Living Life in the 'Pluses'

The moment that my back-to-school decision was a reality, I buckled up and prepared for some extreme budgeting.

We had just returned from a holiday where we went and did what we wanted to do, without counting pennies. It was a holiday all 'bought and paid for' from a bonus that I had received from my book keeping job. So I wasn't too worried. But I knew the holiday was over. Time to plan for my new reality.

The thing that concerned me financially, is that I was wracking up a month's worth of debt on my credit card every single month. My rule was, that I had to pay this off debt at the end of each month - with money that I was earning while I was spending it. I was perpetually living one month beyond my means. A rather scary prospect when I thought of my new student-budget.

My extreme-budgeting had me not only pay that debt off before it was due ... but start the month with a credit balance on my credit card. I love using my credit card, because I accumulate 'points'. Points that we use to treat ourselves to spending a night or two at a hotel every year. This is not something that I wanted to give up, so I had to find a way to still 'wrack up points' ... yet not break the bank.

A revelation revealed itself to me as I lived life in the 'plus' side of budgeting. As the month whittled away, I saw my plus balance decreasing, instead of a minus balance increasing. The mentality is completely different when you are dealing with a finite amount of dollars. 'I must make this last' goes through my head, every time I tally up my balance. If I splurge a little here ... I must sacrifice a little there. It's an obvious way to live. But when you live life in the 'minus' side of budgeting, you don't think the same.

When you are in debt, it is all too easy to think 'What's a little more??' You juggle things around ... or else your debt slowly but surely creeps up on you. It is akin to how you feel spending cash verses a 'card'. When you look in your wallet and see that specific dollar amount and know how long it is supposed to last, you think twice before overspending.

In this world gone crazy with personal debt loads out of proportion to what they should be, a person needs to find 'tricks' to make things work in the budget. This is something that works for me.

I can remember when debt and paying bills overruled my life. I'd get a little windfall and wish that I didn't have so many bills, that this windfall was consumed by covering my over spending. Every time it happened, I wished that I didn't chronically live in the world of excess. So that when I did get a small sum of money that I hadn't planned on ... it would truly be mine.

I have arrived! I have very often said that I feel that I am rewarded. Every time I am in a place where I am respectful of the money I am earning and budgeting accordingly, I feel that I get a little bonus. That credit balance on a utility bill ... a little bonus tacked onto a cheque I was expecting ... a cheque that comes out of the blue. It happens all of the time. It amazes me every single time that it does. But what I believe what the reality is, is that I can appreciate a $30 cheque or a $75 credit on a utility bill when I'm living on the 'plus' side of life.

When debt doesn't gobble up all of life's bonuses, you feel very rich. You can appreciate every small gift that life sends your way.

As I am on the cusp of the 'Great Student Budget of 2009', I feel ready. I've got my bases covered, a good idea what the income flow will be, a back up plan and I'm starting out on the 'plus' side.

Life is full of surprises. This is a fact. The most a person can do is be aware of the fact, budget as wisely as you can ... and forge ahead.