Budgeting B!tch

"Wow, I love how you're taking this so seriously" ~My friend Christina

It's ironic that I choose to go on a budget 2 months before I leave on a cruise. My mother (who I get my spending issues from, totally) thinks it's great that I'm putting myself on a budget, but the moment I told her I couldn't go shopping this past weekend because of my budget she wasn't so thrilled. In fact, she ended up calling my father, telling him what I'm doing and then he called me to say that he'd pay for anything I bought because I "needed good cruise clothes". *Sigh* Yes, I'm truly thankful to have parents who can do this for me, but I don't think they understand that the giving nature is what got me into the "Who needs a budget?" mindset. But I digress.

I bought a Suze Orman book (Women and Money, on clearance for $1.99 at Half Price Books) and the following:

Bitches on Budget by Rosalyn Hoffman. Seriously BEST BOOK EVER!! Just snarky enough to capture my attention while still acknowledging that budgeting is necessary.

Being a “bitch” means having fun, knowing what you want, not settling for second best. It means being savvy. Smart. In control. In other words it’s a way of living—NOT a way of treating others. Be a bitch without being bitchy. Be generous and share your money-saving tips with the rest of us. Pretty please? We’re in it together, after all

It's definitely not Dave Ramsey "Stop Spending ANYTHING"; it is more realistic for what I'm looking for. For instance, stop spending money on low quality pants (Hello, JCPenney Worthington Pants with zippers that always fall apart, I'm looking at you) because they are inexpensive. Rather pay for the quality pant that will last longer than 3 pairs of the cheaper pant. That makes sense on numerous levels. Because of some of the tips in the book, I've already thinned out some of my clothing and donated them to Goodwill. I'm going to take some of my suits to a consignment shop later this weekend.

I've also downloaded the Easy Envelope Budgeting Aid (EBBA) app for my Droid which is CRAZY helpful. If I'm spending something, I just pull that bad boy up and can see exactly how much I have left for the week (well, bi-weekly since that is how I set it up). The only negative is that one envelope I have is showing I've got a negative balance....when I don't. I'm confused what I did there.

Anywho, I'm trying and interested in seeing how this goes :-)