5. stay with a budget for 2 months

Define "stay".

Through March and April I dutifully tracked my spending. March I overshot the budget by $50 and April by $30. We're going to consider this significant improvement and commence self congratulation. (Perhaps commemorated with some small spending splurge?) Logging money is oddly enjoyable, so I'm tracking over May as well to see that the trend of decreasing overspending continues.

Previously I assumed that I was immune to the insidious impulse buy. My records indicate that such does not hold true under specific conditions: I persuade myself that any expenditure is valid so long as the purchase is for someone else. In a fit of selfish rebellion, next month I want to make an impulse buy on my own behalf.