Financial Death-Spiral

You know how a lot of nutritionists tell you not to deprive yourself too much when dieting, or you'll just overindulge to compensate later?  I've come to discover that's kind of how budgeting works, too.

I'm usually the most frugal person ever.  I only buy what I absolutely need.  But every once in a while, my strict self-discipline backfires and a little part of me rebels.  Lately I've been going through one of those phases.  I blame it on the fact that normally, I only buy what I absolutely need because I only have enough money to buy what I absolutely need, whereas lately, I've been working a little more than usual and I actually have extra money.  After months of telling myself, "No, Haley, you can't have that bag of chips because you might overdraw your checking account," something inside me has just snapped.  I'm going to have that bag of chips, and not Buddha or Wells Fargo or my sense of propriety is going to stop me.

It's not that I'm some frivolous person who buys designer handbags on a whim.  The things I want are inexpensive.  The only problem is, I still can't really afford them.

The voice in my head has a point.  $2.98 is not that much money, and maybe I'm not THAT poor.  But then the same thing happens with half a dozen other items that are 98 cents… $1.49… $3.69… and before you know it, I'm bringing home four bags of Halloween candy, a pack of bargain granola, an extra box of oatmeal (they were Buy 2 for $5!), and a kale plant (only $2.32 for limitless amounts of fresh kale!) in addition to all my "regular" groceries (and by "regular" I mean "things I eat because it's easier to just keep making the same grocery list week after week").  I'm still convinced I'm saving money on that oatmeal in the long run.  And the kale will feed us this winter!  Except Ari doesn't like kale.  More kale for me!

This erratic behavior has been going on for about three weeks now.  I've also splurged on two chrysanthemum plants, a daisy that I literally bought out of pity because it had been abandoned in the wrong section of Lowe's, a walking stick (solid hickory!), a delivery pizza, and a sock monkey hat and matching scarf from work.

In my defense, I got a compliment on that sock monkey hat last night, and I'm pretty sure it was only half sarcastic.

When word spreads that I've lost my grip on reality, squandered all my money on candy corn, and moved back in with my parents, this post should answer a lot of questions.

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