Frugal February
As predicted, eHarmony did send me a "Don't be Depressed on Valentines Day" deal. Unfortunately for them:
a) I don't view being single on Valentines Day as a cause for depression, and
b) Due to my (severe) denial over the fact that I charged an entire trip to Zambia onto my credit card, I've dedicated this month to a self-enforced spending freeze fondly known as "Frugal February."
Now, I'm not as hardcore as my friend* Jamie who coined "No Spend November" and went on an extreme-style spending freeze, but this is mostly because I have a roommate and we share groceries and I didn't feel it was fair to make Jackie suffer just because I have poor financial planning skills. With that said, I did give myself a pretty lean grocery budget** and eliminated (nearly) all social dining expenses.*** This meant no brunch and no happy hour, which are basically my 2nd and 3rd love languages, respectively.
It also meant I had to be ratherstingy creative in other aspects of my life as well.
The good news is: it worked! I managed to pay off my credit card bill this month, which means my upcoming Zambia trip is (currently) still a debt-free adventure.
The great news is: tomorrow is officially March!
And so, as a life-time lover of lists, the following are some of the things I plan to do in celebration of the victorious end of Frugal February:
*Jamie, are we friends?
**Translation: I actually gave myself a grocery budget (as opposed to every other month when I just sort of spend whatever because food is delicious and my favorite thing to spend money on…ever)
***I broke this rule twice: once because my roommate's niece had a cancer relapse and that kind of news is certainly worthy of Indian food, and once because I was on a date that seemed to be going nowhere fast and I thought perhaps changing the location might help salvage it. (It didn't work)
****though no warning lights have come on in my dashboard yet, so there's a good chance I will still put this one off for awhile longer
a) I don't view being single on Valentines Day as a cause for depression, and
b) Due to my (severe) denial over the fact that I charged an entire trip to Zambia onto my credit card, I've dedicated this month to a self-enforced spending freeze fondly known as "Frugal February."
Now, I'm not as hardcore as my friend* Jamie who coined "No Spend November" and went on an extreme-style spending freeze, but this is mostly because I have a roommate and we share groceries and I didn't feel it was fair to make Jackie suffer just because I have poor financial planning skills. With that said, I did give myself a pretty lean grocery budget** and eliminated (nearly) all social dining expenses.*** This meant no brunch and no happy hour, which are basically my 2nd and 3rd love languages, respectively.
It also meant I had to be rather
The good news is: it worked! I managed to pay off my credit card bill this month, which means my upcoming Zambia trip is (currently) still a debt-free adventure.
The great news is: tomorrow is officially March!
And so, as a life-time lover of lists, the following are some of the things I plan to do in celebration of the victorious end of Frugal February:
- Stop adding water to my shampoo and finally buy a new bottle
- (At least) Three loads of laundry
- Cut off a few inches of my severely damaged hair
- Change the oil in my car****
- Download this song
- Finally satisfy my thai food craving
- Possibly purchase a new hairdryer (my old one has been sparking at me for about a week now)
Needless to say, I'm prettttttttttty excited. Though I'm not so sure how I feel about the fact that I walked into my place of employment today and discovered this sign taped to my office door:
 |
| At least my residents are "supportive" of my financial ventures? I'm just not sure I can handle another month without brunch. |
*Jamie, are we friends?
**Translation: I actually gave myself a grocery budget (as opposed to every other month when I just sort of spend whatever because food is delicious and my favorite thing to spend money on…ever)
***I broke this rule twice: once because my roommate's niece had a cancer relapse and that kind of news is certainly worthy of Indian food, and once because I was on a date that seemed to be going nowhere fast and I thought perhaps changing the location might help salvage it. (It didn't work)
****though no warning lights have come on in my dashboard yet, so there's a good chance I will still put this one off for awhile longer
Comments
I can identify with the blessing and frustration of Frugal March.
LOVE,
DAD