Budgeting

I am having a lot harder time in Mexico with budgeting my money. In the United States, I had a job where I could negotiate my income and earn what I need to survive. In Mexico, I earn a small stipend and it is very humble.

Let me paint a picture. My old headphones broke while in Mexico. They are people that sell headphones on the metro for about 20 pesos which translates to about $1. These headphones are awful and would probably last about one month. The headphones that I am used to using costs about $10 in the US and about $6 in Mexico. This $6 is about 5% of my monthly stipend in Mexico, whereas I wouldn’t even think about a headphone purchase when I was working in the United States. It would be less than 1% of my wage in the US.

It is a concept of sacrifice. I know that by purchasing these headphones I will have to go out with my friends from work one less time. I need to pick and choose what is more important to do. I know that I need to budget to buy my family and friends gifts on birthdays and holidays. All the other choices are on matters of wants. I feel like, to embody the accompaniment model I should try and go out with friends to the lunches they do at work, but I also know that I cannot go out every time. It is a struggle for me to say no to lunch at work, or leaving early to be able to take public transportation instead of an Uber.

Through this process, I am learning how to say “no” more often. I still can do things I want to do or buy things I want, but I need to watch how often I go out and ask myself twice “do I really need this?” before making any purchases.