Back from Israel, How'd the Bank Account Fare?

In short, I spent too much money in Israel, but I might be able to balance the books due to a variety of upcoming life changes that will involve spending less money and taking in, hopefully, the same amount of income (as long as my company still wants me to work there!)

As I wrote previously, the trip to Israel was, in itself, free. The flight was free and for the first two weeks, the housing and most of the food was free. So spending on other things seemed to make more sense... I mean, when is the next time I'll be back in Israel?

My big purchase - my Canon DSLR Xsi - was the best purchase I've made in my life. I took over 4000 pictures and they're my favorite souvenirs from the trip. Meanwhile, on the trip I bought extra food, some clothes, jewelery, gifts, etc. It all added up. To quite a bit of money.

But... even in the last week of the trip, I barely spent any money on room and board. I stayed with family most of the time and while I didn't expect them to feed me, they did... they fed me a lot. And I got them gifts for their kindness, but having to pay for my own food and housing would have cost a lot more. I stayed in hostels for only two nights of the trip, and i didn't have to, but I wanted to have that freedom. So each night in the hostel cost me about $20-$30. Otherwise, I had all free housing. It was a good deal. And my family was awesome and so nice to me. Even family I never knew I had. All second cousins and such, but they took me in like I was their own daughter. It was awesome.

I know, at the moment, my spending far surpasses my normal budget. And I only worked one week out of this past month, so I haven't been taking in any money either. That's the bad news.

The good news is that in a week I move into my friend's house for, probably, a month, while trying to find a new place to live. I'll offer to pay her something for my time there, but it will not be anywhere near the price of my current rent (of $1050 a month). And I'll be starting back to work again on Monday, so I'll be taking in money and spending very little for housing. When I do find a new place to live, I'm trying to find something that's even less than what I'm paying now. It might not be an ideal living situation, but it's not like my current place is perfect. The studio thing was awesome - I love, love, love living alone... but other than that, it was just a waste of money. Utilities were included, which was good, but I still had to pay my internet and cable bill all on my own. Living with even one other person and splitting that bill will lower my costs a lot.

So I'm pretty much looking for a shared living situation, at $600-$1000 a month. My rational side keeps telling me to get a tiny cheapo room with or without access to cooking and to just save my money. I've been thinking how much I want to get my teeth fixed, and how if I live super cheaply for a year and save I can afford to fix my teeth in about a year. That alone makes living in a tiny room worth it. Besides, even though I work from home a lot now, there's no reason I can't make a habit of going into the office more often. I want to do that anyway, and if they keep liking me, eventually take on a full time position with my current company (fingers crossed.)

It was kind of weird being away for a month and not focusing on money as much as I normally do. I haven't been obsessively tracking my stocks, or checking to see if anyone of my borrowers defaulted on their Prosper loans. It's been kind of nice. As soon as I get all the bills paid off and my old paychecks cashed, I'm going to tally up just how much I spent in Israel and how much I have to make back. I'm a little scared, but not too scared, as I know I can make it back within a few months if I'm smart about it.

Just remind me to be smart about it. :)