Economic Stimulus

Warning: This is not a political commentary.

I have to admit that I’m not big on news programming. In fact, I rarely actually watch television. So last week when the Economic Stimulus Plan was mentioned to me, I had no idea what was going on. Call me an ostrich because I bury my head…it’s just what I do. I’ve accepted it.

I was told that my next paycheck would be slightly bigger because of the plan. The first thing I think of when I think Economic Stimulus is a big check made out to me from the government. And while that’s nice, I’m actually liking this new plan better. For the part that directly affects me at the moment, my paychecks will increase by about 13.00 a week, or 26.00 per paycheck. That’s 52 dollars a month more income.

I understand that there are people who may be disappointed about not getting a big one time check, but for myself, I’d much rather have the extra money per month. If you give me a lump of cash, I’m going to spend it, and I’m probably not going to spend it on things I should spend it on. Sure, I’m going to stimulate the economy…for a week. Then I’m back at square one wondering where the heck my money went.

That little bit of extra money each month can be budgeted into what I’m already doing and what I have leftover makes for a nice treat somewhere along the line. Looking at my spending right now, an extra $52.00 will definitely help with my long term economic stimulation. This month it gets to go to a new pair of shoes. Next month’s will serve as some extra money for my Michigan trip. And if there’s nothing to buy, it can go into savings where I’ll be able to use it later in the year for things.

I’m sure there are some who can argue that this isn’t going to be a good idea in the long run, but seeing as other things haven’t worked, this could work out. Only time will tell. Until it does, I’ll happily take my extra money and hope it doesn’t come back to bite me for some reason later.

Confession

I wasn't actually going to share this little piece of information. After all, I do have a rep to protect, and as someone who's been trying to be frugal and live cheaply, I had been hoping to stay on the wagon a little longer than I actually did.

I splurged. Hardcore. On Mary Kay. Funny thing is, I just wrote an article for Associated Content on how not to spend alot of money at at-home sales parties (not yet published but will be on here shortly). Does this make me a hypocrite? Not necessarily.

Being frugal means that you have the money for an occasional splurge. When I normally talk about splurges, I talk about lunch out with the BF, pizza for dinner, or a movie night with friends. But most people tend to find splurges to fall in the realm of vacations, expensive new wardrobes, a plasma TV, or even a new car.

My splurge could have easily been found at a lower cost. I could have done with about half of what I bought and yes, since I'm having to pay for my splurge in monthly payments, I'm going to have to give up some things. So while I did spend money I didn't need to, as part of trying to adapt to a life of better money management, I am definitely willing to give up some things.

High Money Days

Alot of money has been spent over the past few days, but most of it has been things that are fairly necessary, at least for where I'm at right now and what I'm doing.

1. I had to spend 23.00 on a new drivers license. There's really no way out of this people. However, I did have to pay a 1.00 late fee since my last license was expired. Be aware of your drivers license expiration date and renew before it completely expires. I only had to pay 1.00 but different states have different rules and you can save a good chunk of change by not accruing those late fees.

2. I finally had to get gas for my car. I only had $20.00 to spend, which doesn't get very much these days. It took me just over half a tank of gas. Make sure to find the cheapest gas in your area. I've also heard that the best times to get gas are in the morning. As far as gas mileage goes, keep your tires inflated and your car free of extra weight that's not needed. And be conscience of how much you drive. Walk or bike whenever possible.

3. Food over the past few days has cost a little more than usual, mostly due to our own failure to plan. At Wal-Mart, we spent a whole $10.00. Unfortunately, we only got 1.5 meals out of it, sloppy joes one night and then we had some bakery cheddar buns for tonight's meal. It wasn't a total washout though. We scored some more sugar free drink and cheese, as well as some bananas and cookies for snack purposes. Tonight, we splurged on dinner and ate out, though if you want to go cheap and like pizza, Little Caesar's Hot and Ready deal is great. For 7.50 we got a large pizza and a thing of breadsticks and made it last two meals.