A little smattering of spending-related choices, listed briefly, to keep my mind on the right path.
Oh my! April is 30 Days of Biking and the unusual-for-me busyness has eclipsed other aspects of life. The month is flying by!
Saturday April 1 🙂
Kickoff ride for 30 Days of Biking. Great fun!! Two free beers at the end of the ride, and I’d eaten a lot beforehand, so it worked out great for my wallet. Ended up spending most of the day with new friends from the monthly rides, and ended up eating on the way home – spent $7 not in the plan, but wow was that food excellent. I need to start strategizing ways to minimize spending but be flexible in social outings.
Sunday April 2 🙂
Bike ride with the kids to a coffee shop. We’d pre-planned for this and my son offered to pay, but I kept it to my Family Fun rule. Total for all three of us was $12 so not bad at all compared to our usual dinner-when-kiddo-comes-home nights.
Monday April 3 🙂
Somehow amidst all the festivities I managed to make my lunches! Big win.
Tuesday April 4 🙂
I slept a good portion of this day. It felt amazing. And it was free!
Wednesday April 5 🙂
Workday with lunch packed.
Thursday April 6 🙂
Biked to work and packed breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bicycle ride afterward with one free beer. I think next week I’ll bring tea – my body isn’t too happy with this frequent beer consumption.
Friday April 7 🙂
Workday and (free) plans afterward. Breakfast, lunch and dinner in the bike bag again.
Another strong week – with all the social events coming up this month, however, I’ll need to make some decisions about where to spend my “building relationships” cash lest I slip back into $5 here and there every day. My meal routine has saved me so much stress and money, but I anticipate some hiccups this month without the full weekends of solitude I’ve become used to.
Keep it up! It’s refreshing to read a finance blog that is more “here’s what I am learning and how I’m figuring things out” than “here’s why I believe I am perfect.” I really enjoy your posts and following your progress! The balance between being social and spending money is always tough, especially when you’re building new friendships and aren’t at the point where you can just hang out at each other’s houses or do something outdoorsy (and free).
I’m taking that as a huge compliment – thank you!