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Mar 7, 2022    |       34 comments

Do I have to buy another car?

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I am starting to think about summer. The warmer weather, hours on our back deck enjoying the sun and Princess being home for spring break make me think summer. And I’m beginning to think that I may need to break down and buy another car. Ugh!

Definitely not rushing into it. Lots going on this summer…

  • Princess will be home and working full time. She is spending this week looking for a summer job.
  • Gymnast will be working full time…hopefully. He’s got a great job at a restaurant that he loves so I’m hoping he can get pretty close to full time hours there. It’s about 2ish miles from the house.
  • I am most likely going to need to go to Texas for a while to help care for my mom as my dad is going to need a knee replacement. He is her primary caretaker followed by my sister and then two of my brothers help out regularly too. I had thought 1-2 weeks, but my dad thinks I may be needed longer.

Depending on where Princess’ job is, we may be able to get by with one car. But we must be able to get everyone to their jobs. And I’ve had to pick up going to Atlanta again every once in a while. It’s a delicate balance.

My thought is that I would leave the car when I go to Texas and they would have to coordinate things. Which would be delicate but doable.

Ugh, I don’t know. We’ve got a small savings account set aside for a car but it’s not near enough especially with car prices these days.

Life would be so much easier on this front if we lived in a larger city where services like Uber or public transport were available. (We are just getting DoorDash service.)

I would much prefer to get through another year without a second car. Princess has done well with living on campus with occasional trips home. It’s been easy for me to get Gymnast to and from work (and he’s schooling virtually so no rides to school needed.)

I guess it’s better to be prepared and not need it rather than need it and not be prepared. Would love to know BAD’s thoughts on a good budget for a good, reliable used car these days…

Mar 2, 2022    |       8 comments

Avoiding Binge Spending

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The last few weeks have been tough. You know the type. It seems like everything that could go wrong, did. I work hard on stress relief. I lean toward high anxiety and stress is always a low hum in my life, even in the best of times. Lately, well, it’s been crazy. Rather than go for a run or do yoga, I have either crawled into bed with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates and binge watched Netflix or binge shopped on Amazon. Ugh. I knew things were bad when a box showed up at the door and I had no clue what was inside. This week, I’m working to get it under control. When I realize I’m overwhelmed and likely to be stupid, I stick by three standby responses:

1) Delay. If I deny, I fail instantly. If I think I’ll NEVER get something, I’ll cave immediately. Instead, I tell myself that I can order or eat whatever I want…if I can remember exactly what it was when I get home. Chances are very high that a) I’ll forget or b) decide it wasn’t what I wanted anyway.

2) Distract. Most of my bad actions are because I’m bored or tired and the stress is felt more deeply. I’ve been going for a walk at lunch daily to give myself a midday boost. It also keeps my away from my computer…and Amazon. I’ve also been telling myself that I can eat as much chocolate as I want if I eat a whole food first (like an orange, apple, bell pepper, etc.). When I eat something healthy first, I’m usually pretty good at resisting an entire bag of chocolate. Oh trust me, I definitely EAT THE CHOCOLATE, I’m not a robot. But I eat less if I distract myself first.

3) Forgive. Yup. There are some days I spend too much money. Rather than think I’m terrible with my budget and I might as well give up forever, I forgive myself and MOVE ON. It’s so easy to overspend then continue in that trend because you’ve already made a mess but DON’T.

What are your tips for preventing overspending when stressed? Freeze your debit cards? Make money difficult to get? Because these days, I’m open to suggestions!

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