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Apr

17

My Crazy Nonsense Budget

I am nearly comatose after a drive across Washington and then eating a big dinner. I was going to post last night but I was sucked into watching this guy do amazing things and ended up watching every friggin’ video he’s made! SO GOOD.

So tonight I am practically falling asleep, but fortunately Kyle at Rather Be Shopping LOBBED A TOMATO at me and now I have an excuse to write something before passing out
The meme is The Budget Busters Challenge, wherein I need to list five things that cause me to break the budget. Now, this is a little tough, because I don’t really use a budget. I live on roughly 50% of what I make and try to keep that number even lower when possible - sometimes it’s only around 35%. This is my only budget, really.

Outside of trying to live on little without feeling deprived in some way, I generally just go by the “feelings” rule when spending my money (or not spending, as the case may be). If I feel like I bought too many food items in the last grocery trip, I’ll try to buy very little the next trip. If I feel like I’ve gone out to eat too much one week, I’ll usually not go out at all the week following.

This keeps me in balance, and keeps me happy. Afterall, denying, for example, all eating out is practically like wiping out the fun of having money and being able to eat out! I probably eat out once a month, sometimes twice, so it’s not like I’m going crazy with spending. But I try to keep it in balance, because I do enjoy eating out, and don’t feel it should leave my life entirely if it sometimes makes me happy
All that is to say I have a budget more centered around being happy and at the same time keeping my long term goals in mind. In finding a balance, I have come to a place where I just don’t spend that much, but have no problem spending when I decide to.

So this all begs the question… what gets me off track? Where do I break the budget when I don’t have one? This is my attempt to answer:

1. Hobbies. I already wrote about how to embrace your hobbies without breaking the bank, but I still go a little nuts sometimes. I am finding it really hard to talk myself out of buying some alien bees for photography, or another bolt of fabric for a “someday” project. I love fabric! And beads. *sigh*

2. Books. I am getting better about this - I haven’t bought a book in over a month! But I love books - not just reading them, but having them on a shelf, referencing them for quotes, and owning them. I find a great level of satisfaction in having a bookshelf filled with books that I’ve read. I know there are some I need to get rid of, and I hope to use SwapTree (like paperbackswap.com but better) to use those old books to get more books When I was deeply in debt, I spent something like $100 a month in books. That adds up pretty quickly.

3. Apple Stuff. I have quelled this lust LOADS from where I used to be. Last year I had three Apple computers, two iPods, and a ton of other li’l things to go with them. Now I have just my MacBook Pro and iPhone. I still have my iPod nano but I lent it to my sister a while back and haven’t seen it since. I used to just drool over all the stuff in the Apple store and want, want, WANT. I’ve stopped the surface buying, but still spend a lot on software, new batteries and chargers, more memory and more RAM. I love upgrading and staying up-to-speed, only now I do it behind-the-scenes.

4. Shoes. This isn’t a problem anymore, really. I am still tempted, but I haven’t bought a pair in forever. I currently have 43 pairs of shoes (28 of which are high heels), so it’s not like I need any more! The problem was that after I started to work my way out of debt, I still bought heels at a ridiculous rate - one pair every week or two - but I bought them on eBay and at vintage shops, rather than at full price at Nordstrom. I think there will be a day when I’d like to buy another pair, but I’m set for now. However, the temptation is still there, always.

5. Beauty products. Have you ever walked in to the store intending to buy one thing, only to come out with ten? I still have this problem, and of all the points listed here, this is still the number one “budget buster” for me. I find myself in Rite Aid buying shampoo, only to end up buying a nail polish, a loofah, and a couple eyeliners as well. I’ve become better at this by going to the store with a list and ONLY buying what’s on the list, but occasionally I’m caught without one and get trapped in the vortex that is the beauty product isle.

I hope maybe this list was interesting to you? As part of the meme, I will now tag three other bloggers to participate:

Ana, I know you’re out of town, but I would LOVE to hear what you have to say Good luck, guys!

Filed Under money and finance

Comments

3 Responses to “My Crazy Nonsense Budget”

Kyle @ Rather-Be-Shopping.com on April 18th, 2008 7:22 am

Nicely done and thanks for participating! I can relate to walking “in to the store intending to buy one thing, only to come out with ten”. Costco does this for me. I have a list to buy TP, cereal, a couple other things, and walk out with the Johnny Cash boxed set and HUGE tub of Red Vines.
Randall at CreditWithdrawal on May 2nd, 2008 4:46 am

Uh, oh. Almost missed this one. I’ll have to write up a response. Should be easy, there’s SO MANY things that seem to bust my budget.
Candland on December 25th, 2009 5:32 pm

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