I’ve been living on my “own” now for about 6 months. I started my new job at Fox on August 17, 2009. Since I’ve had a steady paycheck, my ideas of money have changed. Granted, I’ve been saving every month on top of paying rent, travel expenses, buying groceries and other basic necessities, and now paying my loans, cell phone bill, and car-related expenses. All of this money spent is essential my survivial.
Yesterday after I had probably the biggest food binge of my life, I decided that today I was going to calculate how much I’ve actually spent since August 2009 on small food purchases outside of my typical grocery bill. This includes: coffee, muffins, bagels, fast food, outside-the-bank ATM withdrawals for a quick food “fix,” and other random purchases at various delis and cafes. The results are VERY frightening. Here is the breakdown month-to-month:
- August 2009 (beginning on the 17th) = $40.52
- September 2009 = $74.93
- October 2009 = $30.22
- November 2009 = $62.93
- December 2009 = $103.36
- January 2010 = $144.19
- February 2010 (through the 6th) = $41.91
In August I spent $40.52 in 2 weeks! And in the FIRST week of February I’ve already spent $41.91! WHAT THE HELL?
The Grand Total = $500
Honestly, I’m in shock. $500 is a LOT of money to spend on coffee and unhealthy junk food! I’m really glad that I decided to add everything up because now I have tangible proof that I’m literally wasting my money while putting waste into my body. It doesn’t make any sense.
It’s no wonder I haven’t been able to lose any more weight. In fact, I’ve been gaining weight with all the crap I’m eating. I still fit into my size 6 pants, but still…I can SEE the fat on my body bouncing around and jiggling away with all the crap I eat. The saying IS true: You are what you eat.
My body is so confused! One minute I’m eating really healthy food and the next minute I’m shoving as many slices of pizza as I can into my mouth. It’s ridiculous, disgusting, and EXPENSIVE.
My goal is to save as much money as I possibly can. I want to be able to do nice things for myself like buy shoes and clothes, take trips places, and not feel guilty about pampering myself every now and then. How could I possibly do any of those things when most of my money is being spent on coffee, muffins, cookies, pretzels, chocolate, and ice cream? All these foods make me too depressed to even want to do anything nice for myself. It’s all such a vicious cycle that I feel like I can finally break out of now that I know that I’ve literally shit away $500 worth of GARBAGE.
From now on, I will designate Fridays as my day to indulge in coffee and one snack (whether it’s a bagel, muffin, scone, WHATEVER)! That way, I’ll only be spending roughly $20-$25 per month instead of the astronomical amounts I’ve been spending AND I won’t feel like I’m completely depriving myself of a delicious muffin every once in a while. I feel very confident that this will work. I don’t even feel like there will be pressure with my coworkers in regard to my new decisions too. I feel much too strongly about money to say, “Fuck it, I’m just going to buy it anyway.” I’ve never been this careless with my money before! It’s SUCH a wake-up call.
Now, the emotional aspect is a completely different battle…