All Fizzled Out

I don't know if it's my brain or my wallet, but I can't seem to get my fiances under control. I keep making blunders I never made before. This past check, I ended the pay period with seven cents in my bank account. Seven cents! And for the life of me I can't rein them in! So I am trying to start afresh. The problem is, I seem to have to start over every two weeks. Not good, I know.

So this check, I managed to do well and not spend money in the first 24 hours of being paid (a small feat, but one nonetheless considering the seven cents I left myself with). Saturday was Relay For Life, so I donated $25 to two separate people (and the $2 in my pocket to a third, but that doesn't really count because it wasn't from this check). Tonight I ran to Target to get my dad a bathroom scale.

Let's get one thing straight. My downfall is, and will always be, Target and Micheal's. I never stick with my budget and always buy things I will never need, use, nor miss if I didn't buy them. But I do. So getting out of Target for just under $33 was a good trip for me, considering I never get out with less than $100. I did come home with a couple of fishy table cloths from the sale bin, but I want to sew things with them (I'm rooting for a sewing machine cover or something useful). I also bought the makings for s'mores and had some. I really shouldn't have considering my expanding waistline, but I did. I was good, I only had one.

I get sidetracked so easily...Okay. Back to my finances. I know I was doing really, really well. I want to get back to that point, so I need to really watch myself. When I was at Target, I should have pulled out some cash, but honestly, I tried that last check and I just spend it all and go back to my card. It seems to be all or nothing with me.

I am still saving receipts. That is one habit that has stuck with me since I started last November. I have an old cigar box I put them in every once in a while after collecting them from wherever I pulled them out from. It has been very handy. By keeping receipts instead of tossing them, I've returned things (unopened/unused) to buy them much cheaper at other stores. I would have shrugged it off before, but it really does add up.

Another thing I need to get a rein on is my weight. I've gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks. And I'm sure it'll go up if I let it. It's like the full trigger in my stomach is broken. I've spent the last two weeks nauseous and uncomfortable, whether I'm hungry or not. So I keep eating. To help curb that, I started using The Daily Plate. I used it when I first lost some weight. It works well in calculating how many carbs you can eat each day and I have it set for me to lose the max.

The Daily Plate used to be its own website, but now you can get to it from the Livestrong website. I highly recommend it. It was easiest for me to use. I tried using a calorie counter on my phone, but those small buttons got me frustrated and I stopped. One thing I think is silly is that The Daily Plate now links to Facebook. Like I want my friends to know what I eat each day or how much I need to lose. It's too personal for me to share that.

I will say that today I didn't really watch what I ate, I only recorded it. I went about 100 calories over my limit. I need to focus on retraining myself on what I can eat and think in smaller portions. I've also started chewing gum again. My hope is that I won't think of eating if I keep my jaw busy. Most of my eating is out of boredom and is mindless. So I need to replace it with something else. The problem is, you can't really replace eating with something as satisfying. Thus the fallback.

I believe that is all for now. I feel better getting it written down. Maybe I'll be able to sleep if it's not flittering through my head ever two seconds.