The main reason we decided to go on this roaptrip was to attend the conclusion of Jason Mraz’s tour at Madison Square Garden so around suppertime on December 9th we picked up our rental car (freeeeee courtesy of Airmiles) and set off for NYC. We crossed the border to the US at Houlton after midnight and with another few stops in between (primarily to refuel our bodies with caffeine and sugar) we arrived in a somewhat foggy Jersey early in the afternoon on December 10th. My first experience driving through NYC was actually not bad at all!

Warning: this is an image heavy long post!

We had booked an appartment with airbnb in Jersey from where we were able to hop on the bus for a 5-10 minute ride to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. It was an awesome location, inexpensive and allowed us easy access to Manhattan. I don’t have pics of the apartment but I’m sure I can find the link for you if you’re interested.  If you’re ever planning on travelling anywhere, after trying to get your accommodations for free using frequent flyer miles or other programs I HIGHLY recommend using something like airbnb. Because we were staying in an apartment that was below where the owner lived we were able to get help anytime we needed, got tips from somebody who’s obviously familiar with surrounding neighbourhoods and were even given buspasses for our first day and instructions on how to get to Manhattan.

The Jason Mraz concert was on the day that we arrived and being exhausted from the drive we almost didn’t make it but did decide to go, we arrived about half an hour late and had a great time.

Jason Mraz @ Madison Square Garden

The whole roadtrip to NYC was EPIC. If you ever get the chance to go to NYC, take it! We had such a great time.  We left home on Sunday evening, arrived Monday afternoon and left NYC again on Saturday to arrive back home somewhere on Sunday. It was a 13 hour for us, one way. We alternated driving so we didn’t stop anywhere other than gasstations. All in all we spent 5 nights and roughly 6 days primarily hopping through Manhattan and still didn’t have time to see all NYC has to offer despite having things planned out pretty firmly. Also don’t worry about driving or flying, do whatever is cheaper. We didn’t use the rental car at all after we checked in and just used the bus and the subway for getting around, both of which, after you’ve familiarized yourself a bit, are great for getting around. We also did a lot of walking.

the street in front of Madison Square Garden

We visited quite a few places, the most disappointing being the Empire State building. It’s a tourist trap. We were there on a quiet evening on a Tuesday and while and it was nice to see the lights at night the whole thing was just rather meh. From the annoying sales guys out front for some other skycrap attraction to actually getting to the top through a maze of rooms set-up for peak-tourist season lines to the actual disappointing top that’s completely gated in. Really? Skip it.

The view from Empire State building

Instead go here, then come back at night for a better view:

30 Rock! Where magic happens!

One of THE BEST experiences in NYC was 30 Rockefeller. We were there just before Christmas so we got to see the outdoor rink, there’s a Legostore, there’s an icecream place and the view from the top is just amazing.

You can see all of Manhattan, Central Park… and it’s not gated in. There are multiple levels and bright indoor spaces where you can chill. I didn’t get enough pics here but to give you an idea but google is your friend.

A sunny day on top of 30 Rock

Close to 30 Rock we visited FAO Schwartz, that store with the big piano! We spent a lot of time goofing off with the toys before making it out with a few christmas gifts

@ FAO Schwartz with my sister

Maybe the legoversion is even cooler than the real deal yo

There’s is so much in this city to explore. Just off the top of my head we visited Frank Sinatra’s birthplace, Carlo’s bakery in Hoboken, Empire State Building, 30 Rock, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Natural History, we made sure to do a route through Grand Central Station. We had five guys deliciousness, checked out 5th avenue, went to Times Square, had Chinese in Jersey. Went to St. Steven’s IT to check the lookout point, we went to Macy’s, Canal St, Little Italy, ate at AOA in Tribeca…. I could go on for a while. But… before I make this post too long, here’s another couple of pics and I’ll save the rest for another post. Seriously, visit NYC!

Macy’s

the pond at Bryant Park

Have you ever been to NYC, what was your favourite spot?

In case you didn’t catch that yet…rth

Sometimes I forget this blog started out talking about money. The almighty dolla. A lot of red this past month. Let’s break it down:

It’s a slippery slope

For as much as March was a good month financially, April sucked on all fronts. Financial, personal (my grandfather passed away April 20th) and career-related. Whew I’m so glad it’s May. I get to pluck tulips from my garden soon. But let’s get back to finance: My primary goal for this month was to work on dealing with my revolving creditcard balance, revolving in the sense that I wasn’t paying any interest but was constantly carrying a balance. With the last paycheque of the month I brought that puppy almost back down to zero and I am really trying to curb some of my spending.

I’m finding it incredibly hard to get used to earning less income this year versus what I had been making the past two years. I feel terrible saying this because I still have an income, I work when I want and essentially do whatever I want everyday but am unable to increase my income at the moment. So I have incredible freedom…. but money is tight. I applied for a job earlier in the month (Invesco, for those curious) I went through the phoneinterview and had an almost two-hour face to face interview locally. I felt that both went quite well but I was turned down for the job by anonymous do-not-reply email. You know the one I mean… so I continue to search for something suitable. Things will be a little easier (I hope) with my degree in hand as of May 11th! Back to finance though. The never-ending struggle to not dip into my emergency fund too much continues, my mortgage and heloc continue their crawl down the principal-repayment ladder and give or take $500 I’ve been hopping around the $45k networth mark for a few months now.

Goals for May: Have a hundred or two in my chequing and a zero balance on my creditcard. Add $200 back to my e-fund.

Aaaaand because I can: Here’s dog!

Got a little wet this week

great progress!

March was a great month! I crossed back over the $45k networth mark actually to my highest networth to date!

My FU money aka my emergency fund is also back on the rise. I’m keeping an amount in my misc. savings because my actual emergency fund sits in a TFSA and I find I frequently use a couple hundred dollars as an overdraft so I’ve been keeping a portion in my other savings account. My combined emergency fund is now back up to $5,987.08. So I’m now only short twenty three dollars to have my emergency fund ‘full again’. I don’t expect to be able to add any more cash to this the next few months however as I booked a ticket to Rome and I should probably pay for that along with accommodations and all that other stuff.

Copper only ate up $200 of my budget this month compared to the $600 in his first month here, I intend to keep that number roughly that or a little lower.

So, I think I can say my mission for March has been accomplished. For April I’ll focus on getting my creditcard back to a steady zero, always having money to cover whatever the balance is. (I’m currently turning over money on that card fast enough to not pay interest but I’m a little uncomfortable with that dangerous game) and my second focus will be paying for my planned travels in the fall. That’s about it for me, how’s your tax season treating you?