Fiscal Fridays: Making Choices

A big part of budgeting is making choices. Sometimes, those choices are obvious or easy (Oh, well, I guess I won't be blowing $120 on shoes this month). Other times, it comes down to the nitty-gritty, the things you really want that don't seem that bad because they're inexpensive. Like the bottle of wine I bought yesterday, because work was hellacious and it was Thursday and I still had $14 left for the week (sidenote: go me!).

In the long run, buying the wine wasn't that big of a deal. My favorite brand (Moscato D'Asti) is relatively inexpensive at about $14 a bottle. (In this case, I went a little cheaper because the store I was at didn't carry my brand.) I had a glass and felt much better about my stressful work day. Later last night, Matt and I went over to a friend's house to watch TV and generally just not be "that anti-social couple who only hangs out with each other and no one else." And on the way home, we stopped for another favorite treat of mine: McDonald's french fries dipped in ice cream.

Before you judge, let me just explain that it is the absolute perfect combination of salty and sweet, and crispy, and cold. It. Is. Fantastic. Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Anyway, I really, really enjoyed that treat. And it got me to thinking...it comforted me as much as a glass of my favorite wine did, at about half the cost:

budgeting choices by verbalmelange on Polyvore.com

So, as much as I looooove my moscato, I think I'm going to make a switch up to fast food. Because moscato is fizzy, you have to drink it all within a day or two of opening it, so I always end up buying more than I really "need." But McDonald's is single-serving, AND it's cheaper, so fiscally, it's a better option. (Maybe not for my thighs, but that's a whole other can of worms that I'm not even going to open.)

I hear you. You're thinking, Emma, it's just a few bucks here and there. How could that possibly matter? Well, when you're trying to get buy spending only $20 in frivolous things a week, every single dollar starts to look a whole lot bigger. My parents used to accuse me of "nickling and diming" myself to death. What they meant was, I fritter all my money away on little things, until I turn around and suddenly, nothing's left. I've done this my whole life, since I got my first job at 14, and it's a hard habit to break. But by making smarter choices, I can at least try to control the damage a bit better in the meantime.

And besides, this really isn't even just about the ice cream versus the wine. This is about making conscious choices about everything, every single day. Budgeting isn't easy; it's work. But the payoff is, if you'll pardon the pun, so sweet.

Have you had to make any annoying or inconvenient choices for the sake of your budget?