Sometimes, bad things happen.
A recipe I tried out was less than delicious. One of my necklaces broke. A girlfriend backed out on our plans. It never feels good.
Sometimes, bad things are your fault.
I gave in to retail therapy as things have gotten stressful. It felt good for a moment to have something beautiful and new, but it did not feel great when it came time to pay the bills. To me, that is much worse.
The guilt all goes back to the serenity prayer...the line about having the courage to change the things I can. To control what is well within my power. To not become a victim of your own poor decision making.
Ironically, my retail slip has happened during a time of financial introspection. As I make big plans in my head about how much I'm going to save and just how I'm going to do it, I justify a sizable spending spree. What would Suze Orman say? Probably "DENIED!" lol.
So, I'm making a deal with myself. I make it here so that I'm accountable in some small way.
I will not buy any new clothes for the rest of the year.
I will limit how many times I go out for dinner, and try to keep the bill under $15.
I will stick as close as possible to my dinner schedule (planning out what I will cook) to make the most of the groceries.
I will stick to debit or cash.
I think that this list is a good start to replenishing my savings. The goal? I'd love to have an 8-month reserve that goes untouched. Time to start setting those financial goals!
What are your best tips for saving money?
Monday, September 12, 2011
Muscle Memory
Adam, for those who don't know, is my thoughtful boyfriend. This year when we said we weren't getting each other anything for Valentine's day, he gave me a gift anyway. The gift of relaxation: two gift cards for massages.
It took me a month and half to use the first one. It took me last week to use the second. Some might think it inconsiderate to wait so long, but it was the perfect thing to have in my back pocket during a stressful time.
For some reason, massages always seem so frivolous to me. Taking an hour out of the day to have someone rub me down always seemed like a crazy thing to spend my money on. But having this free massage at my discretion has completely changed my mind.
An hour of trigger point therapy later and my mood did a 180. I went from being tense, frustrated, negative and snippy to relaxed and completely carefree. Maybe I'm an easy sale, but after my experience, I indulged in a year long membership that will force me to take care of myself more regularly.
Sometimes I forget that doing something good for me doesn't have to be miserable. It's never easy to keep promises with myself about reading, eating veggies, running, not shopping. At least this massage deal is something good that I'm excited to do.
It took me a month and half to use the first one. It took me last week to use the second. Some might think it inconsiderate to wait so long, but it was the perfect thing to have in my back pocket during a stressful time.
For some reason, massages always seem so frivolous to me. Taking an hour out of the day to have someone rub me down always seemed like a crazy thing to spend my money on. But having this free massage at my discretion has completely changed my mind.
An hour of trigger point therapy later and my mood did a 180. I went from being tense, frustrated, negative and snippy to relaxed and completely carefree. Maybe I'm an easy sale, but after my experience, I indulged in a year long membership that will force me to take care of myself more regularly.
Sometimes I forget that doing something good for me doesn't have to be miserable. It's never easy to keep promises with myself about reading, eating veggies, running, not shopping. At least this massage deal is something good that I'm excited to do.
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