Happy October blogorinos!

Remember how starting in March I gave up something every month?  Well, I kind of forgot to do that in September, unless you count the giving up of my place of residence.  There’s nothing like moving that makes you want to say, “oh, fuck it, I will have that second piece of cake.”  Or, “I’m just going to order in some Chinese food.  Might as well make it a large.  And throw in an egg roll while you’re at it.”  Or, “I would go to the gym, but how can I possibly lift weights when my books are not yet alphabetized?”  And of course, the most famous refrain from the month of September as I furnished and decorated the new place, “That will be credit.”

I haven’t checked yet to see how much I spent on my credit card last month, but I can tell you that it was a lot.  And with my car insurance due at the beginning of November and the holidays looming around the corner, I want to give that thing a break.  So October is (yikes!) no credit card month. As part of that, I’m planning to curtail my casual trips to Bloodbath and Beyond and Target: my wallet.

As always, I’m a fan of the caveats.  When it comes to pumping gas, prepaying in cash is a pain in the ass.  Maybe I’ll make use of that debit card that is more than just a gateway to the ATM?  Or maybe I’ll just fill up in Jersey, where they do it for you, and you don’t have to pre-pay.  Also, I have a separate card I use for non-in-person transactions (online purchases, EZ-Pass, my gym membership) that I’ll keep.  I can’t even imagine how much of a P.I.T.A. it would be to pay EZ-Pass with a check.

And speaking of online purchases, one of my resolutions of 2008 was to be more charitable.  So every month, I’ve given $30 to someone or some cause.  Next year, I’ll bump it to $31.  My friend Jennifer just emailed me the other day about DonorsChoose.org, a charity that helps teachers and students.  I’ve chosen not to participate in the blogger challenge that they’re doing, but other bloggers I read are participating (and locally), so go over there and help them out if you want to give your age in dollars like I do. It looks like a fantastic way to get schoolkids and teachers the supplies they need.

On a slightly different topic, when it comes to this kind of stuff, being good to others and living substantially, and being careful about conspicuous consumption, Allie has always been an inspiration.  She’s just redesigned her place, and it looks great, so you should go over to see that alone.   But you should also visit her because it appears as ABC has used her famous kitty litter recipe in an article without giving her credit.  If you want to take a minute to go show her some support, I’m sure she will appreciate it.

That’s all I got.  If you need me, I’ll be at the ATM.