As I've mentioned, this has been a rough few months for my budget, so I'm treating September as a low spending month. It's not a no-spending month - I'm impressed with people who can do that, but I'm not one of them. But I'm only buying necessities for as long as possible. So far, so good. For example, I ran out of the hair product that I use to tame my unruly curly hair, so I stopped in the salon to pick up a new bottle. I didn't even let myself look at all of the other products, because I knew I would be sucked in by a new lotion or lipgloss. (My hands are very dry from all this handwashing, after all. But no, I have perfectly good lotion and don't need anything new.)
Of course, what helps is that I discovered that October is a three paycheck month, and I typically bank most of that, but put a bit of it into the budget for spending. I've been coveting a new winter coat since last September, as mine is showing some wear, so I have promised myself that I can get a new coat with some of that third paycheck if I stay on track for September. Sure, it might be a bit frivolous, as my current coat will definitely last another season, but it's a useful frivolous purchase. Girl's gotta look good while keeping warm, after all!
I have to admit though, all the Labor Day sale e-mails made it tough to not spend. While I don't need anything, it's always tempting to browse when those sales occur.
Also, how is it already September 9th? Where does the time go? I can't help but think of those days as a kid when a week felt like an ETERNITY. I never believed the grown-ups who said that time passed faster the older you got. They were right.