Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Journaling - Day 3

I've been out of commission for the past couple days.  Nudgie passed her stomach bug on to me and I've been feeling really crappy.  (No pun intended!)

But, I'm back.....feeling a bit better, finally.  And ready to be accountable for my last few days.

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So, the past few days, I've been really good about tracking what I've been spending since pay day.  I found this great online tracking program that's been very helpful.  To check it out, click here.  I was a little bad at not writing things down right away, but one morning, I just sat down with my receipts, check book, computer and documented every cent.  Big step for me.

Normally, I start off with good intentions and then lose steam.  I forget to write things down so then I'm very vague about our bank balance.  But really -- it was just sheer laziness.  Then I would be stuck with a wallet full of receipts that I didn't track.  I'd get frustrated and just throw them away.

But not this time.  I made a point of writing everything down and putting it into my online spending diary.  Seeing that little pie chart is helping me to see where all the money is going.

But in spite of my small victory with tracking.  I did fall off the wagon.  The other day, I went to Barnes and Noble and spent $60.  Unplanned spending.  Stuff I didn't need.  Books for the girls.  Two books for me.  Why?  I don't know.  I didn't need any of it.  I ended up putting the stuff I bought for the girls in our Christmas closet -- meaning they'll get them for Christmas.  My two books are sitting on the ever-growing pile of "to read" books that I've been hoarding buying for as long as I can remember.

Funny thing is - just that morning, I'd gone through my huge stockpile and made an even bigger pile of books that I was going to list for sale on eBay.  Let me go over that again.....I just got RID of over 40+ books to the eBay pile and then an hour later added two more books to my stash.  What kind of insanity is that?

It's the insanity of compulsive spending.  There's no rhyme or reason to it.  But I'm hoping (and praying) that by writing this blog that I can start to peel away the onion-like layers of my problem.  That I can be accountable.

One day at a time.

4 comments:

Christy Killoran said...

One of the things I committed to when I began changing my ways, is not buying books. I request books from the library all the time now. If I see a book in the store or on Amazon that I really want, I request it from the library! This has saved me so much money. When we moved last November I donated over 500 books. I didn't find selling books to be worth it for me.

On another note, I have to watch myself right now because Christmas is coming and I want to buy everything. My biggest weakness is girl stuff for my daughter.

I'm going to check out that link. I could use a new system. I sort of lost steam with the one I was using. Thanks.

Tracey M. said...

That is awesome insight that you are getting now that you started the tracking; seeing the insanity of listing the books on EBay and then buying more. I think I'm afraid to write mine down because maybe I don't want to see how bad my compulsive spending is ... but maybe it's time to use that link. Thanks for sharing this.

Stacy, Derek, Tyler and Matthew said...

Jennifer, you should check into bookmooch.com and paperbackswap.com
I belong to both and have gotten some great books. You can list books of your own and then you get credit and get books from others. If you want to join I can refer you.

rarejule said...

Being honest with yourself, changing your ways... you're on the right track! Good luck and keep it real. You can do it!

And if you feel guilt from buying books, remember - one trip back to the store to RETURN them is a good feeling too. It's only pennies in gas but oodles in returned money to the bank account and self-esteem.

A new Friendly Friday Follower,
Jules