Over the weekend I lost a wall charger and cord for my phone. I've had bad luck with cheap ones, so I want to buy a certified one from the manufacturer. This isn't really a post about "where do I find this for the cheapest?" This is a post about feeling ok to spend the money I've budgeted for a purchase.
When truly unexpected expenses come up -- accident deductible, flowers for a funeral -- I feel fine spending from the unexpected expenses fund. That's what it's there for.
Now, maybe I overplan, but it's these "darn, this $20 expense isn't that big of a deal, but I still hadn't planned on it and this means I have $20 less for groceries or eating out this week or whatever." And for whatever reason, this causes me tons of anxiety and negative self-talk about being careless and losing the charger or tearing my jeans or whatever it is.
Well, I've been using YNAB since June and went ahead and put $2/mo or whatever in one of their suggested budget items "stuff I forgot to budget for." And hey, what do you know, I have like $12 in that budget item to buy a new charger. I don't have to spend less on groceries this week to afford replacing that charger. I can just buy it.
I don't feel any anxiety about it. I don't feel any guilt about being stupid and losing something. I don't feel like a flake who can't have nice things because I can't be trusted to not ruin them. I feel like a g.d. adult who can buy something she needs even though she doesn't earn as much money as other people.
October 20, 2017 at 07:25AM
