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better than I expected

February 23rd, 2008 at 03:56 am

I made it to the bank today to find I had WAY more money than I thought, so I transferred 500 into my savings instead of the 300 I was merely hoping for. Yay! I dance a little happy dance. Then I withdrew the amount of cash I needed to complete my errands. Gosh, that's such a good idea, I can't believe I've gone so long without doing it. This way I have only one big withdrawal to account for instead of the 7 to 12 little piddly transactions that always total more than just taking the darned cash out all in one shot. It's weird how you think one big thing is bigger than a bunch of smaller things when it isn't.

That sounded kind of dumb, but you know what I mean, don't you? That self deception when you say, "Oh, I only spent 10 to 30 dollars here and there, it can't add up to that much." But it does and you say, "Where the hell did all my money go?" But you'll hem and haw about a 200 dollar withdrawal for food and incidentals, saying, "That's too much, I surely don't need that much." And when you get home, all you've got left is a couple of beaten up twenties and some grimy assorted change. But I'm feeling better, because I'm more aware and that feels good, even if I don't like everything I have to be honest with myself about.

I tend to be careless about small amounts and try to lie to myself about how they add up. And when I do it, I know I'm lying, I know I'm being lazy and I know it's not a huge thing, but it troubles me. I don't like deception, and I can't say that it's okay because it's my one fault, I have no debt to speak of, I should be allowed to spend a little extra here and there. You aren't "allowed" faults, justification is weak. So today I can reach into my pocket and tell you what I had and where it went and that's that. Not that I am going to list the details here, but I have it in hand.

It's been a good day. I am pleased.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

2 Responses to “better than I expected”

  1. baselle Says:
    February 23rd, 2008 at 04:29 am 1203740942
    1203740942

    remember that it works the other way, too. Saving $44 and taking $40 out of the bank is somehow better than just saving $4. Great that you can save $500 instead of $300.

  2. Aleta Says:
    February 23rd, 2008 at 06:44 pm 1203792296
    1203792296

    Because I live in a hurricane prone area, I have to prepare for unexpected cash expenditures in what I call my cash emergency fund. To get ahead, you need to build up enough to carry you over for 3 to 4 weeks. I take from that money all month long and replace it the following month. I keep a journal and write in my expenses: food; household supplies, birthday cards, beverages, pet supplies or food, toiletries, and smaller expenses. I write one check out and replace it the end of the month or the following month. That also keeps you from going to the ATM's and writing out checks. Sometimes, all you need to do is go in to your bank or pick up a withdrawal slip and go through the drive through. These are some ways that keep you from writing alot of checks and going back and forth to the the bank.

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