My parents were here last weekend, and I have to admit I did carry on a version of home shopping while they were here. Except, of course, I couldn't take free things they already had; they had to buy stuff for me.

I feel conflicted about this for a few reasons. First, whatever I ask them to buy is just a drop in the bucket for them. Not that they are enormously rich, but they live a comfortable lifestyle, and I don't ask for anything grotesquely outrageous. So, I'm not hurting them in any way by spending their money, and I am saving my own (the whole point of this blog).

However, as you might have guessed if you've read more than one post of mine, I try, almost always, to be a concientious shopper. My parents have none of these qualms, and it's hard for me to explain to them why it's bad to shop at, for example, the Gap.

Yes, we went to the Gap. I got $30 worth of "free" clothes. Was it worth it? I'm not sure. I'm caught between being happy to get clothes I "need" and supporting a conglomerate that is injurious to others in many ways.

Ug. Sometimes I just want to give up on the whole damn thing and decide to no longer care. Of course, I can't really do that. But sometimes, I do think I kick myself more than I really have to.

I think I'll just score this one as a loss and try again next time.

Ok, well as you can imagine, making a budget wasn't as easy at I would have liked. The problem is, a lot of my expenses are still up in the air, or very flexible, so I don't even know where to start. For instance, I've never bought groceries for one person before (I've always shared with roommates). How much will I end up paying for them? The same for utilities: I've never not shared this expense with others, and I have no idea how my new apartment is going to hold up in the winter. How am I supposed to budget for this?

I've been in this situation before, when I just graduated from college and lived in my first real apartment with some friends. We had no idea what we'd spend on anything and was just going on the fly for many months. What I did to finally create a budget, though, is something extremely anal and annoying (but overwhelmingly helpful): for those first three months, I wrote down everything that I spent money on. Everything.

Afterwards, I used a personal budget that I found online (there are trillions that you can use, but Richard Bolles has a couple good suggestions on his site) and categorized every purchase (food, transportation, entertainment, etc.) and added it all up. Then I looked at places where I could cut out extraneous things or find ways to cut down on costs (I believe this is where I stopped buying clothes for 6 months!).

It's extremely tedious, but worth it, so I think I'll do that again. Not that I won't be a careful buyer in the next two months, but I will be sort of blind to a few deals or cost-saving measures. Someday I'll come up with a better way of doing this, but for now, this works!

My thoughts on money are increasingly focused on the big change in my life that's coming.

In almost exactly one month, I'll no longer have a salary coming in, and I'll be spending more than I currently make. Yes, I am going back to school!

First things first: This week, I'll put together a budget for the year on a monthly schedule, including everything -- phone and utility bills, nights out with my fellow grad students, interview clothes, food, etc. I'll start big and cut it later as much as I can.

I'm also going to put together a separate moving budget, including all the things that I think I need to buy for the new place, transport costs, and pizza for everyone who's helping me move! Again, I'll cast a wide net and then take out things that later seem unnecessary.

Next, I have to learn to stick with my budgets! This is probably the most difficult part, but good for you, readers, because it will elicit many more posts!

So my boss very generously gave me a gift certificate to Amazon.com as a thank-you for some stuff I did for her. Now the question is, what do I do with it?

For the past few years of my life, I've been trying to find alternatives to the conventional. I've found obscure vegetarian restaurants to eat at, I go to farmer's markets to buy my fruits and vegetables, I've found sweat-shop free and leather-free clothes and shoes to wear.

The same goes for internet shopping. For music, I support Public Radio through buying music and movies at prms.org. If I can't find a book at my local independent bookstores, I try to buy online at Powell's or Strand Bookstore. And so forth and so on.

So, I really have no use for Amazon and don't want to patronize such a huge conglomerate anyways. I'm not ungrateful, though, because my boss was being very kind. I will end up using it and be very happy to get stuff without spending any money. But, how do I tell others close to me in life (besides the two people who read this blog) to make a donation in my name instead?

Words to the wise!

A good article on how to spend wisely from the New York Times. The tips are good not just for recent graduates but for anyone trying to save a few bucks. The part I like best is where he spells out how much you will save over 10 years, just by taking your lunch to work!

This weekend I went accidentally yard sale shopping in Jamaica Plain. I've never really been to yard sales before, but I think I'm hooked!

I've avoided yard sales in the past because my image of them is old, dusty clothing from the 70's, broken furniture, and sticky baby toys. Granted, there was a lot of that, but there was also cheap, interesting other clothes and things that I wouldn't normally buy at normal price but am very excited about when it's $2.

This weekend I got two shirts, a sweater, and a lamp for my new apartment for less than $10. All of this at retail price would have probably cost me at least $50.

So, this summer's new activity will be scrounging around people's unwanted stuff for treasures. If I'm conscious of the money I spend, and keep reminding myself that I'm looking for useful things, and not just cheap stuff, I will have a ball with this new hobby!

What do you do when the same 8 people ask you for money every single day?

This is the situation I face working in Harvard Square. Like every city in the United States these days, Cambridge and Boston have a lot of people who've gotten so desperate for the necessities of life that they've abandoned all their pride to ask total strangers for money. Someone told me that this is the worst thing he ever had to do.

There are a lot of issues with hunger and homelessness, including the lack of funds from the government to house every person in the country, the culture of independence and "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps," the best solution to the problem, and how I feel about it myself, that I can't go into in a short format that is the blog. In the context of the subject of this blog, though, let's add up the cash:

If I gave one dollar (which isn't a lot, by the way) to every person who asked me for money every day I work in Harvard Sq: $6-10 per day (let's average at $8)

I work approximately 230 days per year: $1,840.

If I spent my money this way, I would not-even-close support 8 people for a year, and only on the days that I work (what a priviledge it seems like now!).

If I donated all that money to Project Bread, a MA-based hunger relief organization, I could

• supply an emergency food program with more than 6,000 pounds of food
• allow a community health center to provide immediate food assistance to 20 hungry families
• permit a food pantry to give a week’s supply of groceries to 10 families in need
• ensure that 20 families receive a hot, nutritious dinner at a weekly supper program

according to their website.

That would be amazing.

But, I would still have to walk past those eight people every day and say no to their faces. That's probably one of the most difficult things I have to do.

So what to do? For me, everything in moderation. Although I feel like a big jerk about it, I only give to people who ask when it's convenient to me, when I'm in a good mood, and when I have a dollar bill (vs. a twenty dollar bill) on me.

And a few times I year, I give bigger donations to Project Bread and Oxfam America and then feel great about myself for like a day.

Then, I have to say "sorry, no" the next morning, and I'm back at the beginning.