Yes, I'm finally back after a long break from blogging. I've had a very busy and difficult couple of months. It was challenging to find the time and motivation to write, plus I haven't been a model PF blogger the past few months anyway.
Spring is my busy time at work and I've also been coping with the sudden death of my grandmother in February. I have not been handling it so well. I always knew I was an emotional spender, but after this event, despite my knowledge and financial improvements over the years, I have found that I still have that tendency. The last few months of grieving have resulted in me being less concerned with our spending and staying on budget, which has resulted in very little growth in our savings accounts. I've been very discouraged by this, which causes me to feel bad and spend more, which causes me to feel worse and spend even more, in a giant never ending circle. It's not even like I'm spending on lots of frivolous things like clothes or jewelry. I'm happy grocery shopping. I think I just enjoy being out of the house and the high that comes from the purchase.
I do need to stop beating myself up for this and move on. Dwelling on it is not helping me feel powerful in my money and spending decisions. In hindsight, I wish Hubby would have helped me with the finances or held me more accountable, but he didn't. And I need to be better about communicating to him when we're reaching our budget limits.
My goals for the next few months are to find something I enjoy that fulfills me emotionally that doesn't involve spending money. And get back on track with our budget and sock away everything we can to make up for the last few months. I also need to talk with Hubby and find some way to get him more involved in our finances, and ask him to hold me accountable for my spending, since I take care of a majority of the household expenditures.
Do you ever have periods of emotional spending, or fall off the wagon? How do you get back on track?
