I've seriously been rocking the deals lately!! I keep saving all the impressive receipts thinking this blog might end up being similar to those I follow on a daily basis in awe of their money saving super skills.. and then I go to put gas in my car and am puzzled when it says to go see cashier. Ok, so I try again and run it as credit this time, you know how finicky some of those machines can be. Well... same response, so I go see the cashier, HE tries to run it as debit for a $25 purchase (about half of what it will actually cost to fill my tank mind you) and it doesn't work again. Guess what. My account is overdrawn AGAIN! I haven't done this for years, and its happened twice this month. I can be seriously impressed with my shopping skills, but apparently my accounting, prioritizing and budgeting skills need some work.
Its just that I REALLY ENJOY shopping. And better yet, I really enjoy shopping when I'm spending very little money. But it ends up that even transactions with very little money add up. Now there are the end of the month bills to pay (car insurance, car payment and cell phone bill) and not enough money left. I think its time for an overhaul.
I need to force myself on a cash only system for awhile. I know plenty of Dave Ramsay followers who do it and have major success! Why does it seem so daunting to me? Is it because it will really limit me to take a closer look at my finances and my shopping obsession? Is it because I might have to let some good deals go by without stockpiling? Is it because I might just have to focus more on things that I don't enjoy so much? Here I started this post excited to share my super deals I just got at Fred Meyers, and yesterday's steals at Safeway and RiteAid, but now I'm thinking I need to get on top of my responsibilties so my bills are paid and my bank account balance isn't written in red before I can get back to bragging about how little money I just spent on something that wasn't a dire need at the moment.
Ahh... reflection is good but it can sure be painful sometimes!