During the infancy of She Makes Cents, I started reading Shoo…Jimmy Choo by Catey Hill. This, I admit, was another book I picked up because I like the title. In it, Hill goes beyond the standard advice to create a spending chart and record everything you spend your money on in it. She adds the recommendation to also include additional information such as who was with you and the motivation behind your purchase. I did this for about two months and learned that I often spent extra money when I was with one particularly close friend. I usually spent money on expensive lunches and after reviewing the spending chart, my motivation behind my spending was purely emotional. I didn’t realize that was I was spending a great deal of money simply because I missed hanging out with her like I did when I was in college. Fast forward almost two years later where I started repeating the pattern of emotional and socially inspired spending. With my current job, I got back into the habit of frequently going out to lunch with the girls. I didn’t want to miss the great conversations but most importantly, I didn’t want to appear anti-social.
At the start of the year, something clicked for the Mr and me. Our view on how we spend money as a couple and individually has narrowed. We have become super serious about saving and making better decisions on how we spend our money. Does that mean no lunches with the girls? Absolutely not! It does mean that I won’t be going with them EVERY DAY for lunch or drinks after work, though. Instead, I am cooking more at home and packing more lunches. As much as I hate to decline a social invitation, I would hate it more if the collective whole of my socially motivated financial decisions were the reason I wasn’t truly living a fabulous debt free life. I am proud of myself. I find that I’m eating better and cleaner. I also becoming a better cook, which is always a plus, but more importantly, I have learned to say no to social and yes to finances!
shemakescents 