Hello! Is it Friday already? (As said by someone who is not out working 9-5 M-F Right? although I could argue a mom's work is never done..)
So here are my numbers. I have to say reporting my spending has made me really stop and think about what I buy. I like having the accountability.
52.02- Gasoline
My car only takes premium gas. Yeah, I know. But the car was given to me, and you don't argue with free. At least I don't.
5.00 - church stuff
7.00 - Thrift shop - 2 skirts for $3.50 each which I will be posting photos of maybe in the future- "thrift shop wardrobe" maybe?
27.00 - okay this was a dinner date for my Birthday last Friday. My husband and I had a gift card and that paid for the rest. This included alcohol at said dinner as well.
8.00- Mother/son date at chick fil a
I took my older son out on a special "mother/son" date. They had buy and adult meal get a free kid's meal special.
7.50- smoothie at gym.
Yes, this was ridiculous. And we belong to a gym?! But wait- before you start wagging your fingers, I actually won the gym membership at a fundraiser. It's a fancy pants gym, and I don't really belong there. (Can you tell I am not very fancy?) I was so hungry I was mad at myself for letting myself get to the point that I needed to buy a smoothie for 7.50, but between that and keeling over ( I have a tendency to pass out when my blood sugar gets low) I chose the "green machine" smoothie.
47.37- Internet Bill
12.00 - Prescription Drug (maybe someday you'll hear about my health issues:)
148.00 - Yearly home insurance Bill
11.41 - Groceries
Yup, that's right. 11.41 on groceries this week. We ate a lot of beans. Plus, I spent so much money last week I had food leftover. I guess that can negate the expensive smoothie?
3.99 - kindle book.
I failed on the free front kindle, but it was my birthday...
Total for week:
$325.30
So in other news my birthday recently passed (all I will say is I am somewhere between 25 and 35) and I had to think about gifts. My awesome husband made a card for me with my son, and gave me some special dark chocolate that I like. He knows me really well and I really appreciated the simple gift.
Now, I wasn't sure if I should tell my family "hey, I am in the compact, no gifts" or whatever, but in the end I didn't say too much. For some people gift giving makes them happy and it is how they express their love (what's your love language?)
I do have a conundrum- My parents are buying me a bicycle for my birthday, and my sister gave me a baby bike seat she does not need anymore. I am really excited about this, because I can ride to the state park and to town when its not 14 degrees out, and I am totally psyched about driving less (I would love to be a 1 car family - Mike travels for work and needs a car.) Should I look for a second hand bike in the spirit of the compact? Or is it acceptable to buy new because of the amount of gas I will be saving? Hm, it is a thought. I am so excited about getting a bike- my old one is from when I was young and too small for me now.
And what about gift cards? I did receive gift cards. My thoughts were I could buy underwear and stuff like that, or use them to buy gifts for other people, or give them to other people.
And that leads me to gift giving to other people while doing the compact. I no problem giving/receiving second hand gifts, but I know some people are offended by this. I try to stick to consumables then- coffee, wine, chocolate- something that person likes. Food is my favorite after books - (reading and eating, with sleep as a close third.) Who doesn't like to get food?
Anyway, that's all for today. Have a great weekend!
Katie
Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteI think second hand gifts can work - like a book, you can say 'I read this, but it's PERFECT for you'. It also means if the recipient doesn't like the gift, there's less guilt in passing it on. I certainly would accept the 'right' thing second hand, no offense. Food is definitely a good work around, or baking something yourself.
I reckon a second hand bike is as good as a new one, if you can find what you want. but seeing it's a gift, you could easily get out of your compact with it being new, I reckon.
I'm someone who loves quality time as a love language - just like my mum. My grandma is a gift person, so she gets one for all the holidays, as well as when I go away, I always get her a gift and send her a postcard.
I've started keeping a spending diary too - must update it for yesterday!
Thanks!
DeleteBooks are great gifts to give and usually you can find any book second hand.
I am a physical touch person. :)
Happy belated birthday! When it comes to gifts the one thing I know is that it was meant for me. Many have given me gift cards to bookstores as I love to read. While I rarely buy a new book anymore I will go ahead and spend the amount on the gift card but once finished reading the book pass it on to others or donate it to the library so more can benefit from the purchase.
ReplyDeleteAs for the bike. if you find one that you love and will work with the bike seat then go ahead. But if you can't find what you want and being you want to use it as often as you do I think a new bike is fine while participating in the Compact. The issue of the bike, especially with a young child being on it as well would be safety first.
As for consumable gifts these are my favorite to both give and receive. I rarely buy anything but a consumable gift for those who are older and have what they need. One of the best gifts I ever gave was a wreath of bird seed to a couple who love feeding their birds. They told me repeatedly how they watched birds they had never seen in their yard before during the winter months. I know the hours of watching the birds was an experience they will keep with them.
Thanks Lois!
DeleteI like the idea of passing books along. I usually research books and if it is something I can get at the library I won't buy it, and if I can't buy it at the library I try to see if I can donate it there after I read it.
I definitely hear you on people who are older and consumable gifts. Most of our older relatives are trying to get rid of their stuff.
I love the bird seed gift for the bird lovers. That is so thoughtful. My sister always gives the most thoughtful gifts, she just seems to know what is perfect for everyone. I on the other hand, tend to be quite absent minded and wait until the last minute. So I usually stick to consumables.