Lessons

After I woke up from my Sunday morning nap, SB and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful temps and head outdoors to the park for some sun and fresh air. As I was getting my things together (book, sunglasses, beach towel) I realized that my purse seemed to weigh less than usual. I went digging and realized that my wallet wasn't there! Ack!! We searched my car - under the seats, in the glove box, in the trunk - searched the living room and bedroom . . . then SB asked me where was the last time I saw it. I remembered closing my tab at pub #3 and SB remembered me having it there as well. I didn't remember having it at the sushi restaurant we went to afterward but I didn't pay there (SB and J split the tab). So, either I left it on the bar in pub #3 or it fell out of my bag at the restaurant (I did get up to go to the restroom once, and the bag I was carrying isn't my typical zipper close purse I take most places - this was more of a causal beach bag) SB was amazingly wonderful about the whole situation and didn't allow me to freak out. We pulled up to the restaurant and I hopped out and ran up to the hostess. And they had my wallet!!!! The hostess said our waiter tried to run after us after we left but we had already taken off. Whew!!! Disaster averted!

In other good news, the transfer I made from my temporary savings into my checking account #1 on Sunday morning saved me from any overdraft fees (I just called my bank to double check that non were going to hit tonight).

Therefore, today's post is about lessons!! I had two very close calls and I learned a lot from these.

#1 Lesson: If I'm going to get fired up for a night of drinking I need to plan in advance what I am going to spend and take out cash from the ATM. This serves two purposes:
1) When the cash is done, so am I (or I'll have to use my looks and winning personality to get free drinks - ha, kidding! SB would not be a fan of this method.);
2) I'll have cash for a cab if I go a bit overboard - that way I don't have to do the walk of shame home. Always smart to have an exit plan. :-) (FYI, SB drove us home on Sat. & was okay to do so - but you never know!)

#2 Lesson: I need to re-evaluate what I carry in my wallet so if I ever DO lose it won't be as big of a disaster. I reread Trent's post at The Simple Dollar about what is in his wallet. Tonight my plan is to reorganize what I carry with me. Currently I carry two bank/debit cards (I have two accounts that I use for different purposes. One to pay bills and buy "essentials" like gas - the other is for my "play" money. It's a new system that I just started using this month.) I also carry all my credit cards and store credit cards - obviously don't need to carry these bad boys anymore. I have my social security card which is probably a big no-no. I have my work i.d. and my d.l. I also have a lot of other random crap in there . . .

#3 Lesson: As you noted Andy, it's a good idea to come up with a budget so I know how much is okay to spend. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with a night of fun and I think that it's a great way to blow off steam. I'm not a bar fly so this is probably something I do every few months (more during the summer, less during the winter). I need to really figure out how much discretionary spending is okay. I allocated $100 this month but that was a total arbitrary number.

Well . . . as I said, I learned a lot and I narrowly missed the disaster of losing my wallet and losing out even more money on a bank fee. Luckily, karma was on my side and I'm definitely taking note!