So it was the 2nd day of March, I woke up earlier than I usually did after 3 and a half hours of sleep. Miraculously, I didn’t keep on snoozing my alarm so I could extend 5 more minutes of sleep. *which I know you do too, you little cheat*
Going back, I had a hearty meal at breakfast, thank you to
my mother earth, but I didn’t even take a dump in the toilet that morning,
*excuse me* so I felt kinda bloated. By the time my father, brother and I left,
my nose was so runny, I kept on sneezing that I felt my hanky was full of
blasted liquid discharges. I don’t have corona virus by the way, I haven’t even
gone out much since I lost my job.
The night before this day, I checked my coin purse with a 100-peso
bill, with some coins on the side. Like it’s the only extra money I’d left
after processing my documents for the past week. Now, I had another 500-peso
bill, which was a budget for another set of documents to process.
I was having this internal conflict whether to bring the
extra 500-peso bill with me in case of emergency, or to just bring the 100-peso
bill so I can be strict with my budget. Half of my mind was telling me to only
bring 100 pesos, since I’m in a pinch right now *perks of being jobless hurray*
and of course I don’t ask money from my parents even if they’re the ones feeding
me. The other half, however, was tryna be a convincing devil:
You’d probably be walking on foot when you get home if you don’t bring extra, besides you’ll be buying coffee at McDonald’s. You haven’t had their pancakes for that long either. It’s gonna be just for today, then after this you won’t be spending again. You’ll be looking for a job soon so just bring it. Blah blah blah…
And so here I was, in front of McDonald’s counter, both the
100-peso and 500-peso bills in my coin purse. Looking at the menu, I decided I’d
go with hot coffee, since I needed something warm to stop myself from sneezing.
On the menu, it says 42 pesos for the large one, and I thought “this will keep
me longer here while waiting for my friend who’s coming really late.” *so much
for an early meet up huh* The 500-peso bill, ready on my hand, I put it back
inside and took out a 50-peso bill instead. Just when the cashier punched in my
order, it showed me 45 pesos. Not 42 pesos, which was on the menu. Makes me
think, menus could really trigger trust issues don’t you think? Freakin’ taxes.
There you have it, I spent 45 pesos and got 55 pesos left, which
meant I got to keep the 500. Or so I thought. I had to wait till I get home
from the university, then I’d have my real victory. But before that, I was
actually waiting for my friend for 2 hours.
I am usually the type to get impatient, waiting for God knows how long. I could possibly
spam you with, where are you? How long
will you get here? What took you so long? blah blah blah. Luckily for that friend who had an all
nighter of that friggin’ adorable home last night, I was in a good mood. The warm
coffee was working its magic on my runny nose and stagnant brain. I was writing
these flowing ideas that my fingers couldn’t keep up while I was scribbling
like a maniac. Words that were so disorganized, but were about to come to life.
*I was doing my write-ups by the way* It made me so excited, I had to take out
my phone and play my old college playlists when Spotify wasn’t even alive yet.
I chatted my friend, who works now at the university where we
used to study, and told her I’d be a little late, since this other friend took
too long to arrive. She told me to enjoy my me-time. And there, I realized I never
had much me-time when I lost my job, ‘coz I stayed home too much and it doesn’t
count as me-time, even when you have your family around you. It’s quite
refreshing that I could actually wait without getting irritated and that I could
do something very productive while I’m at it.
So moral of the story after too much blabber, always be
mindful of squandering. Bringing a tempting 500-peso bill is enough to test your
self-control on money spending. I know I’m not one to talk, ‘coz I cheat
sometimes haha. But it takes a lot of
self-control not to squander and it’s quite an achievement if you get to save, especially
for the working class who spends too much on food and still complain on getting
broke *not condemning you, that’s your money* But then again I squander on
coffee and books too. Maybe because I just know when to and not to spend. And there’s
this kind of mindset on delayed gratification too. So I think it helps on how
you could save money. I’m no financial consultant though, it’s just how I handle
myself on a tight budget haha.
Next would be waiting on someone who is very late for the
meetup. Might as well do something that would distract you and treat it as if
it’s your me-time. I’m glad I brought my planner, phones (the other one was
from my sugar daddy, kidding), and a book to entertain me. I dunno with you,
but I think there’s something out there that could distract you aside from
lurking on your social media, just so being impatient wouldn’t ruin your day. Except
if it’s a school project or an urgent matter, gotta be on time haha.
P.S I spent my 500 peso-bill for a 40-peso worth of lunch. And
that was it.
I DID NOT SQUANDER!
Writer,
Thin Girl
That tax thingy got me 😂😂😂
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