Paris Day 3

So my boots did dry! Just barely though, I had to towel dry the insides this morning but it worked enough that they were wearable. I woke up last night at 3 AM Paris time and was unable to go back to sleep. I'm not sure if I was hungry or stressed about switching hotels or what, but I couldn't sleep. I slept fine the night before. I finally back asleep around 7 AM but couldn't sleep long because I had to check out of my hotel.

I switched hotels today. My boss wanted to stay in a different area of town. So know I'm staying right by the Gare de Lyon. The hotel is much nicer looks like it was probably decorated in the 90s. The bedspread is plain white and the shower is actually big enough to turn around in. However, the location isn't nearly as ideal as the past the place. I guess you want to the use the train, this one is better. But I prefer to walk when sight-seeing and this one is much further than most of the stuff, plus it also harder to find using the map I have. Thankfully I managed to find my way back, although I did get utterly lost and walked in a huge circle on my way out for the day.

I took a taxi to switch hotels. I smart choice considering I can hardly manage to get my luggage up one stair and through a door. The taxi was the nicest cab I've ever been in. It was spotless and looked new. However, it was quite expensive. I would not recommend taxis in Paris unless necessary. It was 17 euro for the ride, I'll let you translate that into USD. Either its ridiculous for such a short drive. But at least I got some peace of mind with it knowing I wasn't going to have lug my suitcases across town.

So for my sightseeing today....

My number one stop today was Notre Dame. It was a bit of a walk from my new hotel and I got utterly lost. Fortunately, the Seine River is an excellent guide. When in doubt find the river and walk until you find something familiar. Most of the good stuff is not far off the river. I finally made it to Notre Dame after of walk 30 minutes or so. I took tons of pictures from every side. I was able to take a tour inside the chapel as well. It was really cool. There was actually a mass of sorts going on at the time so it added to the effects. While I had opted out of climbing the Eiffel Tower, I really wanted to climb the Notre Dame bell towers. However I was rounded the corner to the entrance, I was met with a line not too long though. Except this was a line that wasn't moving. I'd much rather be in a long line that moves (like at the Louvre) then a short line that doesn't.

However, the time passed quickly thanks to a goofy man in a weird mask. He was a small man wearing a mask that was something between a bulldog and old man. He entertained by playing pranks on people in the surrounding area, but all very harmless. The most amazing was when we would walk up a to couple or family and start holding someone's hand. Often they didn't notice right away. One man held his hand for over 30 seconds until he noticed his girlfriend was in front of him. Another guy let the man take his girlfriend and just stood behind them shocked (great boyfriend), when the girl noticed it wasn't her boyfriend she screamed. Perhaps the funniest, he walked up behind a mother holding hands with her two young daughters. He replaced the hand of one daughter and the mother didn't notice until the young girl stood in front of her mom with both hands in the air. The mother really screamed but realized it was in good fun and even took a bow. It was all quite amusing watching people scream, jump, run into the stream, one woman even took off running down the street.

For 5 euro (under 26 rate), I was able to climb the towers and reach a spectacular view. This is definitely a must do for anyone visiting Europe. The chapel itself is amazing, but the view is breath-taking. But be warned there are over 400 steps up a narrow winding staircase to the get to the top. I can feel the burn in my legs after today. I definitely I got my share of exercise the last few days. From the top you can see the entire city all the way to the Sacre Coeur.

 










After finishing my tour of Notre Dame, I ventured to the Latin Quartier. It is a really fun and lively area. Here you will find the Palais et Jardin du Luxembourg and the Pantheon. I stopped at both. The Pantheon looks an awful lot like many capitol buildings I've seen (US Capitol, Sacramento, Boston, Austin). This appears to have been a very popular architectural style. It was still quite magnificent with huge carved figures peering down from the top.

After finishing my walk around the Latin Quartier, I walked across the Seine River and explored the area a bit. There were some people ice skating at the most massive hotel I've ever seen. I spent some time looking for a place to get some food and found a boulangerie with some delicious sandwiches. I thought about venturing to the Bastille, but my feet begged otherwise. I opted to go back to the hotel and do the Bastille tomorrow. It was getting dark and could feel sprinkles of rain beginning to fall.

Now I'm laying in my new hotel room with tired legs and sore feet. I hope they are ready for tomorrow! My boss comes tomorrow so we'll see how the day goes. Hoping to get the Bastille in tomorrow before he gets there, and then maybe convince to visit the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge? After all tomorrow is a holiday!

C'est Ma Vie - Paris Day 1 & 2

I'm currently writing this from Paris...yes Paris. I am officially a world traveler! I left Thursday from SFO airport for Paris. I took a 10 hour flight to Frankfurt where I caught a connection to Paris. It started off shaky. I couldn't find my airport shuttle, then I couldn't get the internet to work which meant I would have no connection with anyone, then none of my appliances work because of voltage differences (including my camera batteries), and a new SD card that doesn't work. All problems aside it is a pretty amazing! My hotel, Hotel Le Pavillon, is small and old, but then again all hotels in Paris appear to be similar. I would definitely stay here again though. The price is reasonable (for hotel in Paris) and the location is spectacular. It's a 5 minute walk to the Eiffel Tower and a 15-20 minute to the Louvre. I am glad I picked this hotel as I prefer to walk than spend money taking the metro.

After I arrived on Friday, I settled in and decided to go visit the neighborhood Eiffel Tower. It literally took only 5 minutes to walk there! Despite the cold and fog it was still an AMAZING sight. The Eiffel Tower is massive, so much bigger than I imagined. I felt this was the best place to start my trip as it is the quintessential Paris icon.

After my visit to the Eiffel Tower, I stopped into a small boulangerie/patisserie (basically a bakery with bread and pastries). I had a delicious French pizza that was big enough to yield leftovers. Then I went back to the hotel to charge my camera batteries, only to find that it will only work with 120V, not the 240V that European outlets supply. I was informed I wouldn't need a transformer/converter and foolishly believed it. PLEASE, if you go to Europe bring a voltage converter! This is different than an adapter that changes the orientation of the prongs. You need something that actually adjusts the voltage/current as well as the prongs. Save yourself the headache (and the bad hair day)!

Today (Saturday) I woke up to find it pouring rain in Paris. Not quite so cool. Despite the rain I decided I had to venture out. (Like I'd really spend a day in Paris in my hotel room because of rain). I decided I would start by walking to the Musee D'Orsay about 10 minutes from my hotel. But I got a little lost and ended up on the other side of the Seine River. I decided I'd skip the Musee d'Orsay and head straight to the Louvre. A smart choice as there was no way I could do both those places in a day.

The Louvre was quite exciting with lots of exhibits. If you visit definitely grab a guide/map before you start exploring. It is very easy to get lost in this museum! I saw the Mona Lisa which I thought was cooler than people made it out to be. I was other works by Renaissance artists like Raphael, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Titian. There was also some spectacular French, German, and Dutch paintings. Then there was Napoleon's apartment and the Egyptian exhibits. The Greek and Roman sculptures were amazing too. I spent about half the day there exploring until I was exhausted.

When I went to leave the Louvre, I headed to where I though the exit was only to instead be meet by an Apple Store and McDonalds. I guess that's globalization, Apple in the Louvre. They've taken part the grounds under the Louvre to construct Le Carousel, a mall. Ridiculous if you ask me.

Despite my exhaustion and the pouring rain, I decided to take a stroll down the Champs d'Elysees. This is a pretty wide street that has cool stores along on it but that point I was too wet to be in the mood for shopping. Abercrombie and Fitch will be the newest addition to the avenue in the next few months, so clearly the company can't be doing that bad. Again lots of evidence of globalization including H&M and McDonald's, as well as a movie theater with American movies in French. Still a cool street to walk down with lots of people.

As I walked along I could see the Arc de Triomphe ahead in the distance. It sits at the end of the Champs d'Elysees. When I finally made it to the end, I was overwhelmed by the size of the Arc de Triomphe. I knew it was big, but it was significantly larger than I imagined. A very cool sight! While there, I heard someone say "Sigma Kappa?" I had been carrying an old pink umbrella with SK on it. It turns out there were a couple frat boys from University of Washington there (SAE and Zete).

At this point I was totally soaked down to my socks. I was tired after over six hours walking and sightseeing. I headed back to the hotel but stopped for an authentic French croissant first. Now I'm hanging out before bed, hoping my boots dry before tomorrow!

Finances Follow-up

So after posting my blog last night, I received some questions and it appears I overlooked a few situations and missed some details. So here's my follow-up to those questions:

First question: How do I set up my spreadsheet?

My spreadsheets run the length of a calendar year. I have separate tabs in my spreadsheet for each subcategory. This includes: savings, travel, car fund, food, gas, and "everything else." I also have a tab where I log how I divide each paycheck once I receive it. I then track all deposits and expenses on each individual tab as appropriate.

Second question: If I'm living on savings, how much is a reasonable amount to spend each month?

I think you can live a VERY comfy lifestyle on $3000 a month if you're paying rent, $2000 if you're not. This number includes $1000 for savings and $1000 for spending. If you're living on savings, you probably won't be contributing much to savings, but I would still HIGHLY recommend setting aside some money each month for savings such as a retirement account. I think you could further reduce the amount you're spending by at least $500 if you are willing to give up some of the more extraneous things like shopping trips. You can probably cut the travel category to save money for the time being. I think you could get by on as little as $1000-$1500 including rent. This number may be high for some as I'm basing my rent figures on bay area premiums.

Third question: If I have student loans do I include that money in the savings or spending category?

I really over looked this when I wrote that post last night. It is essential that you keep up with payments on any debt (good or bad) you may be carry. A good credit score is essential to healthy finance. Good debt would be something like student loans, and bad debt would be credit card debt. Avoid bad debt at all costs! Pay credit card balances off every month. If you are already in debt, pay more than the minimum each month to get out of debt as fast as possible!

If you can at all afford it, I would recommend deducting good debt payments (such as student loan payments) from your spending third. However, this may be a bigger burden than you can afford. I spent some time thinking about other options for this situation. Another suggestion would be to deduct your student loan payments before you divide your money in thirds. For example, say you make $2000 after taxes and you have a $200 monthly student loan payment. I would deduct the $200 first, leaving a remaining $1800 that I would then divide in thirds.


I hope these answers cleared up some questions that were out there. Please feel free to hit me up with more questions and I'll do my best to answer!

The Golden Rule of Finances

After numerous shopping trips and conversations about money with a certain best friend (who shall remain nameless), she has decided that she needs a financial adviser...me. While I bear no actual certification, I do take a great deal of care to manage my finances. As we enter "The Real World," the ability to responsibly manage money becomes increasingly important. It does not take much to find yourself in a heap of debt or living paycheck to paycheck because you overspent on dinners out. Here are some tips I have gathered from personal experience, parental advice, and various financial articles.

Rule #1: Make (and stick to) a Budget

The idea of a budget often scares people, but it is really valuable and critical to financial health. If you don't what you can afford to spend, you WILL overspend. Actually creating the budget can seem overwhelming, but I believe that following a simple Rule of Thirds makes it much easier.

The Rule of Thirds: Take your monthly paycheck (after taxes) and divide it in three. To get your after tax pay, I would recommend estimating that approximately one-third of your pre-tax income will be deduct. For example: If your monthly pre-tax income is $3000, I would estimate that $1000 will be taken in taxes (painful, I know!). Then divide the remaining $2000 in thirds. The first third should be used to pay for your rent including utilities. The second third should go into savings. The final third should pay for everything else.

Rule #2: Live Within Your Means

By this I mean choose a place to live based on what you can afford. Too many people pick a place and then struggle to make rent and utilities. Figure out how much you can afford to pay each month before you start looking. This may mean lowering your standards, but that's life in an entry-level workforce. Using the same example as above, you could afford to live in place that costs approximately $660 per month including utilities. I also group cable and internet service and any housekeeping expenses in this group. Considering house mates or roommates to lower costs.

We can't all be Bill Gates...unfortunately.

Rule #3: Save Like There's No Tomorrow

Saving money is absolutely essential. I choose to divide my "Savings" into several categories. Instead of just a generic savings account, I divide that money into sub-categories I track in my monthly budget spreadsheet. You can divide the third of your money dedicated to savings into a variety of sub-categories.

Mine include: Travel, Roth IRA, 401K, Car Fund, and general Savings. I think it is fine to include travel in your savings third as long as you are also contributing significantly to retirement savings. The Roth IRA and 401K are retirement accounts. (More on retirement saving to come...) The Car Fund is money set aside for any major car repairs that may come up and money to replace my current car when the time comes. If you are making a car payment, you will likely need to use some of this money to pay for the car. I recommend buying cars in cash if at all possible and contributing a comparable car payment amount to a savings account. General Savings is everything else such as emergencies, school, etc.

Save for the Fabulous Life too!

Rule #4: Don't Forget to Enjoy Life

I believe in living the "Fabulous Life" as long as you keep it within your means. The final third of your paycheck should be spent as you want. Of course there are things you will have to pay for, like food and gas. My approach is to set aside a certain amount of money for food (including meals out), a certain amount for gas (another transportation), and the rest is for everything. The "everything else" category includes everything from entertainment to household cleaning supplies to clothes. It includes EVERYTHING else. Also, if you want to save up for an expensive item (like Louboutins), set aside a small amount of your "everything else" account. Saving up for a pair of shoes does not count as part of your savings third!

Rule #5: Track Your Spending

Create a spreadsheet to track your spending. Sticking to budget relies on you knowing where your money is going. I use a Google doc so that I can access it from anywhere and easily know how much money I can afford to spend on a shopping trip or whether I can afford to go out to dinner. If you can't afford it, say NO! It may be hard but you will be so much better off. Chances are you will have forgotten about that dress in a few weeks anyways.


You can still enjoy life and be smart about your finances too. It only takes a bit of work and a little planning.