The Payday Blues

Every four weeks comes a case of the payday blues. My car payment, car insurance, house insurance and LOC interest tack an extra $620 or so onto my biweekly expenses, and they usually all come off the second paycheck of the month. Not cool. I’m unfortunately not very adept when it comes to budget smoothing; while I understand the concept perfectly… it just doesn’t translate into actual practice. If I were to pay off my LOC and the car, that extra crunch would fall to around $100, which would be so much easier to deal with. I’ve contemplated the idea of selling my car, but unfortunately it would only fetch close to what is owed on it. Being that it’s not a vehicle people look to and think “Perfect for winter driving!” I’m better off waiting until spring, continually making my monthly payments, and trying for a better price once spring rolls around and people are looking for a vehicle that’s fun to drive. Plus if I’m lucky they may improve the bus service to my house by then

Originally the plan was to throw the $400 or so worth of overtime I’ll get on this paycheck directly onto the credit card. I’ve retooled this idea though, realizing that if I make myself feel deprived during this period I’m likely to binge when I get my next paycheck. So, instead about $150 is going towards the debt, while the rest is being divvied up accordingly:

- 25lbs of beef ordered from a local farmer (food + supporting local economy)

- A mortar mixing drill attachment (saving my hands from the chemical burns I've been causing)

- An insulation strip for my back door (lower my heating bill? Please?)

- Dry cleaning for 2 dresses and a sweater (I wore the stuff as long as I reasonably could)

- A new belt (this really is just a perk for me)

- $50 into RRSPs

It's a start.