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Monday, October 1, 2012

Frugality & Summer 2012, Revisited

Last week I wrote about my summer derailment re: frugality.



Okay, so I was rationalizing my over-expenditure from May through August. Well, September.

What really happened? I came home, I bought a car to replace the 20 yr. old vehicle I had been driving that was sucking down money and self-destructing simultaneously. That equaled car payment + insurance hike, starting this month. Not huge, but a significant chunk taken out of a fairly stable paycheck (meaning even annual raises have little to no effect).

I knew this was coming, but I wasn't planning for it.

A subtle but significant difference.

Here's where I am now, after a weekend of coming face-to-face with paycheck realities (where compensation for my extra class and annual raise finally kicked in).
  • I'm glad I'm already slated to teach a course next summer in London.
  • I'm feeling good about my book coming out this month, beyond the accomplishment.
  • I've got serious reason to be frugal: when I'm stressed, I spend money as an outlet.
  • Facing my spending patterns and bills helps me know what not to do.
  • I have a job that means I can meet all my bills and pay off credit: I feel blessed and lucky, even while I know I've worked hard for that reality.
  • I have wonderful memories and "artifacts" from my summer trip.

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