I think most people know that compounding interest in savings account it a pretty amazing thing to see in action. Basically, compounding can make someone rich given enough time. Unfortunately, the only thing I get to see is myself making mistake after mistake, seemingly compounding every single one, until I’m in a hole so deep, I can’t see a way out. That’s what happened this weekend. I didn’t follow my own advice, and I let circumstances blind me into what I was doing to myself. I started small, but quickly made bigger mistakes as the weekend progressed. First, I kept my Debit card in my wallet. If you read my earlier post, I was trying to take the step of drastically reducing my use of the debit card by keeping it out reach. Unfortunately, the debit card was too easy to get there, as I continually used it all weekend. Altogether, I spent probably 5 to 6 hundred times the amount I wanted to for the weekend. I’m hopeful that I at least didn’t cause any overdrafts (I’ll check tonight), but I wouldn’t be surprised if my spending did cause some overdrafts and compounding every mistake.

I’m falling into these compounding mistakes. Poker players call these feeling, tilt, as in a player can be in tilt. What it means is that a player made a decision that cost them money, and then starts to make bad decisions based because the player is upset with himself. In the end, the original decision causes more mistakes, which compounds each mistake as the player seems to get on a roll of bad luck. I’ve found that when I’m in trouble with money, instead of stop spending, I spend away because my feeling is that I’m in trouble anyway, just pay the consequences later. it’s like that scene in How I Met Your Mother, where Ted says to Marshall, you know who would be good to worry about this problem? Future Ted and Future Marshall. Basically, that is what I’m doing when I make these decisions. But, what I’m really doing is screwing over future me. I’m not very nice to future me, and I think that is what I need to start thinking about when i keep making these decisions. Maybe that will be motivation to start making better decisions. I need to be nicer to future me!

It’s easy to be negative at this point, but my focus needs to be stopping the slide I made this weekend. I need to pick myself up and make the first step back to the positive. I know I’m not going to be perfect, so I can’t beat myself up for the slide I had this weekend (even if it was almost right after I wanted to start stepping towards no debit card use). The only thing I can do is look to the future, and right now, make the first step towards where I want to be. Yeah, I made a mistake, but I need to focus on the positive and learn from what I did and how I felt/feel. After all, the power of compounding is time, and if I can recognize when I’m making bad decisions.

Steps I need to take to get over this weekend:
1. Recognize that I made a mistake this weekend
1a. But, don’t beat myself up about it
2. Remove the debit card from my wallet as soon as I get home this evening.
3. Enter my Receipts into my checkbook spreadsheet, so I know exactly what my money situation is at the moment
4. If necessary, put more funds in my checking account if I have spent too much and might get overdrafts.
5. Try to learn from this experience to slow myself down when I start to make too many mistakes in a row.

But hey, everybody makes mistakes, and everybody has expensive weekends, right?
I just have to
Keep Steppin’

Filed under: budget, money