In order to save faster for a down payment on a house/condo, I am moving in with a friend who has a room available that is $250 per month cheaper than my current living situation. My commute to work will be four times longer than it is now, but it's only one mile each way to begin with. The additional gas for the commute will be compensated for by the fact that I will be living around the corner from the kinds of stores I currently ride several miles to.

Also, since I will be one minute away from the supermarket and a produce market, I will be cooking more at home, so I will be eating more healthy. I will be living right near the neighborhood where I hang out with my friends, and so I will enjoy more leisure time with them, which is also a health boost.

I'm also looking into getting certified to drive the ramp van taxis which can be used to give rides to wheelchair users in addition to everyone else. Not only would my income increase (clientele sent in my direction,) but my per-shift expenses would decrease (less to rent the cab and less gas for a V6 instead of a V8.)

This one is only 10 items long because I really need to go to bed.

1) When I get scared on my motorcycle, to distract myself I sing the song Chris Farley sang in "Tommy Boy" over and over again: "Fat man in a little suit! Fat man in a little suit!"

2) I won a spelling bee in the 6th grade.

3) I won $24 in a karaoke contest singing "Puttin' On The Ritz."

4) According to a certificate my uncle got me from the "International Star Registry", there is a magnitude 12 star (veeeeeeery dim) in Centaurus "officially" named after me.

5) One of my goals is to have a picture taken of me puzzling over a map in front of an Albuquerque city limits sign, so I can add a caption of the Bugs Bunny line, "I think I made a wrong turn at Albuquerque!"

6) My favorite job was working at the public library in high school.

7) I bought my first car for $90, and the next morning it got towed and I had to pay $100 to get it back.

8) The most famous person who has ever ridden in my cab is former SF Mayor Willie Brown. I drove over a curb right at the end of the trip.

9) I have been to the Johnstown Flood Museum in Johnstown, PA.

10) Another goal is to have my picture taken while straddling the San Andreas fault. I have not yet researched where (if at all) this can be done without trespassing or injuring myself.

Every month the cab company recognizes a dozen or so drivers who haven't had any accidents recently with "Safe Driver" awards. Last time I got one of these (3 years ago) I got a certificate and a cheap jacket with the company logo stitched on it. This time they were significantly more generous - a tshirt, a $65 gift certificate at a particular restaurant in town, and a $85 Best Buy gift card! I haven't decided if I will try to sell the gift card or just give it as a Christmas gift to my sister (who always goes to Best Buy with her best friend every year on Black Friday.)

One of the biggest holes in my spending habits is food. I am out and about all over the city every day, and I have tended to buy food on the go. On the occasions when I do get my act together and make a shopping trip, I generally don't buy too much because I can only fit so much on my motorcycle (I must look pretty funny zipping past with a backpack on my front, a messenger bag on my back, and a canvas bag on my shoulder!)

Lately I have had occasional access to a car because my new roommate has one which she lets me borrow, so today I did a big trip to the supermarket. I admit that I was sucked into this spur-of-the-moment trip by a promotion - I got a coupon in the mail for 10% off any $50 or greater purchase total at the Safeway around the corner from me. Get this - it was only good between 4pm and 8pm TODAY! That's right, just four hours! It was to generate interest in the remodel they just completed.

Well, being a good internet-savvy student of savings, of course I checked over the weekly flyer on their website to do some planning before I left. I only bought stuff that had a club card discount. When I got home I felt pretty good when I calculated that I had 39lbs of food for $42! The sack of potatoes and the sack of apples brought my average price-per-pound way down, though it was balanced by the jar of Kraft parmesan cheese I splurged on (pricey processed food.) On a per-bar basis Ivory soap was $.29 each ($3.50/doz.) which is well below my trigger price so I stocked up on that.

I felt pretty good that I had gotten so much stuff for barely over $50. This will easily keep me going for more than a week, so I think I will make it a new goal to eat healthy on $160 a month, and only drink home-brewed coffee.