It's Not A Bender, It's A Lifestyle.

Got the 401k loan in the bank today. Sucks that I had to use it, but TBH it's just sitting there anyway, the market's been getting killed lately it's not like I'm losing a lot of gained interest on $4K. Doesn't hurt the cushion too much either. Would I love to have had the discipline to do the save organically, sure, but honestly I just don't care that much about Vegas anymore to make the daily sacrifice. It's something I haven't talked about much here, since this a Vegas blog, after all. But I don't have the passion for the trips that I used to. I was obsessed with Vegas, for the better part of a decade. I was more than willing to make the life compromises needed to fund the trips, and more of them. Yes, I have more financial obligations now (the car, mainly), but I also used to give up weekends out, or skimping on food and basic spending, to make the save number. It's really the only time in my life that I have been able to save for a goal. I...

Pussied out and will be flying into AprilVegas. Decided to book a flight after all. I got good times and seats on United, just threw it on my 0% interest card with Chase so I can pay it off over time. $260, but again, pretty good seats and should be an elevated boarding group. I was looking forward to road tripping in the WRX on the in leg, but having to face that 10-hour return trip while recovering from 5 days of Vegas...nope. Not this time, maybe later this year. As this is, it gets me to town at a pretty much ideal check in time (no waiting around for a room) and gets me out without having to wake up very early on fly out day. Also don't have to wake up at the ass-crack on what would have been the drive in day. I will just have to park the car on the correct side of the street before I go and will not have to worry about a parking ticket or having to park at SFO. I will have to shell out for transportation to/from the airport but I'm used to that at this point. So, that wr...

A month and change to yet another Vegas. Things taking shape. The dates are locked in after having to rebook, and MGM Grand is the resort. Looking forward to it. Newly remodeled room with what should be a decent, north-facing strip view. Not a huge birthday suite like the Conrad a couple years ago, but it's fine, with wanting to keep expenses under control this time. I like the Grand and the location is fine for my purposes. I found out WWE is going on in town at T-Mobile that week, which is balls, but I'll just avoid it by heading north. No change on the flight rate sitch (too high), so it looks like I will be doing my first road trip since 2021. 1st time letting the WRX stretch its legs, and as long as my back doesn't bark too much in the cockpit it should be a good time. Plan to leave early in the morning and get there by check-in time, then should be able to head straight up to the room, maybe take a couple hour nap then gogogo for 4 and a half days. Money...money will ...

Final room booking booked.  I had a NYNY standard room booked for around $100 for my birthday week, but my March offer dropped with added Freeplay. Cancelled the NYNY booking, but rates went WAY up for that week, so now I'm going the week before my birthday and for double the room rate. FML. Not all bad though. I'll be in the newly renovated MGM Grand strip view room, so an upgrade from what I had booked. $85/$100 FP/RC. I still plan to drive in, so no disruption of travel plans. Just need to reset my FTO time which will be no issue. This also avoids a couple big conventions and the NFL draft which would have busied up the strip the following week, so it's cool. Should be a fun trip, starting to get a little jazzed for it. 

Got a "wrapped" type email from MGM Rewards detailing my points activity from last year. Pretty insightful stuff. In short, I'm not earning shit for points on gambling anymore. I earned 84K points and change last year. 75K is required for retaining Gold year to year, so unlike past years where I scraped by, this year I cleared it comfortably. A strong spend/play December trip made it a laugher. For the year, fully 62K points came from the points earning on the MGM Rewards Iconic card. Most of that is just daily non-Vegas spend: food, bars, deodorant, etc. I gained only 17k points all year from gambling. That amazes me. 95% of that on VP. I fed $53K into MGM VP machines last year and only got 17K measly tier points out of it? Another 3800 points came from onsite resort spend, and that's it, that's the whole 84K. Only a little over 20K points were actually earned in a Vegas resort, which is where you're supposed to earn most of your points. I play VP in Vegas...

  I spend too damn much money in normal life. It's affecting the Vegas save. I have no daily save discipline unless it's my 401k or if I'm JUST about to go on a trip. I can be a little disciplined right before a trip to put away a few extra hundy, but I need to extend that to the rest of my daily life.  The car is part of it. I spend $325/month on the lease payment, $150 on insurance, probably another $140 on gas. No more bridge tolls anymore, which helps, but that's $615 right off the top. My rent is still low...it's food and Saturdays that kill me. I routinely spend $40 a day on food, which is insane, and can easily spend $300 on a normal Saturday out in the City, x 4 times a month. The car is what it is. I need it for work and that's not going to change in the near future. The Saturdays...that's not going to change either. I NEED the release after a long work week, and I love it. What I CAN control is the daily food budget. In short, I must have a daily ...

  Getting a grand back from taxes this year. Made more money and went up in tax % but somehow a better refund than last year. Meh. That'll certainly help for Birthday Vegas, which, inevitably, for good or ill, is coming. It'll be a shorty, just flying on the Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, flying out on the following Monday. Max 5 full days on the ground. So if I can only put $4K together by then, that's fine. With the tax refund that gives me 6 checks to stack as much paper as possible by fly out. Currently have a soft rezzie for NYNY on that date which would cost me about $30 with 4 comped nights and no resort fee, but we'll see what the offers look like after February breaks. The NYNY package has $150 of RC/FP value which is less for my current offers, so I might just stick with it. Also have a $100 RC bump from retaining Gold, so at least a couple good meals to be subsidized. I do tend to go a little more baller on rooms for birthdays though, so we'll see. D...