Days of research, days of spending

Amount spent: $7.77
What: lunch at Skyline

Amount spent: $27.46
What: gas

Amount spent: $6.35
What: four DVD rentals at Blockbuster

Amount spent: $17.63
What: lunch at Skyline (for two)

Amount spent: $180.98
What: car payment

Amount spent: $6.75
What: parking in downtown Cincinnati

Don't panic; I haven't lost my resolve to rein in my spending just yet. As bad as this may look, remember that I'm still trying to get into the habit of recording my purchases in this blog again, and so more than a week of purchases are merely catching up with me here.

Most of it is self-explanatory. The car payment was a necessity, as was the gas (I still can't get over how cheap it is compared to last summer). I have been eating out a bit too much lately, although I'm lucky my cravings have merely been for Skyline. The larger bill was when I paid for both my boyfriend and myself, the smaller when I went out with my younger brother. We probably didn't need to eat out, but it was the least I could do considering he went downtown with me, keeping me company while I conducted research for a journalism capstone project (that's where the $6.75 garage fee comes in). I was going to pay for him, however the waitress perceived that we weren't on a date (thank goodness) and gave us separate checks.

I would like to point out the relatively low bill for DVD rentals at Blockbuster, though. Last summer, when I was determined to catch up on the first two seasons of Big Love, DVD rentals cost me a small fortune. In fact, it was getting so expensive I had to hold off renting until my coffers were refilled. It seems, though, that Blockbuster has switched financial philosophies. Now, rentals for new movies are $1.99 and old movies are merely $.99. Whereas four DVDs last summer would have put me back $16-$20, now I barely broke $10. Amazing.