Day 58

Most of this Fast has been pretty sucky.
Don't get me wrong, it's kind of an adventure to find new ways to save money and it's had some fun moments.

But for me it's mostly been a lot of misadventure. (Like, buying energy drinks and calling them 'groceries'. Or giving people homemade gifts in hopes that they look 'thoughtful' rather than 'cheap'.)

Counting pennies is tedious. Staying in every weekend is boring. My bank account is just screaming, "It's GAME TIME! There's so much money here! SPEND it!" Sigh. I'm not feeling sorry for myself because I obviously signed onto this on my own accord, I'm just whining.





I'm sort of dreading doing my calculations tonight because I know I didn't save nearly as much this month as I did in January. But this is a learning process. And what I'm learning is that, well, not spending money is tough. It takes a lot of thought and planning. And a LOT of Pinterest "research."

Day 56: T.R.O.U.B.L.E

Besides being difficult and completely overwhelming, my Spending Fast is also pretty selfish.
I took it upon myself to make the decision to just stop spending money. Everything revolves around me. How I'm going to get home, what I'm going to eat, how can I get this or that, my wallet is empty....

I, I, I. Me, me, me.
I imagine I sound like quite the nightmare.


I didn't think of anyone else when I committed to this. Before I stopped spending my money, I should have at least had the decency to run it by the one guy that I spend the most time with! He spends so much on me. He gets me dinner, he gets my drinks, he buys my cabs home. Essentially, while I'm cutting my spending in half, his is DOUBLING.

I try to carry my weight by making dinner or cleaning his apartment while he's at work, but I realize it's not necessarily equal.
So after a number of tense nights and quite the argument (and an apology burrito), I've decided that for the sake of my relationship I need to set aside an envelope of cash at the beginning of the month. We can use it for drinks or the movies. Whatever we want.

Since one of the objectives of this Fast to focus on nurturing relationships, I'd say the boyfriend's good mood falls under the NEEDS catergory. Wouldn't you agree?

Sriracha fixes everything.

What kind of weirdo dinner is this?
Oh, the kind of meal a girl puts together when she refuses to go to the grocery store for the rest of the month.

Last egg and last beer in the house.
Hmph.

Day 49!

Can I vent for a sec? Yeah? Thanks!

SO, in January I switched electricity provider's to one that is more cost-effective. Because, well, duh. Wouldn't you?
And then, these past two months I've been living like a little Eskimo girl in my apartment to cut costs on my electricity bill.
Seriously. I've been going to sleep wearing thermal underwear, two pairs of socks, a scarf, and sometimes (ok, MOST nights) a hat. It's prettayprettay sexy.
Or I stay over at my manfriend's house where I trade my lack of heat for his stinky bachelor's pad. Sigh...

keeping warm in my newly crocheted pompom hat!

Yet somehow my bill last month showed that I used 911 kilowatts of electricity in my < 400 sq ft apartment! And this month I was even more conscious of my electricity usage than I was in January...and I still somehow used over 750 kilowatts. (This is roughly the amount a small business would use for a month.)

I'm just baffled. And frustrated. And COLD!
Anyone have any suggestions? I realize that it's only logical that my bill would be higher in the winter months, but it has nearly doubled from December to January.

rant over




Anyway! Everyone keep your peepers open for a link to my new Etsy shop in the next week or so! I'm so excited to be able to share my new custom made crocheted accessories!

Day 45: Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, all!! 

Today I wore red pants with a pink shirt with pink lipstick...because no one was around to tell me I couldn't. :)

I'm crazy about any holiday that is centered around love and sweets! I spent the day with my favorite little people and the evening with one of my extra special lady friends, a bottle of wine, and a hot ham and cheese. (I know, I know...I'm wild.) And, I'll admit, I had enough sugar I'm sure to forget that I'm really struggling through February.

As I am Fasting at the moment, today should have cost me zero dollars. However, what is it about this month that makes it feel twice as long as January!? Seriously, it's only two weeks into the month and I somehow convinced myself that I needed Valentine's day cookie cutters, colorful icing, and more yarn.

I did manage to do some DIY gifts for today though! I made my girlfriends some fancy mini heart shaped cakes with ingredients I already had on hand and crocheted them two headbands each....in festive, colors of course!

I also made homemade cards which, according to my mom, is still acceptable past the age of 7! Thank goodness!

27!

See this adorable little girl below with the sweet fashion sense?

That's me! And she turned 2-7 years old today! An uneventful age, I agree...but celebrating, getting presents, and eating cake will always be fun to me, no matter what my age!

 Anyhoot! I had a lovely birthday dinner with my family on Sunday night where I was spoiled like crazy! (Hellooo, the ever important boots I mentioned earlier! A plant that I can't kill...and isn't plastic. AND a Target giftcard! They know how to read a wishlist! ;) )

Today I tried my best to behave! But it IS my birthday, damnit. I bought a fancy coffee after the gym -Sidenote: after the gym I spent the rest of the day curled up with my guy because I got my ass handed to me in class. I feel like I turned NINETY seven today! 

 ...and spent 17 bucks at the bar. I wrote it down in my book...but I may choose to overlook it at the end of the month...
Due to the birthday law.
That's a thing, right?

Day 42

Hi. Tomorrow's my birthday! I'm usually a BIG birthday person. I get super jazzed on celebrating! I plan about a month of time, I have a wishlist a mile long, and I eat a lot of cake.

This year I'm slacking. I JUST made plans for a birthday brunch for this Sunday (and I'm really really excited about a laid back, inexpensive day in. With mimosa's. And friends. And french toast.)
I asked my mom for a gift card and my manfriend for a plant (whattt?! who am I?)

Maybe I'm less enthusiastic about my own day this year because the thought of other people having to spend dough on me gives me a bad case of guilt-gut? Hmm..

here's a short list of things I would like if my family and friends were billionaires

. Upwardly Mobile Satchel

. Nike Eclipse Leopard Sneakers

. Glass Coffee beans Pot 

. Leopard Print Eyeglasses

. These 2 fantastic Prints by Rococco-LA