Thought for today:

A Spending Plan* is not a budget.  It is a tool to avoid vagueness around our expenses.  If our disease tells us that we want to avoid knowing where our money is going, our Spending Plan offers clarity.  It is the antidote to financial vagueness.

A member shares:

“Before DA, I kept wonder, “Where is it going? I had money in my wallet two days ago and now it’s gone.  I would spend on eating out at restaurants every day, and then not have enough money to go to the dentist.

“Creating a Spending Plan taught me self-care.  I could divide my money into different categories, and track where it was going.  I took six weeks worth of numbers to my first Pressure Relief Meeting, and developed my ideal Spending Plan, where I took care of my needs, and where self-deprivation was gone.”

Setting spending Limits:
For many of us, our Pressure Relief Meeting was our first introduction to setting spending limits.  We developed a plan knowing that it would be imperfect, but we could make adjustments later.

We identified categories that we were spending for, and set goals to spend conscientiously.   As the month went on, we referred to our spending plan, making adjustments.

We can save for extraordinary expenses when we anticipate them.  We can take a little from other categories to adjust limits.  In this way we develop new spending patterns.

Ask:

What is my Spending Plan for today?

Meditation for today:

Self-worth comes from knowing that we seek the best versions of ourselves.  As we do estimable things, we gain self-esteem.

Affirmation for today:

“I have abundant time, money, and love.”

*Many of the ideas expressed here came from the DA pamphlet “Spending Plan” (P-106).  

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