#budget2018

Hoisting a dude and putting him over your shoulders in any time of move (backbreaker, firemans carry, rack, single shoulder backbreaker) or just hoisting him up over your own head shows dominance and fuckin power! Anyone can look good by going to the gym but it takes real fuckin power to bench and lift heavy, including lifting your opponent to show you’re the boss, lifting your buddies to show your progress and make them jealous, or lifting your friend just for fun.......

The Over Your Shoulder series......

His big mouthed friend learned to regret it as he was out wrestled, stripped naked, now carried back to the bed where he will be made to worship the new champ......

Carrying him back to the house for more......

As he tries to struggle out of the move, the bigger shirtless dude just bumps him up higher......

Sweaty and bearded, look at the cocky look on his face as he hoists him up over his shoulder.......

Older dude knocks out his smaller buddy then hoists him up over his shoulders, pulls down his jeans and boxers, smacks his ass and takes a pic to send to his buddy, asks if he wants to come over......

The dude in the shorts is all smiles, he thinks it’s fun being put over his buddies shoulder like that, but the lean wifebeater dude’s expression tells a different story, this is exactly where he wants his friend who will now be taught a lesson that one friend is more boss than the other......

Speedo vs swim trunks.......

A sign of power and dominance, go outside, strip off the shirts, leave the jeans on and go at it like fuckin animals.......putting him across your shoulders shows your power, gives you the upper hand......

Relay......”don’t worry bro, I will carry you over my shoulders, I’m the stronger one in this duo”......

As of today I’m only $49,000 in debt! Woot Woot! Bring out your finest peanut butter and jelly sandwiches so I may toast how amazing I am to put away $2,000 worth of debt in two months and honestly I don’t think I would have been able to keep on this track if not logging on daily and seeing this message resonate with all of you. Thank you so much!

Do you plan your savings?

Hi! I’ll introduce myself with some detail at a later time, but I spent all of July tracking every single one of my transactions. No matter which method you choose to budget or to get out of debt, most places that say “start here!” tell you to track every single of your transactions.

Even tracking made me more conscientious as the month went on. The second half was a little crappier as I got tired of it, but I pushed through and refocused. I’m using these numbers to have made my first budget for next month. Next month, August, is the glorious and rare ~*3 PAY PERIOD MONTH*~ so I would really like to make a dent in some debt with the extra cash.

I’d like to be radically transparent with this blog because I think it helps with accountability. But so not to overwhelm and keep posts thematic, I will reveal my debt and my actual income in posts to come.

So digging into these numbers, there’s a lot I do super well with, and a lot that’s easy to change for next month. For one, I don’t have any trips coming up and that airfare was a one-time deal. Another category, uber, I know were trips out of pure laziness (I have to walk about a half mile to and from each public transport stop on the home and work side of my commute, but it’s GOOD FOR ME when I walk this, so no complaints). 

Going out was also atypical in July as saw a movie, went out to dinner with friends 3 times, and went heavy on the cocktails one night when I was delivering sad news and we indulged a lot more than usual at fancier places. I usually only see friends once per pay period and spend less than 50 each time, so I anticipate next month will be less than 100 in this category. 

What then of the other category that is just alcohol? Sadly that is just my transactions from the liquor store. I’ve switched to Bota Box as an acceptable box wine instead of going through one glass bottle together a night, but my boyfriend and I are going to try to cut back on liquor after I told him the number (and he spends a fair amount too). I know that’s an easy category to judge and a hard one to defend, but with two people who enjoy wine with dinner, it’s definitely easy to go through a bottle a night, with sometimes a cocktail before dinner. The plan for next month is liquor only on weekends. As for the coffee category, I only drink starbucks with giftcards I get for completing surveys or giving reviews online, so this is not a weekday habit of mine. These are weekend walks with the boyfriend to get a cortado, our midday routine on Sundays.

Hulu I cancelled a day too late last month! That was frustrating. I was only subscribing for the Handmaid’s Tale. 

Despite some of these crazy categories, I’m very happy with where this month ended up spending wise and my decision making, but I overspent by about 500 dollars. I’m proud that I saved 10% and made big credit card payments, but I’m kind of back at 0 net for the month since I overspent. 

Being on a budget doesn’t mean sacrificing your mental health. When I first realized the extent of my debt and how long it would take me to pay off the $51,000 if I paid just the minimum I went into a very dark place.

For weeks I sat around questioning my worth as a person. I remember yelling at myself in the mirror You went to great schools, you have a good job, you have a great partner and a wonderful kid. How did you manage to fuck all of that up? What’s wrong with you that you had to take all money when you know there is no way to pay it back before you die? Cue continued dark spiraling thoughts.

It wasn’t until I read that Castlevania was coming out with Season 2 on 10.26.2018 that I started to feel better. I remember thinking this is what I need. To just watch something for me. In deed it was during those 8 episodes that I realized the power this blog could do for me and how much better I felt about my budget plan. 

I pay the roughly $12 a month for Netflix which I share with my parents (I pay for Netflix and they babysit my son at least once a month) and the Starbucks was a freebie that I had left on my account from before I started my debt-free blog. 

Honestly, just doing something on my time without anyone in the house, layers of comfy blankets, sweater and wool socks pared with a warm latte and the hilariously written Castlevania was all I needed to get in a better head space. 

Self-care can be indulgent, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. It can mean taking a walk in the park, waking up late on a rainy Sunday, going to gym to run in those leggings (you know the one that makes your butt look amazing), it’s having that second cup of coffee, meditating before going to bed, watching the sun rise, watching your plants grow, cuddling with your pet, and playing board games with your family. 

Sometimes it is the small things that give you peace, that help you pause and realize that things might not be great now, but six months from now life is going to be so different and it’s worth it to be curious and continue. 

Even if that means battling $50,000 worth of debt single-handed.