Oops.

As I wrote a month or so ago, I have been keeping track of every single penny Preston and I spend this month. On the advice of several people, I created an online financial portfolio at Mint.com, which I love, and highly recommend (it's user friendly, and it allows you to see ALL of your accounts/credit cards/loans/car payments, etc. in one place). RA pointed me to Frugal Wife/Wealthy Life for some tutorials, which are very helpful (find them here, here, and here).

One of my favorite features about Mint is that you are able to create budgets for your various expenses (phone, groceries, travel, eating out, clothing, etc.). However, when I sat down to create a budget for the two of us at the end of August, I found that I really had no idea where to begin. Embarrassingly, I didn't know how much we were spending on groceries every month. I knew roughly what I spent at Trader Joe's every week, but I had no idea what Preston was spending on food at BJ's (i.e. the Pennsylvanian Costco) or Target. So I decided that, instead of putting us on a strict budget for September, I would simply keep track of what we spent. I have, of course, been watching where I put my money, but we haven't been working with a Mint-ordained budget.

So! Preston and I have documented our every penny for the last twenty-nine days, and I am both excited and horrified to start adding up our expenses this weekend. Mostly horrified. BUT. At least we're facing our scary financial future. Or something. AHEM.

Anyways, so part of my pledge this month was that I would not go to Target. And lo, for twenty-eight days, internet, I did not go to Target. Because really, I didn't need to go.Preston went once a couple of weeks ago to get a few necessities (hello, conditioner and aluminum foil), but there was no reason I needed to go.

And then this week kicked my ass. After a stressful and nerve-wracking Monday, I was evaluated at work yesterday BEFORE heading to a two hour seminar, and even though I slept for ten hours (TEN HOURS) last night, I still found myself exhausted as I taught my classes and groggily read German in preparation for my exam on Friday. At 3:00 I met with my therapist, and since her office is close to a Target, I decided that I would swing by just for a few things after my appointment. It had been a long week (already), and I REALLY wanted cute nail polish and more Multigrain Cheerios, and well, it was a moment of weakness.

So here was my original list:

• Multigrain Cheerios (I'm dangerously low on these, and I eat them constantly)
• Luna Bars (my favorite "power" bar)
• hot tea (I'm getting bored with my Trader Joe's teas)
• hot dog buns (for Preston)
• yeast (so that I can make these rolls)
• wipes to clean Ness' ears (because ew)
• pants for work (because I only have two pairs of nice pants, and one of them has coffee stains on them - not that that stops me from wearing them. And yes, I really am that gross.)
• coaxiel cable (for the new TV)
• Sharpie pens (people, have you seen these? They write like thin Sharpies, but they do not bleed through the paper. MAGIC!)

OK, so here are a few photos of what I actually ended up buying (Spoiler Alert: I didn't stick to my list):

In my defense, I actually did mean to put the above purchase on the list. I wanted to get two baskets for our mudroom/study so that we could still keep our shoes by the front door AND out of the reach of Ness, shoe-eater (our shoes had previously just been on the floor/on the shelf, leaving them as prime targets for Ness - who loves shoes almost as much as she loves used tissues). Total: $33. I feel like these will be completely worth it.

So.  From the original list you see: Multigrain Cheerios, Sharpie pens (though I probably didn't need quite so many...), nail polish, Luna Bars, hot dog buns, and a coaxiel cable. Items that were not on the list include the following:

• a blue vest (for me)
• a new shirt (for me)
• Frosted Mini Wheats (because they are amazing)
• a vat of peanut butter (this we did need)
• pretzel M&Ms (this we did not need, but seriously, how much more amazing can you get? I couldn't not buy them.)
• two stuffed squirrels for the dogs. I predict that Ness will have destroyed one by midnight.
• a clock (because the one above my desk hasn't worked in a couple of years. BUT we didn't really need it at all. On the other hand, it was $4.50.)
• one 7 pocket expanding file (for my teaching; I've been using a slightly broken one but ehh I probably could have sucked it up and kept using the broken one)
• two 13 pocket expanding files (for my two seminars this semester - this purchase would have been made eventually. I've filled seven of these during my two years of graduate school. I have also, apparently, killed a small rainforest.).

And that, gentle readers, is why I banned myself from Target this month. Because, $179 later, LOOK HOW MUCH UNNECESSARY DETRITUS accompanied me home. Yes, some of it is necessary detritus, but seriously, I did not need a lot of it. Sigh. Well, at least I almost made it to October.