I had one of those weird money weeks. One of those weeks where you love and hate your money at the same time; where money makes you happy and sad within the span of 24 hours. Have you ever had one of those?
To say that my emotions are running high right now would be the understatement of the year. With the paranoia about potentially losing my job soon piled on to the added stress of everyone backstabbing each other in my workplace the last thing I need in the world right now is an emotional money rollercoaster. But yet here we are.
The stress of losing a job
Right now my workplace is the definition of a crazy farm. I think everyone has reached their emotional limit which causes professionals to burst out into rages of anger at any given time. At least twice a week I’m confronted with a woman in tears in the bathroom. Yes it’s true.
It’s that awkward moment when you head into the bathroom in between meetings and bump into your boss splashing cold water onto her face as she is balling her eyes out. So what do you do? I just say hello, do my business and leave. Maybe I should ask if she’s OK but I don’t for two reasons 1: she’s probably just going to say she’s fine even though she’s clearly not and 2: she probably couldn’t tell me even if she wanted to.
Potentially losing your financial well being is a stressful situation but putting up with it for a paycheck is worth it. Under normal circumstances people may quit due to a toxic work environment but having a paycheck for a few more weeks than not having a paycheck at all.
The one day a month I love my money
It’s the end of the month and that means I get paid! I love the end of the month because I get paid for all my freelance work. As you know I have a 9 to 5 job as well as my own side hustle. Getting paid at the end of the month is different than my normal biweekly paychecks because this is my money.
It’s not used for bills like our regular paychecks. I don’t owe the money to anyone, I’m under no obligation to spend it and I can choose to spend it how I want to. It’s complete financial freedom and I love it.
I hate wasting money
I’ve got into the bad habit of eating out every day for lunch. I usually spend less than $10 a day on food but lately I’ve been going to restaurants which can add up to $20 for one meal. I think we can all agree that’s an unnecessary expense. Once a week or once every two weeks I don’t mind paying for a restaurant lunch, but more than that is just ridiculous. I know it, but yet I keep doing it.
This past week I wanted to grab a cheap $4 sandwich but instead I opted to join my colleagues for lunch in the food court. I was planning to grab Quiznos but then they decided to eat somewhere different. Long story short I ordered a bowl full of Japanese noodles and it wasn’t good. I was full but it just wasn’t what I felt like so it didn’t satisfy my appetite.
I was pissed that I spent more than double my original budget and I was upset that the food wasn’t even good. I felt myself getting angrier and angrier as the hour continued on which because of my emotional overload turned into tears. Yes that’s right I burst out into tears in the mall food court because my lunch wasn’t good. Yep, that was my money week.
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
Crazy week. Spending too much on food which hasn’t tasted very well is like the most frustrating experience ever. :D
That is very frustrating (spending money on bad food). I was also trapped in the eating out for lunch every day cycle (great time to network). I was easily spending $10+ per lunch plus eating at least one nice meal out on the weekend (average of over $600 per month, crazy train).
I am trying a new strategy that seems to be working so far. I pull out $60 cash per week and categorize it online through my bank as restaurants. I have that money to spend on eating out for the week and any that I don’t spend I put in an envelope to save for a nice meal for later. After one month my spending on eating out is below $300 and I have almost $100 in my envelope for later (it is a lot harder for me to spend cash). I hope I can keep this process going.
@Micha – Oh I agree. That’s a big reason why I don’t like trying new things, I hate paying for something I don’t like. In all honesty I’d just rather go to Chipolte but there isn’t one near my work.
@EBeth – that’s a great strategy. I’m going to try it next week and let you know. I can usually grab a sandwich for about $4 but I’m trying to cut down on bread so that’s been very limiting.
Oh Wow – sounds like a terrible week! Hope you feel better soon.
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