Personal Budgeting Overview: One Last Pedicure

A daughter teaches her mother how to handle her finances by creating a budget.

Excerpt

UVA-F-1865

Jul. 23, 2019

Personal Budgeting Overview: One Last Pedicure

Introduction

Jackie McKenzie loved to dance and was an instructor at a dance studio; however, she did not love how hard it was for her to stretch her income. As she stood in the checkout line at the grocery store, she wondered if her $ 2,900 a month income was really enough for her and her youngest daughter, Millie. She watched anxiously as the cashier rang her up. With each quick swipe of the cashier's hands, Jackie looked at the total price on the monitor and knew she was going to come up short on money for her groceries.

Once the cashier was done, sure enough, the total of $ 150 was more than Jackie had in cash or in her checking account, and she was close to maxing out her credit card for the month. The last payment went to one of Jackie's bimonthly rituals—a shiny red pedicure. She flushed with embarrassment as she took items out of her cart and put them back on the conveyor. The cashier sighed with exasperation as she deducted the items, and Jackie was sure the other customers behind her in line were impatient. Somehow, she had lost track, again, of how much she had to spend that month. She remembered buying that beautiful red dress at the mall two weeks ago—an impulse she now regretted.

. . .