Fourth of July morning

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-22-1999
Fourth of July morning
3
Mon, 07-04-2005 - 10:48am

Hi! It's been a good and bad long weekend so far. I have been enjoying myself.....maybe too much. Too much financially.... UGH!!!!! I went out with a friend (and Cousin Bernadette) and charged $200 on Saturday. So now I am telling myself STOP. STOP, STOP, STOP................ Cousin Bernadette just enjoyed showing me some great stuff that I just HAD to have....I should have left her home, I KNOW, but there we were.............No, I'm not retruning what I bought because I really do want what I bought. I am going to double my resolve and try again. (didn't I just recently say I needed to work on cutting out the impulse spending??? UGH!!!!)

While I was out, I found out that a shopping/spending event was going to occur next year that I want to participate in. I am so excited about it....and then I realized while I was jumping up and down with excitement that I HAVE TO SAVE FOR IT, THAT I HAVE THE
T I M E TO SAVE FOR IT!!!!!!!!! And so I am going to set up a bank account this week and start saving and come up with a new budget/debt reduction/spending plan to make room to be able to save for this event. If I can save $1000 I'll be happy, but I know it will take work. The whole thing will take work. ......oh, like this whole debt reduction thing hasn't been work.....???!!!

Well, I'm keeping my chin up and doubling my resolve.

I'm going to try making a snowflake payment today. I wasn't able to do it all last week....actually bummed me out severely!

Yes, I'm going to push myself harder.

You know, a lot of times I think I'm bored, and I want to spend....but I need to really look around me and see how much STUFF I have to do here at home......ALSO, as all of us have access to computers to be able to be here on the board, think of all the things we can do online to learn more about computers and other things.....that we should never be bored!

Well, one more thing then I'm away for the morning.....I am happy. Even though I have a pile of debt, I am happy with myself. I am not my debt...........(although I made my debt into Cousin Bernadette, ha, ha, ha!!!) That's more powerful than any firecracker that's been popping here in the neighborhood all week!

Littlesbigs

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-07-2003
Tue, 07-05-2005 - 11:01am

Im glad im not the only one who had a hard time over the weekend!

Headed about 3 hours east to visit with some old college friends...nothing HUGE, but she's a vet, so making $80K a year and in a different place, financially, then I am. Luckily, she's careful about money and has student debts still (she's only 1 year out of school), so she didnt encourage shopping sprees or anything, but still, her fun-money account is larger then mine, and so little things added up.

Last night the final tally was:
an extra $40 in gas to make the trip.
of the $50 cash I took for the weekend, $11 came home. BUT, a $53 purchase went on my check card.

So, $132 for the weekend.

The $53 item did NOT need to be purchased, but, i'm good at fooling myself. I have a cosmetics business and carry an inventory. So, they had already mentioned needing new foundation and wanting to look at my nail colors..so I knew I had about $50 in profit coming to me. So, when I originally agreed to the trip, I said "that's OK, the sales will pay for the gas, so it wont cost anything."
then, when I took the $50 cash out, I said "thats OK, Im just taking what my profit will be, so Im still breaking even."
And,
of course,
when I purchased the $53 item, I said "thats OK, I'm making $50 this weekend."

Doh!

I did, indeed, have a $50 profit this weekend, I guess that means I only spent $82.
I shared a hotel room and didnt have to pay a share (which I feel guilty about, but the room was there either way), and we ate all our meals out for 2 days...

BUT, since I am Just starting to get a hold on things and stop the cash hemorraging . . this is still WAY too much!!! $82 is a more than a minimum payment on my smallest CC, afterall.

Anyway..just wanted to vent a little and commiserate a bit.

~ Teresa

Teresa
http://www.affordingpickles.blogspot.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Tue, 07-05-2005 - 3:10pm
Teresa,
Don't forget that mileage and/or gas and other expenses including meals while on a business trip may be tax deductable for your business. The trip might not have been all business, but I think that is OK.
Sandra
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-25-2005
Tue, 07-05-2005 - 3:24pm

Don't feel too bad, dh had to go to med center for a little problem and it was $50 copay plus whatever else insurance doesn't feel they need to pay for.......then he felt he should stop and get himself some shoes and jeans b/c he needed them, which he really did. But he spent $55 dollars and I just think that is way too much. Anymore I get all of my clothes at thrift stores unless it is a special occasion and i need a dress or something. I get the same thrill going to a garage sale or rummage sale and finding a great bargain for a dollar as i used to going to the mall and spending $100 for something i wanted but had no right buying. Oh if i would have just saved all the money i have wasted through the years, and i have been somewhat frugal but then i would go through spurts.... dh is self-employed so sometimes money is tight but then when it isn't i used to think oh, it's just $50 no big deal. I have to say though that i have changed this way of thinking and that is why i enjoy thrift stores and garage sales, b/c i still get to shop for barely any money. Instead of spending all the money really quick and then allowing it to ever get tight, i am trying to ration it out to be even at all times. This is a long ongoing process for me, and i just quit my job to be a sahm, so i have no choice but to have it together financially. It is so hard, though, the little things add up so quickly. I really think it is not easy to have a family these days....... financially there is alot to contend with to do so.

Shannon