So in my eighth month of the peace corps i finally have to admit something...i am terrible at managing money. Each month the peace corps gives me about $240 for food, travel, and whatever i want. in most countries is this definitely enough--more than enough. in parts of south africa this is enough too. my friend in the Limpopo Province--where there is nothing--saves money that he doesn't spend every month. however, in KZN, it is a difficult proposition.
in order to be happy here, i need frequent breaks to see friends and to "real" life--like trips (on the public taxi) to Pietermaritzburg and Durban. Overall the amount of money they give me apparently does not suite my extravagant (hah!) lifestyle. each month, i usually make it. i mean, i have so far at least(however at the end of last month i had R14 in my bank account/approximately $1.75). but i have never thought about money so much in my life. in the US I would say that I am pretty frugal. However, in South Africa which is half developed half developing--i am having a hard time. in my village i could go weeks without spending any money. but when i get to town, that is a different story. i go to the supermarket and all i want is normal food. this means cheese, yogurt, milk, meat--things that too are expensive--things that i really cannot afford.
so! i am going to try and be proactive, so i can afford the fun vacation that me and a few of my friends are planning to mozambique in december (hooray!). i am going to try and cut my spending (where does it all go?) and write down where each and every last rand disappears to
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