Midpoint in Temporary Assignment Expenses
Amazing as it is to me, I am already halfway through my temporary assignment at work. NY has been nice (especially the cooler evenings), but being the tightwad I am it also been tough getting use to the higher prices on just about everything.
Before I left, I spent sometime trying to figure out how much it was going to cost me to go on this temporary assignment. Here are the monthly costs I anticipated:
| Additional Monthly Expenses | Best Case | Most Likely | Worst Case |
| NY Rent | $ 400.00 | $ 700.00 | $ 1,200.00 |
| NY Utilities | $ - | $ 150.00 | $ 250.00 |
| Additional Dining Out | $ - | $ 75.00 | $ 200.00 |
| Travel Costs to Home | $ 222.00 | $ 250.00 | $ 444.00 |
| Total Extra Monthly Expenses | $ 622.00 | $ 1,175.00 | $ 2,094.00 |
| | | | |
| 6 Months Total Extra Expenses | $3,732.00 | $ 7,050.00 | $12,564.00 |
With careful planning I made arrangements to rent a furnished room (including utilities) for a net $500/month after a small subsidy kicked in by my employer. This has certainly helped me keep my costs under control.
Heres my monthly expenses so far:
| Additional Monthly Expenses | July | August | September |
| NY Rent | $293.55 | $500.00 | $500.00 |
| NY Utilities | $ - | $ - | $ - |
| Additional Dining Out | $ - | $ - | $ - |
| Travel Costs* | $179.35 | $307.10 | $320.60 |
| Total Extra Monthly Expenses | $472.90 | $807.10 | $820.60 |
*Travel Costs - While my planning estimate was primarily airfare, I have included tolls, parking, train/subway tickets, and airfare.
What have I done to keep my expenses down?
- I rented a furnished room (including utilities) to minimize my fixed expenses.
- I am eating out a lot less than I expected. Since I didn't have a kitchen I anticipated eating out regularly. However, I have learned how to survive on a microwave and my food expenses have been kept in check.
- I have started brown bagging lunch 4 days a week. Back at home I would go out to eat lunch everyday while at work. Since I don't know as many people at my temporary assignment location, I find it much easier to bring my lunch several days a week.
- Transportation has cost me more than I anticipated. As a result I now plan on only buying 4 flights during my assignment and either driving back home or not traveling back as often.
As happy as I am that my temporary assignment expenses are on the lower side of what I planned I am still sweating it. I am cash poor and these monthly expenses are coming straight out of my income I would be using to rebuild my cash position and make additional investments with. I just need to hang for a few more months.
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Comments (3)
Just stay with it.. I hope this improves your job duties when you get home.
Posted by garrett | October 11, 2006 2:14 PM
For awhile I thought you were getting these costs in NYC! Now that I see it's Poughkeepsie, I can see how it's possible. It's outstanding that you've been able to make due on a microwave. I tried that on my trip from the East to West coast and I had a lot of trouble with it.
Posted by Lazy Man and Money | October 12, 2006 12:07 PM
Yup the microwave has been tough for me - but frozen dinners have come a long way! My main concern is my sodium intake - its almost impossible to keep it at reasonable levels.
Posted by 2 million | October 12, 2006 12:41 PM