This summer has been expensive, what with travel, inflation, and the way my dopamine receptors seem intrinsically linked to getting a little sweet treat. With that in mind, I decided to put myself on a rather strict budget for the month of July, excluding the necessities of groceries, gas, student loan payments, etc. My rules were relatively simple: don’t spend any money.
We are only seventeen days into the month and it has been difficult. I can’t even say I’m halfway through because I didn’t technically start my “no buy July” until a week into the month since I was on family vacation through the first weekend. I experienced a rude awakening that Monday morning when I woke up with an insane thirst for an iced latte with cold foam. I decided to keep a journal of all the items I thought to myself “I want to buy that” about. The iced latte with cold foam was number one and is a frequent flyer on that list still today.
I thought the list could be a helpful tool to show what desires were taking up space in my brain, as well as how much they would’ve cost had I bought them. After the first day of tracking, if I had given in to every fancy and whim I would’ve spent just shy of $200. Yikes! Instead of spending $200, I simply stayed at home all day and enjoyed some of the things I am still paying for this month: my rent, my HBO subscription, my HVAC unit, and the ingredients in my pantry that added up into a batch of oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
Since then I have stopped tracking every iced latte with cold foam, since that’s typically a daily craving, but any big ticket items still make the list: a new kettle, a pedicure, soccer shorts, Cheesy Gordita Crunch from Taco Bell, almond croissant, going thrifting, Krispy Kreme donut, bouquet of flowers, purse bowl, new face wash, hangers, black clutch, K18 dry shampoo, sandals, or even “fun date night with my husband where I get to wear a cute outfit and he takes pictures of me and I get a yummy cocktail.”
I’ve bent the rules ever so slightly a few times. On our regular Thursday pre-work coffee date my husband insisted on “paying for” my coffee—who’s gonna tell him we share a bank account? I’ve also been cashing in all the points I’ve acquired on my various fast food apps for little treats throughout the last two weeks (but don’t think I haven’t noticed you diluting my points even further, Dunkin!).
To keep a bit of my sanity (and to practice delayed gratification), I am planning a few different outings for August to celebrate limping through this July: dinner with a friend to meet her boyfriend is now an excuse for dinner at a specific Mexican restaurant that I’ve really been hankering for. A trip to visit a friend who moved turned into asking if we could pretty please go thrifting together. And a visit to see family is actually a cover so I can go to all my favorite coffee shops, bakeries, and the best ice cream sandwich place in town.
Other than my near-debilitating desire for an iced latte with cold foam, the biggest struggle has been sales. A listing I liked on Poshmark back in June is 25% off, but that deal only lasts 24 hours. A shirt I want from Aerie is on sale for $12. A dress my Pinterest algorithm has been feeding me for months is 70% off right now. Surely I am being tested!
Although we are only approximately ten days in (oh dear!) I have been learning to make a tastier coffee at home—one of the main goals of this challenge since it’s been over a year of having an espresso machine in my kitchen that I’m about as unfamiliar with as I am familiar with my Dunkin app. But it has been going well so far. Thankfully I was able to pick up a can of cold foam from Aldi—what? It counts as groceries!
Carlisle Patete (‘22) came to Calvin University from the mountains of North Carolina and graduated with a double major in film & media and creative writing. After brief stints in Los Angeles and Chicago, she now resides in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she enjoys sweet tea on her front porch and identifying every tree and bird she runs into on any hiking trail.
