Kelly’s Unnecessary Blog

It’s not too much of a mystery what makes up a large part of why I live paycheck to paycheck. Every now and then I “like” to actually add it up and make a fuss that I’m going to pretend to be more thrifty—with the drinking, not the bowling. Bowling is what passes for my social life.

I bowl in two leagues per week and usually drink steadily during the evening (certainly by now you’ve gotten the impression that I like my beer). Most of the time I also eat supper at the bowling alley. 

Fall leagues go for thirty or so weeks, roughly coinciding with the school year. I myself also bowl for thirteen weeks in the summer. I’ll base these calculations on thirty weeks. You’ll get the idea. And I’ll still be horrified by the actual numbers, just like I am with my age when I think about the actual number.

$750 = $25 x 30 Monday league fee

$810 = $27 x 30 Thursday league fee

$405 – $540 = $13.50–$18.00 x 30 Monday Summit EPA

$373.50–$498 = $12.45–$16.60 x 30 Thursday Surly Furious

$210 = $7 x 30 Monday Buffalo Chicken Wrap

$150 = $5 x 30 Thursday mini pizza with two toppings (in my top three favorite pizzas in the Twin Cities metro)

Ugh. Are you good at math in your head? Did you add it up already?

$2698.50–$2958.00 for 30 weeks in two leagues.

And that doesn’t include tips or the drink or two or three at karaoke afterwards on Thursdays.

That’s a chunk of change. How are you “frivolous” with your money in these tough times?