“A personal budget should reflect a need for imminent means, not wishes.”

I like to collect quotes about life or philosophy to motivate myself through the day.

“The person who says, ‘I can,’ and the person who says, ‘I can’t,’ are both right. Which one are you?”

Now that I wake up every day and find myself in a never-ending Stephen King novel, I must reach for quotes.

I don’t have words for this (even though that is literally my one job).

I don’t want to complain too much. Many people are out of work and I have been telecommuting for years.

However, money is getting tight. I must stretch my budget. Indulging in luxuries, no matter how trivial, are no longer a priority when I shop for groceries.

So, more than just stretch my budget, I am also reducing my budget.

I want to save more money. The last time that the world grappled with a pandemic, it was 1918.

I think people are so depressed because we are mourning the loss of the Old World. The world of handshakes, intense formal hugs of people we know, and indiscriminate mass gatherings.

We are also terrified of what the New World will look like. Over 17 million people applied for unemployment benefits within the last 3 weeks.

Many more than that tried to apply. But the strained unemployment insurance system seems only capable of processing 6.6 million applications a week.

Such offices are designed to process hundreds or thousands of applications daily.

Many people won’t get back to work anytime soon. There are many businesses that won’t come back.

Money is going to be tight for the foreseeable future.

Reduced Budget

I take nothing for granted for granted now.

So, I am reducing my budget as much as possible to keep more money in my pocket.

This is my 3-point plan whenever I go shopping now:

Non-essentials not needed

Stick to the budget

Guilty pleasure eating

What does that mean for me?

I have drastically cut back on my beer purchases.

Man, I love beer like Homer Simpson. But I am depressed enough waking up to a new quarantine day.

Being drunk every day probably isn’t the best use of my time now.

Likewise, I have cut down on ice cream, cookies, snacks, and other kinds of junk food.

Yes, I have a few snacks in the house. But right now, I need to focus on saving more money.

I feel like an expendable extra on The Walking Dead whenever I go to the supermarket. So, when I have to go, I just get the essentials.

My priority right now is to stay employed, stay safe, and save money.

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