I'm sorry I didn't post last night but I got home really late and I was really tired. I was at a woman's conference last night and I got home late and had to get up early.
I needed to get some dinner last night and I was really mad that I didn't pack one to take with me. I had to leave 20 minutes after I got home from work and I needed to change my clothes and get a few other things. Half way to my destination I realized that I didn't bring anything to eat. I figured I would have to bite the bullet and buy something to eat. When I got there, one of my jobs (I was volunteering at the event in exchange for free tickets) was to recycle the leftover lunches from earlier. She said, "Keep the chips, cookies, and apples, but you can throw away the salads and sandwiches - unless you want them." Yeah! Free dinner. I never actually had time to eat the sandwiches until almost 9 pm(by which time I was a little worried about eating a ham sandwich that had been sitting around since lunch) so dinner ended up being chips, a cookie, and three or four bites of pasta salad at around 7:30. But they were good chips and it was free.
I did end up driving and paying for parking - I gave my MIL and my sister-in-law a ride home.
So I did pretty well on Friday - then came Saturday and everything fell apart.
I had planned on buying lunch on Saturday, which I did. But then I really needed chocolate. You know when you really, really need chocolate? That was me this afternoon. What's a girl to do? I know! Buy chocolate! So I did. And honestly, it was worth it.
Then our really good friends, whom we haven't seen in awhile, invited us out for dinner. I should have said, "I'm sorry, we are in our Month of Nothing and we won't be able to do that." But I was weak and we love our friends so we went. In our defense, we all split meals and drank water. But we still spent $34.00. It kills me to know that I spent $38.00 for my whole week's groceries last week - and we spent that in one meal!!
So it wasn't a great day today. Somebody (sorry I can't remember who and my computer is not letting me go find it right now) asked me who I was feeling now that the month was half over. For the most part, I'm feeling pretty good. We are eating great stuff, I'm enjoying walking places, I'm feeling good about not spending mindlessly. Every now and then, though, I feel like I want a "treat." An I-deserve-it treat. I deserve to go out to dinner. I deserve some potato chips. I deserve some new shoes. I deserve some chocolate (ok, that was more I need some chocolate).
Thankfully, we have enough money that sometimes (in my real life) I can afford an occasional treat. But the less treats I buy, the more money I can put in my savings. That is what I want to gain from this experience - the ability to say "I may deserve this, but I don't need this!" And then put the extra money in savings.
Tomorrow is Sunday. I love Sundays because they are the day of rest, and I really need a rest!
Jill
4 comments:
Let's face it, unexpected opportunities arise (like dinner out w/your friends) and personally, I think it's ok to take advantage of them. Especially when you're aware of your expenses and you're using cash. Enjoy the moment and then if necessary, figure out where you might be able to cut-back in the upcoming week.
Thank you Nancy for saying that. I've been feeling very guilty about our dinner out. But at the same time, it was so nice to see our friends and spend time with them. In an ideal world, I could have had them over for dinner and made it myself (thereby saving money) but I had been gone all day and it was NOT and ideal world!
Thanks for making me feel better!
Jill
It's so cool that you posted this today. A few days ago, dh and I were talking about how we needed to cut down on our eating out on Sundays. Then today, we went out with a bunch of friends and ate out! In fact, one of my friends jokingly said "I thought you weren't going to eat today." So much for my willpower. You, however, have been doing wonderfully and have nothing to feel guilty about.
I understand needing the chocolate! It can be necessary sometimes!
It kind of does shock you when you see you spent about as much for one meal as you did for a whole weeks worth of meals.
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