Reinstituting austerity

It's been a rough summer financially. I could provide you with the details, but that would be boring. I'll just say that the culmination came on Saturday when I woke up early to drive my old car to the house where the buyer lives, and the car broke down on the way. It could have been much worse -- had I not pulled over when I did, I might have ruined the engine; had this happened before I found a buyer, I undoubtedly would have declined to do the repairs and would have just donated the damn hunk of metal -- but it was a blow nonetheless.

Six hours and $600 later, I gave the car to the buyer, complete with a brand new radiator (somehow it seems I put a hole in the old one). In exchange, he gave me a check that covers all the repairs I did in 2013. Nonetheless, after this latest financial setback I am officially going back to my 50-50-50 Herman Cain-inspired austerity budget. For those of you who don't recall the details of the budget that I went off of exactly a year ago, I am allowed to spend $150 total per week: 50 on food, 50 on fun, and 50 on utilities (is there a word for utilities that starts with F? That would make my budget much catchier.)

No more fancy cocktails or nice dinners out for me for a while. And whatever happens do NOT let me buy clothes! If anyone wants to go out for cheap beers or, better yet, come share a six-pack on my porch, let me know.