I've had a few setbacks since I began living a more frugal lifestyle, and each time I've felt regret and guilt afterward. This past weekend I purchased a used bike, with some related accessories. This purchase was budgeted, and actually I spent less than I gave myself 'permission' for, but for some reason I still feel uncomfortable. This might be because I'm so unused to dropping more than $50 on anything these days.
Also, once the money started flowing (budgeted or not), it became much easier to whip out the debit card and make some purchases I normally wouldn't have. Here's an accounting of my expenditures last weekend, along with a notation indicating whether the purchase was included in my budget---or not.
Granted, looking at my expenditures in this way, I can see that the total is only slightly more than what I budgeted for my bike expenses. So, my budget is safe for now; however, had I not spent extra money on pretty flowers and a bike rack, I could have sent that extra money to debt repayment or emergency fund savings instead.
3 comments:
Since the bike budget was $300, your allotted money only exceded
47 cents!! - even though there were unplanned expenses.
Don't be too hard on yourself - real life happens during the daily budget process. If you squeeze yourself too hard - the long haul of lifelong budgeting will be impossible to endure.
Keep up the good work!!
Luxuryoption
I think you're right. My budget is still in good shape, and although I'm sort of kicking myself for the 'non-essential' purchases, at least I'm "only" .47 cents in the red!
Also, I'm trying to keep my old 'Your Money or Your Life' ideas at the forefront of my mind: did I receive fulfillment from my purchases? Well, actually, yes I did: I'm enjoying the flowers on my front porch, and I think I'll get some use out of the unplanned bike rack purchase. So, all in all, not a disaster. The ease with which I rationalized my unplanned purchases just surprised me a bit!
It is IMPOSSIBLE to avoid spending on things that were not in the budget as it is impossible to predict the little things that come up. Case in point, today I had packed my lunch (leftovers) as always. BUT, I got a call from my son's school nurse saying he was sick, so I had to quickly leave work and pick him up to go to the doctor. In my haste to leave work and get to my sick child, I did not have time to eat the lunch I had packed. I ended up stopping at Subway between my son's school and the Dr. appointment, spending $6.24 on lunch. It would have been impossible to budget fot this. It is called LIFE HAPPENS. What can you do?
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