October 6, 2008
How very odd. I fetched lunch for the office today, and sent the coworkers an email requesting that they write me a check to pay me back because I knew they didn’t have the cash on hand, and I couldn’t spend the checks. (I have self control, but cash is a special problem.)
Both of them had their checkbooks with them! Who still carries their checkbook? That was a big surprise. And now I have two checks sitting in my wallet to be deposited, and I won’t spend it. Yay!
September 30, 2008
It’s not like this is a new phenomonen, but I’m sad that I have only a few dollars left in my wallet after the weekend.
BF actually looked at me like I’d sprouted a new head when he realized I’d paid:
$4, movies on Saturday – they requested CC use only for transactions over $5 and since they’re an independent and I want them to thrive …..
$5, tip/part of the bill for lunch on Sunday
$15, dinner at a cash-only on Sunday
all in CASH. And now I’m back to a few dollars and jingling coins.
August 19, 2008
right out of my wallet!
I have a couple $20 reimbursements from my dad that I needed to take to the bank. Instead …
– $10, to reimburse my coworker who covered me for an unexpected office farewell lunch last week (yes, we get to pay for our own now. Joy.)
– $3.79, yesterday’s tuna salad sandwich because I haven’t gone grocery shopping for 2.5 weeks.
– $3.79, today’s sandwich … didn’t go grocery shopping yesterday either.
Total: 17.98
I have GOT to get that cash into the bank before I spend it all on lunches!
May 16, 2008
Pretty disappointing week for someone who isn’t supposed to spend money on lunch.
Sunday: Groceries – eggs, OJ, brown rice, whole wheat pretzels, grapefruit. $9
Monday: Brought stew, but didn’t buy carbs at Trader Joe’s. š I just can’t find a loaf of bread that doesn’t crumble there. Spent $1.50 on a bagel.
Tuesday: Leftovers, bought another bagel: $1.40
Wednesday: Went to the cafe but was thwarted. They had some jacked up “Visitor’s Cafe” because they were having a Grand Opening celebration for employees only, and I ended up paying way too much for a lump of lasagna and dollop of mixed veggies. $6
Thursday: Picked up a sandwich with a coworker (and asked for extra tomato slices: free!), and got gypped into paying for her sandwich too. $8
Friday: I’m eating my frozen pizza, dangit. I refuse to spend any more lunch money!
Also, I used up all of my cash š See? See what happens when I keep cash in my wallet?
February 25, 2008
In an attempt to divert my attention from the budget that’s bleeding red, I went through my wallet and pared out items that didn’t have to be in there anymore.
I also made a list of the gift cards I have, and the amounts left on them, so I’d have a better idea of what cards I should redeem rewards points for and where I’ll be allowed to spend money. As a bonus, cataloging the money I DO have helps make me feel less financially restricted.
Ann Taylor (Loft)
Banana Republic
Borders
Linens ‘n’ Things — hoarding for my new vacuum, or magazine racks
Macy’s
Starbucks
Victoria’s Secret
It might be a tad bit neurotic, but I feel the need to carry all the cards with me, all the time, because I might happen upon a good sale at a store on my Yes, You May Shop Here list. Since I didn’t carry my wallet during the Vegas trip, I passed up visits to Ann Taylor, Victoria’s Secret and Banana Republic.
My hot gift card management tip of the day:
If you’re not going to use up an entire gift card right away, or hoard them as I do, stick a post-it on the back of it to keep track of the dates and amounts left so that you don’t have to keep the receipts with the card. Voila! Less paper in your wallet! I keep the receipt if there’s a survey attached that gives me a discount.
Going through receipts, I realized that I never submitted the phone surveys at the end of a couple of Victoria’s Secret receipts so I dug through my receipt envelope to find and give them a go. Not only were the surveys still valid, the coupon is good for three months from the date of the survey submission, not from the date of purchase. Now I have two $10 off $50 purchase coupons, valid until 5/24/08.
If it’s not blindingly obvious, I’m still addicted to my cash-maximization habits left over from my college days. If there are any stores that I like for personal shopping, I look for gift cards, coupons/discounts to combine with sales. I’ll do whatever advance planning it takes to avoid using my own money out of pocket:) This is a great way to avoid crippling the budget and saves my cash for non-gift-cardable expenses like the rent.
Now, if I could redeem for gas gift cards, I’d be in great shape. This past month, Ma/PaDucky spent over $300 on gas because she’s been seeing a new medical practitioner out in the boonies. *sigh*