I don’t normally like to bring up money issues on here because I may incur the backlash of readers who will chastise me for the decisions my husband and I have made in regards to our money. And I use the term “OUR money” loosely. We have separate accounts. I pay half the bills (half the amount of each, with the exception of daycare wherein I pay 1/4) and he pays half. We keep a spreadsheet and he enters the bills he’s in charge of and I enter mine plus groceries. It usually balances out but I get behind sometimes and it’s always OK. Which is why this does work for us. Usually, though, people will respond to a gripe of mine about being broke with, “Just ask your husband for money. Just use his paycheck.”

Oh! and I groan at the thought of being one of “those people” who sit around and spend the incoming check. Ok, I know it may work for YOU but for ME, I feel like I should be contributing too. So I do. And we pay our bills and whatever we have left is for ourselves. Sure, I have less than he does but he got the better job so why should he not benefit? I also like having the separate account so that we can’t keep track of each others’ purchases. Not that we would, in a “following you” sort of way. But if we had a joint account and I saw all the Magic cards he bought or the Legos or Transformers, it would be tough not to hassle him about spending OUR money. And he could do likewise to all my lattes and comic books. So for us, it works.

But like I said, I am pretty broke this week. And of course, it so happens to be Teacher Appreciation week. Oh, AND Mother’s Day is on Sunday so I am strapped to the max. Now, the funny part is that last evening, I was in a slump. I was really hungry but didn’t feel like doing anything but lay on the couch. Finally, around 9 PM, I managed to peel myself from the sofa and, bleary-eyed, walk to my car and drive to the Chinese place up the street. I bought a pint of fried rice for three dollars sixty five cents. With it, came the obligatory fortune cookie. I didn’t eat it last night so while home during lunch today, I cracked it open.

Sorry it’s blurry but you get the idea. I love how life can be so coincidental sometimes. I mean, those things are very generic but it’s pretty weird that I got that one. Especially if you consider that it’s rare I ever even get Chinese take-out. It’s appropriate because I want so very badly to buy books and comics and food but I know it’s best to save and wait until Friday. I could ask Ask for some money, but I kind of like testing myself, seeing how long I can go on eating stuff out of the pantry and not buying trinkets. It’s nice to see myself being disciplined.

So, when you’re low on cash, do you do similar or just charge it on credit cards and deal with it later? I’m curious…