447. BREAKING BAD

My goodness. How one little Desi Girl can make SUCH a mess of her finances, is beyond me. This is not to say that I spend wildly or blindly  (my credit score is quite fine) – but I think I spend unwisely. 

I endorse Town and Country’s check and fill out the deposit slip. The bank in my neighborhood is INSANE. I don’t know if this is the only branch in 20 blocks or what. But the line is generally 30 people deep and takes 45 minutes to move through.

I grab my purse, lock the apartment and go to the bank. While I stand in line I think - I really live a simple life and don’t engage in major expenditures. I have a small flat screen TV because Meera gave it to me. I have a ~$200 Ipod, a Blackberry and a $300 stereo. This is it for my electronics. Oh wait I have a clock radio and two cordless phones. Ooo, and a laptop.

The woman in front of me answers her phone and begins yelling loudly in to it. She speaks rapid-fire Spanish, so I pull my Ipod from my purse to drown out her annoying voice and rude presence.

I don’t go on vacations, while I may be bold in many arenas of my life – traveling alone is not something I like to do for a vacation. I will travel alone to visit a friend, or my parents, or rellies in Delhi – but I am not going to wander Ireland for 4 days on my own.

I don’t own expensive clothes. The most expensive article of clothing I own is a $144 pair of jeans from Barneys Co-op. Even my down winter coat was bought with a 20% coupon and it was $125. I carry mostly no-name bags, I buy what I like and thinks looks nice. With that said, I have one Dooney and Burke bag, one little going out Prada bag and a Kate Spade. None of those bags were more than $200. And my shoes, while not a modest collection, are not a motley crew of Jimmy Choos and Christian Louboutins, they are Nine West, Sofft, Fit Flops, Anne Klein, etc., shoes that I buy from the sale rack at Macy’s.

I finally reach the bank teller and deposit the check and leave the bank. I have gotten rid of most of my bad spending habits, the $3 latte a day habit, expensive dinners, drinking in bars. But there is one last bad that I need to break.  And for that – I will need wine.