Finance 101

So let's get one thing clear:
I do not like numbers. I do not like them here or there, I do not like them anywhere.
And yet here I find myself having to manage them. True, it's a little more appealing when I get a reward in the form of stuff I can buy when I do it right, but still, I have little clue on how to manage my finances correctly.

But what needs to be done needs to be done.

So I find myself devising evil plans on how to work it out. Up 'till now, it's basically been spending directly out of my debit card, writing it down and keeping track and always knowing how much I have. While this did not make me crash and burn (even though an expected income did not come as expected, which made me "grrr", and reach out to my Israel account which I hoped I wouldn't have to do), I don't think it's the wisest.

The basic plan now is to try using different plans until I find one that works for me and makes me save money :)

The first idea I had, which I'm going to try applying this month, is to take out 50 shining euros in cash out every Monday and use them for my regular expenses (beer & groceries, mainly). This isn't a lot of money (a lunch out, for example, might make me go over budget) and I might have to add a bit, but we'll give it a go and see. Every thing I buy which isn't for my hand-to-mouth consumption (for example, my visit to IKEA on Sunday goes into this category. So would a new pair of pants) will go off my PIN card and kept track of.

With my salary (once I finally get it! grrr) and my regular expenses (rent, gas&electricity, a neat 18-euro-a-month cinema membership, gym membership, etc) - if this plan works out, it could leave me no less than 800 euros a month for the irregular expenses (IKEA, pants). And since I'm not much of a consumer (or at least, try not to be) I hope I can put a lot of money aside for traveling and savings this way.

I would really appreciate any comments on this. Especially tips on how to improve or how to keep track. I really suck at this sort of thing, and so I really hope this works out well.

Fresh Starts

In the beginning, there was sun. I moved here two Sundays ago, on a sunny day. Settling in proved to be forgiving: the very next day I signed a contract on a great apartment, started working, and went out for dinner. A few big fights and some rainy days later, and here I am - a new girl in the city, living alone for the first time in my life, very far from my parents, my friends, and my relationship which facebook would probably do best to describe as "it's complicated".

This is the part where I introduce myself: Emma. 20 years old. Israeli girl, fresh out of the two-year mandatory service in the IDF. Even fresher out of an absolutely awesome 3 month backpacking trip around China and Japan. And now - living & working all alone in The Hague, Netherlands.

After two weeks of very intensive settling in, this is what I have:

1. A pretty great apartment.

2. An even greater upstairs-neighbor, who helps me with absolutely everything I need.

3. A bike (ok, it's not actually mine, I'm only keeping it for three months, but still!).

4. A morning-gym membership for 40 euros a month, a movie membership for 20, a bank account, an OV Chipcard for which I paid way too much.

5. Internet access at home (only got it the day before yesterday; before that, I connected through a cable my upstairs neighbor threw me down through the window...)

Things I still need to get and do:

1. Curtains, curtains, curtains.

2. Learn how to weave into the Dutch bicycle traffic more, uh, fluently. Left turns keep me baffled.

3. Learn Dutch!

4. Find some friends.

5. Get an actual SIM card deal instead of the Albert-Hijn pay-card I'm using now...

6. Start traveling around like I told myself I would.

So what's behind this blog?

First of all, I like blogs. I like reading them, I like writing them, I like the fact that years later, I can still read everything I went through and the way I looked at things. And I think that this entire saga of living in a different country for a while, all the good and bad things in this time and place of my life, will be worth re-reading in a few years time. And maybe, just maybe, other people will also find this interesting.

Lekker!