The Budgette #4: Money and mental health or I'm not sure we're ok

I was going to do a whole Halloween-themed newsletter but the shorter days and longer nights have me in a mood, which I’m blaming on 2020 overall. Usually, I talk to an expert about money matters and write about it here but in this newsletter, I wanted to talk about money and mental health, both mine and overall.

I work for myself, which is stressful enough during non-pandemic years but adds that lovely extra layer of stress to an already terrible year. I, like practically everyone else, have spent the last seven, almost eight months (!!!) worrying about money.

I’m not that chill about money in the first place because I’m the only earner in my home and I don’t have a second income to fall back on, but this year my money habits changed:

I’m spending less like pretty much everyone. Spending more on food because food costs have gone up but spending less on clothing and entertainment. I’ve been looking at all the sites at the new fall clothes, putting things in carts but abandoning them. Every time I think of clicking on check-out, I think, “Where am I going to wear a cape? To my living room? My plants don’t care.”