Friday, December 29, 2006

my least favorite topic

Now that the holidays are over, I need to start thinking seriously about money. I am going to perform an experiment for the month of January: trying to spend as little as possible on "extraneous" things -- basically, anything outside of food, transportation, and bills will be considered suspect, and put through a very rigorous do-I-really-need-this? kind of consideration. I hate being the person who has to bow out because of money, or who even frets about it in the first place -- but, ever since last February's trip, I haven't really been financially stable. I know I say this a lot, but I have got to start getting serious. It's not that I won't have fun, don't worry! -- I enjoy staying at home & reading/watching Netflix movies/knitting/etc. -- but I'll just have to limit my out-of-house activities. Luckily I have free things like volunteering to keep me otherwise occupied -- not to mention, to remind myself that there are others who have money problems worse than my own, and therefore I have to cease wallowing in pity & start being proactive about solving my problem, instead!

I think I can do this, for the next several weeks. Besides, I really need to focus on finishing up the last few Christmas knitting projects I've got (most were completed on time -- sorry again, Karen! -- and a few I hadn't even been considering finishing beforehand, because I knew they wouldn't see their intended recipient until after the holidays). Plus, I wouldn't mind getting caught up on some serious reading -- I didn't get much of a chance for that last month, and I'm missing it a bit.

I just hope my friends will be understanding about my declining to do most things that require money, because honestly I am kind of looking forward to a quiet month. Things were getting a bit crazy pre-Christmas!

But it might also mean I stay in Boston instead of traveling down to D.C. for the peace demonstration on January 27. Which is actually not too disappointing to me, because there is a book sale I'd like to volunteer at, that day! Perhaps I can join in some Boston activist activities, as well.

Okay, enough boring money-talk from me. I have got things to get done. Ciao! xoxo

Currently Reading:

TITLE: Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs
AUTHOR: Chuck Klosterman

TITLE: There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale
AUTHOR: Sean Astin



2 comments:

wenders said...

The thing that gets me about money is that it's not a 'one and done' kind of thing. Very annoying, I think. And I've found that if I'm upfront with people that the cash is the reason I have to decline, that more often than not, others are willing to replan some things... instead of dinner out, just coffee and dessert, or even letting me host them ... just as fun but not so intense on the wallet. :) good luck!

arianna said...

You make excellent points, and thanks for the advice!! I will take all of that to heart. I agree that it's definitely not going to be forever once I get out of this debt, but I'd much rather be on the POSITIVE side of things for a bit :) so that when I have to deal with the next "blow", hopefully it won't be quite as hurtful!

Really though I appreciate all of your thoughts. Good to hear from you, too! Hope all is going well. I have lots of blog posts to catch up on due to the holidays, so you might hear from me again once I've had a chance to see what's new with you! :)