I used to enjoy reading other people’s money diaries, but now I find myself actively shunning them. I just can’t relate! Nor do I like reading PF bloggers break down their expenditures and budgets anymore. For me, most of the week is a no spend day (that would never be a challenge for me). Maybe once a week I’ll buy lunch, but apart from that spending is generally reserved for weekends – we get paid at the end of the week, everything is bought over Saturday and Sunday and everything is pretty much spent (with a little bit banked) by Monday. Boring. But necessary.

I guess if you tracked our weekend spending it might be quite shocking – we spend a bit on eating out (we might spend on four or even five separate occasions on a bad weekend) and occassionally have cause to buy the odd toiletry or piece of clothing. But otherwise everything is allocated to essential things and there isn’t much discretionary. So when I read about people’s coffee and alcohol binges, or shoe purchases, or gym memberships, I’m just like, whatever – that’s such a different way than the way I’m accustomed to.

It’s been hard for me to resist spending recently, though. I usually go through phases – I’ll have a total drought, then need to stock up on clothes, shoes, underwear etc (some are worn to be almost see through, but I love them and refuse to give them up). And right now there’s so many things in stores that I want, RIGHT NOW, so I’m avoiding the shops altogether.

For a tightwad my inner shopper is surprisingly stubborn.

As much as I think, I work hard, for once I’m making decent money, and BF is working, and I deserve something nice…I can’t justify it right now. Not when we don’t know how stable his employment is, when I’m back at uni in a month, and have fees to pay, insurance to buy and a laptop to replace, and we are looking at getting away for Valentines weekend…..if we DID have anything spare I’d try to find cheap tickets to Eric Clapton of Kings of Leon or stock up BF’s wardrobe – he desperately needs it although he may not agree with me. But seriously, he has two pairs of shoes, three of jeans (none of which are very nice now) three pairs of boardies (ditto, as they’re all worn to work), several work shirts, two semi decent shirts and no nice bottoms at all. It’s not often he has occasion to dress up, but when he does (as he did recently) he shouldn’t have to BORROW pants and shoes!