Getting lost on the path to financial fitness

Thursday

Oh, wow. I’ve done some calculations and it looks like I’m going to have $150 left over in my spending account. That’s very good to see. I almost never have monies left over at all.

Maybe if I can save a little each week over the next few weeks, I can use that to cover the money I’m going to spend on the trip to New Orleans. That would be really good.

I have some money budgeted for another tank of gas and approximately $30 for a few items of groceries. I’m pretty sure I don’t need to buy much more this weekend.

I’m in a good place.

Friday

So, OK, I ate lunch out. I had packed lunch every day this week, but I decided that I could splurge a little. So I ate at a nice casual place. Yes, I got the dessert too. The bill came up to $16. Ok, $19 with the tip.

But I’m still in a good place.

Saturday

The $40 dinner was definitely not planned. But, really, was I supposed to tell my mother that I didn’t want to have dinner with her? And was I supposed to ask her to pick a cheaper place? I don’t think so.

Yes, I do know that having my mother over is one of the biggest ways my budget goes wrong. I figured out once that having my mother over for a full weekend accounts for an extra $100-$150 in spending. That’s just wrong. But I remain a jellyfish, incapable of saying “no” to her.

So, OK, I’m not broke. I haven’t gone over my budget yet. And I spent just what I expected on gas.

Sunday

How exactly did I spend $100 at the grocery store? What happened to my plan and my list?

Yes, I needed everything I bought… OK, maybe the cream cheese was a luxury. And perhaps I could have lived without the Italian sausage. But I absolutely needed the two different types of block cheddar cheese. And I was down to half a case of diet soda, so I had to get another one in case I ran out late in the week. And I refuse to buy chicken on a bone even if it costs half as much.

{[sigh}} Yes, I hear myself.

Monday

WTF!?!? How do I only have $20 left?