Life on the Edge, Week 2

Eighty-eight dollars.

That's how much my not-eating-out initiative saved me last week. I know this, because that was the balance left in my bank account when I checked on Day 10. By some strange coincidence, this was the exact amount of money I was going to have available to get through the coming whirlwind. Five events in four days. A bridal shower, dinner-and-a-movie, Mothers' Day, and a day trip to a graduation. I figured I could just-- just-- make it, if nothing went wrong and no unexpected expenses occurred. You know, like trying to color my hair and having the bottle go flying out of my hand mid-squirt, spraying colorant on the nice white tiles on its short trajectory into the toilet bowl. Or having the heels on my only pair of dress shoes wear completely through in mid-week. Or having my mom invite five other people to her Mothers' Day breakfast without telling me.

I didn't plan for those? Silly me. So that'll be ten dollars for another box of hair color, a week of wearing nothing but pants so that I can wear my boots instead of dress shoes, and four dollars in ATM fees so that I can pay my brother-in-law for my mother's and my breakfasts after he puts them on his AmEx.

Frugality, good. Desperation, bad. But somehow I got through it.

For the bridal shower, the theme was "Things the couple will need on their honeymoon." Having no idea where they were going, I bought them a journal with one of those magnetic-clasp covers, and decorated the first page with descriptions of all the things they might need: everything from "Passion!" and "More Rum!" to "kindness" and "Advil". I wrapped it in leftover Christmas paper (plain silver-on-silver stripe) with a big blue-and-silver bow. They fed me dinner and drinks at the shower. Total cost-- I won't post that here, in case one of them visits this site! But it was quite doable.

I feel a bit guilty even describing Friday's dinner-and-a-movie as an event, since I already knew going into it that he would be paying for everything. We ate a lot of sushi, saw SpiderMan 3, and generally had a great time. Total cost-- none to me, but a big hug and a hat tip for a good friend's generosity.

Saturday was a two-fer. First came the Mothers' Day breakfast, which I had expected to put on my ATM card as I had no cash. Then came my sister, her husband, his sister, and my two nieces. Followed shortly by the need for cash in hand. Followed shortly thereafter by the realization that I really should bring my own "little sister" something when I went down for her graduation on Sunday. Again with the journal, again with the Christmas paper-- only this time, I didn't write in the journal first, and I used the paper with the stars on it. Total cost-- about thirty bucks.

For my next trick, I spent about eight bucks at Trader Joe's to get another bottle of cheap red wine and some fruit to make sangria for the next party. I had been worried about how to transport it, but after my best friend helpfully poured us each a glass of Cran-Raspberry juice, I had only to wash out the jug and voila! (Note to the reader-- if you do this, put the jug in the trunk and not in the driver's compartment, because it will count as an "open container". Just FYI.) Total cost for the day-- about 40 bucks, which left about 20 in the bank for Sunday's meals on the road. For both of us.

Enter divine intervention. Denise also came up slightly flush, so between the two of us, we had about sixty dollars to get through Saturday's dinner and Sunday's road trip. I can't say it was the healthiest food I've ever eaten, but I did managed to get a salad involved during lunch on the trip back. When we got home Sunday night, I found my determination to cook dinner thwarted by a lack of clean pans, a lack of space in the kitchen, and a waiting period to get to the sink or the spice cupboard. We ended up going out to dinner after all. Total cost-- well, let's put it this way. I ended the evening with about three dollars and change in my purse, and this morning, I found out that I was exactly sixteen cents overdrawn.

I took the three dollars and change, and had lunch at McDonald's.