I Was the Last to See Juno...

Possibly the most difficult aspect of living within my means is controlling my impulse buys. After years of not policing myself at all, I find myself in a position where I can got out to dinner and a new release movie AND drinks afterward if I so chose, and I do sometimes. The catch is that I now find myself honestly distressed when I know I've paid too much for something. Roommates, Boyfriend and I went to see a movie a week or so ago, and even with a student discount my ticket was $10. I could have seen THREE movies at the second run theater with that. I try not to think about it.

If I'm out running errands and I find myself getting hungry, I might buy a muffin or something. I can certainly afford this, but again - knowing that I could have made at least 6 muffins at home for the price of one bought ready-made? Totally stresses me out. When I go out the the bar and order a $3 (plus $1 for tip!) beer, all I can think about is how that's half a six pack.

This fussiness extends to those around me too. When I see someone paying more for something than they have to, I feel my bossypants-know-it-all tendencies beginning to twitch. Most of the time I keep my mouth shut, but sometimes I can't help but blurt out "Oh my god! You could have gotten that for at LEAST $5 less!"

But even though these purchases stress me out, I still find myself making them from time to time. Luckily most of my impulse buys are well under $20 (most are $10 or less), and I don't make too many of them. I might spend an unplanned $10 a week, usually on entertainment/books/beer. That's $520 a year!

Even if I'm still making impulse buys, I try to be certain that I'm getting the most for my money. When I talk about trying to slash my spending there are folks who laugh at me, but to be honest I'd rather spend $9 on a six pack and a second run movie theater ticket than $15+ on a beer in a bar and a new release movie ticket. If I'm going to spend $520 a year on entertainment - I better have been entertained as much as possible, dangit.