how not to cope with unemployment

I went on a spending binge this week: $683.54 on credit. To put things in perspective, I have no income at the moment. My entire severance went into an RRSP back in December. Since my layoff, I've been living on my vacation pay payout, a non-registered mutual fund, income tax refund, and credit. My EI benefits will kick in next month; until then, things are pretty lean.

Why, then, am I spending like a drunken sailor in port?



I'm a gay man, so shopping is pleasurable. Groceries are a necessary purchase; many items were picked up at sale prices. The "personal care" category was high this week — I needed sunscreen, which isn't cheap. I broke my Ray-Ban Aviators, so I replaced them with a less-expensive house brand.

Justifying the rest of it becomes difficult. Could I have waited to buy the new Tori Amos CD? Probably not. But I also bought CDs by Alphabeat and P!nk, and the new Stevie Nicks concert DVD.

I washed my car twice — I'm convinced that maple sap is harmful to the finish.

I set up my balcony and bought some plants: one tall oleander and some herbs (cilantro and Italian parsley). At least I can eat the herbs.*

I ate fast food twice — a definite no-no. Chalk it up to emotional eating...

Where I fall down is my Sunday trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I was with some monied gays; it was very hard to keep up. I should have stayed home... but at least I realized that the guy I had been going out on dates with (the most monied of the gays) was totally wrong for me. For $146, I got a great dinner, a lot of ice wine tasting, and insight. Valuable, valuable insight...

* never, EVER eat oleander. It is one of the most poisonous plants in the world.

Comments

tornwordo said…
Let me get this straight, you've been unemployed for many weeks, but you can't update the blog more frequently? C'mon, now's the time. I do like the pie chart, nice effort that.

You do know Dollarama has sunglasses don't you?
Anonymous said…
ahhh spend spend spend! Unemployment is a downer, I too am afflicted with it......... I'm gonna give my credit card a lashing tomorrow when I buy some new dildos and poppers! We MUST have some joy amongst the indignity of unemployment!:)
Rebecca said…
My favourite poverty store: Shopper's Drugmart. Call me a drugstore outlaw, but I can go in there and feel like a millionaire on a tear -- it's really quite amazing how much pleasure a new tube of Labello moisturizing lip balm brings me.

*head/desk*
Anonymous said…
At $146, that's a bargain!
Snooze said…
Expensive dinner and insight! Not a bad combo at all, but right up front, your date should have paid if he is monied. glad you have moved on.
Phronk said…
This all sounds perfectly reasonable. If you end up homeless, at least you'll have sunglasses and sweet music on your iPod, which is all that really matters.

Popular posts from this blog

the drum beats out of time

rich Corinthian leather

Sex Talk with Phyllis Levy