Iām gonna do a little analysis:
Summary
OK, so, totaling things up and also grouping things into categories.
Things:
Fancy handmade birthday card for a friend: $6.02
Gorgeous handmade hair thingie that I absolutely did not need but it is gorgeous: $15.
Credit card annual fee: $39. This sucks but itās my longest history card.
Soap and hand sanitizer: $16.41
Voltaire concert merch that I didnāt need: $20
Hair dye $25.52
Weather stripping for drafty doors since weāre forecast to start getting lows in the 50s: $11.72
Gas: $18.65. My turn to pay.
Tea: $46.84
Vitamins (90 daysā worth): 67.27
Pin backs (I was gifted a gorgeous pin that unfortunately had shitty backings so it keeps falling off my purse): $10.68
KN95 masks: $14.62
Plants: $16.49
TOTAL: 308.22
Entertainment/eating out/social life
Public transport: $7.50
Dining out: $113.85
Drinks: $122.74 (some of these were for other people)
Event tickets: $48.55
Lyfts: $77.42
TOTAL: $370.06
Krewe expenses:
horns for costume: $20
chainmail rings (for costume/throws, not for business): $20.46
Stuff to decorate throws and headpiece (fake flowers, mod podge, glue, paint) $36.60
Glitter: $36.29
Shoes for parade costume $12.05
TOTAL: $125.40
GRAND TOTAL: 803.68
Good lord. OK, so, if Iām to meet my monthly savings goal, I have $1,948 left after āpaying myself first.ā
$755 of that is my share of rent. This leaves $1,193. To cover groceries, bills, cat expenses ($$$ thanks to Boy Kittyās special food) AND all discretionary spending. And, I wasnāt tracking groceries or cat expenses but I just totaled stuff up to settle up with Boyfriend and we spent nearly $700 on groceries last month and $150-something on cat stuff. Plus phone bill, water bill, Internet bill, renters insuranceā¦ (those are expenses I am responsible for, Boyfriend has gas, electric, and exorbitant car insurance).
Gee, I wonder why my ends arenāt meeting. 
Interestingly, I thought that krewe expenses were the real budget buster, but that appears to be the least of my problems, AND a lot of this is startup costs. Like, I bought stuff to make the headpiece, and I bought shoes. As long as shit doesnāt fall apart year over year, thatās it, costume done, I can wear that for each yearās Xmas event.
Really my problem is largely that after many years of not having hardly any social life, I now have one and donāt always want to turn stuff down. Couple that with the shitty public transport here and my unwillingness to drive after ANY alcohol because I am a lightweight, and rideshare is going to be a line item.
Itās discouraging for sure.
who knows if Iāll get these ones or not haha
you get yours soon.