Officially I'm getting better at sticking to the $12 a day budget BUT I've also developed a horrid pattern. I've pretty regularly been spending at least half of my budget for the week in the first two days (not exactly in the wisest way possible). Then I'm forced to scrape by for the rest of the week with a few dollars a day in order to stay on budget. I'm happy about the progress but rather frustrated by this mental block I'm facing.
I recall one of my first posts pertained to impoverished people with this same mentality. I've read stories about people who'd starve all week, all month and when money finally arrived they'd spend it all quite lavishly, stuff themselves, and end up starving for the rest of the week, the rest of the month, until more money showed up. Why do we do this?
Obviously it's from lack of planning but I think it's a poverty mentality. You feel deprived, poor, lacking; once you've increase at your fingertips you're compelled to splurge, lavish yourself, and embrace that delight of abundance. But then the abundance is gone (however little it may have been). It's exactly the same as people who win the lottery and spend it all on crap. It's a mental block. I'm not poor. I shouldn't feel poor. I personally create the poverty by spending abundantly. Responsible spending would eliminate the poverty situation (in my case); the situation of having and then not having... just like the lottery winner or the impoverished person who spends all their income the moment it arrives.
Again, I'm thinking in type. I really need to work on goal number one. Responsible spending is not only sticking to budget but avoiding the poverty mentality spending. New goal: Spend as little as possible for the first three days of the week. Wow, that sounds like a joke.
Change of topic, yesterdays moment of joy, yesterday's little thing for me was driving really fast with the music blaring. Ok, I'm actually a really good driver. I've never gotten a ticket, or been pulled over for speeding. I've never caused an accident and I pretty much always drive the speed limit. So "driving really fast" actually means accelerating really fast and zipping around all the other cars leaving them in my dust and I pretty much never do this either because I don't like to waste gas. I drove stick for at least the first 10 years of my driving life and when you drive stick you can accelerate really fast really easily. I don't drive stick anymore so those rare mornings when I crank the music and pretend that I still drive stick are pretty fun and exciting for me. Wow, this was a huge waste of type and yet I'm leaving it : )
Hoping you enjoy LIFE with each breath breathed today!
You are so right when you talk about the poverty mentality...many's the time, when I was younger and single, especially, that I was absolutely broke for the last few days or even week before I got paid - had to borrow to survive etc - then just go crazy as soon as I got my wages. I'd buy clothes, shoes, go out raving, and the cycle would start again. Now it happens that we get paid at different times throughout the month so there's never really a week when I don't know there won't be more money coming soon and it's made me a lot better.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work girl, you're doing FAB!!!
K xx