An Ad Campaign for My Own Budget
Budgeting for the Right Stuff
It was also time to tackle a gardening project I had put off all winter. And, of course, this weekend we were due for our twice-monthly trip to Costco where there was an exceptional deal on Adidas running shoes. Because of the real world, I take steps after I set my goals to help me combat the bombardment of messages that seem to demand that I spend, spend, spend. I set up a lot of noisy reminders so that my brain is forced to pay as much attention to my goals and limits as it does to opportunities to spend.
My bank offers free e-mail and text message and I take full advantage of those. If my balance sinks below a threshold I set, I get a text message. (This helps me avoid overdraft fees and reminds me that money is finite.) I also get weekly balance notices. And anytime a large transaction clears, I get an email and a text message. I also use the text alerts at Quicken Online, which is where I set up my budget. If I’m approaching the limits I set up in my budget for groceries, sporting goods, or in restaurants, I get a text to my phone so I know it’s time to reign it in. This works well with my family, too, since the messages come out of the ether. My 10-year old will argue with me till she wears me down but a text message? How can you argue with that? But the thing that really keeps me focused on my goals is less tangible than text messages and budgets.
It was easy to stay in a budget when I was younger and living paycheck to paycheck. I didn’t have any choice; I couldn’t spend money I didn’t have. Now, though, I have what might be an endless amount of credit and a bit a of a cash cushion. Not blowing it all on vacations and cars requires that I make smart choices every day. And smart choices require mental discipline. But even with that, I let technology help me.
I immerse myself – daily – in dogma that focuses on frugal living. There are lots of terrific blogs that dispense this message along with tips, advice, information, and strategies. Check out Get Rich Slowly, Bargaineering, Festival of Frugality, The Frugal Yankees, or even my own Frugal Fridays at GeekGirlfriends.com. As well as being a sort of functional reminder system that helps me to keep an eye on how much money I have, these tools are like my own little ad campaign for fiscal responsibility. The advertising I see in the real world, and the whining I hear from my kids and my own desires for new shoes create a fantasy that all will be well if I spend, spend, spend. Feeding the opposite message to myself helps focus me on reality.
Did I buy my daughter that bike? You bet I did. I also spent a little money on the garden. But I also skipped the movie and dinner my husband thought we deserved, started most of my garden from seed, and took a brown bag lunch to work to stay inside my budget.
Christina Tynan-Wood is a freelance writer in North Carolina. She blogs at GeekGirlfriends.com [RSS]and on Fridays, writes about frugality. Disclaimer: The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice.
Tags: budgeting, saving money | Categories: Personal Finance, Saving |
Great post Christina…like your style.