Tag Archives: Budget

Food is Not My God

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Since the end of tax season, I’ve been working on getting new (and old) habits in place.  I thrive on a routine, so I knew that establishing a good one early was key.

One of my major problems for both healthy living and a healthy budget is the amount of fast food I was eating.  Part of that was fueled by the stress and busyness of tax season, and part of that is just my weakness for junk food and ice cream.

So, once tax season was over, I made the plan of not eating out unless:

1.) I’m with a friend.

or

2.) My schedule requires it (usually just on Wednesdays).

It’s not been easy.  And I’ve not been perfect, either.  If I was graded, I’d probably have just barely squeaked out a C that first week.

But I’m doing much better than I would have been if I hadn’t even tried.

As hard as it is to admit, food is an idol in my life.  I really wish it was something that you could quit cold turkey. Progress would be easily measured then.  Instead, I’ve been having to work on ways to not let my desire for food rule me.

One thing our pastor said Sunday in his sermon on lust and purity was this: Say “Sex is not my religion.  Jesus is my religion,” when temptation comes.

I’ve adapted that for my struggle and now when the temptation hits, I’m telling myself, “Food is not my god. Jesus is my God.”

I might have to say this a dozen times a day, but it’s a great reminder to put food in it’s proper place in my life. It’s a great blessing, but it is not my ultimate comfort.

I’m like a child…I can’t make myself eat something I don’t want to eat.  If I try, I seriously gag.  So, the key for me is to keep it something that I want to eat, but that is also cheap, easy and healthy.  Monday, I’ll post recipes that I currently have in my arsenal that I know make great leftovers and are tasty and decently healthy.

Photo by Tammy Green

How a Girl Creates a Budget

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My estimate of how/when I'll pay off my student loan. (Mine obv has specifics)

I spent a few hours this past weekend working out a new budget now that my future roommate and I have come to an agreement on the rent I’ll be paying her (it may have involved bartering and a virtual hand shake).  While I was at it, I decided to map out my plan to save more and pay off my last remaining debt, my student loan.

I’ve been reading Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, and it definitely puts me in the mood to pinch pennies (which I kinda already was in).  Sure, I already know most of it (I am a financial counselor, though that’s not my primary responsibility), but seeing it again–and in the layman’s terms that I think in–has been good for me.

The hardest part of my budget for me is how much I budget for food/groceries.  As a single gal, it’s way too easy to opt to grab something at a drive-thru, especially when I’m on the road anyway after a long day.  It’s easy to justify when it’s just a few bucks more and is less work.  But doing this time and time again…well, that’s not been too great.  Certainly not for my budget OR my body (a topic I’ll be getting to soon).

I’m such a visual and numbers person, that I decided to make a spreadsheet of it, including a crude calculation of both interest accrued and interest paid.  Even made a graph of it for cool visual appeal.

While I don’t pretend to know the future, it helps me to have a plan.  It’s easier for me to see how small decisions I make now (excessively eating out or indiscriminately shopping for clothes) impact my long-term goals.  I even included a list of complications (both good and bad) that I can’t predict at this time, but could affect my plan.  You’ll be happy to know, I think, that I included (and I quote):

Wedding, haha

and

Marriage =)

That’s how you know it was made by a girl…how many men put smiley faces on their spreadsheets?