Oops, I did it again.

I had a cash diet cheat meal. Like a major cash diet cheat meal. Like a full-on-cheese-enchalada-combo-with-refried-beans-and-rice-and-a-basket-of-chips-with-guacamole-and-a-large-blended-margarita-or-two cheat meal. Oops, I did it again. I'm not that innocent. Cash diet blown. Here's how it went down:

I got paid on Friday. Rather than finalize my budget and promptly transfer my savings money into, you know, my savings, I spent the day running around like a chicken with her head cut off. I spent Saturday in the office, alternately working and feeling sorry for myself for working on a Saturday. My Sunday plans included buying yeast for the bagels I was planning to make, investing in a new tube of mascara, and writing about how well I was doing on my cash diet. Then I had an idea. I would just pop into the Maxx (that's TJ Maxx for those of you who aren't in the know) and take a look around on my way to Sprouts. Just a look. Just for a second. Just to see what was new.

And just like that I was sucked in. Like an overeater who just needs one more bite of cheesecake. Just one more scoop of the Ben & Jerrys. Just one more potato chip. I had a handbag on my shoulder, a pair of black pointy-toe flats in my hand, and three tops and a pair of silk pants slung over my arm in less than 45-minutes. If shopping is my crack, the Maxx is definitely my dealer. And deal it did. Long story short, I decided to tempt fate. And I decided to do it without my cash and without a plan.What I have to show for it is several cute tops, a pair of silk pants, a pair of black pointy-toe flats, and a guilty conscience.

As a drove away from the store, I felt bloated and overindulged. I was confused. I had been so good for over two weeks. I deserved a treat, right? But instead of feeling like I had rewarded myself for a job well done, I felt like I had floated farther away from the goals I had set just over two weeks ago. Could my budget handle the overindulgence? Yes. Did I want it to? No. For the first time I could remember, no part of me felt satisfied. Just guilty. But what I could do? I realized that I had three choices: I could turn around, walk back into the store, and get my money back. I could beat myself up about it. Or I could enjoy the items that I had purchased and climb back on the wagon.

So I went home, hung my new items in my closet, and took another look at my budget. I transferred less money than I was intending into my savings account, but my resolve is stronger now than it was two weeks ago. I know now that I wouldn't have spent so much money at the Maxx if I had had to hand over cash rather than swipe my debit card. Handing over my hard-earned Lincolns really does feel different; more deliberate, more painful, than it does to use my debit card. And maybe that was the lesson I needed to learn this week.

So here are this week's grades: Cash Diet Challenge: Monday-Saturday: A. Sunday: D+.
Yoga: 3 Classes this week. This brings my monthly yoga total to 11 classes, which puts me over my monthly goal of 9 classes. Grade: A+.

And because today I got lost in the game, oh bay-by, bay-be, here's a pre-breakdown breakthrough Britney: