Sneaking this one in just under the wire…

Variable Expenses Budget: $500.00
Spent Today: $0.00 – Yay!
Variable Budget Remaining: $310.27

October Income Goal: $2,500.00
Earned Today: $133.45*
Earned To Date: $278.71*
Goal Remaining: ($2,221.29)

I just made it home from a gig so this one isn’t getting posted in the most timely manner but it’s getting posted, so there. October 6th was a good day in terms of my variable budget as I earned money but didn’t spend money on anything. The gift and the curse of working the wedding banquet circuit is that there is always free food; great for my budget, less great for my waistline. I felt really uncomfortable in my “blacks” (black slacks, black button down, black socks, and black slip-proof shoes) today and it was a not-so-comfortable reminder of the weight I put on towards the end of the summer, and early fall as I eschewed the gym and other activities in favor of studying for the MCAT. If I am nakedly honest, I continue to struggle a bit with eating in response to strong emotions, and there was a lot happening towards the end of the summer…

On my way to my gig today (October 7th), I broke down and bought another black dress shirt from a thrift shop. I should have done this much sooner but for whatever reason, I felt like I “deserved” to be uncomfortable for gaining the weight. And that perhaps being uncomfortable was necessary to help me lose weight… I don’t know if that is true, or what it means, but I bought a new shirt today.

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*Income is reported as cash on hand. Some gigs are 1099 gigs (taxes not withheld) and some gigs are W-2 gigs (taxes withheld) and it would be tough to distinguish between the two in a neat way. Instead, I will report cash in hand, and money set aside for taxes and expenses related to gig work will have a budget line item each month.