Budget
I have created an Excel budget spread sheet for me earlier this morning. In the past I have never had to use one before since I was always able to keep a mental count of how much I spent roughly and how much more money I have left over to spend. In addition, I have always been able to save some money every month. But that has changed drastically since about August of last year. Every month, not only was I unable to save anything, I tend to overspend. It is not a big deal if it is just a one or two month temporarily thing. For example, expenses for the weddings, travel, new additions to the family (puppies). But it is not ok if it is a recurrent theme every month. And that is exactly what the problem is - a big "How The F**k did I spend this much money this month?!?!?!?!" every month. Even though I still have money in the bank, I need to have tighter control on how I am using my money. Thus the spread sheet.
Of course, part of the problem is that over the past few months, I have had to bring the puppies over to their vet every few weeks. While our vet keeps a very, VERY convenient office hours and is very reachable, it also reflects in the bill. Then there is the neuter and spay, which, while not quite as expensive as anticipated, are still not cheap. Finally, state of AL has this money scam operation to suck money out of the lowly residents who does not make much money at all yet and is technically still practicing medicine under attending physician supervision. But, then again, one should be able to foreseen these problems and plan accordingly. I can always tell myself that I spend too much money because "things happened". But the truth is, I am solely responsible for my financial health and any related issues. I can either ignore it and keep hoping the problem will fix itself and go away next month. Or I can put my foot down and say I have had enough months of not having control over my money, I need to do better.
I decided to put my foot down.
I know a very large part of my problem is desire. We all want things. In addition, our society also tells us that we want things. And that's not a problem as long as it stays only in the "I want it" stage. The problem is that a lot of people, including me, decided to act upon it and go from "I want it" stage to "I have it" stage. And even then, it is not necessarily a bad thing. It becomes a bad thing only when we fail to realize that we actually do not have the means to turn our desire into reality. And that's what happened to me over the past few months. The excitement of finally making some money and be able to afford things got the best of me and every month, I will allow myself to buy "a few things" to indulge myself. Even though usually, these purchases may not have been a big deal. But in light of other things going on, my indulges turned into part of the the reason why my budget was shot over the past several months.
And that's done.
I cannot do anything to what happened before. I cannot even do much to what happened this month. But I can make a difference next month. And I will.
Hopefully, with me starting keeping track of things and paying attention. I will solve the situation.
Of course, part of the problem is that over the past few months, I have had to bring the puppies over to their vet every few weeks. While our vet keeps a very, VERY convenient office hours and is very reachable, it also reflects in the bill. Then there is the neuter and spay, which, while not quite as expensive as anticipated, are still not cheap. Finally, state of AL has this money scam operation to suck money out of the lowly residents who does not make much money at all yet and is technically still practicing medicine under attending physician supervision. But, then again, one should be able to foreseen these problems and plan accordingly. I can always tell myself that I spend too much money because "things happened". But the truth is, I am solely responsible for my financial health and any related issues. I can either ignore it and keep hoping the problem will fix itself and go away next month. Or I can put my foot down and say I have had enough months of not having control over my money, I need to do better.
I decided to put my foot down.
I know a very large part of my problem is desire. We all want things. In addition, our society also tells us that we want things. And that's not a problem as long as it stays only in the "I want it" stage. The problem is that a lot of people, including me, decided to act upon it and go from "I want it" stage to "I have it" stage. And even then, it is not necessarily a bad thing. It becomes a bad thing only when we fail to realize that we actually do not have the means to turn our desire into reality. And that's what happened to me over the past few months. The excitement of finally making some money and be able to afford things got the best of me and every month, I will allow myself to buy "a few things" to indulge myself. Even though usually, these purchases may not have been a big deal. But in light of other things going on, my indulges turned into part of the the reason why my budget was shot over the past several months.
And that's done.
I cannot do anything to what happened before. I cannot even do much to what happened this month. But I can make a difference next month. And I will.
Hopefully, with me starting keeping track of things and paying attention. I will solve the situation.