Sorry, ya’ll, I am definitely getting October 3rd up a day late but I finally started feeling a bit better yesterday so I slept as much as I could. Being sick is always a miserable affair and it can be very costly if you are an hourly employee. Once I realized I was sick my goal was to get better as soon as possible so I could start picking up shifts again and I feel like some of my indulgent spending reflects this…

Variable Expenses Budget: $500.00
Spent Today: $127.52
Variable Budget Remaining: $346.64

October Income Goal: $2,500.00
Earned Today: $0.00*
Earned To Date: $145.26*
Goal Remaining: ($2,354.74)

Yea, so this was a spendy couple of days with no money coming in. That wasn’t terribly surprising since I was sick but right now I am not regretting it as I can fully breathe through my nose and I am feeling much, much better; if a shift pops up on the Qwick app later this afternoon/evening, I am planning to take it.

The significant grocery spending included pantry staples like sesame oil and enough kimchi to last me all of October. Between the food I have in my freezer, pantry, and fridge, I should not need to buy groceries, except for maybe eggs, for the next two weeks. The oil change was just general car maintenance that is essential for the long term care of my car. The most frivolous spending was that I bought my breakfast and lunch on campus on Tuesday because I just didn’t feel like making it the night before. For now, I’m going to count the fact that I dragged myself to class and lab as a win. If I can really go the next two weeks without buying groceries, I’ll have made up for it.

Right now I currently have a Qwick shift scheduled for Thursday and Sunday. This is pretty great because shifts on those days are harder to come by so having something scheduled this early in the week is really helpful. I haven’t picked up a Friday or Saturday shift yet but I am not concerned as there are always shifts on those days. I did have to pass up a great Saturday shift because it would have been an all-day shift and I had already made plans with a friend. I really, really, really wanted to accept that shift but I haven’t seen this friend in two months between her travel for work and my MCAT study. We are planning to attend a free outdoor event in the city and I think it will be fun. In the future, I will try to make plans for Sundays as opposed to Saturdays as there tend to be fewer lucrative opportunities on Sundays.

Overall, I am feeling kinda blah. Some moments I feel happy and grateful for the freedom to make the choices I have recently made, other moments I feel sad and behind, and other moments I feel a bit anxious about how “up in the air” my life feels at the moment. And I miss Gentleman Avery. But I have been sick for the past few days and my monthly cycle is here, so I am going to refrain from making any significant choices while under the influence of an influx of hormones.

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*Income is reported as cash on hand. Some gigs are 1099 gigs (taxes not withheld) and some gigs are W-2 gigs (taxes withheld) and it would be tough to distinguish between the two in a neat way. Instead, I will report cash in hand, and money set aside for taxes and expenses related to gig work will have a budget line item each month.