This was an interesting little exercise that Michelle over at Making Sense of Cents did the other day: Bad Habits you Need to Kick in your 20's. Since I'm a sucker for anything tht looks like a quiz, I decided to try it out as well.
1. Tanning.
--I have been tanning twice in my life. Once upon a time, my mother went tanning before we went on a cruise (to get a nice base--is that really a thing? Does that actually work?) and she roasted her butt so badly that she couldn't wear underwear and had to sit on an ice pack for a couple of days. When she was at her worst, she made me promise that I would never, ever go tanning. I've broken a number of promises to my mother, so that's not why I don't go tanning, it's because I don't change color really when exposed to sun. Plus it's expensive and boring.
The two times I went, I did so because I was living in Fargo, ND, where winter starts in October and doesn't let up until May (though there have been blizzards in May). A co-worker told me that she often went tanning in the winter because it was just so nice to be warmed completely through, and that being somewhat tan actually makes you feel warmer overall. I agree, it did help, but it was just too boring to me.
2. Having credit cards with high limits (and maxing out these limits).
--Nope! Used to have this problem, but not anymore.
3. Smoking.
--I smoked in college--I was an English major, afterall, but when cigarettes doubled in price, I took up runnning instead. Running probably costs me much more than smoking, but it will make me live longer and I actually enjoy it (I never really liked smoking that much, I just liked having something in my hand). Plus, as I've never been considered a traditional beauty, I've always been quite concerned with ageing well, and cigarettes certainly don't help you do that.
Best anti-smoking ad for women that I can think of, comes unintentionally from a book of poetry I found one day while working at B&N:
4. Shopping. Shopping purely for labels and not quality or what you need.
--P'shaw! I've always been too poor to shop for labels.
5. Expensive drinking.
--I do drink, but usually at home and usually cheap stuff. I do enjoy the occasional martini at the bar, but do that maybe every two months. Thankfully, our local cheap beer is actually tasty, and I enjoy the occasional box of wine (not all in one sitting--see above about ageing well).
6. Depending on your significant other. Both of you should have equal say about your finances.
--We split utilities and groceries and buy our own other stuff.
7. Not having a budget.
--I've had my spreadsheet budget for going on four years now, and now I have a mint.com backup. I'm addicted to budgeting!
How about you? Do you have any bad habits you need to cut? Can you think of any other bad habits that got you into trouble in your 20's? I was a bit of a dumbass, overall, but have reigned it in considerably. I think my biggest expense back then, was actually books. I worked at a large corporate bookstore, and spent more on books than my paycheck could comfortably handle. That's why librarianship is my chosen profession--no chance of that here.
1. Tanning.
--I have been tanning twice in my life. Once upon a time, my mother went tanning before we went on a cruise (to get a nice base--is that really a thing? Does that actually work?) and she roasted her butt so badly that she couldn't wear underwear and had to sit on an ice pack for a couple of days. When she was at her worst, she made me promise that I would never, ever go tanning. I've broken a number of promises to my mother, so that's not why I don't go tanning, it's because I don't change color really when exposed to sun. Plus it's expensive and boring.
The two times I went, I did so because I was living in Fargo, ND, where winter starts in October and doesn't let up until May (though there have been blizzards in May). A co-worker told me that she often went tanning in the winter because it was just so nice to be warmed completely through, and that being somewhat tan actually makes you feel warmer overall. I agree, it did help, but it was just too boring to me.
2. Having credit cards with high limits (and maxing out these limits).
--Nope! Used to have this problem, but not anymore.
3. Smoking.
--I smoked in college--I was an English major, afterall, but when cigarettes doubled in price, I took up runnning instead. Running probably costs me much more than smoking, but it will make me live longer and I actually enjoy it (I never really liked smoking that much, I just liked having something in my hand). Plus, as I've never been considered a traditional beauty, I've always been quite concerned with ageing well, and cigarettes certainly don't help you do that.
Best anti-smoking ad for women that I can think of, comes unintentionally from a book of poetry I found one day while working at B&N:
 |
| Anne Sexton-- Young, hot and smoking like a chimney |
 |
| Anne Sexton a few years later. |
--P'shaw! I've always been too poor to shop for labels.
5. Expensive drinking.
--I do drink, but usually at home and usually cheap stuff. I do enjoy the occasional martini at the bar, but do that maybe every two months. Thankfully, our local cheap beer is actually tasty, and I enjoy the occasional box of wine (not all in one sitting--see above about ageing well).
6. Depending on your significant other. Both of you should have equal say about your finances.
--We split utilities and groceries and buy our own other stuff.
7. Not having a budget.
--I've had my spreadsheet budget for going on four years now, and now I have a mint.com backup. I'm addicted to budgeting!
How about you? Do you have any bad habits you need to cut? Can you think of any other bad habits that got you into trouble in your 20's? I was a bit of a dumbass, overall, but have reigned it in considerably. I think my biggest expense back then, was actually books. I worked at a large corporate bookstore, and spent more on books than my paycheck could comfortably handle. That's why librarianship is my chosen profession--no chance of that here.
I liked doing this because it was interesting to see how I'm doing. I am ashamed that I've gone tanning, but I'm glad I don't do it anymore.
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