Finding the Resources
For me the most important part of doing more of the things that I would do if I won the lottery is to free up as many of my resources as possible. This means wasting less time, energy, and money. I've started writing down everything I spend to help me track my financial waste.I used June as my baseline month. I didn't try to restrict my spending or even evaluate it much. I just did what I wanted. What you'll see here is my spending just for me, not for my husband, so you won't see much by way of housing, groceries, gas, mortgages, or utility bills on here. This is just the stuff that I've purchased for my own wants and needs. I've always had trouble with spending so I warn you, this is an eyesore.
What Do We See Here?
I spent a lot more on clothing this month than I usually do. It's a hefty amount, almost $600. This is because I purchased my final set of good work clothes. I've been in treatment for my eating disorder for 2.5 years now and finally have a stable, healthy weight. My psychologist, dietician, psychiatrist, and I felt it was important that I buy myself good clothes that I will love. And since one of my Lottery Project goals is to dress nicely and wear pants with creases, I bought nice pants that also have spectacular creases. This meant I went to Brooks Brothers during a 60% off sale. At this point I don't need more clothes.
Books are something I need to stop buying. I spent $75 on e-books. I'm a librarian, for goodness sake. I will learn to use the library.
I eat out a fair bit. Lunch at work can cost $10 or more. Can I save a bit of money by buying TV dinners instead of meals out? It doesn't help me live mores sustainably, but it does help me save money and gets me in the habit of not going to restaurants.
My eating disorder therapy is expensive. There's no getting around this. Being sick means being miserable. These visits are going to cost what they're going to cost.
My wants exceeded my needs. I spent over $800 on "wants" this month and $500 on "needs." My husband has given me the challenge of staying on an $850 budget. If I trim down my "wants," this shouldn't be too hard. But what if my "wants" are related to my Lottery Project goals? One of my first goals then will be to make sure that my "wants" purchases are restricted to Lottery Project goals.
So, can I pare down my "I'm a spoiled brat" lifestyle in July to keep it under $850 a month? Let's see if I can. Any suggestions on how?
Hmmm... I'm assuming these are just personal expenses, since I don't see any rent, utilities etc. You know, I find that wants vs. needs is a little too broad to be useful, so I use a 5 category system. I just blogged about it here:
ReplyDeletehttp://ecocatlady.blogspot.com/2012/07/fantasy-spending-danger-zone.html
Maybe there's something useful in there.
In terms of eating out - mother nature sorta solved the problem for me by making me allergic to half the herbs and spices on the planet, so eating out is less than fun for me. But what I used to do back when I had a job was to make frozen home-cooked food in meal sized portions and then taken that to work. Much cheaper, healthier and easier - plus it did away with the "urge to splurge" on junk food. Sometimes I'd cook big batches and other times I'd just frees up my leftovers.
Good luck with the finances! I can say from experience that finding financial freedom is SOOOO worth the effort!
:-)
Cat
"freeze" up my leftovers that is...
DeleteIn all of the financial sites I've visited, I've never seen a set of categories like that and I like them! I think I'm going to try it for July. Wonderful idea!
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