So, Today, I Went to the Store…

Posted by MoneyThinker in budget | 1 comment

Isn’t that exciting? No, not really. Anyway, today, I went to the grocery store down the street from my house. We’re supposed to get this big snowstorm this week, so I thought it would be in my best interest to go get some things in case I got snowed in. “Snowed in” where I live now means that we’re going to get like 5 inches. Where I’m originally from, snowed in was a foot or two. But that’s beside the point, there’s a possibility to get a lot of snow. I went to the store.

In this process, I did two silly things: I forgot to take my medicine (I have ADHD, and impulsivity is a huge part of that) and I didn’t eat breakfast before I left. I went in saying I needed milk, cheese, something for lunch, and breakfast things. I left with $45 worth of stuff. NO!!! I broke every grocery shopping rule ever.

Why do I set rules for grocery shopping? There are a couple reasons. As someone with ADHD, I’ve learned that the best way to deal with parts of it is to set rules and boundaries. I have to-do lists all over the place, I have to make a daily schedule or nothing gets done.

So, because of this, my grocery shopping rules are:

1.      Don’t go when you’re hungry.

2.      Make sure you have some sort of list, it can be vague, but have SOMETHING written down.

3.      Don’t go without taking your meds.

Rules really are good to make, whether you have ADHD or not, especially in the case of finances. It’s hard to stay in boundaries, especially when we’re inundated with tasty treats, tempting treasures, and frivolous fun. I’m not saying don’t have fun, I’m saying be smart with what you do.

That’s part of the reasoning behind a budget. You’ve heard me say before that the point of making a budget is sticking to it. It’s true! Why spend all the time and energy into making a budget if you aren’t actually going to use it? Yes, things happen and we aren’t able to really control them, and we go outside of our budgets, but trying to stick to it is important.

So, I went to the store today, and I screwed up on all of my shopping rules and, in turn, my monthly budget. The good news is, tomorrow is another day. And tomorrow, I can stick to my budget well and not go to the store. Because I’ll probably be stuck at my house in the snow.

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