Version 2.013

For the life of me, I cannot fathom the source of my organization streak today. I put away some leftover Christmas decorations that were left in the fourth bedroom and got rid of a bunch of packaging materials from the move. I am always sorry to toss empty boxes because I always feel like it is wasteful. I am particularly fond of smaller boxes in which you can mail a small gift to a friend. Of course, I do not mail anything now.

A long time ago, I used to spend over $500 a year mailing things to people. I do not like shopping for myself, but I love shopping for others. Then, boxes I had mailed started being detained in customs, some packages got lost, and I trained myself to stop mailing things. Conveniently, the Post Office is almost out-of-business; thus I have no need for boxes anymore. Except, I always think that they may come in handy for my next move.

It is nice to enter the fourth bedroom and not have as much clutter. Another benefit is that I found my previous notebook where I kept track of my budget and savings accounts. Sometimes, I think of my obsessions and they feel foreign, like I have no idea why I would do such things and, yet, there they are in my own handwriting. And I continue to do them.

Every two weeks, when I get a paycheck, I write down all the balances of my accounts in a notebook -- in pencil and paper, not a computer notebook. If I do this, it helps me increase my savings and control my expenses. I don't budget, really, I just force myself to look at what I have.

Paper and pencil help me keep my obsessions under check. If I were to do it in a computer, I would start to make simulations and I could spend hours on end playing with the numbers. This way, I write it down, add it up, and am done. Well, sometimes I also calculate the rate of growth...