Monday Night Money

Check-In: $3261.05
Okay... not a bad balance, but not too good considering $1000 of that is ER fund (I know, I know... I NEED to get that out of there before it disappears!) and the fact that the balance includes my paycheck which I'm not due to get until this coming Friday (since we're on Spring Break, they paid us a week early).
Why is it that I always blow money when I have it? And if feels like it's worse this time, because I'm not spending it on any one worthwhile "big ticket item" that we can at least look at, enjoy and have around for a while. There's nothing to point to and say, "That's where our tax return went." It's just trickling away... a meal out here (and there and there), a little trip here, some clothes there... it's painful to look back on, yet virtually undetectable when it's happening. Despite getting in the habit of not carrying my bank card and checkbook, these purchases are sneaking in when I do take them into a store. WHY?!?
Trent, over at The Simple Dollar, recently posted a review of the book, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. He begins his review by writing:
"I find that time and time again, my greatest opponent when trying to make intelligent and well-reasoned personal finance and time management issues is myself. I’m my own weakness. ... This is a persistent problem for pretty much anyone who strives for something greater in their lives. We rely on their own rational behavior, but are often undermined by our own irrational impulses. Why? ... Predictably Irrational focuses in on this exact question, digging deep into the causes of such irrational steps and laying bare some useful solutions."
(If you struggle with this (like I do) and it interests you, you can read the full review here.)
The title of chapter 6 looks like it could be the story of my life: Chapter 6 - The Problem of Procrastination and Self-Control: Why We Can’t Make Ourselves Do What We Want To Do!
Another article, also by Trent at The Simple Dollar (can you tell I LOVE his blog?), offered up this gem:
"Personal finance is not just about dollars and cents. It’s about emotions and how we piece through the daily dilemmas in our lives. It’s about figuring out our goals and what the most important aspects of our lives really are. Doing a budget and living frugally doesn’t mean much if it doesn’t open our eyes to what our real values are.
The problem is that the average consumer gets emotional fulfillment out of spending. The guilt doesn’t come from the spending, it comes from the bills that come in later. People don’t feel bad about the purchase of a flat panel television - in fact, it’s usually a rush. The bad feeling comes when the credit card statements roll in and the paycheck isn’t big enough to cover it."
The same could easily be said for, oh... I don't know... eating a ginormous serving of S'mores at a Chocolate Cafe. The bad feeling doesn't come as you're eating the S'mores. On the contrary... it's quite a good feeling (endorphin-releasing chocolate paired with a sugar rush from the marshmallows, not to mention the pure pleasure of the smooth, sweet chocolate melting on your tongue...) The bad feeling comes when you step on the scale the following week and see where all that pizza and eating out and chocolate landed you.

Weight... money... the root of the problem (at least for me) seems to be the same: following the path of least resistance, doing what feels good (at the time), instant gratification. When I first began this blog -this journey- I struggled. In the past, I've always thought, "Which problem do I attack first? Weight? Money?" The two areas of my life seemed too overwhelming to tackle at once- even to the point where goals in one area seemed to contradict improvements in the other area (despite the fact that everyone insists that it "doesn't have to cost a lot to eat healthy"). So, I think part of my problem in the past was being paralyzed by feeling like I had to choose between the two goals. And so I tackled none. As soon as I decided to tackle them together, things began to fall into place. And honestly, I think that it's because the roots of these problems are so closely related. There are things about myself- character traits... character flaws...whatever- that lead me to repeat these patterns of behavior. Despite knowing in my head how to manage these two areas, doing with my body didn't always follow. Doesn't always follow. And so, there are things that I must change about myself. That's why I will refer to what I'm doing as a "process", "a change of habits", "a lifestyle change", "a journey", etc. There are many things that I will call it, but I generally do not refer to this as a "diet" or "budget plan". Both of those words are very limiting with negative connotations. They are also words that communicate a temporary state to me (especially "diet") and I do not want these changes to be temporary. I want to develop healthy habits (physically and financially) that will be around for a long time, possibly forever. That is why I also allow myself to make mistakes without allowing myself to get discouraged (well, not too discouraged) by these mistakes. It's because these changes are becoming a part of the rest of my life and I can't forsee being perfect everyday for the rest of my life. Rather than beat myself up or quit when I have a set-back, I try to look at what happened honestly and examine it so that I can try to fix the problem. I realized that when I carry my debit card, it's way to easy for me to spend money without really being conscious of how much I'm spending on a purchase or how quickly those purchases are adding up. So, I 'fessed up, looked at the problem and developed a solution (well, kinda). The solution is helping some, but not as much as I would like, so it's time to re-examine what's going on, why, and what can be done to fix the problem (the rest of the way). And that brings me to goals for this week...