Even The Best Laid Plans…

September 21, 2022

I’ve written about how much I love to plan and have a backup plan for my plans but even the best fall off the wagon sometimes. Has anyone else ever felt like they’re doing really great financially and then all of a sudden, you have a bunch of expenses that come out of nowhere?

Going into this month, I knew work and my personal life would be hectic. Every day was jam packed full of meetings, appointments, travel, and planning for months out leading into the holidays. It felt like everyday was just putting out fires with no time to catch my breath and catch up. Unfortunately for me, this just caused a complete mental blackout on keeping up with my finances. I had several yearly appointments for both me and my dogs, I hadn’t been grocery shopping in about five weeks, and two different trips planned. This snowballed into not only having to spend on bigger items (annual checkups/vaccines, travel) but also giving into everyday conveniences like take out when I was tired and impulse purchases. Granted, it also felt like I was out of all everyday conveniences that are a bit more expensive, but I don’t need regularly and usually buy in bulk- paper towels, shampoos, monthly flea and tick, etc.

So, my lesson learned is that I think a lot of people can relate to falling off the wagon. The idea is not to give up and get right back on. It’s okay to go a little haywire sometimes (within reason) and give yourself grace. I have to remind myself that I’m trying to change years’ worth of habits and it won’t happen right away and I won’t be perfect all the time. My goal for the next week is to take some time to reevaluate and pick a couple things I can get back on track. Stay tuned!