r.i.p. moratorium ...

here we are. ok. here i am. one day before the official end of the spending moratorium. but, in reality, it died late last week. i could blame its demise on all sorts of things - from feeling punk (which is dumb, cause i have been feeling that way for weeks) to freaking out over not spending money any-way-i-want-to-thank-you-very-much (which is valid, cause the pressure has been building). but the bottom line is this: i stopped trying to stop myself from spending.

i stopped being concerned with staying on budget and was only concerned about living in the moment. as i often do with efforts to improve my health, i chose what feels GOOD right now over what feels BEST overall. delaying gratification is not naturally part of my genetic make-up!!

here is the final "non-essentials" spending breakdown:

books - $88.15
clothes - $132.25
eating out - $312.42
fun stuff - $11.07
gifts - $139.46
junk food - $130.53
parking - $15.00

outgoing: $828.88
incoming: $200.34 (ebay sales, returning items)

total spent: $628.54 - an average of $10.48 a day

the only number that really concerns me is the eating out. the next most concerning number is obviously the junk food one. but everything else is pretty okay in my book.

now. where do i go from here? first, allow me to share the top 5 things i learned from this experiment:

1. being accountable DOES help!
2. i need to work in a book store
3. eating out actually makes me FEEL good ... but eating something i made myself at home feels much better
4. i will spend every penny i budget ... and then spend some more; i need to get my spending habits in shape BEFORE i am debt free - or i am likely to just spend all that money, too!
5. not experiencing "buyer's remorse" is a great thing!!

second, here are the top three things i want to do going forward:

1. eat out only once per week and only when socializing (this is connected to goals i set with my dietitian (posting on cath's cravings about this will be up soon))
2. use a cash & envelope system: put the money for each category in a labeled envelope, when the money is gone, yer done spending (and leave cards at home to avoid impulsively going over-budget) ... this may take awhile for me to implement - i feel vulnerable without my cards!!
3. make no impulse buys - make a list of things i want to own; if i see something new, i will add it to the list

and finally, here is the new plan:

1. make up budget for next six months (october 9, 2009 to march 31, 2010)
2. increase budget for spending, but be more specific about where the funds can be spent
3. pay off 2 debts by march 31, 2010 (VERY do-able if i stick to the budget!)
4. track spending and report any over-expenditures on blog once a month
5. carry a book of some sort with me EVERYWHERE to avoid impulse purchases - i am already really good about using the library!

and to close - a little touch of irony ... i put 5 purses on ebay and made $36.48!!! but it cost me $30.34 to send them. net gain: $6.14 - soooooooo not worth it. next time, i will just give them away and save a trip to the post office!

phew! onward and upward ...