There was an interesting post yesterday on "I've Paid for this Twice Already" about how life doesn't just stop while you're trying to get out of debt. And she's right: life just keeps rolling along and the ability to pay down your debts is inversely proportional to the number of "surprises" that crop up.

The discussion in the comments focused around being flexible with money based on what's happening in your life at the time. I've seen this happen for myself multiple times and have found that there are as many ways to split up the money as there are grains of sand at the ocean. Some months I move money from this budget category to that, splice things five different ways and try different combinations of budget plans before I settle on one I'm truly happy with.

It's enlightening on some levels too: where I choose to allocate my discretionary income says a lot about what's important to me: for reasons I don't entirely understand, for instance, buying various seasons of Little House on the Prairie on DVD seems to be more important than buying new clothes or going out to eat. Rennie's medical and dog-food budgets get funded every month without fail, while my hair cuts or skin products take lower priority. Every month I'm surprised by some little thing - like the LHOTP DVDs - that I find myself unwilling to give up. Even if it means buying fewer groceries or spending less money on gas.

The problem is, when I get a bit of "extra" money I know I should put part of it towards debt reduction, but part of me wants to fully fund some of the budget categories I've been neglecting. And then I start to feel antsy because I feel deprived... so it's this vicious circle, driven by tantrums from my "inner princess" that don't seem to stop until I've splurged on something. I guess I'd rather do it on purpose than have to clean up the wreckage after the fact.

So with this extra check? To appease the princess, I think I'm going to buy a couple pieces of sheet music I've been wanting to learn (and I have checked them out from the library; the problem is I need to write on these scores and making photocopies is technically illegal unless I've purchased the music) and the rest will be split between debt reduction and the "I know it's coming, I just don't know when" fund.

And to help jump-start my debt reduction I'm going to look for "snowflakes" in my budget. For those of you who are interested in more on debt reduction, budgeting, frugal living and the like, the gal at I've Paid for this Twice Already has some great ideas and really thoughtful posts on all things money and debt-reduction. I've also been really impressed with the depth and honesty of her posts. I've been reading for a couple weeks and have already learned a ton from her! She's written extensively about "snowflaking," and if I can get my act together this month, I plan to start!