Ready for October!/Things that I miss purchasing.

It's the last night of month 1 of the spending diet! I am stoked to have saved over $2500, and also a tad mortified that I was spending that much per month on non-needs.

The first month wasn't bad, despite a few moments of "ugh I want take out" But all in all... The high of having set out to do something and DOING IT is amazing. I was even under budget in two categories: I spent a total of $147.50 on wants (budget was $150, so I totally could have grabbed a $2.50 coffee or baked good today, but refrained), and I spent $177 on groceries (budget was $200). GO ME!

But I'm no robot, yo... I got wants. Here are some things that I missed, and am very excited to purchase immediately after I pay off my car and LASIK:

  • A bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay.
  • A bottle of pumpkin beer.
  • A week-long organic vegetable juice cleanse (no joke, I feel like a fucking super hero when I do these).
  • An adventure abroad.
  • Delivery from Sushi Uni, and takeout from Sweet Siam and Pad Thai.
  • A deep tissue massage.
  • Some colorful new t-shirts.
  • A deep stretch/yin yoga class.
  • A leg wax.
  • A salon haircut.
  • A horror movie, opening weekend in theaters.
  • Pandora Pro. I miss it seeew much, and I hate all these ads.
  • One of those expensive tests to see exactly what kind of breeds my mutt pup is!
Some of these I can purchase in October using my Wants budget, but you'd be surprised how quickly that goes... Especially because I'm going on a work trip in late October to the Bay Area- I'll be there for 5 days, but only working two days- the rest of the time I'll be visiting some very dear friends, some whom I haven't seen in like... 8 years. I'm stoked to see them. I'll crash with them, and the flight is paid for by my awesome client. So all I will really be buying out of pocket is the rental car on non-work days, gas, food, and maybe an escape room.

October is upon us so horror movies/haunted experiences may be a huge temptation. If I go to the right theater (skip AMC and head to Cinemark in Merriam for $7.50 tickets, even on weekend nights), I can enjoy.

I also will probably book my annual winter SCUBA trip in October. This is a Need. Argue all you want, but without it, I will wither and die. The point of money is to survive and then enjoy life- so I think it's fair of me to skip a lot of dining out in the name of a week of diving somewhere with palm trees and no cell signal.

If you missed it, here is my Needs/Wants list.

I've decided that since my car loan is structured so nicely (I can pay it off as soon as I want with NO penalty fee, and right now I'm paid through the winter, in their eyes), I am going to focus all of my extra money on my LASIK bill for the month of October: $2568.

Les do dis.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Freedooooom

Image
Yesterday morning I paid off the rest of my car. I am now debt free . Over the past 20 months I've paid off about $33K of debt in the form of medical bills, a car loan, and a wee bit of credit card debt. Here are some tips and things I did that were the most helpful during this time: I made a Needs and Wants list. I deviated from this now and then, but I always had it to reference. I used Mint.com to set my monthly budgets, and I logged in 6 days a week, first thing in the morning. I posted a bit about it on Facebook, for accountability. This accomplished two things- It gave a way for people to see me and support me, and it also set expectations and sent a message to friends and family that said "Please don't put me in a position right now to spend money- don't charm me into expensive trips/meals/gifts- I'm trying to take care of myself right now." I went from working five days a week to opening up a sixth day on my calendar. I bartered for free/fresh ...
Read more

Generosity at work

Here's what I bought yesterday, on my day-after-the-Freeze: iTunes movie rental in standard definition ( The Edge of Seventeen - I liked it): $2.99. 2 pairs of underwear A pairs of arch support inserts for my sneakity-sneaks. A bag of dog food that will last 4 months, with Petri's small appetite. Yesterday at the end of my organizing session (with a client who knows about my Spending Fast), I stretched and said, "Now I can go buy chapstick !" in a sincerely triumphant voice. "Are you kidding?!" She said. Then we ran around to 3 different spots in her home, and she found SEVEN  unopened tubes of chapstick and gave them to me. Then she sat on the kitchen floor and went through her wine fridge and gave me FIVE  bottles of wine. Then on top of that she handed me two bags of healthy snacks, because she had bought the wrong size.   I was touched by her generosity.
Read more

Tribute to 2017, and 2018 resolutions

Hello from NYC! Inspired by my friend Mindy Hart, I've decided to start blogging again. 2017 was... The year my closest KC friends and I bought forested land that we have a 5-10 year plan to turn into an Ecovillage (ie, cluster of tiny houses). The year I attended my first ever destination wedding abroad where I made friends, and learned that having a whole week with the bride and groom is the most wonderful. The year I turned 32 and saw my 32nd country, Jamaica. The year I saw my first octopus on a night dive, logged my 50th dive (in Cozumel), and logged my first freshwater dive, at the cenotes/caverns in Playa del Carmen. The year I went to my first Burn! Interfuse 2017 was a huge new experience. The year I moved in with great friends to start living more affordably. The year I went to LA on a room escape crawl with beloved friends from both coasts. The year I took control of an awful medical situation by having surgery. Here's to a much better quality of life! Th...
Read more

Sewing old blankets and brewing up soups

Image
Just paid off another $2,056 on my car loan. (The $56 was this month's interest... cringe). So now I have $12,000 of debt left to pay. If I pay $2,400/month for the next 5 months I can be debt-free by my 32nd birthday in early May. A few spending diet wins since my last post: My beloved blanket started coming apart so I hand sewed it up. I don't think I've picked up a needle and thread since college. I loved it... Sewing is so peaceful. A client gave me one of her Southwest drink tickets, and I enjoyed a coffee with Baileys on my flight to Oakland at the end of October. So lovely to enjoy that over the crossword puzzle (Southwest magazine always has good crosswords). The same client gave me an almost full HUGE jar of organic paleo chocolate protein powder, and I use it in my breakfast shakes. She didn't dig it, but I do. Probably saved $30 on groceries right there. Another client gave me an AMC gift card that she found when we cleaned out her desk. How kind was ...
Read more

Fo FREE.

Hello from the homeland of Lawrenceville, NJ! I'm at my parents' house- last night we drove back from Vermont, where my cousin got married. I've decided that Vermont weddings might be the most beautiful things ever. Today I'll be getting some work done (I have a speaking gig next weekend all about closet decluttering/organization tips, so I'm updating and fine-tuning some of my go-to stuff for that), and running some errands for my folks as a thank you for flying me out here for the wedding, which was very nice of them. Then tomorrow my dad and I hit the road on a two day drive to Kansas City- Dad and my stepmom Rachel are attending a Wyoming wedding this weekend, and Rachel will be flying out to meet him- Dad is a sucker for road trips in the western United States, so he prefers to drive. Also he is retired, and Rachel still works, so she needs to fly. I'm delighted to report that I've spent NO money on Wants on this trip so far. I did buy some grocer...
Read more