Where's my Sponsor?

I had a bit of a scary day yesterday, budget-wise. One of my girlfriends called and asked me if I would like to go to the “big city” with her. She was making a trip to Home Depot to pick out new kitchen cabinets and wanted some company.

After lunch we went to Home Depot and, while she was talking to the kitchen people, I wandered around the store. It was hard but I managed not to buy one thing. I checked back in with her, discovered she was a long way from being done, so I wandered next door to Target. Although I’m a big DIYer, not spending money at Target is a lot harder than not spending money at Home Depot. While I wandered around in Target it occurred to me that I needed a sponsor; someone like an alcoholic calls when they are in danger of taking a drink. “Hey sponsor, it’s Mary, I’m in Target, I’m afraid I’m going to relapse. Can you talk me down?”

I didn’t do too badly. I really did stick with just a few things I needed. I will have 7 friends coming for lunch on Saturday so the grocery store followed Target. My totals for the day?

Lunch - $10.26
Target - $21.15
H.E.B. - $41.97
Staples - $12.28 (Two reams of recycled printer paper, asked for and received a 10% discount since the packages were opened)

So, $85.66 for the day, including the cost of Saturday’s lunch, nothing on credit. I guess I did pretty well but next time, I’m taking an emergency number!