I joke that one of the great things about where I live is that it’s not easy to get to Target.
Oh, it’s not hard to get there either. But I have to get in my car and drive (or get on a super long metro ride), and it’s out of the way of anywhere I usually do drive.
But today, I had the day off and needed to take my car for emissions testing. So I did that, and by the time I had paid my $14 fee, my testing was done, so I decided to run some errands. Of course, what did I see just beyond the testing place? That’s right, Target.
I love Target. Well, nice Targets anyway. I have been in some sketchy ones that I did not love. But for the most part, Target and I are BFFs. I can walk up and down every aisle and always find something I must have.
But today, today I was good. Sure, I spent money. But there were very few splurges. I found some cute running shorts to replace the ones I have that are falling apart. I found a bin to wrangle my shoes. I found a few other odds and ends, and yes, it added up. But I didn’t buy the cute lamp or the fun storage system for my closet. All in all, a pretty good trip.
Unfortunately, before today, I did not know just how easy it was to get to this particular Target. And now I know. And knowledge is dangerous.
Have a great weekend everyone. Come back Monday for a book review and giveaway! (Guess I had better get reading!)
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.
Knowledge is dangerous? Knowledge is power!
Knowledge is not power. APPLIED knowledge is power. And you’re right about Target. And honestly, Target is great, but it’s still somewhere for people to spend all of their paychecks each week. My new book (shameless plug), “RECESSION PROOF: SAVING AMERICA, ONE FAMILY AT A TIME” by D. D. Ramsey (available at http://www.Matterstone.com) talks about exactly that. I’m telling you, I’m out to save America one family at a time, and I’m gonna do it.