End of the month buying spree

[susandennis]

I have developed a habit that I need to break but it ain't gettin' broken today. My sources of income (social security, a small pension from IBM and a small payout from my investments) all come in the first week of the month. I put about 1/4th into my savings (for annual bills like taxes and next year's Mariner ticket and Biggie's next vet emergency) and the rest I leave in my checking account. The problem is that most months I have leftover and I feel compelled to spend it. Yesterday I bought a blender/food processor (that I do not have counter space for). Today I bought a way too expensive bluetooth trackball. And cat toys. This needs to stop.

The simple answer is to put more into savings which would be better on many levels but I'm always afraid of accidentally spending more than is in the account. I need a simple "if not enough in checking, pull what you need from savings, please" but our banking laws have gotten so fucked up that this is, apparently, not possible. It's a credit union and I'm sure they would not fuck me over if I made a mistake. Still I need to do something. And quit holding my own personal end of the month fire sale!

When you are the only person that you can count on for emergencies you tend to get a little over protective of resources. When you have no one else to answer to you also tend to get a little spendy sometimes.

Oh well. I have a small pile of stuff to return to Amazon today. Income!

Yesterday's game was good with some ohforfucksake thrown in. The weather was perfect. Almost too cold. The buffet food was some good and some horrible. Eggs benedict should not be served stone cold. The food they serve outside at my seat was fabulous. OMG so good. There were two guys in front of me who completely blocked my view. I spent the entire game trying to see through the window formed by their necks.

It totally nailed my moving my seat up to the new club next year. My decision is made.

The game was good and we had men on base in the bottom of the 9th with a 1 run deficit. So cudda, ya know.

Today I think I'm going to go back to Grocery Outlet and buy up the rest of those drastically reduced cat treats. It's not too far from the Amazon return place. So those are my errands today. There is no baseball game today.

I do need to pick up shit around the house. It's gotten messy. Then TV and crochet.

Comments

[taz_39]

Honestly, I have also caught myself overspending like this.
It's tough because life is short, and often the desire for the thing, in the moment, is so strong!

Can relate to not wanting to put money in savings the way you describe.
What I do (in case it might work for you, too) is keep two checking accounts.
One is active, that's where my direct deposits go and where I pay credit card bills and buy things.
The other I do not look at at all. It is for emergencies only and I simply pretend it is not there.
Every time my main checking account hits a certain number and/or I end up with "extra" money at the end of the month, I throw it in the second account and promptly forget about it.
If I ever need extra money I've got it, but for everyday spending it Does Not Exist.

Idk if you're interested in lying to yourself that way, lol. Just sharing what I do for that problem!

[susandennis]

Great minds. Until about 3 months ago, that's EXACTLY what I did. I had three savings accounts - and used them just like you described. I also had two checking accounts and more credit cards that I was even using. Across four different banking institutions. And all I could think of was consolidation!! So I closed down everything but the bare essentials which meant one checking and one savings.

BUT, your comment gave me an idea. I can do the same all at my current credit union. So I looked and, yep, I can have multiple savings accounts BUT they also have a high interest money manager account for larger balances. I opened up one of those, and stashed the bundled used to pay my annual amount in there. I can forget about it and make a teensy bit of cash while I do.

Thanks!!

[taz_39]

Interesting! It sounds like you do savings like that instead of checking. My problem was the interest charged for a savings, plus I often couldn't withdraw the whole amount of money from a savings if I needed it, so I always refused to open one.

Can understand why you'd want to consolidate, that sounds like a lot of stuff to keep an eye on.
I learned the hard way in the circus that traveling for a living is a great way to attract credit card thieves. Hence I split my money between two accounts, and then attached one account to a throw-away credit card and started using that for all of my purchases. That way if someone stole my "card" number, I could just cancel the credit card without disrupting my actual bank accounts or money. It was only after the circus that I started using the second account to kinda hide money from myself :p

Glad to hear there was a solution (sort of) buried in there! Hope it works for you!

[greghousesgf]

I love breakfast buffets but you do have to watch for when they come out with a fresh pan of eggs from the kitchen because cold poached/scrambled/etc. eggs suck.

[desdemonaspace]

Wells Fargo has that "if not enough in checking, pull what you need from savings" that you mention.

[days_unfolding]

I think that PNC does too.

[desdemonaspace]

Overdraft protection is a good feature.

[adafrog]

Wait, they won't do overdraft protection there?

[rsc]

Eggs benedict should not be served stone cold.

Eggs Benedict should not be served in any situation other than made-to-order. Eggs in general do not "hold" well, and this is especially true for Bennys. (One year one of our Dance Camps – of the two locations we use, this is the one whose food tends to be a bit less satisfactory – had Eggs Benedict on a steam table as a breakfast option; this was not a great success.)

[susandennis]

oh but my Mom did it often. She'd poach the eggs ahead of time to almost done and keep them warm in the oven. Then she'd make up the hollandaise, toast the muffins and fry up the Canadian bacon. When ready - even an hour later, she'd reheat the hollandaise and assemble. For groups as big as a couple of dozen. Perfection every time.

[seasonedrite]

"When you are the only person that you can count on for emergencies you tend to get a little over protective of resources. When you have no one else to answer to you also tend to get a little spendy sometimes."

Yes, this right here. My truth too.

[susandennis]

The Sisterhood of the Financialhood.