Author Archives: Kristina Tahnyak

After yesterday I just want to put my head in the sand.  Have you ever had a bad money day?  Just one of those days when nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, goes right.  Well yesterday I had one of those days and today I just can’t seem to let it go.  So what better way to get over something than talk about it to death.

Today I feel like I have a bad money hangover.  My mood isn’t as bad as it was yesterday but the more I think about what happened I more upset I get.  I am just sitting here going over and over all the details of my day from 8 am to 10 pm piece by piece thinking about what I could have done differently.  I wish I could say I would have acted differently to prevent the horrible happenings of yesterday, but the truth is there was absolutely nothing I could do.

All of my money mishaps where no thanks in part of my actions.  It was just one of those days when the Money Gods weren’t on my side.  All day one thing after another related to money just went wrong.

What happened you ask?  What could be so bad that it’s still bothering me 24 hours later and will probably continue to bother me for the next three days?  OK here we go.

I started the day off on the wrong side of the bed

Our power went out over night and my alarm clock didn’t go off.  I woke up at 7:57 am and I had to be at work for a meeting at 8:30 am.  This resulted in a five minute shower and a $12 cab ride.  I usually walk the 35 minutes to work in the morning so paying $12 started off my day on the wrong foot.

I don’t mind paying for convenience sometimes, but this was completely unnecessary.  I like to walk to work because it lets me get some fresh air and it’s actually relaxing.  Rushing to work in a cab and arriving three minutes before my meeting was not how I wanted to start the day.

Our credit card has fraudulent charges from Europe

$297 in fraudulent credit card charges.  Mid day I was checking our account balances online and noticed that our credit card was charged three times  for the same item.  Nick is a huge Formula 1 fan and he wanted to buy a collector’s item from Mercedes Benz.

With shipping, handling and taxes the item cost $99.  In my opinion this is a lot of money for something that will never be used, but that wasn’t my call.  Now Nick is in talks with European company to see if three items are actually being shipped or if they just charged us three times.  Stay tuned.

My hair appointment was a total disaster

After work I had a hair appointment with my usual hair dresser to dye my hair.  I had budgeted $50 for the dye job because that’s what I paid back in November.  I wasn’t getting my hair cut, just dyed and a blow dry.   My hair dresser was overbooked and I spent two and a half hours at the salon for a service that should take no more than 60 minutes.

When I got to the cash the total was $123:  $70 for the dye job, $37 for the blow dry plus taxes.  I really hate overpaying for a service, especially if I’m not happy with it.  I waited 45 minutes for my hair dresser to blow dry my hair, paid $37 for it then….got off the subway in a downpour.

Oh yes it was a bad money day!

Photo by tahnyakristina

Good morning Dinks.  As you know I am really addicted to reality TV.  My latest obsession is judge shows.  Every night at 7 pm I watch Judge Judy.  I avoided watching her for a long time because I thought she was way too harsh on people, but now I’m loving it.

Give your word and keep it…like always

As it turns out Judge Judy and I share a lot of the same values when it comes to money.  I personally feel my personality is a lot warmer than hers, but nevertheless we share a lot of the same views on money.  Judge Judy hates people who are irresponsible and so do I.  I really can’t stand it when people make appointments and don’t show up.  I also hate it when people says they will do something and then don’t live up to their promise.  Judge Judy feels the same way.

Get a job and pay taxes

She absolutely hates people who don’t meet their financial obligations. If you don’t work and you don’t contribute to society Judge Judy will call you out.  She has a zero tolerance for people who live off tax payer’s money and who take advantage of government benefits.  I feel the exact same way.  I understand homelessness and unemployment are very unfortunate (because I’m not a monster) but I absolutely have no sympathy for people who don’t work.  I feel people could get help, find a job and earn a pay check – they just choose not to.  But that’s just me.

An education equals more money

Judge Judy believes in education and so do I.  Going to college wasn’t an option in my family, my parent’s insisted on it.  My parents made sure I went to college for four years but they didn’t pay for it.  I had to work full time while in school, although my parents did help me out.  Any type of post secondary education is a good idea.  Not everyone has to go to a four year college; people can take vocational training or a certificate program at a community college.  Education equals a pay check and people who say they can’t afford it are just lazy.

Where we don’t see eye to eye

One area of money where I actually disagree with Judge Judy is when it comes to getting a receipt for everything.  I am a huge believer in the barter system.  I don’t do everything in my life just to get a receipt and I wouldn’t expect other people to either.  I always get a receipt for major items such as my rent, furniture, electronics and anything else that requires a guarantee.  However when it comes to saving money I will forget the receipt on items such as clothes and food if it saves me a few bucks.

I’m actually learning from Judge Judy

One thing I learned from a recent episode of Judge Judy is that it actually costs money to get evicted.  I had no idea.  I’ve never been evicted and I don’t ever want to be.  On a recent episode a girl was suing her former roommate for $1000 which was half of their eviction fees.  YIKES!

Photo by ScottW