Watch Out for Fridays
Typically, two things happen on Fridays. One, you get paid. With some money in the bank and access to your debit card, the games begin: treating yourself to lunch and dinner; and buying a little of this and that over the weekend. Little things- nothing crazy. Maybe a few things from Walmart or the Dollar Store; something from your favorite eating spot; maybe a cute blouse or pair of shoes. It’s springtime after all and the toes must come out. So, yeah, maybe a pedicure to boot.
Two, it’s the end of the week. If you work Monday through Friday (especially if you don’t love your job), then you look forward to the weekends. Friday evening is “you time;” time to take off your shoes and kick back. You aren’t in the mood for cooking. You aren’t in the mood to engage in business stuff. You just want to relax or hang out/go out.
Sunday, the business-minded you, returns in preparation for Monday.
It’s time to get back to business. You buckle down and review your bank balance, list of bills, due dates, pre-scheduled payments, and payments you need to go online and schedule. Things are a little tight. You probably over did it.
If this is the course you’ve been running, break the cycle and do something different. There are at least two simple, but game-changing things you can do to fix this freaky Friday scenario. One, create a budget at the beginning of the month so you already know what your bills are, know money will be there when they become due, and know how much you have for incidental spending on groceries and “stuff.”
Two, on your way home from work, withdraw cash to cover all of your incidentals. This will help you not overspend. When the cash is gone, that’s it. You can’t mistakenly dip into bill money. Alternatively, you can have your incidental spending money direct deposited or transferred into a separate/detached account from your bill money.
If you do these two simple things, Sunday Evening, Business-minded You won’t have to feel some kind of way about Friday Night, Off-Duty You. Let’s get better together, ladies.
