april's pledge

now that i've had almost a month of vandwelling experience, it's time to up the ante. my systems for personal care are all in place, and the newness of not having an unmoving roof over my head is gone. now, the focus turns to paring down living expenses and keeping track of spending. my laziest area is food--i love to go grab a coffee and a breakfast burrito in the morning while i check my email, but the tally is adding up and i can't really afford to spend 400 a month on these little outings. i think a reasonable budget for food is 200 per month, since i get at least one free meal every time i work, and can often manage to take some more food with me if i so desire.
so, for the month of april, i pledge to stick to my food budget of 200 dollars. i'm going to put 200 dollars in an envelope on april 1st and that is what i shall eat out of. this will include all outings to coffee shops, all lunches with friends, and all late night convenience food. it will be challenging, i know because this is my weakest point, but i'm ready for it. if i run out of money before may 1st, then i'll have to find ways to eat for free until the month is up. i'm going to practice some tough love on myself. i think it will be easiest to save most of the weekly money for my two days off, and try not to spend any on days i work. i could allocate say 15 dollars a week for breakfast groceries which is all i really need on working days--an egg and toast, or cereal, and of course coffee or tea. then for my days off i'll be freer to go to devil's food for breakfast, or have a lunch out with E. by practicing restraint on convenience, i shall overcome this beast of indulgence.
eek....i'm scared of that beast, it's big and muscle-y..