Worry.

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Concerned a bit about the save for the Xmas trip, because there's cause to and because that's what I do.

The save is not going great. Various factors have contributed to that. The $630/month I've had to dump into having the car certainly hasn't helped (lease payment, insurance, gas). The IRS payment of $200/month wasn't helping, though that's gone now, thankfully. The cost of life has gone up too, prescriptions, food, essentials, the $100 rent increase etc. All those things factor in.

But the main reason is I just spend too damn much money. I spend $250+ on an average Saturday out. I pay $30 4-5 times a week on Door Dash. I make 2-3 weekly $50 Target runs for other shit. It adds up. The June trip hurt too. I'm done obsessing over it but it literally took me 2-3 months to recover from how broke that trip left me, to even begin to save for Xmas.

As it stands I have $2900 saved for the trip. I only have 3 checks left before going, and will have 1 more hit the day after I arrive. With my current spending the best I could hope to have by that 4th check is $5K cash saved. I need at minimum $6500 to be in my normal comfort zone of $1K per day ($500 for the first short day). I MAY or may not have a bonus coming from work, and I don't feel comfortable leaning on it. It's just that, a bonus, and if it comes through then great, the pressure's off, but if not I have to be taking care of my shit myself.

The simple solution is, I have to go into an old-fashioned, 2013-16 era crash Vegas save. I have to stop spending so damn much money on the daily. Being more frugal on Saturdays or maybe skipping a couple between now and Xmas. Stopping with all the damn Door Dash. once, maybe twice a week max. Frugal-maxxing on meals and especially snacks (and cutting down on them won't hurt for a lot of reasons). That should allow me to get within at least shooting range of the save goal.

Of course spending less daily means earning less MGM points, but I don't even want to think about that right now. getting there in some kind of financial shape is job one, getting to bloody Gold while there is down the list.




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