Budgeted?

Well, I dunno how well budgeted I am, but… I just bought that new phone – a major $300 purchase with extended warranty and all… still need accessories too, but…

Well, I have to start my budgeting plan now. All the money I have left in my line of credit after getting the phone needs to go to Visa. All of it. I get paid this week, so I should be able to make payments to whatever I missed last month. At least rent and hydro is all paid off. I need to get my act together. Well, I start payments on the HDTV this month, so it should be good. I’m thinking of setting up a budget of what exactly I need to buy every month. I mean, I keep finding new things I want – shashinshu, CDs, DVDs, etc. I have to learn to limit myself so that I can actually pay off my line of credit and have money to go to Japan next summer. I have very little willpower, but if I map out what I spend and stuff, maybe…

I should be happy with what I’ve got so far. Why am I spending more money that I don’t have? Take a look at this order I recently made from J-List:

A bit much, I guess. About $200 US. Once again, money I don’t have… I think. I have to make a trip to the ATM and see if this instant payment for my Visa works…

But, when I think about it, I’ve only slightly exceeded my spending limit for the month. I allocated $600 to spending money after all my bills, including the HDTV bill payments. I just have to hang in there and stop spending so much money. If I could put all that $600 away every month, I could afford my new laptop in five months. And in nine months, the HDTV will be paid off. However, I’m wondering if I could push $500 from my spending limit and put it into my HDTV payments, which will help to pay it off in four months, with $200 left on it. That would mean only $100 spending money PER MONTH, unless I make bonus commission and spiffs at RS, which would give me a bit of spending money. Anyway, if I can stick to that plan, then I can get my laptop AND my Apple eMac sooner than originally planned. The only thing that would kill me is if I get my salary lowered from the WP, or if I get a girlfriend. So… I think that what happened yesterday with Kim was a blessing in disguise. I feel a lot better about it today than I did yesterday.

Now, I’m gonna have to turn a blind eye to the things I want to buy. Maybe if I print out my budget plan and post it above my monitor, it will aid me to curb my spending for just a measly 4 months. The extra $100 a month can go to sudden bills and such. Can I actually do this? I can. I don’t wanna reveal too much of my financial information on here, so I’ll just say that it’s gonna be hard, almost like quitting smoking or drinking (because shopping IS my addiction). This is good for me. This is good for me. I just have to keep reminding myself that.

Time to develop the hobbies I have that don’t require spending. Like practicing drawing, studying Japanese, working on Kitty Kitty for Minky-chan, k0ding my websites, working on my scans, and playing games. I could watch the older movies over and over again. I’ve seen Monsters Inc. at RS over 20 times so far (that’s five times a day!). I’ll watch my PSM DVD to experience Tokyo life. Yes, I can make this work. I have a 200+ CD collection that needs to be ripped on to my MP3 player. I have 3 GB of JGirls that need to be renamed, organized, and backed up to CD. I have anime that I haven’t watched yet. Most importantly, I have to study Japanese!!! I’ll have to stop surfing the Net. Read the webcomics, check my e-mail. That’s it. Read the Japanese insight portion of the J-List newsletter. Spend more time on designing the website, or playing SSX Tricky if I’m not in the mood. Try to resist finding stuff to buy at RS. The only shopping I should really worry about is Christmas gifts for family and friends. If I make extra commission and spiffs from RS, I should put it away towards the laptop or paying extra on my bills to shorten the time. I can do this. Just watch me. I have a plan, and it’s a dangerous one.