But my deep, dark secret is that I am only disciplined up until the point I slip, and then it’s like a snowball careening downhill (and not in the positive debt snowball sense). 

For example, with food, if I eat a horribly fattening breakfast or have a piece of chocolate cake at lunch, it’s almost as if a devil appears on my shoulder, saying, “well, you’ve already messed up, you might as well have another piece of cake.” And I do it.

The same is true of exercise. A few years ago I had the same New Year’s resolution as I have this year: to work out at least three times per week. One week I got sick and I missed a few workouts, only completing two workouts over the course of seven days. Rather than acknowledging that I was sick and renewing my resolve the following week, I threw in the towel for the entire rest of the year since in my mind I’d already failed.

So far this year I’ve met my goal of three times per week. But I fear that I’ll slip up, so much that last month I forced myself to walk three miles the day I had a migraine because I didn’t want to miss my target and ruin it for the rest of the year.

And then there’s money. To give a little insight into how I budget, I’ve created a monthly average based on my expenses for the previous six months, and then divided the expenses by week. This gives me a weekly total to aspire to, which is a good thing when I am disciplined.

But when I go over my budget – which happened this past week – it’s easy for me to become lax on spending. I found myself this weekend buying some “wants” and giving into impulse buys simply because I’d already gone over budget, so why not?

Even worse, I justified buying the wants now because that way I wouldn’t ruin March’s budget…which doesn’t really make sense because I’m still spending the money, regardless of any arbitrary timelines.

Each time, I feel guilty and promise I’ll start over tomorrow (with food), next week (with exercise) or the following month (with money). Many times, I succeed simply because I compensate by becoming   over-disciplined, as if I’m punishing myself for falling off the wagon.

I’ve talked to a few friends before about it and it seems you’re either like me or you’re the opposite. My best friend, for example,  is more likely to eat healthy and exercise at night if she’s splurged during the day. Or if she spends more than she should one weekend, she cuts back the next.

Her way sounds healthier – both physically and mentally – to me, but for the most part I think we’re hard-wired to be one way or the other.

So which way are you?

It doesn’t seem fair – we’re getting paid less but working harder than ever to ensure our jobs aren’t viewed as expendable…which creates the perfect recipe for job burnout. Keep your sanity (and hopefully your job) by reading The Digerati Life’s tips on how to manage job burnout.

Living within your means has always had a positive connotation, but Your Money Relationship turns this popular phrase on its head, arguing that “within your means” might eventually leave you without.

Sure there’s crooked legislators, rampant bureacracy and massive bailouts, but government isn’t all bad. No, really. And The Dough Roller proves it by sharing 70 government websites about money, from how to improve your credit score to buying a home.

If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to buy something…well, I’d probably be able to buy a lot more. In a great post about smart spending, Mrs. Micah encourages readers to use lists to curb impulse spending.

Forget a 5th grader, are you smarter than a 9-year-old? Honestly, I don’t know if I’d want to go head-to-head with My Two Dollars’ kid, who already at age 9 is offering dad some sound money management advice.

Have a great weekend!

Having trouble sticking to your New Year’s resolutions? Regain your resolve and re-motivate yourself to succeed by reading The Wisdom Journal’s very doable list of 6 ways to motivate yourself.

They deliver through rain, sleet and snow…but apparently not through a recession. DebtFree4Ever brings to light a proposal made by the Attorney General this week to save the U.S. Postal Service money by cutting mail delivery to 5 days a week.

If the possibility of massive sales at soon-to-close Circuit City have you salivating (like me), be sure to read FiveCentNickel’s tips for shopping liquidation sales.

 
Mmmm, McDonald’s french fries…it’s hard to imagine life without them. Luckily we don’t have to. In her series about self-made men, Wide Open Wallet takes a look at Ray Kroc, the fast food entreprenuer who made McDonald’s (which by the way is one of the few companies thriving in this economy) a household name.

 
Ha, now that I’ve tempted you with french fries, consider some of SoundMoneyMatters’ great reasons to start your fitness goals in February. I know, I’m cruel :-)

Have a great weekend!

 Squakfox blogs about 6 bad words you shouldn’t use on your resume. No, they’re not what you’re thinking although those are probably not a good idea either. And if I need to tell you that you deserve to be unemployed. 

  

Low 30-year mortgage interest rates and falling home prices tempting you to explore the exciting world of home ownership? Be sure to read Sound Money Matter’s post on how to find and hire a real estate agent before you make the leap.

 
Cents to Save offers some great common sense – er, cents – tips for shopping at thrift stores. Sure, it’s not Halloween (when my annual visit usually falls) but desperate times call for smart measures.

Gather Little by Little  and The Frugal Dutchess tell you how to be less trashy…at least when it comes to coffee filters and paper towel tubes.

And just because it’s Friday and slated to be 82 degrees today (sorry, at least where I live), I’ll end this post on a ray of sunshine. Over at Million Dollar Journey, Frugal Trader gives us 6 reasons why recessions are a good thing.

By far the best deals have been found at The Limited, which just happens to be one of my favorite stores anyway.

Back in December I found a pair of $12.99 jeans that fit perfectly (in a size 6 no less…even if I didn’t like them I might have bought them just because I could get into a 6).  Luckily I loved them so I didn’t have to resort to such a shallow buying principle.

Anyway, I paired them with a cute top that was on sale for $9.99, and at checkout I presented a $15 off coupon my friend had given me. I half expected the sales clerk to tell me I couldn’t use the coupon because of the already crazy discounts, but she didn’t even bat an eye.

When all was said and done, I had a new pair of dark-wash, bootcut jeans and a cute emerald green top for a grand total of [drumroll please]…$8.65. 

Thinking this amazing shopping fortune was a fluke, I was surprised yesterday to find a pair of different jeans on sale for $19.99.

Again, they fit perfectly, a miracle unto itself since when it comes to jeans they’re usually only one step up from bathing suits in the “horrible fitting room experiences” department.

All sale items were an additional 40% off, so when combined with a 30% off coupon I’d recently received in the mail I became the proud owner of another pair of awesome Limited jeans for just $9.08. 

And this may not be the end of it since the clerk told me as I checked out that they’re closing the store at the end of the month for renovations and they’ll probably have a huge clearance sale to move out the inventory.

Thank you, shopping gods…