So remember the other day when I said this week would be a no spend week?
Yeah, didn’t manage that.
Yesterday, due to all of the transportation issues, I opted to take the day off from work (I had Friday scheduled off and just switched the days). I took advantage of the weekday off and decided to go to the local running store and check out new running shoes. It’s been a while, and I can feel in my knees and hips that it’s time for a new pair of shoes. So I failed in the no spend and bought new running shoes. I can’t say that I feel too guilty about it. They feel so amazing on my feet and after a block of running in them, it became so very clear that it was past time to replace my old shoes. Good purchase.
But then I went to the bookstore.
I should know better. Really, I should. But when I walked in, what do I run into? A brand new book by one of my favorite authors. A series that I collect and keep on my bookshelf. Of course, I bought it. And have been enjoying it profusely. But I shouldn’t have bought it this week.
It doesn’t change things. Just a bit of adjustment in next month’s budget (no need to budget for the shoes next month). But clearly this no spend thing isn’t as easy as it sounds.
Megan is a 40-something government employee in the Washington, DC area. She got interested in Personal Finance when she got out of college and realized that her paycheck wasn’t going to go as far as she had hoped. Since starting this blog, she has managed to buy a house and make a solid start on her retirement goals, and hopes to help others do the same. Here is her story:
In 2007, I was a gainfully employed 20-something with no debt but not a lot of knowledge about personal finance. It was a co-worker’s comment about Roth IRAs that sent me to the internet, searching for information. It was then that I realized that I really didn’t know a whole lot about personal finance and that my current financial situation was due a lot to inherent frugal tendencies, generous family members, a fear of debt, and good luck. While that was working for me, clearly I needed a better plan.
While I had no debt, I was also pretty much living paycheck to paycheck and not worrying about going over budget (I say this as if I had a real budget) because I had an emergency fund set aside to cover any overages.
Except that’s not what an emergency fund is for.
So I did a lot of research, read a lot of blogs, and decided that I needed a plan. I needed to budget. I needed to know what I was spending my money on. I needed to prepare for the future.
I decided to create a blog not only to make myself accountable to others but also to share the knowledge that I gained along the way. I’ve learned so much from my fellow bloggers, and I hope that my readers can find something useful in what I have to share as well.
Ugh I have the same problem on my own ‘no spend weeks.’ I start adding up little things is my problem. A coke here, a newspaper there, a beer, then realize what I spend during the week and hang my head in shame!