Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Corey Keith and the Debt Diet...


Yesterday Parker and I went running.

His day actually started with spin class. My day started with me frowned up screaming at him to get out of our bedroom so I could go back to sleep. He was trying to get me up to go with him to spin class. I didn’t go. I stayed in the bed.

While running, Parker and I had a long talk about finances. He is excellent with money. He is budget conscious and frugal. I am spend happy and a glutton.

This summer I am attempting to trim the fat from my lifestyle. Unfortunately, this process is becoming a lot more about how and why I spend instead of how much money I make.

The thing that bothers Parker the most about my spending habits is the waste. It’s things like Whole Foods. I love this store. I love the fresh fruit, the fresh flowers, the wine selection, the hot bar, the salad bar, the cake selection… the list goes on. Unfortunately, so does my receipt when I leave the store. Last Thursday I grabbed lunch from Whole Foods… for $17. Yikes. Last Thursday was a debt diet failure day.

Dees is always telling me that I will never save money. He swears that I will never downgrade my lifestyle so that I will save money. He may be right. I hope he is wrong. I am in prayer about the discipline I need. Maybe I should join the military. I hear it helps build the discipline I am so clearly lacking.

9 comments:

Cup-o-Noodles said...

Military discipline is overrated. And I know this. LOL.

Dude... 17 bucks for lunch... damn.

I personally don't think Whole Foods is "waste". I mean, they do have nice stuff there, especially the organic selection. Eating healthy isn't cheap, otherwise KFC and McDonald's would be bankrupt by now.

Give yourself an allowance. I do, $80/week. If I don't use it all, it goes back to the household fund (y'all have joint account?). If I run out early, then I'm shit out of luck - can't take anymore money out. :) Purchases over $200 gets discussed - this one takes some sort of discipline, because one tends to think, "it's my money, I can buy whatever I want".

Go over the finances often. I do it daily when possible - even when I'm away - so that overspending is caught early and can be adjusted. I don't know your spending pattern, so a daily thing may be overkill. Maybe every 2 or 3 days would be sufficient.

Just my 2 cents.

lc said...

first of all: LOVE whole foods. lol. second, i think maybe if you started to live more of a minimalist lifestyle, you'll start to see that sometimes less is more. that worked for me, while in college, i learned to trim all the "extras" from my life. only a few things in life should be that essential when it comes to possessions. once you get good at getting rid of baggage, i'll think the discipline will kick in.

Unknown said...

Baby steps should help you get there...how about you put your budget on paper that way you know where you @ and where you need to go?

Anonymous said...

Please join the military.For you it is the ONLY way.You have NO disclipline sir

Test of A Man said...

Well... We all know that you love your dear whole foods. I don't think you will begin to save until you are forced to save. Right now you are living your life the way you want. As long as you have enough saved to cover a year then go ahead spend as you like. You only live once.

Anonymous said...

But you cant cover a year...thats the problem!

Anonymous said...

Downgrade your lifestyle?? FUNNY.... Just downgrade your trips to whole foods, to the book store, to the comic book store, to barnes&nobles for magazines, GO DUTCH on dinners, movies, trips, etc. I TRY TO LIVE OFF OF HALF OF MY PAY EACH MONTH. I HAVE A SAVINGS ACCOUNT THAT I DON"T HAVE ACCESS TO. EACH MONTH A CERTAIN AMOUNT IS AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERED. You know my horrible shopping habits and shoe fetish. If I can save surely you can. ~~DEES
P.S. STOP BEING SO "NEGATIVE" AND YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SAVE!!! LOL

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UrSoVain said...

Well i don't think you should change your lifestyle just because someone else has a problem with it... unless your spending is something YOU have a problem with.