January 4, 2010

January 4, 2010

Today marked my first day back to work, which meant fighting the urge to order lunch, attend happy hours, buy that box of chocolates for the break room, and start tooling around for opportunities to spend after work. So, I braced myself for four work weeks of discipline.

Within two hours, an email came through from a colleague.

“Forgot lunch. Ordering Chinese. Let me know if you want in.”

Two years ago, I would have sold out and spared some money for the cause. Rationalizing is one of my strong suits, so I could easily have said, “Oh yes. I have only spent a quarter this year, so I have $19.75 to spare. Last year, I would have closed the door to my office, fought the urge for lemon chicken and settled for a bowl of hot and sour soup for $6.95. That would have been only over a day’s budget. However, I am habituated. I thought, “What does the rest of my week look like? Where do I need to spend money?” Then I think, “I need a haircut, and so does Jeff.”

After a deep breath and a will to fight the perfume of wonton soon to emanate into my office, I hit the delete button.

Needless to say, we had to spend money sometime, and we both needed haircuts. Typically, Jeff spends about $30 at our friend, Guy’s salon. Sorry, Guy. We will see you next month, kiddo (He even called to check on why Jeff had not been to see him lately.). I have not started to see Guy yet, so I spend anywhere from $10 and $25 on a haircut. At TGF near our house, they do run a $10 men’s day on Tuesdays. So, over a dinner of left over lentil soup and the last of the salad greens, we decide that we can afford to indulge in some marginal haircuts from a well-intentioned coiffeuse. My hair is straight and more Jeff's head is a little more compelling, so I had to instruct him on how to communicate with the stylist. “Have him finish you with the scissors to avoid different lengths.” We end up with unimpressive looks for a month, and we would have been well within budget, but Jeff confesses that he paid the upcharge to have his hair washed. The nerve!

Total costs for both cuts plus tip: $31.00(TGF has raised the cost of men's day to $11. Dammit!). We are over budget b y $6. He HAD to get his hair washed?!

Going over budget one day means serious discipline the next. And the next, in this case. That’s it. Hit more delete buttons, make sandwiches, thermos up, plan meals with ingredients we have.