We know what we theoretically should do....we should exercise at least three times a week. We should be getting 7-8 solid hours of sleep a night. We should be saving at least 20% of our incomes and build up an emergency fund of 3-6 months (or more, depending on our circumstances). And yet, though we know what we should do, and despite our conscious efforts and most well-meaning intentions, we sometimes fall short.
I'll use this past weekend as an example. My boyfriend and I had a belated Valentine's Day celebration. Our reasoning was that we would have more quality time to spend together, and we could take advantage of some post-holiday bargains. Plus, we wouldn't get gouged with astronomical prices for "special" V-Day dishes.
C. and I went to Cru Wine Bar in Austin's upscale Domain shopping center. The plan--or so we told ourselves--was to enjoy a dish of chocolate fondue and a flight of wine together. It was an unusually cold night in Austin, exacerbated by a day of heavy rains. We stepped into the crowded little bar around 6:30 and sat at the bar to wait for a table. We ordered our flight of wine to enjoy while we waited.
Fifteen minutes later, and our table was ready. We had already nearly drained the three half-glasses of red wine in the flight, so we decided to order more--a selection of whites, this time. As my boyfriend and I thumbed through the menu, his eyes found the decadent cheese fondue found on the first page. He implored to try it--a sultry blend of fontina, goat and gorganzola cheeses. I sighed--thinking that we would substitute the cheese for the decadent chocolate--and agreed.
We descended upon the cheese fondue like a pack of ravenous wolves and had alright started flight #2. My 6'6" man was still hungry, so we perused the entrees. By this time, I was getting nervous. We'd already bought one more flight than we had agreed upon. Now, dinner? The components of our "bargain" meal were quickly adding up. When I cautioned my boyfriend, he told me to stop worrying and enjoy. After all, he was footing the bill.
We ordered mouth-watering steak pizza covered in mozarella and balsamic vinegar. It was incredible. I started to feel less anxious and guilty. After all, how often did we dress up and go out to a nice dinner? But when my boyfriend ordered the chocolate fondue for dessert, the waiter and I were both mildly stunned. I mentally calculated the additional expense and wondered if my sweet, generous boyfriend realized how much he'd already spent.
Though it felt wrong, I easily justified the extra calories and expense as I drowned strawberries and poundcake into the rich, dark chocolate. What's wrong with a nice dinner once in a while? We'll just eat in for the rest of the month.
When my boyfriend got the check, his eyes got wide and his smile sagged. There it was, the reality of our fantastic, lavish belated V-Day dinner. Suffice it to say, our final bill was a good $70 over what I had mentally budgeted for the event. When friends texted later on to invite us downtown, we had to decline because we couldn't afford to spend any more money.
My boyfriend and I both had a plan and a tentative budget in mind, but we blew it out of the water. Why did we do it, knowing full well that we need to save for moving and apartment-related expenses? That is what I'm still trying to figure out. I'm still trying to understand that intersection between what we know we should do, and the forces that lead us into doing something completely opposite. I have an idea of some things that prompt me to spend more than what I am comfortable with, and I will perhaps touch upon those in a later post.
No comments:
Post a Comment