consciousness

This is the word of my 2012--Consciousness; perhaps I should say, the lack of consciousness in my life has lead to some rather big changes, and most of them I barely remember. A huge part of the lack of consciousness in my life, manifests itself, (unfortunately) in my finances. Money seems to always vanish from my bank account. As of this writing, I have about $9 to my name. It's a damn shame, really, considering, I'm making the most money I've ever made from a full time job and I don't have to work 2-3 jobs anymore like I used to.

In my defense, last month was the month of the SUV maintenance, going to the dentist, and paying my brother back $150 out of the $500 I owe him. Oh, and my friend was robbed of $300 and I gave her $30 towards her fundraising, and another $30 for a pizza dinner. Plus, I spent $50 in her store, because I felt bad for her. Oh, and a few days ago, I spent $21 on the worst dim sum lunch on earth. Unfortunately, I have zero interest in cooking so I tend to get something to eat on the go. Not good for my health, or my finances.

It's true what people say, it's not how much money you make, it's what you do with it. I've fallen under this stereotype. For the first time in a long time, I'm in a financially stable position but I don't have anything to show for it. I've had jobs when I worked for tips and I was able to put money on my IRA.

I'm also in school, and school has been a tremendous money drain. I'm transferring schools in January, which would effectively lower my education costs by a third.

So this is what I'm proposing, I'm going to start writing down everything I spent until I figure out a way to live and spend more consciously. I've become one of those people I hate--one of those mindless sheep consumers and I have to stop. In my defense, I tend to throw money at small business owners. So here goes, I've listed the purchases I did yesterday and today's and hopefully I can find meaning in my mindless consumerism.

Dec 4 expenditures
$2: coffee at Mike's (non-negotiable)
$7: "lunch" at Jack in the Box (terrifically bad lunch choice)
$50: gas (non-negotiable)
$6: Obama's book (a "I'm so bored" purchase)
$4.37: movie purchase at Amazon, "Jiro Dreams of Sushi" (so worth it, I never go to the movies)

Dec 5 expenditures
$0: a nice dinner at a Thai restaurant, paid for by a friend.
$6: two small frozen yogurts.