Life is a Series of Tradeoffs

Spending money wisely is something that has been etched into my mind. Without spending much time on the various sources that left me laced with the value of a dollar I would like to bring your attention to my skillful approach of how to justify the money that does get spent frivolously. If it were a new shirt I would say, "Yes, I do have 3 other black blouses. However, this black blouse is work appropriate." If it were a new camera I would say, "Even though my old camera was still functional, I needed a new one for my blog's pictures to look more professional. I can still bring the other out to the bar."

It's hard to dispute those benefits, right?

Well, anyway, perhaps we can meet at a common place and agree that a nice meal out never takes much effort to justify. After all, eating out turns a boring night in into an occasion celebrated by eating with family or friends. Occasions are easy to justify! (Exclamation added to mask my frustration over how many occasional boring nights were turned into occasions.) However frustrating, it is true that the memories created at these meals will always be close to my heart, could never be replaced, and are always my favorite thing to spend money on.

As the nesters gear themselves up for what is sure to be a delicious holiday meal to celebrate friendship tonight at Victoria's Gastro Pub I began stalking the restaurant's menu: 1/2 price cocktails, lobster grilled cheese, duck fat fries. Oh. Mon. Dieu! Yes! How on anyone on earth pass it up? Slap a $20 price tag on a grilled cheese- some might say, "No, thanks."

And so Dad's old expression, "Life is a series of trade offs" comes into play... again. Because I cannot say no to fancy cocktails, cannot omit duck fat fries nor substitute a plain grilled cheese for the one adorned with lobster I have been forced to trade off some smaller pleasures in order to cushion my wallet. Here are some easy ways to pinch $30 from your wallet this week:

1. Nothing else to eat Chicken Salad: Make it one week night by combining hummus, whatever veggies you've got in the fridge, and canned chicken. Season it to your taste- I, of course, prefer hot sauce. Eat it for lunch on salad, toast or with pasta. Save yourself at least $10 you would have spent on other lunches.

2. No excuse to stop at Starbucks: get your coffee ready the night before. When you run out, drink tea instead. (It's the same amount of caffeine, you know.)

3. Easiest pumpkin muffins ever: 1 box spice cake mix+ 1 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin puree. Mix, bake and grab for breakfast. No extra money spent on breakfasts forgotten at home either.

4. Ask for a ride: the benefits of carpooling go beyond environmental salvation. For those of you with SUV's saving $10 on gas means cutting down just 50 miles from your weekly commute to work, the gym, grocery store, or bar in downtown Baltimore (Wait, should you even be driving there in the first place?)

Note: One glass of Victory's Old Horizontal Barley Wine Ale will have you sawing logs

Now, sink your teeth into that lobster grilled cheese, wash it down with a perfectly paired micro brew and smile because it was worth pinching pennies during the week to afford. (Dad, you were right again.)

Blog Heaven

A blog post about a blog: a pretty boring concept, I suppose. I can't help myself, though. I'm in blog heaven.

I recently found out about the website NoMoreRack.com. The concept is similar to other 'one deal a day' websites that sell products at super low prices until they sell out. The result is your online shopping addiction making its way to whole new level of "OH NO I JUST CLICKED. I JUST BOUGHT THAT! CRAP. IT'S OK IT WAS ONLY $30." I spent some time yesterday afternoon researching the site which eventually lead me to find out about Hooked on Bargains. I was able to score two boxes of Yogi Tea for my honey and I, samples of Teasta, Excedrin and a free subscription to Martha Stewart's Whole Living. Of course there is a difference between wanting and needing these kinds of goodies, but for free- who cares! (Although there was much restraint practiced when it came to the Yogi Tea- I love that stuff!!) Even better, after my business was finished on Hooked on Bargains I thought, "I wonder what other kind of time and money saving sites there are?" A few clicks later I landed at OrganicDeals.com.

"SACRE BLEU!"

The blog features all sorts of discounts and money saving ongoings for lovers of holistic living. It's a dream come true for gals who likes to stretch a buck and live a healthy lifestyle. Swing over to the site if you have time and you might as well send someone you love a Yogi Well Wish while you're at it HERE!

So, So, Yummy!

Websites mentioned in this post- for those of you who dislike hyperlinks :)

• hookedonbargains.com
• organicdeals.com
• whiskeymilitia.com, steepandcheap.com, tramdock.com, etc.
• yogiproducts.com
• nomorerack.com

Goodbye Plastic, Hello Green.

Still riding the tail end of a short-winded Halloween season, I have been reflecting on the things that scare me. While many fears present immediate threats (spiders, public speaking, popping the lid on that forgotten lunch container) others are are like looming, anxiety-causing, grim reapers standing over us and following our every move. Closest to me, this fear is never achieving a financial security, understanding, or freedom. The development of this fear was slow at first: In college I always wrote it off by telling myself that once I got a "real" job I'd be able to straighten things out. Now that I have a "real" job, I have really real bills. Something that I didn't anticipate happening for at least a couple more months. Now that the bills are here my fear has escalated: I don't know how to ration my income, what to pay off first, or what to do with my feelings of neglect for renting not owning. I just want it to all stop and simplify itself. (How someone could spend five years pursuing a business degree and still have such a lack of personal finance skills is beyond me.)

In effort to simplify, understand and plan I am attempting the dreaded cash budget (bom, bom, booooom!) I have closed the credit cards, frozen the credit card, and reserved my checking account for monthly expenses only. With the exception of a small amount of spending money I have budgeted for, all purchases must be planned. I share this for one reason: I hate it. I don't want to do this. I want to go shopping, eat out, travel, buy! buy! buy!. I never want to pay the price for the impulses I've had in the past ("Patron for everyone!"<---regret.) Surely some of you also related when Isla Fisher couldn't resist that perfect green scarf in Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was going to get her the job! (And then, an interest increase.)

Happy? Looks like it...

It is my plan to achieve success by spending more time doing and thinking about the things in life that make me truly happy. I recently read that if money is going to be spent it should be on experiences rather than objects. Doing so fufills a higher need or purpose than, say, a shirt. (Easier said than done, my friends.) This ideology is one thing that did "click" while I was in school- most likely because of a pyramind that was drilled into my head from the first day of school through the last:

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

I encourage all of you that aren't yet familiar with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to research the philosophy. It is applicable in everyone's lives someway or another and is a great method to understand how you could ever spend $20 on a pin cushion. If you don't feel like researching here's the jist: once you're focused on buying for needs at the top of the pyrimid you have achieved "having what you want, wanting what you have. " Unfortunately, the difficulty in achieving self actualization is that it only becomes a second nature as we make small decisions that affect progress up the lower levels. In my life that is the ultimate goal. We'll see how it fits into $80 a week... wish me luck!

Ouchies!!!

Have you ever been on a cash budget? How did you make it work?