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Daily Archives: January 6, 2009
Money
I’m lucky because I know that I can probably support myself, but, still, I’m nervous about “enough.” You know, enough for the bills, enough for spending, enough for groceries. Ahem, and perhaps manicures. For sure manicures (and I pretty much go to the Red Door, to boot). Enough.
January is the first month that our finances are separate. So, this month, I can really get a handle on what I will spend to support my home.
To that end, I am designating January cash month. What that means is that I’m taking cash every week for my spending (as opposed to debiting or charging). I’m also writing everything down as I spend it, so that at the end of the month I can really see what I spend. I’m not doing it so much to curtail spending (not that that would be a BAD thing), but rather to help with my budgeting process going forward.
Here’s the recap since Sunday:
Dinner out at CPK (yum, yum): $15.50 (really; we split the Chicken pesto pizza and I had soup, my friend had salad. No beverages)
2 framed pictures at HomeGoods: $37.00 (an extravagance, but I have to make the house MY house and he took some pictures when he moved out)
Parking at the hospital when I took my mother to the audiologist: $7.00 (do I take that out of her money? I don’t have the heart)
Walgreens (stuff for my mother – again… take it out of her money?) $9.00
Target (2 cartons of Diet Coke – truly a necessity, and a bottle of hair gel – also a necessity): $10.75
Stamps $8.75. Now I don’t generally mail much, but I had to mail thank you notes for Hanukkah gifts from students. Bad news – had to debit since the machines at the post office don’t take money. Oh well
Boy, it adds up, doesn’t it? I don’t have a whole lot left until the weekend. I figure if I always take the week’s money on Sunday, it’ll really curtail my weekend spending. I may have to reevaluate, but it’s a beginning to financial independence and security.
What’s your method?
