Spending Diary, Day 1

On Saturday I opened my online checking account and promptly stopped breathing. I had way less money than anticipated and what's worse is that all the spending was on food and booze. I am embarrassed and mad about my unconscious spending and have decided it is time to start better monitoring my spending money. I know there a plethora of fancy online tools and other banking features that automatically document this for you, but writing about it is clearly more fun. 

So the next week is dedicated to documenting my now very tight budget and the clever ways in which I can save money. 

Prologue Day (yesterday): I expected to have lunch with my friend Bethany at Saxy's, a new deli I was excited to check out, and in typical form she overslept. Rather than pick up a sandwich on my own, I abstained from the restaurant and grabbed lunch at whole foods instead. I am on a veggie kick this week so I went for sesame kale, a very inexpensive selection at just $2.52 for one of the small plastic containers at the deli, and roasted beets, which was more expensive at $4.15 for the same size, due to the weight. Note: Go for the greens rather than roots veggies because you'll save on weight. 

A side  note about salad bars... Whole foods should really offer an smaller alternative to the large cardboard containers at their bars. The temptation to fill it to the edges and with all the heavy goodies like tofu, boiled eggs, peas, and artichoke hearts is unfair. What begins as an endeavor to create a simple, low cost salad quickly becomes a massive $12 purchase. To date, the least expensive salad I have managed to purchase at the Whole Foods salad bar was $6.80. Next time, I'm gonna stick it to 'em, and make a salad thats less than $5.

With my food, I grabbed an organic Recharge for $2.99 (the organic is only .49 cents more) and I had to get the larger size because I was in need of electrolytes after a morning run. The food, drink, and an emergency box of tampons totalled$17.25, which ended up being perhaps comparable to what I would have spent at Saxy's, but I also got the veggies and tampons I needed, so I'm pleased. 

This was my only purchase yesterday. I developed a massive headache at the end of the day and really wanted to grab a chai to test if it was due to caffeine, but opted to taek two Aleve, which I had at home, and called it good. No more purchases for the rest of the day.

Money spent yesterday: $17.25

Day 1 (today): So far I have spent nothing, but entirely by accident. I didn't spend anything all morning, but later had to get out of the house to do some work and determined I deserved a chai so stopped at Brewing Market. After ordering I realized I didn't have my wallet with me and the hot barista I made small talk with gave it to me for free. Score! I was glad that I didn't pay, however, because their house chai was shitty. I have to spend another few hours in a coffee shop tonight so I will have to make another small purchase, but I will spend 150% on my drink with 50% going to the barista tip to balance out the karma from this morning. 

I am bumming because I ate the remainder of my cereal this morning, which means I need to make a purchase decision. Do I purchase the delicious, tiny box of organic granola at $4.49 and wake up tomorrow delighted about my first day's activity, or do I forgo spending and eat the equally healthful but not nearly as motivating for getting out of bed eggs already sitting in my fridge??  Okay, so $4.49 is not a lot of money, but going to the store is, especially on double savings Wednesdays at Sunflower Market. If I go, I will pick up a loaf of bread, Rudi's for $5.99, which will, annoyingly, be my second bread purchase of the week, since I somehow misplaced my previous loaf. On that note, I will save myself some food money by keeping better track of my food, but that is another story....

I am getting around on the scooter and bike due to nice weather. The scooter still has half a tank, which should give me another 25 or 30 miles, at least another week, when I alternate it with biking. So my gas budget--about $10 monthly-- is also reduced. Score!

No money spent on lunch today, I packed a bit of the very large salad I made on Sunday, which I have been portioning out throughout the week. I can extract only one more salad from that one, and will need to find a new lunch solution for the rest of the week. Definitely thinking I need some bread...

Money spent so far today: $0