Money and Work « Adam Luke

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More on Money and Spending

I’m not really frugal, I just don’t like to part with large amounts of money. For this reason, I suspect I won’t become much of a traveller¹, as I’m more interested in hoarding my money, or spending it on something tangible. Even so, I’m not as materialistic as many people, and avoid spending where I don’t have to. Mainly because I’m constantly thinking “Oh, it took me forty-five minutes/three hours/one week to earn that much money; it’s not worth it!”

However, there’s one thing I spend too much money on: lunch. I’m not going to put a cap on spending whilst out with friends, but buying lunch solo at uni becomes far too expensive. I’ve resolved to limit my spending on food, opting to take it with me to university instead. What with this resolution and my “can’t-be-bothered”-ness re: actually making lunch, I went pretty hungry yesterday. Over seven hours, I had a combination of lectures, tutorials, and work at my on-campus job, armed with only a bread roll to satisfy my appetite. Now, I’m someone who has a large appetite. I’m in constant need of fuel. Essentially, I want to have my cake and eat it too (both literally and figuratively, of course), as I want to have lunch, but don’t want to make lunch. As an aside, when I’m inevitably still hungry after eating what I’ve bought, I get buyer’s remorse.

Anyway, this week’s lunch budget was spent (very wisely) on a vanilla thickshake. I just can’t resist! One of the benefits of donating blood, is that I can get a free large milkshake afterwards. To be honest, that’s secretly the main reason I continue going. The nurses once inspected my veins to see if I was eligible to donate plasma (which can be donated every two weeks, as opposed to three months for blood), but alas my veins are to small. Woe is I, I have to pay for milkshakes.

That last bit was random and off-topic, but hey, I’m passionate.

that said, I’ll be in Canberra next weekend, though that’s domestic, fairly close to Melbourne, and a hell of a lot cheaper than overseas trips.

March 10th, 2010 · Money and Work · 11 Comments »

More About Work and The Current Monetary Situation

When I said I wouldn’t go into more detail about work? I totally lied.

Job Two has so far been fun and interesting. Last time I blogged about Job Two, I was still three days away from commencing work, but now I can explain more about what I do. My workplace is basically an Internet/computer café and print centre in one, and part of a larger company (I work next door to the company’s human resources office).

The following is some of what the job entails:

Entering user details in Lotus Notes and FileMaker Pro (on an iMac, which I am gradually learning all the shortcuts/gestures for). Everything is organised and run through FileMaker Pro, including the register.
Organising and taking money for our services, including printing, laminating, binding, and t-shirt printing.
Helping users with their computer woes.

Overall, I’m very happy with Job Two. It allows for multi-tasking and a decent level of independence. The Boss will generally be floating around the office, of course, but he’s on paternal leave at the moment.

I’ve mentioned this before, but with casual jobs, it’s rather hard to predict yearly (or even monthly) income in advance, on account of sometimes-erratic hours. I don’t have many expenses and don’t need a consistent amount of money each week, but it’s nice to be able to predict. If I do the minimum possible hours at two jobs, that’s only about $150AUD a week.¹ It would probably be more realistic to look at upwards of $200 a week, but I like to underestimate. It’s a decent wage for a teenager, y/n?

It’s been suggested that I apply for a credit card, though I’d seldom have a reason to use it — getting into debt is the exact opposite of what I’m trying to do! I do currently have an additional card on my dad’s account which was used when I went overseas sans parents (but on a school excursion instead), and a few times since for Important Purchases. Whether I’ll end up using it isn’t much of a problem considering I won’t have any fees on account of me being a student. Tough life I have, with this lack of exorbitant bank fees adults constantly complain about (rightly so, but still…)

Before tax. Apparently second jobs are taxed at a higher rate, which is lame considering I’ll be earning far more at the job I didn’t already claim the tax-free threshold from. Problem could possibly be solved if I talk to The Boss at Job One and stop claiming the threshold there, but he isn’t aware of my second job — I don’t want to cause ~*dramaz*~, which I probably wouldn’t anyway — I suspect he’d be perfectly “cool” with it. At any rate, perhaps I’ll be able to grab back some of the money that gets taxed, in July. I should actually learn more about this stuff..!

February 24th, 2010 · Money and Work · 4 Comments »

2010 Is Looking to be a Busy Year

It seems that 2010 will be a busy year for me.

Although the past few months have involved a lot of staring at screens and pointless Internet surfing, I return to university in a month or so, and have taken on a second job, which I start on Tuesday.

A quick list of what 2010 will involve regarding university and work:

Completing the second year of my B.A.
Still with majors in psychology and anthropology. In addition to just “completing” it, I also need to maintain a First-Class Honours average grade in psychology so I can complete an Honours year in 2012, which will allow me to study postgraduate psychology, which, in turn will qualify me to have a career in psychology. I’m still undecided whether I’d prefer to be a practising clinical psychologist or an academic.
Continuing work at my casual job at the DVD rental store (Job One)
It has proven to be fun so far — I enjoy working there. It also comes with the bonus of free rentals. For example, I rented Up recently, which is Pixar’s best film to date (Wall·E is overrated!), and Orgazmo (a colleague recommended it), which had a few cheap laughs, but was generally crap. I also get an $0.75 pay rise in the not-too-distant future, which is a bit exciting. As a casual, though, it’s impossible to predict annual income with any degree of certainty.
Starting my second casual job at a computing department (Job Two)
Some of the tasks I may complete include user authorisation, collecting payments for payable services, replenishing printer consumables, providing support in the use of hardware and software, and aiding in repair and maintenance of equipment. I’m sure I will enjoy this job; it seems that there’s a fair amount of independence, and having many different tasks to do is excellent, too.

I struggled with the concept of “how much is too much, when blogging about your job?” whilst writing this entry. I think the information I wrote is fine, but I probably wouldn’t go into much more detail at all.

January 30th, 2010 · About me, Daily Life, Media, Money and Work, University and Study · 11 Comments »