No Spend January Day 4

Well, today was an expensive day...I'm not super excited to write this blog entry, but the point of this is to hold me accountable and share the reality of saving money, highs and lows.

I started the day by running a few errands. I returned my unworn New Year's Eve dress to Marshalls and exchanged it for a birthday gift for my friend Juliet, whose birthday is at the end of the month. Then I mailed six packages at the post office-all of them items I sold on Amazon.com. I am going to write a post about my (relative) success of selling books, CDs, and DVDs on Amazon on Thursday when I actually have the money transferred to my account and can use it for the month.

I had already agreed to go to The Boiling Crab with some co-workers for dinner tonight. First of all, let me give it a glowing review. The fish was super fresh, delicious, and more reasonably priced than Joe's Crab Shack. It's not a place for a first date, since there are no plates, silverware, and just tons of paper towels to control the mess. We had a blast eating and took some pictures wearing our bibs, with our messy table on display. I shared shrimp, crab, corn on the cob, and fries with my classroom neighbor Analiza. Yum!

However. But. You see. Okay, I spent $18, which means that I am left with $2.28. Here is where I justify it: I will have approximately $30 at my disposal on Thursday, when my Amazon money is deposited. I am also selling an item on Ebay, that I expect to net about $10 for in the next day or two (assuming the buyer pays in a reasonable amount of time). And I fed a friend's cat over Christmas, which she said she will pay me for when I see her next. So it's not like I have no more money for the month. It just puts me in a bad place since I am going to Taco Surf happy hour tomorrow. I would get out of it, but this is one that I planned, so I need to go. Luckily, it's a great deal, so I think I can get out of there for under $5. Here's the plan: I am going to count my spare change in my room tomorrow and add it to my running total. Then I am going to hit up the bank or grocery store and get bills so it's not obnoxious when I pay at Taco Surf. Hopefully I can do it without dipping into my upcoming money-the idea is that I don't spend it unless I physically have it. We'll see though. :/

I think the interesting lesson I have learned is how easy it is to spend money when I am on vacation. I fill my days with socializing, and that tends to revolve around spending money. In fact, there are activities I have said no to, knowing that they are not in my budget...I could be spending even more. When I am at work, I still find ways to spend money, but I am much more occupied and am less likely to splurge. This shows me that I need to save/budget for more spending during the summer months, so I can stay on track. I know I could also spend less money-and I plan to try to find ways to make that happen. But frankly, enjoying my vacation is a priority, so I think planning ahead for the summer will be a theme in upcoming blogs.

Anyway, that's the scoop. I ended the day with $2.28.