I tuned in to
NPR yesterday and caught a majority of this week's installment of
The Infinite Mind. The topic of the broadcast was
Money and the Mind. Have a
listen, it's pretty interesting stuff!
I figured since I've been treating this blog as a bit of a personal finance blog, it made sense to mention this to you all.
In other news, I've been contacted regarding sign up bonuses for ING Direct. So far I've only heard from one person about Electric Orange (the checking account) but I have referrals for both the checking and savings accounts. So, do
email me! Thanks to the woman who contacted me with a referral request! Hopefully you're enjoying your new account, and your $25!
Not much else to report, really. I've still been tracking my expenses on
Walletproof. I think the one problem is that I pretty much just spend and then track, but I don't know if this is curbing my spending habits. I've still been ordering lunches at work a few times a week, and some things I'm buying for the long term (clothes, beauty supplies), but I think I end up bottling up lots of my spending until all at once. I went to the mall last weekend because I had to buy bathing suits for a trip I was going on. I hadn't bought bathing suits in a year or two, so I was due to get one. The good part was that because it was the end of season, and I had a $10 off coupon, I got 2 bathing suits for less than $20 at The Gap. I've decided that my Gap credit card is actually worthwhile for me, since I opened it when I bought some nice pants before (yes, it should have been a bigger purchase) I've been getting percent off and $ off coupons from them, and I pay the whole balance off every time. I think I only go there for biggish purchases (maybe I save up my spending for those, too?) like when I desperately needed new bras, or this time for bathing suits. I don't go without a coupon. Of course, getting me into the store was the need for bathing suits, but I walked away after also buying a pair of khakis. I think I treat dressy pants as a necessity, since I have barely any khakis, but lots of jeans (and I feel like a slob when I wear jeans to work).
I think that the whole don't spend-spend a lot problem partially arises because I don't have a car. My roommates were driving somewhere, so I asked for a ride to the mall so I could shop. So while I was there for the bathing suit, I ended up buying two bathing suits, and khakis from The Gap (like I mentioned), then picked up some tank tops and headbands from H&M (I always buy tank tops there, I'm into layering, at least in a kind of non-crazy way). Then to the CVS to pick up random things I needed. I spent almost $100! Well, at least I wont have to buy some of those things for a while.
Phew, this post was meant to just mention the Infinite Mind show. Well, there's my money confession for the day.