financial austerity plan

it seems like i'm always on a topic that's similar to another of my favorite blogs. now that my yearly salary has been cut to a third of what it was last year, i'm beginning a new, financial austerity plan , which, according to this nytimes article, should actually increase my happiness.

here are a few ideas that i've already implimented.

1. no parking permit- parking here at university hospital costs roughly $60 per month. it's free nights and weekends, and i only live 2 miles from the hospital. not only will this be the thrifty option, it'll also give me a great excuse to get in some exercise riding my bicycle to day shifts. for those night shifts where i emerge bleary-eyed from the hospital, i can get in my car for a quick getaway and off to bed.
2. cutting back on cell phone minutes- i'll have to re-evaluate this one in a few months. my current plan (900 anytime minutes) is way too much, but the next lower version (450 anytime minutes) is marginally too small. a tough call.
3. cancel unneeded mobileme subscription- i like that my calendar is stored in a cloud and that my calendar "pushes" events to and from my eye phone without having to physically sync. this is the only real reason that i have this service. the other benefit is the automated web hosting that i use for my domain name site. what makes it so easy is that i can create the site in iweb and it uploads seamlessly. however, now that i'm treating high volumes of patients in the ER, i can probably do without the website with all the personal details. as for the cloud computing, i don't mind syncing so much. also, the amion calendar that i use has a subscription feature that bypasses mobileme alltogether!
4. get a housemate- i have always enjoyed living with people, and this house is a bit big for just livvie and me. it'll be fun to have somone else in the house, and we're not so desperate that we can't be extremely picky about who it is. having interviewed housemates in the past, i've found it extremely easy to find folks that want to live in pacifica. it's just a great place to live.
5. eat out less- or at least, be judicious about how much restaurant-going we do. i love to try new restaurants and enjoy the ambiance of a meal out. we'll probably still go out once a week, but being a bit more selective about our restaurant-going is in order.
6. plant a winter garden- a correlary to above. the tomatoes didn't do so well with the late-summer heat, but pretty soon it'll be time for kale, broccoli, and chard!

ideas that fall into the "too extreme" category: (ie, i'm not doing them)

1. cancel economist subscription- no way. even though i don't always read cover-to-cover, i love reading the economist, and i think it keeps my brain from turning to cottage cheese. it's also nice to sample some right of center opinions from time to time. don't get me wrong, i love my democracy now, but it's nice to understand how the other side thinks.
2. stop shopping at weaver street- i like shopping at WSM, and i can get in and out faster than anywhere else. there are still items that are cheaper at harris teeter, so i'll go there occasionally. weaver street enhances life in carrboro, so it's worth supporting. i usually buy whatever cereal is on sale and take advantage of the owner specials.

still trying to learn ultrasound. i'm getting pretty good at the FAST exam, but i haven't yet gotten to do a whole lot of gyn exams. i'm seriously considering taking an elective month to just do ultrasounds with the techs. i think when the time comes, i'll want to do some moonlighting or travel instead. we'll see.

i've been seeing paramedics from south county hospital, and just last night i had one of my old colleagues (who was on shift at the time) call me in the university ED for a consult. i loved working there, but i can't say that i miss it all that much. i didn't enjoy the drive, and i'm pretty happy with my job now.

can't wait to have the afternoon off tomorrow. the workout should be challenging, and then it'll be time for a nice one of these: