It was a baby step indeed

Since I have pretty much laid my financial soul bare for all to read, I will probably have more drive by posts like this just to keep myself honest. Obviously it would be easier to keep my private shit private, problem is I have been doing that for years, pretending life is fine all the while sinking deeper with my addiction to consumption. I realize on some level this may sound funny or trite but I could tell you stories and maybe I will one day of the shopping binges I have been known to go on. I will just say that I have a house filled with useless shit, a barn filled with bags of shit I bought while in the high of shopping only to realize when I got home, why did I buy this shit?

However that is not the point of this post, its to share what I see as a step in the right direction. It was a gorgeous fall day here in Maine and as usual on Saturday we hit the farmer’s market. Well I brought $45 in cash with the plan of only spending $40, sadly I went over and spent the entire $45 since at the last stop I discovered my bakery ladies were closing for the season so I bought extra snacks for the girl child and I. Considering I generally go over by at least $20 at the market this was a true baby step and I even got a fresh bouquet of flowers for the table.

No, the real challenge was not the farmers market but the fall festival we were attending, I set a budget of $50 for the day. The cost to enter was $15 and I figured $35 was enough to have lunch and take a hay ride. Now I brought $70 ( I know why did I do that? On the other hand I actually left the debit and credit card at home..again a baby step). So at the end of the day I left with $11 which means I went over by approximately $9. I guess the pound of granola and the local honey I bought at the festival were not really needed but we do use honey regularly and I will eat good granola.

So considering these fall events are generally a place where I lose my resolve because I am a sucker for cute crafted items and handmade jams. All in all it was a victorious day since in the end I overspent by only $13 which is way better than what I usually do.

As for tomorrow, I have to pick up a loaf of bread for $3 but I have no plans to spend any more money until Tuesday when I take the girl child to a Mommy and Me film after her ballet class. I will let you know how it goes.