Just a 20-something guy on a financial journey
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Posted by Forest on November 17, 2008
In case any of you were afraid that I didn’t make it back from my hunting weekend, have no fear. I’m alive, but struggling through a nasty cold which has kept me from doing almost everything except laying in bed or on the couch. And I know that I probably should have been blogging as well, but I just didn’t feel up for it.
Posted by Forest on November 7, 2008
I left work early on Monday to go to the dentist for a check up. Guess what? I don’t floss enough! Haha. After the cleaning, the dentist came in to check my teeth. No cavities! But I was completely surprised to learn that I have been grinding my teeth in my sleep (also known as Bruxism). I’d never heard of Bruxism before and I had no idea that I had been doing it. But apparently I have been and it’s wearing down the enamel on a few of my back teeth which could potentially lead to bigger problems. So I had to bite into this putty stuff so that they would have impressions of my teeth if I chose to have a mouthguard made. Yeah, that’s right - they recommend I wear a mouthguard while I sleep.
So after they made the impressions, the front desk ran an estimate for the mouthguard. There are two types of mouthguards - a hard and a soft. The soft one costs $97 and the hard one costs $497! That’s not a typo! Of course insurance doesn’t cover either of them.
Well, my dentist is a personal friend - a guy I went to college with - and I usually hang out at his house with his family after my appointments until he gets off work and then we all hang out. So he said he would talk to me about my mouthguard options later that night when he got home. Unfortunately, I had to leave his house before he got off work and so I still haven’t talked to him about it.
But about those prices. Can you believe that?
I don’t see why I can’t just get an athletic mouthguard like I used to wear for football. That would keep my teeth from grinding against each other and it would be A LOT cheaper. I think I could get one for about 15 bucks. I read some reviews on Amazon for mouthguards and it looked like several other people were skirting the expensive options by buying athletic guards. Well, I’m still waiting to talk to my buddy, but either way, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be buying either of the professional options. I’d rather sleep with a sock in my mouth than pay $500.
Any ideas on how I can stop grinding my teeth? As far as I know, it’s completely subconscious which makes it a little more difficult to stop. But of course I’d like to just stop, thereby saving me from having to buy and wear a mouthguard.
[Update: The dentist called me and confirmed that I can go ahead and try using a generic athletic-type mouthguard from a sporting goods store. He also said that if I ever did decide on the professional type, he could get me a discount.]
Posted by Forest on October 8, 2008
Here is a rundown of last weekend:
Friday night: Bird came over to my house after work and we just chilled out. She was trying to finish her book
Saturday: I woke up really early and headed to meet T at his sister’s house. From there we ran to McDonald’s and he bought breakfast. Then we drove up to his parent’s farm where we spent the day building an enormous bonfire shaped like a pirate ship! After we finished the fire, we stopped off at his church because they were having an Apple Festival. I ended up bidding at the silent auction for an immersion blender for Bird. And I won it! For $3! After the Apple Festival we headed home and I met up with Bird’s family for a big pasta dinner because they were going to run the Twin Cities Marathon the next day.
Sunday: I woke up early again and took Bird and her parents downtown to the starting line in Minneapolis. I dropped them off and drove over and parked near the finish line in St. Paul. T picked me up in St. Paul and then we drove back to Minneapolis to watch the race. We parked near Mile 6 and waited for the runners. It started to rain and then it just poured on us for the next hour. Woof. The poor runners looked kind of miserable and so did the spectators. We tried to stay in good spirits and cheered on the runners. Eventually, we saw Bird and her mom run by and we cheered them on as they passed but we didn’t see her dad.
T and I then met up with our friend, L, and the three of us drove to Mile 17 to watch and cheer again. By this time, the rain had stopped and it was a much more enjoyable experience. We got to see all three of them this time - Bird’s dad was approximately 20 minutes in front of her and her mom. So we saw all of them and then we cheered on L’s roommate who was also running. From Mile 17 we drove to downtown St. Paul where we looked for a coffee shop because we were wet and cold and looking to warm up. We eventually found a Dunn Brothers and I treated T and L to coffee for $11. We then hiked through downtown to the finish line at the State Capitol. We waited there for a while and eventually we cheered really loud as Bird ran by and finished the race. About one minute later, her Mom finished, and then her dad finished a few minutes after that. L’s roommate came in about 10 minutes after him. It was a really fun event. The rest of Sunday consisted of relaxing.
And that was my weekend. It was busy and I woke up early on both days, but it was worth it. We’ll be burning the pirate ship bonfire this weekend and I can’t wait for that. Also, I’ve been inspired by all the ambitious marathoners and I’m going to start the Couch to 5K plan. I’m signing up for the Turkey Day 5k on Thanksgiving to hold myself accountable.
Posted by Forest on September 27, 2008
I’m going bowling tonight and I couldn’t be more excited.
Today has been a pretty lazy day so far. I slept in until almost 10 am, then woke up and puttered around on the internet. Eventually I headed downstairs and made myself some breakfast and then I watched some soccer. Hull City beat Arsenal in what was a huge upset. It was fun to watch.
This evening I am going with Bird to a barbecue. That equals free dinner! We aren’t planning on staying long because we aren’t very close friends with the hosts. Actually, I’ve never even met them because they are Bird’s friends, not mine. Mind you, we are not going there to eat and run. Bird is excited to go and it will be nice to meet a few more of her friends. But when we do leave, then we are going bowling and that’s really the part of the night I’m looking forward to. I’ll let you know later who wins and how much it all costs me. I haven’t been bowling in years.
Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for reading.
Posted by Forest on September 19, 2008
Bird’s birthday was on Tuesday. Tonight we’re going out for a pseudo-fancy dinner and it should be a really good time. I’ve spent this week shopping for a really great gift for her in the very little free time I’ve had. It was a bit rushed and I missed her actual birthday, but I finally picked something up last night and I can’t wait to give it to her tonight. I’ll try to tell you more later, for now, it’s back to work.
Why do Fridays at work go so slow? The office is dead today. I don’t know if I’ve said more than 10 words all day. I can’t wait to get out of here. One hour to go.
In other news, my brother took me out to dinner last night and tried to pitch a business idea to me. He has no money, I have a little bit. He wants me to be his angel investor. I’m going to think about it.
Posted by Forest on August 27, 2008
Hi Friends,
I still have lots to say. I’m still spending money. I’m still trying to save more. Every once in a while something awesome happens and I feel like blogging about it. However, I don’t think I’ve really been on a computer at home in over a week or two. I’m just busy and now I’m making excuses. August is coming to an end and I’m looking forward to being able to run the numbers, even though I know I spent a lot of money.
Tonight I’m leaving for the cabin for a nice 5-day weekend vacation fishing trip! No work tomorrow or Friday - woohoo! So I definitely won’t be posting anything over the next few days. Not that you were expecting I would be!
Everyone have a fun and safe Labor Day weekend!
Posted by Forest on July 31, 2008
I use to split my savings between a money market account with Capital One and an ING account. For the last several months, the interest rates have been pretty much the same on these two accounts so I decided in an effort to simplify I would consolidate the accounts. I closed my Capital One account and moved all the money to ING. I find ING easier to use and their transfers are much faster than Capital One’s, that’s how they won all my savings. Congratulations to them.
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