A pretty common dieting tip – not that I’ve ever actually followed it – is to keep a food journal. The idea being that if you know you have to write it down, you might refrain from eating that third doughnut – or even the first.
The same goes for money. If you actually closely monitored what you spent, you’d probably spend less. Surely there’s an expense in your life – more likely, several – that would make you cringe if you understood its cumulative impact. Say, perhaps, $1,000 on coffee in a year! I don’t have the expensive daily coffee vice, but I have plenty of others. And, in today’s “New Economy” (read: the financial cesspool in which we fester) it’s time to go on a diet. So, my goal is to document every dollar I spend, and perhaps some that I save – beginning today. (Who says resolutions must begin on the first of the year?)
I make no apologies for what you are about to see. Many of these figures may be shocking to you. Of some, you are certain to disapprove. This first entry will inform you that I:
a) live in an expensive city
b) am a real estate moron, or pampered princess
c) am loaded
The answer is not c. Between the other options, over time you can decide.
The first of the month is always a bit of a hemorrhage:
Rent & Parking – $2,450
School Loan Payment – $148
2.1.09 – The Money Diet Begins
A pretty common dieting tip – not that I’ve ever actually followed it – is to keep a food journal. The idea being that if you know you have to write it down, you might refrain from eating that third doughnut – or even the first.
The same goes for money. If you actually closely monitored what you spent, you’d probably spend less. Surely there’s an expense in your life – more likely, several – that would make you cringe if you understood its cumulative impact. Say, perhaps, $1,000 on coffee in a year! I don’t have the expensive daily coffee vice, but I have plenty of others. And, in today’s “New Economy” (read: the financial cesspool in which we fester) it’s time to go on a diet. So, my goal is to document every dollar I spend, and perhaps some that I save – beginning today. (Who says resolutions must begin on the first of the year?)
I make no apologies for what you are about to see. Many of these figures may be shocking to you. Of some, you are certain to disapprove. This first entry will inform you that I:
a) live in an expensive city
b) am a real estate moron, or pampered princess
c) am loaded
The answer is not c. Between the other options, over time you can decide.
The first of the month is always a bit of a hemorrhage:
Rent & Parking – $2,450
School Loan Payment – $148
Ouch.
Cumulative February Spend: $2,598