Thursday, July 10, 2008

Forgive Me Megan, For I Have Sinned

All right. The first eight days I did really well, and then yesterday, I ended up spending $22.00 on a phone card and $9.19 on postage for various things I mailed out (including the cheese kit.)

Running total is $31.19.

Tonight is my cousin's 17th birthday and I'm going to give her cashola. (Fool proof gift for teens.) That counts as spending, yes? So that's another $50.00 right there.

$81.19.

Sigh. You are so kicking my ass.

Out of curiosity, I turned to my June credit card bill to see how much I had racked up in the first ten days of June. Taking out the exempted charges (bills, medical stuff, etc), I was left with the following:

June 3rd: $60 of farmers' market cash. (You pay with your credit card, and they give you little farmers' market bucks you can use at the stalls.)

June 5th: $17.40 on lunch with a friend.

June 5th: $22.00 for a phone card. (I clearly need to get with the Skype.)

June 6th: $50.00 for gas.

June 8th: $161.71 for dinner. (I treated all of my friends to dinner.)

June 9th: $17.00 for a weekly bus pass.

June 10th: $5.45 for postage. I can't remember what this was for.

June 10th: $9.77 at the grocery store. Again, can't remember what I bought there.

For a grand total of ... $343.33.

Um, I'm sorry, WHAT?!?! Did I seriously spend $343.33 in the first ten days of June? And of course, that's just my credit card charges, so it's possible I spent MORE than that in cash (though I don't tend to keep much cash on me.)

Okay, fine, I know I used the farmers' market cash for the rest of the month. And I guess almost half of that money was used to treat my friends to dinner which isn't something I do terribly often, but is a nice thing to do once in a while. But still. I mean sheesh. For an alleged non-consumer, I sure do find ways to spend my money!

So, anyway, Megan, you may be beating the pants off of me, but at least I am kicking the butt of June Arduous?

Of course this weekend, I go to Vegas, ie The Most Unsustainable Place On Earth. I'll give you an update on Monday.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha, ha - I was going to post a similar entry tonight! I am off on what I am terming my "hipster birthday" tomorrow so I think it will be grim for me. You are actually kicking my ass, I think. And I'm still thinking about the $19.99 sunglasses.

Something I learned recently: when you click on the little green phone next to your friend's icon on iChat, you can talk over the internet for free (i mean for the monthly cost of internet if you don't hijack free wireless). It's like a miracle to hear your friend coming through the computer! (Sorry if you're not a Mac user - maybe one of your readers can use the tip...)

As for the June Megan/July Megan, a 75% reduction in spending is about right...I only use the credit card for internet stuff and my budget is arranged by category, not by date, so it will be harder to triangulate - but I'll see what I can come up with.

I think you're rocking pretty hard - you have time to get all poetic and philosophic with all this not-spending?

megan

Chile said...

Regarding Vegas, I thought that was one of the most interesting tidbits out of the neuroscience of addiction article on The Oil Drum.

Nate wrote about his recent weekend trip to Las Vegas: I probably know more about the issues surrounding Peak Oil than 99% of people on the planet. Yet among the bright lights, freely flowing drinks, friendly company, and non-stop excitement, not only did I forget about our pending date with a global oil peak, but for about a 12 hour period, under influence from friends, Peak Oil actually seemed impossible. There is no way all this glitz and glamour could end - the vitality in the casinos was viral. The availability heuristic, and other psychological phenomenon were very powerful indeed to thus anesthetize a peak oil curmudgeon like myself. (2 hours back at the cabin reading the Drumbeat straightened me right out). My point is that few will believe until events force them too. I've known this for a while, but this little personal vignette sealed the concept.

ruchi said...

Megan, well I'm not going to restaurants, so I have tons of time to wax poetic! Hah! Thanks for the tip about iChat. I'll need a mic for that, right? I think I have one somewhere. I didn't e-cycle it when I was going through that drawer....

Chile, wow, that is interesting. I haven't been to Vegas since I started my new greener life, so I'm not entirely sure how I will react to its excess. Well, we shall see. I'll give you a full report when I'm back.

Unknown said...

Nice update!

Anonymous said...

My 2005 PowerBook has a mic built in. It's not radio-quality sound but it does the job. Just speak in the general direction of the speakers, it's usually in there somewhere.

Robj98168 said...

Sheesh- your friends, they're to good for Mickey D's? Perhaps Chez Arby's?

Sam said...

I like how the farmers' market cash works. Here its that way only for EBT users and if embarrassment is what's preventing lower income people from buying at farmers' markets this would be a good way to fix the problem.

Melissa said...

it's amazing how fast this stuff all adds up when you really stop and look at it, isn't it? enjoy your weekend!

ruchi said...

Thanks Bobbi!

Megan, yeah, I don't think my iBook has a built in mic. I'll have to check it out.

Rob, yes, I have fancy friends. Actually that night, we ended up at CPK. So not THAT fancy. There were just a lot of us.

Beany, yeah it's pretty cool. I like being able to pay with my credit card because then I have a better memory of where my money is going.

Melissa, ugh, I know. Let's see how I am doing after this weekend...all though, as vacations go, Vegas is not that expensive.

A. Brown said...

I'd invite you to do something while you're here this weekend but I'm afraid I'm not terribly interesting while 8 months pregnant when it's 105 out. ;)

ruchi said...

Green Plant, aw that's sweet. Maybe next time. Eesh! I'm sorry you have to go through 8 months in this heat. Hang in there!