Budget Smudget

Since my application for saint-hood is in the works (btw thanks, Anna, but why wasn't that your first order of business the other day, let's work on our priorities, K?), I figured I'd take this opportunity to list yet another reason why I'm such a great wife even though my husband doesn't know it. My main motivation though is that the UMC convention might soon be coming to a town near you, namely, Lebanon, Pee-Yay, and I wanna be there. After reading Chrysta's comment about going home for Christmas, I was all excited figuring there's no way J-man can say "no." to yet another cross country Quest, since most of the fam will be making appearances. While he didn't say "no." he did say, "OK, submit a financial proposal showing me how we're going to afford it."

Given my formal educational training in accounting (snort), the CPA certificate that is rolled up in a tube collecting dust under my bed, and my stellar financing skillz, this should be a piece of cake (chocolate with chocolate chips and peanut butter frosting, but not if Chase B. is around, then it's home-made ice cream cake fo'sur). However, I'm a budgeting nincompoop. I tried to find the word for someone who had a fear of busgeting, but came up with nothing. Couldn't find it on the phobia list, but there were some good ones.

I'm not a big shopper, I don't spend extravgently, but the thought of being constrained makes me all kinds of nervous. It's something I think I want to start thinking about wanting to start thinking about working on, maybe for next year's New Year's Res. In the meantime, I thought I'd be clever and come up all the ways I already save us thousands. If Jer sees how much I already sacrifice for the sake of the fam, then he'll for sure want to make the Annual Christmas Trek to Pee-Yay.

Things I'm already not buying and therefore saving:

Starbucks coffee $100

Alcohol $100 (you know for all those hot dates we go on)
Diapers $50 (thanks Owen, everyone has to do their part)
hair $50 (just got my haircut won't be back for 6 months)
Cigarettes $25 (that's just if I was a casual smoker, think of the savings if I was a pretend chain smoker)
School lunch $60 (this a huge sacrifice on my part, since I have to make the lunches, they pack half the time and buy half the time)
Diet Coke $20 (I only buy CF Diet, so this counts)
Gas $20 (Prices have totally dropped, I paid $3.36 today. That's money in my trip fund, yo!)
Fast food $200 (It costs about $25 for us to eat at McD's, which is nasty on many levels, but if it weren't for my super fab, home cookin' look at all the cold hard cash that we'd be wasting).

That's a total savings of $625/month without even breakin' a sweat. I've got three months (holy cow, it's only three months!) til Christmas, which gives me $1,875 for our trip. That's way more than we need, so I say we're in.

Pee-Yay Blanchard B&B, we'd like a reservation for 6 plus a smallish black lab for December 24 - January 3, give or take a few days. Please include linens and daily maid service. We may or may not bring our own puke bowls.