Gaming the System.

[chrysilla]

Just thinking about how my various 'issues' are accidentally working together for my betterment in odd ways.


Problems with dairy, gluten and other foods => Waaay less eating out at restaurants than I used to.
-5 Social Life
+5 Budgeting


Realizing the Paleo diet was hurting me in some ways => Can have rice and corn chips again, which are (sadly?) both cheaper than meat and veggies.
+5 Spoons (Health/Energy)
+10 Budgeting


Too tired to cook ALL THE THINGS from scratch => Buy easier to cook Chrys-friendly noms, less expensive overall.
+5 Spoons
+5 Budgeting


Keeping a food journal (compulsive habit?) => Figure out what foods help/hurt me, and how much I *don't* need to buy.
+5 Budgeting
+5 Spoons


Too tired to go out shopping for 'fun' => Actually sticking to my 'extras' budget.
+5 Budgeting


Throw out old makeup because gluten => Replace with fewer gf products.
-5 Budgeting
+5 Discardia
+5 Spoons


Too tired for RPG stuff => Avoid all the drama.
-10 Social Life
+100 Sanity


Too tired to be on improv teams/classes => Avoid some (oddly less) drama, avoid tons more credit card debt.
+20 Budgeting
-5 Social Life
+10 Sanity


Too tired to keep up with full jewelry side-business => Spend less $$ on vending and materials, can work when I want at my own pace without deadlines.
+10 Budgeting
+10 Sanity


Become obsessed with sewing => Costumes less expensive (tho not free) and fit better.
-5 Budgeting
-5 Sanity
+10 Geekiness


Sewing makes me nutz and extra tired => Sew in 1 hour limits, make fewer mistakes and no burn out.
+5 Time Management
+5 Sanity


Allergic to perfumes for 1/3 of the year => Buy less BPAL.
+5 Budgeting
+5 Spoons


Own too many 'normal day' clothes => Won't have to buy/make new clothes for a very long time.
-5 Discardian
+5 Budgeting


Can't deal with more stuff in my tiny home => Buying less stuff.
+10 Discardian
+5 Budgeting


Tiny home => Costs less $$ per month than previous home.
+5 Budgeting
+5 Discardian


Too allergic to have pets :-( => Much less cleaning/shopping to do.
+5 Budgeting
+5 Time Management
+10 Sanity
+10 Spoons


Very little social life => Can go to bed the same time every night without paying for cabs.
-10 Social Life
+10 Spoons
+5 Budgeting


Replace most of social life with Netflix => Catch up on all the SF shows I haven't seen.
-5 Social Life
+20 Geekiness


Too tired to deal with 'romantic' relations => Embrace Spinsterhood, so much less BS to put up with overall.
-5 Social Life
+5 Budgeting
+5 Geekiness
+10 Spoons
+10 Sanity


Realized I might end up too sick/tired to work earlier than my peers => Open retirement account.
+5 Budgeting
+5 Future Planning



So one gigantic theme: what's awful for my social life seems to be awesome for my budget. "Keeping up with the Joneses" really is awful, even outside of the suburbs. When I'm feeling better in the autumn, need to devise less expensive (and less glutinous) methods of hanging out with friends.

And its still ironic that trying the Paleo diet decreased my restaurant spending to almost nothing, but made my grocery bills skyrocket out of proportion to the restaurant spending.