and Dad footing the bill.

I agree with Melody that having their parents paying rent and for other living expenses is hindering her friends financially. They aren't learning the value of money or building the credit they will need later in life.

While being financially independent is stressful and usually puts me in the poor house, I'm happy that I am. There is a great sense of freedom that comes along with is and no shopping spree or free apartment could change that.

Let's Do Lunch

My favorite three work related words are 1. let's, 2. do, and 3. lunch. It indicates a lot of things, but mostly that I will be dining at a fine establishment in New York City on the company's corporate card. The fact that I don't have a corporate card nor would anyone ever need to take me out for a fancy lunch at a four star restaurant has not made me fall out of love with these three working words. No, instead I dream of a day when people will want to woo and dine me. Until then, I am a paper-bagger, bring-my-lunch-to-work kinda girl. I'm also poor. So from one poor Working Girl to another, here are some ways to save that moola when considering your lunching options.

Bag It
I know, I know. I hear you girls, paper bag lunches are so middle school. I was even one of those girls in high school who bought lunch everyday, so trust me when I say this is hard even for me to do. Bringing lunch for me is always difficult because I'm very forgetful (so I end up leaving my soup and pretzels in the cupboard and then remember two hours later that I have no lunch) and I'm a sucker for fast food, pizza, etc. My trick is to purchase my food for the week early Monday morning. I wake up early, go to the grocery store near work, buy exactly five meals (healthy, nutritious and usually Lean Cuisine), and that way I have no excuse to 'just run downstairs and grab a slice' when I could just run to our kitchen and heat up a frozen meal. And I end up saving big bucks. 

*Frozen meals can always be substituted for deli meats, canned soup...I think you get the idea.

Get Creative

When turkey sandwiches and PB&J just aren't cutting it anymore, it's time to go Food Network on your lunch's ass. Recently, I've been frequenting the new websites for meals to spice up my brown bag lunches. I happened upon MedicineNet.com and while their suggestions aren't out-of this-world new, I did think their idea to bring a chicken cutlet sliced up and some honey mustard a good enough idea to try. While I'll admit that Rachel Ray kills me, her 30-minute meal cookbooks are killer in the kitchen for a post-grad like myself. And last but not least, my favorite place to find new killer lunch ideas is Kaboose. They have sandwich recipes, salads, soups, Mexican recipes, and even semi-easy Chinese recipes. My only criteria is that the lunches I find are easy to make and have relatively easy to find ingredients (because I am so not going all the way to Italy to pick some herbs for my next pasta salad). 

Dining Out

When that annoying co-worker just won't stop pestering you to join them for a meal or you just can't fathom eating another stale chip from home, there are ways to skimp on your dining out excursions. My advice is to avoid sit-down restaurants at all costs since these will immediately put you into double digits range, but if you can't avoid it stick with appetizers and side salads. If at all possible try to veer towards mom and pop owned delis - generally they will be cheaper than Cosi or Lenny's whose sandwiches range from $8-$10. 

One thing I won't say no to though is a free meal. And I've had my fill - Sushi Samba, Big Daddy's, The Pump - I'm a regular 'let's do lunch' hoe.