I have had another restful day of recuperating. My neighbor T called in the morning and I chatted with her for a bit.
Otherwise, daughter and I spent a relaxed day at home, just enjoying being together. We discussed her apartment rent situation a little more and she checked online, again, to see what other apartments were available. The cheapest apartment she could find near her workplace is $400 more than her current rent and she can't afford it. We also discussed other alternatives, such as sharing with a roommate, working a part-time job to earn more money (any overtime she does at her current job has to be taken as time off instead of extra pay), etc. Anyway, the decision has been made and she will continue to rent her current apartment and pay the $70 increase in rent and whatever internet service fees she will have to pay.
Daughter watered my houseplants for me and ran the dishwasher. Later, we watched the Olympics closing ceremony and I knitted another hat for the Heart Association.
Today, I am grateful for:
- Another pain-free day of recuperation
- Daughter being home with me
- Phone call from neighbor
- Dishwashers
- Options being discussed and decisions confirmed
Daughter will work from home, tomorrow. I am going to go ahead and make a short to do list.
Monday's To Do List:
- Empty the dishwasher
- Handwash my tea cups
- Do a load of laundry
- Have daughter hang it up to dry
- Have daughter take the trash cans to the curb
- Do some paperwork
- Pay the phone bill
How was your Sunday? What have you planned for Monday?
"pain free recuperation" It's harder to get much better than that. :) Hope you have another low-key day where you continue to pace yourself.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. I feel so blessed and pleased to have no pain and none of the side effects they said to be on the look out for - swelling, infection, fever, etc. Yes, I am taking it easy, today, too.
DeleteAnother good day of rest and healing. Well done.
ReplyDeleteSounds like your daughter has to come to terms with the increased rent etc. on the positive side she knows the pros and cons of the current apartment. Hopefully she will get an increase in her salary to offset just a little. Love you offered to help her with the additional expenses. Even with a college degree some areas are so expensive to live in I believe we as parents have to help as best we can. We helped our son in California get on the property ladder due to the ridulous rents and further more people here (Midwest) didn't understand how little you actually got for your money.
Thank you, Sandy. Yes, the rents in the Bay Area are absolutely ridiculous!Her apartment there is a studio and under 400 square feet. For that, she is paying what will be considered a mortgage just about anywhere else in the country, except perhaps New York City. That doesn't leave her a lot on which to live - her current utilities come to about $100 (without the internet service), her monthly bus pass is another $80, she budgets $125 for groceries, as you know, her asthma medications co-pay is $40 and there are other personal care items she needs each month that comes to at least another $10-15. By the time she pays all that, there isn't much left to save, or to spend on clothing and other incidentals, etc. She is willing to go for another year, under these circumstances, because she feels the work experience will be helpful. If postage didn't cost so much, I'd be happy to send her care packages, but, as it is, I might just send her some gift cards. :)
DeleteIt does seem that your daughter has no viable alternative but to pay the extra on her current apartment. It's too bad! It is fortunate that she has been trained in frugality by you, or she wouldn't be able to survive financially.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the cost of postage. I sent a small package to our granddaughter recently, it weighed 450 g and was small and it cost over $13 to mail. I'd love to send more often but it doesn't make sense. Gift cards are great for an adult but I feel that the joy of receiving a package in the mail is important for a child.
Bushlady, yes, for at least the next year, she will continue to live up there and make the payments. She knows how to, and is able to, manage her finances, for which I am very grateful. Giving her an allowance when she was a little girl, giving her a budget when we went shopping for her clothes when she was a pre-teen, then, handing her her portion of my budget when she was in high school so she learned to manage her money, all seems to have worked out well. :)
DeleteI'm sure your granddaughter loved receiving a package in the mail from you, Bushlady. There's always something very exciting about getting something in the mail. :)
Ouch! $400 extra is a lot of money to find. It sounds as though her only option is to stay where she is and pay the extra. On the plus side it reduces the stress of moving and having to find her way around a new area, get to know new neighbours etc. It's not ideal but if she has a bigger plan in mind like gaining expereince then I'm sure, from what I've read about her, she will be more than able to get through the next year or so. Good luck to her. It's not easy for young adults these days, I really do feel for them. xx
ReplyDeleteYes, that extra $400 is more of less what she has left, after paying rent, to live on, at present! So, she has decided that she will stay where she is, pay the rent increase and the additional fees for internet service, etc., and tighten the belt when it comes to other expenses. I am sure she'll be able to manage. :)
DeleteI'm glad your recovery weekend seemed to go well and that your daughter has made a decision regarding her apartment. Hopefully next year she can look for a better paying job and a lower COL (cost of living) area :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nathalie. Hopefully, next year, things will work out, better. :)
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