This is Day Two of Month Nine of my Minimum Wage Challenge. I haven’t closed the October Books but I know I came out fine. The extra ninety-five dollars I have to budget each month for taxes I hadn’t accounted for hasn’t been as bad as I thought. At this point I am so very used to spending little, that it has become a habit. I got a raise last check, about $125 extra net per month, and it’s comical to me that I don’t actually get the $125 to spend. Well, my savings and retirement does, but not my Challenge Budget.

I believe the rest of the Challenge should be okay; I’m not foreseeing any big bumps. I have enough of a cushion that even if I take a knock or two I can weather it. For me Christmas has never been a budget buster; the only thing I really do is gifts. No decorations, no big travel, no cooking for a dozen guests. My shopping is mostly done for Christmas, because I’ve been shopping all year long and got a few good deals in Croatia and Bosnia.

I love winter and the rain. The north coast is a rainy place, and we just got out first of the season. It’s getting cold, and it gets da5k early. Even though I love it, or maybe it’s the reason I love it, I start to cocoon in winter. I know I’m not particularly unique that way. I grab my tea and books, and get out of the hot bath and into bed./ That happens to always be one of my favorite things; I think I feel less guilty doing it when it is cold and dark outside.

Part of me is mildly fantasizing about what I might spend money on post-Challenge. It probably won’t be much; I sometimes enjoy the fantasy of thinking about it enough to not need to do it.