Ok, so I'm all about transparency and accountability (working for the government will do that to a person, I guess), so I'm going to own up to something: I blew my March budget to pieces. It was horrible. It was — quite literally — one of the worst months, budget-wise, I've had since graduating college. I'm not quite sure what happened; maybe visiting my sister put me in such a giddy mood that I overspend on everything else. Maybe I was just so bored (or should I say, am so bored) of cold weather that I spend money to make up for the lack of sunshine in my life. Whatever it was, it was terrible.
Remember that reasonable, only-$7-over-and-with-a-return-actually-$30-under clothes budget I posted about two weeks ago? Yeah, screwed that one up royally. I spoke too soon and ended up being about $65 over. And it wasn't like I bought a really great closet staple or a fun statement piece. First, I went with the gift card refund on the dress from eShakti instead of the dress, because the gift card is worth 20% more than the original purchase. Then, I promptly forgot that I didn't opt for cash back, and re-spent that $38 on a cute t-shirt at JCPenney ($10) and some slightly-gauged hoops at Hot Topic. ($13) The ball on my cartilage piercing fell out and I wanted to replace the hoop in my tragus as well, so I figured, $13 for a half-dozen new hoops was a good deal.
Lesson of the day: Seriously, don't buy body jewelry at Hot Topic. It's crap. I ended up having to go to a local piercing/tattoo shop here in Columbus to spend $30 on two quality hoops. At least the balls on these hoops are attached on one end, so I can't loose them again. There is a good chance I will wear these earrings for the next several years without ever taking them out. (If anyone in Columbus is interested, I went to Evolved. The staff was wonderful, the selection was great and they even switched out the piercings free of charge so I wouldn't have to clumsy-finger it at home.
Anyway, clothing wasn't the only category I grossly overspent on. I was also more than $100 over my grocery budget (usually set at $200) and $60 over my eating out/bars/fun stuff budget (also usually $200). All in all, I'm pretty disappointed in myself.
Maybe I'm being too hard on myself because I had a stressful, crap day at work. But part of me worries that if I don't beat myself up at least a little, I'll spend all willy-nilly again this month and the next month and the next...
I guess I should give myself at least some credit. If I overspent that much two years ago, I would have been in a panic. I would have been cramming expenses onto a nearly-maxed out credit card, asking to borrow money, panicking. Now, I'm mostly just annoyed at myself. So I guess that's a plus?
A mashup of style, food and anything else that interests me right now.
It's hard to stick to budgets, but you've done a great job overall. You can't expect it to work out all the time if unexpected expenses come up. I know you feel bad about it, but just look forward to rockin' it for next month! We can't always be perfect!
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