I just don’t know where my money goes. On Friday at least $50 rested peacefully in my wallet. That should have easily lasted through the weekend.
However, by Sunday afternoon, the pockets of my wallet were considerably depleted. Less than $5 remained. I was surprised-where did my money go? After all, I didn’t do that much this weekend.
Unbelievable. Maybe someone stole some of my money-$30 or so. After all, society’s not always such a nice place. And the person probably left my wallet and a little bit of cash, just so I wouldn’t suspect anything. Quite plausible.
OK, I know you don’t believe that any more than I do. I will admit, at first I had something of a panic attack when I saw the empty wallet. I couldn’t have spent so much! But when I sat down and began totaling things up, suddenly all that money gone began to make sense.
I had forgotten about Friday. I paid my share of the electric bill and had dinner out. That was about $15 that hadn’t been factored in.
Saturday was the worst, though. I did all right before the football game. It all started in the third quarter, when I decided to buy one of those delectable Lemon Chills. Normally, I don’t buy food at ball games because it’s too expensive. But it was so hot, and some of the people sitting near me had Chills. I thought I deserved a treat. So, I gave in.
Then came the post-game spending spree. Before I had time to think about the cost, I had gone out to dinner, visited TCBY and seen a movie at the theater. Looking back, I now see the dollars slipping through my fingers.
And as I sat at my desk Sunday, remembering the purchases of the weekend, which now also included lunch that day, I heaved a sigh. Yes, I had spent more than $45 in about 48 hours. It was no one’s fault but mine.
I consider myself to be a fairly frugal person. I’ve never been able to live on a budget because it’s too much work to keep up with. But I tend to manage my money fairly well. I eat at home a lot. I rarely go clothes or shoe-shopping. I don’t drink. I live for sales.
However, when I do take the time to evaluate my finances (which is almost never), I inevitably find myself wasting money. It’s often in the little things. At the time, it’s such a small purchase that it seems insignificant: gas station cappuccinos, cute cards, a pretty new necklace. However, those small purchases can quickly add up to big numbers.
There’s one place that gets me every time. In fact, sometimes I believe I could single-handedly keep the place open: TCBY. I don’t know what it is, but I can’t stay away from that place.
By all means, I probably should stay away from that place, or at least restrict my visits to once a week. If you were to take my checkbook and add up the money that I have poured into TCBY over the past year or so, I am afraid that the numbers would be astronomical. They’d be into the hundreds-possibly thousands. I don’t even want to know.
The Internet has also been a large factor in my spending, especially iTunes and eBay. iTunes is so simple. Just one little click, and you can have that song you’ve recently been crazy about. And for just 99 cents. What a bargain.
Those 99 cents add up before you know it, though. All too often, I’ve found myself with an iTunes bill, wondering when that one song turned into 15. It’s just so easy to find music on there. It’s even easier to push that little “Buy” button, once I’ve justified the purchase to myself: I mean, it’s only 99 cents. I’d probably spend a lot more if I were to buy the CD. This is a much better investment. It’s much cheaper.
eBay is another hindrance to my thriftiness. All too often, I find items on there that I just can’t find anywhere else. Or I find a really good bargain (so it would seem) that I just can’t pass up. Again, those little purchases add up quickly. Before I know it, I have spent way too much.
I’m trying to be better about all this. I don’t let myself browse on eBay much anymore, and luckily iTunes hasn’t been working for me lately. I consider that a blessing. I try to restrict my debit card use as much as possible.
It’s not too terribly hard to be thrifty if you put your mind to it. In fact, I’m finding it much easier (and more necessary) here lately, as my funds are rapidly depleting. This weekend was a minor setback.
For me, the most important part of being frugal is that I stay motivated. There are several ways to do this. One is for me to keep my checkbook balanced. That’s usually a sobering event.
Another incentive is to give yourself little rewards when you do well. For example, TCBY. I thought about giving it up for about a minute. But instead, I’ve decided to utilize it. If I can turn that weakness into a strength, then I will truly have accomplished something.