Well, that was poor money management. Folks, please facepunch me.

[mtn]

Not sure exactly what happened here, but somehow between a few emergency vet visits, an eating out habit that got out of hand over the past two months, and not hustling as much as I should have been at my side gig, we’re going to have to take a couple interest hits on our credit card and stop contributions to my 401k for about a month.

How the hell did I do that? Or, more accurately, why did I do that? Laziness caused by stress, I guess? Dunno.

As an aside, what an odd sensation it is to be asset rich, cash poor. Our net worth is $75k-$90k depending on how you value certain things (ages 27-8, 5 and 4 years out of college and grad school), yet we stupidly put ourselves in debt.

So facepunch me. Shame me into doing better. Cause I’m awfully pissed at myself. Money just down the drain. Dumbass.

[solon]

Good news! Owning a pet is optional!

[mtn]

Good news! Owning a pet is optional!

For some people. For us, we've found it is a lot cheaper than anti-depressents.

[Papa bear]

Start running laps! Don't stop until I say so!


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[bobechs]

Good news! Owning a pet is optional!

For some people. For us, we've found it is a lot cheaper than anti-depressents.

Cheaper than 'shrooms?  https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16469236/magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-brain-scan-depression-mental-health-neuroscience   

I doubt it.   Hell, you can grow your own if you want.  Tell me how ruinously expensive that is...and how vast your spending on anti-depressant phamaceuticals has been, while you are inventing.

[Travis]

Are you starting fresh from this incident or are you going to peel back the onion and see where you went wrong?

[lexde]

Good news! Owning a pet is optional!

For some people. For us, we've found it is a lot cheaper than anti-depressents.

Cheaper than 'shrooms?  https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16469236/magic-mushrooms-psilocybin-brain-scan-depression-mental-health-neuroscience   

I doubt it.   Hell, you can grow your own if you want.  Tell me how ruinously expensive that is...and how vast your spending on anti-depressant phamaceuticals has been, while you are inventing.

FYI if you have a family history of bipolar or schizophrenia then you need to be very careful with psychedelics since they can be stressors for dormant mental illnesses.

[Imustacheyouaquestion]

It's a good idea to treat income from side hustles as pure extra money that goes straight into savings or investments. In other words, if your expenses exceed your regular income, that's a problem. That way, if your side income drops during a given month, it's not an emergency since you weren't relying on that income to cover your expenses.

[elaine amj]

Well, I rather think you gave yourself a facepunch and woke up. Next time, pay yourself first. And build up an emergency buffer so you never have to loan money from your credit cards.

[PoutineLover]

I'd also suggest getting a line of credit so that if this does happen again (it shouldn't now that you know how to avoid it) you can at least pay lower interest than the credit card likely is.

[Zikoris]

I think you should get rid of your credit cards. Credit cards are great if you utilize them for points or travel hacking (and don't pay interest), but they're not good for people who get lazy and ignore them.

I'd also axe eating out altogether. Then it can't be a habit that gets out of hand, because it's not a habit anymore and you have a fridge full of food ready to go at all times.

I don't think getting a line of credit to pay less interest is the way to go, I think you should stop doing anything that would result in paying interest altogether.

[mm1970]

Good news! Owning a pet is optional!

For some people. For us, we've found it is a lot cheaper than anti-depressents.

This is interesting.  We don't have pets (everyone really wants a dog but me).  Kids, husband, but we are not home from 8 am until 5:30 pm, that's not fair to a dog.

But the anti-depressant comment was interesting.  I've been super stressed out lately (husband too).  For him, he has way too much work.  For me, work is also busy but we are almost out of money (happens every 2 years) so there's the stress of possible layoffs and too much work.  Plus 2 kids and their activities. 

Also, I pretty much need to get a full week's vacation every 3 months to stay refreshed.  And the school schedule does not align with that.  So my last week off was ... 3 months ago, and I can feel it.

I have to find coping mechanisms.  Earlier this year I was doing a lot of hand crafts and crocheting, and had gotten out of it around May.  Just last week, I started up again.  A little bit of mending, and last night I just decided to crochet a blanket for no reason (made 2 for the kids earlier this year).  It's definitely a coping mechanism, good for relaxing.  Kind of like meditating, that I suck at.  Also, husband and I have been hitting the melatonin (him, doesn't do crap for me) and Unisom (me) to help us sleep.  Which seems horrible on one hand but I need to sleep.

[FiveSigmas]

The purpose of face-punches are to wake up folks unaware of their mistakes. If you've already recognized the problem, self-flagellation by proxy isn't helpful.

What concrete steps are you taking to make sure it never happens again?

Edit: clarity

[moof]

Emergency fund my friend.  Work over the next 6-12 months to get an emergency fund figured out so that a car repair, house repair, vet bill, or similar will not upset your longer term plans.  I recommend looking over the last several years at all the surprises outside your normal budget plans and setup automatic transfers to your emergency fund savings account.  The next time fido swallows a diaper and has to get hacked open (true story) you'll be able to just transfer a few thousand back to cover it and you can keep your 401k/IRA/taxable accounts on autopilot.  Set a goal for the emergency fund and invest overages every month or two once it is filled up.

It will hurt to see less going into investments, but your budget will be more realistic.  I've astonished my wife a couple time when things hit the fan and I pointed out that the wad of cash sitting idle was set aside exactly for that sort of purpose and that nobody needed to freak out in the slightest, just transfer the funds and move on.  Now she mostly gets it.

[Goldielocks]

On the positive side, this is a great time of year to wake up about lazy overspending.   Black Friday, holiday season parties and Christmas presents are just around the corner, so if you go into frugal mode for the next 6 weeks, you will be well on your way to a Happy New Year!

[Just Joe]

I have to find coping mechanisms.  Earlier this year I was doing a lot of hand crafts and crocheting, and had gotten out of it around May.  Just last week, I started up again.  A little bit of mending, and last night I just decided to crochet a blanket for no reason (made 2 for the kids earlier this year).  It's definitely a coping mechanism, good for relaxing.  Kind of like meditating, that I suck at.  Also, husband and I have been hitting the melatonin (him, doesn't do crap for me) and Unisom (me) to help us sleep.  Which seems horrible on one hand but I need to sleep.

I love those little tasks/chores that can be like meditating.