Cash Log

I was reading a blog this afternoon that features money-saving tips. One entry was particularly interesting, it was the "money diary" of a 25-year-old woman. For a number of days, she wrote about what she spent her money on. Mostly, she felt guilty about spending money she didn't have - she was buying a lot of things with her credit card. I've been thinking a lot lately - worrying a lot, actually - about money and the need to spend less because of what I see as an unstable employment future. I thought I'd give the money diary a shot. Here goes:

Friday, June 12: Today was payday. Normally this would be exciting, because it appears that I have a fairly significant amount of money in my checking account. The reality is that I have to stash about half of my paycheck away so that I can make the mortgage payment on July 1. Also, my student loan payment cleared today. That's another big chunk. I made an online payment for my credit card, and that should clear tomorrow. I did deposit my travel reimbursement check today, which covers the credit card and then some, so that is reassuring.

I mostly spent money on little things today. I bought a couple pieces of candy at See's. I think I spent about $1.45 there. I stopped at Safeway on my way home and spent about $14 on groceries, some stuff for dinner and some fruit. I decided to stay home tonight because I wanted to relax after a stressful week. I did treat myself to a movie at Blockbuster, which set me back $4.88. I bought some candy for $0.88. And I think that's about it.

Lately I've been leaving my wallet at home when I go to work, so I won't be tempted to go buy stuff. This is mostly to prevent me from buying cookies or other unnecessary food during the day - like the See's candy today! It works pretty well and I can kill two birds with one stone - save money and save calories.