Not too long ago I stated that I would no longer be living check to check come September. I guess it depends on how you define the month. Is it from the first pay check of the month? Is it from the first of the month?
I have decided that it should be from the first of the month. While, in my view, I have fallen short of this, I will make some preparations this week to make sure I can take full advantage of my pay check on Friday. I know some of this is going to be really hard, but if I don’t do it myself, it might just happen anyway.
- I am not purchasing a monthly Metrocard until payday. I think I only need a $4-6 (2-3 rides) card to get through the week
- I am limiting the amount of money I spend on meals at work to $50 per week, even if this means I have to skip a meal or two
- I am going grocery shopping this weekend and I am going to try to get as much stuff as I can carry to work so that I am not spending $10-20 a night on food
I think I can make it. I am starting out the week with just over $100. After grocery shopping, I should have just enough for lunch at work this week. This is going to be interesting, I think… If I get in a bind, there is always my meager savings.
I am trying really hard not to dip into my savings. Right now, I am in the process of setting up a plan to pay myself back for not saving in June and July. I have to make adjustments to the amount I need to pay back to reflect 20% rounded up to the nearest $5 of my weekly pay.
In all, things are going pretty good. Making regular payments. I need to find out exactly how deep I am in though. I glanced at some of my older entries and I don’t think I am making the best financial choices I can be, otherwise, I wouldn’t be living check to check. I will make better choices in the future. I just need to come up with a better plan.