Paradigm Shifted

Has gone by since I last posted.  I’m not sure why that is, except that I feel like a very different person.  I’m not sure if all expats go through this, but so many of the anchors of my life are missing now.  This isn’t always a bad thing – I think our ability to adapt to novel circumstances is one of our strongest qualities.  But it makes it hard to maintain continuity, and I notice that I blog more at my other site than I do here now.

That being said, I think I still need a place to run my mouth on generic things, like how I still haven’t figured out how prices work.  I swear, there is no rhyme or reason here, just 3 different prices.  I am assuming one is some sort of standard (ie, per kilo), but hell if I can figure it out.

The other major change in my life was a total overhaul of my monthly budget.  After a while, you settle into a routine – I spend X dollars a week on lunch, Y dollars a week on groceries, Z dollars a week on books.

Here, my categories have changed.  Lunch is a basic set amount.  Dinner wildly fluctuates. And groceries are impossible to determine in advance. And then there’s the alcohol, which could probably top out my spending.

I’ve given up trying to get a handle on it, and have gone with a rougher way to budget, setting aside a specific amount per month and drawing down (in an envelopes kind of way).  Not how I like to do it, but works in a crude manner.

I’ve also pulled out a significant portion from one savings account to another, hoping to save up for future travel plans and transitioning between living situations.  I’m hoping this will all work!