And for my next act, balancing budgets with just one income!

I just finished balancing the budget thus far in my checking account, seeing how Wells Fargo was kind enough to send me a flimsy transaction register with my new box of checks. Since I didn't want any trees to die in vain to bring me the transaction register, I took the time to fill it out for just the first four days of October thus far and see where all my money was going.

And when I finished, I sat in my chair and wept.

In my defense, there's nine transactions on Monday, October 1st, but that's only because it was a busy weekend and it all happened to register in my account history online on the first of October. But still, it's very telling. It really is quite a shock when you realize you spent a lot of money eating out with friends and a girlfriend. Money you could have used for really, really, really important things.

Just to give you an idea, in the past week, had I saved the money I spent eating out rather than spending it wantonly on crappy food, I could have bought...thirty dollars worth of something, that's for sure.

The reason for keeping track of finances (something I've never been very good at my entire life, mainly because I look upon the filthy lucre with disdain) is mainly a shift in goals and so forth in life. The older I get, the less I am able to just make money so I can buy video games and toys. There's school, rent, books, groceries, gym memberships and supplies for hobbies such as drawing doodles, building a small library and purchasing camping/hiking gear so that when me and Dantzel take the weekend off to tromp around the Wasatch Front, we are not going to be seriously injured/die. With such complications comes a need to organize, and it helps that my girlfriend is one of the most hardcore accountants I have ever met in my life.

People shouldn't be forced to make a decision between gym memberships and online games. But unfortunately, such things happen, and I am inclined to choose health, energy and a body that doesn't feel like dying after running for ten minutes over a dormant lifestyle spent forever slaying vultures who for some mysterious reason are carrying around a huge enchanted breastplate. Perhaps in one of their pockets?