"HOW MUCH?!"

Lemme tell you, ain't no big spending been going on but I'm having to be careful with the cash! It's easy to haemorrhage dollars on nothing.

"God bless good old Blighty!" is what I've been feeling and saying more and more! You'll see what I mean below...

Examples (in no particular order...but some may say I'm starting with what is important!)

Cider - $6 plus tax, which varies from state to state between 6% and 13.75% (yes, thanks NY for making me have multiply percentages of odd values without a calculator! No quips about my former career please!) plus 20% tip. Yeah...all adds up to a blumming expensive tipple. In NY make it $7.50.

Vodka and diet coke (which is a whole lotta ice, a looonnng pour of vodka and a flick of a squirt of diet coke) in a club in NY - $10 (inc tax) but then, so the bartender doesn't ignore you for the rest of the night whenever you want another you've gotta tip him 20%!

Round of two beers and a cider - $25 (inc tax and tip). Needless to say everybody pays by card!!

Box of 6 small (330 ml) bottles of cider from the drugstore (yes, weird as it is, you buy beer, wines etc at the pharmacy on any street corner) - $12

No wonder the US has a big drug problem! It's probably cheaper than booze!

Pain relief (I just needed to shake my hangover head - you know, 30p paracetamol from'th'Asda?) - $4 (plus tax) for 20!! So, I played it smart and plumped for a tub of 500 for $10 (plus tax)They don't mess about here with the "bigger is better" mentality I guess! (And I figured I'll use em all before I get home!)

Elnette Hairspray (it's a US brand, L'Oreal, so surely not pricey. It's approx £6 in good old Blighty!) - $16.49 plus tax

Face wash (by this point I'm not even looking for a brand) - $10 (plus tax)

12 mins on a sunbed (usually about £4 in Blighty) - hold on to your hats for this....(drum roll, please) - $31!! Yes, that's right, $31.

Shampoo & Conditioner (well, you know I'm a bit precious about my barnet...so I'm looking for decent stuff. Not top of the line, but not Vosene!) - $20 (plus tax).

Face wipes - $5 (plus tax)

...at this point, can we all just add "plus tax" onto every price I say? (unless stated otherwise)... Basically, the price you see sure aint the price you pay.

Antihistamines (I got a nasty rash on my legs one day after sitting in Central Park all day!) - $5 for TWO!! ("They give 24 hour relief!" said the drugstore girl... Well, so do the Smart Price ones I get 10 in a pack from th'Asda for one whole English Pound!)

Entry to museums, art galleries etc are all approx $25 so I'm aiming for the "Free Friday" sessions or those where you make a "donation".

Package sandwiches (such as a tuna sarnie you'd get in Tesco for £1.50) - $5.

And finally, those who know me well, know of my love for yoghurt. (My fridge is rarely well stocked with anything, but it's a cold day in hell if I have no yoghurt...for my midnight yoghurt urges!)
Yoghurt - $3 for a 120ml pot. $8.69 for a 500ml pot. Needless to say, I'm cold-turkeying on my yoghurt addiction!

I'm off to check my bank balance (I can feel a cold sweat coming on already...I'll be looking at it with one eye closed and the other squinting!) and might need to lie down immediately afterwards. Wish me luck!