Week of Money: Where I have to threaten legal action for returning an item

DAY ONE

??:?? — I wake up before Little Bun but force myself back to bed.

6:20 a.m. — I get up. He slept LATE last night so he slept “in” today.

7:23 a.m. — I log in and start working after playing with him for a bit. I am trying to give him my time but this project is live in a month I have no time to play.

8:50 a.m. — Little Bun LOSES HIS #%(*#% as I am on a call. I mean, not even TEN MINUTES, and he is sobbing about how he doesn’t want Mommy on calls, doesn’t want Mommy to work… My partner is home today, so I literally get dressed while on the conference call, put on my boots in a FURY and go into the hallway and “leave”.

8:54 a.m. — Little Bun is SOBBING and CRYING about how he doesn’t want Mommy to leave, and my partner is holding him back physically. I finish the call in the hallway as he is running out and screaming, and crying, and then take the elevator to the ground floor to work in the lobby instead.

12:08 p.m. — I pack up and head into the store to handle a situation with the mixer I wanted to return. It isn’t until I THREATEN LEGAL ACTION that they finally give me my money back. UNBELIEVABLE. $663.28

12:15 p.m. — I contact their head office and wish to file a complaint. I am not letting this go. This is nonsense. I am going to make their lives at least, a little uncomfortable. I cannot believe I have to ask them to comply with the law before they’ll handle the situation. This is ridiculous.

1:00 p.m. — I head home and rant to my partner, who is surprised but glad we got the money back. He backs me.

2:05 p.m. — Laundry.

4:15 p.m. — Log off.

5:25 p.m. — Little Bun hassles me to do Word Games with him, and insists on putting his foot on me while I find words for him to clear.

6:11 p.m. — Little Bun devours his books – Who and Why – and insists on reading all of them. He is picking up some of it and wants to do shared reading these days which I highly encourage. I also try to explain beyond just reading the words but sometimes you’re just tired.

8:22 p.m. — Bedtime. I’m yawning.

Spent: $663.28

DAY TWO

??:?? — I wake up tired but unable to sleep any more. I KNOW it is early. No morning light, must be 5 a.m. .. Or just before it.

5:56 p.m. — I make a HUGE bowl of noodles – am really craving it. And Little Bun wants a big bowl too. I give him vegetable stew instead and he finishes with rice pudding. Then hassles his father for some apples. Then eats my noodles. Little Food Monster. 🙂

8:11 p.m. — Bedtime after we colour on his app, read a few more pages of the book, and

Spent: $19.46

DAY THREE

??:?? — I wake up tired. I want to sleep more but Little Bun is up so.. I’m up. I am on my back when he creeps up to my face and says hoarsely: Mommy, it’s 5:45 a.m. (he checked the clock). I grunt and roll over. He reaches his two little paws on my stomach and I can feel him trying very hard to pull me back forcefully to be on my back. After I am rolled over on my back, he climbs on top, gives me a big hug, a kiss, and announces: Now you’re awake. Too cute.

6:40 a.m. — Time to get ready for work.

7:19 a.m. — I arrive at work, tired. I’m losing steam. Hate this project, getting very tired. No break, and it’s go-go-go.

8:08 a.m. — Time for a tea break. I see a very cool gift someone brought back from SOuth America for the team and it is a drip coffee packet to go. How cool is that!?

12:08 p.m. — Just got off the phone – massive kerfuffle with upper management, and I ended up writing a pretty nasty email to a VP. I don’t think I’m going to stay any longer unless I am going to work remotely 3 days a week (permanently), and maybe even another increase in my rate. These people are irking me something fierce.

1:22 p.m. — I order and scarf down a burger hungrily. I am eating my emotions like the hungry caterpillar. $10.29

3:39 p.m. — Time to go. I leave. Just as I go to leave, I am tasked with something. This will take me until at least 7 tonight. Fine. I’ll do it, but then I will be taking a half day either tomorrow or Friday to make up for it. After this stressful encounter with upper management, I am done.

4:13 p.m. — I go home, and quickly log in.

6:18 p.m. — I make noodles and scarf it down. I really love this stuff. I am eating while working.

7:16 p.m. — Done. I send it off and log off.

7:20 p.m. — Little Bun squeals when my partner and I talk and says: I AM TRYING TO WATCH MY COMMERCIALS!! (in between the news reports)…. LOL .. they are the only things he can watch, as the rest is just news. We have no kid TV here.

8:33 p.m. — Bedtime. Before sleeping he insists on having stories of when he was a baby and how he couldn’t spell words correctly. I then have to take a word, misspell it badly, and say: “Then Baby Bun said “OOPS!“…” …

Spent: $10.29

DAY FOUR

??:?? — I wake up and can’t sleep. 3 a.m., unable to sleep due to just all the crap that has been happening. I should just not be on projects any more, clearly it is not something worth being on. I finally fall back asleep, but not well.

??:?? — Little Bun insists on hugging and kissing to get me to wake up and get his milk. I go and get it.

5:32 a.m. — I lie there, feeling like I can actually fall right back to sleep immediately, I am that tired. Little Bun won’t let me though, and insists on playing “Baby Fish”, where I have my hand pretend to be a Mommy Fish looking for her babies, and his two hands become baby fishes who then swim around with Mommy Fish and have mini adventures with Teddy.

6:10 a.m. — Okay, time to get up. I haul myself out of bed, and make a cup of green tea.

6:32 a.m. — I log in and work. Today is an early day for me. I worked late yesterday.

6:32 a.m. — I wash my face. I have been trying to figure out what to do with these too-moisturizing products I bought and stocked up on – I realize they have been giving me pimples. I’ve decided to use them on my hands… why not? The backs need to reverse aging too, so I do that. I have been lax on wearing sunscreen on the backs of my hands, and taking care of them even with moisturizer, so time to change that!!

8:08 a.m. — Call after call. I’m silent because I’m done helping out on this project and chiming in to help. They can all go eff themselves.

10:08 a.m. — I eat an early lunch of bread and cheese with Little Bun and my partner while on a call. My partner sets up a kitchen rack in the corner after my call, and now we have double the space for kitchenware — pots, pans, and then ceramics on the other side. It looks much better and more organized even if it isn’t “pretty” and magazine-worthy.

12:17 p.m. — I head out and quickly return a Ted Baker Kate Floral watch. I originally thought it was pretty but it’s too small and really, for that price, too expensive when I can hold out for a secondhand, stunning piece if it ever comes along. – $165.18

1:19 p.m. — A recruiter calls and wastes my time. I know I am being a b*tch on the phone but I hate it when they waste your time by trying to fish for information by pretending they have contracts to fulfill. Blacklisted. I remove them as a connection, so they don’t have access to my network.

2:24 p.m. — Done for the day.

3:10 p.m. — A client I am working with looks at my profile on LinkedIn (you can see who sees your profile). This is how I know they think I am worth a connection because of the way I am conducting myself. It is gratifying because it could mean a potential contract in the future.

2:24 p.m. — I discover the culprit of how I ate 5GB in the FIRST WEEK of the month. It was because I had hotspotted Little Bun to download an app and then forgot to turn it off. He must have had a blast going through everything, opening pages and watching videos like crazy. #(%#%(%!!@.. that’s not happening again. I mean, with an 8GB plan I should be fine but that 5GB shocked me, and now I am rationing my data like some crazed person. I turned off all the apps, except for email…

4:56 p.m. — OMG. Did my friend just book the wrong times to visit together in NYC? I quickly check her flight and my stomach fills with dread. She booked it the week before not the week after, when I booked all the flights and hotels!!!! I quickly message her in a panic.

6:16 p.m. — I spend the next hour and a half patiently reading to Little Bun who got books for his birthday, has devoured both and is now asking for the National Geographic World Book and all of the other versions. This is how people get started in collecting “collectible plates” or “collectible” figurines, I’ll bet. He wants the full set.

7:32 p.m. — Luckily she salvages the situation. It costs as much to change the flight as the actual flight cost itself, so she will go with her husband the week before. Thank goodness. I tell her to triple check and I email her my flight details again. When stuff is non-refundable, I check like a mofo.

7:40 p.m. — Ouch. All the stuff I ordered to be shipped to me is costing me $250 USD. It includes socks my partner wanted (a massive box), a salad spinner, etc. If this doesn’t make me want to stop spending, nothing will. $335.67

2:24 p.m. —

Return: $165.18

Return: $335.67

DAY FIVE

(I have no idea where my notes went for today. I KNOW I wrote and emailed them, I can’t find the email now.)

??:?? — I wake up tired. I lie there while Little Bun sleeps, and just listen to his snuffle snorting.

6:50 a.m. — I get ready for work after my green tea, and a little relaxing time chatting, and playing with Little Bun. My outfit is cute today. Imagine a red lip with this:

7:39 a.m. — Work starts. *sigh* Lots of stuff to get done.

9:40 a.m. — I ask a colleague if she wants to go to lunch. I feel like going out today.

11:34 a.m. — At lunch FINALLY! I order my favourites and devour delicious porchetta 🙂 I love this stuff, fatty and so smoothly delicious. $24.57

3:40 p.m. — Out the door, at home, and breathing a sigh of relief for the weekend.

7:15 p.m. — Dinner time. Light dinner of noodles because I STUFFED MYSELF at lunch.

8:37 a.m. — Bedtime.

Spent: $24.57

DAY SIX

??:?? — I wake up, NOT TIRED. But still sleepy. Little Bun bleats into my face, saying: Maa maaa? MAAAA?? It is actually very cute. I grab him and hug and kiss him. I love him so much. His hair is getting too long. Will be time for a haircut soon. I grab his milk.

6:40 a.m. — I had asked my neighbour for an estate lawyer so I could redo my will, and she writes back (maybe I am reading too much into this), a kind of snobby message saying:

Well, we used an expensive lawyer downtown and unless you have assets like my husband, you may want to find someone cheaper.

WTF. Am I reading too much into this? Is this rude? Am I being sensitive? I have no idea any more.

6:43 a.m. — I read out the message to my partner, who snorts and says to me: Why are you even friends with her? She isn’t your friend. She is using you to make herself feel better. Remember how when you told her proudly that Little Bun was reading in English at a Grade 2 level? She said back to you: Well my son isn’t doing it because I don’t speak to him in English so I can’t read to him in English to teach him.

He… may have a point.

I start re-evaluating everything. I am one of those half glass full kind of folks, you know? Happy go lucky, really seeing the good in everyone (yeah, obviously, I even send out wrong signals and get stalked, etc)…. but I am a really friendly, NICE person, and I put out these good vibes only to get back snark. Do I need that? Not really.

8:08 a.m. — Annoyed, but now, trying to breathe in LOVE and breathe out ANNOYANCE, I make another cup of tea and plan my day. I have a lot of places to hit – drop off more stuff at consignment that I don’t wear (high-end stuff like The Row), and then pick up two jackets for Little Bun….. SO MUCH TO DO.

8:12 a.m. — I spend the morning doing bills, checking on bank accounts….. getting things sorted. I even buy a Quebec Will online. Everything goes to my partner and then to our son. Basically everything should end up for our son in the end, whether it is from my partner or from me.  $26.50

11:31 a.m. — Time for lunch. Simple bread and cheese, I don’t like too much at lunch, to be honest.

12:08 p.m. — I decide to do major returns with heavy cups tomorrow. Today, I have to go downtown, pick up a jacket and then pick up two more jackets for Little Bun, and then wander around to relax a bit. Every weekend has been ERRANDS, so I feel like I need a break for myself.

12:10 p.m. — I get ready after the cheese and bread and head out. Little Bun refuses the Camembert (weird, maybe a texture thing?) and opts to only nibble on bread. I’m not concerned because I already stuffed him full of pasta and vegetable stew so we are good.

1:05 p.m. — I decide to go downtown today instead of to a mall because I need to get stuff done. I drop off items for consignment. I pick up that grey leather jacket I wanted to sell and will sell it off Kijiji instead because $200 in my pocket is better than $100 or whatever they priced it at. Cut out the middleman.

1:20 p.m. — I walk towards the bank and when I get there, a woman turns to me with a worried look. She clearly speaks ZERO English, and asks me with gestures if I can help. I grab my bank cards and items and go to her till instead at the ATM to try and figure out what happened. She seems to have no idea about security and being careful with her money because she types in her PIN right in front of me (I didn’t look, I was so shocked!).

1:23 p.m. — She then pulls out this MASSIVE ENVELOPE of $4000 worth of twenties and fifties. OMFG. She trusts me completely, a stranger because I’m a young girl probably but .. wow. I try to tell her she has to be more careful in the future but I’m sure she has no clue what I’m saying. The only words she knows is: “Four thousand”, pointing to the huge wad of money.

1:25 p.m. — I realize she can’t get the money to deposit because the envelope is so big!!! I help her split it into three envelopes, counting out $2000 in one, etc.

1:27 p.m. — I end up only counting $3900. I ask her again if she is right (using fingers).

1:30 p.m. — It takes us three tries counting twice (it is a lot of effing bills and I’m nervous AF I’m going to get jumped or something, and it isn’t even my money). I’m startled each time I hear the door open.

1:32 p.m. — I get through it all, help her deposit the $4000 and she is so happy, she can’t contain herself. I think she wants to hug me or something but she keeps bowing. I wave goodbye to her and try to repeat that she has to be careful not to just trust anyone. She’s lucky she got me because not all young women are like me especially if they’ve never seen so much money in their lives, and some might be very desperate enough to do terrible things even in front of a security camera at a bank.

1:55 p.m. — Dropping by The Gap they are out of the huge coats so .. well. Next year we can try and find another deal on them. I wander around aimlessly and into my favourite boutiques like Aritzia where I obviously want everything. I leave before I succumb to another jumpsuit priced at $178. SO IMPRACTICAL and yet I really want to wear it because it looks great. I also will put it on my Wish List.

2:04 p.m. — I decide to get back into the car and drive to a thrift store. There, I try on and see a few items but it always comes down to two things for me: (1) Feel and (2) Fit. I’m not a fan of things that don’t feel luxe or soft and I’m really not into things that look nice but don’t fit because if they pull across my big shoulders, I’ll feel it and not want to wear it. It will make me uncomfortable all day. Thank u next.

2:18 p.m. — I drop by another cheap clothing store called Dynamite and am surprised at how nice their shirts are as well as their coats. The draping is not 100% but it is a good 75% compared to the stuff being sold at H&M or Forever 21. I don’t get anything but if I need a collared shirt, I may come back. The quality is as good as Banana Republic and the prices are about the same as BR on sale.

3:10 p.m. — At the counter for jewellery for thrifting, the woman there is so dang sweet. I’ll come back just to say hello. And maybe in off peak hours because it is kind of nuts in here. I end up finding another vintage leaf brooch (!!), a vintage necklace (you can tell by the clasp but the stones aren’t real, they’re paste) and a drusy statement ring. $13.50

3:27 p.m. — I decide my pride is worth less than money and securing my financial future and I pen a short apology to someone at work. I don’t like animosity and built up tension. We are all stressed AF on this project and I think it is boiling over especially on me because I’m being tasked with so much crap all around. I feel a weight off my shoulders as I hit “Send”.

4:12 p.m. — I decide to head to the mall and resist dropping by Starbucks to pick up a hot drink.

4:33 p.m. — I go and find a quiet corner and go through all my money and savings. I start planning out my exit plan and my required amounts if I were to stop working at the end of this contract.

4:48 p.m. — I look at my asset allocation strategy and am thinking I want to put a little more money to top off Lending Loop (my referral code 7B03F0 gets you $25 free if you invest $1500) . Right now I think I want to top it up to $10,000 .. (I reviewed the whole process and how I got started here if you are interested) it is risky to be a private lender but it is always good to not rely on one source of income (stock market) especially if you can find other ways (legit ways) to bring income in.

5:39 p.m. — At home, a great dinner with wings and a salad with bread. My partner is sad he isn’t making bread any more, we are waiting for the new mixer to arrive.

7:56 p.m. — Time for bed. My partner tells me that it is daylight savings time tomorrow. This is going to screw up everything.

Spent: $40.00

DAY SEVEN

6:47 a.m. — I wake up super early. I just lie there trying to sleep. Little Bun whispers it is 5:47 in the morning but as it is daylight savings, we are ahead by an hour, so it is 6:47!

8:34 a.m. — I head out to run errands. I am trying to sell my Hermès vintage watch because I don’t wear it, and someone bites, interested in getting it. I also have a buyer for my All Saints jacket which I never wear. I hope they both sell and I can get some extra cash back into my coffers to make up for all the shopping I have been doing.

10:45 a.m. — I try to see if I can find something to buy at Anthropologie to use up my $45 credit, and there was a pink shirt I liked but even though it is viscose it feels like cheap polyester. Pass. It was this shirt I originally raved about, at $90 and on sale for $70.

10:47 a.m. — I am only interested in it because I loved my pink shirt so much but in the end, it is not as nice as this one:

11:21 a.m. — I head home and drive super carefully then have lunch of tuna, salad, avocado, eggs and bread.

1:17 p.m. — I quickly chart out my freelancing situation and thoughts on if my contract ends, and am pleased to find that I am in perfect shape if I have to stop working for 2 years.

5:56 p.m. — Time for a quick little dinner of noodles (cheap, filling, delicious thrills).

8:20 p.m. — Time for bed. I am tired.

Spent: $

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Want more? Read all of my previous Week of Money Diaries.