The Hustle of Sistah Ant

I did all the stuff I had planned to do.  I put a super-sized deposit into the My Own Home fund.  I started a Share Builder account.  I gave to folks who need help.  I left myself an allowance.  And then, I went to get gas.

I usually fill my tank once it gets to the 1/2 mark, in order to keep from eating too much into my allowance.  However, I haven’t put any gas in my since I was on my roadtrip down south, preparing to come back home.  I’ve barely been driving at all in the time since then, and even though I had less than half of a tank, what I had left has been enough for the last three weeks.  But once again, when I decided how much I would leave myself as an allowance, I didn’t take account for how much I would need to fill up my gas tank.  Certainly, I could have only put a 1/2 tank of gas in when I went to the pump, but I would rather fill it at the current price, knowing that the price may go up and that if I don’t fill up now, I will eventually - might as well get it done.  I paid $3.93 cents for each of my 12.21 gallons for a total of $48.11.  I charged it to my credit card, which I’ll pay off at the end of the month.  That way, I’ve preserved my cash flow, which is good to have in case you need it.

I think of cash flow as cash-on-hand, which allows spending without incurring debt.  If you don’t have this, and you find yourself in a situation when you need to spend money, you will either use credit to get by or cut into your emergency fund (if you have one, and you should).  And of course, if you cut into your emergency fund, you’re in debt to yourself.  If you don’t replenish the dollars that come from your emergency fund, it will dwindle and not be enough for you when you really need it, which may lead to - you guessed it - using credit and getting into more debt.  (I’ve been there before and I don’t want to go back.)  I think of my "allowance"/"cash flow"/"spending account" as the fund before the emergency fund.  I can use it for spending, and the better I budget how much my allowance should be after dealing with other plans and obligations, the lower the danger of having to either use my credit card, like I just did for gas, or cut into my emergency fund.

In this situation, I will still keep an eye on my cash flow.  As I spend money between now and my next pay date, I’m going to try to avoid spending $48 of the cash I have now, so that I won’t even have to depend on my next paycheck to pay my credit card bill.  Depending on your next check to pay for something is merely another form of debt to yourself.  The best way to stay out of debt is to pay-as-you-go, not pay-as-you-anticipate receiving future funds.

The problem here is not gas prices, my income, bills, or other obligations.  All of this analysis and spending restraint could have been avoided if I’d simply budgeted differently.  Discipline is important, but so is good planning.  This is a recurring problem area for me in my hustle - one that I will continually keep working on.