I just checked my bank statement and discovered a $15.00 international transaction fee. As you can imagine, I’m horrified, considering how many of these I might have racked up without being careful. There is one bank in Santiago where I don’t get charged the fee, but I must have had too much red wine one night when I went to the wrong ATM. I’ve been trying really hard to live on my meager teacher’s salary but last month I took a trip to Argentina, circumstances under which no financial rules apply- vacation, so, I dipped into the ol’ savings for that and vowed when I came back to not touch it until the next big trip. I’ve been budgeting splendidly - - I know my dad would be impressed. However, when I received my newly purchased and lost glasses from Susan, I was slapped with a $35,000 peso charge. That’s almost 90 bucks. On my salary, it’s a big fat slap in the pocket. So, I’ve been EXTRA careful in choosing the cheapest food if I ate out, but mostly I’ve been cooking at home, since- as I’ve mentioned before- the food ain’t great here. Well, I splurged on a Lomo Italiano yesterday in the “Casino” (cafeteria) at Duoc and am down to my last $4610 pesos (roughly $10US) - in coin form. No paper money left. I spent the last 15 minutes scrounging through my backpack, purse, coat pockets and all to see how much I might pull together. I even dipped into my “sopaipilla fund” (the 10-peso coin collection accumulated in the front pocket of my black purse) and counted up 46 coins. That’s 5.75 sopaipillas, if I go to the friendly guy across the street who sells them at a bargain 80 pesos compared to the 100 pesos-charge directly in front of the school. I’ve been off the sopaipillas for about a week now, but it was nice to know I could treat myself whenever I wanted, as long as that purse pocket was full. I know that having money to recharge my BIP card for the metro, this week, is mas importante, but the wanting-what-i-can’t-have is going turn me into a sopaipilla fiend. My students will wonder what happened to “meez carol”, watching me walk sketchily by the fryer stand, waiting for a moment to grab and dash or scrounging for coins on the sidewalk in front of Duoc. That’s great. I shouldn’t joke about it, because food really is like crack to me. ILOVEITINEEDITILOVEIT! Mom, if you’re reading this, don’t worry- I won’t get myself arrested over an 80-peso fried snack. I will definitely pay the ATM fee before resorting to petty crime in order to indulge my fried-food cravings.
The challenge I pose to myself is to see how long it can last me. I have a well-stocked kitchen, so food isn’t an issue, but transportation does take a chunk of my budget. As does socializing. I think I mentioned before that the old social butterfly of Carol is back. Only two weekends have been spent at home since I got here and the last one was only due to a terrible flu. Anyhow, payday is technically on the first of June, which falls on a Sunday, so I might be a weekend without cash. This shall be interesting. It’s during times like this I’m so happy it’s cheaper to eat healthy than junk food in Chile. No creative Top Ramen cooking in my kitchen!
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1 comment:
I feel ya, girl! I still haven't received my check yet.
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