Ok, sometimes having friends that hold you accountable isn’t fun!
One of my friends and I have a daily habit of heading to Starbucks midmorning. Sometimes I buy something, sometimes I just go along for the company. It’s a great excuse to get away from our desks and just make each other laugh in the middle of the stressful workday. I usually go a little over my “Starbucks” allotment for the month, but not by too much, and I’m usually able to shuffle some stuff around in my budget to make room for the extra.
This month, I decided to try something new: I bought a Starbucks gift card at the beginning of the month and put money on it for the entire month of October. I told my friend that when that card ran out, that would be it. No more Starbucks for me. (Though I could obviously still come along for the walks.) I also asked her to hold me accountable.
Damn, but she did. I finally ran out yesterday (actually had to pay an additional 48 cents), and tried to justify how, with four business days left in the month, I should be able to buy another Starbucks. Nope, nothin’ doing. She even threatened not to go to Starbucks with me anymore if I spent anymore this month. But, Suzy (not her real name), how about I just have one more and then not again until next week? Really, how bad would it be to just have one more?
Sometimes it hurts to have such good friends! 
That’s awesome! I used to get my sister to do the same sort of thing with me whenever I wanted to go shopping. I told her before we went out, I let my sister hang onto my wallet, and I told her exactly what I needed to buy … and if I wanted to buy anything other than the items I needed, or if what I wanted was too expensive, I wasn’t allowed to buy it.
What a great idea on curbing your spending! I meant the card, but the friend is pretty great too
What a great idea! I admire your discipline–even in putting yourself in a situation to be accountable. BTW: Have you heard of mypoints? You open e-mails and get points and trade them for gift cards. I just got my second Starbucks one in the mail.
That’s a great friend! It’s hard to tell your friends no like that, even when they ask you to!
the starbucks card is a great idea!!!
I’ll pass on the news to my friend that she’s the best!
Thanks for all the encouragement, everybody. The s’bucks card was borne of necessity: I was so sick of going over my budget in that area, and I realized that if I didn’t do something like that, I’d be over no matter how much I budgeted!
gradgirl–I do participate in mypoints, but I haven’t yet reached the level where I can cash in for a card. (I just started not too long ago.) When I do, that will take the place of at least part of my budget for the month.
[...] So, here we go, in week 1.5, I will make: Breakfasts Toasted bagel with tofu cream cheese & apple (7 breakfasts) * Lunches Eggplant cutlets & marinara sauce (2 lunches) Vegetables vindaloo (2 lunches) Chili with and without rice (2 lunches) Microwave meal (1 lunch) * Dinners Eggplant cutlets & marinara sauce (2 dinners) Vegetables vindaloo with rice (1 dinner) Chili with and without rice (3 dinners) Ramen noodles (1 dinner) * Snacks and sweets nuts, dried fruit, and sunflower seeds (at work) fresh fruit and homemade chocolate cake (at home) Starbucks (paid for with my newly refilled Starbucks card) [...]
[...] For Week 2, I’m going to focus on getting back on the bandwagon after all the unexpected spending of last week. Again, I’m working on what I already have at home, and also expanding my recipes to include a couple of things I haven’t made in a while. Here’s the general plan: Breakfasts Toasted bagel with tofu cream cheese & apple (7 breakfasts) * Lunches Indian mixed veggies with rice (2 lunches) Tomato and basil risotto (2 lunches) Pasta with marinara sauce (1 lunch) Chili (1 lunch) Microwave meal (1 lunch) * Dinners Eggplant cutlets & marinara sauce (1 dinner) Indian mixed veggies with rice (1 dinner) Tomato and basil risotto (1 dinner) Chili (2 dinners) Ramen noodles (1 dinner) * Snacks and sweets nuts, dried fruit, and sunflower seeds (at work) fresh fruit and homemade chocolate cake (at home) Starbucks (paid for with my newly refilled Starbucks card) [...]
[...] I’ve spent an exhausting weekend cooking and baking, but I seem to have everything under control. This week is Thanksgiving (eek!), so the days of $11 grocery shopping are over. My out-of-state guests are coming in on Tuesday night, and I have several meals planned out very carefully for them. After Thursday, though, my meal planning is pretty much a blank; I’m expecting to have lots of leftovers, and my guests have already expressed interest in taking me out to eat one day, so Friday and Saturday should be taken care of. For the rest of the week: Breakfasts Toasted bagel with tofu cream cheese & apple (7 breakfasts) * Sunday and Monday, lunch and dinner; Tuesday lunch Indian vegetables with paratha and rice (3 meals) Penne with marinara (1 meal) Tomato and basil risotto (1 meal) * Tuesday dinner (myself and guests) Indian vegetables with paratha and rice * Wednesday lunch Microwave meal * Wednesday dinner Linguine with pesto sauce Penne with marinara Garlic Bread * Thursday supper Rotisserie chicken (for my meat-eating guests) Cornbread stuffing Whole cranberry sauce Roasted rosemary potatoes Green beans with onions Lemon pepper asparagus Whole wheat rolls Pumpkin pie Chocolate cake Cinnamon apple sauce with soy ice cream * Snacks and sweets nuts, dried fruit, and sunflower seeds (at work) fresh fruit (at home) Starbucks (paid for with my Starbucks card) [...]