January 12, 2010

At about this time of the month, we start running out of food.

So far, nothing is causing us to pine. Jeff left the opened jar of peanut butter on the counter, and the our older dog, Duke, took care of that. We are also out of butter, chicken stock, cheese, and we are running low on olive oil, napkins, glucosamine for the dog (He's 11.), and fruit. Get creative. I take glucosamine for early onset arthritis in my left knee, so I cut my tablets in half and share them with the dog until I can afford another $20 bottle (Does that mean he is taking people vitamins, or I am taking dog vitamins?). We can live without peanut butter (except we have about 16 jars of jam left), and paper towels will substitute for napkins if need be. Butter (or a healthy substitute), chicken stock, and olive oil are like air, blood and water, so we had to break down and buy those. For this reason, I include the groceries in the $5 a day budget.

Normally, we use the Discover card for groceries, so we can monitor the spending, but I really wanted to avoid charging anything. So, out came the coffee mug of change. Remember, it's not found money for us. Jeff took care of the shopping and came home with our treasures and a bill of $21. With proper food positioning, we can get buy without hitting the HEB for a while, we hope. $3 of the total was for more spray starch to support our non-dry cleaning month, which I have decided, sucks.

A temptation has come over me, however. I have to travel for work next week. The issue is that I have to work in our New York office. Each time I make this trip, which is infrequently, I like to see my family and maybe hit up a few high school and college pals, where I can. But that means unbudgeted drinks, dinners, theatre tickets, and all kinds of entertainment expenses that this month does not afford me.

As a person who grew up in the arts, has performed since the age of 12, and survived (somewhat) as a working actor for a time, I have to see shows when I get to New York. It's a given. In addition, January is the best time to get good half price seats because tourism is way down. The opportunities are endless. So, the plan is to fly home to White Plains airport on Saturday, spend the night with my brother, visit with his family and my mother on Sunday, and a few other relatives on Monday, which is a holiday. I think I can manage all three days without buying anything that is not a legitimate business expense (which would be one taxi ride and one train). Someone else has to provide all of my food. Mothers and brothers are good for that. However, on Monday, I need to get into the city to prepare for my work in the office on Tuesday. I may as well be dangling over the gates of hell, the first one to escape. My hotel will be two whole blocks from the theatre district, and Angela Lansbury is starring in A Little Night Music. I may be apoplectic by the end of this trip.

I can do this. I have to do this. I need to prove to myself, this mission, to Jeff, and to any readers that conflict will arise. You are going to have your best friends tempt you with blandishments of movies, dinners, and other excursions. But you have to fight. It's far too easy to go over budget.

So here is the strategy:

I am going to print out my current credit card bill (over $3,000.00), my car payoff amount, the contact on the new house, laminate them, and bring them with me to pour over while I am pondering Catherine Zeta Jones' rendition of "Send in the Clowns." It's just going to have to wait. My bills will be the ultimate distractor to remind me that it's just going to have to wait until summer vacation.

I will delight myself by inviting an old friend to join me for dinner, since that will be legitimately on the company expense report, and she can buy her own steak frittes.

With half a month to go and a temptation like this in my way, I will definitely need lots of votes of confidence for this one. I am sweating as I write.