Budget.

As much as I don't want to admit this... LIFE is about budgeting.

And in the midst of the financial crisis in this country and within this state, budgeting is the only thing we can do right now...

(Which, by the way, in my opinion, proves capitalism, the economic system that the US prides itself in since its inception, failed us...has been failing us...and has not been brought to "public attention" [aka gov't attn.] attention until the top 10% is feeling its claws)....

Crazy as this sounds, if one does not budget some time to do some budgeting, one will realize how crucial the conscious act of budgeting is! ha.

For the past months, I have been trying to budget. This is a difficult task, but is most definitely imperative in adult living!

I hate to see the end of the month. I hate to see the end of the month because I slowly see my monthly allowance deplete... My regular utility bills and rent take an early bite and I eat fairly well during the beginning-middle month...and then my hungry ass loan takes the biggest bite in the end of the month... I see how my meals begin to differ from the beginning of the month to good ol' PB & jelly sandwiches or tuna. Luckily I don't mind it, I actually dig the PB & Jelly...and tuna.... But I realized I really need to be much more mindful of my spending... Scraping off a few dollars here and there goes a long way...So I just need to be smarter... I even changed my calling plan just to save an extra $20. I really need to stick with grocery shopping and/or cooking throughout the weeks rather than going out to eat...

Which then brings me to another dimension of budgeting. But before I go there, I want to talk about something else real quick. ha.

This lifestyle, though I know others/most have it worse than I do, is what makes Obama appealing and the candidate of choice. His platform, his rhetoric, speaks to folks with this dilemma. How can one NOT gravitate towards his platform? At this point, in light of our economy, how can one NOT want change?

Ok...back to budgeting on a personal level.

Cooking is also another aspect of budgeting. I've got to budget that time to cook. Cooking indeed is cathartic (which, is also important for crazy ass workaholics like myself), but it does take time to clean and prepare food, wash dishes, etc. etc. Of course cooking is a lot healthier and cost efficient, but not as time efficient... But I guess I really have to budget time for that!

Health. So to maintain a healthy living, I need to budget time for running again. I have not been able to find a consistent schedule of running since school started. This is also crucial. But where can I fit running before the sun goes down? I stay after school to grade and LP...by the time I get home it's dark... I'm tired.. and if I want to cook... where on earth can I budget time?

Friends. I love my friends. I miss my friends. And one must budget time for that. I know I have not been so great at that for the past month. And one way I can spend time with friends is sharing a meal with them, which of course again is usually/always is going out to eat... Which again brings me back to my first dilemma of trying to cook... But if we're tired from working, going out to eat is the best option...

Budgeting, a necessity, but a challenge. Anyone have any tips?