I saw the movie Eat Pray Love not too long ago. In it, is a reference to an old Catholic joke that I have become very fond of. In a voice-over, Liz, played by Julia Roberts, recalls the following:

I remember an Old Catholic joke about a man who spent his whole life going to a church every day and prayed to the statue of a great saint begging, “please, please, please, let me win the lottery.” Finally the exasperated statue comes to life and looks down at the begging man and says “my son, please, please, please, buy a ticket”.

Sometimes I find myself in situations where I am the one begging and sometimes I am the statue. Today, I come to you as the statue. I once heard it said that we buy what we want and beg for what we need. Is this you? Have you put you financial security at risk with things you wanted and now you are begging for a financial miracle? Be a part of your own miracle…buy a ticket. I am taking the points mentioned in Budgeting 101 step by step. Like dieting and working out, budgeting takes time, restraint, and accountability. I invite you to join me on my Spending Diet.

Write Down Everything You Spend Your Money On. Since April 1, 2011, I have been writing down EVERYTHING I have spent money on. I included this advice in Budgeting 101 with the suggestion to do this for two weeks. I would now like to retract that advice and tell you to extend it for an entire month. Every financial and money management writer will tell you to do this. Honestly, it wasn’t until the beginning of April that I actually did this myself. I thought between my memory and online banking statements, that I had an accurate grasp on how, when, where, and with whom I spent my money. SMC readers, I couldn’t have been more wrong. My spending chart has revealed that I am an emotional spender who blows a great deal of my food budget on eating out with my sister because I believe we don’t see, talk, or interact as frequently as we once did. My spending chart personified aspects by my sometimes-narcissistic personality. I made a donation to my alma mater that I really couldn’t afford, because I didn’t want to be the 5,999 person who comes shy of the 6,000 donor goal for the Founder’s Day scholarship fundraiser. I also learned that while there are aspects of my personality where I am admittedly spoiled, I also spend and give the a great deal of my money to others to make them happy. Hi, my name is Danielle and I am an emotional spender. Buy the ticket. I am putting myself in financial rehab to get back on track like my Rah Tiffany did years ago. I have locked my credit card away and most importantly, I am learning to say no to others. Catey Hill, the author of Shoo Jimmy Choo created a Day to Day Spending Chart that I particularly like. I used Hill’s chart as an example and made one that fits my own financial goals and spending style. Buy what you need and you will not have anything left to beg for. Buy a ticket and let’s start our financial journey together.

If you are interested in my own Spending Chart, please email me at shemakescent@gmail.com
subject: Spending Chart  

 

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