Well, at least I'm told that they have power. As I said before, I've never been able to stick with doing one long enough to witness the power. It's always been a time-consuming task and I just haven't seen a quick enough payout for the time I was spending on the darn things, and they've always been abandoned.
So, here we go again. Trying the price book thing...
I spent a good part of a day over Spring Break, just looking up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. In the end, I went with the computer spreadsheet method. What can I say? I love Excel! The ability to put in the information, tell it what to do with it (IE; make it do the math for me!), and then to have the ability to sort and manipulate that information... Well! It's just too much fun to pass up! So, armed with the information that I wanted to be able to track, I set up a spreadsheet with the information that I wanted. Here are the column headings that I used:
List: this column is used to mark items that I need to get for the week so that I can sort the information in my spreadsheet and get a condensed list of what I need at the store for a grocery list (hence the heading, "List")
Category: Produce, Meat, HBA, Dairy, etc. This helps by putting similar items together- for comparison and for easier shopping (all dairy is together on the list, all produce is together on the list, etc)
Item: This is for the generic name of the item (not name brand). For easier comparison, I put a broad item name, followed by specifics (ie; pork- boneless chops, pork- loin roast, etc) so that similar products can easily be compared.
Other: This is where I put any other information about the item (like a brand name)
Store: Since all of the stores that I might be shopping at in our area start with a different letter, I just enter the first letter of the store name here.
Date: I guess this is important if you want to know how often a product goes on sale. It can also be used to find the current prices if you enter info from the sales ads before shopping.
Amt: quantity
Unit: pounds, ounces, each, pack, etc.
Price(1): This is the total price of the product. (I didn't realize that I ended up having 2 columns with the heading of "Price" until I was all done and sorting things, so I may change one of these.)
Price(2): This is where I make the spreadsheet do the math for me by figuring out the unit price of the item. This column is technically the "price per unit" column, but the spreadsheet wouldn't do the math if I had text in there with the numbers, so I split it into 2 columns. Hence, the next header...
per unit: per pound, per ounce, each, per pack, etc.
Note: Here I note anything noteworthy (duh!). Some things I've noted so far are:
- if you have to use a loyalty card to get the sale price (I hate these!)
- if there is a requirement like BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) or 5/$10, etc.
- if there is a limit to how many you can purchase of an item
- if I need a coupon for an item
Armed with the store ads from last week, I entered information. Then, came the ultimate test: using the sort feature. This has got to be one of the best things on Excel! And this is where the coolness of the price book lies. You can sort by 3 columns at a time. So, first, I sorted by "Category". This put all of the items in a department together (something that always irks me about my random, handwritten grocery lists because I end up wasting time traipsing back across the grocery store to pick up something that was in an aisle that I've already been through). Next, I sorted by "Item" and then I sorted by "Price (2)" (unit price). This let me compare the prices of the same or similar items to see what was the best deal. I suppose in the future, I will also have to sort by date, to get the most current prices together. Now comes the functionality of the price book. It turns into a shopping list right before your very eyes! I just went down the "List" column and marked what we needed ( I suppose you could use a letter "O" and that would give you a nice circle to check off for the grocery list). Then, go back to the sort feature and sort by "List". This will put all of the items that you need at the top of your list. Voila! You can print out this portion of the spreadsheet and have a shopping list! At this point, you can also look at the "Store" column of the sheet to see which store you should shop at (whatever appears the most in this column is the store that has the most good deals). Unless you have all the time in the world to hop from store to store, raking in only the best of the deals, but I never have the time, nor the inclination, to do that. By now, I'm sure this is all as clear as muddy water! But it is a system that makes sense to me. If I can figure out how, I'll try to post the actual spreadsheet that I came up with so that all you visual learners out there can see it. Or, if you're just dying to know, I can always email an attachment. In the meantime, trust me. It works and it's cool. Or it will be cool if I can keep up with it long enough to witness the power of the Price Book!
Monday, March 31, 2008
goals...
So, last week, I said, "... it's Spring Break and I always like to plan lots of things to do over Spring Break. It's kinda like the tax return... spent several times over in several different ways before it even gets here!"
So, I should have known that everything wouldn't get accomplished.
Here's the goals that didn't get done. At all.
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! I'm embarassed to say... not even once!
7. Lose some weight.
And here are the things I kinda did:
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
I actually did this twice. Once, finding the standard plastic "13-pocket coupon organizer" that I have used for a "cash only" system in the past, and once with the neato (and more stylish, yet cheaper) "reciept file" that I found in the Target dollar spot (file pockets on the left side, a pad of "list paper" on the right side, a pen stashed in the middle and a black elastic band to hold the stylish cover closed). I don't suppose I get extra points for doing one goal twice, though...
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
I kinda did this. I spent a day looking up menu planning on-line. I found an amazing array of services that will charge you to send prepared meal plans and shopping lists! It seems odd to spend money on something that you're trying to do in order to save money. Plus, after looking at some sample menus, I could see that our tastebuds weren't always on the same wave-lengths. Still, I found some yummy recipes to send to my gmail recipe file. I think that this type of access to recipes and the ability to search by ingredients will be crucial to successfully planning meals based on sales and loss-leaders. Only time will tell. I'll try to keep you posted on how this is working. I also found some forms that I think will work for meal planning or I may just use the week-by-week magnetic calendar (similar to the one shown here) that I still have on the fridge from the last time I was into meal planning. Again, we'll see what works best. So, the only part that I didn't do was actually planning a menu for this week! If I have the time/ energy when I'm done here, that's next on the list for tonight. Luckily, everyone was content with leftovers tonight.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
Okay, I really did this one. I looked up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. I looked... I figured... Suffice it to say, I did it. More to come on this in another post.
So, that gives me three-and-a-half goals that were completed last week. Can you guess what my goals will be for this coming week? I can sum them up in one phrase: "To be continued..."
So, I should have known that everything wouldn't get accomplished.
Here's the goals that didn't get done. At all.
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! I'm embarassed to say... not even once!
7. Lose some weight.
And here are the things I kinda did:
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
I actually did this twice. Once, finding the standard plastic "13-pocket coupon organizer" that I have used for a "cash only" system in the past, and once with the neato (and more stylish, yet cheaper) "reciept file" that I found in the Target dollar spot (file pockets on the left side, a pad of "list paper" on the right side, a pen stashed in the middle and a black elastic band to hold the stylish cover closed). I don't suppose I get extra points for doing one goal twice, though...
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
I kinda did this. I spent a day looking up menu planning on-line. I found an amazing array of services that will charge you to send prepared meal plans and shopping lists! It seems odd to spend money on something that you're trying to do in order to save money. Plus, after looking at some sample menus, I could see that our tastebuds weren't always on the same wave-lengths. Still, I found some yummy recipes to send to my gmail recipe file. I think that this type of access to recipes and the ability to search by ingredients will be crucial to successfully planning meals based on sales and loss-leaders. Only time will tell. I'll try to keep you posted on how this is working. I also found some forms that I think will work for meal planning or I may just use the week-by-week magnetic calendar (similar to the one shown here) that I still have on the fridge from the last time I was into meal planning. Again, we'll see what works best. So, the only part that I didn't do was actually planning a menu for this week! If I have the time/ energy when I'm done here, that's next on the list for tonight. Luckily, everyone was content with leftovers tonight.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
Okay, I really did this one. I looked up several different price books online. I looked at what people do, how they do it, why they do it. I looked at paper/ pencil Price Books vs. computer spreadsheet Price Books. I looked... I figured... Suffice it to say, I did it. More to come on this in another post.
So, that gives me three-and-a-half goals that were completed last week. Can you guess what my goals will be for this coming week? I can sum them up in one phrase: "To be continued..."
Monday Night Money
Check-In: $1168.67
Take a week when most of the bills are due, add in a mini-vacation, spring break, an eye exam and new glasses, a trip to the dentist, a medical bill paid off, and a car towing & repair bill and you get the above balance. Ugh! At least I know where the money went this time... mostly to things that we needed. I can't say we needed the tickets to Medieval Times or to eat out as much as we did last week, but we sure enjoyed it! And what's life without some enjoyment? At least now we are not in a "big bill" time of month. We actually have very little that is due at the beginning of the month, which is good, given the above balance. All in all, I'm okay with the above balance. Of course, I'd be even better with it if I had pulled out the $1000 for our emergency fund and still had that balance sitting in the account! Still, this is a learning process... a lifestyle change... and changes don't always come easily and they definitely do not change over night! This is progress and improvement and that is what I'm aiming for: To do better than I have been. In that sense, I'm seeing success.
Take a week when most of the bills are due, add in a mini-vacation, spring break, an eye exam and new glasses, a trip to the dentist, a medical bill paid off, and a car towing & repair bill and you get the above balance. Ugh! At least I know where the money went this time... mostly to things that we needed. I can't say we needed the tickets to Medieval Times or to eat out as much as we did last week, but we sure enjoyed it! And what's life without some enjoyment? At least now we are not in a "big bill" time of month. We actually have very little that is due at the beginning of the month, which is good, given the above balance. All in all, I'm okay with the above balance. Of course, I'd be even better with it if I had pulled out the $1000 for our emergency fund and still had that balance sitting in the account! Still, this is a learning process... a lifestyle change... and changes don't always come easily and they definitely do not change over night! This is progress and improvement and that is what I'm aiming for: To do better than I have been. In that sense, I'm seeing success.
belated weigh-in (again)
Weigh-In: 288.3
For a week of spring break with a vacation mentality, not too bad. I certainly didn't watch what I ate (really) and we ate out a lot. I didn't drink my water. I didn't get my exercise (no bus stop= no walking in the mornings). I didn't expect my weight to be as good as it was. Now, spring break is over and so is my time off the wagon. Today I walked and drank my water!
For a week of spring break with a vacation mentality, not too bad. I certainly didn't watch what I ate (really) and we ate out a lot. I didn't drink my water. I didn't get my exercise (no bus stop= no walking in the mornings). I didn't expect my weight to be as good as it was. Now, spring break is over and so is my time off the wagon. Today I walked and drank my water!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Goals...
Last Week:
1. To continue the practice of using cash. Any checks that need to be written can be done so on Monday nights when I do money. The debit card can only come with on trips when absolutely necessary (like the gas station, so I can pay at the pump and get a reciept to use for the Illinois Green Fleets E-85 Fuel Rebate at the end of the year). Does part time count? No... I didn't think so, but it was worth a try. I actually kept my checkbook and bank card home most of the week. They came out on Good Friday and have been busy ever since! They are going back in their drawer! Tomorrow, I am going to Office Max, buying a coupon organizer (for my envelope/ cash system... it's so much easier than carrying around a bunch of envelopes that fall apart after a week of use) and getting cash out of the bank!
2. Assign the "leftovers" in our budget. I've got a pretty good handle on our monthly fixed expenses, but I haven't delved into the scary world of variable expenses yet and that is where the leaks are... where our money disappears because I don't have a good spending plan developed for this part of our budget. So, it's time to study our variable spending, attack and conquer! Last Tuesday night, I took sometime and looked at our budget. I adjusted a few categories of our regular spending to compensate for the reality of the past few months. What I found was not promising in terms of our monthly expenses and my prospects for possibly changing jobs at the end of this school year- especially factoring in that my current job includes medical insurance for my whole family. The cost of prescriptions for DH and Miss B, alone, would be astronomical! I took a quick trip into Variable-Expenses-Land... looking at groceries and what a realistic budget might be for our family to meet our various needs (low-sodium for DH, low-fat for DH and me, healthy for all, edible to the kids (willingly), and easy-to-prepare/ not time-consuming for our sanity (since DH and I both work full-time). I looked at this, but there was nothing concrete done (in writing). I definitely need to do some more work in this area. As I stated last week, I'm going to try to take some time to look at frugal, healthy meal planning this week and I think I will also add looking into a "price book" for grocery and household goods. I've started these a few times in the past, but I've never found a way of doing a price book that makes sense for tracking prices, stores, and dates (pricing cycles) in a way that has made sense and made it easy for me to get the information that I want out of a price book. In other words, I've never stuck with it because it was a huge investment of time (and typing) and it never paid off in a way that made it worth it to me. Still, there are people that swear by their price books, so there must be a way to make it work. I'm going to try to find something that will work this week. So, if any of you do anything like this and it works for you, please share!
3. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings. I kept up the walking on the days when we had school. Sometimes morning schedules and circumstances caused me to shorten my usual morning route so that I would have more time to get things/ kids ready at home. The exercise bike, although in the house, is still sadly neglected (IE- yet to be used). The good news is that it hasn't become a receptacle for anything yet. There are no clothes hanging over the handle bars... no books or mail piled on the seat, so I hold out hope that since it has not found another function to serve in our home that it will remain a piece of exercise equipment and not become another dumping ground for "stuff".
4. Show a real loss on the scale this week! Okay, I kept this goal for the week "because meeting this goal makes me smile". I didn't have a loss this week, but hey... I still weigh less than what it says on my driver's license... that's gotta count for something!
This week (recap):
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! (Gotta start somewhere)
7. Lose some weight, or as Pianomomof3 says, "Remove some weight" (Since anything we "lose", we might hope to find again and I for one surely do not want to "find" any of this excess weight ever again!!)
I know that is more than my usual number of goals, and some of you that love me may warn against setting so many goals for the week, but actually, I just broke them down into smaller steps, which makes it easier for me to accomplish more. Besides, it's Spring Break and I always like to plan lots of things to do over Spring Break. It's kinda like the tax return... spent several times over in several different ways before it even gets here!
1. To continue the practice of using cash. Any checks that need to be written can be done so on Monday nights when I do money. The debit card can only come with on trips when absolutely necessary (like the gas station, so I can pay at the pump and get a reciept to use for the Illinois Green Fleets E-85 Fuel Rebate at the end of the year). Does part time count? No... I didn't think so, but it was worth a try. I actually kept my checkbook and bank card home most of the week. They came out on Good Friday and have been busy ever since! They are going back in their drawer! Tomorrow, I am going to Office Max, buying a coupon organizer (for my envelope/ cash system... it's so much easier than carrying around a bunch of envelopes that fall apart after a week of use) and getting cash out of the bank!
2. Assign the "leftovers" in our budget. I've got a pretty good handle on our monthly fixed expenses, but I haven't delved into the scary world of variable expenses yet and that is where the leaks are... where our money disappears because I don't have a good spending plan developed for this part of our budget. So, it's time to study our variable spending, attack and conquer! Last Tuesday night, I took sometime and looked at our budget. I adjusted a few categories of our regular spending to compensate for the reality of the past few months. What I found was not promising in terms of our monthly expenses and my prospects for possibly changing jobs at the end of this school year- especially factoring in that my current job includes medical insurance for my whole family. The cost of prescriptions for DH and Miss B, alone, would be astronomical! I took a quick trip into Variable-Expenses-Land... looking at groceries and what a realistic budget might be for our family to meet our various needs (low-sodium for DH, low-fat for DH and me, healthy for all, edible to the kids (willingly), and easy-to-prepare/ not time-consuming for our sanity (since DH and I both work full-time). I looked at this, but there was nothing concrete done (in writing). I definitely need to do some more work in this area. As I stated last week, I'm going to try to take some time to look at frugal, healthy meal planning this week and I think I will also add looking into a "price book" for grocery and household goods. I've started these a few times in the past, but I've never found a way of doing a price book that makes sense for tracking prices, stores, and dates (pricing cycles) in a way that has made sense and made it easy for me to get the information that I want out of a price book. In other words, I've never stuck with it because it was a huge investment of time (and typing) and it never paid off in a way that made it worth it to me. Still, there are people that swear by their price books, so there must be a way to make it work. I'm going to try to find something that will work this week. So, if any of you do anything like this and it works for you, please share!
3. Clean off and start using the exercise bike and continue walking in the mornings. I kept up the walking on the days when we had school. Sometimes morning schedules and circumstances caused me to shorten my usual morning route so that I would have more time to get things/ kids ready at home. The exercise bike, although in the house, is still sadly neglected (IE- yet to be used). The good news is that it hasn't become a receptacle for anything yet. There are no clothes hanging over the handle bars... no books or mail piled on the seat, so I hold out hope that since it has not found another function to serve in our home that it will remain a piece of exercise equipment and not become another dumping ground for "stuff".
4. Show a real loss on the scale this week! Okay, I kept this goal for the week "because meeting this goal makes me smile". I didn't have a loss this week, but hey... I still weigh less than what it says on my driver's license... that's gotta count for something!
This week (recap):
1. Put the checkbook and debit card away (again!).
2. Buy the materials for doing the envelope (cash only) system.
3. Get cash out of the bank and actually do the envelopes!
4. Look up menu planning and plan a menu.
5. Look up ways of doing Price Books. Pick one and try it!
6. Clean off, adjust, and use the exercise bike at least one time! (Gotta start somewhere)
7. Lose some weight, or as Pianomomof3 says, "Remove some weight" (Since anything we "lose", we might hope to find again and I for one surely do not want to "find" any of this excess weight ever again!!)
I know that is more than my usual number of goals, and some of you that love me may warn against setting so many goals for the week, but actually, I just broke them down into smaller steps, which makes it easier for me to accomplish more. Besides, it's Spring Break and I always like to plan lots of things to do over Spring Break. It's kinda like the tax return... spent several times over in several different ways before it even gets here!
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...
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...
Belated Weigh-In
Weigh-In: 288.0
Sorry for the delay... car problems kept me away from my computer on Saturday. Sunday, of course, was Easter, which was a whirlwind stretching from Easter baskets at dawn (well... it felt like dawn) to Vegas Showdown at my sister's in the wee hours of the morning (which I won, of course :P). Due to the car problems- van problems to be exact- we took my parents' car to Indiana. Since there was no room in the car for the dogs, our trip was cut short by a day. So, we crammed as much into today as possible... a trip to a Children's Museum (taking advantage of our ACM membership and getting in for free) and a visit to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe (totally not diet-friendly, but soooo worth it!). And now, we're finally home... kids in bed. It's Monday night, so onto Monday Night Money!
Sorry for the delay... car problems kept me away from my computer on Saturday. Sunday, of course, was Easter, which was a whirlwind stretching from Easter baskets at dawn (well... it felt like dawn) to Vegas Showdown at my sister's in the wee hours of the morning (which I won, of course :P). Due to the car problems- van problems to be exact- we took my parents' car to Indiana. Since there was no room in the car for the dogs, our trip was cut short by a day. So, we crammed as much into today as possible... a trip to a Children's Museum (taking advantage of our ACM membership and getting in for free) and a visit to the South Bend Chocolate Cafe (totally not diet-friendly, but soooo worth it!). And now, we're finally home... kids in bed. It's Monday night, so onto Monday Night Money!
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