I mentioned in a previous post that I felt rich when I was making $31,000 a year. In New York City, no less. At that salary level, I took home about $1,000 every two weeks. It came as a shock a few years later, when I was making enough to take home a little over $1,200 every two weeks and yet I couldn’t live within my means. So, for the last year, my policy has been to try and spend about the same amount as I spent when I was making $31,000. It started by accident: after my latest salary increase, I elected to have a certain amount each paycheck sent straight to savings. But to be honest, I expected that to leave a lot more in my checking account than it actually did. Turns out taxes were higher than I predicted. Whoops.
For the last few months, I’ve actually done a pretty good job of spending within these self-imposed limits. This week, however, I discovered that staying within my budget only works until I actually have to buy something. First, I bought a plane ticket to visit my sister in San Francisco ($440), then I broke the air purifier that my husband can’t live without ($300), and I finally decided to get the $200 repair that my bike has needed for almost five years. And, by the way, I really need to buy another 20-pack of Pilates classes ($225) so I can get a $4 discount on each class.
Could I wait on any of these purchases? Well, the longer I wait to buy the 20-pack, the more I’m paying in the long run. We could go a few weeks without the air purifier, but then Jon will make me dust. And dusting is a fate worse than budget-busting. As for my bike—well, Jon would argue that it doesn’t matter since I only bike five times a year. I just figured it was about time for my bike to work again. It’s not what the Ultimate Cheapskate would have done … It’s probably not what Him and Her of Make Love Not Debt would have done, as they are heroically dedicated to sticking with their allowances. But as I mentioned, this blog is as much about personal finance failures as success. So, here’s my goal: by the end of April, I may not have saved anything extra, but I will not have dug into my current level of savings at all. –Hannah
