You're not poor, you're just broke. Trust me there's a difference.

I realized recently that I spend a stupid amount of time giving out about how permanently broke I am. I get paid on a Thursday and here I am on Monday evening with €5 to tide me over until I get paid again but it's not quite as bad as I'm making it seem. 
I have somehow managed to forget that I actually survived on the dole (job seeker allowance) for those six months I went without work and yes I was pretty miserable but I still managed to eat and pay all my bills on time. Now I actually earn more money now but I also have more expenses like a higher rent, a car and the healthy food is a hell of a lot more expensive than the crap that I used to pass off as food plus I'm putting money into the credit union to cover me for bigger bills and so on. 

 I guess when you look at it like that it doesn't leave me hugely better off, except for the small matter of my sanity which I was on the verge of losing when I was out of work. The important thing to take away from this is no matter how much I give out about it I am not actually poor and it's time I started being a little more grateful for that fact.
I don't have a very exciting social life. This much is true but the reality is I could afford to go out more if I really wanted so it's not a case of not having the money, It's just that I prioritize and a night out just isn't a top priority for me. It would seem that jars of almond butter and protein are usually a little more important/delicious.

 Now I won't be going on holidays this year and I could probably do with some new clothes which I'll only buy in bits and pieces as my budget allows because even though being broke is not the same as being poor it still kind of sucks, you just learn to make the most of it. The one thing I find now that I have less money is that I shop better, there are far fewer things in my wardrobe that I have no intention of wearing. Instead I have a selection of items I really like that tend to get worn to death before getting replaced which is a much better system. Now If I could only curb my expensive eating habits I would be so much richer. 
While it's great that I can now bake with things like almond flour, coconut sugar and maple syrup, these things don't come cheap but I tend to put eating well above most other things so 
I guess I might be broke but I wont be hungry.

 I sometimes need a reminder that it could be worse. I don't owe any money and I can cope with all my bills and yes I might spend stupid amounts of money on food but it just so happens I really enjoy eating the food so it all works out. I need to start counting my blessings instead of just counting the change in my wallet. After all some of the best things in life are free. And yes, I might only have €5 to my name until I get paid again but I now have everything I need in my kitchen to make yummy but healthy buns so really what is there to be complaining about. 

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